Birbal Dhar was a leader in the

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Barua ...

resistance to Afghan rule in the early 19th century. He led a deputation which persuaded

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ' ...

ruler

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He ...

to invade Kashmir in 1819, which effectively ended Afghan and Muslim rule in Kashmir. Due to his role in the ending of the Afghan rule, Birbal Dhar was awarded with the role of Taluqdar, rough translation -

Nawab Nawab (Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian, Punjabi , Sindhi, Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, ...

, for the province of Kashmir under the rule of

. He was offered a seat on the council of the Maharaja, but refused in order to be able to be close to his people in Kashmir. Ever since the time of

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

and

Afghans Afghans ( ps, افغانان, translit=afghanan; Persian/ prs, افغان ها, translit=afghānhā; Persian: افغانستانی, romanized: ''Afghanistani'') or Afghan people are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, or people with ancestry ...

, the Taluqdar was the highest administrative service for a state. He was an avid follower of a previous Taluqdar of Kashmir,

Ali Mardan Khan Ali Mardan Khan ( fa, ; died April 1657) was a Kurdish military leader and administrator, serving under the Safavid kings Shah Abbas I and Shah Safi, and later the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan. He was the son of Ganj Ali Khan. After surrende ...

, and so was a tradition for him and his descendants to keep up the

Chashme Shahi Chashme Shahi or Chashma i Shahi Or Cheshma Shahi (translation: ''the royal spring''), also called Chashma Shahi or Cheshma Shahi, is one of the Mughal gardens built in 1632 AD around a spring by Ali Mardan Khan, a governor of Mughal emperor Sh ...

Garden where apparently the Kurdish General had found God.

References

History of Kashmir Kashmiri people {{India-bio-stub