Hari Singh

2015-10-25T16:23:17Z

90.200.46.221: /* Reign */

{{other uses|}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox Monarch
| title = Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir
| more =
| image = Sir Hari Singh Bahadur, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, 1944.jpg
| caption = Hari Singh in 1944
| succession = [[Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir]]
| reign = 1925–1961
| predecessor = [[Pratap Singh of Jammu and Kashmir]]
| successor = Monarchy Abolished ([[Karan Singh]] As [[Head of State]])
| issue = [[Karan Singh]]
| spouse = Maharani Tara Devi (4th Wife)
| house = [[Royal House of Jammu and Kashmir]]
| father = Amar Singh
| mother =
| birth_date = 23 September 1895
| birth_place = [[Jammu]], [[Kashmir and Jammu]], [[British Raj]]
| death_date = 26 April 1961
| death_place = [[Bombay]], [[India]]
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
| signature =
|name = Hari Singh {{nq|ہری سنگھ}}}}
[[File:Sir Hari Singh Bahadur, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, 1920.jpg|right|thumb|Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir, Mr. Hari Singh (1895–1961)]]

'''Hari Singh''' ([[Urdu]];{{nq|ہری سنگھ}}) also known as Maharaja Hari Singh ({{nq|مهاراجه حری سنگه}}) (born 23 September 1895 in [[Jammu]]; died 26 April 1961 in [[Mumbai | Bombay]], [[India]]) was the last ruling [[Maharaja]] of [[princely state]] of [[Kashmir and Jammu (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] in India.

He was married four times. With his fourth wife, [[Maharani Tara Devi]] (1910–1967), he had one son, [[Yuvraj]] (Crown Prince) [[Karan Singh]].

==Early life==
Hari Singh was born into the Hindu [[Kachwaha]] caste, part of the [[Rajput]] community. He was born on 23 September 1895 at the palace of Amar Mahal, [[Jammu]], the only surviving son of General Raja Sir Amar Singh Jamwal (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 of Jammu and Kashmir|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 [[George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston|Lord Curzon]] at the grand [[Delhi Durbar]]. At the age of thirteen, Hari Singh was dispatched to [[Mayo College]] in [[Ajmer]]. A year later, in 1909, his father died, and the British took a keen interest in his education and appointed Major H. K. Brar as his guardian. After Mayo College, the ruler-in-waiting went to the British-run Imperial Cadet Corps at Dehra Dun for military training. By the age of twenty he had been appointed as commander-in-chief of the state of Kashmir.

== Reign ==
[[File:The last Maharaja of Kashmir.jpg|thumb|The last Maharaja of Kashmir]]
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 opened places of worship to the low [[caste]]s.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}

Singh was hostile towards the [[Indian National Congress]], in part because of the close friendship between Kashmiri political activist and socialist [[Sheikh Abdullah]] and [[Jawaharlal 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, after India gained independence from British rule, Jammu and Kashmir had the option to join either India or Pakistan or to remain independent {{citation needed|date=July 2015}}. He originally manoeuvred to maintain his independence by playing off India and Pakistan. There was a widespread belief that rulers of the princely states, in deciding to accede to India or Pakistan, should respect the wishes of the population, but few rulers took any steps to consult on such decisions. Jammu and Kashmir was a Muslim majority state, and Pashtun tribesmen from Pakistan invaded Jammu and Kashmir with the help of Pakistan's government under the impression that Hari Singh would accede to India. Hari Singh appealed to India for help.<ref>[http://www.jammu-kashmir.com/documents/harisingh47.html Maharaja Hari Singh's Letter to Mountbatten]</ref> Although the Indian Prime Minister Nehru was ready to send troops, the Governor-General of India, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, advised the Maharaja to accede to India before India would send its troops. Hence, considering the emergent situation, the Maharaja signed an Instrument of Accession to the Dominion of India.

Hari Singh signed the [[Instrument of Accession (Jammu and Kashmir)|Instrument of Accession]] on 26 October 1947, acceding the whole of his princely state (including Jammu, Kashmir, [[Northern Areas]], [[Ladakh]], [[Trans-Karakoram Tract]] and [[Aksai Chin]]) to the [[Dominion of India]].<ref>Justice A. S. Anand, ''The Constitution of Jammu & Kashmir'' (5th edition, 2006), [http://books.google.com/books?id=wSXRUwNnMB0C&pg=PA67 page 67]</ref><ref>[http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2004/rp04-028.pdf Kashmir, Research Paper 04/28 by Paul Bowers, House of Commons Library, United Kingdom.], page 46, 30 March 2004</ref> These events triggered the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947|first Indo-Pakistan War]].

