The Re-conquest of Gilgit and role of General Devi Singh Narania, 1860

By: UDEY VEER ANTHAL (M.Phil in History, presently working in State Taxes Department, J&K)

            Dogras have long been known for unmatched courage and valour in battle. The Dogra martial tradition was respected across the Indian subcontinent and acknowledged even by British military officials, travellers, and colonial administrators. Major-General George MacMunn wrote in The Armies of India that the Dogras possessed “the quiet courage and steady fighting quality of the best fighting stock of the Punjab hills.” British frontier officers like Sir Francis Younghusband also praised their endurance and bravery during high-altitude expeditions. These acknowledgements were earned through decades of military achievements under leaders such as Maharaja Gulab Singh, General Zorawar Singh, General Baj Singh, General Devi Singh Narania, and many other Dogra soldiers who repeatedly proved that the hills of Jammu produced men of uncommon courage and discipline.

            Few forces in nineteenth-century India contributed as decisively to the geographical expansion of political frontiers as the Dogras of Jammu. They pushed authority deep into the Himalayas, Karakoram, and trans-Himalayan regions, creating a political arc stretching from Jammu to the borders of Xinjiang and Tibet. Their military success and administrative ability ensured that the northern frontiers of India assumed a shape remarkably close to those recognised today.

            When Dogra military history is recalled, the name of General Zorawar Singh dominates public memory. Yet beyond him stood an entire generation of commanders who fought in the treacherous valleys of Gilgit, Yasin, Darel, Hunza, and Nagar. They fought not glamorous wars of conquest, but long and bitter frontier campaigns in regions that were unstable and constantly rebellious. Among these unsung heroes, General Devi Singh Narania stands out for his decisive role in the reconquest of Gilgit in 1860. His daring assault on the supposedly impregnable fort of Gilgit restored Dogra authority after eight years of loss.

            This article traces the role of General Devi Singh Narania and the vision of Maharaja Ranbir Singh in securing the northern frontier, based mainly on Frederic Drew’s Jummoo and Kashmir Territories and other contemporary sources.

HOW GILGIT BECAME PART OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

            In the year 1842, Gilgit was ruled by Raja Shah Sikandar. Gaur Rahman (referred to as Goraman also in some records), the leader of Yasin conquered Gilgit killing the then ruler, Raja Shah Sakandar. Shah Sakandar’s brother Karim Khan asked for help from the Sikh Governor of Kashmir. The Governor agreed to help Karim Khan and a couple of Sikh regiments were sent towards Gilgit under Colonel Nathu Shah. Nathu Shah defeated Gaur Rahman at Basin, who retired to Punial. Nathu Shah did not give over Gilgit completely to Karim Shah. He established a joint government there. He kept a small force at Gilgit and came back to Kashmir. This was the state of affairs when Maharaja Gulab Singh received Jammu and Kashmir. When Jammu and Kashmir, along with Gilgit, was ceded to the Dogras, Nathu Shah transferred his services to the Dogras and went to take possession of Gilgit for the Dogras. The Dogra soldiers relieved the Sikh posts at Astor and Gilgit, but the state of peace did not continue for long. The ruler of Hunza attacked the territories of Gilgit and plundered five villages. To avenge this, Nathu Shah led his force up the valley of Hunza river along with Karim Khan, but both were killed during the campaign. Gaur Rahman, who governed Punial and Yasin, joined in against the Dogras. The people of Darel also joined. The fort of Gilgit fell into the hands of these allies. Maharaja Gulab Singh sent two columns and there was some fighting and then peace was made on the basis of former state of things. The period till 1852 remained peaceful.

THE EXPULSION OF THE DOGRAS FROM GILGIT IN 1852

            In 1852, Sant Singh was commander at Gilgit fort. There was another fort nearby at Naupura, held by Gurkha regiment of Maharaja under the Commandant Ram Din. Bhup Singh was in command of the reserves at Boonjee and Astor. Gaur Rahman brought a force and separated the two forts of Gilgit and Naupura. Bhup Singh, on hearing this, advanced with twelve hundred men but was surrounded on all the sides by the Dards, cutting the supplies and provisions. Dogras were without food for seven days as supplies were cut off, and only then, when they were so reduced in strength as to be helpless, did the enemy begin their attack. The Hunza people also joined who fired from the left. Near a thousand Dogra soldiers died on the spot and a hundred or two were taken prisoners and sold into slavery. Similar was the fate of the Dogra forces present at the Fort of Gilgit and Naupura, who were also cut off from food and water, and when they were retreating back, a general assault on the Dogra forces took place. The Dogras defended themselves gallantly for a whole day, but they were at last overpowered. About three hundred were killed here and few more were made slaves. As per the tradition, the Gurkha forces used to take their families with them on service. Their wives were in the Gilgit fort. All of them were killed except one who jumped into the river that flowed near the fort and managed to reach Kashmir to tell the story. This is how Dogras were expelled from Gilgit and Gaur Rahman again ruled in Gilgit. From 1852 onwards for eight years, the Maharaja’s boundary remained at the Indus. No major attempt was made to regain the region.

