Jammu and Kashmir (Principality)

Before the formation of the principality, Kashmir was part of the Pashtun Durrani Empire , and then became part of the Sikh state ; the principality of Jammu was a vassal state of the Sikh empire .

When Kishor Singh (Raja Jammu) died in 1822, the Sikhs recognized his son Gulab Singh as the heir. Using Sikh patronage, Gulab Singh began to expand his state. First he conquered the Bhaderwah . Then Kishtvar's vizier - Wazir Lakhpat - quarreled with the ruler and turned to Gulab Singh for support; when the troops of Gulab Singh arrived, the Raja Kishtvara capitulated without a fight, and Kishtvar was annexed. Control of Kishtvar gave Singh access to two roads in Ladakh , after which General Zoravar Singh conquered Ladakh during two difficult campaigns and annexed it to Jammu.

In 1840, Zoravar Singh invaded Baltistan , captured the ruler of Skardu , who supported the Ladakhs, and annexed his country. The following year, Zoravar Singh invaded Tibet , however, the cold alpine winter made his troops ineffective, and under the blows of the Tibetans he lost almost the entire army. It is unknown whether this was a deliberate policy or a chain of accidents, but by 1840 Kashmir was surrounded by the state of Gulab Singh.

In the winter of 1845, the first Anglo-Sikh war began . Gulab Singh remained neutral until the Battle of Sobraon in 1846, after which he acted as mediator and reliable adviser to Sir Henry Lawrence . Two contracts were concluded: according to the first of them, the British, as the equivalent of a contribution of 10 million rupees (which the losing party did not have) received Lahore - a hilly area between the rivers Bias and Indus ; according to the second, the British handed over to Gulab Singh 100 thousand rupees and a mountainous hilly area located east of the Indus River and west of Ravi .

However, Kashmir did not surrender to Gulab Singh without a fight. The Sikh governor Imam-ud-Din, instigated by the restless Bambas from the Jelum valley, completely defeated Singh's troops on the outskirts of Srinagar , killing Wazir Lakhpat. The mediation of Sir Henry Lawrence, however, led to the fact that Imam-ud-Din stopped resistance and Kashmir moved to the new ruler without further trouble. The Sogh troops were replaced by the Sikhs in Astor and Gilgit , and the Sikh commander Nathu Shah went to serve with Gulab Singh.

Soon after the accession of Kashmir, Gilgit was attacked by the ruler of the Hunza Valley. In response, Nathu Shah, on behalf of Gulab Singh, led the troops to Hunza, but was defeated, and Gilgit passed into the hands of the enemy, as did Punyal, Yasin and Darhel. Gulab Singh sent two columns - one from Astor and one from Baltistan - and recaptured Gilgit. In 1852, Gaur Rahman from Yasin defeated the Jammu-Kashmiri troops, and the Indus River became the princedom's border for 8 years.

In 1857, Gulab Singh passed away. During the sepoy uprising, his son Ranbir Singh , who inherited the throne, supported the British, and when everything calmed down, he decided to return Gilgit and move the border. In 1860, troops under the command of Devi Singh crossed the Indus. Just before the Jammu-Kashmir troops approached the fort, Gaur Rahman passed away and Gilgit again became part of the principality.

Ranbir Singh lacked paternal firmness and determination, and his control over the country was weak. The last period of his life was overshadowed by the terrible famine that happened in Kashmir in 1877-1879. In September 1885, he died, and the eldest son Pratap Singh inherited the throne.

Pratap Singh launched extensive road construction in the principality; improved communication has had a strong impact on people's lives. The government began to support the development of agriculture and introduced a fixed tax rate, which led to an increase in state revenue. Under Pratap Singh, attention was first drawn to the dense forests that covered the territory of the principality; the new Ministry of Forestry also began to make a significant contribution to the country's budget. The state supported education, elementary schools became free. Modern hospitals were opened in Srinagar and Jammu, medicine also began to develop in other localities, and in 1894, a vaccination campaign began in the principality.

Reclamation work was carried out in mountain valleys that suffered from severe floods, a large number of canals were dug, and hydroelectric power stations were built in some of them; In the arid regions of the principality, a large number of water tanks were built. A large silk factory was opened in Srinagar.

Pratap Singh died in 1925 without leaving an heir, and his nephew Hari Singh ascended the throne. He continued the progressive reforms of his uncle.

Hari Singh hated the Indian National Congress because of the close ties between Jawaharlal Nehru and local socialist Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah. He also had a bad attitude towards the Muslim League with its “theory of two nations.” During World War II, Hari Singh from 1944 to 1946 was a member of the Imperial War Cabinet.

In 1947, the British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act , according to which two new states were formed from the former British territories in India - the Indian Union and the Dominion of Pakistan - and the former native principalities had to decide whether to join one of them or stay independent. Initially, Hari Singh wanted his principality to remain an independent state, but the majority of the population was Muslim, and in October 1947, Muslim troops in Gilgit rebelled, demanding accession to Pakistan. On October 21, 1947, a militia of Pashtun tribes from Pakistan, and then other Pakistani forces invaded the principality. Hari Singh requested help from the Indian Union, but India agreed to provide assistance only in exchange for the principality becoming a part of it. On October 26, 1947, Hari Singh signed an agreement on the incorporation of the Principality of Jammu and Kashmir into India, but this was not recognized by Pakistan, which believed that the annexation was against the will of the majority of the population. So began the ongoing Kashmir conflict .

• Kashmir // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Kashmir // Great Soviet Encyclopedia : in 66 volumes (65 volumes and 1 additional) / Ch. ed. O. Yu. Schmidt . - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia , 1926-1947.