The Feudatory State Jammu & Kashmir

Jammu & Kashmir was a major princely state in the Kashmir Residency in northern India. Established by Maharaja Gulab Singh, the state issued its first postal stamps during the reign of Maharaja Ranbir Singh in 1866.

Early History 

The princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was created after the First Anglo-Sikh War in 1846 due to a deal between Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu and the British East India Company under the Treaty of Amritsar. As the first Maharaja of the new princely state, Gulab Singh expanded his kingdom to include Jammu, Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and Gilgit-Baltistan, establishing a vast and ethnically diverse domain.

Maharaja Gulab Singh (1846-1857)

Originally a vassal of the Sikh Empire, Gulab Singh took advantage of the empire’s weakening after the First Anglo-Sikh War to purchase Kashmir from the British. He unified Jammu, Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and Baltistan under his rule, forming the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. His administration was based on traditional Hindu and Dogra values but faced challenges in administering the multi-ethnic population that included Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, and Sikhs.

British Raj and Maharaja Ranbir Singh (1857-1885)

Gulab Singh’s successor, Maharaja Ranbir Singh, worked to modernize the state’s administration and took measures to centralize authority. He expanded the region’s infrastructure, established schools, and built institutions. However, political tensions occasionally flared due to the region’s religious diversity.

Jammu and Kashmir was a strategically important princely state in British India due to its proximity to Russian and Chinese territories. Though the state maintained some level of internal autonomy, British interference grew over time. 

The Partition of India and Maharaja Hari Singh (1925-1947)

When India gained independence in 1947, and the turmoil of partition began, Maharaja Hari Singh developed ambitions to become an independent nation and courted the British to further his cause. However, a brutal tribal invasion of Kashmir, aided by Pakistani irregulars, began and the state armed forces of Jammu & Kashmir, weakened by desertion and betrayal, found it impossible to defend the state. A desperate Maharaja appealed to the Government of India for assistance and signed an Instrument of Accession on October 26th, 1947. By the time the war ended, Jammu & Kashmir had become a part of India, albeit with a loss of one-third of its territory to Pakistan and a border conflict that has seen three wars and a bloody militancy that has claimed thousands of lives and the ethnic cleansing of Hindus and Sikhs from the Kashmir valley. 

Stamps of Jammu & Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir was the second Indian state, the third in Asia – after British India and Junagadh, to issue its postal stamps. The state issued three sets of stamps: one for use in Jammu, one for Kashmir, and the 1878 issues covering the whole realm.

Jammu Circulars

These beautiful blue stamps were issued from 1866 onwards and came in three denominations—half anna, one anna, and four annas—and in red, green, blue, black, and yellow. A total of 49 stamps were issued in oil and watercolour. The watercolour stamps are known to run when exposed to water.

The design of Jammu Circulars is a seal with an inscription in Dogri that roughly reads ‘DAK JAMMU (Persian) 1933 Kashmir va Jammu Sarkar Riyasat Qalamro’. The year 1933 is from the Saka calendar, which is 78 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar, coming to 1866. A variety of papers were used.

Jammu Rectangles and Kashmir Rectangles

Jammu Rectangles and Kashmir Rectangles are similar, probably for use in both Jammu and Kashmir, making identification difficult. While Jammu used the denominations half anna and one anna, the Kashmir ones came in all denominations. There are wide variations in the paper and colours used.

The inscription reads ‘(Dogri) JAMU (Sun Symbol) KASHMIR (Persian) QALAMRO SARKAR JAMU VA KASHMIR’. The inner circle has the denomination and the year 1933 in Persian and Dogri.

Besides the rectangles, Jammu also issued a square hand seal that read ‘MOHR AHAN KAN JAMMU 1915’, curiously implying that it was a seal from an iron mine. Why and how was it used as a postal stamp is not known.

Jammu & Kashmir Rectangles

A new set of stamps was issued in May 1878, legal through the kingdom and not confined to one region. The stamps were inscribed in Dogri and Persian and read ‘MASUK DAK QALAMRO JAMU VA KASHMIR  (denomination) ANNA’. The inner circle had the same text in Persian. These stamps were in use till 1894 when the Jammu & Kashmir post merged with the British Post. The dies were then said to be collected and destroyed.