Jammu

The Kingdom of Jammu
Dwigart Desh

[[]] [[]] Flag Roundel
Capital	Jammu
Government	constitutional monarchy
Head of State	His Royal Highness Raja Vikramditya (1964)
Head of Government	?
Demonym	Dogra
Formation
Foundation	1820
Independence	1839
Personal Union	1921
League of Nations	1967
Himalayan Confederacy	1980
Himalayan Postal Union	1981
Constitution	1990
Area	26,293 km² 10,152 mi²
Population	2,718,000
Ethnicities	Dogras 72% Gujjars 18%
Languages
Official	Dogri
Other	Nepali Gujari
Religions
Official	Nimbarka Hinduism 79%
Other	Udasi Sikhism 18% Other 3%
Currency	1 Himalayan Rupee (Rs) = 20 annas (a) = 240 paise (e)
Time zone	UTC +6:00 DST is not observed.
ISO Code	JAM
International Registration Number	JAM
Telephone Code	442
Organizations	League of Nations Himalayan Confederacy
Sports
Official	?
Other	?

History

• Texts in bold print are points of departure.
• Jammu was founded by Raja Jambu Lochan in the 14th century B.C. During one of his hunting campaigns, he reached the Tawi River where he saw a goat and a lion drinking water at the same place. Having satisfied their thirst, the animals went their own ways. The Raja was amazed, abandoned the idea of hunting and returned to his companions. Recounting what he had seen, he exclaimed that this place, where a lion and a lamb could drink water side by side, was a place of peace and tranquility. The Raja had a palace built at this place and a city was founded around it. This city became known as Jambu-Nagar, which then later changed into Jammu.
• The city is mentioned in the Mahabharata. Excavations near Akhnoor, 20 miles (32 km) from Jammu City, provide evidence that Jammu was once part of the Harappan civilization.
• In 321 B.C. Chandragupta Maurya (340-298) conquered the Nanda Empire in a series of battles, ending with the siege of the capital city Kusumapura. He, thus founded the powerful Maurya Empire in northern India by the time he was about 20 years old.
• The Kushan Empire originally formed in the first century A.D. in ancient Bactria on either side of the middle course of the Amu Darya River in what is now northern Afghanistan and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. First mentioned by the Chinese, the Kushans were originally a tribe of the Yuezhi, living north of the Great Wall and subject to the Rouran (Jwen-Jwen). During the first and early second centuries the Kushans expanded rapidly across the northern part of the Indian subcontinent at least as far as Saketa and Sarnath near Benares. Inscriptions have been found dated to the first few years of era of the most famous Kushan ruler, Kanishka which apparently began about 127. They threatened the Gupta empire but were eventually driven out of India in 528 by a Hindu coalition.
• In the early fourth century, Chandragupta II the Great Vikramaditya (375-415) conquered about twenty one kingdoms, both inside of and outside of India. After finishing his campaign in the east and west of India, he proceeded northwards, subjugating the Parasikas (Persians), Hunas and Kambojas located in the Amu Darya Valley. After that, he proceeded to cross the Himalayas and brought the Kinnaras, Kiratas, and others in the north into India proper. He controlled a vast empire, which extended from the mouth of the Ganges in the west to the mouth of the Indus River in the east, and from what is now northern Pakistan down to the mouth of the Narmada River.
• After 480, the area was dominated by the Hephthalites and ruled from Kapisa and Kabul. Jammu is also mentioned in accounts of the campaigns of Timur.
• The land witnessed changes of control following invasions by the Sikhs, before finally being conquered and placed under the control of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) in the nineteenth century, becoming part of the Sikh Empire in 1816. Raja Jit Singh was expelled and found refuge in India. Ranjit Singh appointed a governor to administer the newly conquered area which was expanded in 1819 with the annexation of Kashmir by a Sikh force. In 1803, this governor's forces met, in an eastward expansion, the Nepali forces of Prithvi Van Singh. Since neither side could gain the upper hand, a treaty was signed stating that the Yamuna River would be the boundary between the two nations. In 1820, in appreciation of services rendered by the family, and by Gulab Singh (1792-1857) in particular, Ranjit Singh bestowed Jammu as a hereditary fief upon Kishore Singh. Kishore Singh died in 1822 and Gulab Singh was confirmed as Raja of Jammu by his suzerain, Ranjit Singh. After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Raja Gulab Singh asserted his independence and is thus the founder of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Gulab Singh was succeeded by his son Ranbir Singh (1830-1885) who reigned from 1857 until his death.
• Ranbir Singh was succeeded by his son Pratap Singh (1848-1925), who reigned from 1885 until his death. Dissatisfied with this situation, Jammu threatened to rebel and secede from the kingdom. In an effort to quell the rising nationalism, Pratap Singh in 1921, created a dual monarchy. Each nation was set up as sovereign, but joined in a personal union with the Dogra Dynasty.
• Pratap Singh was succeeded by his nephew Hari Singh (1895-1961) who reigned from 1925 until his death.
• Hari Singh was succeeded by his son Karan Singh (1931-1984), who reigned from 1961 until his death.
• In 1980, the United Kingdom became a partner in the Himalayan Confederacy.
• Karan Singh was succeeded by his son Vikramaditya (1964-), who is presently reigning. In 1987, he married the Chitrangada Scindia.

