After exploring the Diwan-e-Khas portion of the Nurpur Fort, I walk a few steps toward another section of the fort. My thoughts once again drift toward history.
You have already read in the previous part about the revolt led by Wazir Ram Singh against the British in 1848–49.
Now, let us turn the wheel of time backwards by almost two and a half centuries.
The area where I am walking today was ruled by a king named Prithvi Singh from 1770 to 1805. On the other side, during the late 18th century, Sikh Misls were gaining
strength in the neighbouring regions of Punjab. In the areas adjoining Nurpur—such as Mukerian and Hajipur—the influence of Jai Singh Kanhaiya of the Kanhaiya Misl was growing, creating conditions of conflict with the Nurpur state.
Before this period, like other hill states, the Nurpur kingdom was functioning under the suzerainty of the Mughal Empire. But after the mid-18th century, as the Mughal power declined, these hill states gradually began asserting themselves as independent principalities. Nurpur too was one of them.
During the early 19th century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh established the Sikh Empire in Lahore and steadily expanded his dominion.
Around this time, in 1806, the Gorkhas of Nepal, under the command of Raja Amar Singh Thapa, attacked Kangra and captured the Kangra Fort from Raja Sansar Chand.
This brought the Gorkha influence dangerously close to Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s territory, posing a threat to Kashmir and the Punjab region. Thus, Ranjit Singh’s attention turned toward this frontier. Moreover, due to the treaty with the British which restricted him from crossing the Sutlej, he had to look toward the hill regions for expansion.
Meanwhile, Raja Sansar Chand sought Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s help. In 1809, Ranjit Singh’s army defeated the Gorkhas and reclaimed the Kangra Fort, bringing the region under Sikh control. At this time, Nurpur was ruled by Raja Veer Singh.
Raja Veer Singh accepted Maharaja Ranjit Singh's supremacy and was granted the title of a tributary ruler, meaning he would continue ruling locally but would have to send an annual tribute to the Lahore Durbar.
However, Raja Veer Singh gradually stopped sending this tribute. As a result, in 1816 Maharaja Ranjit Singh took direct control of the region and appointed his own Kardars (administrators). Thus, Nurpur came fully under the Sikh Empire.
Despite coming under Sikh rule, the region’s religious and social customs remained undisturbed. Many locals even joined the Sikh army.
From 1816 to 1846, Nurpur remained under the Lahore Durbar.
During the First Anglo-Sikh War in 1846, Raja Veer Singh attempted to regain control of the Nurpur Fort but was killed right at the gate. The British had encouraged several hill rulers to rebel against the Lahore Durbar during this period.
Following the Sikh defeat in the First Anglo-Sikh War, the Lahore Durbar was forced
to sign a treaty with the British on 9 March 1846. Under this treaty, Maharaja Duleep Singh had to cede all the hill states between the Sutlej and the Ravi to the British. Consequently, Nurpur passed directly into British control.
The hill rulers who had been persuaded by the British to rebel against Lahore ultimately gained nothing—they all ended up becoming subjects of the foreign East India Company.
After the death of Raja Veer Singh, the British refused to recognize his son Jaswant Singh as the ruler. Instead, they devised a plan to annex the territory completely, a story you have already read in the chapter about Wazir Ram Singh.
Once Wazir Ram Singh was exiled, the British granted Rajkumar Jaswant Singh a meagre pension of ₹5,000 and fully absorbed the territory into the British Empire.
On the other hand, after the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1848, the entire Sikh Empire too came under British rule, and India’s last sovereign kingdom was shackled in the chains of colonial subjugation.
Walking slowly, I now reach that part of the fort where the king’s residence and administrative chambers once stood.
To be continued…
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