Maharaja Pratap Singh (1885 to 1925)

British control tightens

• In 1885 the British appointed a Resident in Kashmir (Col. Oliver St John was the first).
• In 1889, accusing Pratap Singh of secret contact with Russia and of misrule, the British took away his powers. A State Council, with his brother Raja Amar Singh as head, ruled until 1905, when his powers were restored.
• Gilgit Agency was re-established (1889). The Hunza-Nagar campaign followed in 1891.

Land settlement

• Walter Lawrence was Settlement Commissioner (from 1889). His work (First Regular Land Settlement, about 1889 to 1895) fixed the land revenue in cash, recorded land rights and cut down forced labour. His book The Valley of Kashmir (1895) records it.

Development

The Pandit memorial (1891)

• In 1891 Kashmiri Pandits sent a memorial to the Maharaja asking for State jobs to be given to local people and not to outsiders from the Punjab. This first "Kashmir for Kashmiris" demand later helped lead to the State Subject law of 1927.

Pratap Singh: more from the exam notes

• He was a scholar and an administrator. In his time British interference grew to the maximum and the Maharaja's power was reduced to the minimum. He was succeeded by his nephew Hari Singh.
• Begar (forced labour) was abolished in 1920.

Transport and communication

• The Jhelum Valley Cart Road, connecting Kohala to Baramulla, and later extended to Srinagar.
• The Banihal Cart Road was opened to the public in 1922.
• The Sialkot to Jammu railway line was inaugurated in 1890.
• Telegraph lines were extended, and Jammu and Srinagar were linked by telephone.

Irrigation and power

• Several canals: Pratap canal, Ranbir canal, Basantpur canal, Ujh canal and the Upper Jhelum canal.
• The first hydro-power project was built at Mohra (the exam notes give 1907; other books give 1905).

Agriculture and horticulture

• He set up the Department of Agriculture and a model agriculture farm at Srinagar. Foreign experts were employed to improve horticulture.

Tourism

• Tourist traffic started in earnest in his time. The famous houseboats were first built during his reign. Englishmen tried to get the right to buy land to build houses in Kashmir. The Maharaja refused, since it would have turned Kashmir into a British colony, and this led to the construction of houseboats.

Education

• Shri Pratap College, Srinagar (1905): the oldest college in J&K, now SP College.
• Prince of Wales College (1907), Jammu, now Government Gandhi Memorial Science College.
• Amar Singh Technical Institute, Srinagar, now Amar Singh College; Sri Pratap Singh Technical Institute, Jammu.
• SPS (Sri Pratap Singh) Library, Srinagar, 1898.

Health

• In 1892, cholera and smallpox spread in J&K and, for the first time, vaccination was done in the State.

Executive Council: an executive council of 5 members, with Pratap Singh as president, was set up in 1924. Major decisions were taken on its advice.

Relations with the British

• The British Residency was set up in J&K. In 1885, St John was appointed the first British Resident. In 1888 he was replaced by C. Plowden, who set about planning to remove Pratap Singh and annex the State. Pratap Singh was deposed (his powers taken away) in 1889. Plowden wrote to the Viceroy that the Maharaja lacked intelligence and would be a hindrance to improvement.
• British Political Agency at Gilgit: in 1891 (the exam notes) a British agent was appointed at Gilgit, with sole charge of civil, political and military administration of the district. (Other books say 1889; the Agency was formally re-established then.)
• The Maharaja died in 1925.