British Paramountcy In Kashmir (1876-1894)

About the Book: In the nineteenth century, Russian expansion towards Northern India threatened the safety and security of ‘the brightest jewel in the British crown’. The Foreign Office concluded that strategic control over Kashmir was of paramount importance in taming this threat. Realising their folly in selling Kashmir to Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1848, Britain tried to bring it back under their sphere of influence, but the strong personality and popularity of Maharaja Ranbir Singh prevented them from establishing their agency in the border area of Gilgit. His death proved to be a windfall for them, and by engineering court intrigues in the fight for succession, they managed to depose Pratap Singh and install Amar Singh as the President of the Council, who functioned under their dictates through fraud and forgery. Offering an insightful historical account of the region, British Paramountcy in Kashmir sheds light on the intriguing saga of the region from 1876 to 1894. The book highlights the machinations employed by the British rulers of India in maintaining their paramountcy over the princely states, making it a valuable addition to the history of British Rule in India.

About the Author: Dr. Madhavi Yasin, born in 1929, earned her M.A. degree in Medieval and Modern Indian History in 1950 and was subsequently awarded a Research Fellowship from Lucknow University in 1952, from where she also received her Ph.D. in History. Furthermore, she started her career as a teacher and served as the Head of the Department of History and Asian Culture and Vice-Principal of Shashi Bhushan Balika Vidyalaya Degree College, Lucknow. In 1965, she joined and played a significant part in the establishment of the Post Graduate Department of History, University of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar. As a Research Supervisor, she also guided numerous Ph.D. students of History. The author of the critically acclaimed book Indian Administration, Dr. Yasin has been widely recognised for vital contributions to her domain in both Hindi and English.