History of Poonch district
Poonch jagir or Poonch district, was a former semi-autonomous region in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. The territory was divided between India and Pakistan in 1947, represented by the present-day Poonch Division of Azad Kashmir and Poonch District of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Sikh monarch, Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured the Poonch region in 1819 and gave it to the Dogra noble, Raja Dhyan Singh, as a jagir. After the death of Ranjit Singh, Dhyan Singh was murdered in Sikh intrigues, and the region was transferred to Gulab Singh as part of the Treaty of Amritsar, which established Jammu and Kashmir as a princely state under British suzerainty. The jagir of Poonch continued among Dhyan Singh's descendants as a subsidiary fief of Jammu and Kashmir. In 1928, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir started encroaching into the internal administration of the Poonch Jagir and, by 1947, the status of Poonch was like a regular district of Jammu and Kashmir.
After the departure of the British in August 1947, the tribesmen of Poonch rebelled, inviting Pakistani assistance and giving rise to the First Kashmir War. The war ended a year later with the region being divided between India and Pakistan.
Geography
The Poonch Jagir in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was to the west of the Kashmir Valley, lying between the Jhelum River in the west and the Pir Panjal Range in the east. It was bounded by the Muzaffarabad district in the north, and Mirpur and Rajouri districts in the south.In 1947, the jagir was administered through four tehsils : Sudhanoti and Bagh in the west, and Haveli and Mendhar in the east. The Poonch Town, the headquarters of the district, was located in the Haveli tehsil.
The main river of the district is the Poonch River. It originates in the Pir Panjal Range, and flows west-northwest till near the Poonch Town and then bends south, flowing into the Mirpur district. Near the Poonch Town, it is joined by Betar Nala, which flows down from the northern part of the Haveli tehsil.
The Pir Panjal Pass, in the southeastern corner of the district, represented a key travel route into the Kashmir Valley during the Mughal times. It was accessed via Bhimber and Rajouri, and then travelling up the valley of the Poonch River due east. Another route called Tosa Maidan route lay to the north of the Pir Panjal Pass. It was accessed through the valley of the Mandi River, a tributary of Poonch.
Early history
Ancient history
When Alexander invaded the lower Jhelum belt to fight Porus, the Jhelum valley region was known as Abhisara. It is likely that the Kashmir Valley controlled this region. The Abhisaras submitted to the invader, along with Ambhi of Takshashila, and the region was consolidated into the Alexander's empire.The Rajatarangini mentions Poonch under the name Paranotsa. Xuanzang in the 7th century transliterated it as Pun-nu-tso.
Based on the Mahabharata evidence, and evidence from 7th century Chinese traveler Xuanzang, the districts of Rajouri, Poonch and Abhisara had been under the sway of the Republican Kambojas during epic times.
At the time of Xuanzang's visit, the Kashmir Valley controlled all the territories adjacent to it in the south and the west, including Taxila, which is said to have been subjugated at a recent date.
Sovereign State
Around 850CE, Poonch became a sovereign state ruled by Raja Nar, who was a horse trader. According to Rajatrangani, Raja Trilochanpal of Poonch gave a formidable resistance to Mahmood Ghaznavi who invaded the region in 1020. Ghaznavi failed to enter Kashmir, as he could not capture the fort of Lohara.Kashmir Sultanate
Poonch came under the Kashmir Sultanate during late 15th century through the military campaigns of Malik Tazi Bhat, a general of the Sultanate. He led military campaigns that resulted in the conquest and administration of several regions, including Poonch, Jammu, Rajouri, Bhimber, Jhelum, Sialkot, and Gujrat, from 1475 to 1487. Following its incorporation, Poonch was administered as a vassal state under the Kashmir Sultanate. Local rulers retained a degree of autonomy but were required to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Sultan and provide tribute and military support when necessary.This arrangement persisted until the late 16th century, when the region came under Mughal influence. In 1596, Mughal Emperor Jahangir granted Siraj-ud-Din Rathore rulership over Poonch, marking the end of its vassalage under Kashmir.
