More Sinned Against - The Banished Maharaja

Sanjeev Munshi

Maharaja Hari Singh of J&K is said to have -planted a Chinar Tree (Platanus orientalis) at Verinag, Kashmir, to commemorate the birth of his son on March 9, 1931 At age 91, Dr Karan Singh stands along the magnificent tree, as old as he is! That he did not accept his father's advice- in 1947 is a different story!

Recently, J&K Govt declared Sept 23 a public holiday to commemorate the birth anniversary of the late Maharaja, 61 years after his demise. A belated attempt at undoing the grave injustice done to this patriotic Maharaja who became an unwitting victim of the Machiavellian politics of the British and the vindictiveness of two politicians-Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah There was also an angry tweet exchange between the Congress know-all, Jairam Ramesh and Law Minister Kiren Rijiju about the role of Maharaja Hari Singh in the accession of J&K with India in 1947-48. Congressmen are expected to defend every action of Nehru, their demi-god, a riding whose shoulders they have been ruling India!

History, as it is written, does not always reflect the truth or reveal various facets of truth. Sometimes people get tainted with allegations, not always the whole truth, yet the stains survive. History always has been a handmaiden of the victors and the powerful. Without the backing of the throne, heroes get cheated of their due. Maharaja Hari Singh, the last Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, is one such historical figure, much wronged, much maligned and sinned against than he ever deserved to be. He was banished from his own kingdom due to the whims and caprice of influential people who received power in 1947. He was painted in various shades of grey and black so that the perpetrators could shine in comparison, their crimes forgotten. Maharaja Hari Singh, too, was deliberately vilified personally and depicted as a vacillating ruler, a tyrant, and an autocrat, amongst other negative epithets. Today, in the time of social media, we talk about false news/ false narratives, slanted, biassed media presentations and manipulate content - there appears to be very little that is new under the sun. Early Life:

Born on September 23, 1895, at Amar Mahal Palace, Jammu as a scion of the Dogra dynasty that ruled J&K, Hari Singh was the only surviving son of Raja Amar Singh, brother of the then ruler of J&K, Maharaja Pratap Singh. Since the Maharaja had no son, Hari Singh was declared Heir Apparent to the Maharaja. At age 13, he was sent to Mayo College, Ajmer - the Eton of India, for his princely education. In 1909, Hari Singh lost his father, and the British Resident appointed Maj H.K. Brar as his guardian. After finishing school, Yuvraj was sent to Dehradun for his formal military training at the Imperial Cadet Corps. In 1915, Maharaja Pratap Singh appointed him as Commander in Chief of the State Forces.

However, he was intelligent and suave enough not to show it openly. He was aware of the British attempts to destabilise his uncle, Maharaja Pratap Singh. Later, as a dashing prince, he visited Europe and became a victim of the greed of his own aide-de-camp, Captain CW Arthur of the British Army. Capt. Arthur got the young prince, whom he was supposed to safeguard from danger in all its forms, embroiled in a sex scandal in Paris. Yuvraj returned to India to face the wrath of his King. Humiliated, Yuvraj Hari Singh is said to have shaved off his moustache besides doing penance for six months! This episode scarred the young prince's psyche-the betrayal, cheating and exploitation hurt him, and he never forgave the British.Yuvraj Hari Singh became the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir after the death of his uncle, Maharaja Pratap Singh, coincidentally on his thirtieth birthday on 23rd September 1925. His full Royal Title was 'Shriman Indar Mahindra Rajrajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Shri Jammu Kashmir Naresh Tatha Tibet Deshadhipati'. The State of Jammu and Kashmir included Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Muzaffarabad-Mirpur, Aksai Chin and Saksham Valley, with feudatories like Hunza and Nagar. It was one of the biggest Kingdoms enjoying autonomy and internal sovereignty till 1947. As a monarch, he proved extremely progressive, introducing revolutionary socio-economic and political changes. He outlawed begar (forced labour), untouchability, Purdah and money lending; threw open the gates of temples to every citizen, introduced widow remarriage, passed the Act of Hereditary State Subject in 1927; introduced major agriculture and land reforms; made primary education free, increased number of schools from 706 to 20,728; encouraged female and adult literacy, set up two of the subcontinent's biggest hospitals besides the democratic institution of Praja Sabha. During his coronation, Maharaja Hari Singh proclaimed, "If I am considered worthy of governing this state, then 1 will say that for me all communities, religion and races are equal. As a ruler I have no religion. All religions are mine and my religion is justice. My duty is to look at everyone with equality. I shall, as far as possible, work with justice."

