| Radha Kumar praises Dogra rule, tears into London | | Maharaja Pratap Singh a liberal ruler | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Dec 16: It's unbelievable, but it's a fact. Former interlocutor for J&K Radha Kumar has debunked those in Kashmir and outside, who condemn the Dogra rule as "cruel" and "intolerant". She has that all these charges are untenable. Contrarily, she has commended Dogra rule and tore into the British Government.
Dismissing the charge that the Dogra rule was cruel and autocratic, Radha Kumar has said that "the discourse due to which Muslims in Kashmir consider Dogras cruel and autocratic is only partially true because the founder of Dogra rule in Kashmir, Maharaja Gulab Singh, reorganized tax structure, controlled rice process and established an effective administration in the Valley".
Terming the Dogra rule as liberal, she said that "Maharaja Pratap Singh himself observed Eid and also halted his chariot in respect whenever the call to Azan was heard".
She also has another point in support of the Dogra rule. She said, and rightly, that the during the Dogra rule, the proportion of Muslims in Jammu increased.
"Records show that the proportion of Muslims in Jammu grew under Dogra rule between 1911 and 1941 from 60.6 to 68 percent in Reasi, 39 to 43.6 percent in Udhampur and 29 to 31 percent in Kathua areas of Jammu division. The British sowed the anti-Dogra seeds in the Valley after the British decided to depose the Maharaja Pratap Singh (in 1889)," she has said, and added that "Pratap Singh was dubbed anti-Muslim even before he began his rule" (in 1885).
Not just this. She further defended Maharaja Pratap Singh (1885-1925) and said: "His tenure started with far-reaching reforms where he abolished forced conscription (beggar), slashed taxes and affected a land revenue settlement under the popular British civil servant Sir Walter Lawrence. He also built hospitals and embanked rivers, decentralized administration, established a judiciary and introduced higher education to Kashmir with British support by setting up a college each in Jammu as well as in Srinagar".
All this should expose the anti-Dogra elements in Kashmir, including Omar Abdullah, who abuse Dogra rule day in and day out and still have the audacity to seek mandate from Jammu, which they do not get. |
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