Dogras, Sikhs only communities that fought outside to extend Indian borders: Karan

JAMMU : It was only Sikhs and Dogras (a community living in Jammu region and in most parts of Himachal Pradesh) who fought outside India and extended territories of the country. Rajputs fought bravely inside India and Maharana Pratap is a big name in this regard while Chatrapati Shivaji led Marathas who displayed extraordinary valour in battlefields but all these battles took place inside India. This was stated by Dr. Karan Singh, son of the last Hindu monarch, Maharaja Hari Singh, of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State.
He also said that Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh had even conquered the foreign lands till Kabul with active support of Dogras in such adventures. “Today also the brave Dogra community is serving with valour in Indian defence forces and there are ‘Veer Gathas' (legends of bravery) highlighting boldness of Dogras,” the royal scion of J&K stated adding: “It doesn't matter that Dogras are 50 or 80 lakh in number because the Parsis being even lesser than us have given personalities like General Manikshaw to India and our General Zorawer Singh is also known across the world. So it is not the number of members in a community that matters but deeds do matter.” He further said that people from across India proudly claim that Ladakh belong to the country but they don't know how it happened. “Like Ladakh, Gilgit (now under illegal occupation of Pakistan) was also not part of India but it was Dogra forces which invaded and won these territories and General Zorawer Singh had a big role in that. We have laid our lives, rendered supreme sacrifices and thousands of our people have shed their blood to make these territories part of India,” Karan Singh, who also remained Sadar-e-Riyasat of erstwhile J&K State, said. He mentioned how the Dogra rule was established in the State of Jammu and Kashmir when Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab accomplished coronation ceremony of one of his loyal generals—Maharaja Gulab Singh on the bank of Chenab river in Akhnoor near Jia Pota Ghat and applied Tilak over his forehead upside down to which Purohits (Hindu clerics) objected and Ranjit Singh satisfied them by saying that he did so because he wanted that roots of Gulab Singh's family may reach depth. “See how his (Maharaja Ranjit Singh's) blessing is still working even today as we exist while his own family now cease to exist,” Karan Singh said.
Earlier, he lauded architecture of south Indian temples and said that the big temple of Angkor Vat in Cambodia clearly shows that our culture was not confined to India but it travelled abroad also. Karan Singh informed that apart from Jammu region, Dogra region also includes at least half of Himachal Pradesh with areas like Kangra, Chamba, Bilaspur and other places wherever Dogri language is spoken.
Dr. Karan Singh, who is also former Governor and founder of Amar Mahal Museum & Library, was addressing a gathering after inaugurating a three day ‘The Tawi Festival' in Jammu on Saturday. He said: “My daughter Dr. Jyotsna Singh has arranged everything to make the festival a platform for sharing cultural knowledge and information besides providing a bunch of cultural programmes for entertainment.” Elaborate arrangements have been made by Dr. Jyotsna Singh to hold musical programmes besides ensuring to make the people aware about the Dogra cuisines and traditional Dogra dresses that form an essential part of Dogra culture.
The Tawi Festival has been curated by Dr. Jyotsna Singh with assistance of Lalit Gupta, Art Historian, Suman Gupta and Rajinder Tikkoo, Senior Artists, Kirpal Singh, former Curator, Dogra Art Museum and Bhavneet Kaur, author. Dr. Jyotsna, Director of Amar Mahal Museum & Library and a member of the erstwhile Dogra Royal Family, in her address, said the purpose of holding Tawi Festival is to revive rich traditions and culture of Jammu region. Later, a programme displaying Dogri costumes by Ritu Singh and Anshu Khanna mesmerized visitors. The event was organized in collaboration with Royal Fables at Drawing Room, Maharani Suite, 1st Floor Amar Mahal Museum and Library Jammu. Prominent among others who attended the programme included Rajendra Pawar, Chairman NIIT Group and Anusha Khanna, Founder of Royal Fables. Traditional folk artist, Asha Rani, a Bhaakh exponent and troupe mesmerized the audience with her scintillating performance.