CHINAR SHADE : SWAMI SANT DEV'S ROLE IN J&K STATE'S ACCESSION TO INDIA

( Swami Sant Dev)

SWAMI SANT DEV'S ROLE IN J&K STATE'S ACCESSION TO INDIA

Some people believe that Swami Sant Dev was a British spy . How far is that correct can only be known by some serious and authentic research ? But fact remains that he played unusual role at the critical turn of history in 1947.

Not much is known about his background or nativity and all that appears in some write-ups is nothing more than a guesswork. But surely, he was not a State Subject . He had come to the court of Maharaja Partap Singh and settled himself as one amongst many astrologers / religious advisors. He is believed to have performed some special Homas for Maharaja Partap Singh and gained his confidence . Young Hari Singh , the Crown Prince at that time had rebuffed him and shunned him many times.. After the death of Maharaja Partap Singh, Swami Sant Dev left the State for some unknown destination. However , in early 40s of the last century, he re-entered the Palace this time through support and help of Maharani Tara Devi. Maharaja Hari Singh is believed to have been unhappy at his presence in the Palace but gradually he was won over by Maharani Tara Devi and he accepted Swami Sant Dev in his Darbaar . Although Maharaja was an Arya Samaji and didn't believe in rituals, he would sit on ground with folded hands in presence of Swami Sant Dev. Swami Sant Dev had thus gained the confidence of Maharaja and had become a powerful person who was provided with official residence and car by the Darbaar . Journalist Madhavi Bhuta writes this :-

" Swami Sant Dev lived luxuriant life in Maharaja’s kingdom and resided in the house, which is presently Srinagar’s Raj Bhavan, situated overlooking Dal Lake. Earlier, it was a palace Maharaja had built for his fourth wife, the mother of Dr. Karan Singh."

In her book ,"Kashmir: Book III of The Partition Trilogy " , Manreet Sodhi Someshwar writes this :-

" A rustle and Thakur Nachint Chand ( brother of Maharani Tara Devi ) entered the room with a summon. The only person who could summon the Maharaja was the Rajguru, of course, and the Thakur’s prime responsibility of late had been as the intermediary between the Rajguru and the King. The Thakur was the Maharani’s brother – Maharani Tara Devi was deeply religious, and Hari Singh had watched with some dismay as the brother’s influence had mounted. It was now at the point where Rajguru Swami Sant Dev, whom Hari Singh had banished when he ascended the throne, had staged a mysterious comeback and was now installed in Chashmashahi Guest House in Srinagar."

Dr Karan Singh in his book, "Heir Apparent " writes this :-

"A strange development took place in our household. A certain Swami Sant Dev, who had lived in the State decades earlier in the time of the late ruler, Maharaja Pratap Singh, and was reported to have been banished by my father when he ascended the throne, staged a mysterious comeback. My father was far from being a religious man, but to everyone's amazement he suddenly became a devout disciple of Swamiji, sitting for long periods on the ground before him and never smoking in his presence. It was in the political sphere that Swamiji's influence proved to be disastrous. As with many of the larger Indian States, the prospect of becoming an independent ruler after the British withdrawal was an alluring one for my father. It was on this feudal ambition that Swamiji astutely played, planting in my father's mind visions of an extended kingdom sweeping down to Lahore itself, where our ancestor Maharaja Gulab Singh and his brothers Raja Dhian Singh and Raja Suchet Singh had played such a crucial role a century earlier. There is also some reason to believe that Swamiji was in touch with some of the Congress leaders, and that Acharya Kriplani's visit to the State early in 1947 was a direct result of his intervention."

Swami Sant Dev had convinced Maharaja Hari Singh that as per his astrological calculations , Maharaja was bound to become the ruler of “Big Kingdom " and sit on the Gaddi of Lahore like Maharaja Ranjit Singh . This had stoked the desire of the Maharaja to remain independent rather than joining India or Pakistan at the time of the Partition. He convinced Maharaja Hari Singh that no power on earth could stop him from becoming the 'Great Ruler' of the Lahore Darbaar or the new Kingdom . Some authors say that ‘at great cost’ Swami got prepared a new crown of diamonds and emeralds from the Maharaja for his coronation as ruler of this new Kingdom.The authenticity of this belief needs verification from authentic sources as Dr Karan Singh is silent about it in his autobiography although he mentions the negative role Swami Sant Dev and his influence upon his father at the critical turn of events.

Swami Sant Dev was in the cavalcade of Maharaja Hari Singh when he decided to move to Jammu during the intervening night of October 24th and 25th 1947. He got down at Kud and was not heard thereafter.

The delay in acceding to India resulted in armed Tribal Raid from Pakistan in the State in which lakhs of Hindus and Sikhs were uprooted from what is now POK and many thousand innocents were killed.

Swami Sant Dev is not the only factor in the unfolding of tragic events in the State in 1947. A lot about the period between the independence of India on August 15, 1947, and Kashmir's accession to it on October 26, 1947, is shrouded in mystery. Did Governor-General Mountbatten desire the accession? Was the Sheikh as ardent in the accession as is believed? Was RC Kak pro independence ? Was Maharaja asked by Nehru to release Sheikh Abdullah first before any proposal for accession to India could be considered ? Were Maharani Tara Devi and her appointed Deputy Prime Minister Ram Lal Batra for accession with India at any cost ? Is it true that on June 18, 1947, when Lord Mountbatten paid a visit to Kashmir to persuade the Maharaja to not make any declaration of independence but opt for either India or Pakistan by August 14, 1947, the Maharaja had conveyed to Mountbatten that he wished to be independent ?

( Avtar Mota )