[EXPLAINED] How the 1846 Treaty of Amritsar led to the formation of Jammu and Kashmir

Prime Miniter Narendra Modi's government has abrogated the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and also bifurcated the state into two Union Territories. Apart from this, the state has remained under lockdown since August 4 (a day before Union Home Minister Amit Shah moved the resolution to revoke the special status and Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019, in the Rajya Sabha.)

The state government has still imposed Section 144 of the CrPC, which bars the assembly of four or more people in an area where it is in place. The government relaxed Section 144 for only six hours on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. Apart from this, mobile, internet and broadband services have been snapped in the state.

Not only Jammu and Kashmir has remained at the centre of controversy, but the way it was formed in 1846 was also controversial.

The erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir came into existence on March 16, 1946, the day the Treaty of Amritsar was signed between the British East India Company and Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu after the First Anglo-Sikh War. The treaty of Amritsar was signed after the Treaty of Lahore.

The Treaty of Lahore, which was signed on March 9, 1946, marked the end of the First Anglo-Sikh War, which was fought between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company between 1845 and 1846.

The Sikhs retained the Valley until a little after Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death in 1839. Ranjit Singh was the leader of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. However, after his death, the British East India Company started increasing its military strength, particularly in the regions adjacent to Punjab. As a result of advances made by East India, a war broke out between the Sikhs and British.

The Sikhs were defeated in the war and were made to surrender the valuable region (the Jullundur Doab) between the Beas River and Sutlej River under the Treaty of Lahore. Besides this, the Lahore Darbar was also asked to pay an indemnity of Rs 1.5 crore by British as reparations for the cost of the war. As the Darbar was unable to pay this sum, it ceded Kashmir, Hazarah and all the forts, territories, rights and interests in the hill countries situated between the Rivers Beas and Indus to the East India Company, as equivalent to Rs one crore.

A week after signing the Treaty of Lahore, British East India Company signed Treaty of Amritsar with Gulab Singh. He purchased Kashmir from the East India Company at a cost of Rs 75 lakh. He was also granted the title of Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.