COLONEL DEVI SINGH NARANIA AND THE RE-CONQUEST OF GILGIT BY THE DOGRAS IN 1860

            In 1857, Maharaja Ranbir Singh became the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. He soon formed in his mind the intention of regaining the frontier what was lost. In 1860, he found the opportunity for settling the affairs of Gilgit in the way he desired. A force crossed the Indus and advanced on Gilgit under the command of a man who was a thorough soldier, General (then Colonel) Devi Singh Narania. About Gilgit particularly, Captain T.G. Montgomerie, who was the First Assistant of G.T. Survey, writes that one of the greatest obstacles to making a successful attack on Gilgit has been the difficulties of getting supplies. A small force going against Gilgit was sure to be defeated and a large force to be starved. To avoid this, a hundred ponies were put at each of the seventeen halting places between Kashmir and Boonjee, and when the weather permitted, hundred loads of grains were delivered at Boonjee. Just before Devi Singh’s force reached Gilgit, Gaur Rahman died in Yasin. Devi Singh’s forces assaulted the fort of Gilgit, which was thought to be impregnable at that time. The forces of Gilgit were not able to resist the attack of Dogras and the fort of Gilgit again belonged to Jammu. Devi Singh did not stop here. After Gilgit, he was determined to advance further to follow up the victory. He and his army took Yasin soon but there were no plans to hold it so after a few days they retired to Gilgit. They placed on the throne of Yasin Azmat Shah, the son of the old ruler of Yasin. But as soon as the Dogra forces left, the Yasinis expelled Azmat Shah, who had to flee for his life. Although Yasin was regained by Yasinis, Gilgit remained in the control of Dogras, which was the primary motive of the expedition. When the war concluded the situation in 1860 was that Mulk Iman, a son of Gaur Rahman had succeeded him in Yasin by ousting Azmat Shah. Punial and Ishkiman were held by Raja Isa Bagdur, who was friendly with the Maharaja. Gilgit was occupied by officers and troops of Mahraja. Things remained quiet till 1863, when an expedition was sent under General (then Colonel) Hoshiyara Singh.

            Captain T.G. Montgomerie writes that at the durbar of the Maharaja during this season, men from Chitral, Dheer, Swat, Kholi, Palus, etc. were in attendance, as well as those from Chilas, Nagar and Hunza. At the darbar, Devi Singh made his salute to the Maharaja having just returned from the Gilgit expedition. Some of the men from Yasin were also introduced during the same time. One long brass gun also accompanied Colonel Devi Singh, which was seized from the son of Gaur Rehman. The Gun was very well cast and had a Persian inscription engraved on it. The Maharaja received several gifts from the tribes and the most valuable was a male specimen of a Markhor. Montgomerie writes that this expedition opened out the whole valley of Indus, which was no small advantage as it enabled travelers to pass along safely.

 

IMPORTANCE OF GILGIT RE-CONQUEST:

            Captain T.G. Montgomerie, writes that this conquest was almost without loss of life and he gives the credit to the Maharaja and his officers like Devi Singh Narania who planned and carried out the campaign extremely well. He considers the efforts as very salutary. The effect of this campaign was that it kept the robber clans of Nagar and Hunza in check, who were used to create trouble for the merchants travelling on the Ladakh to Balti route on the one hand and Yarkand on the other. This campaign also helped in keeping the traffic moving from Skardu to Yarkand which was stopped due to the fear of robber clans. On the other hand, this expedition had a very wholesome effect on all the petty tribes lying between Gilgit and Kabul territories, and ultimately it helped in keeping the Swat valley in check.      

            The reconquest of Gilgit in 1860 stands as one of the most remarkable yet neglected chapters of Dogra military history. While the legend of General Zorawar Singh dominates popular memory, it was the steadfast leadership of officers like General Devi Singh Narania, Hoshiyara Singh, Wazir Zoraoru, General Baj Singh and Bakshi Radha Kishan that secured Jammu and Kashmir’s fragile northern frontier in the decades that followed. Fighting in some of the harshest mountain terrains in the world, these men restored Dogra authority through grit, discipline, and an unwavering sense of duty. Their victories ensured that the frontiers carved by Maharaja Gulab Singh and defended by Maharaja Ranbir Singh remained intact, shaping the northern boundary of India as we recognise it today. Their courage deserves remembrance, not merely as frontier skirmishes, but as acts that protected the very map of the subcontinent