Dogra–Tibetan War
DateMay 1841 – August 1842
Location
Tibet and Ladakh
Result Peace treaty
Territorial
changes		 status quo ante bellum
Belligerents

Qing Empire

Sikh Empire

Commanders and leaders
Daoguang Emperor
Khedrup Gyatso
Palden Tenpai Nyima
Minister Pellhün
General Pi-Hsi		 Sher Singh
Dhian Singh
Gulab Singh
Zorawar Singh †
Wazir Lakhpat
Jawahir Singh
Basti Ram
Strength
10,000 4,000[1]
Dogra–Tibetan War
Traditional Chinese森巴戰爭
Simplified Chinese森巴战争
Literal meaningDogra War

The Dogra–Tibetan War[2][3] or Sino-Sikh War[4] was fought from May 1841 to August 1842, between the forces of the Dogra nobleman Gulab Singh of Jammu, under the suzerainty of the Sikh Empire, and those of Tibet,[3] under the protectorate of the Qing dynasty. Gulab Singh's commander was the able general Zorawar Singh Kahluria, who, after the conquest of Ladakh, attempted to extend its boundaries in order to control the trade routes into Ladakh.[5] Zorawar Singh's campaign, suffering from the effects of inclement weather, suffered a defeat at Taklakot (Purang) and Singh was killed.[6] The Tibetans then advanced on Ladakh. Gulab Singh sent reinforcements under the command of his nephew Jawahir Singh. A subsequent battle near Chushul in 1842 led to a Tibetan defeat. A treaty was signed in 1842 maintaining the status quo ante bellum.[7]

Background

Ladakh trade

In the 19th century, Ladakh was the hub of trade routes that branched out into Turkestan and Tibet. Its trade with Tibet was governed by the 1684 Treaty of Tingmosgang, by which Ladakh had the exclusive right to receive the pashmina wool produced in Tibet.[8][9] The world-renowned Kashmir shawl industry received its pashm wool supplies from Ladakh.[10]

Political environment

In the early 1800s, the Kashmir Valley and the adjoining Jammu region were part of the Sikh Empire. But the Dogras of Jammu were virtually autonomous under the rule of Raja Gulab Singh, who was positioning himself to take control of Kashmir and all the surrounding areas after the passing of Sikh monarch Maharaja Ranjit Singh.[11] In 1834, Gulab Singh sent his ablest general and Kishtwar governor, Zorawar Singh, to take control of all the territory between Jammu and the Tibet border.[12] By 1840, Ladakh and Baltistan were firmly under Dogra control, subject to the suzerainty of the Sikh Empire.[13]

The British East India Company was the predominant power in the Indian subcontinent at the time. It treated the Sikh Empire as a valuable ally against the Afghans, but it also had designs for its own pashmina trade with Tibet. Zorawar Singh's conquest of Ladakh broke the Kashmiri–Ladakhi monopoly on Tibet trade, and the Tibetan pashmina wool started finding its way into British territory. To regain the monopoly, Gulab Singh and Zorawar Singh turned their eyes towards Tibet.[14][15]

From the early 18th century, Tibet had been under the suzerainty the Manchu-led Qing dynasty. A Qing Amban (Resident) was statioinend in Lhasa to report on the affairs of Tibet.

Dogra invasion of Tibet

🌍
Locations of Dogra–Tibetan War
A Buddhist shrine in Ladakh, detail from a painted scroll. In the bottom left corner can be seen Zorawar Singh's army, looking on

Zorawar Singh led a 4,000 men-strong force consisting of Ladakhis, Baltis and Kishtwaris with a Dogra core.[5] The Tibetan estimate was 6,000 men. They were armed with guns and cannon whereas the Tibetans were mostly armed with bows, swords and spears.[16]

Zorawar Singh divided his forces into three divisions, sending one via the Rupshu and Hanle, one along the Indus valley towards Tashigang (Zhaxigang) and another along the Pangong lake towards Rudok (Rutog). The first two contingents plundered the Buddhist monasteries at Hanle and Tashigang.[lower-alpha 1] The third division, commanded by Zorawar Singh, captured Rudok and then moved south, joining the other branches to attack Gartok.[18][16]

