Maharaja Gulab Singh

Maharaja Gulab Singh (1792–1857) was the founder and first Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, the second largest princely state in British India. After the defeat of the Sikhs in the First Anglo-Sikh War, Gulab Singh, who served as Prime Minister of the Sikhs, received from the British all the lands in Kashmir that were ceded to them by the Sikhs by the Treaty of Lahore to Gulab Singh for Nanakshahi (official monetary unit of Sikh Empire). 7,500,000.

Early career

Gulab Singh was born on 18 October 1792, a scion of the Jamwal clan of Suryavanshi Rajputs. His father, Kishore Singh, was a distant kinsman of Jit Singh, the Raja of Jammu. Gulab Singh grew up in the care of his grand father, Zorawar Singh, from whom he learned the arts of horse riding and warfare. In 1808, when the Sikh army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh invaded Jammu, the 16-year-old Gulab Singh fought alongside his clansmen in the unsuccessful defense of Jammu. Following this defeat, the Raja of Jammu had internal autonomy of the principality, which became a tributary of the Sikh Empire. In 1809, Gulab Singh headed towards Kabul to join the army of the Afghan King, Shah Shuja as a mercenary. When his men refused the cross the river Indus, he gained employment with Sardar Nihal Singh Attariwala. Soon thereafter, Gulab Singh was found employed as a running footman in Ranjit Singh’s court. He distinguished himself in several campaigns, including the conquest of Multan (1816). He also led an independent campaign in 1816 to conquer the hill-town of Reasi.
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