The Royal House of Jammu and Kashmir - History of Dogra Rulers

History of Dogra Rulers

See also: History of Kashmir and Kashmir and Jammu (princely state)

According to legend, Raghuvanshi descendant, Agnigarba, who was living as a recluse, came to Nagarkot (Kangra, Himachal Pradesh), in the Shivalik Hills. When the Raja of Kangra came to know about this person's ancestry, he offered him the hand of his daughter and a part of kingdom. The river Ravi was then the boundary of Nagarkote. Agnigarba crossed it and captured some villages in the Kathua area and declared himself as sovereign king.

After his death, his son Bayusharva (B.C. 1530-1500) married the princess of Parole (Kathua). The princess was known as Erwan and she died young. The Raja founded a city after her which is still found near Parole, though now a small village and at the 'Samadhi' of the queen, a `Mela' (fair) is held at every `Baisakhi' (13 or 14 April) every year. Bayusharva extended the boundaries up to the river Ujh. Bayusharva's great grandson, Bahulochan was enthroned after his death. He migrated from Erwan and built his fort on the banks of river Tawi. Bahulochan died in a bloody battle with Chadaras, Raja of Sialkot (Shayalkot) and his younger brother Jambulochan (B.C 1320-1290) ascended the throne. In those days the area beyond Tawi (the present city of Jammu) was used for hunting. Tradition has it that one day Jambulochan came to this area and while he was sitting behind a bush to ambush some bird or animal, he saw a lion(a tiger in some accounts) and a goat drinking water from the same pond. This peaceful coexistence encouraged him to found the city of Jammu, which some say is named after him.

One of his descendants, Raja Shaktikaran (B.C 1200-1177) introduced the Dogri script for the first time. Another of his descendants, Jasdev founded the city of Jasrota on the bank of river Ujh, and another Raja, Karan Dev built a fort on the banks of the river Basantar. In the early centuries of the first millennium the area came under the sway of the Indo-Greeks, with their capital at Sakala (Sialkot).

Among the rulers of Jammu was Raja Ranjit Dev (1728–1780), who introduced social reforms such as a ban on sati (immolation of the wife on the pyre of the husband) and female infanticide.

In 1814, Jammu became part of the Sikh Kingdom of the Punjab, under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Ranjit Singh bestowed the place as a jagir on Gulab Singh, who belonged to the Jamwal Rajput clan that ruled Jammu. As a jagirdar for the Sikhs, Gulab Singh extended the boundaries of the Sikh kingdom to western Tibet with the help of Zorawar Singh. The Sikh rule was then extended beyond the Jammu Region and the Kashmir Valley to include the Tibetan Buddhist Kingdom of Ladakh and the Emirates of Hunza, Gilgit and Nagar.

After the First Anglo-Sikh War in 1846, Sir Henry Lawrence was appointed British Resident and Lal Singh was asked to surrender Kashmir. Under the terms of the Treaty of Amritsar, the British government then sold Kashmir for a sum of 7.5 million rupees to Maharaja Gulab Singh,, who had been a their loyal ally against the Sikhs. Jammu again became an independent Rajput kingdom under Maharaja Gulab Singh, as per the treaties, Treaty of Lahore, signed between the British and the Sikhs.

Maharaja Partab Singh (enthroned in 1885) saw the construction of Banihal Cart Road (B.C. Road) mainly to facilitate telegraph services.

One of the main residences of the maharadjas was the Sher Garhi Palace in their summer capital Srinagar.