The Tibetan border officials had, by then, sent an alert to Lhasa.[18] The Tibetan government dispatched a force under the command of cabinet minister Pellhün.[19] Meanwhile, Zorawar Singh had captured Gartok as well as Taklakot (Burang) near Nepal border. The Tibetan general at Taklakot was unable to hold the town and retreated to the Mayum La, the border between Western and Central Tibet.[20]

Zorawar Singh invoked the historical claims of Ladakh to Western Tibet up to the Mayum Pass (originally called Ngari),[21] which were exercised prior to the 1648 Treaty of Tingmosgang. All the captured forts were garrisoned, while the main force was encamped at Tirthapuri near Minsar, to the west of Lake Manasarovar.[22] Administration was set up to rule the occupied territories.[23] Minsar (also called Missar or Menshi), a Ladakhi enclave in Western Tibet,[24] was used to store supplies.[25]

Ladakh's historical claim to west Tibet (A. H. Francke, 1907)

The Chinese Amban at Lhasa reported to the emperor on 2 September 1841:

It has been learned that south of Ladakh there is a very large aboriginal tribe named Ren-chi-shen [Ranjit Singh]. Subordinate to this tribe are two smaller tribes-- Sa-re-shen [Sher Singh] and Ko-lang-shen [Gulab Singh], who together are known as the Shen-pa ["Singh people", possibly referring Sikhs and Dogra Rajputs together]. After the death of the Ladakhi ruler [Tshe-pal Nam-gyal], a certain Ladakhi chieftain had secret connections with the Shen-pa, who then occupied Ladakh. Now this Ladakhi chieftain is once again in league with the Shen-pa aborigines who have invaded Tibetan territory, occupied two of our military posts at Gartok and Rudok, and claimed the territory west of the Mayum that had formerly belonged to Ladakh. Actually they intended to occupy more territory than this.[26]

British and Nepalese reactions

The Dogra conquest of Ladakh had been previously advantageous to the British. The disturbances in Ladakh caused the Tibetan shawl wool to be diverted to the princely state of Bushahr, a British dependency. But, now with the Dogra conquest of the Western Tibet, this trade was disrupted.[20][27] The advance of Zorawar Singh's troops gave rise to vociferous complaints from the British to the Lahore durbar of the Sikh Empire. It was also reported that Zorawar Singh was exacting taxes from Bhotias under British protection in the Byans valley. The British demanded that this should be immediately stopped and the villagers already assessed should be compensated.[28]

Added to these concerns was the possibility of intercourse between the Dogras and the Nepalese, with might have encircled British territory in Kumaon and Garhwal.[20][29] But such a relationship did not materialise. The Nepalese were sympathetic to the Ladakhis and they also had ongoing relationships with the Tibetans. Even though they sent a mission to Zorawar Singh after his conquest of Taklakot, nothing further came out of it. Winter sojourn to the Dogras was refused.[30]

Nevertheless, the British were apprehensive. The Governor General brought heavy pressure on the Sikhs to recall Zorawar Singh from Tibet, and set 10 December 1841 as the deadline.[30]

Winter debacle

Fisher et al. state that, with the winter approaching, the Dogras were not inimical to withdrawing in strength if they could make a deal with the Tibetans. But they appear to have made too high demands for the Tibetans to accept.[22] Sukhdev Singh Charak states that the Lahore Durbar responded to the British demands and ordered Zorawar Singh to return to Ladakh. In response, Zorawar Singh withdrew officers and troops from "advance posts" and from the British border, and promised to carry out the rest of the withdrawal after the snows cleared. Charak opines that these military movements, made to appease the British, weakened Zorawar Singh's position.[31]

Tibetan reinforcements arrived in November in considerable numbers. Alexander Cunningham estimated 10,000 troops.[32][lower-alpha 2] The Mayum Pass was covered with snow, but the troops bypassed it via Matsang. After severe fighting, Taklakot was retaken on 9 November 1841. Detachments were sent forward to cut Dogra communication lines. Reconnaissance missions sent by Zorawar Singh were annihilated.[22][33]

