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Introduction

The term Dogra defines all those people who belong to the areas where Dogri language and its dialects and Dogra culture are prevalent irrespective of Caste and Creed..dss1

The Dogras are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of North India. Raja Jambulochan, after whom Jammu is named, saw a tiger and a goat drinking water from the same pond near the bank of river Tawi and decided to have his capital town here. This also describes the character of the
people and land of Jammu.
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In Jammu and Kashmir the Dogras live predominantly in 10 districts of Jammu region of J&K. The Jammu Dogras mainly inhabit the lower Shivalik mountains of Great Himalayas. In the 16 th and 17 th centuries, some Dogras embraced Islam but continued with their original culture. They are also living in adjoining areas of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and North eastern region of Pakistan and were the largest ethnic entity in undivided North
India. Majority of them are Hindus.
Dogri is one of the official languages of India. Apart from a separate and distinct language, Dogras have a unique culture of their own which is as rich as diverse. They trace their ancestry to Ikshvaku i.e. Solar dynasty of North India, the same clan in which Lord Rama was born.
The Dogra rule emerged as a great regional power, particularly after Maharaja Gulab Singh emerged as a great warrior General in the Sikh army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Gulab Singh extended the Dogra rule over the entire Jammu and Kashmir and large part of Pubjab, now Himachal Pradesh besides extending the boundaries of his empire to Gilgit-Baltistan and Western Tibet with the help of his warrior General Zorawar Singh. Dogras helped in expansion and consolidation of Sikh empire. Dogras received special martial recognition of Sikh empire. Dogras received special martial recognition from the British for their traditional military mindset. Under the treaty of Amritsar dated 16 th March 1846, Gulab Singh was recognized as the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir State. Maharaja Hari Singh was the last ruler of Jammu and Kashmir who acceded his entire princely state to the Indian Union on 26 th October, 1947, 1/3rd of which is under illegal occupation of Pakistan and China. At present the state of Jammu and Kashmir consists of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.