Unlike his predecessors, Hari Singh was Kashmiri (and Dogri) speaking and Western- educated with good exposure to the world. He was undoubtedly a hard-core product of the feudal order where ruling his subjects was taken to be a God-given birthright. A man not keen on religious rituals did not discriminate between his subjects based on caste, creed or religion. Indifferent to the opinions of his fellow co- religionists, he gave importance only to meritocracy and appointed the best talent in his court, administration, and the army Maharaja's personal staff, ADCs, Secretaries even cooks were a blend of all religions of his kingdom.

The Cat and Mouse Game with the British

Hari Singh's troubles with the British started soon after the 1930 Round Table Conference in London. As part of their strategy to counterbalance the popular representatives from British India, the British had packed the conference with many rulers from princely states. As the largest state, Jammu and Kashmir were given the pride of place. Much to the horror of the British, Hari Singh, Chairman of the Chamber of Princes, literally knocked the wind out of the British strategy when he got up to make his speech: "While Indian Princes valued the British connection, they had full sympathy for the aspirations of their motherland for an equal and honourable place in the comity of nations. As Indians and loyal to the land whence they derived their birth and infant nature, the princes stood solidly with their countrymen for India's enjoyment of a position of honour and equality in the British Commonwealth of Nations."

His clear support of the "seditious" demand for independence was a major setback to the Government of India, for no prince had dared to say such things until then openly. It set the tone for the First Round Table Conferences in many ways. Hari Singh was henceforth a marked man in the eyes of the British - an "unreliable ally". The British response was typical to destabilise the Maharaja by playing up the communal card, he was, after all, the Hindu King of Muslim-majority state! British started by demanding the control of Gilgit since it was a key "listening post" for Central Asia and USSR. Maharaja obviously refused. As part of the plan, an Ahmadi rabble rouser Abdul Qadir was brought into Srinagar from Peshawar by the British intelligence in the garb of a cook who started inflaming passions every Friday by way of sermons at mosques. Simultaneously, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, an ambitious, suave, 'Quran quoting' and 'educated' young Muslim, who used the pulpit effectively, was roped in. Abdullah's firebrand views had come to the notice of the then J&K PM, George Wakefield, and he let it be known through his personal assistant, Khalifa Abdul Hakim, that he was 'impressed' with Abdullah. With Wakefield's tacit approval, it was decided to use Sheikh Abdullah as the cat's paw. A Lahore-based organisation, The Kashmir Conference, was activated by the British Indian Government under the direct control of the Governor General, Lord Irwin. These machinations led to the infamous Communal Riots of July 1931, weakening the Maharaja. On March 26th 1935, Maharaja accepted the British demand, ceding control and administration of Gilgit town plus most of the Gilgit Agency and the hill-states Hunza, Nagar, Yasin and Ishkoman for 60: years to the British. Even after taking control of the Gilgit Agency, the British were not done with Maharaja Hari Singh. To quote Pt PN Kaul Bamzai, the noted chronicler of Kashmir, the British suddenly found virtue in a people's movement and started encouraging the rise of Sheikh Abdullah as a major challenge to the royal powers in the state. A new dimension had come into play in the power politics of J&K-a heady mix of a religion-based quest for the removal of the Dogras. In a society largely uneducated and religious, the parables and words of saints come in handy to inspire as well as arouse. Since Sheikh Abdullah was adept at scriptures, he quickly succeeded in building a large following in the Valley.

Partition and Kashmir: The British Role Jammu Kashmir was probably the most strategically important of the princely states in India. Its boundaries touched China, Tibet, Pakistan and Afghanistan, even being proximal with Russia. Britain never really wanted Jammu and Kashmir to join India for their own future strategies and were, therefore, pro-Pakistan in their approach. Lord Mountbatten and, before him, Lord Wavell were both military men. Their approach was to create a militarily stable Pakistan (the partition pattern of Gurdaspur is a case in point). It is interesting to note that Lord Wavell originally devised the Sir Staford Kripps plan to partition Punjab. Pakistan's water supply was largely from rivers passing through or originating from J&K (Indus, Chenab & Jhelum). Considering all these factors, Britain wanted Kashmir to be integrated with Pakistan. Had this region been in British India, it would not have been difficult to hand over J&K to Pakistan. However, unfortunately, this was a princely state, about which only the ruler of the state could take a decision.

