Srinagar, Indian Administered Kashmir 22 2013 A Kashmiri man pays homage to Robert Thorpe, a Briton, who died mysteriously 145 years ago on this day, after he criticized the then autocratic Dogra ruler of Jammu and Kashmir over the ill-treatment of the people. Credit: yawar nazir kabli/Alamy Live News
Srinagar, Indian Administered Kashmir 22 2013 A Kashmiri man pays homage to Robert Thorpe, a Briton, who died mysteriously 145 years ago on this day, after he criticized the then autocratic Dogra ruler of Jammu and Kashmir over the ill-treatment of the people. ThorpeÕs father, a colonel in the British army, married a Kashmir woman in 1833 . Decades later when Thorpe visited Kashmir as a young man, he was so moved by the plight of the majority Muslim population under the Dogra rule that he started writing articles in several publications like 'Friends of India . Thorpe's posthumously published book ÔCashmere MisgovernmentÕ is perhaps the first book giving information on the taxation system, shawl industry, begar (forced unpaid labour under the Dogras), the 1846 Amritsar treaty between Maharaja Gulab Singh and the British government and other aspects of life in Kashmir. the Dogra rulers were disturbed by Thorpe's criticism, and deported him from the state. However, Thorpe managed to sneak back, but died on November 22, 1868 under 'mysterious conditions' at the age of 30. It is believed that Thorpe had to pay with his life for his outspoken criticism of the Dogra autocracy. (Sofi Suhail/ Alamy Live News. )
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