Pressure from Nehru and [[Sardar Patel]] eventually compelled Hari Singh to appoint his son and heir, [[Yuvraj]] (Crown Prince) [[Karan Singh]], as Regent of Jammu and Kashmir in 1949, although he remained titular Maharaja of the state until 1952, when the monarchy was abolished. Karan Singh was appointed 'Sadr-e-Riyasat' ('President of the Province') in 1952 and [[Governor of Jammu and Kashmir|Governor of the State]] in 1964.

Hari Singh spent his final days in Kashmir at the [[Hari Niwas Palace]] in Jammu, before going to [[Exile]], where he died on 26 September 1961.<ref>{{cite news |title= J&K power defaulters cocking a snook at CM|url=http://dailypioneer.com/nation/123006-jak-power-defaulters-cocking-a-snook-at-cm.html |publisher=Daily Pioneer |date=18 January 2013 |accessdate=16 February 2013}}</ref>

===Seal of Maharaja Hari Singh===
[[File:Seal of Maharaja Hari Singh on the cover of the Civil List.jpg|thumb|right|Detail of the Seal of Maharaja Hari Singh as printed on the Civil List of his government]]
The British Crown is at the top, representing the Emperor of India, whose Resident was posted in Kashmir. A ''[[Katar (dagger)|katar]]'' or ceremonial dagger sits below the crown. Two soldiers hold flags. An image of the sun is between them, as the Rajput clan to which Hari Singh belonged claimed to have descended from the sun.

==Family==

# Dharampur Rani Sri Lal Kunverba Sahiba; married at [[Rajkot]] 7 May 1913, died during pregnancy in 1915. No child.
# [[Chamba, Himachal Pradesh|Chamba]] Rani Sahiba; married at Chamba 8 November 1915, died 31 January 1920. No child.
# [[Maharani]] Dhanvant Kunveri Baiji Sahiba (1910–19?); married at Dharampur 30 April 1923. No child.
# [[Maharani]] Tara Devi Sahiba of Kangra,(1910–1967); married 1928, separated 1950, one son:

*[[Yuvraj]] (Crown Prince), i.e., heir-apparent [[Karan Singh]] (9 March 1931–)

==Titles==
[[File:Titles of Maharaja Hari singh and Yuvraj Karan Singh.jpg|left|thumb|Titles of Maharaga Hari Singh and Yuvraj Karan Singh on the first page of his Civil List of 1945]]
[[File:Civillistwiki.jpg|left|thumb|Title page of Civi List(List of civil officers of Hari Singh) 1945 .Interesting for two reasons. (a) Has seal of Maharaja Hari singh at Bottom.(b) On page 30 serial No:5 shows that Molvi Abdul Rahim one of the leaders of the 1931 agitation was appointed as a judge by the Maharaja in 1934.This proves that the agitation was for democratic reforms and not directed against the Maharaja]]
*1895–1916: Sri Hari Singh
*1916–1918: [[Raja]] Sri Hari Singh
*1918–1922: [[Captain (land and air)|Captain]] Raja Sir Hari Singh, [[Order of the Indian Empire|KCIE]]
*1922–1925: Captain Raja Sri Sir Hari Singh, KCIE, [[Royal Victorian Order|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]]
{{Clear}}

==Honours==
<center>
(ribbon bar, as it would look today; incomplete)

[[File:Ord.Stella.India.jpg|100px]]
[[File:Order of the Indian Empire Ribbon.svg|100px]]

[[File:Royal Victorian Order ribbon sm.jpg|100px]]
[[File:India Service Medal BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:39-45 Star BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:Africa Star BAR.svg|100px]]

[[File:War Medal 39-45 BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:Med.DelhiDurbar1903.png|100px]]
[[File:King George V Coronation Medal ribbon.png|100px]]
[[File:GeorgeVSilverJubileum-ribbon.png|100px]]

[[File:GeorgeVICoronationRibbon.png|100px]]
[[File:Indian Independence medal 1947.svg|100px]]
[[File:Cavaliere di Gran Croce OCI Kingdom BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:Legion Honneur GO ribbon.svg|100px]]
</center>

*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 [[Panjab University|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
{{Clear}}

== Accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India ==
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2015}}

{{Further|Timeline of the Kashmir conflict}}

Kashmir became a [[princely state]] on 16{{nbsp}}March 1846 after its acquisition by the British. They then sold it to [[Gulab Singh]], the ruler of [[Jammu]]. Hari Singh was the great-grandson of Gulab Singh.

The founder of Pakistan, [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]], had perhaps assumed that Kashmir, by the logic of its majority Muslim population, would become a part of his country. But a few years before Partition, when he sent an aide to Kashmir for an assessment, the conclusion was sobering: "No important religious leader has ever made Kashmir his home or even an ordinary center of Islamic activities", the aide reported that "It was require considerable effort, spread over a long period of time, to reform them and convert them to true Muslims."

