Life & Legacy of Maharaja Hari Singh

Maharaja Hari Singh is undoubtedly the most enlightened and progressive ruler of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The slew of reforms that he introduced right from the day when he was merely a Yuvaraja heralded the process of modernization of the state. Several of his reform were ahead of time and quite unheard of in other princely states. It is, however, unfortunate that the historical assessment of his life and legacy has rarely been fair. In the existing historiographic discourse, he is generally remembered only for the last few months of his rule during which the tribal invasion, the accession, and the subsequent war took place. The papers in this volume focus on the reforms and contributions of Maharaja Hari Singh to bring out the larger, manifold contributions of Maharaja Hari Singh to a wider audience. The papers would possibly also serve as the reminder of the necessity of reorienting the continuing academic discourse on Maharaja Hari Singh and turn the gaze of those engaged in the craft of historical writings to the nature and larger implications of the series of reformative measures that Maharaja Hari Singh instituted.