| Shaikh Imam-ud-Din | |
|---|---|
| Amir-ul-Mulk Jang Bahadur[1] Amir al-Mu'minin[2] | |
 Sheikh Imam-ud-Din with his sons inc. 1855, as painted byWilliam Carpenter | |
| Sikh Governor ofJalandhar Doab | |
| Reign | 1841–1845 |
| Predecessor | Shaikh Ghulam Muhy-ud-Din |
| Successor | position abolished |
| Amir of Kashmir | |
| Reign | 25 March 1846–25 October 1846 |
| Predecessor | Shaikh Ghulam Muhy-ud-Din |
| Successor | Gulab Singh (as Maharaja of Kashmir) |
| Born | Shaikh Imam-ud-Din c. 1819 |
| Died | 1859 Lahore,Punjab province (present-day Punjab, Pakistan) |
Shaikh Imam-ud-Din (1819–1859) was a Muslim noble in theSikh Empire who served as the governor ofJalandhar Doab during 1841–1846.
He was a son ofShaikh Muhy-ud-Din, the Sikh-appointed governor ofKashmir. On16 March 1846 Kashmir was sold toGulab Singh ofDogra dynasty by the British following the defeat of Sikhs in theFirst Anglo-Sikh war. However, after Muhy-ud-Din's death on 24 March Imam-ud-Din seized the governship of Kashmir and opposed the occupation of the valley by Gulab Singh. He defeated a Dogra contingent sent to take charge from him in August. His rebellion, which lasted for seven months, was ultimately put down in October by a combined British and Sikh army sent fromLahore, and on 9 November, 1846 Kashmir officially became part of theprincely state ofJammu and Kashmir.
Imam-ud-Din, described by a contemporary British writer as perhaps "the best mannered and best dressed man in the Panjab", lacked the necessary political foresight and popular support of theKashmiris to fulfill his ambition of carving out an independent state. He died in 1859, in Lahore, and was buried in the courtyard ofData Darbar.
Shaikh Imam-ud-Din was born into a Punjabi family with humble roots fromHoshiarpur in theJalandhar Doab. He was the son ofShaikh Ghulam Muhy-ud-Din, governor of Jalandhar Doab and Kashmir forSikh Empire during 1834–1841 and 1841–1845, respectively. A well-known Sunni Muslim, Muhy-ud-Din ended several discriminatory practices that were imposed on theKashmiris after the 1819Sikh conquest of Kashmir. He opened theJamia Masjid, Srinagar for prayers after being closed for 25 years and also permitted calling forAzan. He restored theShankaracharya Temple inSrinagar as well.[3]
Shaikh Imam-ud-Din served as governor of Jalandhar Doab between 1841 and 1845. After Muhy-ud-Din's death in 1845, presumed to be due to poisoning, he replaced his father in Kashmir with the title ofAmir-ul-Mulk Jang Bahadur.[4]
By 1846, the politics in the Lahore Darbar were fast deteriorating due to the defeat of the Sikhs in theFirst Anglo-Sikh War. In thetreaty of Lahore, signed between Sikhs and the British on 9 March 1846, Sikh Maharaja was forced to cede Kashmir Valley along with other territories to the British as war reparations, and Kashmir legally ceased to be a part of Sikh Kingdom. On 15 March 1846, the treaty of Amritsar was signed between Gulab Singh Dogra and the British East India Company officials, according to which Kashmir Valley and surrounding areas were sold to Gulab Singh for a sum of 7.5 million Nanak Shahi Rupees. Imam-ud-Din immediately opposed the new circumstances, not wanting to let go the government of Kashmir from his hands. According to some sources, he was convinced by the Prime Minister of Sikh Kingdom,RajaLal Singh, to resist Dogra occupation of Kashmir due to his old enmity with Gulab Singh. It is also said that Imam-ud-Din was urged by one of his wives, a daughter ofKhan ofKohistan Muiz-ud-Din to avoid Kashmir being fallen into Dogra control as Kohistan was a feudatory state of Kashmir.[5] Imam-ud-Din was also incriminated with having sent an emissary toRussian Empire for aid against British, but without any considerable evidence. More significant, however, was him having styled himself asAmir al-Mu'minin after the treaty of Amritsar.[6]
By July 1846, Imam-ud-Din collected 13,000 regular as well as irregular troops to resist Dogra conquest. Supported by chiefs ofRajouri,Bhimber, Jubbal and Bomba in his ambitions, he fought against the occupation of Kashmir by Gulab Singh's officers Diwan Lakhpat Rai and Wazir Ratanu. The battle was fought in September near Shaikh Bagh at Srinagar in a locality now known as Shaheed Gunj; Lakhpat was killed along with a 100 of Dogra troops while Imam-ud-Din sustained 25 casualties. The Dogras were forced to flee.[7] When the news of defeat reached Gulab Singh, he immediately appealed to the British. A force of 10,000 was dispatched under Brigadier Wheeler in the late September, in addition to mobilization of a 17,000 Sikh force for assistance of Brigadier Wheeler.[8] Imam-ud-Din'sjagir in Jalandhar was also confiscated and his family was imprisoned. Feeling overwhelmed, Imam-ud-Din started negotiations with British assistant political agent, LieutenantHerbert Edwards. However, Imam-ud-Din paused when Edwards refused to return his Jalandhar jagir. On 11 October, British forces under Brigadier Wheeler reached Bhimber but were ordered to halt there, as most of Imam-ud-Din's allies defected to the side of the British and Dogras. This further proved the futility of resistance to Imam-ud-Din, who ultimately left the Valley on October, 25 and submitted toSir Henry Lawrence on November, 1 atThana.[9] On November 9, 1846, Gulab Singh entered Srinagar alongside British troops as newMaharaja and Kashmir Valley passed into the Dogra control.[10]