The history of Dogra Rajput clans is lost in the mists of times. They are Suryavanshi Rajputs who, millennia ago, migrated from the desert plains of Rajasthan up to the salubrious hills in and around Jammu in the western Himalayas. The history of the rulers of Jammu dates back to the period of Ramayana and they trace their lineage to the Ikshvaku or Suryavanshi (Solar) dynasty in which Rama of Ayodhya was born.
The Dogras venerate Lord Rama as their family deity and call themselves ‘Raghuvanshi’ Rajputs. Barring scattered and generally negative references, the history of this geopolitically sensitive area and its Dogra rulers have been largely ignored in mainstream Indian historiography, and most books written by British and Sikh historians have a strong anti-Dogra bias.
This book “The Dogra Rulers of Jammu & Kashmir” by Sat Prakash Suri of Jammu, clearly a labour of love, is an attempt to redress the balance. The bibliographies appended to each chapter show the sustained effort the author has put in to piece together historical details of my ancestors who ruled over Jammu & Kashmir for a century. I commend him for his efforts, and also recommend the book to all those who are interested in the history of a region that is at the crossroads of Central Asia and, even today, strategically, geopolitically and politically very sensitive.