ABSTRACT: This paper aims to trace the causes and effects of the Treaty of Amritsar through which the princely State of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh came into being. However, the main focus of the paper is on the Valley of Kashmir. On the one hand, by dint of the Treaty of Amritsar (16 March 1846), the foundation of a new State was laid down; but on the other, the region of Kashmir was occupied with its people at psychologically most disadvantageous position, that is as a bought up commodity, while Ladakh joined as conquered territory. This varied background had deep impact on the future psyche of the inhabitants of the state. While Jammu had a sense of contentment as the power centre, Kashmiris suffered from a sense of humiliation, dispossession, and deprivation. An attempt has been made in this paper to generate a hypothesis about the structural transformation witnessed by the people of Kashmir. Therefore, what seems central to the paper is the impact of the Treaty of Amritsar which brought in its wake remarkable deprivation, destitution, and oppression — where ideas remained suppressed and traditions limit social change. Man was denied a happy existence and his deep sentiments were atrophied. The supposed level of stagnation and passivity down the social scale; the dark, unchanging world of the exploited, once associated with all peasants, was now inhibited only by an underclass.

KEY WORDS: Treaty of Amritsar, states of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh, people of Kashmir, humiliation, dispossession, and deprivation.

About the Authors: Ab Rashid Shiekh is a Ph.D. Student at the Centre of Advanced Study, Department of History AMU (Aligarh Muslim University) in Aligarh, India; and Ali Mohd Pir is a Lecturer at the P.G. Department of History, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India. For academic purposes, they can be reached via their e-mail address at: shiekhrashid.86@gmail.com and huzaifjhee@gmail.com

How to cite this article? Shiekh, Ab Rashid & Ali Mohd Pir. (2014). “Psychological Impact of the Sale Deed” in TAWARIKH: International Journal for Historical Studies, Vol.6(1) October, pp.43-52. Bandung, Indonesia: Minda Masagi Press and UNHAS Makassar, ISSN 2085-0980.

Chronicle of the article: Accepted (August 4, 2014); Revised (September 17, 2014); and Published (October 28, 2014).

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