Ram Chandra Kak: Difference between revisions

'''Ram Chandra Kak''' (5 June 1893&nbsp;– 10 February 1983) was the [[Prime Minister]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] during 1945–1947.<ref name="frontline">

Ram Chandra Kak was the second among seven children (four sons and three daughters) of Keshav Lal Kak (b. 1873) —a money-lender and part time trader— and Bhageshwari Devi. He spent his early life in the Gurguri Mohalla of Srinagar.  

 

Kak graduated from [[Sri Pratap College]] in 1913 and enrolled for a M. A., before being selected for training in archaeology. From 1914 to 1919, Kak trained under [[John Marshall (archaeologist)|John Marshall]] at various sites.

Post training, Kak was appointed as the superintendent of the newly established Department of Archaeology, before being promoted to the Director.<ref name=stein>

</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chanchani|first=Nachiket|date=2018-07-03|title=Folding and Faulting: The Formation of ‘Himalayan Art’|journal=South Asian Studies|volume=34|issue=2|pages=93–113|doi=10.1080/02666030.2018.1525864|issn=0266-6030}}</ref> He also served as the curator of [[SPS Museum]], and Librarian of Maharaja Hari Singh's private library.  

He was appointed to the post of Chief Secretary in 1934, followed by Inspector General of Customs & Excise in 1935. In 1938, he was inducted as the "Political Advisor" to the Maharaja, and then as the Minister of Military Affairs in 1941. He 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="himal2">{{cite news|last=Ankit|first=Rajesh|date=February 2010|title=Forgotten men of Kashmir|newspaper=Himal South Asian|url=https://www.himalmag.com/forgotten-men-of-kashmir/}}</ref>

In 1946, as the [[Jammu & Kashmir National Conference|National Conference]] (NC) began the Quit Kashmir movement against the Maharaja, Kak declared martial law and had all leaders arrested on 20 May.<ref>{{Citation|last=Khan|first=Nyla Ali|title=Press|date=2018|work=Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s Reflections on Kashmir|pages=129|editor-last=Khan|editor-first=Nyla Ali|place=Cham|publisher=Springer|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-50103-1_4|isbn=978-3-319-50103-1}}</ref> [[Sheikh Abdullah]] was soon sentenced to imprisonment for three years. [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] attempted to appear as his defence counsel but his entry to Srinagar was blocked by Kak on 21 July.{{Efn|Nehru was put to house-arrest at a dak bungalow in Domel, close to Muzaffarabad. He would return to Delhi after two days, following a summon from Gandhi.}} Kak remained defiant despite multiple Congress leaders requesting him to have Abdullah released.{{sfnp|Jha, Rival Versions of History|1996|p=14}}{{sfnp|Ankit, Pandit Ramchandra Kak|2010|pp=36–37}}{{Efn|The rival party [[All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference|Muslim Conference]] did not support Abdullah's agitation and had branded it as a ploy to garner reputation, that was allegedly lost due to his pro-India stance. However, they offered support to the cause of Abdullah's release and would launch their "direct action program", piggybacking on it among many other issues.}}  

Kak, in an unpublished note on the accession-disputes, claims to have been ill-disposed to these pleas because the Indian National Congress (INC) had lent its "great weight of authority" to Abdullah's misplaced agitation; INC is castigated for publishing "highly coloured, inaccurate and vituperative statements" and passing resolutions against the Maharaja's government.{{sfnp|Ankit, Pandit Ramchandra Kak|2010|pp=36–37}}{{efn|However, Gandhi and Patel went on to convince Kak about allowing Nehru c. July — Nehru would eventually meet Abdullah in jail.<ref>

</ref> They failed to make Kak agree about freeing Abdullah, though.}} These unfavorable views about INC would guide his (and Maharaja's) decision to not accede to India —rather than any fundamental objection to the accession itself—, next month.{{sfnp|Ankit, Pandit Ramchandra Kak|2010|pp=36–37}}<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=NOORANI|first=A. G.|title=KAK AND SHEIKH|url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/article30181714.ece|access-date=2021-10-19|website=Frontline|language=en}}</ref>

 

In late July, Kak met with Sardar [[Vallabhbhai Patel]] —who was to become the home minister of the [[Interim Government of India]]— but discussions did not get very far. Patel advised that Sheikh Abdullah be released from prison and steps taken to improve relations between the ruler and the people much to the displeasure of Kak, who rejected Patel's authority and jurisdiction.{{efn|Kak asserted that the authority of the British Government, to advise the Maharaja, could not be inherited by the Interim Government.}} Patel took offence at what he called the "cold, official touch-me-not attitude" and rejected supporting any plan involving complete independence for Kashmir.{{sfn|Bhattacharjea, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah|2008|p=93–94}}

Kak's initiative having ended in failure, the British Resident in Kashmir reported in November that Kashmir was likely to stay out of the Indian Union. The cited reason was "antagonism [...] displayed by a Congress Central Government".{{sfn|Bhattacharjea, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah|2008|p=93–94}}

