Kashmir: The origins of the dispute In
August 1947 when the Indian subcontinent became independent from
Britain, all the rulers of the 565 princely states, whose lands
comprised two-fifths of India and a population 99 million, had to decide
which of the two new dominions to join, India or Pakistan. The
ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, whose state was situated between the two new
countries, could not decide which country to join. He was Hindu,
his population was predominantly Muslim. He therefore did nothing. Instead
he signed a "standstill" agreement with Pakistan in order that services
such as trade, travel and communication would be uninterrupted. India
did not sign a similar agreement. Law and order In
October 1947, Pashtun tribesmen from Pakistan's North-West Frontier
Province invaded Kashmir. There had been persistent reports of
communal violence against Muslims in the state and, supported by the
Pakistani Government, they were eager to precipitate its accession to
Pakistan. Troubled by the increasing deterioration in law and order
and by earlier raids, culminating in the invasion of the tribesmen, the
ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, requested armed assistance from India. The
then Governor-General, Lord Mountbatten, believed the developing
situation would be less explosive if the state were to accede to India,
on the understanding that this would only be temporary prior to "a
referendum, plebiscite, election". According to the terms of the
Instrument of Accession, India's jurisdiction was to extend to external
affairs, defence and communications. Troops airlifted Exactly
when Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession has been hotly
debated for over 50 years. Official Indian accounts
state that in the early hours of the morning of 26 October, Hari Singh
fled from Srinagar, arriving in Jammu later in the day, where he was met
by V P Menon, representative of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and
signed the Instrument of Accession. On the morning of 27 October,
Indian troops were airlifted into Srinagar. Recent research, from
British sources, has indicated that Hari Singh did not reach Jammu until
the evening of 26 October and that, due to poor flying conditions, V P
Menon was unable to get to Jammu until the morning of 27 October , by
which time Indian troops were already arriving in Srinagar. In
order to support the thesis that the Maharaja acceded before Indian
troops landed, Indian sources have now suggested that Hari Singh signed
an Instrument of Accession before he left Srinagar but that it was not
made public until later. This was because Hari Singh had not yet
agreed to include the Kashmiri leader, Sheikh Abdullah, in his future
government. To date no authentic original document has been made
available. Pakistan immediately contested the accession,
suggesting that it was fraudulent, that the Maharaja acted under duress
and that he had no right to sign an agreement with India when the
standstill agreement with Pakistan was still in force. Pakistanis
also argued that because Hari Singh fled from the valley of Kashmir , he
was not in control of his state and therefore not in a position to take
a decision on behalf of his people. 'Bad faith' In
the context of Pakistan's claim that there is a dispute over the state
of Jammu and Kashmir, the accession issue forms a significant aspect of
their argument. By stating that the Instrument of Accession was
signed on 26 October, when it clearly was not, Pakistan believes that
India has not shown good faith and consequently that this invalidates
the Instrument of Accession. Indians argue, however, that
regardless of the discrepancies over timing, the Maharaja did choose to
accede to India and he was not under duress. On the basis of his
accession, India claims ownership of the entire state which includes the
approximately one-third of the territory currently administered by
Pakistan. In 1949 Maharaja Hari Singh was obliged by the
Government of India to leave the state and hand over the government to
Sheikh Abdullah. He died in Bombay in 1962. Courtesy: BBC |