Dogras Rajput

Dogra Rajput

Rajput Dogras are  be Suryavanshi Rajputs of Chattari origin, migrating many

Dogra Rajput

centuries ago

from Rajputana  to the hilly areas of Jammu and lower altitude areas

of Himachal Pradesh (Kangra, Mandi, Bilaspur and Hamirpur). They live predominantly in the

Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir but also in adjoining areas of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh,

and northeastern Pakistan. They speak their own language, Dogri, which was recognized as one

of the national languages of India in 2003.

The Jammu region

  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.



 The Royal House of Jammu and Kashmir
The chronology of the rulers of Jammu dates back to the Ramayana Period. Indeed, they traced

their ancestry to the Ikshvaku (Solar) Dynasty of Northern India (The same clan in which

Lord Rama was born. He, therefore is the 'kuldevta' (family deity) of the Dogras). A

Raghuvanshi descendant, 'Agnigarba' who was living as a recluse, came to Nagarkote (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'  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

 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 enlightened rulers of Jammu was Raja Ranjit Dev, who introduced

certain social reforms such as a ban on 'Sati' (immolation of the wife on the pyre of the

husband) and female infanticide. Later, under Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the state became part

of the Sikh Empire of the Punjab after it was captured from its Afghan rulers. Ranjit Singh

rendered this state to his general, Maharaja Gulab Singh Jamwal, who belonged to the Jamwal

Rajput clan that ruled Jammu. He extended the boundaries of Jammu to western Tibet with the

help of General Zorawar Singh. The Sikh Empire rule extended beyond the Jammu Region and the

Kashmir Valley to the Tibetan Buddhist Kingdom of Ladakh and the Emirates of Hunza, Gilgit

and Nagar. After the First Anglo-Sikh War in 1846, the British gave Kashmir and the title of

'Maharaja' to Gulab Singh - the chief minister - as a reward for his treachery against the

Sikhs. Pratap Singh, (enthroned in 1885) in saw the construction of Banihal Cart Road (B.C.

Road) mainly to facilitate telegraph services. The last ruler of J&K was Maharaja Hari

Singh, who ascended the throne in 1925. He made primary education compulsory in the State,

introduced laws prohibiting child marriage and threw open places of worship for the low

castes. His reign saw the accession of Jammu & Kashmir to the newly independent Indian Union

in 1947. Although he originally manoeuvered to maintain his independence by playing off

India and Pakistan against each other, Maharaja Hari Singh, the last king of the Rajput

Kingdom of Jammu & Kashmir ceded his kingdom to the Indian Union in 1947, after Pakistan's

founder and Governor-General Mohammad Ali Jinnah, frustrated by his failure to merge his

kingdom into Pakistan, incited armed Pashtuns from the neighbouring North-West Frontier

Province to invade the kingdom in an attempt to seize it. This invasion by Pakistani tribals

and the consequent accession to India sparked the First Indo-Pakistan War. In 1951 Maharaja

Hari Singh's rule was terminated by the assembly and his son Yuvraj (Crown Prince) Karan

Singh was made 'Sadr-e-Riyasat' ('President of the Province') and Governor of the State in

1964.


Notable Dogras

Maharaja Gulab Singh, general of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and later Maharaja of the Dogra

Kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir
General Zorawar Singh, general of Maharaja Gulab Singh
Hari Singh (1895–1961), last ruling Maharaja of the princely state / Kingdom of Jammu and

Kashmir in India and father Karan Singh
Banda Bahadur
Karan Singh, son of Hari Singh and distinguished diplomat
Som_Nath_Sharma First recipient of the Param Vir Chakra
Shivkumar_Sharma Renowned Santoor player
Shesh Paul Vaid, IPS, Director Administration & Training in the Indian Bureau of Police

Research and Development
Ustad Alla Rakha, Padma Shri Tabla player
Prem Nath Dogra
Kundan Lal Saigal, Hindi movie singer and actor

Malika_Pukhraj Renowned singer
Premchand_Dogra Padma Shri and Arjuna Award winning Body builder
Paras_Dogra Cricketer - Plays for Rajasthan Royals in IPL