Timeline: Ruler of Kashmir
To be very accurate in our judgement, understanding the history of Kashmir valley is very important. For this, we need to travel back to 250 BC when Emperor Asoka explored into the valley and established his empire. It was during this period Shivaism, the Hindu religion came into force. It remained the centre for Shivaism until 14th Century.
Existence of Muslim Rulers
It was in 1339 that Islam first appeared in the Kashmir Valley when an immigrant Shah Mir entered the valley from across the mountain over the Khyber Pass. He worked his way up to become the king and established the first Muslim dynasty known as Sultan Dynasty. The Sultan dynasty lasted till the 16th Century, precisely 1561. This Dynasty made Islam a prominent religion in the valley of Kashmir. Thus reducing the Hindus to a minority.
The Mughals emerged in 1586 AD over throwing the Sultan Dynasty. The Mughal empire stood for 2 centuries until the Afghans took over in 1747 AD and this marked the onset of Durrani Dynasty. During the period, the Kashmiri people had to face extortion, torture and enslaving due to oppressing nature of the Afghans.
Rise of Kashmir That We Know Today
All things – good and bad – eventually settle down. The situation in Kashmir was taken over by the army of the Sikhs under Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1819 AD, thus ending the long gruelling period for Kashmiris. This was for the first time in about 500 years that the Valley of Kashmir was under a non-Islamic Ruler.
Under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the fortune of Sikh empire was on rise. Maharaja Ranjit Singh appointed several governors to administer different parts of Kashmir. Among all of it, he appointed one of his trusted soldiers Gulab Singh as the head of the state to rule in his place. Gulab Singh had a great war strategist, heading his army in the form of General Zorawar Singh. Under the able General Zorawar Singh, Sikh territory kept extending beyond Jammu and Kashmir to Ladakh, Baltistan, Gilgit and many more.
Treaty of Amritsar
After the death of Maharaja Ranjit, Gulab Singh had his task cut short to plan and consolidate his position within this declining Empire. In the process, Gulab Singh struck a friendship with the Colonel Henry Lawrence of East India company which was also one of the emerging power in the region. It is rumoured that Gulab Singh tipped East India Company to tilt the Anglo-Sikh war 1945-46 in favour of British. With the success of East India Company in Anglo-Sikh war, they captured Punjab and this forced defeated Sikhs to agree to the Treaty of Lahore. As a part of Treaty, the Sikhs agreed to handover Punjab, Kashmir and other regions to the British.
The entire incident lead Gulab Singh to negotiate his own terms with the British with regards to the Kashmir valley. With the negotiated term, a treaty was signed, the Treaty of Amritsar. This treaty allowed Gulab Singh to purchase the land of Kashmir and its adjoining region at a cost of 75 Lakh Rupees. This led to the rise of Dogra dynasty in Kashmir.
Conclusion
As we all know, Gulab Singh’s Great Grandson Maharaja Hari Singh was the last ruler of Kashmir and the rightful owner of the state. When Maharaja Hari Singh acceded the state of Jammu & Kashmir willingly to the Indian Govt , then how can Pakistan have any claims. Though Pakistan claims Kashmir owing to the Muslim community that forms the majority in the state, but does that give them the right to intervene in every muslim dominated country’s affairs ? The claim is completely pointless and India was needlessly dragging this story until 5th Aug’19.
Kashmir has been a land of many legends through the centuries. But history has been created by Shree Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, who removed Article 370 and 35A and has become a legend in himself.. There are a lot of conspiracies and controversies attached to Kashmir, but that calls for another set of articles. So stay tuned and subscribe to the newsletter.