Ranbir Singh (Maharaja)

Ranbir Singh (August 1830 – 12 September 1885) was Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir from 1856 until his death in 1885.

Ranbir Singh was the third son of Gulab Singh, the founder of the Jammu and Kashmir state. Ranbir Singh ascended the throne in 1856 after Gulab Singh's abdication due to his poor health. Unlike European women and children, Indian mutineers were not allowed to take refuge in his state. He also sent his troops to help the British to besiege Delhi. He was subsequently rewarded for his behaviour during the mutiny. He went on to annex Gilgit which had previously witnessed a rebellion against the state. The princely states of Hunza and Nagar started paying tributes to Jammu and Kashmir during his reign. He also established a modern judicial system. Civil and criminal laws were compiled into the Ranbir Penal Code during his reign. Ranbir Singh was a scholar of Sanskrit and Persian languages and had many books translated.

Early life

Singh was born at Ramgarh, Jammu and Kashmir in August 1830. He was the third son of Maharaja Gulab Singh. His mother Rakwal Maharani was the first wife of Gulab Singh. Ranbir Singh was adopted by Raja Suchet Singh, his childless uncle, and inherited all his ''jagirs'' upon his death in 1844.

Reign

Ranbir Singh's father Maharaja Gulab Singh suffered from edema. With his health deteriorating, he decided to abdicate in early 1856. Subsequently, Ranbir Singh ascended the throne of Jammu and Kashmir on 20 February 1856. Gulab Singh was appointed governor of Kashmir.

Sepoy Mutiny

In 1857, the Sepoy Mutiny, an uprising against the British rule broke mainly in present-day Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Under the leadership of Ranbir and Gulab Singh, the state allied with the British. They sent money to the British troops stationed at Punjab. The mutineers were not allowed to take asylum in the state, which bordered the then British India. British women and children took refuge in the Kashmir valley. After the death of Gulab Singh, Ranbir Singh sent a battalion of Jammu and Kashmiri soldiers to help the British to besiege Delhi. He was subsequently rewarded for his loyalty to the British. The Treaty of Amritsar was amended in 1860 and a new provision was inserted which allowed a Dogra ruler to adopt a child from a collateral branch of the family. Previously, according to the treaty, the state would have been annexed by the British if a ruler did not have a natural heir. He was also rewarded with the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India in 1862. His gun salute was increased from 19 to 21 guns.

Annexation of Gilgit

During the final years of Gulab Singh's reign, a rebellion in Gilgit caused heavy casualties to the Dogra troops. In 1860, Ranbir Singh sent his army under the leadership of Colonel Devi Singh Narania, Colonel Bijai Singh and General Hoshiara Singh to Gilgit. They successfully recaptured Gilgit. By the end of 1870, the states of Hunza and Nagar started paying tributes to Jammu and Kashmir. In return, they received an annual subsidy.

Reforms

Ranbir Singh established a modern judicial system. Civil and criminal laws were written and consolidated into the Ranbir Penal Code which were followed in the Indian part of Jammu and Kashmir. Now it has been removed as the Parliament of India has passed the bill to scrap provisions of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution on 5 August 2019. The judicial system was handed over to the executive officers. Separate prisons were built for political prisoners. Ranbir Singh organized two ''durbars'' in a day in which he heard petitions.

Ranbir Singh founded separate departments for foreign affairs, home affairs, civil affairs and army. He founded a silk factory in the state. He also promoted its trade. The ''shawl'' industry flourished during his reign which provided employment and a minimum income to his subjects.

Opposition to a Resident

As per the Treaty of Amritsar, there was no provision for the appointment of a Resident in the state. With the appointment of an Officer-on-Special-Duty in 1851, the idea of appointing a Resident started dominating amongst the British government. In 1873, The Lord Northbrook, the then Governor-General of India wrote to Ranbir Singh about a proposal to appoint a British Resident in Kashmir. However, Singh rejected such a proposal. He submitted a memorandum and reminded the services of Gulab Singh to the British. He also reminded the British that unlike most of the monarchs of princely states, he refused to take any ''jagir'' as a gift in lieu of his services during the Sepoy Mutiny.

In 1882, Ranbir Singh wrote to the British government and requested them to nominate his younger son Amar Singh as his successor. He felt that Amar Singh was more wise than his siblings - Pratap Singh and Ram Singh. On 12 September 1885, Ranbir Singh died. Governor-general The Lord Ripon announced that Pratap Singh would succeed him. In return, Pratap Singh yielded to the British demand of appointing a Resident.

Personal life

Interests

Ranbir Singh followed the footsteps of Zain-ul-Abidin and Avantivarman, who were former rulers of Kashmir. He employed ''pandits'' and ''maulvis'' to translate and transliterate religious texts. Sir Aurel Stein catalogued 5,000 such works. Besides religious books, books on medical sciences were also translated into Urdu

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