HPAS Notes: The Gurkhas and Sirmaur State

Gurkha Ambition in the Hills

• Goal: To establish a Gurkha kingdom stretching from Nepal to Kashmir.
• Territory Conquered (by end of 18th C.): Extended their dominion from Gagra to Sutlej, covering Kumaon, Garhwal, Sirmaur, and the Shimla Hill States.
• Failed Alliance: The Gurkhas approached Ranjit Singh for a joint action against the Durranis in Kashmir. Ranjit Singh refused, as he “had marked out Kashmir as his own prize.”

Sirmaur Succession Crisis (A.D. 1793-1814)

• Raja Karam Parkash (A.D. 1793-1814) of Sirmaur was an “indolent and inexperienced” ruler.
• Raja Ram Saran Singh of Hindur (Nalagarh), his contemporary, began meddling in Sirmaur’s internal affairs.
• The Conspiracy: Influential officials Ajit Singh and Kishan Singh conspired with the Raja’s brother, Kanwar Rattan Singh, to help him occupy the throne.
• They besieged Raja Karam Parkash in the fort of ‘Kangra’ (Note: This is a fort in Sirmaur Dun, 50 km from Nahan, not the main Kangra fort).

Gurkha Intervention in Sirmaur

• The deposed Raja Karam Parkash, despairing of regaining his *gaddi*, Sought help from the Gurkhas.
• The Gurkha commander, Amar Singh Thapa, sent a detachment of 700 men under Bhakti Thapa to quell the rebels (Rattan Singh’s faction).
• This Gurkha detachment was then encircled by a Hindur force (allied with Kanwar Rattan Singh).

HPAS Notes: Gurkha Intervention and Prelude to Kangra War

Gurkha Takeover of Sirmaur

• The first Gurkha detachment (under Bhakti Thapa) was defeated by Hindur forces at ‘Jamata’ and forced to withdraw in 1804 A.D.
• Raja Karam Parkash (the deposed ruler) reminded Amar Singh Thapa of their treaty.
• Amar Singh Thapa then came in person, successfully expelled Kanwar Rattan Singh, and subdued the adjoining states.
• However, Amar Singh Thapa then set up his own government in Sirmaur, leaving Raja Karam Parkash “in no better position than before.”

Role of Hindur and the Anti-Sansar Chand Coalition

• During this period, Raja Ram Saran Singh of Hindur (Nalagarh) grew powerful, winning the loyalty of the ‘Bara Thakuraris’ (12 Thakurais), which had been feudatories of Kahlur.
• He allied with Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra.
• Together, they invaded Kahlur (Bilaspur), occupied land on the right bank of the Sutlej, and built a fort at ‘Dhar Jhanjiar’.
• Raja Ram Saran Singh also sacked Bilaspur town and captured several key forests, making Raja Mahan Chand of Kahlur extremely vulnerable.

The Invitation to the Gurkhas

• Sansar Chand’s aggression against Kahlur, along with his other subjugations, created “bitter resentment” among all the hill chiefs.
• The chiefs formed a coalition against him and sent a joint invitation to Gurkha commander Amar Singh Thapa to invade Kangra.
• By 1804 A.D., Amar Singh Thapa had arrived in the Shimla Hill States.
• The Gurkhas first targeted Sansar Chand’s ally, Ram Saran Singh, defeating the Hindur troops at Ajamgarh and besieging the forts of Ramgarh and Nalagarh.
• Raja Ram Saran Singh (Hindur) fled to the fort of Palasi.
• Seeing the Gurkhas’ success, Raja Mahan Chand of Kahlur also asked Amar Singh Thapa to intervene in the dispute between Kahlur and Kangra over the ‘taluka of Bati’.

HPAS Notes: The Gurkha Invasion of Kangra & Sikh Supremacy

The Gurkha Invasion (A.D. 1805-1809)

The Allied Invasion

• On the invitation of the hill chiefs, the Gurkha commander, Amar Singh Thapa, crossed the Sutlej river in late 1805 A.D. at Bilaspur and Jiuri (Suket).
• He was joined by contingents from the hill states of the Kangra group, Bilaspur, and Basholi, creating a united army of “about one lakh men.”