Hari Singh could also foresee future trouble. From the beginning, he wanted to accede to India but had serious misgivings about Nehru for his inexplicable fondness for Abdullah. An episode in 1946 added to the complications - Abdullah started an anti- Maharaja agitation (Quit Kashmir) and was arrested on May 15, 1946. Nehru tried to J&K to meet/ represent Abdullah but was stopped from trying to enter J&K without formal permission. Nehru tried to force his way in but had his car tyres burst in response. He was arrested on June 22 and kept at a Dak Bungalow at Domel, Muzaffarabad, for two nights till Gandhi called him back. Vindictive and vain, Nehru never forgot this insult and later took revenge on the Maharaja.

Maharaja had his reasons for procrastinating in deciding to join India:

He wanted to join India and save himself and his Hindu population from the disaster happening in neighbouring Punjab. Communal riots had broken out in Punjab from February 24, 1947.

Entire British machinery, from Mountbatten down to the British Resident, was putting pressure on him to join Pakistan or, at least, keep things on hold.

Jinnah offered him several lollipops, but Maharaja never trusted him. It must be put on record that Maharaja refused permission to Jinnah to enter Kashmir several times in 1946 and 1947. .

He had serious misgivings about Nehru due to his arrogance and venality

He did not trust Abdullah as he knew he was playing a double game.

Once the partition plan was announced on June 3, 1947, Mountbatten personally came to Kashmir (June 19-23, 1947) to persuade Hari Singh to join Pakistan. In a very interesting twist, Hari Singh refused to meet the Viceroy on the day of his return, pretending to have colic pain. Mountbatten told Nehru on June 24, 1947, that:

 

He had told Hari Singh not to decide on joining any constituent assembly till the Pakistan constituent assembly was set up and the picture became clearer. He had also suggested that in the interim, Hari Singh should not declare independence in the interim and enter into a "standstill" agreement with both the new states.

This is exactly what the Maharaja did. He signed a "Stand Still" agreement with Pakistan and requested India for a similar arrangement. That India did not respond is another story! Maharaja, all along, had his misgivings about Nehru's protégé Abdullah who was in touch with Jinnah. Abdullah secretly travelled to Lahore in the first week of October 1947 but was humiliated when Jinnah refused to see him by saying that there was no need to see this man as Kashmir is in my pocket'. Jinnah even declared that the coming Eid (October 1947) would be celebrated in Srinagar.

Once it became clear to Jinnah that Maharaja was not keen on joining Pakistan, seizing Kashmir militarily was the only option left. What encouraged Jinnah was the rebellion that had broken out in Poonch Jagir, an area bordering the Rawalpindi district of West Punjab and the Hazara district of NWFP, led by Muslim soldiers (appx 70,000) who had returned home after participating in World War II. The leader of the rebellion, Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, escaped to Lahore by the end of August 1947 and persuaded the Pakistani authorities to back the rebellion. In addition to the backing, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan authorised an invasion of the state by the ex-Indian National Army personnel in the south and a force led by Major Khurshid Anwar in the north Pakistan launched Operation Gulmarg by mobilising tribals from the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) on 22nd October 1947.

Muslim soldiers of the J&K State Army had rebelled and joined the invading tribesmen. Brigadier Rajinder Singh, the Chief of Staff of J&K met the invaders head-on at Uri with a contingent of 200 soldiers The state forces fought to the last man, to the last bullet and managed to delay the invaders' advance by about 4 days by blowing up the bridge over River Kishanganga On 24th October, Maharaja Hari Singh appealed to India for military assistance to stop the aggression Nehru was ready to accept the accession of Jammu and Kashmir in India but only after Maharaja Hari Singh had transferred power to Sheikh Abdullah. Such conditions were not imposed on any other state. It was clear that Nehru was allowing personal likes (Abdullah) and dislikes (Maharaja) to interfere in statecraft. Maharaja Hari Singh signed and executed the instrument of accession as per the wishes of Nehru on October 26, 1947 Maharaja Hari Singh had merged the state with India without any condition none could have been attached as - conditional accession was not warranted by the 1947 Act of Independence passed by the British Parliament. However, the strings of 'popular rule' attached by the Indian government helped Abdullah gain total power.

Interestingly, in Delhi, all decisions related to J&K were being taken not by the Cabinet but by the Defence Committee, headed by Mountbatten. This allowed Mountbatten to play a role far exceeding that of a constitutional figurehead and culminated, at the end of the year, in the decision to refer the Kashmir issue to the United Nations.

