Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu | |||||||||||||||||||
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1846–1952 | |||||||||||||||||||
Map of Kashmir and Jammu State | |||||||||||||||||||
Status | Princely state | ||||||||||||||||||
Capital | Srinagar | ||||||||||||||||||
Common languages | Kashmiri (Koshur), Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu), Dogri, Ladakhi, Balti, Shina, and others | ||||||||||||||||||
Religion | Hinduism (state religion), Islam (majority), Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism | ||||||||||||||||||
Government | Princely state | ||||||||||||||||||
Maharaja | |||||||||||||||||||
• 16 March 1846 – 30 June 1857 | Gulab Singh (first) | ||||||||||||||||||
• 23 September 1925 – 17 November 1952 | Hari Singh (last) | ||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||
• Princely state established | 1846 | ||||||||||||||||||
22 October 1947 | |||||||||||||||||||
• Accession to the Indian Union | 26–27 October 1947 | ||||||||||||||||||
1 January 1949 | |||||||||||||||||||
• Constitutional state of India | 17 November 1952 | ||||||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1952 | ||||||||||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||||||||||
• Total | 85,885[1] sq mi (222,440 km2) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Today part of | India (Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh) Pakistan (Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan) China (Aksai Chin, Trans-Karakoram Tract) |
Jammu and Kashmir, officially known as the Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu,[3] was a princely state during the Company rule from 1846 to 1858 as well as the British Raj in India from 1858 to 1952. The princely state was created after the First Anglo-Sikh War, from the territories that had earlier been in the Sikh Empire.
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 to India in return for the Indian military being airlifted to Kashmir to engage the Pakistan-supported forces, starting the Kashmir conflict.[4] The western and northern districts presently known as Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan passed to the control of Pakistan, while the remaining territory remained under Indian control as the Indian-administered union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.[5]
According to the census reports of 1911, 1921 and 1931, the administration was organised as follows:[6][7]
In the 1941 census, further details of the frontier districts were given:[6]
# | Name | Took Office | Left Office |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Raja Sir Daljit Singh | 1917 | 1921 |
2 | Raja Hari Singh | 1925 | 1927 |
3 | Sir Albion Banerjee | January 1927 | March 1929 |
4 | G. E. C. Wakefield | 1929 | 1931 |
5 | Hari Krishan Kaul[8] | 1931 | 1932 |
6 | Elliot James Dowell Colvin[8] | 1932 | 1936 |
7 | Sir Barjor J. Dalal | 1936 | 1936 |
8 | Sir N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar | 1937 | July 1943 |
9 | Kailash Narain Haksar | July 1943 | February 1944 |
10 | Sir B. N. Rau | February 1944 | 28 June 1945 |
11 | Ram Chandra Kak | 28 June 1945 | 11 August 1947 |
12 | Janak Singh | 11 August 1947 | 15 October 1947 |
13 | Mehr Chand Mahajan | 15 October 1947 | 5 March 1948 |
14 | Sheikh Abdullah | 5 March 1948 | 8 August 1953 |