Battle of Mahal Morian (A.D. 1806)

• In 1806, the Gurkhas (with Raja Mahan Chand of Kahlur) met the Kangra forces.
• Raja Sansar Chand’s army was defeated at ‘Mahal Morian’ (a place now in district Hamirpur, near Bhoranj).

The Four-Year Siege of Kangra Fort

• Pushed back, Sansar Chand first took position at Tira-Sujanpur and then sought refuge with his family in the Kangra fort.
• The Gurkhas laid siege to the fort, but “all their efforts to capture it were fruitless.”
• The Gurkhas plundered and laid waste to the country for four years, causing dreadful “ravages” that forced the inhabitants to desert their homes.

Ranjit Singh’s Intervention (A.D. 1809)

The Treaty of Jawalamukhi

• After four years of struggle, a desperate Sansar Chand appealed to Maharaja Ranjit Singh for help.
• Treaty of Jawalamukhi: The agreement was signed on 20th July A.D. 1809, after a month-long negotiation at the Jawalamukhi Temple.

Expulsion of Gurkhas & Cession of the Fort

• The Sikh army advanced on Kangra, defeating the Gurkhas (whose numbers were reduced by desertion and disease).
• On 24th August 1809, the Kangra fort was surrendered by Raja Sansar Chand to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, not given back to Sansar Chand.

The Aftermath: Sikh Supremacy

• Ranjit Singh appointed Desa Singh Majithia as the Nazim (Governor) of the fort and the administrator of the Kangra Hills.
• With the cession of the fort, the Kangra state, as well as all other states of the “Jalandhara group,” became s subject and tributary to the Sikhs.
• Sansar Chand, his power broken, retired to Tira-Sujanpur as a vassal.

HPAS Notes: Gurkha Consolidation in the Hill States

Actions After Kangra (A.D. 1809)

• After his retreat from Kangra, Amar Singh Thapa pressured Raja Ram Saran Singh of Hindur.
• The advance of British troops to Ludhiana in 1809 saved the Hindur fort of ‘Palasi’ from being captured by the Gurkhas.
• Amar Singh Thapa then established himself at Arki, the capital of the Baghal state.
• This action drove the ruler of Baghal, Rana Jagat Singh, into exile in Palasi.

Conquest of Sirmaur

• Amar Singh Thapa sent a force under his son, Ranzor Singh, to attack Sirmaur.
• Sirmaur’s ruler, Karam Prakash, was defeated.
• Karam Prakash fled first to Subathu (in Ramgarh) and then to ‘Buria’ in Ambala.
• Nahan and Jythak (in Sirmaur) became important Gurkha military posts.

Further Gurkha Expansion (A.D. 1810-1811)

• By A.D. 1810, the Gurkhas had conquered:
  • ‘Hindur’ State (Nalagarh)
  • ‘Jubbal’ State
  • The Pundra area
  • The fort of ‘Nagana’ in Balsan state

Conflict with Bushahr

• Some of the Shimla Hill States requested help from the chief of Bushahr to stop the Gurkha expansion.
• The Raja of Bushahr sent a strong force under his Wazir to subdue them.
• May 1811: Amar Singh Thapa personally marched from Subathu with a large force to counter this new threat from the North.
• He successfully retook Nagana and pushed forward into the Sutlej valley, advancing towards Rampur, the capital of Bushahr.

HPAS Notes: Gurkha Campaign in Bushahr

Invasion of Bushahr (A.D. 1811-1813)

• The Gurkha operation was aided by the death of Raja Ugar Singh of Bushahr.
• His successor, Mohinder Singh, was a minor, but the Wazir of Bushahr foresaw the danger.
• The Wazir escaped with the young Raja and the Rajmata into the dense forests.
• Amar Singh Thapa tried unsuccessfully to capture the Raja until 1812.

Treaty and Aftermath

• Agreement (1812): Amar Singh Thapa finally agreed to leave the young Raja all the country North of the Sarahan mountains and beyond the Sutlej.
• In return, Bushahr was to pay Rs. 12,000 per annum.
• Amar Singh Thapa remained in Rampur (Bushahr’s capital) and its neighbourhood until A.D. 1813, after which he retired to Arki.