Mehta Basti Ram

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Mehta Basti Ram was a Dogra officer and commander of the Fateh Shibji battalion under Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu (later Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir). Basti Ram later served as the governor (thanadar) of Leh in Ladakh between 1847 and 1861.[1] Basti Ram joined the service of Raja Gulab Singh in 1821 and became an officer under General Zorawar Singh during his conquest of Ladakh between 1834 and 1841. After holding positions such as the governor of Taklakot (briefly) and thanadar of Zanskar, he became the second governor of Leh under Maharaja Gulab Singh.

Life[]

In 1821, when Gulab Singh, the first Maharaja of the Dogra dynasty of Jammu and Kashmir, conquered Kishtwar, Basti Ram joined his service and was soon under General Zorawar Singh.[2] Colonel Mehta Basti Ram raised and led Zorawar Singh's Jangi Fauj, later reorganised and renamed as the Fateh Shibji[a] from 1834 to 1841.[4] The Fateh Shibji went on to become the 4th Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Regiment (it retains the historic name Fateh Shibji).[4] Major General G. D. Bakshi wrote in 2002 that Basti Ram was a "tactician par excellence" and that he "should be a role model for Indian battalion commanders".[5]

Zorawar fort in Ladakh. Basti Ram was the first Qiladar (commandant).[6]

Dogra conquest of Ladakh[]

Mehta Basti Ram was one of the main officers of Zorawar's force and played a crucial role at multiple locations of the conquest of Ladakh which started in 1834. Basti Ram led an attack that resulted in the capture of the Fort of Sod/Soth (in Kargil) and subsequently the Gyalpo.[7] The assault included crossing the Indus River on inflated goatskins.[8] During the conquest of Balti which started during the end of 1840, he found a way to cross a river that had caused Zorawar's army to halt for over a month in the cold and snow causing indiscipline to set in.[9] For this Zorawar gifted Mehta Basti Ram Rs. 500 and a pair of gold bangles while other instrumental soldiers were given gifts of lesser value.[b][11] Basti Ram was also present during the capture of Skardu.[12]

After Zorawar Singh's forces captured Western Tibet, Basti Ram was appointed the governor of Taklakot (Burang).[13] Soon afterwards, the Tibetans launched a counterattack during winter. Zorawar Singh was killed on 12 December 1941 and his army defeated.[14] The men stationed at Taklakot fled to the British province of Kumaon.[15] Basti Ram escaped to Almora where a British resident gave him shelter.[16] By the autumn of 1846, Basti Ram was appointed the thanadar of Zanskar and "one of the confidential servants of Maharaja Gulab Sing(h)".[17]

Basti Ram's account of the Dogra conquest of Ladakh and beyond, twelve years after the events, was one of the earliest. While the original version was lost, Alexander Cunningham had re-written Basti Ram's account based on a dictation by Basti Ram himself.[1][18] August Hermann Francke notes that Basti Ram may have exaggerated the enemy numbers at certain locations.[19]

Governor of Ladakh[]

Basti Ram being the thanadar of Leh was the principal thanadar of Ladakh between 1847 and 1861.[20] At the time there were four other thanadars for Zanskar, Kargil, Dras and Nubra.[20] All the thanadars were independent of each other, each having military and civil authority in their districts and each one was only accountable to the Maharaja.[20] Alexander Cunningham estimated that Basti Ram's income would have been a "respectable" Rs.18,000 annually, (roughly £1,800 a year).[21] Basti Ram had previously been the incharge of Zanskar.[20] By the time Lieutenant Colonel Henry Torrens passed through Ladakh, Torrens wrote that "the Governor, Basti Ram, had grown too old and feeble to hold the reins of Government, and had, some months before, retired to his home in the valley of Kishtawar, there to spend the last days of his active life in peace; a successor had not yet been appointed by the Maharaja".[22] Instead, Torrens met the Kahlone[c] of Le, the "nominal governor". The Kahlone got little respect from the Sikhs.[24]

Family[]

Basti Ram was a Hindu Rajput of the Mehta family from Kishtwar. His grandfather had been in charge of military affairs under the last Kishtwar ruler Mohammad Teg Singh.[2][25] Basti Ram's son succeeded him as Governor of Ladakh.[26]

Basti Ram's great-granddaughter was , who went on to become the first woman member of parliament from Jammu and Kashmir. Krishna Mehta had been married to Duni Chand Mehta who was appointed as the wazir-e-wazarat of Muzaffarabad. In October 1947, Duni Chand was killed by Pashtun tribal militias,[27] and Krishna Mehta was taken prisoner and eventually repatriated by Pakistan. Krishna Mehta's brother Om Mehta served as a Minister of State for Home Affairs in Indira Gandhi's government in 1976. Another younger brother Ved Mehta was at one time the president of Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jammu.[28]

References[]

Notes

  1. ^ Also referred to as 8 Shibji Paltan later reorganised into the 7 Shibji.[3]
  2. ^ G. D. Bakshi writes that this bridgehead operation deserves to be "a classic" in "military history books".[10]
  3. ^ Also spelt Kahlon.[23] Old Tibetan title signifying Prime Minister.[22] Cunningham notes that "the term is also applied to the chief men of all the districts."[7]

Citations

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Francke 1926, p. 257.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Bakshi 2002, p. 120.
  3. ^ Bakshi 2002, p. 52.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Bakshi 2002, p. 52, 117.
  5. ^ Bakshi 2002, p. 144.
  6. ^ Bansal, Bobby Singh (2015-12-01). "10". Remnants of the Sikh Empire: Historical Sikh Monuments in India & Pakistan. Hay House, Inc. ISBN 978-93-84544-93-5.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Cunningham 1854, p. 335.
  8. ^ Bakshi 2002, p. 65.
  9. ^ Cunningham 1854, p. 347–349.
  10. ^ Bakshi 2002, p. 88.
  11. ^ Cunningham 1854, p. 349.
  12. ^ Cunningham 1854, p. 349–350.
  13. ^ Cunningham 1854, p. 351.
  14. ^ Cunningham 1854, p. 352.
  15. ^ Cunningham 1854, p. 353.
  16. ^ Cunningham 1854, p. 332.
  17. ^ Cunningham 1854, p. 355.
  18. ^ Neve 1926, p. 246.
  19. ^ Francke 1926, p. 261.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Cunningham 1854, p. 273–274.
  21. ^ Cunningham 1854, p. 274.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b Torrens 1862, p. 171–172.
  23. ^ Cunningham 1854, p. 277.
  24. ^ Torrens 1862, p. 172.
  25. ^ Nayyar, Sanjeev (2016). "Zorawar Singh Museum Leh". eSamskriti. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  26. ^ Chohan, Amar Singh (1983). Historical Study Of Society and Culture In Dardistan and Ladakh. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi. pp. 200–201.
  27. ^ "Krishna Mehta". krishnamehta.net. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  28. ^ "Ved Mehta passes away". Kashmir Times. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 2020-12-29.

Bibliography

Further reading[]

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