Sikh Rule in Kashmir (1819 to 1846)

For 27 years Kashmir was part of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Sikh Empire, ruled from Lahore.

How it began

• The Battle of Shopian (July 1819) gave the Valley to the Sikhs. Ranjit Singh then appointed governors (Subedars) to rule in his name.

Sikh governors

Nature of Sikh rule

• Kashmir was treated mostly as a source of revenue. Land revenue and shawl duties were heavy, and begar (forced labour) was common.
• Some religious restrictions were placed on Muslims (accounts say cow slaughter drew severe punishment and the Jama Masjid was shut for years in the early period).
• Sikh governors also built a few works and sometimes governed fairly, but the peasant and weaver suffered most.
• European travellers, among them William Moorcroft (1820s), Baron Hügel and Godfrey Vigne (1830s), described poverty, famine and misrule as well as the Valley's beauty.

The end

• After Ranjit Singh died (1839), the Sikh court fell into feuds. After the First Anglo-Sikh War the British took Kashmir from the Sikhs and sold it to Gulab Singh (1846).

More on Sikh rule (exam notes)

• Maharaja Ranjit Singh annexed Kashmir in his third attempt, in 1819. He divided his invading army into three sections, under Misr Diwan Chand, Hari Singh Nalwa and Ranjit Singh himself.
• Misr Diwan Chand, the victor, got the titles Fateh Jung and Nasrat Jung.
• By about 1834 to 1840, Ladakh (with Zanskar) and Baltistan were captured by General Zorawar Singh.

Sikh rulers in order

Administration

• Kashmir was run through governors. Almost ten governors ruled between 1819 and 1846.
• Diwan Moti Ram, the first Sikh governor, followed an intolerant religious policy: he closed the Jama Masjid, imposed exorbitant taxes and the begar system.
• Governor Mian Singh, popularly called "Colonel Sahib", was the best of the Sikh governors. He reorganised the revenue system, introduced proper weights and measures and punished fraudulent middlemen.
• Sheikh Imam-ud-Din was the last Sikh governor of Kashmir.