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>Rodw: Disambiguating links to Muslim Conference (link changed to All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference) using DisamAssist.

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117.197.155.218 at 04:17, 5 June 2021

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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Ram Chandra Kak
| image = RC Kak.jpg
| order =
| office = Prime Minister of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]
| term_start = June 1945
| term_end = 11 August 1947
| predecessor = [[Sir Benegal Narsing Rau]]
| successor = [[Janak Singh]]
| birth_date = 5 June 1893
| death_date = 10 February 1983
}}

'''Ram Chandra Kak''' (5 June 1893 – 10 February 1983) was the [[Prime Minister]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] during 1945–1947.<ref name="frontline">
{{cite journal |first=A.G. |last=Noorani |title=Myths & Reality |publisher=Frontline |volume=27 |date=30 January 2010 |url=http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2703/stories/20100212270308900.htm}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web |title=No big fuss over the win |url=http://centreright.in/2011/05/no-big-fuss-over-the-win/#.UCiTV6HiaM8 |publisher=Center Right India |first=Varad |last=Varenya |date=17 May 2011 |access-date=13 August 2012}}
</ref> He was also a pioneering [[archeology|archaeologist]] who excavated the major sites of antiquities in [[Kashmir Valley]] and wrote a definitive treatise on them.

==Career==
Kak served at various key positions in [[Maharaja]] [[Hari Singh]]'s administration. Beginning as the superintendent of archaeology,<ref name=stein>
{{cite web |title=Nilamatapurana – The Leiden Edition |url=http://www.siraurelstein.org.uk/nilamatapurana3.html |publisher=Kashmir Bhavan Center, Luton, UK |access-date=13 August 2012}}
</ref> he was appointed to the post of Chief Secretary in 1937. He was appointed as the Minister of Military Affairs in 1941 and held the role of "minister-in-waiting" for the Maharaja Hari Singh during 1942–1945. He served as the Prime Minister of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] from June 1945 until 11 August 1947, during the key transitional period when the British were preparing for departure from India.<ref name=himal>
{{cite news |title=Forgotten men of Kashmir |url=http://old.himalmag.com/component/content/article/66-forgotten-men-of-kashmir.html |newspaper=Himal South Asian |first=Rajesh |last=Ankit |date= February 2010}}
</ref>

=== 1946 ===
In 1946, the [[Jammu & Kashmir National Conference|National Conference]] party began the [[Quit Kashmir movement]] against the Maharaja. Its leader [[Sheikh Abdullah]] was arrested on 15 May. [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] attempted to come to Kashmir as his defence counsel. Nehru's entry into the state was blocked by Kak. Nehru was arrested on 22 June and kept at the [[dak bungalow]] in Domel, close to [[Muzaffarabad]]. Nehru returned to Delhi after two days following a summon from [[Mahatma Gandhi|Gandhi]]. Later, Kak met the [[Indian National Congress]] leaders in India in July and Nehru was permitted to revisit Srinagar. He met Abdullah in jail.<ref>
{{citation |chapter=Political Rumblings: Quit Kashmir Movement |chapter-url=http://www.koausa.org/storm/chapter4.html |first=Bal Raj |last=Madhok |author-link=Balraj Madhok |title=Kashmir: The Storm Centre of the World |publisher=A. Ghosh |location=Houston, Texas |year=1992 |isbn=9780961161491}}
</ref><ref>
{{citation |last=Wani |first=Showkat Ahmad |title=Shaikh Mohammad Abdullah and his contribution to political development in Jammu and Kashmir |publisher=Aligarh Muslim University/Shodhganga |year=2013 |hdl=10603/166108 |at=Chapter 3, pp. 85-86}}
</ref>

Kak was ill-disposed to the Indian National Congress because, in his view, it allied itself with Sheikh Abdullah and lent its "great weight of authority" to his agitation against the State government. After Abdullah's arrest in 1946, Congress leaders are said to have sent telegrams to Kak as well as the Maharaja demanding Abdullah's release. Kak held that "highly coloured, inaccurate and vituperative statements" were published by Congress, resolutions were passed against the Maharaja's government and commissions of enquiry appointed. Both Kak and the Maharaja decided against acceding to the India in 1946, even before partition had been decided.{{sfnp|Ankit, Pandit Ramchandra Kak|2010|pp=36–37}}

