Military conflicts in Paddar
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Paddar, a village with substantial military history, is located in Jammu & Kashmir. The town was attacked by the king of Chamba, Chattar Singh, in the mid of the 17th century. In the beginning, he conquered Pangi and then moved ahead to acquire Paddar with the help of 200 men forcibly. In the valley, he built a fort after his name. All this while, the Ranas living in the village couldn't anymore bear Raja Chattar Singh's atrocities and accepted his suzerainty. After that, they began working as king's Kardars. Chattar Singh's aftereffect was long-lasting, and the region of Paddar remained a part of Chamba till 1836, which was at least 5 to 6 generations of new Chattar Rajas.
Zanskar was attacked in 1820 or 1825 by Paddar's people under Ratna Thakur's leadership. The region was then added as a tributary by the Thakur, with the Bhot Raja agreeing to pay musk bags, Rs. 1000, and other essential items every year as Nazar (also known as tribute) to the Chamba Raja.
When General Zorawar Singh visited Kishtwar, an uprising in Ladakh came into his knowledge. After learning about the same, he left for Ladakh through Zanskar. From there, the distance between Leh and Kishtwar was the shortest, i.e., 275 miles. Following this route, the general and the army entered Zanskar (Ladakh) via Paddar. During the second attack on Ladakh, he was joined by Lakhpat Rai Padyar, a wazir who Gulab Singh entirely trusted.
Once Ladakh was conquered, a small army was then dispatched to Zanskar and Kargil under Col. Mehta Basti Ram and Wazir Lakhpat Rai's leadership. Once Zanskar was annexed, the army came back to Jammu via Paddar, and 30 soldiers from the Dogra army were asked to stay in the Chattar Garh fort to stay in touch with the squad who were responsible for the fortification of Zanskar. Simultaneously, the Dogra soldiers were massacred due to a rebellion that broke out in Zánskar. When this news reached Ratna Thakur, he interrogated people in the pursuit of catching the killers and succeeded in seeing them. A few of them were captured as prisoners and then sent to serve jail time in Chamba. Zorawar Singh became very angry due to this and decided to attack Paddar.
Paddar was attacked in 1836 by General Zorawar Singh and 3000 soldiers that followed him. The attack on Paddar happened from Zanskar via the Bhot Nullah route. Only after demolishing the bridge built on Chenab, Ratna was able to escape. This made it very difficult for the Dogra army to cross the river, and they had to wait for another three months to do so. With the help of local peasants, a ropeway bridge was built. And that's how they crossed the Bhot Nullah. Once they crossed the river, they attacked Chattar Garh, hanged many people, and disfigured a few of them. Post attack, the Chattar Garh fort was replaced with a new one, making Paddar an official part of the Dogra state. To watch over the defense in the valley, a commanding officer was asked to stay back along with a small squad. After arresting Ratna, he was sent to Jammu for three to four years, where he remained in detention. He was provided with an estate in Kishtwar post his release from custody. This made Paddar to come under Bhardarwah’s Tehsildar control.
When General Zorawar Singh finally conquered Paddar, he went to Zanskar through Umasi La (Darling). He had to climb17,370 ft. above sea level to end the ongoing rebellion, finally restoring peace in the region. However, a significant rebellion broke in Leh in 1837, and he covered the distance from Kishtwar to Leh in ten days only. A fort was built in May 1838 by Zorawar Singh at Chisoti (Paddar) while returning to Kishtwar.
When Maharaja Gulab Singh was ruling in 1845, both Zanskar and Paddar were officially called tehsil. However, during Maharaja Ranbir Singh's time of rule and Leh was given the district's status, Zanskar became a part of Leh while Paddar was added to Kishtwar tehsil. The Jammu and Kashmir government gave Paddar the block status in 1963, and it is now categorized as a sub-division. The region has two tehsils – Machail and Atholi. [1]
References[edit]
- ↑ "History of Paddar". Lalit Singh Chauhan. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012. Unknown parameter
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