Maharaja Hari Singh (23 September 1895, Jammu–26 April 1961, Bombay) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in India.
He was married four times. With his fourth wife, Maharani Tara Devi (1910–1967), he had one son, Yuvraj (Crown Prince) Karan Singh.
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Hari Singh was born on 23 September 1895 at the palace of Amar Mahal, Jammu, the only surviving son of General Raja Sir Amar Singh (14 January 1864-26 March 1909), the younger son of General Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Ranbir Singh and the brother of Lieutenant-General Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Pratap Singh, the then Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.
In 1903, Hari Singh served as a Page of Honour to Lord Curzon at the grand Delhi Durbar. At the age of 13, Hari Singh was dispatched to Mayo College in Ajmer. A year later in 1909, when his father died, the British took a personal interest in his education and appointed Major H.K. Brar as his guardian. After Mayo College the ruler-in-waiting went to the Imperial Cadet Corps at Dehra Dun for military training, imbibing its British upper-crust atmosphere and polishing his English to a high gloss, and by the age of 20 he had been appointed commander-in-chief of the Jammu and Kashmir state forces.
He was a victim of blackmailing plot in Paris during his education trip to Europe.
Following the death of his uncle, Sir Pratap Singh, in 1925, Sir Hari Singh ascended the throne of Jammu and Kashmir. He made primary education compulsory in the State, introduced laws prohibiting child marriage and threw open places of worship for the low castes.
Singh was hostile towards the Indian National Congress, in part because of the close friendship between Kashmiri political activist and socialist Sheikh Abdullah and Nehru. He also opposed the Muslim League and its members' communalist outlook illustrated in their two-nation theory. During the Second World War, from 1944-1946 Sir Hari Singh was a member of the Imperial War Cabinet.
In 1947, after India gained independence from British rule, Jammu and Kashmir had the option to join either India or Pakistan or to remain independent. He originally maneuvered to maintain his independence by playing off India and Pakistan. There was a widespread belief that rulers of the princely states, in deciding to accede to India or Pakistan, should respect the wishes of the population, but few rulers took any steps to consult on such decisions. Jammu and Kashmir was a Muslim majority state, and a mutiny of Muslim regiments in Gilgit followed in October 1947. Hari Singh appealed to India for help.[1] India refused to come to his aid unless he acceded to India.[2]
Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947, acceding the whole of his princely state (including Jammu, Kashmir, Northern Areas, Ladakh, Trans-Karakoram Tract and Aksai Chin) to the Dominion of India.[3][4] These events triggered the first Indo-Pakistan War.
After abdicating in favour of his son and heir, Hari Singh retired to Bombay (Mumbai), where he died on 26 April 1961 of a heart attack, aged 65. His son Yuvraj (Crown Prince) Karan Singh was elected 'Sadr-e-Riyasat' ('President of the Province') and Governor of the State in 1964.
Detail of the Seal of Maharaja Hari Singh as printed on the Civil List of his government is reproduced below:
The British Crown is at the top, representing Emperor of India, whose Resident was posted in Kashmir. An unidentified object is below the crown. Two soldiers are holding two flags. An image of the sun is between them, as the Rajput clan to which Hari Singh belonged claimed to have descended from the sun. The sword crossing the two flags may signify that the state was conquered by force of arms. The inscription at the bottom needs to be deciphered.
Singh married four times in all:
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Hari Singh
Born: 23 September 1895 Died: 26 April 1961 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Pratap Singh (as Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir) |
Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir 1925-1949 |
Succeeded by Monarchy abolished 1949; succeeded by Republic of India |
| Titles in pretence | ||
| Preceded by None |
— TITULAR — Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir 1949-1961 Reason for succession failure: Monarchy abolished in 1949 |
Succeeded by Karan Singh |