Black and White Picture of Raja Ugar Singh of Hindur, 1840-1850 (from Archer's book on Punjab Hills Paintings) Picture the year: 1795. The foothills of the Shivaliks are tense, echoing with the tramp of armed men and the grinding pressure of regional rivalries. Down in the valleys, Raja Ram Saran Singh Handuriya of Handur (modern-day Nalagarh) is caught in a grinding political bind. For years, Handur has ridden the coattails of Kangra’s aggressive campaigns against its bitter historical rival, Bilaspur (then known as Kahlur). But looking out across his contested borders, Ram Saran Singh faces a heavier, more haunting question: Does he continue serving as a satellite to Kangra’s ambitions, or does he break away, side with Maha Chand and Bilaspur, and reclaim a fractured sense of Rajput honor? The friction between Handur and Bilaspur was rooted in continuous struggles over strategic border zones, crucial river-crossing points, and the Satgarha (seven forts) territory. Because Handur...
Commemorative Stamp of Zorawar Singh History is a nebulous creature, or perhaps more like a Medusa, which when one stares directly in the face, results in petrification. To that extent, it is interesting to note how the Communist Chinese narrative of one and a half wars that were won against India that was first thrown up by the murderous demagogue Mao Tse Tung to justify a sense of superiority over India. The problem with all shades of Marxists and Maoists is that the cherry picking of history is a habit that fails even basic scrutiny. The power of narrative holds only so long as gatekeepers to information are able to secure it. Once the horses bolt the stables, it is beyond redemption, however hard they try. If there was one and a half war for China, there were two and a half wars won by India that could be invoked to provide a cure for selective amnesia and cherry picking of history that would petrify a large section of the China apologia. History offers lessons to those w...