Hari Singh, in the weeks after 15{{nbsp}}August 1947, gave no indication of giving up his State’s independence. Pakistan then decided to force the issue, and a tribal invasion to drive out the Maharaja was given the green light.

According to C. B. Duke, the then British High Commissioner in Lahore, "[[Kashmir]] has always been regarded as a land flowing with milk and honey, and if to the temptation to loot [by the tribesmen] is added the merit of assisting oppressed Muslims, the attractions will be nigh irresistible."

In the early hours of 24{{nbsp}}October 1947 the invasion began, as thousands of tribal [[Pathan]]s swept into Kashmir heading for [[Srinagar]], from where Hari Singh ruled.

The Maharaja appealed to India for help.

On 25{{nbsp}}October, [[V. P. Menon]], a civil servant considered to be close to Patel,{{clarify|post-text=Who? Not mentioned previously|date=August 2015}} flew to Srinagar to get Hari Singh’s approval for Kashmir’s accession to India.

On 26{{nbsp}}October, Hari Singh and his durbar shifted to Jammu, to the safety of the Maharaja’s winter palace, and out of harm’s way from the marauding tribesmen.

Hari Singh’s prime minister, [[M. C. Mahajan]], requested immediate military aid on any terms, he urged [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Nehru]], the Indian Prime Minister, to give them the military force they needed. "Take the accession and give whatever power you [India] desire to the popular party. The [[India]]n army must fly to save Srinagar or else they will go to Lahore and negotiate terms with Mr. Jinnah."

The accession to India was completed on 27{{nbsp}}October when India’s 1st Sikh battalion flew into Srinagar.

When Jinnah learnt of the Indian troops landing, he belatedly sent troops to Kashmir but by then Indian forces had taken control of nearly two thirds of the state. [[Gilgit and Baltistan]] territories were secured by Pakistani troops. Fighting between Indian troops, and the tribesmen and Pakistani troops continued for more than a year after the accession, in what is generally known as the first India-Pakistan war.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
{{Portal|India|Politics}}
* [[Kashmir conflict]]
* [[List of topics on the land and the people of "Jammu and Kashmir"]]
* [[The royal house of Jammu and Kashmir]]

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.mapsofindia.com/on-this-day/26th-october-1947-maharaja-hari-singh-agrees-to-the-accession-of-jammu-and-kashmir-to-india 26 October 1947: Maharaja Hari Singh agrees to the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India]
* [http://www.4dw.net/royalark/India/kashmir.htm Genealogy of the ruling chiefs of Jammu and Kashmir]
* [http://jammukashmir.nic.in/govt/cntit1.htm#1 Proclamation of 1 May 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]
* [http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/SSEAL/SouthAsia/kashmir.html ''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]
* {{cite web|url=http://newstodaynet.com/2006sud/06jan/1201ss1.htm |title=Salutations to Guruji Golwalkar – IV|author=V Sundaram|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081204190403/http://newstodaynet.com/2006sud/06jan/1201ss1.htm|archivedate=4 December 2008}} The role of Shri Guruji Golwalkar (Sarsanghchalak of the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] – RSS)
* [http://www.niticentral.com/2013/01/13/nehru-abdullah-betrayed-raja-hari-singh-37857.html Nehru, Abdullah betrayed Maharaja Hari Singh]
* [http://www.thekashmirwalla.com/2013/12/hari-singhs-blackmailing-love-london/#.VO2UeNKUdMg Hari Singh's Blackmailing and Love In London]
* [http://hariniwaspalace.in/ Hari Niwas Palace]

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[The Royal House of Jammu and Kashmir|Dogra Dynasty]]||23 September 1895||26 April 1961}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Partab Singh of Kashmir|Pratap Singh]]<br><small>(as Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir)</small>}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir]]|years=1925–1961}}
{{s-aft|after=Monarchy abolished 1961; succeeded by [[Karan Singh]] as ''Sadar-i-Riyasat'' (Head of State)}}
{{s-pre|}}
{{s-bef|before=None}}
{{s-tul|title=[[Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir]]|years=1961|reason=[[Republic of India|Monarchy abolished in 1961]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Karan Singh]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Persondata
| NAME = Singh, Hari
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Indian politician
| DATE OF BIRTH = 21 September 1895
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 26 April 1961
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Hari}}
[[Category:Rajput rulers]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1961 deaths]]
[[Category:Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Indian Hindus]]
[[Category:Indian knights]]
[[Category:Hindu monarchs]]

Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Hari Singh