Hari Singh

Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir, Hari Singh (1895-1961)

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

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 Ajmer. 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 India 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 India and Pakistan . However, following an invasion by tribesmen from Pakistan in October 1947, Singh appealed to India for help.^[1] India refused to come to his aid unless he acceded to India.^[2] He then signed the Instrument of Accession (Jammu and Kashmir) on October 26, 1947 acceding the Jammu and Kashmir princely state (including Jammu, Kashmir, Northern Areas, Ladakh, Trans-Karakoram Tract and Aksai Chin) to the Dominion of India.^[3][4]. 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 Bombay 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 Rajkot 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:
   • Karan Singh (9 March 1931-)

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

• Delhi Durbar Medal-1903
• Delhi Durbar Medal-1911
• Prince of Wales Visit Medal-1922
• Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE)-1929 (KCIE-1918)
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy-1930
• Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI)-1933
• King George V Silver Jubilee Medal-1935
• King George VI Coronation Medal-1937
• Hon. LL.D from Punjab University-1938
• Grand Officer of the Legion d'Honneur-1938
• 1939-1945 Star-1945
• Africa Star-1945
• War Medal 1939-1945-1945
• India Service Medal-1945
• Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO)-1946 (KCVO-1922)
• Indian Independence Medal-1947

See also

• List of topics on the land and the people of “Jammu and Kashmir”
• The royal house of Jammu and Kashmir

References

External links

• Genealogy of the ruling chiefs of Jammu and Kashmir
• Proclamation of May 1, 1951 on Jammu & Kashmir Constituent Assembly by Yuvraj (Crown Prince) Karan Singh (Son of Maharajah Hari Singh) from the Official website of Government of Jammu and Kashmir, India
• Conflict in Kashmir: Selected Internet Resources by the Library, University of California, Berkeley, USA; University of California at Berkeley Library Bibliographies and Web-Bibliographies list
• [Ref.: http://newstodaynet.com/2006sud/06jan/1201ss1.htm The role of Shri Guruji Golwalkar (Sir Sanghachalak of the Rashtreeya Swayamsevak Sangh - R S S)]