After the Partition of India was decided in June 1947, the decision on accession became imminent. [[Lord Mountbatten]] visited Kashmir in June (19–23 June) and coaxed the Maharaja as well as Kak to make a decision while guaranteeing the continuance of constitutional monarchy; on being asked by Kak about the "right choice", he implicitly hinted in favor of Pakistan.<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><ref name=":0" /> However, accession to Pakistan did not appeal to them — Kak's final position was that "since Kashmir ''would'' not accede to Pakistan, it ''could'' not accede to India".<ref name=":0" />{{Efn|Kak did not trust the Hindu monarchy and his Pandit brethren to be well-treated in Pakistan. But, he was also aware about the perils of acceding a state to India that shared extensive land-borders with Pakistan and had over 70% of the population as Muslims. Additional factors included INC's opposition to princely elites and a potential loss of socioeconomic privilege in an egalitarian India.}} He advised the Maharaja that Kashmir should remain independent for at least a year, when the issue of accession could be considered.  

Kak met the leaders of INC and Muslim League in New Delhi in July.<ref name=":0" /> [[Mohammad Ali Jinnah|Jinnah]] told him that Kashmir could hope to get far better terms if it acceded immediately rather than later, but Kak stood by his earlier position.<ref name=":0" /> Jinnah did not mind as long as it did not accede to India.{{sfnp|Ankit, Pandit Ramchandra Kak|2010|p=37}}<ref name=":0" /> Kak also met [[V. P. Menon]], the secretary in charge of princely states for India, and claim to have convinced him about Kashmir's reasons for not acceding; India was also apparently requested to help with the state's 'security arrangements'.<ref>{{harvp|Ankit, Pandit Ramchandra Kak|2010|p=37}}: "They parted on the [understanding] that Menon would visit Kak soon after the transfer of power on 15 August to consider the future security arrangements - a meeting which never happened as Kak was removed from his post by Hari Singh on 11 August."</ref>{{Efn|Menon's visit to Kashmir was scheduled after 15 August - this would never materialize, as Kak was removed from service.}} In contrast, Menon held Kak's replies to be evasive and noted that "he could neither understand the man [Kak] nor fathom his game". General Henry Scott, the Chief of Staff of [[Jammu and Kashmir State Forces|State Forces]], in his last report opined that Kak favored independence but closer ties with Pakistan.<ref name="himal2" />{{Efn|He also credited Kak for maintaining friendly relations with both of the would-be dominions.}}  

On 1 August 1947, Gandhi visited Kashmir and 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}}{{Efn|Gandhi reported back to Nehru that [[Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad]] had assured him of potential referendums turning in favor of India but ''iff'' Abdullah was released and Kak replaced.}} However, the Maharaja —who was increasingly against joining Pakistan due to a variety of reasons{{efn|Jha believes the primary cause to be riots manufactured by Muslim League in NFWP. About 2500 refugees (prim. Hindus and Sikhs) made to the Muzaffarabad province from Hazara in December 1946. Compounding factors were the rapid remodeling of Muslim Conference on Muslim League and introduction of communal discourse.}} and trying to repair relationships with INC— is believed to have already decided, a few weeks earlier, to dismiss Kak for being an impediment in the process, and declare general amnesty to political prisoners.<ref>{{harvnb|Jha, The Origins of a Dispute|2003|pp=44–45}}; {{harvnb|Jha, Rival Versions of History|1996|pp=41–43}}</ref>

Kak was dismissed as Prime Minister on 11 August 1947 in open-court and put under house arrest; he was replaced with Janak Singh. 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 from the Maharaja's own community, in what Kak would describe as the "decapitation" of State administration.{{sfnp|Ankit, Pandit Ramchandra Kak|2010|p=37}} According to Scott, the Maharaja acted under influence of the Deputy Prime Minister M L. Batra, a Hindu [[swami]], and the Maharani's brother Nachint Chand, all of whom wanted Kashmir to join India at the earliest.<ref name="HenryScott">{{cite journal|author=Rakesh Ankit|date=May 2010|title=Henry Scott: The forgotten soldier of Kashmir|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-yUy7QpJp7MC&pg=PA47|journal=Epilogue|volume=4|page=47|number=5}}</ref> He returned to the Maharaja's service a few weeks later, 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>