Kak tried to initiate a dialogue with Sardar [[Vallabhbhai Patel]], who was to become the home minister in [[Interim Government of India]]. However, the dialogue did not get very far since Patel advised that Sheikh Abdullah be released from prison and steps taken to improve relations between the ruler and the people. Kak dismissed the advice and rejected the capacity of the Interim Government to advise the Kashmir government. He believed that the authority of the British Government could not be inherited by the Interim Government. Patel took offence at what he called the "cold, official touch-me-not attitude" and asked him to let the "daylight to shine" on the Kashmir government. He in turn rejected the notion of complete independence for Kashmir. Kak's initiative having ended in failure, and the British Resident in Kashmir reported that Kashmir was likely to stay out of the Indian Union. Thus, on the eve of the [[Partition of India]], the relations between Kak and the Congress were frigid.{{sfn|Bhattacharjea, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah|2008|p=93–94}}

=== 1947 ===
After the Partition of India was decided in June 1947, the decision on accession became imminent. [[Lord Mountbatten]] visited Kashmir in June for five days (19–23 June) and pressured the Maharaja as well as Kak to make a decision. As to which dominion to accede, Mountbatten said that it was the state government's decision but strongly hinted that Pakistan would be the right choice.<ref>{{harvp|Ankit, Pandit Ramchandra Kak|2010|p=37}}: 'When asked by Kak, as to which Dominion he advised Kashmir to accede, Mountbatten said, "That is the entirely for you to decide. You must consider your geographical position, your political situation and the composition of your population and then decide". Kak rejoined, "That means that you advise us to accede to Pakistan."'</ref>

Accession to Pakistan did not appeal to the Maharaja. Kak's position was that "since Kashmir ''would'' not accede to Pakistan, it ''could'' not accede to India" (emphasis in the original). He advised the Maharaja that Kashmir should remain independent for at least a year, when the issue of accession could be considered. [[Mohammad Ali Jinnah|Jinnah]] told him that Kashmir could hope to get far better terms if it acceded immediately rather than later, but Kak's position was that the state's decision on non-accession was final. Jinnah is reported to have said that he did not mind the state not acceding to Pakistan as long as it did not accede to India.{{sfnp|Ankit, Pandit Ramchandra Kak|2010|p=37}}<ref name="frontline" />

General Henry Scott, the Chief of Staff of State Forces,<ref name="himal" /> credits Kak for maintaining friendly relations with the would-be state of Pakistan and its dominant party the [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]]. During Kak's tenure, the West Pakistan states ([[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] and [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–55)|North-West Frontier Province]]) are said to have stationed troops along the two main roads leading to the State and protected the traffic from raids.<ref name="HenryScott" /> According to the National Conference leader, [[Sheikh Abdullah]], Kak had good relations with the ruling circles in Pakistan. He says Kak had assessed that as a Muslim majority state, Kashmir was bound to accede to Pakistan and he had prepared a path for himself to serve in that eventuality.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dC1uAAAAMAAJ |title=Flames of the Chinar: an autobiography |last=Abdullah |first=Sheikh Mohammad |publisher=Viking |year=1993 |pages=91}}</ref>

