Atop the rooftop of the world – standing before serene waters of Lake Mansoravar on the Himalayan Plateau the crisp mountain air was broken with the cries of ‘Har Har Mahadev’. A band of Hindu warriors, bloodied and battered a thousand miles from their homes in the Jammu kingdom looked with grim satisfaction on the culmination of a successful campaign of war under the leadership of their inspirational leader General Zorawar Singh Kahluria.
The northern Indian kingdom of Jammu was ruled for my centuries by various Hindu clans and in themed 19th century was ruled by the Gulab Singh. For many centuries the Jammu kingdom had maintained a solid independence from the empires of northern India. Nominally allied to the Sikh kingdom of Lahore the warrior clans of the Dogras sought opportunities to the north of their kingdom.
Zorawar Singh initially conquered the hill region of Kishwar from its Nawab and the speed and ease of the conquest encourages further ambitions. The majority of Northern India was by this time under the heel of British Imperialism and the areas to the south and west were under the control of their allies the Sikhs. In 1834 he led his Dogra warriors into the remote and previously thought inaccessible regions of Ladakh which today forms part of the Jammu and Kashmir state of India. After defeating the Botis in a bitter engagement his added Kargil to his conquests. The Ladakhis gathered together a large force with assistance from the Chinese imperial army and despite being cut off from his base and with limited supplies Zorawar Singh managed to inflict a decisive defeat on his enemies under the leadership of the Gyalpo.
Although nominally allies the Sikh Kingdom was alarmed by the increasing power of the Dogras and under the instigation of Mehan Singh, the Sikh governor of Kashmir the Ladakhi again resumed the conflict with the Dogras the following year in 1836. However making a lightening march he managed to surprise and destroy the Ladakhi army and inflict a devastating defeat on them thus adding the vast Ladakhi regions to India.
To the north of Ladakh lies Baltistan (in modern Pakistan). General Zorawar Singh now turned his hardy mountain troops in this direction. The Nawab, Muhammad Shah had attempted to help the Ladakhis in the previous battles and in 1841 faced bitter retribution from Zorawar Singh and his Dogra warriors. Despite facing the bitter cold and extreme hardship the Dogras managed to invest and conquer the region in the same year. The fighting abilities of Zorawar Singh allowed the Dogras to proceed to even further ambitions towards Central Asia. Once again however the Sikhs complained to the Dogras that Zorawar Singh was pushing his conquests to areas which were their allies and thus Zorawar Singh turned his attention to the vast kingdom of Tibet to the north. Under the rule of Chinese Empire the plateau of Tibet was also home the sacred lake of Mansoravar and Mount Kailash the abode of Lord Shiva. In 1841 he divided his forces into three columns and headed into the vast unknown of the mighty Himalayas.
After a number of fierce engagements the Chinese troops fled before the ‘Shen Pa’ their name for the Hindu Dogra warriors and fighting both local resistance and the unsparing Himalayan weather Zorawar Singh and his soldiers reached their goal and to complete their pilgrimage. Author Dr Alex McKay further mentions in his book The History of Tibet,
‘The occupation Of Tibetan areas west of the Mayum pass was completed by the middle of September. General Zorawar Singh made proper arrangements for guarding advance posts towards the Mayum pass and other passes by posting his own contingents. He then returned to Tirathpuri where he intended to pass the winter.Thus the Dogra General conquered about 720 km. Of the Tibetan territory (linear distance) in about three and a half months .The first thing Zorawar Singh did after the conquest Of Misra was to take a holy bath in the lake Manasarovar and offer a golden idol at the Kailash temple On The mobilisation of his troops into Tibet he had already announced his intention to perform a pilgrimage of the Hindu holy places of the’ Kailash-kshetra. He now proudly fulfilled that resolve. Thus, by fighting out his way to these holy places and earning the merit of the pilgrimage of Kailash, to which the heroes of the Mahabharata had also retired after attaining the glory and fame in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, General Zorawar Singh had earned both sanctity and renown. He had achieved the height of fame.’