Eventually, Zorawar Singh decided to risk everything in an all-out campaign to recapture Taklakot. Fighting raged indecisively for three weeks.[22] In an attempt to cut the supply lines of the Tibetan forces at Taklakot, Zorawar Singh's forces marched on a side route from Minsar, along the upper course of the Karnali River, and encamped at Kardung (Kardam). Tibetans calculated that they intended to intercept the supply line at a place called Do-yo slightly to the north of Taklakot.[17] According to the Tibetan report from the battlefield:

🌍
The final battle in Tibet

During this period, there was a great snowstorm and snow accumulated to the depth of several feet. A well-disguised ambush was carefully laid, in which a road was left open through the middle of our lines up which the enemy could advance. The invaders marched on Do-yo from 7 A.M. to 9 A.M. on the second day, 11th month [14 December 1841]. These forces included the troops stationed at their new fort at Chi-t'ang in addition to the force led by the Wazir [Zorawar Singh], the Shen-pa commander. They advanced in three units with flags flying and drums beating. General Pi-hsi led his troops to resist their advance. The invaders fell into the ambush that had been prepared and their rearguard was cut off and could not maneuver. They were attacked by our forces from all sides.[24]

Zorawar Singh was wounded in the battle, but he continued to fight with a sword. He was beheaded by Tibetan soldiers.[24] Three hundred of the Dogra troops were killed in combat and about seven hundred were captured. The rest fled to Ladakh. The Tibetans pursued them up to Dumra (Nubra Valley,[34] possibly Durbuk), a day's journey from Leh, where they encamped.[35]

Tibetan invasion of Ladakh

The Sino-Tibetan force then mopped up the other garrisons of the Dogras and advanced on Ladakh, now determined to conquer it and add it to the Imperial Chinese dominions. However the force under Mehta Basti Ram withstood a siege for several weeks at Chi-T’ang before escaping with 240 men across the Himalayas to the British post of Almora. Within Ladakh the Sino-Tibetan army laid siege to Leh, when reinforcements under Diwan Hari Chand and Wazir Ratnu arrived from Jammu and repulsed them. The Tibetan fortifications at Drangtse were flooded when the Dogras dammed up the river. On open ground, the Chinese and Tibetans were chased to Chushul. The climactic Battle of Chushul (August 1842) was won by the Dogras who killed the Tibetan army's general to avenge the death of Zorawar Singh.[36][37]

Timeline of the conflicts

The list below briefly entails the military conflicts which occurred between Dogras/Sikhs and Qings/Tibetans during the Dogra–Tibetan War.

Name of conflict (Year)

Sikh Empire (Dogra) Qing Empire (Tibet) Locations Outcomes
Plunders of Hanle
(1841)		 Sikh Empire
 Qing Empire
 Hanle Dogra victory
Plunders of Tashigang
(1841)		 Sikh Empire
 Qing Empire
 Tashigang Dogra victory
Capture of Rudok
(1841)		 Sikh Empire
 Qing Empire
 Rudok Dogra victory
Capture of Taklakot
(1841)		 Sikh Empire
 Qing Empire
 Taklakot Dogra victory
Capture of Gartok
(1841)		 Sikh Empire
 Qing Empire
 Gartok Dogra victory
Battle of Do-yo
(1841)		 Sikh Empire
 Qing Empire
 Do-yo Tibetan victory
Battle of Dumra
(1842)		 Sikh Empire
 Qing Empire
 Dumra Tibetan victory
Seige of Chi-T’ang
(1842)		 Sikh Empire
 Qing Empire
 Chi-T’ang Dogra victory
  • the force under Mehta Basti Ram withstood a siege for several weeks at Chi-T’ang before escaping with 240 men across the Himalayas to the British post of Almora.[40]
Seige of Leh
(1842)		 Sikh Empire
 Qing Empire
 Leh Dogra victory
  • Within Ladakh the Sino-Tibetan army laid siege to Leh, when reinforcements under Diwan Hari Chand and Wazir Ratnu arrived from Jammu and repulsed them.[41]
Battle of Drangtse
(1842)		 Sikh Empire
 Qing Empire
 Drangtse Dogra victory
Battle of Chusul
(1842)		 Sikh Empire
 Qing Empire
 Chusul Dogra victory

