Conflicting Political Discourses, Partition, Plebiscite, Autonomy, Integration

Abstract

Maharaja Hari Singh ruled the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir (J & K) with an iron fist and employed forceful means to extinguish the flames of an antifeudal nationalism. Dogra rule in the Kashmir Valley was particularly tyrannical and created stifling socioeconomic conditions for the populace. Although Muslims constituted a large percentage of the population of the state, out of thirteen battalions in Kashmir, just one was Muslim. Muslims were disallowed from owning and carrying firearms and sharp instruments. Kashmiri Muslims lived in such circumscribed conditions and under such strict surveillance that they were required to seek a license to slaughter a chicken for an ordinary meal. There was a strict ban on cow slaughter in the state. The sheep or goats that Muslims sacrificed on religious occasions were heavily taxed, transforming the existence of these people into the proverbial albatross. Most edible items, salable artifacts, and ceremonial services were taxed. Kashmiri farmers worked as mere serfs on the lands that were bestowed by the Dogra monarch on his clansmen (Khan 1958: 5–7). Because of their military and political supremacy, Dogras were endowed with high-ranking and lucrative positions in the military as well as in the civil services, in addition to their enormous landholdings.