Trans-Himalayan campaigns of Gen Zorawar Singh
Col J P Singh
Gen Zorawar Singh was born on 15 April 1786 at Kahlur, in neighboring Himachal. Later as General of Jammu Raja Gulab Singh, he launched Trans-Himalayan campaigns starting on 15 April 1834 with an army of 5000 and within 8 years conquered Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Western Tibet. His Martyrdom on 12 December 1841 ended a saga of remarkable valour of a legendary military commander who took Indian boundaries up to Central Asian Republics. But Prof. R R Sharma’s article “Amazing Vision of Jammu : Janus Faced” in Daily Excelsior on 28 – 11- 2020, wherein he has belittled Gen Zorawar Singh and cast aspersions on those military historians who have called him ‘Napoleon of the East’, left me nonplussed. That prompts me to highlight his Trans-Himalayas conquests to undo the damage done by Prof Sharma. Prof Sharma says, “Gen Zorawar Singh won the battles against smaller forces. When confronted with a large force he s