KASHMIR-14

Kashmir in Early 20th Century(Contd)

       During the First World War, contingents of the state forces fought for the British in East Africa, Egypt, Mesopotamia, France and Palestine. It was after the war, that Indian political leaders were pressurising the British to include local Indians into the British Government. This led to the Montage-Chelmsford reforms in 1919, which highlighted the right of the rulers of princely states to share in control of a future Indian Government. This Act linked Kashmir (being a princely state) to have ‘political relations with the Government of India’. Pratap Singh was, in the meanwhile, making concerted efforts to obtain full powers and the British ceded to some of his demands. The king was also trying his best not to name his brother’s (Hari Singh) son as heir to the throne and instead, adopt a ‘spiritual heir’ (Jagat Dev Singh) the second son of the Raja of Poonch, as heir apparent.

Reforms in Kashmir

       On 4 February 1921, the Maharajah was restored full powers with the condition that the resident’s advice would be heeded whenever it was offered. A new Executive Council was appointed and the Kashmir Reforms Scheme was introduced. It is to be said to the credit of Pratap Singh that conditions in the state did improve-revenues increased, new roads were constructed (including the road over Banihal Pass in 1915), hospitals opened and electricity was introduced. Along with this, a feeling of independence swept across Kashmir with the Kashmiri Pandits protesting the presence of 'foreigners’ in the administration, Kashmiri Muslims wanting more say in matters of state and taking up cudgels against poverty. Notable among those pressing for more power to Muslims in the state was  Syed Mohsin Shah,  a  Kashmiri  lawyer of the All India Muslim Conference and Sir Mohammed Iqbal. The protests against the dominance of  Kashmiri Pandits  in affairs of state were particularly resented.

       Maharajah Pratap Singh died on 25 September 1925 and Hari Singh ascended the throne of Jammu and Kashmir albeit with the ‘blessings’ of the British in India.

Unrest in Kashmir

       Hari Singh’s coronation was a lavish affair costing ‘millions of rupees’. The expectations from his rule were high primarily because he was seen as a progressive Maharajah having received a westernized education at Mayo College, Ajmer. However, these expectations were rudely dashed by the continued presence of  ‘outsiders’ (from Jammu) in Government service.  The  Kashmiri Pandits obtained more say in the Government after a movement by them known as ‘Kashmir for Kashmiris’. This annoyed the Muslims even more who perceived themselves as the ‘underdog’. Prominent among groups espousing the Muslim cause were the Anjuman-I-Islamiya (later the Young Men’s Muslim Association of Jammu) and the Reading Room Party in Srinagar organised by a few graduates from Aligarh university.

       Meanwhile, the British had instituted the Chamber of Princes comprising 108 rulers and twelve representatives of 127 smaller states. This followed the recommendations of the Montage and Chelmsford committee in 1918. At the first Round Table Conference held at the house of Lords in London, from November 1930 to January 1931, Hari Singh endorsed the idea of an all-India Federation which was finally enshrined in the 1935 Government of India Act.

       In 1931, Hari Singh’s fourth wife, Tara Devi, gave birth to his first-born, Karan Singh, in France. It is indeed a matter of irony that this much –awaited heir to the throne of Jammu and Kashmir could never become the Maharajah. On the other hand, Hindu-Muslim unrest took on  alarming proportions resulting in the infamous ‘Abdul Qadir’ incident of 13 July 1931, in which twenty-one people died and hundreds were arrested.