Mughal era
In 1596, Mughal emperor Jahangir made Siraj-Ud-Din Rathore the ruler of Poonch. During his second visit to Kashmir in 1592, Akbar had come through the Haji Pir Pass along with Jahangir, at which time Rathore had impressed them with his hospitality. Siraj-Ud-Din and his descendants ruled the Poonch area up to 1792: Siraj-Ud-Din Rathore, Fateh Mohammad Rathore, Abdul Razak Rathore, Mohammad Zaman Rathore, Asid Yaar Khan Kishtwari, Ali Gohar Rathore, Raja Rustam Rathore, Raja Shahbaz Rathore.Durrani Empire
Under the leadership of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Durrani Afghans conquered Kashmir, taking advantage of the declining Mughal Empire. From 1752 to 1819, Poonch was under Durrani rule. They ruled the region until 1819, when the Sikh Empire routed them from the Kashmir Valley, and annexed parts of Poonch. They subsequently lost rule in any remaining territories in Kashmir.Tribal Coalitions (1819–1832)
In the western parts of Poonch the local tribes had entrenched themselves in the hills. The Muslim tribes of the region formed a defensive coalition against the Sikhs, at the head of which was the Sudhan tribe.After Gulab Singh received the chakla of Jammu as a jagir, he made renewed attempts at conquering Poonch, but the armies he raised were not large enough to defeat the resistance, and consequently he would face defeats before being forced to withdraw.
In 1832, Gulab Singh convinced Ranjit Singh to attack the coalition. Ranjit marched with an army of 60,000 troops alongside an assortment of hill cannons. The coalition made the decision to surrender, accepting the suzerainty of the Sikhs over Poonch.
Sikh Empire (1819–1846)
In 1819 this area was captured by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The Dogra brothers Gulab Singh, Dhian Singh and Suchet Singh were influential in Ranjit Singh's court. In 1822, Ranjit Singh appointed Gulab Singh as the Raja of Jammu and, in 1827, appointed Dhyan Singh as the Raja of Bhimber, Chibbal and Poonch.Dhyan Singh spent most of his time in Lahore, subsequently becoming the wajir in the Sikh court. Gulab Singh is said to have managed his jagirs on his behalf.
In 1837, the hill tribes of Poonch, led by the Sudhans launched a rebellion. They captured Sikh garrisons and defeated the son of Gulab Singh, Udham Singh, who had been sent to subdue the rebellion. Though the rebels captured the majority of Poonch, after Gulab Singh returned from his campaign against the Yusufzai, he was able to incite treachery within the rebellion. Gulab Singh then attacked with an army of twenty-thousand which he had raised in Kahuta, and after fierce fighting and aid of Sikh reinforcements, he captured key forts of the rebels and their leaders, flaying alive Sudhan sardars Malli Khan and Sabz Ali Khan, executions of other commanders and notables from the rebellious tribes and killed the main leader of the rebellion, Shams Khan. Gulab Singh's forces caused devastation and massacres within captured rebel territory, due to which he faced controversy, particularly by the British, and obtained the reputation of a tyrant.
After the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839, the Sikh court fell into anarchy and palace intrigues took over. Dhyan Singh, Suchet Singh as well as Dhyan Singh's son Hira Singh were murdered in these struggles. Poonch was confiscated by the Sikh Durbar on the grounds that the Rajas had rebelled against the state and handed it over to Faiz Talib Khan of Rajouri.
Jammu and Kashmir State (1846–1947)
After the First Anglo-Sikh War and the subsequent Treaties of Lahore and Amritsar, the entire territory between the Beas and the Indus rivers was transferred to Gulab Singh, including Poonch. He was recognised an independent ruler, a maharaja, of the newly created state of Jammu and Kashmir. Gulab Singh reinstated the jagir of Poonch to Jawahir Singh, the eldest remaining son of Dhyan Singh.The brothers Jawahir Singh and Moti Singh were not satisfied. They put forward a claim to being independent rulers of Poonch, maintaining that they were entitled to a share in the 'family property' of all the territories controlled by Gulab Singh. The matter was adjudicated by Sir Frederick Currie, the British Resident in Lahore, in 1852, who confirmed that Gulab Singh was indeed their suzerain. The brothers were to give the Maharaja Gulab Singh a horse with gold trappings every year and consult him on all matters of importance. The House of Poonch however continued to contest this arrangement right up to 1940.
In 1852, the brothers Jawahir Singh and Moti Singh quarrelled and the Punjab Board of Revenue awarded a settlement. Moti Singh was awarded the territory of the Poonch district, and Jawahir Singh that of the Mirpur district. Christopher Snedden remarks that Moti Singh's territory amounted to two-thirds of Dhyan Singh's estate.
In 1859, Jawahir Singh was accused of 'treacherous conspiracy' by Maharaja Ranbir Singh, who succeeded Gulab Singh. The British agreed with the assessment and forced Jawahir Singh into exile in Ambala. Ranbir Singh paid Jawahir Singh an annual stipend of Rs. 100,000 until his death, and confiscated his territory afterwards because Jawahir Singh had no heirs.
Moti Singh's son, Baldev Singh contested this action claiming that the territory should return to him as the sole surviving descendant of Dhyan Singh. The British did not accept the claim saying that Jawahir Singh forfeited his territory when he agreed to the annual stipend.