Jammu and Kashmir is made up of 5 distinct regions of political importance and these are:-
- Jammu: Hindus in majority after partition in 1947 (prior to 1947, ~ 53% Muslims)
- Kashmir: Majority consisting of Sunni Muslims (9 out of 10 Muslims in world are Sunni)
- Ladakh: Predominant by Tibetan Buddhists (Ladakhi activists demand of a UT status)
- Gilgit: Largely inhabited by Shia Muslims
- Baltistan: Mixture of many ethnic groups Shins, Yashkuns, Pathans, etc.
Above mentioned 5 regions were brought into as one unit by the Jammu-based Dogra Rajput dynasty in the 1800’s. They conquered Ladakh in the 1830’s, acquired Kashmir from British in 1840’s and moved into Gilgit-Baltistan by end of the nineteenth century.
1925 – Maharaja Hari Singh of the Dogra Rajput dynasty came to power in J & K with Ramachandra Kak as its Prime Minister.
1931 – Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah became an adversary of Maharaja. He was instigated after the arrest of an activist named Abdul Qadir while he has about to meet His Highness regarding the joblessness of Muslim youths. This was the first Hindu-Muslim clash which later on took the face of communal violence.
1932 – All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference was formed by Sheikh Abdullah and Ghulam Abbas (a lawyer from Jammu) to form an organised opposition against Maharaja.
1938 – 1941 – Sheikh Abdullah shared his socialistic ideals with Nehru, as a result of which he had to tailor a split from his own party. Abbas, who lacked secular ideals, moved with his share of party and thus named it as Muslim Conference. At this point in history, National Conference of Abdullah and Nehru’s Congress came closer.
1946 – In May, Sheikh Abdullah launched the Quit Kashmir agitation against the Maharaja and was arrested and sentenced to three years imprisonment (but was released only sixteen months later on 29 September 1947). On 15th July, Maharaja, on advice of Ramachandra Kak, stated J & K to be independent.
Maharaja Hari Singh was in a quandary as to join India or Pakistan, since he loathed Congress because of its closeness to Abdullah and in the other hand he was worried about his dynastic future if he joined Pakistan. He also considered the choice of aligning with the USSR!
1947 – Mountbatten wanted J & K to accede to either India or Pakistan. Maharaja signed a Standstill Agreement with Pakistan. However the relations with Pakistan deteriorated. The suspension of a goods train plying from Sialkot to Jammu was one amongst many reasons of deterioration. Maharaja sacked two prime ministers in succession namely Ramachandra Kak and Janak Singh. Now, Meher Chand Mahajan, a close friend of Nehru and Patel was appointed as the new PM.
August ‘47 – The people of Poonch, where the economic policies of Hari Singh had taken their toll on the Muslim population, displayed flags of Pakistan on the eve of independence of India. The Maharaja’s rule was being challenged by Abdullah in the Valley and Muslims in Poonch.
September ’47 – Patel was inclined to give J & K to Pakistan but only before 13th September, the day Pakistan had signed accession to Junagadh (was later given to India). Nehru wrote to Patel about the need to unite Maharaja and Sheikh Abdullah (now freed from sentence) for Kashmir’s union with India.
October ’47 – Thousand of Pathans entered Kashmir from the NWFP of Pakistan on Oct 22. Why they came? Who was helping them? Did they know about the unrest in Poonch? These questions are still a matter of great controversy. They cut through the cities of Muzaffarabad, Uri, Mahuta, and Baramula while looting goods, murdering catholic priests and raping Muslim & Hindu women. Indians believe that they were sent by Pakistan to disrupt peace and unity while Pakistanis believe that they had come to save their co-religionists being persecuted by a Hindu ruler. Maharaja Hari Singh asked for military assistance from India and India in turn got the Instrument of Accession signed by the Maharaja. Indian troops were flown and the Valley was thus secured from the invaders. On hearing this, Jinnah ordered his army to get into Kashmir but the British Army Chief refused to do so. This was the time when peace had prevailed in the Valley.
But unfortunately the ephemeral happiness of October 1947 lost in the gleam of darkness when Mountbatten met Jinnah in Lahore.
November ’47 – Jinnah asked Mountbatten to give him either Kashmir or Junagadh. Later in November, Nehru met Liaquat Ali Khan, the PM of Pakistan. Khan demanded a new impartial government in Kashmir. Nehru wrote to Maharaja, asking him to appoint Abdullah as the new PM of Kashmir and also suggesting him 4 ways to resolve the Kashmir issue, namely:
- Plebiscite for the whole state to join either India or Pakistan
- Independent country with defence support both by India & Pakistan
- Partition: Jammu with India and rest to Pakistan
- Partition: Jammu & Valley to India, Poonch and beyond to Pakistan
1948 – On January 1st, India decided to take Kashmir issue in UN on the advice of Mountbatten.
………………….to be continued in a subsequent post.
