Fig. 142. Zojilá Pass (page [12]).
In Astor and Gilgit also Guláb Singh's Dogras replaced the Sikh troops. But across the Indus Guláb Singh was never strong, and after 1852 that river was his boundary. He died in 1857, having proved himself a hard and unscrupulous, but a capable and successful ruler. His son, Randhír Singh, was a better man, but a worse king. A good Hindu, tolerant, and a friend of learning, he had not the force of character to control the corrupt official class, and the people suffered much in consequence. He was a loyal ally in the Mutiny. In 1860 his forces recovered Gilgit, a conquest which for years after was a fruitful source of suffering to his Cis-Indus subjects. The present Mahárája, Sir Pratáp Singh, G.C.S.I., succeeded in 1885. While he lived his brother, Rája Amar Singh, played a very important part in Kashmír affairs. From 1887 to 1905 the administration was managed by a small council, of which after 1891 the Mahárája was President and Rája Amar Singh Vice-President. It was abolished in 1905. There are now under the Mahárája a chief minister and ministers in charge of the home and revenue departments. Judicial business is controlled by the Judge of the High Court. Death sentences must be confirmed by the Mahárája. The highest executive officers are the governors of Jammu and Kashmír, and the Wazírs Wazárat of Ladákh and Gilgit. In Jammu and Kashmír each of the eight districts is in charge of a Wazír Wazárat. In connection with the land revenue settlement, forests, etc., the services of British officers have been lent to the State. The Government of India is represented at Srínagar by a Resident, and a political agent at Gilgit exercises a general supervision over the Wazír Wazárat.
During the reign of the present Mahárája great reforms have been effected. The construction of the Gilgit road has done away with the blood tax, which the conveyance of supplies to that remote post formerly involved. The land revenue settlement has largely substituted cash for kind payments and done away with many abuses. Official corruption and oppression have been scotched, but would speedily revive if vigilance were relaxed. The different peoples ruled by the Mahárája are easily governed if properly treated, and violent crime is rare.
Note. In the map appended to Dr Arthur Neve's Thirty Years in Kashmír the heights of Gasherbrum and Masherbrum (see page [21]) are given respectively as 26,360 and 25,560 feet, and that of Hidden Peak, S.E. of Gasherbrum, as 26,470 feet. These with K2 are the highest mountains round the Baltoro Glacier. Further east is the Siachen, "the greatest glacier in Asia," which feeds the Nubra river (page [36]). N.E. of the Siachen is the Teram Kangrí mountain, the height of which does not probably exceed 25,000 feet. The actual height of the Nun Kun (page [12]) is 23,447 feet. Dr Neve gives that of the Karakoram Pass as 18,110 feet, not 18,550 as stated on page [20].
CHAPTER XXIX
CITIES
Delhi (28.38 N., 77.13 E.).—Of imperial cities the most interesting are those which have felt the tragedies as well as enjoyed the glories of Empire. From this point of view Delhi, notwithstanding its small extent and modern foundation, may be grouped with Rome, Constantinople, and Paris. In the matter of size it is in the same class as Edinburgh. The present Delhi or Sháhjahánábád is a creation of the middle of the seventeenth century, and the oldest of the Delhis in the neighbourhood goes back only to the fourth century of our era. The latter endured for six or seven centuries. It was the capital of the Tunwar and Chauhán Rájas, and takes its second name of Rai Pithora's Kila' or Fort from the last Hindu King of Delhi, the famous Prithví Rája. The early Muhammadan kings occupied it and adorned it with splendid buildings. Firoz Sháh Tughlak's city of Firozábád occupied part of the present Delhi and the country lying immediately to the south of it. The other so-called towns Sirí, Tughlakábád, and Indarpat or Puráná Kila' (Old Fort) were fortified royal residences round which other dwelling-houses and shops sprang up.