Toponymy

According to legend, Jammu was founded by Raja Jamboolochan in the 14th century BCE. During one of his hunting campaigns he reached the Tawi River where he saw a goat and a lion drinking water at the same place. The king was impressed and decided to set up a town after his name, Jamboo. With the passage of time, the name was corrupted and became Jammu.

Government

Provinces

Province (anchal)	Capital	Area	Pop.	Prefectures (jilla)	Notes
Jammu (J)	Jammu	3,097 km²	1,588,000	Jammu (JJ) Akhnur (JA) Bishnah (JB) Ranbirsinghpur (JR)
Kathua (K)	Kathua	2,651 km²	550,00	Kathua (KK) Bani (KB) Billawar (KL) Basholi (KS) Hiranagar (KH)
Doda (D)	Doda	11,691 km²	691,000	Doda (DD) Bhaderwah (DB) Ramban (DR) Kishtwar (DK)
Udhampur (U)	Udhampur	4,450 km²	38,000	Udhampur (UU) Ramnagar (UR) Chenani (UC) Majalta (UM)
Rajauri (R)	Rajauri	2,630 km²	483,000	Rajauri (RR) Darhal (RD) Koteranka (RK) Kalakot (RK) Nowshera (RN) Thannamandi (RT)
Poonch (P)	Poonch	1,674 km²	23,000	Mendhar (PM) Haveli (PH) Surankot (PS)
Lahaul and Spiti (L)	Keylong	20,236 km²	102,000	Kinnaur (LK) Lahaul and Spiti (LL)
Chamba (C)	Chamba	14,925 km²	2,314,000	Chamba (CC) Hamirpur (CH) Kangra (CK) Una (CU)
Bilaspur (B)	Bilaspur	10,620 km²	1,373,000	Bilaspur (BB) Kullu (BK) Mandi (BM)
Shimla (S)	Shimla	9,892 km²	1,378,000	Shimla(SS) Simaur (SM) Solan (SL)

• Thus, the total area of the rajadom is 81,866 km², slightly smaller than *here's* Kansas.
• The Kingdom of Jammu is contiguous with *here's* Jammu portion of the Indian state of Kashmir and Jammu, and the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

Borders

• Jammu is bordered on the
  • North by Kashmir
  • East by Ladakh
  • Southeast by Nepal
  • South by Samraj
  • Southwest by Razputhana
  • West by Sikh Razj Samadh

Physical Description

• Sandwiched between the Vale of Kashmir to the north and the Daman Koh Plains to the south, the Sivalik Hills comprises most of the region of North Jammu. The Pir Panjal Range, the Trikuta Hills and the low-lying Tawi River basin add beauty and diversity to the terrain of North Jammu. The Pir Panjal range separates North Jammu from the Kashmir valley.
• South Jammu is a mountainous region with elevations ranging from about 350 metres (1,148 ft) to 6,000 metres (19,685 ft) above sea level. The drainage system is composed of both rivers and glaciers. Himalayan rivers criss-cross the entire mountain chain. South Jammu provides water to both the Indus and Ganges basins. The drainage systems of the region are the the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas, the Sutlej and the Yamuna. The Yamuna River forms the boundary between Jammu and Nepal. These rivers are perennial and are fed by snow and rainfall. They are protected by an extensive cover of natural vegetation.

Culture

National symbols

• National mammal 1: argali (Ovis ammon hodgsoni)
• National mammal 2: Asian Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus)
• National bird: Western tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus]
• National flower: Heart-lip Lady's slipper (Cypripedium cordigerum)
• National tree: Almond (Prunus dulcis]]
• National dish: Yakhni (roast lamb)
  • For a crest,
• National aviation roundel:
• National colors: deep saffron and blue
• National instrument: Wikipedia:

Public holidays

Date	Name	Notes
24 January 2015	Vasant Panchami	Festival celebrating Saraswati
14 February (1 March when this falls on Vaisakhi)	The Queen's Birthday	Mothers' Day - Her Majesty was born in 1967
4 March 2015	Hola Mohalla	Sikh Olympic events - a 4-day holiday of which only the first day is a legal holiday
6 March 2015	Holi	A spring festival celebrating Vishnu's defeat of Hiranyakashipu
21 March 2015	Navreh	New Year
14 April 2015	Vaisakhi	Commemorates the founding of the Khalsa
24 May	The King's Coronation	His Majesty was crowned in 2003
1 July	Foundation of the dual monarchy	The United Monarchy is founded by in 1922
5 August	The King's Birthday	Fathers' Day - His Majesty was born in 1964
5 September 2015	Krishna Jayanti	Krishna's Birthday
2nd Monday in September	Election Day	In the even-numbered years; local and federal alternating, e.g., local in 2010, federal in 2012.
15 September	Independence Day	Jammu is bestowed on Kishore Singh, the father of Gulab Singh, as a fief in 1820.
1 October	Lakshmi Puja	Celebration devoted to the propitiation of Lakshmi
11 November 2015	Diwali	Hindus commemorate the return of Rama from his exile and his vanquishing of Ravana; Sikhs celebrate the release from prison of the sixth guru, Guru Hargobind.