Karan Singh authenticates ST report, slams NC for spreading ‘poisonous rumours’ about Maharaja

State Times News
NEW DELHI: Authenticating the STATE TIMES report, appearing in 28th January issue, Rajya Sabha MP Karan Singh on Saturday welcomed the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council resolution declaring the birthday of his father Maharaja Hari Singh as a State holiday, even as he slammed “attempts to brand” the State’s erstwhile ruler as “communal”. The Congress leader also alleged that the National Conference (NC) was responsible for spreading “poisonous rumours” about his father and the Dogra rule in the State.
“Peace prevailed in the State during the rule of the Dogras. In 100 years of Dogra rule, bullets were fired only once…that too because the shops of Kashmiri Pandits were probably being looted. In the firing, some people were killed and that is being celebrated as martyr’s day,” Singh said. “When Hari Singh came to power, he had said that his religion was justice. His closest friends were Muslims and there were always Muslims in his staff. It is very wrong to call him communal. He was a very progressive ruler who carried several reforms” he added.
In the write-up “NC’s hullaballo over resolution on Maharaja’s birthday; kettle calling pot black”, the STATE TIMES had, inter allia, reported, “Interestingly, 13th July is also being observed by Kashmiri Hindus (not just Kashmiri Pandits but Hindus belonging to Muzaffarabad, Punjab and Jammu as well) as Black Day, as they feel that this day in 1931 marks the beginning of the first organised genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir. Besides performing Tarpan at Akhnoor Ghat and observing Shradh in memory of those killed in 1931 July, the survivors and witnesses of the1931 massacre keep narrating the horror tales of this day in village Kanikote in Budgam, Maharajganj and Vicharnag in Srinagar allegedly by the Muslim Conference, now rechristened as National Conference.”
Speaking at the launch of the books – ‘Jammu-Kashmir aur Maharaja Hari Singh’ and ‘Sufi Satta aur Samaj’ written by Harbans Singh, the MP said the move to declare his father’s birthday as a holiday had came very late and should have been done earlier. “This is a welcome step, but this should have happened much before. Unfortunately National Conference spread a lot of poisonous rumours against him and the Dogra rule,” he said. He also questioned why Sheikh Abdullah’s birthday was a holiday when the same treatment had not been accorded to his father.
“If Sheikh Abdullah’s birthday is a holiday in Jammu and Kashmir, why not Hari Singh’s? I accept that Abdullah supported the accession and played a good role at the time. But the person responsible for the accession is not even mentioned. Ask any old resident of Kashmir who they prefer – Hari Singh’s rule or the current regime,” he said.
The Congress leader also said that the entire case for accession would have come to nought had Hari Singh said that he did not want to do it. “My father’s role during that time (of accession) was very crucial. I was a first hand witness during that time. Such was his love for the country that he remained silent. If he had said anything about the accession, if he had said that he did not want to do it, the entire case would have come to nought,” he claimed.
On the occasion, the two books were launched by Singh along with ex-CJI T S Thakur.
“Hari Singh played a pivotal rule in the narrative of Jammu and Kashmir. From what I heard of him, I have a permanent respect in my heart for him,” Thakur said.
He said that as a member of the judicial system, he particularly appreciated that Maharaja Hari Singh in his wisdom, instituted the Board of Judicial Advisors in J and K, comprising of top jurists from all across India in order to deliver fair justice and rule of law. Justice Thakur also congratulated Vikramaditya Singh for supporting the resolution passed in the State Legislative Council seeking declaration of State holiday on Maharaja Hari Singh’s birthday.