STATUS OF KASHMIRI MUSLIMS UNDER SIKHA SHAHI GOVERNORS RAJ: AN ANALYTICAL DISCOURSE

Abstract

After the fall of Afghan Durrani rule, Kashmir came under the Sikha Shahi Raj, which was mainly operated from the Lahore Durbar. Maharaja Ranjit Singh by considering Kashmir as a good exporter of shawls and saffron, used to appoint his most devoted generals and ministers to govern it. Sikha Shahi Raj lasted in Kashmir for 22 years, however most of the rulers never treated the local Muslims as equal natives and Muslims suffered religious restrictions. Currents research work is to describe the state of Muslims of Kashmir under Sikha Shahi Raj, and to analyze how harsh and rude behaviors of Sikhs Governors created a sense of deprivation and mistrust among Kashmiri Muslim population, and how their own subordinates and ministers betrayed them for worldly benefits. Main objective of the present research is to analyze the nature of relationship between Sikh Governors and local Muslims which often remained biased and contradictory. Current research has mainly been conducted through primary and secondary sources including e-books, journals and historical documents from archives and libraries etc. The study has not only tried to bring the forgotten Sikh Governors into the limelight of 21^st century but it also analyzed that how Sikha Shahi Raj ended in Kashmir and couldn’t maintain its supremacy for a long time.