Gilgit-Baltistan : A Deprived and Subjugated Region

What ever the historical background is, fact is that issue of Jammu & Kashmir is not going to resolve any time soon....
So mean while if the Govt has taken some steps it should be appreciated, even if thay are not ideal. Status Quo/ do nothing is not a solution.
Ideally GoP should have gone for provincial status for Gilgit/Baltistan with a clause of Plebiscite or final decision in accordance with wishes of People of whole Kashmir. A Provincial status with representation in Senate , Parliament and NFC would augur well for Giglit/ Baltistan and Pakistan as well.

drlokraj:

You must be right. I read this history some time ago and there were too many characters and intrigues for my old memory. But I do remember that the dogras did play a negative role in the events following the death of Ranjit Singh but do not remember what role they played during the Anglo-Sikh wars.

DM ji, I dont think Dogras were neutral during anglo-sikh wars. Sikhs still blame dogras for the annexatiuon of Punjab though their own house was badly in disarray. Also, this distiction of sikhs vs dogras was made later; at that time, all were just sikhs.
I think even Jindaan had accused dogras of killing her brother and according to Shah Mohammad, it was she who wanted to take revenge of her brother's murder from the whole baadshahat of Punjab for which she approached the british.

Re: # 11


Gulab Singh was a practising/baptized Sikh. Because of him, every dogra family would bring up the eldest son as a sikh. Hinduism crept back into the Kashmir royal family during the time of Pratap Singh.

The royals always maintained they were Sikhs.


P.S. Pavo, I continue to be impressed with your detailed and accurate knowledge of the history of the sub-continent.

Best

Pardesi:

Yes, I think that he stayed neutral. As you probably know, the Maharja of Kashmir was very much involved in the intrigues that followed Ranjit Singh's death and was quite a shrewd person.

Re: # 11 DM
That might be because Dogra king either helped british in their wars with sikhs or stayed neutral.

#8 Posted by pavocavalry on September 19, 2009 11:40:43 pm


Treaty of Amritsar 1846


The corollary to Santayana is: Those who are overly obsessed with history are doomed to be left in the past.

Dost ji, British kept Punjab for themselves as it'd carry higher revenue whereas they gave up Kashmir to Maharaja as they didnt expect much as revenue from mountainous region so they made Treaties to get 'fixed income'.

Goras are smart.

a typing mistake .
Agha Amin

pavo:

"In 1842, Gilgit was again conquered by Sikh rulers of Kashmir. After he took over Kashmir from the British in 1846, Maharaja Gulab Singh, subjugated Gilgit but he had to face repeated insurgency"

Maharaja Gulab Singh was a dogra, not a sikh. The dogras were given Kashmir to the dogra chief by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Ironically, while the Sikhs lost their kingdom to the British, the dogras were able to maintain their princely kingdom.

8,9 Pavo, Demographic Kashmir is the Kashmir Valley but looking @ legalities Kashmir includes ALL the territories under the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh.

When Pakistan wants 'solution' to Kashmir they want solution for legal Kashmir (State) not the demographic, informal Kashmir i.e. the Valley whose people speak Kashmiri language.

'...twelve perfect shawl goats'

This later came to be known as Cashmere/Pashmina shawls.

