Maharaja Ranbir Singh (1857 to 1885)

Rule and patronage

• Ranbir Singh was a devout ruler and a patron of Sanskrit and Persian learning. He gathered manuscripts and supported scholars.
• He completed the Raghunath Temple (1860).
• His reign gave its name to the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), based on the Indian Penal Code and brought into force in Samvat 1989 (1932). The RPC remained in force in J&K until 2019, when the Indian Penal Code replaced it.
• His rule brought Gilgit, Hunza and Yasin under closer control.
• The Darbar Move (the six-monthly shift between Jammu and Srinagar) began during these decades.

The shawl weavers' revolt (1865)

• In April 1865 the shawl weavers of Srinagar, angry at heavy tax (dagshawl) and low wages, struck work. The Governor, Raj Kak Dhar, crushed the protest, and several weavers died. It is often called the first organised labour protest in Kashmir.
• The shawl trade collapsed after 1870 when French demand fell during the Franco-Prussian War.

The great famine (1877 to 1879)

• A flood and bad harvests led to a severe famine in the Valley. A large share of the population died. Poor relief by the State was blamed. British pressure on the Maharaja grew.

End of the reign

• Ranbir Singh died in 1885. The British soon posted a Resident in Srinagar.

Ranbir Singh (1856/57 to 1885): reforms in detail

Administration: he reorganised three main departments: Civil, Revenue and Military.

Judiciary

• The Ranbir Penal Code was prepared on the lines of Macaulay's code.
• Two Sadar Adalats (chief courts) were set up, one in Jammu and one in Kashmir.

Economy

• The taxation system was reorganised. During the Franco-Prussian War (1870 to 1871), shawl exports fell.
• Ranbir Singh abolished the shawl tax altogether and kept only a nominal export duty, which his successor also did away with in 1886.

Transport and communication

• A cart road between Rawalpindi and Srinagar was built (the Jhelum Valley road). He also ordered a cart road between the Valley and Jammu via Banihal, the Banihal Cart Road.
• Telegraph links were set up, silkworm seed was imported from China for sericulture, and experimental tea gardens were laid out.

Education

• He donated to Sanskrit institutions at Benares and gave Rs 1 lakh for the Punjab University at Lahore. He set up schools, maktabs and pathshalas.
• The Raghunath Temple was completed and became a famous centre of learning. He also built the Ranbireshwara Temple, Shalimar, Jammu.
• A Sanskrit college, a library and a translation bureau were set up in the temple, and many Sanskrit and Persian books were translated into Dogri, Hindi and Urdu.
• Ranbir Model Higher Secondary School (earlier Ranbir Pathshala), the Sri Ranbir Singh Library, Jammu, and the town of R.S. Pura are linked to him.
• He founded the first printing press in the State, the Vidya Vilas Press.

The famine of 1877 to 1879

• In 1877 excessive rain destroyed crops. A third of the people are said to have lost their lives and migration towards the Punjab began.
• The Maharaja gave up the Rahdari (transit duty) system, imported grain from the Punjab, and the British intervened in the administration.

An estimate

• Though a Hindu, he was religiously tolerant. Once, in a Shia-Sunni conflict where Shias suffered heavy losses, he gave the Shias 3 lakh rupees in compensation.
• He sat twice a day in public darbar to hear grievances.
• Sons: Pratap Singh, Ram Singh, Amar Singh and Lachman Singh.