However, Kak was inimical to the [[Indian National Congress]]. General Scott believes that the Congress leaders including [[Mahatma Gandhi]] "intrigued in the State" for the dismissal of Kak from premiership.<ref name="HenryScott">{{cite journal |journal=Epilogue |volume=4 |number=5 |title=Henry Scott: The forgotten soldier of Kashmir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-yUy7QpJp7MC&pg=PA47 |date=May 2010 |author=Rakesh Ankit |page=47}}</ref> Indeed, during Gandhi's visit to Kashmir around 1 August 1947, Gandhi reportedly pointed out to Kak how unpopular he was among the people and, in response, Kak had offered to resign.{{sfn|Bhattacharjea, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah|2008|p=99}} However, the Maharaja is believed to have already decided, a few weeks earlier, to dismiss Kak and to declare a general amnesty to political prisoners. Scholar [[Prem Shankar Jha]] states that it represented the Maharaja's decision sometime at the beginning of July not to accede to Pakistan and so India was his only option if independence proved impossible. He believed Kak to be an impediment to repairing relations with the Indian National Congress.<ref>{{harvnb|Jha, The Origins of a Dispute|2003|pp=44–45}}; {{harvnb|Jha, Rival Versions of History|1996|pp=41–43}}</ref>

''[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]'' reported that Kak had enabled Pakistan's [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]] to confine the pro-India [[Jammu & Kashmir National Conference|National Conference]] but establish its own "operational bases" in various cities of the State. Pakistani "crusaders" from Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province were said to have entered the [[Kashmir Valley]] as tourists, carrying out propaganda as well as organising squads of "stabbers" and "fire-raisers". "Jinnah caps were visible everywhere".<ref>Report in [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]], 23 October 1947. Quoted in {{citation |last=Mahajan |first=Mehr Chand |author-link=Mehr Chand Mahajan |title=Looking Back: The Autobiography of Mehr Chand Mahajan, Former Chief Justice of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AW5u9QSxCFwC |year=1963 |publisher=Asia Publishing House |ref={{sfnref|Mahajan, Looking Back|1963}} |pages=139–140}}</ref> The British Resident in Kashmir also confirmed similar information.<ref>{{harvnb|Jha, The Origins of a Dispute|2003|p=15}}; {{harvnb|Jha, Rival Versions of History|1996|p=15}}</ref>

=== Dismissal ===
Kak was dismissed as Prime Minister on 11 August 1947 and put under house arrest. Scholar [[Prem Shankar Jha]] states that he returned to the Maharaja's service a few weeks later even though not as the prime minister.<ref>{{harvnb|Jha, The Origins of a Dispute|2003|p=46}}; {{harvnb|Jha, Rival Versions of History|1996|p=44}}</ref>

According to Kak, his dismissal was followed by a "decapitation" of the State administration. All senior officials such as the Chief Secretary, the Chief of the Army Staff, the Inspector General of Police were also replaced by less experienced people . According to Henry Lawrence Scott, the Maharaja came under the influence of the Deputy Prime Minister M L. Batra, the Maharani's brother Nachint Chand, all of whom wanted Kashmir to join India and whose intrigues were responsible for the dismissal and public humiliation of Kak.<ref name=HenryScott/>

An official enquiry was initiated against Kak in late September before the release of Sheikh Abdullah from prison. Kak attempted to leave the state along with his family. But his departure was blocked and he was put under house arrest. With General Scott's support, his family was allowed to leave.<ref name="Lila Bhan">{{citation |last=Rajan |first=Radha |chapter=Afterword by Lila Bhan |title=Jammu and Kashmir Dilemma of Accession: A Historical Analysis and Lesson : Prime Minister Pandit Ramchandra Kak's First-hand Account of the Tumultuous Events in 1946-47 |year=2018 |publisher=Voice of India |isbn=978-93-85485-10-7}}</ref>

After the tribal invasion in October, Sheikh Adbdullah was appointed as the Head of Emergency Administration in Srinagar, while the Maharaja had moved to Jammu. Kak's detention was continued and he was moved to the Badami Bagh. Kak's wife, Margaret Kak, lobbied with the Mountbattens arguing for Kak's release and even [[Stafford Cripps]] in London raised it with Jawaharlal Nehru. Sheikh Abdullah's administration maintained that they had evidence that Kak was hobnobbing with the Pakistani raiders and agents.<ref>{{harvp|Tanwar, Jammu & Kashmir 1947–1953|2019|pp=105–107}}: [Quoting Jawaharlal Nehru]: "This house arrest was continued by the State Government after Sheikh Abdullah’s release and till recently when he was taken away from his house and put under closer confinement in a part of the Cantonment buildings in Srinagar. He is kept there now and I understand that he is living in comfort."</ref>

Under pressure from Delhi, Kak was released and externed from the state in late 1948. Afterwards, Kak retired from public life.