however later gilgit did become part of J and K state :--

Gilgit has been a part of the territories of Kashmir State from early times. Kalhan’s Rajatarangini narrates vividly the detours of famous Kashmiri conqueror. Lalitaditya (595-732 A.D) in Gilgit and its adjoining territories. Similarly Gilgit formed a part of medieval Kashmiri Sultan Shahab-u-Din’s kingdom (1356-74 A.D). After the disintegration of Shahmiri Sultanate these territories fell out but Ghazi Chak in (1552-62 A.D) re-conquered or annexed such territories as had fallen off from the kingdom. In this attempt he attained marked success in recovering Skardu, Gilgit, Kishtwar, Pakhli and Mungli (near Pakhli), besides bringing into subjugation the Chief of the Gakkhars. In order to ensure efficient administration of these territories, he appointed experienced and intelligent governors to control them. In 1842, Gilgit was again conquered by Sikh rulers of Kashmir. After he took over Kashmir from the British in 1846, Maharaja Gulab Singh, subjugated Gilgit but he had to face repeated insurgency. In 1859 Maharaja Ranbir Singh sent a force led by Gen. Hoshiar Singh, which ultimately tamed the resistance and the territory was permanently annexed to Jammu and Kashmir. Mian Jawahir Singh was appointed the first Waziri Wazarat, who, according to the official assessment of 1916, assessed the revenue of the tract to be at Rs. 7,842/-.

Towards the second half of the eighteenth century, things began to hot up in the turbulent region as the Czarist Russia began to evince rather abnormal interest in the region and British rulers of India became apprehensive of a possible southward thrust by Czarist expansionists. Taking no chances, they decided to put up a watch tower in Gilgit. They placed a British Officer there in 1868 to monitor intelligence reports and other related moves. In 1889 a full fledged Gilgit agency was established which included areas of Yasin, Ponial, Kuh-Ghizar, Ishkman, Chilas region etc. but the civil and administrative control continued to vest in the Government of Maharaja. It continued to be administered by the Maharaja’s Government. Most of its garrison consisted of Dogra soldiers and Dogra and Kashmiri official drawn from State Government cadre, often belonging to Jammu and Kashmir regions, continued to be posted in Gilgit. After the death of Maharaja Pratap Singh, Hari Singh was installed as Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir State in 1925. He was very particular to assert J&K’s sovereignty on Gilgit and did not hesitate to join issues with the British when they made attempts, overt and covert, to undermine the authority of the State administration. He insisted that only the State flag should fly over the frontier territory. British had no alternative but to reiterate the sovereign right of Maharaja’s rule. Now the political landscape had changed in Russia considerably but the British became even more apprehensive about the intentions of Bolshavik regime in what was now re-christened as Soviet Union. They, through the intermediary efforts of their lent Officer Col. Colvin, whom the Maharaja had appointed as his Prime Minister in 1932, persuaded Hari Singh to lease out the territory to the British Government of India for a period of sixty years. Maharaja could not refuse for obvious reasons because he was increasingly leaning on British support to suppress the rising tide of peoples movement in J&K which had come to fore in 1931 and was fathered by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.

Accordingly a lease deed was signed on 26th March, 1935. The deed bears the signatures of Hari Singh on one side and British Resident in Kashmir, L. E. Lang on the other. The deed was ratified by the Viceroy Lord Wellington on April 3, 1935.

The provisions of the deed are revealing to the extent that even while taking over the temporary administration of the territory, British Government made it explicitly clear that the territory falls within the boundaries of Maharaja’s domain and he continues to exercise sovereign right over the area. This will be clear by a reference to the provisions of the treaty itself.



Article 1

The Viceroy and Governor General of India may at any time after the ratification of this agreement assume the Civil and Military administration of so much of the Wazarat of Gilgit province (hereinafter referred to as the "said territory") of the State of Jammu and Kashmir as lies beyond the right bank of the river Indus, but notwithstanding anything in this agreement the said territory shall continue to be included within the dominions of His Highness the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.

Article 2

In recognition of the fact that the said territory continues to be included within the dominions of His Highness the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, salutes and customary honours shall be paid in the said territory by the administration on the occasion of the birth day of His Highness, Baisakhi, Dussehra, Basant Panchmi and on such other occasions as may be agreed upon by His Highness and the Viceroy and the Governor-General of India. The flag of His-Highness will be flown at the official headquarters of the Agency throughout the year.

Article 3

In normal circumstances no British or British India troops shall be despatched through that portion of the Wazarat of Gilgit province which lies beyond the left bank of the river Indus.

Article 4

All rights appertaining to mining are reserved to His Highness the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. The grant of prospecting licences and mining leases will not be made during the period of the agreement mentioned below.

