Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)

This article is about the administration of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu. For the history, see Kashmir § History.

Jammu and Kashmir, also known as Kashmir and Jammu,^[1] was a princely state in a subsidiary alliance with the British East India Company from 1846 to 1858 and under the paramountcy (or tutelage^[2][3]) of the British Crown, from 1858 until the Partition of India in 1947, when it became a disputed territory, now administered by three countries: China, India, and Pakistan.^[4][5][6] The princely state was created after the First Anglo-Sikh War, when the East India Company, which had annexed the Kashmir Valley,^[7] from the Sikhs as war indemnity, then sold it to the Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh, for rupees 75 lakhs.

Jammu and Kashmir
1846–1952
Flag
Map of Kashmir showing the borders of the princely state in dark red.
Status	Princely state
Capital	Srinagar Jammu
Common languages	Kashmiri, Dogri, Ladakhi, Balti, Shina, Pahari-Pothwari
Religion	Hinduism (state), Islam (majority), Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism
Government	Monarchy
Maharaja
• 1846–1857	Gulab Singh (first)
• 1925–1952	Hari Singh (last)
Dewan
• 1947–1948	Mehr Chand Mahajan (first)
• 1948–1952	Sheikh Abdullah (last)
History
• End of the First Anglo-Sikh War and formation of the state	1846
• End of British Crown Suzerainty	15 Aug 1947
• Beginning of the First Kashmir War	22 Oct 1947
• Accession to the Indian Union	26–27 Oct 1947
• End of First Kashmir War (cession of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan)	1 January 1949
• Constitutional state of India	17 November 1952
• Disestablished	1952
Today part of	Disputed; see Kashmir conflict

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^[8] to India in return for the Indian military being airlifted to Kashmir, to engage the Pakistan-supported forces.^[9] The western and northern districts now known as Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan passed to the control of Pakistan after it occupied it,^[10] while the remaining territory stayed under Indian control, later becoming the Indian administered state of Jammu and Kashmir.^[11] India and Pakistan defined a cease-fire line—the line of control—dividing the administration of the territory with the intercession of the United Nations which was supposed to be temporary but still persists.^[12][13]

Administration

According to the census reports of 1911, 1921 and 1931, the administration was organised as follows:^[14][15]

• Jammu province: Districts of Jammu, Jasrota (Kathua), Udhampur, Reasi and Mirpur.
• Kashmir province: Districts of Kashmir South (Anantnag), Kashmir North (Baramulla) and Muzaffarabad.
• Frontier districts: Wazarats of Ladakh and Gilgit.
• Internal jagirs: Poonch, Bhaderwah and Chenani.

In the 1941 census, further details of the frontier districts were given:^[14]

• Ladakh wazarat: Tehsils of Leh, Skardu and Kargil.
• Gilgit wazarat: Tehsils of Gilgit and Astore
• Frontier illaqas: (under the Gilgit Agency) Punial, Ishkoman, Yasin, Kuh-Ghizer, Hunza, Nagar, Chilas.

Prime ministers (Jammu & Kashmir)

#	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[16]	1931	1932
6	Elliot James Dowell Colvin[16]	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	9 August 1953

Demographics

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1901	2,905,578	—
1911	3,158,126	+8.7%
1921	3,320,518	+5.1%
1931	3,646,243	+9.8%
1941	4,021,616	+10.3%
Sources: Census in British India

Population of Jammu & Kashmir Princely State by Province (1901–1941)

Census Year	Jammu Province		Kashmir Province		Frontier Regions		Jammu & Kashmir Princely State
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
1901[17]	1,521,307	52.36%	1,157,394	39.83%	226,877	7.81%	2,905,578	100%
1911[18]	1,597,865	50.6%	1,295,201	41.01%	265,060	8.39%	3,158,126	100%
1921[19]	1,640,259	49.4%	1,407,086	42.38%	273,173	8.23%	3,320,518	100%
1931[20]	1,788,441	49.05%	1,569,218	43.04%	288,584	7.91%	3,646,243	100%
1941[21]	1,981,433	49.27%	1,728,705	42.99%	311,478	7.75%	4,021,616	100%

Religion

Religious groups in Jammu & Kashmir Princely State (British India era)

Religious group	1901[17]		1911[18]		1921[19]		1931[20]		1941[21]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	2,154,695	74.16%	2,398,320	75.94%	2,548,514	76.75%	2,817,636	77.28%	3,101,247	77.11%
Hinduism	689,073	23.72%	690,390	21.86%	692,641	20.86%	736,222	20.19%	809,165	20.12%
Buddhism	35,047	1.21%	36,512	1.16%	37,685	1.13%	38,724	1.06%	40,696	1.01%
Sikhism	25,828	0.89%	31,553	1%	39,507	1.19%	50,662	1.39%	65,903	1.64%
Jainism	442	0.02%	345	0.01%	529	0.02%	597	0.02%	910	0.02%
Christianity	422	0.01%	975	0.03%	1,634	0.05%	2,263	0.06%	3,509	0.09%
Zoroastrianism	11	0%	31	0%	7	0%	5	0%	29	0%
Tribal	—	—	—	—	—	—	134	0%	51	0%
Judaism	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	10	0%
Others	60	0%	0	0%	1	0%	0	0%	95	0%
Total population	2,905,578	100%	3,158,126	100%	3,320,518	100%	3,646,243	100%	4,021,616	100%
Note: The Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir includes the contemporary administrative divisions of Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

