October 27, one of the darkest days in the history of Subcontinent , when Indian troops landed at Srinagar Airport

October 27, one of the darkest days in the history of Subcontinent , when Indian troops landed at Srinagar Airport

The Kashmir conflict was one of the sensitive issues that arose during the partition of British India. At the time of partition, Kashmir was a Muslim-majority state governed by a Hindu ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh. With the end of British rule, states were given the option to join either Pakistan or India, or to remain independent. Initially, the Maharaja preferred independence, but as tensions escalated and tribal incursions increased, he showed willingness to accede to India.

The legal and historical aspects of this accession have been questioned by various historians. In Incomplete Partition by Alastair Lamb and Kashmir in the Crossfire by Victoria Schofield, it is argued that Maharaja did not sign the accession documents on October 26, 1947, as claimed by the Indian government. According to these historians, preparations for the Indian army’s arrival had already been made, indicating that the announcement of accession was a formal act used by the Indian government to provide a legal cover for its actions.

Indian official V.P. Menon claimed that he reached Jammu on October 26 and obtained the Maharaja’s approval for accession. However, the British Deputy High Commissioner Alexander Symon’s statements cast doubt on this claim. These documentary inconsistencies suggest that India had preplanned its military intervention in Kashmir and used the accession terms merely as a legal justification.

At the time, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah also ordered the Pakistani military to enter Kashmir, but the British Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistani army, General Gracey, refused to comply. Due to British intervention and concerns of a direct conflict between the two newly independent countries, this action could not take place. This incident laid the foundation of the Kashmir issue, which remains a point of contention between Pakistan and India to this day. The Indian occupation of Kashmir and subsequent events have had lasting impacts not only on the subcontinent’s politics but also on the global stage.

The resolution of the Kashmir issue remains crucial to the relations between the two countries and continues to be the main obstacle to peace in the region.

Altaf Choudhry

27.10.2024