Kashmir – the History – the turmoil – the solution - Part 1

A. The Past History – Reasons for turmoil.

March 16^th, 1846; The state of Jammu and Kashmir was created when Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu purchased Kashmir valley from East India Company for Rs 75,00,000/- in 1846 under the Treaty of Amritsar signed on March 16, 1846 between the East India company and Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu and added it to Jammu and Leh-Ladakh already under his rule. Out of above three regions in the State, Jammu is predominantly Hindu, Leh-ladakh is Buddhist and the Kashmir Valley alone is a Muslim majority region.

1931; Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah started the “All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference” (now called National Conference since 1939) to fight for freedom of  Muslim majority Kashmir valley from the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh,(direct descendant of Raja Gulab Singh, above) of Hindu Dogra dynasty which was ruling over the state since Kashmir was purchased by Raja Gulab Singh as there was virtually no representation of the Muslims in the government. 

1932; The Glancy Commission appointed by the Maharaja in its report in April 1932, confirmed that the subjects had grievances and suggested certain recommendations. These were accepted but not implemented, leading to another agitation in 1934.

July 26, 1946; Sheik Abdullah of National Conference began ‘Quit Kashmir’ movement to end monarchy. However this movement had no support in either Jammu or Ladakh. Sheikh Abdullah is arrested.

August 14/15, 1947; the Indian subcontinent became independent and like other princely states, State of Jammu Leh-ladakh & Kashmir also had the choice to accede to its preferred dominion - India or Pakistan. The then Maharaja Hari Singh delayed his decision, attempting to remain independent.

October 22, 1947; Pakistan sent in Muslim militia to forcibly take over the capital Srinagar. Raja Hari Singh appealed to the Indian government for military assistance. India is reluctant to send in troops as Raja had not yet signed instrument of Accession.

October 26, 1947; Raja Hari Singh came to New Delhi and signed the Instrument of Accession, ceding state of  Jammu & Kashmir, to India.

October 27, 1947; Sheikh Abdullah also wrote a letter to a friend in Jammu, in favor of accession of Kashmir to India. On same day Lord Mountbattan also accepts the Instrument of accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India signed by the Maharaja Hari Singh the ruler of Kashmir. The Instrument of Accession Signed  by Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir Hari Singh ji was the same as was signed by other rulers of the  other princely States of Indian Dominion. The acceptance was also same as done for other states.

The Instrument of accession states;

Clause No. 1 – “I hereby declare that I accede to the Dominion of India with the intent that the Governor General of India, the Dominion Legislature, the Federal Court and any other Dominion authority established for the purposes of the Dominion shall by virtue of this my Instrument of Accession, but subject always to the terms thereof and for the purposes only of the Dominion”.

Clause No. 9 – “I hereby declare that I execute this Instrument on behalf of this State and that any reference in this Instrument to me or to the Ruler of the State is to be construed as including a reference to my heirs and successors”.

Clause-1 made Jammu Kashmir a permanent part of Indian union. The state Constituent assembly on feb.6 1956 has also ratified the state’s accession to India. 

Clause-3 of J&K constitution, the state of J&K is and shall be an integral part of the Union of India.

Clause-4,the territory of the state shall comprise all the territories which on the 15th day of August,1947,were under the sovereignty of the Ruler of the  Jammu and Kashmir state,

Maharaja Hari Singh ji further said :- 
 

The terms of this my Instrument of Accession shall not be varied by any amendment of the Act or of the Indian Independence Act ,1947 , unless such amendment is accepted by me  an Instrument supplementary to this Instrument.
 

The Jammu and Kashmir state Constituent assembly on February 6 1956 ratified the state’s accession to Indian Dominion.

Maharaja Hari Singh appealed to Lord Mountbatten of Burma the Governor-General of India for Indian military aid. In his Accession Offer dated October 26, 1947 which accompanied The Instrument of Accession duly signed by him, the Maharaja Hari Singh wrote "I may also inform your Excellency's Government that it is my intention at once to set up an interim Government and ask Sheikh Abdullah to carry the responsibilities in this emergency with my Prime Minister."