Now standing over 500 miles from his home base and rapidly facing mounting numbers of enemies he turned to return to his home. However by now the enemy had reinforced their strength in vast numbers and in the bitter winter of 1841-1842 suffering from a collapse of their supply lines, facing the relentless Himalayan winter and facing the Chinese/Tibetan forces on all sides the Dogras began to fight their way home.
With each step being fiercely contested it was only the matchless general ship and valour of Zorawar Singh that maintained the discipline and strict order of his army. Inspired by the success of their holy pilgrimage to the sacred lake the Dogras kept at bay the forces of their enemies until brought to bay at the Battle of To-yo in December 1841.
Wounded by bullet in his right shoulder the general continued to rally his troops until in the thick of the fighting a spear was thrust into his shoulder – Wounded he was dragged out from the struggle by his soldiers and a shot while after died from his injuries.
The Chinese-Tibetan attack then moved forward but was resisted by the Dogra general Mehta Basti Ram – the Chinese then followed up their success by an attack on Ladakh but there faced a severe defeat at Dragntese when following the inspirational ideal of Zorawar Singh the Dogras managed to outflank their enemies and by damming the river managed to flood the enemy forces – At the Battle of Chushul the Dogras inflicting a decisive defeat on the Chinese and executed their general to avenge the death of Zorawar Singh
So ended the life and career of one of India greatest and yet least known warriors. His intrepid courage and general ship earned him the title of the ‘Napoleon of India’ from the Europeans His exertions far beyond the confines of modern India into the vast steppes and mountains of Central Asia were an example of the intrepid Hindu spirit and ethos which has allowed the Hindus to emerge from millennia of history.
Forgotten memorial to General Zorawar Singh where he died.
Toyo, Taklakot, Tibet – that is the hallowed place where stands a dilapidated Samadhi of a brave man called General Zorawar Singh, a Kahluria Rajput of the 19th century India. He was born in 1786 in the Kangra district but his bravery blossomed in the Dogra army of Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu.Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant
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Typical Khalistani propaganda against Hindus
Fact – Zorawar Singh was a Dogra Rajput from Jammu
His family and descendants are all Hindus
The Dogras are all Hindus
All the records and history records him as a Hindu
He was a general for Gulab Singh Dogra – the same one who Sikh extremists today keep labelling as a Hindu who was against the Sikhs
You cant have it both ways – these are typical comments from fanatics who try and hijack other Hindu martyrs like Haqeqat Rai
and WTF have the RSS have to do with this ?
anyway I note that one of these fanatics has a link to the fascist Dal Khalsa party
Next you will be telling me Guru Nanak was a Hindu! Numpty! :-z
What you and other narrow minded folk of your kind don’t realize, is that what makes a man , is not what family he is born , but the “actions” he takes.
At 9 years of age , Nanak was formally addressed by a Brahmin priest to wear the so called sacred thread ( a ceremony to make that individual formally enter into the Hindu fold).
Nanak blatantly refused, and gave that Brahmin an “oratory rollicking” in reply (see Asa Di Var).
Guru Nanak never in his lifetime wore the thread, hence he was never a Hindu.
(So Shaitan your a bit of a Numb nut.)
Furthermore The Sikhs 10th Guru says in (Kabyo bach Benti Chaupai Sahib…) :
“Mai na Ganeseh , pritham manau…
Kisan Bisan kabhoon na Dhiaayo…
Kaan sun eh paichaan na tin so.
Liv lagee moree pag in so.”
Meaning:
“I never remember Ganesh in any form of initial prayer.
Neither do I remember, Krishna or Shiva.
I have heard of 300 or countless gods, whom i don’t recognize either.
My mind is only focused on the transcendental Lord of the Universe alone.”
Hindus don’t even know what scripture they’re meant to be reading! …let alone what life your meant to be leading.
You keep on uttering the likes of Bhagvad Gita and Mahabharata … i.e Krishna and Ram chunder Leela & frantics etc.
Yet what you don’t even realize that what you should be studying is the 4 Vedas, which is why the likes of Dr Zakir. Naik is tearing you apart at conferences.
Sukhwinder, could you been any more ill-informed?
