A Modern History of Jammu and Kashmir, Volume One the Troubled Years of Maharaja Hari Singh (1925-1949)

The modern history of Jammu and Kashmir is often focused mainly on theKashmir valley, leaving out the other regions that make up the bulk of theerstwhile Princely State. A similar limitation marks most discussions of therule of the fourth-generation Dogra ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, MaharajaHari Singh. After his inheritance of the throne in 1925, Hari Singh introduceda number of progressive reforms-among them, programmes for girleducation, opening temple doors for Dalits and abolishing the exploitativebegar system of labour. However, contemporary historians look past thesereforms and focus only on the issue of the accession of the State to India.At a time when the entire subcontinent was reeling from the shock andviolence of Partition, the Maharaja had to decide which dominion-India orPakistan-the State would join. How was he to choose where to put his trust,especially after Pakistan-backed Pashtun tribals invaded the State and Indiarefused to offer military help? Was any decision possible that would appeaseall-the Muslim majority of Kashmir, the Hindu majority of Jammu and theBuddhist majority of Ladakh?Those tumultuous times took a toll on Hari Singh during the final years of hisreign. Accession to India was not as easy as he had hoped, and pressurised byNehru and Sardar Patel, the Maharaja was forced to choose exile in 1949 andspent the rest of his days in Bombay.Harbans Singh's A Modern History of Jammu and Kashmir,Volume One: The TroubledYears of Maharaja Hari Singh (1925-1949) offers a more rounded history of theState than most available scholarship. The first volume in a trilogy, this bookoffers a strong and nuanced defence of the last ruler of Jammu and Kashmirand is a valuable document in understanding its evolving history.