==Academic and historian==
Ram Chandra Kak was believed to be in possession of the [[Sharada script]] copy of the [[Nilamata Purana]].<ref name=stein /> Kak's pioneering book ''Ancient monuments of Kashmir'' was published in 1933 and [[Francis Younghusband]] wrote the foreword to the book.<ref name=kecss>{{cite book |title=Kashmiri Scholars contributions to knowledge and World Peace |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=It1LePnN2LsC&q=ram+chandra+kak+kashmiri+pandit&pg=PA36 |publisher=A.P.H. Publishing House |first1=Saligram |last1=Bhatt |first2=J. N. |last2=Kaul |year=2008 |isbn=9788131304020}}</ref>

==Books==
* {{cite book |title=Handbook of the archaeological and numismatic sections of the Sri Pratap Singh Museum, Srinagar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DcIxAAAAMAAJ |year=1923 |publisher=Government Press}}
* {{cite book |title=Ancient Monuments of Kashmir, With a Foreword By Sir Francis Younghusband, and an Introduction By A. Foucher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=szt4QwAACAAJ |year=1933 |publisher=India Society}}
* {{cite book |title=Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of Kashmir |others=Publ. under the authority of the Kashmir Durbar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFm6twAACAAJ |year=1971 |publisher=Archaeological Survey of Kashmir, [Repr.] Sagar Publ}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{citation |first=Rakesh |last=Ankit |title=Pandit Ramchandra Kak: The Forgotten Premier of Kashmir |journal=Epilogue |volume=4 |number=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZzEAFgW8TYwC&pg=PA36 |publisher=Epilogue -Jammu Kashmir |pages=36–39 |date=April 2010 |ref={{sfnref|Ankit, Pandit Ramchandra Kak|2010}}}}
* {{citation |last=Bhattacharjea |first=Ajit |title=Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah: Tragic Hero of Kashmir |publisher=Roli Books |year=2008 |ref={{sfnref|Bhattacharjea, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah|2008}}}}
* {{citation |last=Jha |first=Prem Shankar |author-link=Prem Shankar Jha |title=The Origins of a Dispute: Kashmir 1947 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0kluAAAAMAAJ |year=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-566486-7 |ref={{sfnref|Jha, The Origins of a Dispute|2003}}}}
** {{citation |last=Jha |first=Prem Shankar |title=Kashmir, 1947: Rival Versions of History |url=https://archive.org/details/kashmir1947rival00jhap |year=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-563766-3 |via=archive.org |url-access=registration |ref={{sfnref|Jha, Rival Versions of History|1996}}}}
* {{citation |last=Tanwar |first=Raghuvendra |title=‘Be Clear Kashmir will Vote for India’ Jammu & Kashmir 1947–1953: Reporting the Contemporary Understanding of the Unreported |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3-YDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT2 |year=2019 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-00-051753-8 |ref={{sfnref|Tanwar, Jammu & Kashmir 1947–1953|2019}}}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/jammu-and-kashmir-dilemma-of-accession-historical-analysis-and-lesson-NAN520/ Jammu and Kashmir Dilemma of Accession (A Historical Analysis and Lesson)] (Excerpts), Exotic India, 2018.

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{Succession box
| before = [[Sir Benegal Narsing Rau]]
| title = [[Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir]]
| years = 1945–1947
| after = [[Janak Singh]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kak, Ram Chandra}}
[[Category:1893 births]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian archaeologists]]
[[Category:Scientists from Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Kashmiri people]]
[[Category:Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian politicians]]
[[Category:Indian social sciences writers]]
[[Category:People of the 1947 Kashmir conflict]]

Ram Chandra Kak - Revision history

Bot: robot: Create/update articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.

>Rodw: Disambiguating links to Muslim Conference (link changed to All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference) using DisamAssist.

117.197.155.218 at 04:17, 5 June 2021