J&K’s dynasties

Jammu and Kashmir is not like those states the ruling dynasties of which have held the sceptre of government for long generations. His Highness, Maharaja Sir Hari Singh, is the fourth prince of the present ruling dynasty to ascend the gaddi of that state; but all the three princes who preceded him were remarkable men in their own way. Maharaja Gulab Singh who, after the Sikh wars, acquired the rulership of the state, was a man of indomitable courage and unrivalled administrative capacity. It was he who laid the foundations of a unified and ordered system of government in the territories which are now known as the state of Jammu and Kashmir. His successor, Maharaja Ranbir Singh, also possessed great powers of organisation and statesmanship, and it was mainly due to his military prowess and administrative skill that the work of consolidation which Maharaja Gulab Singh began so well was completed. But the time and attention of both these Maharajas was mainly occupied with evolving order out of chaos and establishing and organising a system of government, which should be obeyed and respected throughout the state. In this, they attained a full measure of success; and their successor, Maharaja Pratap Singh, who breathed his last a few days ago, had his hands free to reform the administration of the state and provide for its subjects the amenities of civilised government. The forty years of his rule were marked by progress in all directions. Reforms of various kinds were introduced in the administration of the state.