A Modern History Of Jammu And Kashmir The Karan Singh Years 1949 1967

The Modern History of Jammu and Kashmir, Volume Two: The Karan Singh Years (1949- 1967) examines the politics of the period that followed Maharaja Hari Singh's exile from the State in 1949. Focusing on Hari Singh's son, the book examines the history of Jammu and Kashmir through Yuvraj Karan Singh's journey from becoming the Regent at the young age of eighteen, then the Sadar-i-Riyasat and finally the Governor. During the challenging time when the Sheikh Abdullah-led National Conference and the Dogra-backed Praja Parishad were locked in a fierce tugof-war for control of the State, it was the Yuvraj who prevailed as the voice of reason. He strove to maintain equitable power sharing between the three major provinces-Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh-throughout the eighteen years of his career in Jammu and Kashmir. The major political changes during Karan Singh's time-the judicious use of the provisions of Article 370 and the further integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India, among others-also had a crucial effect of consolidating the future of the State with that of the country. A sense of mutual respect and cooperation was forged between Delhi and the Jammu and Kashmir leaders. Relying on both historical sources and the vast correspondence Karan Singh had with Jawaharlal Nehru and later Indira Gandhi, this second volume of Harbans Singh's magisterial trilogy is both a biography of a remarkable man as well as a fresh look at the history and politics behind the making of modernday Jammu and Kashmir.

In 1949, Dr Karan Singh had just turned eighteen when he was appointed regent of Jammu and Kashmir, two years after his father, Maharaja Hari Singh, signed the Instrument of Accession merging the then independent state with India. Under the mentorship of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr Singh was at the helm of affairs in the state for eighteen years, successively as regent, Sadar-i-Riyasat and governor. This carefully conceived selection of over 200 letters exchanged between Dr Singh and Pandit Nehru sheds light on significant issues and events, including the teething problems of a fledgling country and a newly grafted state, the emerging conflicts between Pakistan and India, and the Chinese aggression of 1962. In addition to valuable insights into the political situation of the period, these letters also provide rare glimpses into the personal lives and thoughts of Pandit Nehru and Dr Singh. The memorandum submitted by Maharaja Hari Singh to President Rajendra Prasad in August 1952 is published in full, revealing how the identity and future of Kashmir were shaped. A rare collection, Jammu and Kashmir offers an unmatched ringside view of the momentous events in Kashmir and the rest of India after Independence.

Dr Karan Singh was born in 1931 as heir to the then princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and was catapulted into political life at the early age of eighteen. In 1949 he was appointed Regent by his father Maharaja Hari Singh at the intervention of Jawaharlal Nehru, and thereafter he was continuously Head of Jammu and Kashmir for a further eighteen years - as Regent up to 1952, as elected Sadar-i-Riyasat from 1952 to 1965, and as Governor from 1965 to 1967. In 1967 Dr Karan Singh was inducted into the Union Cabinet and, at thirty-six, was the youngest person ever to become a Central Cabinet Minister in India. On this appointment, he resigned his Governorship and was elected to Parliament. He was a member of Parliament for the next eighteen years and held several major Cabinet posts.

Many disenchanted Kashmiris continue to demand independence or freedom from India. Written by a leading authority on Kashmir’s troubled past, this book revisits the topic of independence for the region (also known as Jammu and Kashmir, or J&K), and explores exactly why this aspiration has never been fulfilled. In a rare India-Pakistan agreement, they concur that neither J&K, nor any part of it, can be independent. Charting a complex history and intense geo-political rivalry from Maharaja Hari Singh’s leadership in the mid-1920s to the present, this book offers an essential insight into the disputes that have shaped the region. As tensions continue to rise following government-imposed COVID-19 lockdowns, Snedden asks a vital question: what might independence look like and just how realistic is this aspiration?

Authored by Dr Karan Singh, the book discusses the basis of Hinduism, outlining the message of the Upanishads and the Bhagwad Gita.

The central point that this volume makes is that much of what happened in Jammu & Kashmir in the critical first few years (1947-53) needs a more careful reassessment. It is argued that there were little voices of ordinary people that should have been heard but were ignored. The political discourse that took centre stage even as it appeared more assertive and representative of mass public opinion was, however, as is now clear only a clever and misleading political move. Much of the source material upon which the author has based his study has till now remained unstudied and uncited – rare hard to find books, pamphlets, articles in journals, magazines and newspapers, official and party reports and so on. The volume takes the reader back in time to a kind of ring side seat. Kashmir’s cultural and historical legacy, the invasion, the issue of the plebiscite, the United Nations and the ceasefire, the Praja Parishad and most important of all the political scene and its key players – Prime Minister Nehru, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Sheikh Abdullah. Based on the nature of its sources the volume breaks free of a stereotyped approach to understanding the origin of what we commonly term today as the ‘Kashmir problem’. The volume argues that contemporary views recorded as they are in the heat of the moment with natural spontaneity often contain hidden lines and new light. Not surprisingly contemporary versions tell us a story very different from mainstream conventional writings on Jammu & Kashmir. This timely volume will radically influence the existing discourse on Jammu & Kashmir. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka