Dogra - The Jammu Region

The Jammu Region

The Jammu region, which is one of the three regions of Jammu and Kashmir state (the other two being the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh), is bounded on the north by the Pir Panjal Range of the middle Himalayas, in the south by Punjab, to the east by Ladakh and close to the west in Pakistan. The lower Himalayan ranges begin behind the town of Jammu, which rests on a slope of over 1300 feet above sea level, overlooking and commanding the plain watered by the Chenab, Ravi, Tawi and Ujh rivers. The Jammu region consists of ten districts: Jammu, Kathua, Udhampur, Doda, Poonch, Kishtwar, Reasi, Samba, Ramban and Rajouri. The city of Jammu is the winter capital of the state of J&K.

The Jammu Dogras traditionally more inhabited the area between the slopes of Shivalik range of mountains, the sacred lakes of Saroien sar and Mannsar but they spread over whole of Jammu region. They generally speak the Dogri and other dialects too have similarity with Dogri. Majority are followers of Hinduism but a good number in J&K of Dogra believes in other religions also. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, some Dogras embraced Sikhism and some embraced Islam; these factors, together with the effects of immigration into the region, have resulted in the J&K “Dogra” population including members of all three religions. The Duggar Raj emerged as a Regional domain, more particularly with Maharaja Gulab Singh emerging as a warrior and the subjects of in his domain getting special martial recognision by the British Government/ Empire. The rule of Gulab Singh extended over whole of Jammu Region and large part of Ladakh region even by March 1846 and was more known as Dogra Raj (although a large part of Punjab (now Himachal Pardesh) too was traditionally known as Dogra clan / race irrespective of the religious faith one held); and it was in March 1846 that the Kashmir Valley was also handed over to Gulab Singh by British Government (being part of the territories ceded to the British Government by the Lahore State according to the provisions of Article IV of the treaty of Lahore, dated 9 March 1846) under Treaty of Amritsar, the Dogra king of Jammu and the State was thereafter known as the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir State (Raj), also referred as Kashmir State thereafter. The term Dogra hence is more akin to the subjects of Himachal Pradesh, some areas of Punjab and whole region of Jammu of J&K State that was ruled by Raja Gulab Singh as part of Dogra Raj irrespective of the religion one practised.