Article 5

This agreement shall remain in force for sixty years from the date of its ratification and the lease will terminate at the end of that period.

Maharaja remained vigilant to the outward assertions and manifestations of his sovereignty even after conceding the lease. Consequently, Kashmir flag continued to be hoisted alongwith the Union Jack on the portals of Gilgit fort. Though the deed provided that the lease will be valid for 60 long years and then lapse "automatically" on-rush of fast moving international scenario over took the imperialist designs of the British. The second World War shook the empire to its very foundations and the British decided to withdraw from India and as a direct sequel to this decision the lease was terminated and the area reverted to J&K State. The Maharaja deputed one of his Army Officers Brig Ghansara Singh as the Governor of Gilgit. He took over his stupendous assignment on July 31, 1947. On the same day the Union Jack was formally lowered. On August 1, 1947 an illumination was ordered in the entire J&K State officially to celebrate this re-union. Significantly, this was the Day when Mahatma Gandhi arrived in Srinagar on his first as well as last visit of Kashmir. Partition of India saw Gilgit again in the vortex of a grim turbulence. The British Officers in Gilgit had felt a pang when they watched the solemn ceremony of lowering of Union Jack at Gilgit. They also looked to the newly carved Pakistan with fond hopes of siding with them in any future polarisation of world forces. They embarked upon fanning the embers of discontent in the territory. Local garrison which was acting under the direction of one Major Brown rebelled. They got encouragement from newly carved out Pakistan authorities who were by then busy conspiring to grab the entire State of Jammu and Kashmir by force. On the night of October 31, 1947 when some four hundred and odd miles away Pakistani raiders were knocking at the doors of an undefended Srinagar, the Gilgit Governor’s residence was surrounded. This date was a watershed in the History of J&K State as the first ever popular Government under the leadership of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was by then at the helm of affairs in Srinagar. The Governor, after demonstrating remarkable personal valour, was over-powered and put under unlawful arrest. On November 4, Pakistani representatives sent specially to Gilgit, gleefully saw Major Brown hoist the Pakistani flag in the Scout lines and in the third week of November, 1947 Pakistan sent its political agent to rule over Gilgit. The last Kashmiri Governor of Gilgit, Brig. Ghansara Singh, was, in course of time, handed over to Indian Government in an exchange of political prisoners and is still as a nonagenarian, living at his home town, Jammu. That Gilgit has been an in alienable part of the territories of Jammu and Kashmir State is borne out by detailed assessment reports of Settlement Commissioners who were deputed during Pratap Singh’s reign (1885-1925 A.D).

Hunza

Hunza is bounded on the north by Barber range, many lofty and snow clad peaks as high as 25,000 feet. It is situated 8,000 feet above sea level and can muster about five thousand fighting men fairly reliable in any emergency. The State had often been hostile to the Maharaja of Kashmir and had often made attacks on Gilgit, either in combination with Yasin or with some other petty states. But Ranbir Singh (1856-86 A.D) quelled the hostility and affected peace with the Raja of Hunza.

Sanad granted by His Highness, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir to Mohammed Nazim Khan of Hunza.

Whereas the State of Hunza has recently been in armed rebellion against my authority, and whereas in consequence thereof, Raja Safdar Ali Khan, has justly forfeited any rights which he may have possessed as ruler of the State ;

And whereas the said Safdar Ali Khan has fled from Hunza, and has not returned or made submission to me or to the Government of India and whereas, I nevertheless desire to continue the Chiefship of the said State of Hunza in the person of a member of the ruling family of the said State ;

Now, therefore, I have, with the approval and the authority of Governor General of India in Council, selected you, Mohammed Nazim Khan, to be ruler of the said State of Hunza.

The chiefship of the Hunza State will be hereditary in your family, will descend in the direct line by primogeniture provided that in each case the succession is approved by the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir for the time being and by the Government of India.

