Battle of Shopian

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Battle of Shopian
Afghan-Sikh Wars
Date3 July 1819[nb 2]
Location
Shopian, Kashmir
33°43′N 74°50′E / 33.72°N 74.83°E / 33.72; 74.83
Result

Sikh victory

  • Srinagar and Kashmir annexed into the Sikh Empire
Belligerents
Sikh Empire
Afghan Empire
Commanders and leaders
Maharaja Ranjit Singh
 Jabbar Khan
Raja Agarullah Khan Jarral
Strength
30,000[nb 3] Unknown
Battle of Shopian is located in India
Battle of Shopian
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Location within India

The Battle of Shopian took place on 3 July 1819 between an expeditionary force from the Sikh Empire and Jabbar Khan, the governor of the Kashmir Valley province of the Durrani Empire. It was the decisive battle during the Sikh expedition into Kashmir in 1819.

Background

From 1814 to 1819, the

Pir Panjal range and into Kashmir. However the Durrani Empire kept de facto
control of the areas because the Pir Panjal Range blocked supplies and fresh troops to the Sikh armies.

After the death of Fateh Khan Wazir in 1818, governor Azim Khan left Kashmir for Kabul to assume Wazir's office, leaving Jabbar Khan incharge of Kashmir.[2] Birbal Dhar, Azim Khan's revenue minister, traveled to Lahore, the capital of the Sikh Empire, and asked Maharaja Ranjit Singh to annex Kashmir from the Durrani Empire as the Afghan rule was very unpopular among the people of Kashmir.[3][4]

1819 Kashmir expedition

The Sikh expeditionary force established two

Rajauri in return for assistance in navigating the 'Behram Pass' (Baramgala, 33°36′18″N 74°24′49″E / 33.605°N 74.4136°E / 33.605; 74.4136, the lower end of the Pir Panjal Pass).[8]

Once the Sikh forces reached the Behram Pass, the Durrani-appointed

Poonch, and Mohammad Ali, the kotwal of Shopian, attempted a defense at the Dhaki Deo and Maja passes but were defeated and surrendered to Misr Diwan Chand on 23 June 1819.[1] Kharak Singh now advanced to Surdee Thana.[1][nb 4]
while Misr Diwan Chand split his force into three divisions and ordered them to cross the Pir Panjal Range through different passes.

Battle

The army regrouped at Surai Ali[nb 5] on the road to Shopian. On 3 July 1819, the Sikh army attempted to march through Shopian to Srinagar but was stopped by a Durrani army headed by Jabbar Khan.[6] The Durrani force had heavily entrenched itself in preparation for the Sikh artillery attack and brought heavy artillery,[11] which the Sikhs were unprepared for because they had brought only light guns.[12]

Once his artillery was in range, Misr Diwan Chand opened the battle with an

Akali Phoola Singh, the commander of the Sikh right flank, rallied his troops and led his command in a charge across the battlefield to the artillery battery. After a close quarters fight which resulted in both sides resorting to using swords and daggers, the Durrani soldiers proved to be ineffective against the much superior martial skills of the Sikh soldiers and sections of the Durrani force began to retreat and Jabbar Khan was wounded while escaping the battlefield.[5] On 15 July 1819, the Sikh army made their way into Srinagar.[14]

Aftermath

Jabbar Khan and his army fled from the battlefield to Muzaffarbad but were turned away by the governor, then fleeing to Peshawar and finally to Kabul.

Panjab, Tibet, Iskardo, and Ladakh.[16]

After taking Srinagar, the Sikh army faced no major opposition in conquering Kashmir. However, when Ranjit Singh installed Moti Ram, the son of Dewan Mokham Chand, as the new governor of Kashmir, he also sent a "large body of troops" with him to ensure tribute from strongholds within Kashmir that might attempt to resist Sikh rule.[15] The capture of Kashmir set the boundaries and borders of the Sikh Empire with Tibet. The conquest of Kashmir marked an "extensive addition" to the Sikh Empire and "significantly" increased the empire's revenue and landmass.[16]

Notes

  1. ^ The battle is also referred to as the Battle of Supin, Supine, Shupiyan, Supiya, and Soopyn.
  2. ^ The date of the battle is disputed. It has also been given as 5 July 1819.[1]
  3. ^ The entire expedition had 30,000 troops, however most were not present on the battlefield. Kharak Singh's 8,000 troops were stationed in the area around Surdee Thana and Ranjit Singh's 10,000 troops were stationed at Bhimber and along the route to Surdee Thana. An unknown number of troops were also garrisoned throughout the forts captured in the Pir Panjal Range on the route from Surdee Thana to Shopian
  4. ^ Surdee Thana is possibly modern-day Thannamang. Travel guides from later eras note a route through the Pir Panjal Range from Rajauri to a town named "Thanna" and from "Thanna" to Shopian[9][10]
  5. ^ Also referred to as Serai Illahi[11] and Serai Ali[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Prinsep (1846), p. 52
  2. ^ Gupta 1991, p. 128.
  3. ^ Nalwa (2009), p. 45
  4. ISBN 9788121505154
    .
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Johar (2000)
  6. ^ a b Gupta 1991, p. 129.
  7. ^ Prinsep (1846), p. 51
  8. ^ a b Johar 1985, pp. 129–130.
  9. ^ Drew (1875), p. 156
  10. ^ Murray (1883), p. 203
  11. ^ a b Sikh Missionary College, pp. 17–18
  12. ^ Chopra (1928), p. 25
  13. ^ Sikh Missionary College, p. 19
  14. ^ a b Gupta 1991, p. 130.
  15. ^ a b Prinsep (1846), p. 53
  16. ^ a b Chopra (1928), p. 26

Bibliography

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