October 30, 1947; Sheikh Abdullah takes charge as head of Emergency administration. Sheikh Abdullah began his career by movement against dynastic rule of Maharaja. Now his son Sheikh Farooq Abdullah is Minister in Government of India as Minister of New and Renewable Energy. His grandson, Omar Abdullah is presently Chief Minister of state of Jammu and Kashmir.

October 27, 1947; Acceding to the request of Raja Hari Singh, Indian army entered the state on October 27, to repel invading forces but by that time Pakistan army had already occupied half of Kashmir. See the link below for details of the fighting;

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/History/1948War/254-Defending-Kashmir.html

Sheikh Abdullah had befriended Jawahar Lal Neru in order to promote his dynastic rule in entire state including that of Hindu dominated Jammu and Buddhist Leh Ladakh, he used Jawahar Lal Nehru for his own partisan interests and forced him  to declare a unilateral ceasefire and  voluntarily call for a plebiscite even though  Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir had already signed instrument of accession of Kashmir to India on October 26, 1947.

January 1, 1948; Under influence/ duress of Sheikh Abdullah, Jawahar lal Nehru takes Kashmir issue to UN Security Council, which established the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP).

January 1, 1949; Under intervention of the United Nations, India and Pakistan defined a ceasefire line ("Line of Control") that divided the two countries which left India in control of half of Kashmir valley, as well as Jammu and Ladakh, while Pakistan gained control of other half of Valley including what Pakistan calls "Azad" Kashmir and Northern territories of Gilgit and Baltistan.

January 5, 1949; As per request of Jawahar Lal Nehru the prime Minister of India, The UNCIP passed a resolution stating:

"The question of accession of the state of Jammu & Kashmir to India or Pakistan will be decided through the democratic method of free and impartial plebiscite".

India already has instrument of accession in its favor, so invaders were to withdraw first. Pakistan never withdrew from Kashmir nor disbanded Azad Kashmir army and so the stale mate continues.

October 17, 1949; Indian Parliament adopted Article 370 of Indian Constitution ensuring autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir excluding three areas, defense, foreign relations and communications.

The history and effect of Article 370 Constitution of India to Kashmir problem.

Sheikh Abdullah had no influence in either Jammu or Leh-ladakh. He had dreams of monarchy or dynastic rule and had whipped up Muslim Passions based on communal lines. Sheikh Abdullah apprehended that if Hindus, who migrated from Pakistan to India, were allowed to settle in Kashmir, they would soon transform the majority of Muslims in the valley into minority thus washing off all hopes of his own dynastic rule. Hence he used his friendship with Pt. Nehru to prevent entry of Hindus into the Kashmir and to help achieve this nefarious design he drafted Article 370 for incorporation in the Constitution of India, which prevented the settlement of Hindus into the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Provisions of Article 370 include that the laws of India could not be extended to Kashmir without the concurrence of the state government. In addition citizens of India (Hindus) could not buy any land or settle in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. These provisions insulated Kashmiri Muslims from the rest of the country and fostered a separate Non-Indian mindset among the Kashmir Muslims. The nefarious plan of Sheikh Abdullah to have his own dynastic rule by forcibly outnumbering Hindus in the valley was fulfilled by the dint of Article 370. If pernicious Article 370 had not been incorporated in our Constitution, Hindus in large numbers would have bought property and settled in the valley, hard line Muslims would have left for greener pastures in Karachi, Lahore or Islamabad etc and Kashmir would have been homogeneous mix of Hindus and Muslims and there would no current problem. In order to promote his dynastic rule Sheikh Abdullah forced Article 370 on Jawahar Lal Nehru. Indian home minister Sardar Patel was not taken into confidence.

As of December 20, 2010, India administers approximately 43% of the region, including most of Jammu, part of Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and the Siachen Glacier. Pakistan controls approximately 37% of state, namely part of Kashmir which it calls Azad Kashmir and the northern areas of Gilgit and Baltistan. China controls 20% of Kashmir, including Aksai Chin, which it occupied following the brief Sino-Indian War of 1962, and the Trans-Karakoram Tract (also known as the Shaksam Valley), which was ceded by Pakistan in 1963.

to be continued......... (Next the beginning of present turmoil and solution)
secret reasons / history of violence in Kashmir / Persecution of Hindus in India.