An annual tribute of the following amounts, that is to say ; 25 tolas of gold, equal to 16 tolas and 5 mashas, will be paid by you and your successors to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Further, you are informed that the permanence of this grant conveyed by the Sanad will depend upon the ready fulfilment by you and by your successors of all orders given by the Jammu and Kashmir State with regard to the conduct of relations between the State of Hunza and the States and tribes adjoining it, the administration of your territory , the prevention of raiding and man-stealing, the construction of roads through your country, the composition of such troops as you may be permitted to retain, and any other matters in which the Jammu and Kashmir State may be pleased to intervene. Be assured that so long as your house is loyal to the State of Jammu and Kashmir and to the British Government, and faithful to the conditions of the sanad, you and your successors will enjoy favour and protection.

The following treaty was affected in August, 1870 between the Mir and Kashmir Darbar :-

By the Holy Quran..........................



I am Raja Ghazan Khan son of Raja Ghazanfar Khan and grandson of the late Raja Saleem Khan of Hunza. Whereas my father late Ghazanfar Khan remained under the control of Kashmir from a long time, especially the deceased Raja was obedient to the Maharaja, I also agree to remain obedient and present the tribute in the same manner. Hence I on my own accord, without force or pressure, depute my motabir, Wazir Fazal Khan and accept the following terms:-

1. The following Nazrana will be paid by me to the Maharaja annually :

Gold 12 Tolas
Horses 2
In return, a Khilat-Fakhira and 2,000 Srinagari coins will be granted to me and also a Khilat to my Wazir.

The revenue of Chaprot, that has been fixed from old times will be paid annually at Gilgit.
One Motabir of mine will always remain present in Gilgit and he will be paid thirty rupees per month by the State and one Motamid will yearly present to the Maharaja the annual Nazrana.
The friends of the Maharaja will be my friends and his enemies will be my enemies.
If a force be required in Gilgit, I shall place my troops at the disposal of the Maharaja for service and I shall not spare any effort in doing the service.
As this agreement has been written, after swearing the Holy Quran, no change whatsoever will take place on my part.

The tribute was paid regularly. When Hari Singh ascended the throne the Mir at Hunza went personally to Srinagar to take part in the coronation. He offered some presents besides the stipulated tribute, and received a robe in return. Before Gilgit was leased out to the British in 1935, a procedure was adopted so that the Mir did not discontinue his offering of tribute to Kashmir Darbar. The Mir was also in receipt of a subsidy of Rs. 2,000/- a year from Kashmir Darbar.


Nagar
The Nagar territory lies on the opposite side to Hunza bounded on the north by the river Hunza and possesses the same geographical and Geological features. It remained under the suzerainty of Jammu and Kashmir State right up to 1947.

Since 1867 the State of Nagar had been paying a small tribute, to the Maharaja of Kashmir, receiving in return a present of larger value. Here is a translation of an undertaking in Persian given by the representatives of Nagar in 1870 A.D.

We undertake to confer with Ghazan Khan, the Raja of Hunza that his son, as also the son of his Wazir should remain in attendance on the Maharaja of Kashmir and in case he does not agree, we shall send our forces against him.
If any Motabir of Hunza comes for secret work into our State, we shall kill him.
We shall ask Raja Ghazan Khan to handover the forts of Chaprot, and Nomal, if he agrees well and good : if not, we shall march against him and take their possession by fighting out.
That one of us four, Shah Murad, Mohammad Shah, Mirza and Nadlu will always remain in attendance at Gilgit turn by turn.
Inter communication between the Gilgit and the Nagar subjects of the Maharaja and others will continue. If any loss occurs, we shall be held responsible.
One real son of the Raja of Nagar and one son of the wazir will remain always in the service of the Maharaja.
Friends of the Maharaja of Kashmir will be considered friends and his enemies taken as enemies.
In case, the Maharaja of Kashmir will demand any force, the same will be supplied without any hesitation well equipped.
That in return for the Khilat granted to Raja Jafar Khan, annually, the following Nazrana will be presented :-

Horses 2
Gold 21 tolas
Apricots 5 loads
Sanad granted by His Highness the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir to Raja Jafar Khan of Nagar.

