Today when the world is watching China’s aggressive transgressions on the Line of Actual Control with India, rarely does anyone know the historical context of how this border emerged in the first place. It was due to an intrepid military genus called Zorawar Singh Kahluria.
The treaty of Chushul signed in 1842 between ‘Sri Sarkar Khalsa Ji’ (the Lahore Darbar) and the Dalai Lama of Tibet not just marked the conclusion of the campaign, it defined and demarcated the border between India and Tibet in modern times.
This campaign into Ladakh and Tibet was led by Zorawar Singh, a Dogra Rajput general in the service of Raja-i-Rajgan Gulab Singh of Jammu, who was a subordinate ruler owing allegiance to the Sikh ruler at Lahore.
But the army marched under the sovereign banner of Sarkar Khalsa Ji of Punjab and its then Maharaja Sher Singh son of the legendary Sher-e-Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Indian history books barely do any justice to Zorawar Singh’s desire and persistence to acquire the Western Tibetan territory, and thus his role in defining the critical northern Indian border. Zorawar Singh had expressed his readiness to ‘kindle the fires of voctory’ and take possession of Tibet when he met the then Maharaja, Ranjit Singh, in village Jandiala Sher Khan in March 1836; a request which was politely declined by the Maharaja. This has been documented by Sohan Lal Suri who wrote a history in 5 volumes, a monumental work in Persian called Umdat ul Tawarikh keeping record of all important events at the Lahore court.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s apprehension can be understood from the letters of French botanist Victor Jaquemont which give insight into his conversations with the Maharaja. The wily monarch quizzed him on Tibet. Victor described it as a poor country with cold weather and barren land where subsistence was very difficult. This and other intelligence made Ranjit Singh mentally write off the adventure.
But ambition motivated Zorawar Singh and he remained adamant in his desire of acquisition and glory. Following the victory over Ladakh in 1836, he again sought permission of the Maharaja to attack Tibet and annex it to the Khalsa Sarkar, which was declined again citing it as being an inopportune time for the invasion. The astute Maharaja was well aware of the problems such an invasion may lead to given the difficult terrains and long lines required for logistics.
Zorawar Singh had better luck with Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s successor Sher Singh, who agreed to his long-pending proposal of wanting to invade Tibet, and the rest is well, not very well documented history.
None of the Indian books on Zorawar Singh mention that he led Sikh soldiers in his campaign to Ladakh and Tibet. In his book ‘Footprints in the Snow: On the Trail of Zorawar Singh’ the then Brigadier GD Bakshi, gives credit to Sikhs for revival of military spirit in the region and acknowledges Maharaja Ranjit Singh as a ruler with a vision who modernize his army. It says, “The Dogras under Gulab Singh and Zorawar Singh were part of this Sikh military renaissance”.
The Ladakh and Tibetan campaign of Zorawar Singh and the subsequent treaty eventually formed the basis of the McMohan Line, the border agreed by British India and Tibet in 1914. China disputes its legal status and on that basis has occupied the area of Aksai Chin which belongs to India. At the time of the campaign in 1841 –China had no role, militarily or otherwise.
Zorawar Singh is not seen as an aggressor by Tibetans but remembered in a more positive light because his campaign and the subsequent treaties between Tibetans and Lahore Darbar proves even now that Tibetans had a legitimate claim of sovereignty.
It is perhaps time to rewrite the campaigns of General Zorawar Singh by incorporating Tibetan and other non-Dogra sources.
The Jammu & Kashmir Rifles, an infantry regiment of Indian army, celebrates 15th April every year as Zorawar Day to commemorate the birth and career of the legendary commander who is considered as an architect of this regiment, which now takes recruits from J &K and Himachal Pradesh.
Zorawar Singh is duly credited with the conquest of Ladakh, which remained, culturally, Tibetan Buddhist.
Zorawar later led a successful campaign against Gilgit-Baltistan (now part of Pakistan administered Kashmir) in 1839-40. However he is mostly remembered for his daring campaign in Tibet in 1841 and enjoys an iconic status among Hindu Dogra community of Jammu.