Jammu and Kashmir, also known as Kashmir and Jammu, was a princely state in a subsidiary alliance with the British East India Company from 1846 to 1858 and under the paramountcy (or tutelage) of the British Crown, from 1858 until the Partition of India in 1947, when it became a disputed territory, now administered by three countries: China, India, and Pakistan. The princely state was created after the First Anglo-Sikh War, when the East India Company, which had annexed the Kashmir Valley, from the Sikhs as war indemnity, then sold it to the Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh, for rupees 75 lakhs.
Jammu and Kashmir | |
|---|---|
| 1846–1952 | |
.svg) | |
 Map of Kashmir showing the borders of the princely state in dark red. | |
| Status | Princely state |
| Capital | |
| Common languages | Kashmiri, Dogri, Ladakhi, Balti, Shina, Pahari-Pothwari[citation needed] |
| Religion | Hinduism (state), Islam (majority), Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism |
| Maharaja | |
• 16 March 1846 – 30 June 1857 | Gulab Singh (first) |
• 23 September 1925 – 17 November 1952 | Hari Singh (last) |
| Dewan | |
• 15 October 1947 – 5 March 1948 | Mehr Chand Mahajan (first) |
• 5 March 1948 – 17 November 1952 | Sheikh Abdullah (last) |
| History | |
• End of the First Anglo-Sikh War and formation of the state | 1846 |
• End of British Crown Suzerainty | 15 Aug 1947 |
• Beginning of the First Kashmir War | 22 Oct 1947 |
• Accession to the Indian Union | 26–27 Oct 1947 |
| 1 January 1949 | |
• Constitutional state of India | 17 November 1952 |
• Disestablished | 1952 |
| Today part of | Disputed; see Kashmir conflict |
At the time of the partition of India and the political integration of India, Hari Singh, the ruler of the state, delayed making a decision about the future of his state. However, an uprising in the western districts of the state followed by an attack by raiders from the neighbouring Northwest Frontier Province, supported by Pakistan, forced his hand. On 26 October 1947, Hari Singh acceded to India in return for the Indian military being airlifted to Kashmir, to engage the Pakistan-supported forces. The western and northern districts now known as Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan passed to the control of Pakistan after it occupied it, while the remaining territory stayed under Indian control, later becoming the Indian administered state of Jammu and Kashmir. India and Pakistan defined a cease-fire line—the line of control—dividing the administration of the territory with the intercession of the United Nations which was supposed to be temporary but still persists.
Administration
According to the census reports of 1911, 1921 and 1931, the administration was organised as follows:
- Jammu province: Districts of Jammu, Jasrota (Kathua), Udhampur, Reasi and Mirpur.
- Kashmir province: Districts of Kashmir South (Anantnag), Kashmir North (Baramulla) and Muzaffarabad.
- Frontier districts: Wazarats of Ladakh and Gilgit.
- Internal jagirs: Poonch, Bhaderwah and Chenani.
In the 1941 census, further details of the frontier districts were given:
- Ladakh wazarat: Tehsils of Leh, Skardu and Kargil.
- Gilgit wazarat: Tehsils of Gilgit and Astore
- Frontier illaqas: (under the Gilgit Agency) Punial, Ishkoman, Yasin, Kuh-Ghizer, Hunza, Nagar, Chilas.
Prime ministers (Jammu & Kashmir)
| # | Name | Took office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raja Sir Daljit Singh | 1917 | 1921 |
| 2 | Raja Hari Singh | 1925 | 1927 |
| 3 | Sir Albion Banerjee | January 1927 | March 1929 |
| 4 | G. E. C. Wakefield | 1929 | 1931 |
| 5 | Hari Krishan Kaul | 1931 | 1932 |
| 6 | Elliot James Dowell Colvin | 1932 | 1936 |
| 7 | Sir Barjor J. Dalal | 1936 | 1936 |
| 8 | Sir N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar | 1937 | July 1943 |
| 9 | Kailash Narain Haksar | July 1943 | February 1944 |
| 10 | Sir B. N. Rau | February 1944 | 28 June 1945 |
| 11 | Ram Chandra Kak | 28 June 1945 | 11 August 1947 |
| 12 | Janak Singh | 11 August 1947 | 15 October 1947 |
| 13 | Mehr Chand Mahajan | 15 October 1947 | 5 March 1948 |
| 14 | Sheikh Abdullah | 5 March 1948 | 9 August 1953 |
See also
References
Bibliography
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This article incorporates text from the Imperial Gazetteer of India, a publication now in the public domain.