Whereas the State of Nagar has recently been in armed rebellion against my authority, and whereas in consequence thereof, You, Raja Jafar Khan, have justly forfeited any rights which you may have possessed as ruler of the said State :

And whereas by reason of your submission, and in consideration of your promise to abide by the following conditions, it is thought desirable, as an act of clemency, to re-appoint you as ruler of the said State.

Now, therefore, I have resolved, with the approval and authority of the Governor-General of India in Council, to re-appoint you, Raja Jafar Khan, as ruler of the said State of Nagar, and you are hereby appointed to be Raja of Nagar.

The Chiefship of the Nagar State will be hereditary in your family, and will descend in the direct line by primogeniture, provided that in each case the succession is approved by the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir for the time being and by the Government of India.

As annual tribute of the following amounts, that is to say :---

Twenty six tolas of gold, equal to 17 tolas and 1 masha, will be paid by you and your successors to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Further, you are informed that the permanence of the grant conveyed by the sanad will depend upon the ready fulfilment by you and your successors of all orders given by the J&K State, with regard to the conduct of relations between the State of Nagar and the States and tribes adjoining it, the administration of your territory, the construction of roads through your country, the composition of such troops as you may be permitted to retain, and any other matters in which the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir for the time being may be pleased to intervene. Be assured that, so long as your house is loyal to the State of Jammu and Kashmir and to the British Government, and faithful to the conditions of the sanad, you and your successors will enjoy favour and protection.



A letter from Zafar Zahid, son of Raja Jafar Khan to the address of Dewan Kripa Ram, the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir will be of interest:

"So long as there is breath in my body and head on my body, I shall not swerve from the sphere of your order. With your friends I shall cement friendship, your enemies I shall treat with vengeance and envy. In this work, I hold the Maharaja as my master and supporter and I believe he will think of my welfare, because I am always at his service and have just sent my tribute. The agreement which has been entered into and agreed by Mirza, Shah Murad and others is binding on me". There is also a letter of August, 1870 from him to the Maharaja saying that he had sent Wazir Shah with his two sons namely, Alidad Khan and Habib Khan and that the Maharaja was pleased to fix an allowance for Habib Khan and appointed Alidad Khan as the ruler of Gilgit. The letter referred above is acknowledgement of an order of the Maharaja, in which the above proposals are embodied. The conquest of Hunza and Nagar in 1895 by Pratap Singh stopped the occasional looting on the Karakorum. The Raja of Nagar is recorded to have paid tribute at the coronation ceremony of Hari Singh in 1926. He also entered into a fresh agreement to evolve modalities for paying his stipulated tribute to the Maharaja even after the lease of Gilgit to British in 1935.

Chitral

Chitral is located at the western fringe of Kafristan and its average height is 8,000 feet above sea level. It is adjacent to China and has been a centre of Buddhist learning. The earliest records available show that since the year, 1864, the Mehtar of Chitral, Aman-ul-Mulk used to send his Nazrana through his representatives, sometimes his brother, Makhmul Shah, to the Maharaja of Kashmir. In 1876 the Mehtar appears to have approached the Maharaja, with a view to seeking his protection against the threatening attitude of the Amir of Afghanistan, who had an eye on this territory. As a result, an agreement was made which may loosely be translated as follows :

"This agreement is made on behalf of myself and my children."

