MAHARAJA HARI SINGH

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Context: After 75 years, Jammu and Kashmir observed a holiday on the birth anniversary of Dogra monarch Maharaja Hari Singh and was marked by cake-cutting and street celebrations in parts of the Jammu region.

Details:

• The Lieutenant Governor’s (L-G) administration announced a holiday on the birth anniversary of the Maharaja, who signed the Instrument of Accession with India in 1947 and later shifted outside J&K in 1949 after the popular government saw a rise of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.
• He was born to Maharaja Amar Singh on September 23, 1895, and died of cardiac arrest on April 26, 1961, in Mumbai
• When the British formally left on August 15, 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh, who was a Hindu ruler of a Muslim-majority state, wanted his state to remain independent and thus had a standstill agreement with both India and Pakistan.
• However, in the wake of an invasion by tribal raiders backed by Pakistan, Hari Singh fled Kashmir and signed an Instrument of Accession with India on October 26, 1947.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/celebrations-in-jammu-as-jk-observes-holiday-on-dogra-monarchs-anniversary-after-75-years/article65926345.ece