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Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir, Hari Singh (1895-1961)
Maharaja Hari Singh (23 September 1895, Jammu–26 April 1961, Mumbaimarker) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in Indiamarker.

He married Maharani Tara Devi (1910-1967), his fourth wife as his first three wives had died young, and had one son, Yuvraj (Crown Prince) Karan Singh.

Early life

Hari Singh was born on 23 September 1895 at the palace of Amar Mahal, Jammu, the only surviving son of General Raja Sir Amar Singh (14 January 1864-26 March 1909), the younger son of General Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Ranbir Singh and the brother of Lieutenant-General Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Pratap Singh, the then Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.

Education and preparation for the throne

In 1903, Hari Singh served as a Page of Honour to Lord Curzon at the grand Delhi Durbar. At the age of 13, Hari Singh was dispatched to Mayo College in Ajmermarker. A year later in 1909, when his father died, the British took a personal interest in his education and appointed Major H.K. Brar as his guardian. After Mayo College the ruler-in-waiting went to the Imperial Cadet Corps at Dehra Dun for military training, imbibing its British upper-crust atmosphere and polishing his English to a high gloss, and by the age of 20 he had been appointed commander-in-chief of the Jammu and Kashmri state forces.

Singh's reign

Following the death of his uncle, Sir Pratap Singh, in 1925, Sir Hari Singh ascended the throne of Jammu and Kashmir. He made primary education compulsory in the State, introduced laws prohibiting child marriage and threw open places of worship for the low castes.

Singh was hostile towards the Indian National Congress, in part because of the close friendship between Kashmiri political activist and socialist Sheikh Abdullah and Nehru. He also opposed the Muslim League and its members' communalist outlook illustrated in their two-nation theory. During the Second World War, from 1944-1946 Sir Hari Singh was a member of the Imperial War Cabinet.

In 1947 Indiamarker gained independence from British rule. Kashmir had the option to join either India or Pakistan. He originally manoeuvered to maintain his independence by playing off Indiamarker and Pakistanmarker . However, following an invasion by tribesmen from Pakistan in October 1947, Singh appealed to Indiamarker for help. India refused to come to his aid unless he acceded to India. He then signed the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947 acceding the Jammu and Kashmir princely state (including Jammu, Kashmirmarker, Northern Areasmarker, Ladakhmarker, Trans-Karakoram Tract and Aksai Chinmarker) to the Dominion of India.. These events triggered the first Indo-Pakistan War.

In 1951 Singh's rule was terminated by the state government of Indian-administered Kashmir. Singh retreated to Jammu and eventually left the state, dying on 26 April 1961 at Bombaymarker after a reign of 35 years, aged 66.

His son Yuvraj (Crown Prince) Karan Singh was elected 'Sadr-e-Riyasat' ('President of the Province') and Governor of the State in 1964 and is the present titular Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.

Family

Singh married four times in all:

  1. Dharampur Rani Sri Lala Kunverba Sahiba; married at Rajkotmarker 7 May 1913, died during pregnancy in 1915. No issue.
  2. Chamba Rani Sahiba; married at Chamba 8 November 1915, died 31 January 1920. No issue.
  3. Maharani Dhanvant Kunveri Baiji Sahiba (1910-19?); married at Dharampur 30 April 1923. No issue.
  4. Maharani Tara Devi Sahiba of Kangra,(1910-1967); married 1928, separated 1950, one son:


Titles

  • 1895-1916: Sri Hari Singh
  • 1916-1918: Raja Sri Hari Singh
  • 1918-1922: Captain Raja Sri Sir Hari Singh, KCIE
  • 1922-1925: Captain Raja Sri Sir Hari Singh, KCIE, KCVO
  • 1925-1926: Captain His Highness Shriman Rajrajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Hari Singh Indar Mahindar Bahadur, Sipar-i-Sultanat, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, KCIE, KCVO
  • 1926-1929: Colonel His Highness Shriman Rajrajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Hari Singh Indar Mahindar Bahadur, Sipar-i-Sultanat, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, KCIE, KCVO
  • 1929-1933: Colonel His Highness Shriman Rajrajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Hari Singh Indar Mahindar Bahadur, Sipar-i-Sultanat, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, GCIE, KCVO
  • 1933-1935: Colonel His Highness Shriman Rajrajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Hari Singh Indar Mahindar Bahadur, Sipar-i-Sultanat, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, GCSI, GCIE, KCVO
  • 1935-1941: Major-General His Highness Shriman Rajrajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Hari Singh Indar Mahindar Bahadur, Sipar-i-Sultanat, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, GCSI, GCIE, KCVO
  • 1941-1946: Lieutenant-General His Highness Shriman Rajrajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Hari Singh Indar Mahindar Bahadur, Sipar-i-Sultanat, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, GCSI, GCIE, KCVO
  • 1946-1961: Lieutenant-General His Highness Shriman Rajrajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Hari Singh Indar Mahindar Bahadur, Sipar-i-Sultanat, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO


Honours



See also



References

  1. Maharaja Hari Singh's Letter to Mountbatten
  2. Jammu and Kashmir: A Backgrounder
  3. Justice A. S. Anand, The Constitution of Jammu & Kashmir (5th edition, 2006), page 67
  4. Kashmir, Research Paper 04/28 by Paul Bowers, House of Commons Library, United Kingdom.,page 46, 2004-03-30


External links




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