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Dharmarth Trust J&K
Formation	1846
Founder	Maharaja Gulab Singh
Founded at	Jammu
Type	Private trust
Origins	Dogra dynasty
Chairperson trustee	Karan Singh
Remarks	Active

Dharmarth Trust (also spelt Dharmartha) in Jammu and Kashmir was founded by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1846 as an endowment for religious charity, and to manage and support Hinduism.^[1] In 1884, and under Maharaja Ranbir Singh, the Ain-i-Dharmath (in Persian) or 'The Regulations for the Dharmarth Trust' were formulated and a government department for religious affairs was created.^[2] The trust helped the Dogra dynasty to consolidate and validate its control over its territory and over the functioning of Hinduism in the region.^[3]

Karan Singh has been the sole chairperson trustee since 1959.^[4] In 2009 the trust had about 100 temples under its ambit, mainly in Jammu and Kashmir, but also in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.^[5] The Trust continues to be the guardians of major temples such as Shankaracharya Temple in Srinagar, Kheer Bhawani in Ganderbal and the Raghunath temple and Bawe Wali Mata shrine in Jammu.^[6]

History

In 1826 Gulab Singh, a Dogra Hindu Rajput who had become the Raja of Jammu four years before,^[7]^[8] put aside funds which would be utilised towards religious charity.^[9] The practice of utilizing that money remained a private practice for two decades.^[9] In 1846 Gulab Singh donated five lakh rupee to Raghunath Temple.^[9]

Gulab Singh's son, Ranbir Singh, adapted the practice inherited from his father and placed it under a larger arrangement including the state machinery.^[9] Precedents for such a dharmarth department, a religious affairs department, included the darmarth under the Delhi sultans, Mughal emperors and the Maharajas of the Sikh Empire.^[10] The council of the trust was asked to oversee its functioning, including the running of institutions, prayer and meditation ceremonies, schools, and land and business associated with the trust.^[11] Any foreign religious person coming to the state was to be brought before the Maharaja, welcomed accordingly, and given parting gifts according to their status.^[11] Separate rules were prepared for all the different Gods and circulated accordingly.^[12] The trust would go on to include temples in Kashmir.^[12] Priests, including those on the furthest reaches of the Maharaja's territory, were to report occurrences to the state.^[12] The Ain-i-Dharmath (in Persian) was signed in 1884 by the issues of Ranbir Singh.^[13] As the trust passed into the hands of Maharaja Hari Singh, he opened the doors of all temples and shrines to a untouchables in 1932.^[14] Hari Singh passed on the trust to Karan Singh in January 1959.^[15]

Until 1987, Vaishno Devi Temple was under the care of the Dharmarth Trust. In 1987, during the governorship of Jagmohan, the temple was taken over by the state.^[4] The Trust continues to be guardians of major temples in the region– Shankaracharya Temple, Kheer Bhawani, Raghunath temple, Bawe Wali Mata shrine in Jammu.^[6] As part of the Smart Cities Mission in Jammu and Kashmir temples under the trust are being upgraded for devotees, pilgrims, and tourists.^[16]

References

^ Pintchman, Tracy (2001). "1". Seeking Mahadevi: Constructing the Identities of the Hindu Great Goddess. State University of New York (SUNY) Press. pp. 57, 67. ISBN 978-0-7914-9049-5.
^ Rai 2004, p. 114.
^ Rai 2004, p. 119.
^ ^a ^b Badhwar, Inderjit (31 March 1987). "Take-over of Vaishno Devi shrine by independent board erupts into legal controversy". India Today. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
^ "Home page, introduction". Dharmarth Trust, Jammu/Srinagar, official website. Archived from the original on 24 September 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Dharmarth Trust awaits govt instructions to open shrines". Tribune India. 10 June 2020. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
^ Singh 1974, p. 9, 197, 198.
^ Singh, Bawa Satinder (1971). "Raja Gulab Singh's Role in the First Anglo-Sikh War". Modern Asian Studies. 5 (1): 36. doi:10.1017/S0026749X00002845. ISSN 0026-749X. JSTOR 311654. S2CID 145500298.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Rai 2004, p. 116.
^ Rai 2004, p. 115-116.
^ ^a ^b Rai 2004, p. 117.
^ ^a ^b ^c Rai 2004, p. 118.
^ Zutshi, Chitralekha (2004). Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir. Hurst. pp. 48, 49. ISBN 978-1-85065-700-2.
^ Chauhan, Abha (2011). "4. Sacred Landscape and Pilgrimage: a study of Mata Vaishno Devi". In Singh, Rana P. B. (ed.). Holy Places & Pilgrimages: Essays on India. New Delhi: Shubhi Publications. pp. 105–126. ISBN 978-81-8290-228-2.
^ "Temples of Dharmarth Trust". Hinduism Today. 1 April 1992. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
^ "Temples under Dharmarth Trust will get face-lift under Smart City project: Mayor". State Times. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2022.

Bibliography

Rai, Mridu (2004). Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights, and the History of Kashmir. London. Delhi.: Hurst. Permanent Black. ISBN 978-1-85065-701-9.
Singh, Bawa Satinder (1974) [1966]. The Jammu Fox: A Biography of Maharaja Gulab Singh of Kashmir, 1792–1857. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 0809306522.