“Next you will be telling me Guru Nanak was a Hindu! Numpty! :-z”
The numpty is you. What else was he? Sikh? All the Gurus were Hindu. How do you think they all got married? In case you think it’s the Anand Karaj, let me share with you that according to Sikh texts, it was the Vedi vivah with Brahmins officiating.
“What you and other narrow minded folk of your kind don’t realize, is that what makes a man , is not what family he is born , but the “actions” he takes.”
Depends what one is speaking about. In terms of Hindu identity, it’s that fact that the Gurus were born as khatris. What you don’t seem to understand is that being Hindu is about ancestral identity. It’s far more complex than merely based on the adherence to a belief system. Rites of passage say a lot and given their wedding ceremonies were Sanskritic, I think it says everything that needs to be said.
“At 9 years of age , Nanak was formally addressed by a Brahmin priest to wear the so called sacred thread ( a ceremony to make that individual formally enter into the Hindu fold).”
Really? The ceremony brings you into the ‘Hindu fold’? Are those who do not wear it or haven’t yet then out of the Hindu fold? Ignorance.
“Nanak blatantly refused, and gave that Brahmin an “oratory rollicking” in reply (see Asa Di Var).
Guru Nanak never in his lifetime wore the thread, hence he was never a Hindu.
(So Shaitan your a bit of a Numb nut.)”
I’m afraid the numb nut is you. Nanak is saying this from the perspective of gnosis where all externals are temporal and thus meaningless from the position of the absolute. The verses you give is Nanak’s response but it doesn’t tell you the narrative of what happened. Bhai Mani Singh’s Janam Sakhi and the B40 janam sakhi both say he wore it in the end at his father’s behest and he accepted. The Bansavalinama by Kesar Singh a generation after the tenth Guru (Kesar Singh was to Chaupa Singh) says that when the tenth Guru sat for the Chandi yajna, he replaced his janeu for a fresh one (this is something done annually anyway).
Furthermore, Nanak’s Asa di var passage is not conceptually original. The same thing is written about the janeu in the Sannyasa-Upanishad.
Furthermore The Sikhs 10th Guru says in (Kabyo bach Benti Chaupai Sahib…) :
““Mai na Ganeseh , pritham manau…
Kisan Bisan kabhoon na Dhiaayo…
Kaan sun eh paichaan na tin so.
Liv lagee moree pag in so.”
Meaning:
“I never remember Ganesh in any form of initial prayer.
Neither do I remember, Krishna or Shiva.
I have heard of 300 or countless gods, whom i don’t recognize either.
My mind is only focused on the transcendental Lord of the Universe alone.””
And this is because he is speaking as one in tune with the absolute. Saying that, it is worth noting that the Adi Granth and Dasam Granth speaks of Vishnu and Krishna as the absolute brahman. Don’t expect any coherence in bhagti if you’re trying to get an organised theology out of the Granths. Clearly he recognises the devte, he writes entire compositions and eulogies about them.
“Hindus don’t even know what scripture they’re meant to be reading! …let alone what life your meant to be leading.
You keep on uttering the likes of Bhagvad Gita and Mahabharata … i.e Krishna and Ram chunder Leela & frantics etc.”
Well the tenth Guru seems to sing about Krishna’s lilas in Krishna avatar in the Dasam Granth. Bhai Gurdas, the Adi Granth and the Dasam Granth eulogise the Gita, Bhagavat and the Ramayan.
“Yet what you don’t even realize that what you should be studying is the 4 Vedas, which is why the likes of Dr Zakir. Naik is tearing you apart at conferences.”
According to whom should Hindus be studying the four Veda? Do you know what’s in the four Veda that deem them necessary to be studied? Zakir Naik is coming out with nonsense… these are his conferences where he has to have the last word. His interpretations are ludicrous because he knows nothing about methodology in the study of religion, only quotes from different texts which he manipulates to conform with Islam.
Sadly, your comments are full of so much ignorance.
All rants and no proof. Can any sikh provide a single documentary evidence that any of the Hindu Heroes that they try and steal from us was a sikh ever?
