Nehru , Kashmir & Historical circumstances {Part-1}

Nehru,Kashmir & Historical circumstances {Part-1}
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The role of Nehru has been repeatedly questioned for the Kashmir problem. In order to understand whether this proposition is right or wrong, we need to understand the events in J&K before and after partition in 1947 . It is also important to discuss the events after the partition as these have been distorted by people.

During partition, Jammu and Kashmir was ruled by Maharaja Hari Singh. It was called the Dogra kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir. The Dogras got the rights of Kashmir Valley under Treaty of Amritsar after paying lump-sum amount to British Government in 1846.

In 1931, a campaign was started against the Maharaja's rule from Lahore, in neighboring Punjab by the Press. They led a campaign that North Pakistan - Islamabad area was in danger from the Maharaja . During this time, there were a handful of educated Kashmiri Muslims, one of them being Sheikh Abdullah. He formed Muslim Conference and had become the leader of the people in the Kashmir Valley. He rose to prominence when he was jailed in June, 1931 for an anti-government speech. However, in the meeting of Muslim Conference in 1938, Sheikh Abdullah adopted secularism and in his speech stated "like us the majority of Hindus and Sikhs in the State have immensely suffered at the hands of the irresponsible Government...., sooner or later, these people are bound to join our ranks...., we must end communalism by ceasing to think in terms of Muslims and non-Muslims when discussing the political problem.” In 1939, the Muslim Conference changed its name to the National Conference and made a concerted effort to reach out to non-Muslims. When Muhammad Ali Jinnah demanded a separate homeland for Muslims within British India in his 1940 speech, Sheikh Abdullah repeated his commitment to secularism.

Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru wooed Sheikh Abdullah as he was one of the few Muslim leaders in British India to oppose Jinnah, as he believed in secularism. On the other hand, Sheikh Abdullah needed their support in defeating Maharaja and introducing democracy. In July, 1947 just before partition, Mahatma Gandhi visited Kashmir and said that while India had become dark all round, Kashmir was the only hope with its peace amongst religions. But Maharaja Hari Singh was not able to decide between India and Pakistan before British Government gave up power. After the partition of India on 14th/15th August, 1947, Kashmir became an independent nation and it was required to decide its future.
It is important to discuss the events in 1947 after the partition as these are distorted by people.

The Kashmir Socialist Party announced in September 1947 that "in the best interests of the poor and backward people accession to Pakistan is desirable". The Kisan Majdoor Conference also said that the State should cede to Pakistan due to its majority Muslim population.

Sheikh Abdullah and his National Conference leaders were in jail during partition and they were released on 29th September, 1947. After release, they signed standstill agreements with both Pakistan and India so that the people of Jammu and Kashmir could have time to decide.

Both states applied a significant degree of pressure to sway Kashmir's government. Pakistan felt that as it was the established state for Muslims in South Asia that Kashmir should accede to it rather than India. Unfortunately, though Kashmir was majority Muslim, the majority of the population of Kashmir (including a majority within the Muslim population) did not support joining Pakistan and instead wished to join India or for independence from the two states.

Tensions between Pakistan and the government of Kashmir grew as the Maharaja's indecision frustrated Pakistan and pro-Pakistani factions within Kashmir. Hostilities began in early October 1947 when a tribal rebellion broke out in Poonch in southwest Kashmir. By October 20th the Pakistani Army entered the conflict in support of the tribal forces in a multi-pronged effort designed to capture Uri, Jhangar, Rajuara, and Naushera in the opening days of the campaign. Pakistan's timetable was to capture the capital of Kashmir, Srinagar, within a week.

On October 22, 1947, a Lashkar of tribal, some five thousands strong, led an incursion into the valley of Kashmir from Abbottabad. Tribal and Pakistani forces experienced significant successes in the opening days of the conflict as they were able to take Dommel on the first day and overpowered a Kashmiri government battalion at Muzaffarabad by October 23. On October 26, 1947, after four days, they were in the vicinity of Srinagar. The Dogra Army seemed to have been beaten. The Maharaja had already fled his capital, Srinagar, to seek the comparative safety of Jammu.

Tribal and Pakistani forces met fierce resistance at Uri, where Kashmiri government forces, despite the desertion of many of its Muslim troops, were able to delay the Pakistani forces for two days until it was destroyed. Retreating Kashmiri forces were able to destroy a key bridge thus delaying Pakistani forces for an additional day.

Pakistani efforts to the south in the Jammu region were less successful as Pakistani forces faced significant resistance and were prevented from gaining most of the towns and locations that Pakistan attempted to capture.

Following the fall of Uri Pakistani and tribal forces took Baramulla and began to march on Srinagar. The Pakistani-backed forces were able to damage an important power station, located in Mahura that supplied electricity to Srinagar. In the following days the invading forces were able to get within a few miles of the airfield near Srinagar.

Up to this point the Pakistani-backed forces had faced opposition only from the Kashmiri government forces. The Maharaja, facing overwhelming odds and near certain defeat, asked India for military support. India agreed to help provided that Kashmir acceded to India and that the Prime Minister of Kashmir agreed to the accession. Both the Maharaja and the Prime Minister agreed to these terms and on October 26 the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession.

At that moment when the Lashkar was preparing to enter the State Capital- Srinagar , the Indian Government air-lifted  troops for operations to halt the tribal incursion.
India's 161st Infantry Brigade was deployed and thwarted the advance of the tribal forces. In early November 1947, the 161st using armored cars, counterattacked, surprising the Pakistani forces and successfully broke through their defenses. The 161st was flown into the airfield at Srinagar and from there was able to repulse the Pakistani-backed forces. Initial successes allowed the Indians to secure the airfield and to return power to Srinagar. The momentum of the Indian counterattack forced the Pakistani forces into a full retreat allowing elements of the 161st to retake Baramulla and Uri.

Despite early successes, the Indian army suffered a setback in December 1947 because of logistical problems. Furthermore, many of the Indian soldiers were ill prepared for fighting in the mountainous region of Kashmir and Jammu; few neither were experienced at high altitude combat nor were they prepared for the cold. These setbacks were significant as the Pakistani-backed forces were able to capitalize on these problems and to push back Indian forces from the border area.
In the spring of 1948, the Indian side mounted another offensive to retake some of the ground that it had lost.

Pakistani regulars were introduced into the conflict later in the year, targeting the city of Jammu. The fighting from the spring through December 1948 was widespread as Pakistani forces conducted operations in both the north and the south.
The intensity of the conflict and the inability to foresee a quick end to the conflict without involving considerable resources on the part of India to expel the Pakistani forces led Indian leaders to approach the United Nations who ultimately introduced Observers in June 1948. A UN brokered cease-fire went into effect on Jan. 1, 1949.In all, 1,500 soldiers died on each side during the war and Pakistan was able to acquire roughly two-fifths of Kashmir which it established as Azad Kashmir, meaning free Kashmir.

{To be continued }

Source : (a) Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire :- Alex von Tunzelmann (b) India after Independence: Bipan Chandra, Aditya Mukherjee, Mridula Mukherjee (c) Partition: The Story of Indian Independence and the Creation of Pakistan in 1947 :Barney White-Spunner (d)Indo-Pakistani Conflict of 1947-48- globalsecurity.org