Jammu Division

The Jammu Division () is a revenue and administrative division within Jammu and Kashmir, a union territory of

India

. It consists of the districts of Jammu,

Doda

, Kathua, Ramban, Reasi, Kishtwar, Poonch,

Rajouri

,

Udhampur

and Samba. Most of the land is hilly or mountainous, including the

Pir Panjal Range

which separates it from the Kashmir Valley and part of the Great Himalayas in the eastern districts of Doda and Kishtwar. Its principal river is the

Chenab

.

Jammu

city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is also known as "City of Temples" as it has many temples and shrines, with glittering '' shikhars'' soaring into the sky, which dot the city's skyline, creating the ambiance of a holy and peaceful city.

Home to some of the most revered Hindu shrines, such as Vaishno Devi, Jammu is a major pilgrimage centre for Hindus. A majority of Jammu's population practices

Hinduism

, while Islam and Sikhism enjoy a strong cultural heritage in the region.

History

The hilly regions to the south and southwest of the

Kashmir Valley

formed the Jammu Province of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. During the declining years of the Mughal Empire, the region comprised 22 hill states that emerged from the Mughal suzerainty. Hutchison and Vogel, who first studied these states, called them the ''Dugar group'' of states. (''Dugar'' is a medieval term with ancient form ''Durgara'' and modern form

Dogra

.) The state of Jammu is believed to have been the most prominent among the Dugar group, which they identified with the kingdom of ''Durgara''.

The term ''Durgara'' is witnessed in a copper plate inscription from Chamba in the 11th century. The inscription refers to an attack on Chamba by the "Lord of Durgara" allied with ''Saumatikas'' and the ''Kiras'' of Chamba. However, no kingdom by that name is mentioned in the

Rajatarangini

. ''Durgara'' could have been a reference to ''Vallapura'' (modern Billawar) or ''Babbapura'' (modern Babor). Some scholars believe it to have been a regional or ethnic name current in the region.

Jammu is mentioned by name in the chronicles of

Timur

, who invaded Delhi in 1398 and returned to Samarkand via Jammu. In the Mughal chronicles of

Babur

in the early 16th century, Jammu is mentioned as a powerful state in the Punjab hills. It is said to have been ruled by Manhas Rajputs. Emperor

Akbar

brought the hill kingdoms of the region under Mughal suzerainty, but the kings enjoyed considerable political autonomy. In addition to Jammu, other kingdoms of the region such as Kishtwar and Rajauri were also prominently mentioned. It is evident that the Mughal empire treated these hill chiefs as allies and partners in the empire.*

After the decline of the Mughal power in the 18th century, the Jammu state under Raja Dhruv Dev, of the ''Jamuwal'' (''Jamwal'') family, asserted its supremacy among the Dugar states. Its ascent reached its peak under his successor Raja Ranjit Dev (r. 1728–1780), who was widely respected among the hill states.
Towards the end of Ranjit Dev's rule, the Sikh clans of Punjab (''misls'') gained ascendancy, and Jammu began to be contested by the Bhangi, Kanhaiya and Sukerchakia ''misls''. Around 1770, the Bhangi ''misl'' attacked Jammu and forced Ranjit Dev to become a tributary. Brij Lal Dev, his successor, was defeated by the Sukerchakia chief Mahan Singh, who sacked Jammu and plundered it. Thus Jammu lost its supremacy over the surrounding country.

In 1808, Jammu itself was annexed to the

Sikh Empire

by

Maharaja Ranjit Singh

, the son of Mahan Singh.

Gulab Singh and the Dogra dynasty

After the Sikh conquest of Jammu,

Gulab Singh

, a descendant of Dhruv Dev via his third son, went on to enrol in the Sikh troops. He soon distinguished himself in battles and was awarded a ''jagir'' near Jammu with an allowance to keep an independent force. After the conquest of Kishtwar (1821) and the subjugation of

Rajouri

, he was made a hereditary Raja of Jammu in 1822, personally anointed by Ranjit Singh. His brother Dhyan Singh received Poonch and Chibhal, and Suchet Singh Ramnagar.

By 1827, Gulab Singh brought under his control all the principalities lying between Kashmir and Jammu. Thus the entire Jammu province came under the control of the three Jamwal brothers under the umbrella of the Sikh Empire.

After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839, the Sikh court fell into anarchy and palace intrigues took over. Gulab Singh's brothers Dhyan Singh and Suchet Singh, as well as his nephew Hira Singh, were murdered in the struggles. The relations between the Sikh court and Gulab Singh deteriorated. During the First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–1846), Gulab Singh kept aloof. He was nevertheless invited to Lahore and installed as the Prime Minister of the Sikh Empire. His actions as the Prime Minister were duplicitous and contributed to a Sikh defeat.

The British decided to weaken the power of the Sikhs and set up Gulab Singh as a counterweight. Accordingly, they demanded a war indemnity from the Sikhs which included all the hilly territory between the

Ravi

and

Indus

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