I hereby agree that I shall ever endeavour to obey and comply with orders of the Maharaja and consider his well-wishers as my friends and his enemies as my enemies and in recognition of sovereignty, pay the following Nazrana :-

Horses : 3
Hawks : 5
Hounds : 5

One Motabir of the Maharaja will always remain at Kashgar and one in Yasin and they will be duly honoured and respected. Similarly, one Motabir of mine will remain in the Darbar of the Maharaja and another on behalf of the Hakim of Yasin in Gilgit for execution of orders.
I shall receive a yearly subsidy of rupees 12,000 from the Maharaja in observance of the above conditions and if instead of the Motabir, any of my sons takes up the place, he will receive a separate allowance from the Maharaja."
In 1855, Nizam-ul-Mulk, the eldest son of Mehtar Aman-ul-Mulk visited Jammu. He was treated as the State guest throughout till he went to Calcutta to wait on the Viceroy. On his return, he continued to be the State guest and at the time of his departure was granted Rukhstana of rupees 3,125 for himself, in addition to the Khillats granted to him and his family and dependents.

In 1836, at the request of the Mehtar of Chitral, a report writer was sent by the Maharaja to Chitral. In 1914 the Government of India acceding to the wishes of the Mehtar of Chitral, transferred the areas of Mastuj and Laspur to him by virtue of the agreement signed by him on April 2, 1914. The first clause of agreement runs as under:

I acknowledge the suzerainty of the Maharaja of Kashmir and Jammu and in token thereof will resume the annual payment of following Nazrana viz :

Horses : 3
Hawks : 5
Tazi Dogs : 6
Further clause 8 reads as follows :

"In consideration of my acceptances of the above conditions, the subsidies now paid to me and certain officials viz. Rs. 12,000/- a year by the Government of India and Rs. 12,560/- a year paid by the Kashmir Darbar which he continued subject to the provision that the payment at present aggregating Rs. 4,560/- a year made by the latter to certain officials and headmen will gradually close as the present recipients die or/are removed from Office".

The Mehtar did attend the Raj Tilak ceremony of Hari Singh in 1926. Though he offered his usual offering, there appears to have been a grievance on some matter of protocol. There are records available of as late as 1935 when correspondence on this matter was continuing. Chitral remained under the suzerainty of Kashmir Darbar right up to October, 1947, when Pakistan raiders occupied it.

Skardu

Situated on the left bank of River Indus, Skardu is the principal town of Baltistan. It is bounded by river Shigar on the north, by Kiris and Parkuta on the east by Tilail on the South and by Astor and Rondu on the West. The district has been a part and parcel of J&K State uptill 1947. It was continuously administered by the J&K State Government. Gulab Singh gained the control of this territory by virtue of clause 4 of Lahore treaty of 1846 which was ratified in the treaty of Amritsar, 1846, between British Government and Maharaja Gulab Singh vide its article No.1. Skardu is the central town in Baltistan. A Wazir Wazarat was stationed here by J&K State Government and Kargil tehsil was a part of his jurisdiction. Skardu was a part of State revenue and judicial systems. Its revenue was assessed from time to time and there are settlement reports available which describe the quantum and method of revenue collection. For instance, the assessment notes by Major J. L. Kaye, settlement Commissioner appointed by Maharaja Pratap Singh’s Government, printed at Ranbir Prakash Press, Jammu in 1904 A.D. states that the following illaqas’ are also parts of Skardu.

Illaqa Haramosh-Rondu-Shigar-Kiris-Parkutta-Tolti-Khapalu-Charbat. He proposes (page 6) that "the cost of settlement of these lands should be recovered from the Rajas under the usual rules. The Rajas will with their allowances, all be in receipt of an income of Rs. 300/- a year" and the cost of the settlement will not be a large demand. Skardu fell to Pakistani raiders on August 14, 1948.
Agha Amin

just a note here .

i am not interested whether kashmir is part of india or pakistan or israel or china.

however the author has not done his research properly.

the basic document of kashmir going to the dogra family was treaty of amristar which stated as following :--

Treaty of Amritsar 1846
Article 1: The British government transfers and makes over, forever, independent possession, to Maharaja Gulab Singh, and the heirs male of his body, all the hilly or mountainous country, with its dependencies, situated to the eastward of the river Indus, and westward of the river Ravi, including Chamba and excluding Lahore, being part of the territory ceded to the British government by the Lahore state, according to the provisions of Article 4 of the Treaty of Lahore, dated 9th March 1846.

