Much before 1947, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of British India, had made it clear to all the princely states that they did not have the option of becoming independent. They could not even ignore the geographical reality. They will have to meet in either India or Pakistan. British journalist and author Andrew Whitehead's book 'A Mission in Kashmir' states that after independence, when on October 22, the Pakistani militia and army were moving forward with the intention of capturing Kashmir, just five days later, suddenly on October 27, In the early hours, the Indian Army advanced towards Kashmir for the first time and was taken to Srinagar airstrip.
It is believed that some time before this action, the then Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir Hari Singh had signed the Instrument of Accession of India. However, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, wanted Hari Singh to accede to Pakistan. But, Hari Singh did not agree and he wrote the fate of Jammu and Kashmir. Know the story of Maharaja Hari Singh, who is again in the news these days during the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election campaign.
Received the title of the last king of independent India
According to historian Dr. Danpal Singh, Maharaja Hari Singh, the last ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, was born on 23 September 1895 in Amar Mahal, Jammu. He was the son of Raja General Amar Singh, younger brother of Maharaja Pratap Singh. He ascended the throne after the death of Maharaja Pratap Singh in 1925. He received the title of being the 'last king of independent India'. In fact, he remained the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir until November 15, 1952, while all other rulers of the princely states ceased to be kings until 1948.
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When Hari Singh became the commander in chief, langar was started in the army.
In 1915, when Hari Singh was only 20 years old, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces. On assuming command of the state forces he introduced several reforms in the training and welfare of officers and soldiers. Central cook houses, called langars, and officers' messes were introduced by him, before which officers and men cooked their own food.
Said about Muslim people- I may be a Hindu, but my religion is justice.
According to historian HL Saxena's book 'The Tragedy of Kashmir', in his first address after assuming power in 1925, Maharaja Hari Singh had said, I am a Hindu, but as the ruler of my people I have only one religion – Justice. , He also participated in Eid celebrations and in 1928, when the city of Srinagar was flooded, he himself went on a tour and helped the Muslim people.
Union Jack removed from all government buildings, Viceroy bowed
According to Dr. Danpal Singh, Maharaja Hari Singh ordered the removal of the Union Jack (British flag) hoisted on all government buildings. The British government opposed this but did not back down. Later, at the personal request of the Viceroy, he allowed the British flag to fly only on the Resident's residential building.
Child marriage banned, Dalits allowed to enter temples
His rule has been described as glorious by British historians because of the many reforms he introduced in administration and judiciary. He carried out many reforms for the welfare and betterment of his subjects. The most notable are making primary education compulsory for all subjects, prohibiting child marriage, state subjects ordinance and opening all places of worship and water sources to people belonging to lower castes. He opened many new schools and colleges to promote education.
Successful in detecting and punishing bribery
Whenever there was shortage of money, Hari Singh took up many issues. He/she contributed from his/her personal funds. Which is mentioned in his noting on the files. He managed to curb corruption by adopting unique methods of detecting corruption, locating guilty officials and punishing them.
Who gave the Chamchagiri Award and why?
Citing George Edward Wakefield, who was a minister in the Jammu and Kashmir government, MY Saraf in his book 'Kashmiri Fights for Freedom' has said that Maharaja Hari Singh was so against Chamchagiri in the early stages of his rule that he/she instituted an annual Decided to give. Which was named 'Khushamadi Tattu' award. Under this, every year in the closed court, the biggest spoon was given a statue of a pony.
Jinnah's Muslim League was opposed
Maharaja Hari Singh faced the Kashmiri rebellion against his rule from 1931 which became a mass movement in the valley under the leadership of Sheikh Abdullah. He opposed the two-nation theory of Jinnah's Muslim League. Sheikh Abdullah strongly opposed him on this matter.
When Mountbatten said- join Pakistan
Maharaja Hari Singh was advised by Lord Mountbatten to join Pakistan on the basis of majority of the population being Muslim and being geographically close to Pakistan. But, Maharaja Hari Singh did not accept this. He asked for some time to decide the future of his kingdom. He knew that Pandit Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah were in favor of the merger of Jammu and Kashmir with India. He himself was in favor of it.
Nehru did not accept the proposal of standstill agreement
According to Dr. Danpal Singh, understanding the geographical location of Kashmir, Hari Singh offered a permanent settlement with both India and Pakistan, which unfortunately was not accepted by India. If Nehru had accepted it, India would have had more than two months to deal with any situation. This could have prevented the Pakistani attack in October 1947. After the attack on Pakistan on 21 October 1947, he appealed to India for help.
Entire Jammu and Kashmir including POK, Aksai Chin was given to India.
Danpal Singh states that Hari Singh finally signed the 'Instrument of Accession' on 26 October 1947. This included Jammu, Kashmir, Northern Areas, Ladakh, Trans Karakoram Tract, PoK and Aksai Chin. If Nehru had accepted the Maharaja's advice then perhaps there would not have been a Kashmir problem today. PoK is not occupied by Pakistan or Aksai Chin by China.
Temples were opened for lower castes
Maharaja Hari Singh had given the historic order to open the temple for Dalits in 1931. His visionary stance established him as a king deeply committed to social justice.
When the Round Table Conference was held in London, Hari Singh talked about independence
In early 1931, Maharaja Hari Singh represented the 'Indian Princely States' at the Round Table Conference held in London, the purpose of which was to discuss constitutional reforms for India. He was one of the few Indian leaders who advocated complete independence from British rule. Maharaja Hari Singh had tense relations with the British colonial administration. His strong stance against British interference in the affairs of Jammu and Kashmir earned him respect among Indian nationalists, although he also maintained neutrality to protect his state's autonomy.
It was written in the will that the ashes should be buried in the Tawi river.
Due to growing hostility with Sheikh Abdullah, he appointed Crown Prince Karan Singh as regent and moved to Bombay in 1949 where he spent the rest of his life. His passion for polo, horse racing and reading kept him busy. He breathed his last on 26 April 1961 in Bombay. As per his wish, his ashes were brought to Jammu and spread across Jammu and Kashmir and immersed in the Tawi river in Jammu.