See also

• List of political parties in Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)
• Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir
• Dogra dynasty
• Jammu and Kashmir Bodyguard Cavalry

References

1. "Kashmir and Jammu", Imperial Gazetteer of India, 15, Secretary of State for India in Council: Oxford at the Clarendon Press: 71–, 1908, archived from the original on 21 December 2019, retrieved 27 August 2019
2. Sneddon, Christopher (2021), Independent Kashmir: An incomplete aspiration, Manchester University Press, pp. 12–13, Paramountcy was the 'vague and undefined' feudatory system whereby the British, as the suzerain power, dominated and controlled India's princely rulers. ... These 'loyal collaborators of the Raj' were 'afforded [British] protection in exchange for helpful behavior in a relationship of tutelage, called paramountcy'.
3. Ganguly, Sumit; Hagerty, Devin T. (2005), Fearful Symmetry: India-Pakistan Crises in the Shadow of Nuclear Weapons, Seattle and New Delhi: University of Washington Press, and Oxford University Press, p. 22, ISBN 0-295-98525-9, ... the problem of the 'princely states'. These states had accepted the tutelage of the British Crown under the terms of the doctrine of 'paramountcy' under which they acknowledged the Crown as the 'paramount' authority in the subcontinent.
4. "Kashmir: region, Indian subcontinent". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2016. Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent. It is bounded by the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang to the northeast and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the east (both parts of China), by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south, by Pakistan to the west, and by Afghanistan to the northwest. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, ... The southern and southeastern portions constitute the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian- and Pakistani-administered portions are divided by a "line of control" agreed to in 1972, although neither country recognizes it as an international boundary. In addition, China became active in the eastern area of Kashmir in the 1950s and since 1962 has controlled the northeastern part of Ladakh (the easternmost portion of the region)."
5. "Kashmir", Encyclopedia Americana, Scholastic Library Publishing, 2006, p. 328, ISBN 978-0-7172-0139-6, archived from the original on 17 January 2023, retrieved 18 December 2021 C. E Bosworth, University of Manchester Quote: "KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered mostly by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947";
6. Osmańczyk, Edmund Jan (2003), Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: G to M, Taylor & Francis, pp. 1191–, ISBN 978-0-415-93922-5, archived from the original on 17 January 2023, retrieved 18 December 2021 Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China."
7. Panikkar, Gulab Singh 1930, p. 111–125.
8. 1st Edition Cold War in the High Himalayas The USA, China and South Asia in the 1950s By S. Mahmud Ali Copyright 1999( When tribal Pathan militias from Pakistan's North-West Frontiers joined Sudhan Pathan rebels fighting for freedom, Hari Singh fled to Jammu and reportedly signed a letter of accession to India.) Page 19
9. "Q&A: Kashmir dispute - BBC News". BBC News. 7 July 2010. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
10. Schofield, Victoria (6 May 2003). Kashmir in Conflict. London: I. B.Tauris & Co Ltd. p. xii. ISBN 1-86064-898-3 – via archive.org.
11. Bose, Sumantra (2003). Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace. Harvard University Press. pp. 32–37. ISBN 0-674-01173-2.
12. "History, People, Conflict, Map, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. 20 July 1998. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
13. "Ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir - A line on fire" (PDF). Retrieved 29 March 2024.
14. Karim, Maj Gen Afsir (2013), Kashmir The Troubled Frontiers, Lancer Publishers LLC, pp. 29–32, ISBN 978-1-935501-76-3
15. Behera, Demystifying Kashmir 2007, p. 15.
16. Copland, Ian (1981), "Islam and Political Mobilization in Kashmir, 1931–34", Pacific Affairs, 54 (2): 228–259, doi:10.2307/2757363, JSTOR 2757363
17. "Census of India 1901. Vol. 23A, Kashmir. Pt. 2, Tables". 1901. p. 20. JSTOR saoa.crl.25366883. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
18. "Census of India 1911. Vol. 20, Kashmir. Pt. 2, Tables". 1911. p. 17. JSTOR saoa.crl.25394111. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
19. "Census of India 1921. Vol. 22, Kashmir. Pt. 2, Tables". 1921. p. 15. JSTOR saoa.crl.25430177. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
20. "Census of India 1931. Vol. 24, Jammu & Kashmir State. Pt. 2, Imperial & state tables". 1931. p. 267. JSTOR saoa.crl.25797120. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
21. "Census of India, 1941. Vol. 22, Jammu & Kashmir". 1941. pp. 337–352. JSTOR saoa.crl.28215644. Retrieved 3 November 2024.

Bibliography

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This article incorporates text from the Imperial Gazetteer of India, a publication now in the public domain.