Can any sikh prove that they ever saved Hindus (I know sounds funny) from anyone?
There isn’t a single documentary or literary evidence to prove any of Sikh claims. However all these claims would have long died out had it not been the rss and its allied organisation that perpetuate the myth of sikh bravery. Fact is that whatever the SIkh gained in terms of land was given to them by Hindu might and Hindus need to start reading facts and stop giving into fictional accounts provided by the rss and the like.
//At 9 years of age , Nanak was formally addressed by a Brahmin priest to wear the so called sacred thread ( a ceremony to make that individual formally enter into the Hindu fold).//
you’re such a retard, but then it could only be expected from someone of your tribe. while I don’t give a fart about what religion your nanaka was, fact is that it doesn’t matter if you don’t matter if you wear a yajnopavit or not. Puli Thevan who was a great Hindu leader from thamiz didn’t wear a yajnopavit either and fought and defeated the nawab of arkot, so that make him a sikh too?
just goes on to prove my pet theory that you need to extremely retarded to be a sikh or maybe its the other way round, sikhism turns you into a retard.
frankly I am too happy that he wasn’t invested with the holy thread, he wasn’t worth the great pedestal.
What a weird response from the freak show – firstly what has anything you have said not make Zorawar Singh a Hindu ? the new age Khalistanis are so narrow minded and hate filled they try and claim everything as being Sikh – just like they have attempted to misappropriate the martyr Haqiqat Rai
As Hindus we follow dharma and are not bound to one book or prophet
Knowledge is enveloped by ignorance, hence all creatures are deluded”
(Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 5)
That last thing we need is a Hindu hater telling us what a Hindu is supposed to be -the Vedas are eternal and unending and beyond the monotheist delusions of a fanatic
What a moron
Yes you have billions of devi and devtas including stones to bow down to that you don’t need a book or prophet.
The Sikh fanatics have always strived hard to de-hinduize themselves, without realizing the harm they cause to their own people…Guru nanak was a confused man…the early Sikh gurus were all hindus..they removed all the hindu deities from Amritsar…one cannot forget the destruction of the naina devi mandir by Sikhs…monotheistic creeds
can never survive against the vedas and our devas…
The Sikh fanatics have always strived hard to de-hinduize themselves, without realizing the harm they cause to their own people…Guru nanak was a confused man…the early Sikh gurus were all hindus..they removed all the hindu deities from Amritsar…one cannot forget the destruction of the naina devi mandir by Sikhs…monotheistic creeds
can never survive against the vedas and our devas…yatO dharmas thathO jayam II
Whatever neo-Sikhs might be, Guru Nanak certainly wasn’t a confused man, rather a self-realised master. I don’t know how you’ve come to this conclusion.
[…] in Tibet. Recognizing his great valor, the Tibetans built this chorten – samadhi… ( Click here for source of these photos […]
The selfless sacrifice by the gen zorawr Singh inspire the nation forever in the soulof Bharat he remains
A very good details I have gone through. I would like to know about basti ram mehta .
General Zorawar Singh was a Sikh not Hindu. So there is no question of her Har mahadev being war cry. There are a lot of Hindu warriors you can be proud of so there is actually no need to claim other religion people as Hindus. Try finding your own heros. General Zorawar Singh was a Sikh that too fully baptized Sikh.
You imbecile! xD
If Zorawar was a Sikh, why the hell did he make a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash or battle to liberate it when he had no need to?! Anyways, Sikhs are themselves Hindu no matter how hard you Khalistani dogs try to separate the two.
Every body else came earlier than Hinduism. We are latest entry in religion hierarchy.Lets make all fanatics happy . Well Hinduism is sanathan way of life . Much more than religion… Orange is original . Mousami , Kinnu came from Orange only . Now let them feel they are different ..Hhehehehe
His descendants are ALL Hindus – how come you moron? And where is your proof he was ‘baptized’ sikh even? Better you stop calling every Hindu hero your papa just coz the hero has SINGH name of Rajput clans – btw you copied Singh name from original Singhs ie Rajput Hindus so shut up