On September 14, Singh informed Kak about mounting an official enquiry on 24 September; Kak [[Right to silence|declined to participate]].<ref name="Lila Bhan" /> On 16 September, Kak attempted to leave the state along with his family, having arranged a flight with help from Scott.<ref name=":2">Mahajan, Mehr Chand (1963), Looking Back: The Autobiography of Mehr Chand Mahajan, Former Chief Justice of India, Asia Publishing House, pp. 124–125</ref> But his departure was blocked by the Maharaja, and he was put under house arrest.<ref name=":2" /> With General Scott's support, his family was allowed to leave on 22 September.<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>{{efn|A report in [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]'','' published on 8 October, would report Kak to have had enabled [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]] in confining the pro-India [[Jammu & Kashmir National Conference|National Conference]] into pockets while establishing its own "operational bases" in strategic locations of the state. "Crusaders" infiltrated from Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province into the [[Kashmir Valley|valley]] as tourists and went about torturing non-Muslim subjects. Only with the removal of Kak, had the situations eased with Jinnah caps not visible everywhere, as before.<ref>Report in [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]], 23 October 1947. Quoted in {{citation|last=Mahajan|first=Mehr Chand|title=Looking Back: The Autobiography of Mehr Chand Mahajan, Former Chief Justice of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AW5u9QSxCFwC|pages=139–140|year=1963|publisher=Asia Publishing House|ref={{sfnref|Mahajan, Looking Back|1963}}|author-link=Mehr Chand Mahajan}}</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>{{Failed verification|date=October 2021}}}}

After the tribal invasion in October, the Maharaja had moved to Jammu and finally released Sheikh Adbdullah, who was appointed as the Head of Emergency Administration in Srinagar. 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> In his autobiography, [[Sheikh Abdullah]] would praise Kak for maintaining good relations with the ruling circles in Pakistan — he noted that Kak had assessed that as a Muslim majority state, Kashmir was bound to accede to Pakistan and prepared to be in its service.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Abdullah|first=Sheikh Mohammad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dC1uAAAAMAAJ|title=Flames of the Chinar: an autobiography|publisher=Viking|year=1993|pages=91}}</ref>

Kak was tied to hay-ropes and paraded through the streets, as NC aligned Kashmiris heckled him.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ramchandra Kak: Kashmir’ s unsung hero – KashmirWatch|url=https://kashmirwatch.com/ramchandra-kak-kashmir-s-unsung-hero/|access-date=2021-10-19|language=en-US}}</ref> In April 1948, he was tried for three criminal offenses — he was acquitted on two counts but convicted of the third, and jailed.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|date=January 1960|editor-last=Mehra|editor-first=S. P.|title=Former Premier's Claim|journal=Civic Affairs: Monthly Journal of Local Govt. and Public Administration in India|location=Kanpur|volume=7|issue=6|page=52}}</ref> He was pardoned (and released), arguably under pressure from Delhi, but on the condition that he may never enter Kashmir without permission of the state.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Kak retired from public life, and migrated to [[Kasauli]].<ref name=":2" />

On 3 December 1959, the Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court —[[Syed Murtaza Fazl Ali|Syed Murtaza Fazl Ali—]] voided the externment order but rejected his petition to be paid due pension (with arrears) since termination, amounting to Rs. 91466.<ref name=":3" /> The court held that the Government had exercised reasonable discretion in withholding pensions from someone, convicted of an offense involving [[moral turpitude]].<ref name=":3" /> Kak returned back to Kashmir, and alternated between Srinagar and Kasauli.

Ram Chandra Kak married Janaki Devi (b. 1894) in 1901. They had five sons —Shailendra, Narendra, Brijendra, Surendra, and Khemendra— and a daughter, who died in infancy. They adopted Kak's grand-niece Lila. Devi died in 1928, from [[tuberculosis]].

In 1935, Kak married Margaret Mary. Khemendra, a pilot for the [[Royal Indian Air Force]], died in 1945 of a air-crash near [[Risalpur]]; this affected Kak considerably.

Ram Chandra Kak was in possession of the two complete [[Sharada script]] copies of the [[Nilamata Purana]], when a critical edition was being prepared by K. de Vreese.<ref name=stein />  

Kak wrote a treatise on Kashmiri archaeology titled ''Ancient monuments of Kashmir'' in 1933; [[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> The book focused on the destruction of temples by Muslim rulers to such an extent, that he was compelled by the publisher to expunge certain "irrelevant" passages lest communal harmony was affected{{Efn|One of the deleted passages depicted [[Sikandar Shah Miri]] as a blood-thirsty Muslim whose ‘perpetual cry’ was to ‘slay, burn, destroy’ Hindus, and Hindu shrines. He was compared to [[Charles IX of France|Charles IX]], responsible for the [[St. Bartholomew's Day massacre]].}}; a chapter on political history of Kashmir portrayed the centuries of Islamic rule as "one of unmitigated plunder, barbarism, and iconoclasm."<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Kabir|first=Ananya Jahanara|title=Territory of Desire : Representing the Valley of Kashmir|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|year=2009|isbn=9780816653560|pages=92-93}}</ref> Historian [[Mridu Rai]] notes his work to fit into the usual scheme of the State Archaeological Department in privileging Hindus over the Muslims by various direct and indirect means; [[Ananya Jahanara Kabir]] reiterates such observations.<ref name=":1" />{{Efn|The book had three photographs of Kashmir scenery, six of Islamicate sites, and sixty two of pre-Islamic heritage.}}

* {{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 ==  

[[Category:Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir]]