‘The Modern History of Jammu and Kashmir, Vol II: The Karan Singh Years (1949-1967) by Harbans Singh’: Dogra factor in Kashmiri-dominated politics

Rekha Chowdhary

The first volume of Harbans Singh’s trilogy on the modern history of Jammu and Kashmir focused on the troubled years of Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh. The second volume is focused on his son Karan Singh. Appointed as the Regent at the age of 18 and Sadar-e-Riyasat at 21, he was also to serve as the first Governor of the state.

In the situation when Sheikh Abdullah was aggressively seeking to dismantle the Dogra dynastic rule and Maharaja Hari Singh was exiled from the state, it was not a very easy decision for Karan Singh to fill in his father’s shoes. Hurt and angry, the Maharaja did not want his son to be a part of the government. The Dogras were also not very happy with the development and, therefore, tempers in Jammu were quite frayed. What made Karan Singh decide in favour of this difficult decision, according to the author, was the persuasion by Nehru and the ‘inevitability of change’. Change, he knew, would take place in the state, with or without him. But with him as the representative of the Central government in the state, it would not only keep a connection of the present with the past, but would also keep J&K linked with the country.

Like the earlier volume, which was as much about Sheikh Abdullah as Hari Singh, this volume also devotes the first few chapters to Sheikh, specifically focusing on his project of dismantling all symbols of Dogra rule. The author thus sees most of the developments that took place in the early post-accession period in that light only. The focus of these chapters is on the implementation of land reforms in J&K as well as on the incorporation of Article 370 in the Indian Constitution. Land reforms, the author notes, were progressive and much needed, but these were mainly created for Kashmiris. Due to a lack of fine-tuning required for taking along people beyond Kashmir, especially the Hindus, these worked in creating a gap between Kashmir and Jammu regions.

The author goes on to argue that like the land reforms, Article 370 also had a pro-Kashmir logic and did not follow the intricate balance of community demands, regional pressures and class interests. It is this insensitivity of the Kashmiri leadership that the author traces to be the basis of discontent in the Jammu region. This discontent, in the absence of being addressed, culminated in a major agitation by Praja Parishad, with the demand of complete constitutional integration of the state with India. As a result, Praja Parishad, which was a local organisation supported by the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, became very popular in the Jammu region.

In this situation, when there was a complete breakdown of relations between the Sheikh-led National Conference on the one hand and the discontented Jammu people on the other, Karan Singh had the most challenging task as the head of the state. Jammu, the author argues, had mixed feelings towards him, both resentment (that he was playing a complementary role to Sheikh) as well as reassurance (that he was there representing the Dogras and Jammu). On his part, Karan Singh, as the author informs, did his best to act as a bridge between both Kashmir and Jammu and the state and the Centre. He visited Delhi frequently to apprise Nehru of the ground situation and his own objective assessment.

The book continues to describe the political developments in Kashmir after Sheikh’s dismissal. This is the period during which the state gets constitutionally integrated with India, first under the premiership of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed when the Delhi Agreement is implemented and later under the chief ministership of GM Sadiq when the state is brought at par with other states constitutionally. Though all these developments lead to a positive response in Jammu and Ladakh, turbulence continues in Kashmir one way or the other — whether it is Sheikh’s demand for plebiscite or the loss of the holy relic, or the emergence of secessionist forces. All through, Karan Singh remains at the centre of state politics, navigating crisis after crisis and acting as a stabilising factor.

While highlighting the role of Karan Singh as a very significant point of connection between Kashmir and the Centre, the narrative highlights his singular role in connecting Kashmir with Jammu. Being a Dogra belonging to Jammu, his presence in the government, the author says, reflected a tacit acknowledgement of the Dogra factor in the state politics, otherwise dominated by Kashmir’s political class.