Peace treaty

On 17 September 1842, a peace treaty was agreed in Leh between the Dogras and the Tibetans, executed by an exchange of notes.[lower-alpha 5] The Tibetan note, incorporating the concessions made by the Dogras, was handed to Gulab Singh's representatives. The Persian note, describing the Tibetan concessions, was presented to the Tibetan officials.[46] The terms were also summarised in the Ladakh Chronicles as follows. Tibet recognised that Ladakh was annexed to the Sikh Empire. And the Sikh Empire relinquished the ancient Ladakhi claim to western Tibet. Both the sides would remain within their own territories. Biennial Lopchak missions would go on as before. Ladakhi merchants would be allowed to travel to Rudok, Gartok and other places in Tibet and the Tibetan merchants from Chang Thang would be allowed to go to Ladakh.[47]

The texts of the notes also state that the "old, established frontiers" between Ladakh and Tibet would be respected. The Ladakhi king and queen were to be allowed to live in Ladakh peacefully, and it is the Ladakhi king that would send the biennial Lopchak missions to Lhasa rather than the Dogra regime. All trade between the two regions was to be conducted according to "old, established custom".[48] According to some sources, since the treaty between Gulab Singh and the Tibetans did not bind the former's suzerain, a supplementary treaty with similar provisions was concluded between the Governor of Kashmir (representing the Sikh Empire in Lahore) and officials from Lhasa in the name of their suzerain, the Emperor of China.[48]

The treaty came into discussion in the 1960s in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute. The Indian government used the treaty to counter the Chinese contention that the border between Ladakh and Tibet had never been delimited. The Indian position was that the reference to "old, established frontiers" meant that the border had been delimited. The Chinese argued that, even if it had been delimited, there is no guarantee that it was the same as the Indian claimed boundary.[49]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ According to Cunningham, the commander responsible for the destruction of monasteries was Ghulam Khan, the son-in-law of Rahim Khan. After his capture by the Tibetans, he was tortured to death.[17]
  2. ↑ Sources state that Zorawar Singh had 3,000 troops at this stage. So he was outnumbered 3 to 1.
  3. ↑ According to Cunningham, the commander responsible for the destruction of monasteries was Ghulam Khan, the son-in-law of Rahim Khan. After his capture by the Tibetans, he was tortured to death.[17]
  4. ↑ According to Cunningham, the commander responsible for the destruction of monasteries was Ghulam Khan, the son-in-law of Rahim Khan. After his capture by the Tibetans, he was tortured to death.[17]
  5. ↑ Some writers have called the treaty the Treaty of Chushul.[44][45] There is however nothing to indicate that the treaty was agreed at Chushul.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Rose, Leo E. (1960). The Role of Nepal and Tibet in Sino-Indian Relations. University of California, Berkeley. p. 309.
  2. ↑ Sarkees & Wayman, Resort to War (2010), p. 504.
  3. 1 2 Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground (1963), pp. 49–59.
  4. ↑ Guo, Rongxing (2015). China's Regional Development and Tibet. Springer. p. 5. ISBN 978-981-287-958-5.
  5. 1 2 Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground (1963), p. 49.
  6. ↑ Huttenback, Gulab Singh (1961), p. 485.
  7. ↑ Huttenback, Gulab Singh (1961), p. 487.
  8. ↑ Warikoo, India's gateway to Central Asia (2009), p. 4: "Tibet’s trade with Ladakh and Kashmir was regulated by the Treaty of Tingmosgang, concluded in 1684, under which Ladakh got the monopoly over shawl-wool produced in Tibet, and the Tibetans acquired the exclusive right to the brick-tea trade with Ladakh."
  9. ↑ Mehra, An "agreed" frontier (1992), p. 71: "The pashmina goat is indigenous to Ladakh, western Tibet and parts of the Tien Shan mountains where a harsh but snow-less winter and availability of grass for fodder through the year produces the finest pashm. "
  10. ↑ Warikoo, India's gateway to Central Asia (2009), p. 2.
  11. ↑ Huttenback, Gulab Singh (1961), p. 479.
  12. ↑ Huttenback, Gulab Singh (1961), p. 480.
  13. ↑ Huttenback, Gulab Singh (1961), pp. 480–482.
  14. ↑ Huttenback, Gulab Singh (1961), pp. 480–482: "Gulab Singh had consolidated his position in Ladakh; still he was not satisfied. Knowing the advantages of controlling the profitable wool trade, he was not content to allow the major benefits to devolve to the British. ... All that was needed to possess the entire wool trade was the acquisition of the very territories where the goats were raised—the Chang Thung Plains of Western Tibet."
  15. ↑ Sarkees & Wayman, Resort to War (2010), p. 504: "In 1840 a disruption of the wool and tea trade had caused economic harm to Jammu. An alternative trade route had been developed as a result of a British endeavor to export opium through Tibet. Thus the Dogra concluded that a solution would be to capture western Tibet, thereby disrupting the newer route."
  16. 1 2 3 Shakabpa, One Hundred Thousand Moons (2010), p. 583.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground (1963), p. 164.
  18. 1 2 3 Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground (1963), pp. 49–50.
  19. ↑ Shakabpa, One Hundred Thousand Moons (2010), pp. 583–584.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground (1963), p. 50.
  21. ↑ Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground (1963), p. 50: "Zorawar Singh then announced his intention to conquer in the name of the Jammu Raja all of Tibet west of the Mayum Pass, on the ground that this territory had rightfully belonged, since ancient times, to the ruler of Ladakh."
  22. 1 2 3 4 Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground (1963), p. 53.
  23. ↑ McKay, History of Tibet, Vol. 2 (2003), p. 28
  24. 1 2 3 4 Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground (1963), p. 165
  25. ↑ Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground (1963), p. 190.
  26. ↑ Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground (1963), p. 158.
  27. ↑ Huttenback, Gulab Singh (1961), p. 482.
  28. ↑ Huttenback, Gulab Singh (1961), pp. 482–484.
  29. ↑ Huttenback, Gulab Singh (1961), p. 484.
  30. 1 2 Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground (1963), p. 51.
  31. ↑ Charak, General Zorawar Singh (2003), p. 758.
  32. ↑ Charak, General Zorawar Singh (2003), p. 761 and note 33 (p. 766).
  33. ↑ Charak, General Zorawar Singh (2003), p. 759.
  34. ↑ Kapadia, Harish (1999). Across Peaks & Passes in Ladakh, Zanskar & East Karakoram. Indus Publishing. p. 230. ISBN 978-81-7387-100-9.
  35. 1 2 Shakabpa, One Hundred Thousand Moons (2010), pp. 576–577, 583–584.
  36. ↑ Sino-Dogra War Archived 29 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Histomil.com, 6 February 2012
  37. ↑ Sandhya Jain (21 May 2013). "On the defensive on too many occasions". The Pioneer.
  38. ↑ Kapadia, Harish (1999). Across Peaks & Passes in Ladakh, Zanskar & East Karakoram. Indus Publishing. p. 230. ISBN 978-81-7387-100-9.
  39. ↑ Kapadia, Harish (1999). Across Peaks & Passes in Ladakh, Zanskar & East Karakoram. Indus Publishing. p. 230. ISBN 978-81-7387-100-9.
  40. ↑ Archived 29 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  41. ↑ Archived 29 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  42. ↑ Archived 29 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  43. ↑ Archived 29 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  44. ↑ Malhotra, Iqbal Chand (2020), Red Fear: The China Threat, Bloomsbury Publishing, pp. 68–69, ISBN 978-93-89867-59-6
  45. ↑ Guo, Rongxing (2015). China's Regional Development and Tibet. Springer. p. 5. ISBN 978-981-287-958-5.
  46. ↑ Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground (1963), pp. 55–56.
  47. ↑ Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground (1963), p. 55.
  48. 1 2 Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground (1963), p. 56.
  49. ↑ Ahmad, Zahiruddin (1963), "Tibet and Ladakh: A History", Far Eastern Affairs, St. Antony's Papers, vol. 14, Chatto & Windus, pp. 55–56

Sources

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