Reopen pages of Hari Singh’s times

Arun Joshi

ON September 23, when many in Jammu marked the 124th birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh, the last Dogra Hindu king of the Muslim majority state of Jammu and Kashmir, the celebrations were more of a demand for getting the day declared as a public holiday to hail his services to the state.

The underlying idea was to rediscover an icon of Dogra identity and pride that has fallen on bad days now. A larger picture is that the year 2018 has spotlighted his role as a guardian of interests of all people of all regions and faiths living in the state. The debate on the validity of Article 35A under contest in the Supreme Court of India, has made him a role model for the united identity of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. A spirited defence of Article 35A by the Kashmiri Muslims is rooted in a law enacted during Maharaja Hari Singh’s rule in 1927 that confers special rights of owning immovable property and securing jobs and scholarships to the hereditary permanent residents of the state.

It should also automatically validate his decision to accede J&K to India. J&K at the time of accession in October 1947 was a Muslim majority state. Today, the Muslims constitute an overwhelming majority here. They owe it to the king’s vision. This has also proved all those forces wrong who said that the Maharaja acted against the wishes of the majority community.

The historical fact is that Pakistan mounted army-cum-tribesmen invasion of Jammu and Kashmir in complete violation of the standstill agreement that the Maharaja had entered into with Pakistan. That changed the whole dynamics of the history of the time. It is clear that Pakistan had launched the war to obliterate the distinct identity of the Kashmiris and Dogras. That made the Maharaja choose a country where Muslims could feel secure and prosper. It is true that Dogras have been pushed to margins over the past seven decades. Much of the fault lies with the pliable leaders of the community who became willing partners in playing with their dignity in the state polity.

During the last three and a half years, Dogras have been exploited in the name of their religion and diminishing identity by self-serving leaders who were elected to safeguard their interests. There is a great sense of betrayal. The prism of looking at the role of the last Dogra king should change now. The king lost the throne but stood tall with a protective umbrella for all communities during his lifetime and now his legacy is being recalled to show his democratic and secular character and vision.