Early Times Report
Kathua, Sept 23: National Panthers Party (NPP) unit district Kathua celebrated 118th birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh and paid him floral tribute here on today.
While addressing on the occasion, district level senior leadership of NNP in which District president JKNNP Ravinder Pathania, Ajay Singh, Amit, Vicky and Advocate Rakesh Thakur paid homage to late Maharaja emphasized on the contribution by him. They highlighted various facts of his personality and good governance. They said the instrument of Accession Act was signed by the Maharaja with Union of India. They said that on 9 July 1925, immediately after being crowned as Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, Hari Singh declared, "My religion is justice."
"This might have annoyed several religious persons, yet Hari Singh stood by his commitment. In 1927, Maharaja Hari Singh issued a Royal Decree introducing a great revolutionary legislation, State Subject, which now has been renamed as 'Permanent Resident'. What a great imagination the king of Kashmir had at a time when there was no religious conflict or inner tension in the state though 86 percent of the population fraternity from Gilgit to Kashmir belonged to the Muslim," they added.
District president Ravinder Pathania said that the unique farsightedness of Maharaja to save not only the land and properties of the residents of J&K, but also put in place a permanent mechanism to save the identities of the Ladakhis, Kashmiris, Baltis, Dogras, and others. "It is a misunderstanding that the identity and the land of the residents of J&K are protected under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. This is totally incorrect. The identity and property stand protected under the unique law enacted by Maharaja Hari Singh in 1927. The High Court of J&K was established by another Royal Decree by Maharaja Hari Singh in 1928. The protection of civil and political rights of the residents of J&K was guaranteed by the Maharaja, authorizing the High Court and even Sessions Judges to issue writs, including the writ of habeas corpus, in J&K way back in 1928," he added. |
