All of a Sudden, Kashmir Has a King, Living in Exile!

Saima Rashid

Now, if you think that fleeing Maharaja Hari Singh was the last king of Jammu and Kashmir, then brace yourself for this: Kashmir still has a king! And this king is living in self exile in London. This “Emperor” is one of the twenty in race for the London Mayoral elections to be held on May 5.

Before one could simply dismiss the stunt, assuming—“So much for the poll campaign”—then, here is something one should know. The man is no commoner. He is the son of Prof Bhim Singh, the well known Supreme Court lawyer and patron of panther’s party.

These days as the race for mayor’s post is on in London, the “king” is trending around with his “peaceful message for his subjects”: Old times will be back in Kashmir not for oppression but to disseminate peace.

Named by his mother (Jayamala Devi) as Ankit Love, the “emperor” identifies his paternal ancestry with Dogras and maternal with Priestly Saraswat dynasty of Afghanistan.

That’s not all. One of the bizarre things about the “sovereign” is his ability to share many private things in his blog and Facebook.

“In the early 18th century,” he writes in his blog, “it was Ankit Love’s ancestor Raja (King) Dhruv Dev’s son Prince Mian Dev of Udhampur that defeated the Mughal Imperial army of Muhammad Shah from Delhi to regain their Sovereignty. His ancestor, the royal Wazir of Maharaja Gulab Singh, Zorawar Singh is known as the ‘Napoleon of the East’.” From his mother’s side, he claims to identify himself with Saraswat dynasty of Vedism in Afghanistan, ruling as Shahis (Kings) of Kabul up to the 11th century.

By touting these legacies, Love vows to usher peace, solar power and hydrogen fuel to start his new dynasty, he called the Love Dynasty.

“The sovereign royal title had remained vacant for decades after the passing of his predecessor Maharaja Hari, member of the British War Cabinet in World War II,” Love writes. “Ankit Love is all set to fill this long duration of vacancy. He has many plans which sound quite peaceful. While in exile creating polices for the betterment of his subjects and planning his return to Jammu and Kashmir post a popular referendum via online and mobile technologies, Ankit Love looks to continue building upon his successful career in the music, film and fashion industries.” He even claims Dr Karan Singh as his uncle.

In March 2015, informs his blog, Ankit Love gave oath by God and received coronation in a spiritual ceremony at the subterranean Akasha Yoga & Meditation centre at the Cafe Royal Hotel, London. “He officially adopted the titles as His Highness the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir to be the neutral defender of all faiths and became the world’s youngest incumbent head of state.”

He founded the One Love Party in October 2015. One Love is a techno-progressive political party in the United Kingdom and European Union.

“On April 21, 2016, Ankit Love passed by decree the India-Pakistan Annexation Act 2016 under his Sovereign powers by he became the Emperor of India-Pakistan in exile,” his blogs goes on.

Meanwhile, his father Prof Bhim Singh is all praise for his son. Ankit Love’s decision to contest election for the post of London Mayor itself is historical, Singh said.

The ‘proud’ father is now trying to fly to London to support his son “carry a mission from the East to the West for mutual co-existence, complete disarmament and human love”.

“He (Love) now reigns in exile with the hope to return soon to Jammu and Kashmir. He has a vision of peace and prosperity for his subjects,” continues his blog. “He desires to rebuild his Sovereign State of Jammu and Kashmir as a modern and advanced 21st century nation yet retaining spirituality.”

Love, who came to London in 1989, told his interviewer of ITV London that he had to raise 10,000 pounds for running the poll campaign. “The only way to get them back is, people should vote for me,” Love, a pop-singer, filmmaker said in the interview.

Described as an “unlikely” politician, these days Love is out on streets of London campaigning for his One Love party. “People don’t even believe that One Love exists,” he said.

While asking people to vote for him, he vows to end housing crisis and air pollution pandemic besides legalising cannabis!

Though he claims he has plenty of titles prefixing his name—His Highness the Emperor (Maharaja) of Jammu and Kashmir, Raja (King) of Jammu, King of Kashmir, Gyalpo (King) of Ladakh, Shah (King) of Balawaristan, Sultan of Muzaffarabad, Prince of Khari-Khariyali, Emir of Hunza, Emir of Nagar, Raas of Gilgit, Maqpoon of Skardu, Ra of Astor and Prince of Chenani—but he tells the anchors to address him as “His Highness!”