history of jammu and kashmir rifles

the meanwhile arrived at Leh, and in accordance with the wishes of Raja Gulab Singh he deposed
Standzin and reinstated Tsepal Namgyal as the Gyalpo of Ladakh on old terms. After inspiring awe in
the people of Leh, Dras, Kargil And Zanskar, Zorawar Singh returned to Jammu, probably in the
spring of 1837.
Rebellion in Poonch
The Sikh reverses in Peshawar and the death of the great Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa in June 1837
had induced in the hill tribes of Poonch a hope of being able to shake off the yoke of the Jammu rule.
This hope was strengthened by the prevalence of a rumour that Gulab Singh had been badly
wounded in one of the skirmishes with the Yusufzais while he was engaged in subduing them on
behalf of the Sikh durbar. The whole country of Poonch, from the Pir Panjal range on the north to the
plains in the south, and from the principality of Rajaori on the east to the Jhelum on the west, rose in
rebellion against the authority of the Jammu raj. Raja Gulab Singh, being away from Jammu on his
operational task against the Yusufzais, could do little about the rebellion and with the free run that the
rebels got thus, they had, in less than a month, captured and destroyed all the forts and strongholds of
their rulers in the entire area from Poonch to almost the walls Of Jammu itself, and from the border of
kashmir to the base of the hills. The only consolation for the Jammu Raja was that the Poonch fort
was still holding out. The leader of the insurgents was Shamas Khan, one of the headmen of the
Sudhan tribe. Ironically he had been kept about the person of Raja Dhyan Singh as sort of a hostage
to ensure the fidelity of his clan and family. The wily Shamas had, in course of time, gained the
confidence of Raja Dhyan Singh, whose Jagir Poonch was, and thus risen to power, which he cleverly
utilized in organizing the rebellion.
It was not till about the end of 1837 that Raja Gulab Singh and his son Mian Udham Singh (who had
accompanied his father during the operations), returned to Jammu after completing the mission
against the Yusufzais, Orders were then immediately issued for start of a counterinsurgency operation
against the Poonch rebels. Mian Udham Singh was made the overall commander of the Army that
was to be employed for the task and Wazir Zorawar Singh and Mian Labh Singh reported to him with
their troops in the vicinity of the Kotli fort which had been besieged by the rebels. According to one
source 8000 regular infantry and some 12,000 irregulars were assembled for the operation under
Mian Udham Singh. Raja Gulab Singh himself camped at Mang where a strong fortification was raised
for the security of his headquarters.
On appearance of the troops at Kotli the rebels lifted the siege of the fort and fled. Thereafter the
rebels were given no respite, being chased from one hide-out to the other. Many prisoners were taken
each day and these were expeditiously despatched to Mang for being tried and punished by the Raja
himself. Very severe punishments, such as cutting off of limbs, or torturing the rebel to death, were
inflicted on the prisoners to frighten into submission those who continued to fight. The Raja, however,
seems to have taken special care to ensure that the wives and the children of the rebels were not
harmed.
After six or seven days at Mang, Raja Gulab Singh along with Mian Udham Singh moved to Bagh
and established a camp there, which was again strongly fortified. Zorawar Singh and Labh Singh also
closed on to Bagh but by different routes, clearing the countryside of insurgents as they moved along.
At Bagh it was learnt that Shamas Khan had taken shelter at Sadrun. Consequently Gulab Singh
issued a farman to Sher Baz Khan father of Raja Sarandaz Khan Sudrinia ordering him to render help
in the capture of Shamas Khan. Sher Baz Khan then guided the troops to the hide-out of Shamas at
Sadrun. Shamas was captured and put to death, his severed head being sent to Raja Gulab Singh at
Bagh. The insurgency had thus been stamped out and after appointing capable men to the various
posts of Thanadars and Kardars under the overall administrative control of Diwan Dilbag Rae, Gulab
Singh left for Jammu via Rajaori.
Invasion of Baltistan12
It was as early as 1835, immediately after the conquest of Ladakh that the opportunity had
presented itself for the invasion of Baltistan. Mohammad Shah, the disinherited son of Ahmed Shah,
the Raja of Skardu in Baltistan, had then met Zorawar Singh at his camp at Suru and sought Dogra
help against his father. At that time although the conquest of Skardu and with it the entire Baltistan
fitted into Gulab Singh's general policy of territorial expansion in these areas of power vacuum, he
was restrained from undertaking the venture for two main reasons. One was that the Ladakhi
conquests had yet to be consolidated and the second that Ahmed Shah of Skardu was known to be
hobnobbing with the British and it was not yet clear as to what the British stand would be in case
these territories were invaded. Consequently Zorawar Singh had pacified the prince at that time with
promises of assistance in the future. To cultivate the friendship of the prince, however, arrangements
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