United Maharajadom

• In 1780, upon the death of Raja Ranjit Deo of Jammu, the Rajadom was captured by the Sikhs under Raja Ranjit Singh of Lahore and was tributary to the Sikh R.S. until 1846. The Raja of Jammu, Jit Singh, was expelled and found refuge in Rajputana.

• Ranjit Deo's grandnephew, Gulab Singh, subsequently sought service at the court of Ranjit Singh and distinguished himself in the conquest of the Kashmir Valley in 1819, which ended a thousand years of rule by the Mughal Empire. For his services, he was created the first Raja of Jammu in 1820, beginning the Dogra Dynasty. Gulab Singh soon captured Kashmir and the Buddhist kingdoms of Ladakh and Baltistan.

• After the death of Raja Ranjit Singh, Raja Gulab Singh asserted his independence and is thus the founder of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. In 1846, to emphasize his break from the Sikh R.S., Gulab Singh embraced the Hindu faith.

• After Gulab Singh's death in 1857, his son, Ranbir Singh, added the emirates of Astore, Hunza-Nagar, and Gilgit to the rajadom.

• Ranbir Singh was succeeded by his son Pratap Singh (1848-1925), who reigned from 1885 until his death. However, 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.

• The ruler is styled His Majesty and bears the regnal titles of Maharaja of the United Maharajadom of Jammu and Kashmir; Raja of the Rajadoms of Jammu, Kashmir, Basholi, and Poonch; Ra of Astore and of Gilgit, and Mir of Hunza-Nagar.

• Each nation has its own prime minister, parliament, and judiciary. Military defense, the postal system, the banking system and currency are under the control of the United Maharajadom.

• In 1984, the Maharajadom joined the Himalayan Confederacy.