Mountbatten and the British Army top brass tried their best to derail the plan to airlift arms and troops to Kashmir, despite Sardar Patel's specific instructions Commander-in-Chief General Lockhart, acting in collusion with Field Marshal Auchinleck, took the position that no arms or aircraft were available in Delhi. The British were aware of the tribal invasion plan and wanted to give time to Pakistanis to take control of as much territory as possible before the snows set in by November Patel's acumen saw through this, and he ensured that Indian troops started flying to Srinagar on the morning of October 27-he made a public broadcast over the radio, requesting private planes to airlift the jawans By 10 30 a.m. on October 27, Delhi received a wireless message from the Srinagar airfield conveying the news that Lieutenant Colonel Ranjit Rai and his 148 troops of the Sikh Regiment had landed Mountbatten expressed his unhappiness in these classic words, "With great difficulty, I have convinced Patel that if J&K integrates with Pakistan, you should not feel bad. But my entire plan failed. All this happened because of that bloody fool Hari Singh, Revealing, indeed!

The British Army brass continued its efforts to work in favour of Pakistan On October 31st October 1947, the night Gilgit Scout Paramilitary Force, led by Major William Brown, arrested Brigadier Ghansara Singh, Governor of Gilgit On 4th November 1947, Major William Brown pulled down the flag of Jammu and Kashmir state, hoisted the Pakistani flag in the region and declared that Gilgit now belongs to Pakistan This led to the seizure of Chilas, Koh, Ghizr, Ishkoman, Yasin, Punial, Hunza and Nagar territories. The Gilgit Scouts, commanded by British officers, then moved towards Baltistan and Ladakh; they captured Skardu by May 1948. They successfully blocked the Indian reinforcements and captured Drass and Kargil, cutting off the Indian communications to Leh The Indian forces mounted an offensive in the autumn of 1948 and recaptured all Kargil district Baltistan region, however, could not be implementation.

The chosen' Prime Minister of J&K, Sheikh Abdullah, usurped all powers and started issuing a series of statements intended to humiliate and malign the Maharaja, even painting him as unpatriotic In order to avoid embarrassment, the Maharaja proposed to Sardar Patel on May 6, 1949, that the Government of find a suitable position in Delhi where his services could be utilised, befitting his position; there was no response Under pressure from Sheikh Abdullah, the Maharaja was asked to desist from returning to the state and was finally exiled. Thus, the Maharaja was banished from his land, an action that had neither the sanction of law nor political morality. On June 20, 1949, the three Dogra dynasty members embarked on their lonely journeys, the Maharaja took a train to Bombay, the estranged Maharani took the road to Kasauli, and the newly appointed Regent, Yuvraj Karan Singh, flew to Srinagar to work with Sheikh Abdullah!

In 1857, the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was exiled to Rangoon for resisting a foreign power-a case of a native being exiled by a foreign occupying force, the British. In the case of Maharaja Hari Singh, it was done by his own country's rulers in Delhi for no fault of his. Interesting to compare his position with Nizam of Hyderabad, who had also delayed his accession to the Dominion of India. Govt of India had to take 'police action' in Hyderabad and yet, since mature men were handling the issue, Nizam was designated as Rajpramukh, a titular yet respectable designation that he continued to hold till 1956. Patel had assured Hari Singh that his stay outside the state would be a temporary phase and that he would return after a settlement about the plebiscite was finalised After signing a proclamation appointing his 18- year-old son, Yuvraj Karan Singh, as the Regent of Jammu and Kashmir, the Maharaja took a train to Bombay on June 20, 1949, and started living there. As events unfolded, the plebiscite never took place, and only the ashes of the exiled ruler returned to Jammu. Maharaja Hari Singh died in exile on April 26, 1961, because of two petty-minded people - Nehru and Abdullah.

In hindsight, the history of the post-1947 subcontinent cannot be fully appreciated without critically examining Maharaja's role So far, it has not even been adequately narrated Those who made some attempts have judged him rather harshly through the eyes of other prominent forces of the time without applying the test of objectivity and credibility to the sources from where they drew their arguments It is time we give the late Maharaja his due as a staunch nationalist and a progressive ruler! He was a typical product of the feudal social system of the twentieth century - yet went on to give his state major socio-political reforms. By ignoring the compulsions under which he operated, the machinations of the British and the vain mindsets of the Nehru-Abdullah combo, history has been horribly manipulated to suit political masters.

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Courtesy:- Sanjeev Munshi and December 2022, Koshur Samachar