Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)

This article is about the administration of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu. For the history, see Kashmir § History.

Jammu and Kashmir
1846–1952
Flag of Jammu and Kashmir
Map of Kashmir showing the borders of the princely state in dark red.
Map of Kashmir showing the borders of the princely state in dark red.
StatusPrincely state
Capital
Common languagesKashmiri, Dogri, Ladakhi, Balti, Shina, Pahari-Pothwari
Religion
Hinduism (state), Islam (majority), Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism
GovernmentMonarchy
Maharaja 
• 1846–1857
Gulab Singh (first)
• 1925–1952
Hari Singh (last)
Dewan 
• 1947–1948
Mehr Chand Mahajan (first)
• 1948–1952
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
• End of First Kashmir War (cession of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan)
1 January 1949
• Constitutional state of India
17 November 1952
• Disestablished
1952
Today part ofDisputed; see Kashmir conflict

Jammu and Kashmir, also known as Kashmir and Jammu,[1] was a princely state in a subsidiary alliance with the British East India Company from 1846 to 1858 and under the paramountcy (or tutelage[2][3]) 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.[4][5][6] The princely state was created after the First Anglo-Sikh War, when the East India Company, which had annexed the Kashmir Valley,[7] from the Sikhs as war indemnity, then sold it to the Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh, for rupees 75 lakhs.

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[8] to India in return for the Indian military being airlifted to Kashmir, to engage the Pakistan-supported forces.[9] The western and northern districts now known as Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan passed to the control of Pakistan after it occupied it,[10] while the remaining territory stayed under Indian control, later becoming the Indian administered state of Jammu and Kashmir.[11] 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.[12][13]

  1. ^ "Kashmir and Jammu", Imperial Gazetteer of India, 15, Secretary of State for India in Council: Oxford at the Clarendon Press: 71–, 1908, archived from the original on 21 December 2019, retrieved 27 August 2019
  2. ^ Sneddon, Christopher (2021), Independent Kashmir: An incomplete aspiration, Manchester University Press, pp. 12–13, Paramountcy was the 'vague and undefined' feudatory system whereby the British, as the suzerain power, dominated and controlled India's princely rulers. ... These 'loyal collaborators of the Raj' were 'afforded [British] protection in exchange for helpful behavior in a relationship of tutelage, called paramountcy'.
  3. ^ Ganguly, Sumit; Hagerty, Devin T. (2005), Fearful Symmetry: India-Pakistan Crises in the Shadow of Nuclear Weapons, Seattle and New Delhi: University of Washington Press, and Oxford University Press, p. 22, ISBN 0-295-98525-9, ... the problem of the 'princely states'. These states had accepted the tutelage of the British Crown under the terms of the doctrine of 'paramountcy' under which they acknowledged the Crown as the 'paramount' authority in the subcontinent.
  4. ^ "Kashmir: region, Indian subcontinent". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2016. Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent. It is bounded by the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang to the northeast and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the east (both parts of China), by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south, by Pakistan to the west, and by Afghanistan to the northwest. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, ... The southern and southeastern portions constitute the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian- and Pakistani-administered portions are divided by a "line of control" agreed to in 1972, although neither country recognizes it as an international boundary. In addition, China became active in the eastern area of Kashmir in the 1950s and since 1962 has controlled the northeastern part of Ladakh (the easternmost portion of the region)."
  5. ^ "Kashmir", Encyclopedia Americana, Scholastic Library Publishing, 2006, p. 328, ISBN 978-0-7172-0139-6, archived from the original on 17 January 2023, retrieved 18 December 2021 C. E Bosworth, University of Manchester Quote: "KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered mostly by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947";
  6. ^ Osmańczyk, Edmund Jan (2003), Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: G to M, Taylor & Francis, pp. 1191–, ISBN 978-0-415-93922-5, archived from the original on 17 January 2023, retrieved 18 December 2021 Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China."
  7. ^ Panikkar, Gulab Singh 1930, p. 111–125.
  8. ^ 1st Edition Cold War in the High Himalayas The USA, China and South Asia in the 1950s By S. Mahmud Ali Copyright 1999( When tribal Pathan militias from Pakistan's North-West Frontiers joined Sudhan Pathan rebels fighting for freedom, Hari Singh fled to Jammu and reportedly signed a letter of accession to India.) Page 19 [1]
  9. ^ "Q&A: Kashmir dispute - BBC News". BBC News. 7 July 2010. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  10. ^ Schofield, Victoria (6 May 2003). Kashmir in Conflict. London: I. B.Tauris & Co Ltd. p. xii. ISBN 1-86064-898-3 – via archive.org.
  11. ^ Bose, Sumantra (2003). Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace. Harvard University Press. pp. 32–37. ISBN 0-674-01173-2.
  12. ^ "History, People, Conflict, Map, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. 20 July 1998. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir - A line on fire" (PDF). Retrieved 29 March 2024.