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Showing posts from January, 2020

Gulab Singh and the Battle of Jammu 1809

The year was 1808. The place, Jammu. Raja Jaid Singh was placed on the throne of Jammu to be its king, supported by the presence of Mian Mota Singh, the all-powerful kingmaker of Jammu. In this period of madness in the province of Jammu, one hoped that Jammu would witness a semblance of balance and stability being created. Jammu had been in a free fall following the death of Raja Brijraj Dev. Sampuran Singh, the successor, succumbed to smallpox, leading to the situation that a new successor had to be found desperately. In the scramble, the name of Jaid Singh came forward, and with Mian Mota Singh’s support, Jaid Singh ascended the throne. Raja Brijraj Dev of Jammu ( painting with San Diego Museum of Art) Contributing to the constant madness in Jammu were the Khalsa forces who would raid Jammu and pillage it constantly, devoiding it of its wealth. The 1783 pillage of Jammu remained afresh in the minds of the people and the aristocrats alike - for two months, one witnessed not a single

The Reality of 1931 'Martyr's Day'

Kashmir 1931 - Finding the Truth (courtesy MediaVigil) Maharaja Hari Singh, as I pointed out in an earlier post, had committed to a formation of an independent India at the 1931 round table. Since then, every occasion was sought by the british to put him down. An occasion was created in 1931 which is often touted as Martyrs Day by Kashmiri Muslim separatists. However, a careful examination of the entire incident tells one that the 20 June incident was nothing but a fabrication. To this day, the incidents of Jammu can not be linked to the reason for the protests in Srinagar. Whatever fabrications the entire cabal may try, fact of the matter remains that Jammu saw its affairs entirely separately in matters of religion and had full faith in the Maharaja's Raj. The cases of Jammu Jail and Udhampur will case are entirely fabrications, references to which can still not be found in official records. If there were such cases, one wonders why there are no such records in the archi