Article 2: The eastern boundary of the tract transferred by the foregoing article to Maharaja Gulab Singh shall be laid down by commissioners appointed by the British government and Maharaja Gulab Singh respectively, for that purpose, and shall be defined in a separate engagement, after survey.

Article 3: In consideration of the transfer made to him and his heirs by the provisions of the foregoing articles, Maharaja Gulab Singh will pay to the British government the sum of seventy-lacs (seven and half millions) of rupees (Nanakshahi), fifty lacs to be paid on ratification of this Treaty, and twenty-five lacs on or before the 1st of October of the current year, AD 1846.

Article 4: The limits of the territories of Maharaja Gulab Singh shall not be, at any time, changed without concurrence of the British government.

Article 5: Maharaja Gulab Singh will refer to the arbitration of the British government any disputes or questions that may arise between himself and the government of Lahore, or any other neighbouring state, and will abide by the decision of the British government.

Article 6: Maharaja Gulab Singh engages for himself and heirs, to join with the whole of his military force, the British troops when employed within the hills, or in the territories adjoining his possessions.

Article 7: Maharaja Gulab Singh engages never to take, or retain in his service any British subject, nor the subject of any European or American State, without the consent of the British government.

Article 8: Maharaja Gulab Singh engages to respect, in regard to the territory transferred to him, the provisions of Articles 5, 6, 7 of the separate engagement between the British government and the Lahore Darbar, dated 11th March, 1846.

Article 9: The British government will give its aid to Maharaja Gulab Singh in protecting his territories from external enemies.

Article 10: Maharaja Gulab Singh acknowledges the supremacy of the British government, and will, in token of such supremacy, present annually to the British government one horse, twelve perfect shawl goats of approved breed (six male and six female), and three pairs of Kashmir shawls.*
This treaty consisting of ten articles, has been this day settled by Frederick Currie, Esq. and Brevet-Major Henry Montgomery Lawrence acting under the directions of the right Honorable Sir Henry Hardinge, G.C.B. Governor-General, on the part of the British government, and by Maharaja Gulab Singh in person; and the said treaty has been this day ratified by the seal of the Right Honorable Henry Hardinge, G.C.B. Governor-General.
Done at Amritsar, this 16th day of March, in the year of our Lord 1846, corresponding with the 17th day of Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1252 Hijri.
Gulab Singh (LS)
H. Hardinge (LS)
F. Currie
H.M. Lawrence
* Note: In 1893 it was agreed to drop the gift of "twelve perfect shawl goats."


Seen in light of this treaty technically all parts of northern area north of indus were not part of kashmir.

in the final summing up in history the actual on ground position counts.in that light india has some parts of kashmir and pakistan some other.the final outcome will be decided by war or negotiation.

no morality in international law.
Agha Amin

maulana urstruly....

the status of kashmir isn't going to change....get over it..

2, Is this the same chtya army lota who's making best of his contacts in the army by doing business?

4, Urstruly, Get it right. Gilgit Baltistan is part of the Kashmir Princely State over which India and Pakistan had this long dispute.

Re: # 2
Mr. Sehgal
You call it Raw. Let us cook it. The deal announced with much pomp regarding inclusion of Gilgit-Baltistan in the democratic governance of Pakistan falls way short on empowering the people. The omni-potent rule of federal government over the area remains unchanged. The policy that could be best categorized as acceptance of defeat over the stand of self-determination of Kashmiris, government of Pakistan is consolidating the spoils of the conflict and securing the area for future business. This should have been done in an inclusive manner with participation of the political representatives of Gilgit-Baltistan and the deal should reflect participation in the future use of resources of the area. The present attempt by the government could be easily construed as colonizing because of its utter failure at bringing participation to the people by keeping all powers to the federation.