Kashmir: The Traces of the Conflict

Just a few months after India gained independence and the state of Pakistan came into existence, in Pakistan the dying leader, Jinnah, instructed his military secretary, Colonel William Birnie, to go to Kashmir and arrange for him to spend a couple of weeks there. For not only Jinnah, but many others, expected that this princely state would join them, as the Muslim population there registered over three quarters of a million. But five days later the colonel returned with a reply from the Maharaja implying that the Pakistani leader should not set a foot inside his state, even as a tourist. This stunned Jinnah and members of his government.

The Governor General of India (Lord Mountbatten) suggested to the Maharaja of Kashmir (Hari Singh, a Hindu) that he should make his mind up over which country his state should belong to. Two days later an infiltration took place in Kashmir. The report sent back to Pakistan indicated the Maharaja had no intention of joining Pakistan.

In September of that year, a month before the Hindu festival of Navratri¹, the Pakistani prime minister, Liaqat Ali Khan, and some men met secretly in the city of Lahore. At the meeting they decided to force the Maharaja to join them; but the question that remained was 'how?'

The first option was an outright invasion of the princely state — which the conspirators dismissed. Because if this had gone ahead the world would have sided with India, and also the army was not ready for an 'adventure' which could lead to a conflict with its neighbour. The second option was that of supplying weapons and money which could be used for an uprising. But this also meant it would take 40-50,000 men of Kashmiri origin to descend on the capital, Srinagar.

This idea was more appealing to Colonel Akbar Khan, who had graduated from Sandhurst and had a taste for conspiracy. Soon the most feared tribesmen from the North-West Frontier, the Pathans, were approached. The plan was to force a swift fall of the Maharaja, ensure that Kashmir joined Pakistan, and let the tribesmen loot the bazaars of Srinagar; this would keep their eyes off the bazaars of Peshawar on the North-West Frontier in Pakistan. This operation would be financed by the Prime Minister's office.

On the night of 21 October, 1947, in total darkness, several hundred Pathans - backed by the Pakistani army and Mohammed Ali Jinnah - crossed the border and killed the guards, as the lights came on in the Maharaja's palace and the Navratri celebrations began.

The First War

One man quietly took out a bundle of dynamite sticks and tied them to some panels of levers inside the Mahura Power Station. As he did this, he yelled a warning to his comrades, lit the dynamite and ran outside. Moments later there was a huge eardrum-shattering roar which shook the whole station. As it exploded, lights went out from the border with Pakistan to the areas near China, which included the Kargil region of the princely state.

The invading Pathans then got into their various forms of transport and set off, led by two wagons. As they approached a bridge, they stopped. Minutes later, flares lit up the black skies above them. This was a signal that the Muslim troops of the Maharaja Hari Singh had killed their Hindu colleagues. The commander then ordered the trucks to move forward. The first war over Kashmir had now begun and the Maharaja was not even aware of it!

In the meantime, a wounded guard on the border crawled up to a defunct telephone and tried to contact the authorities in the state capital to inform them of what had happened. But some Pathans quickly tied him up with broken phone wire and then followed the others to Muzaffarabad². There, against orders, they began looting the shops and raping women, including some nuns at a nearby nunnery. This was to cause a delay in the invasion, for two days later a 'Top Secret' report was handed over to a British Army officer, Major General Douglas Gracey, in Pakistan. This contained information regarding the Pathan invasion of Kashmir. It gave information such as the strength of the raiders and their locations. Without hesitation, the Major General quickly contacted the authorities in Delhi on a private line and informed them.

The news of the invasion was passed on to Mountbatten, who at the time was entertaining the Thai foreign minister. Another, similar message was passed on to the chief of the Indian army, Lt General Robert Lockheart, and to Field Marshal Auchinleck. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Indian prime minister and father of Mrs Indira Gandhi, was asked to remain as the last guest left the banquet. He was then informed that the state he was born in was under attack from tribesmen once considered to be the most faithful.

It was soon decided that military action was needed, but the question was, who to send? Mountbatten was adamant that no British troops would be despatched; and with that he turned to another question - of Kashmir and its Maharaja still not being able to make up his mind about who to join.

It was decided that Indian troops would be sent. But prior to that it would be important to send a delegation consisting of three men, including two military officers, one of whom would be Colonel Sam Manekshaw of the Indian army, and the other Field Marshal Auchinleck, who would sit and explain everything to the Maharaja. The third person was to be VP Menon, a civil servant who had presided over several accessions of princely states to India. The accession would be a temporary one, to be rendered permanent only after law and order had been restored and it had been confirmed by a plebiscite³.

In the meantime all civilian aircraft were to abandon their passengers so they could carry troops into Kashmir.

The Accession

The accession was finally signed on 26 October, 1947. It was accepted and signed by Mountbatten of Burma the next day. With this the Indian troops flew into Srinagar, as the Maharaja left his palace with his family for the last time.

In the meantime, at British High Commission, VP Menon sat with a drink in his hand as he produced the papers containing the signatures and said: "We got the b*****d to sign the Act of Accession! Here it is. We have Kashmir, and now that we have it we will never let it go!"

A total of 100,000 Indian soldiers were sent to fight the Pakistani-backed tribesmen in the snowy state once considered by many to be 'a paradise'. By January 1948 it had become clear the Indian troops were not able to push the Pathan tribesmen out of the state, as they were supported by Pakistani military. It was this that led India to demand at the United Nations that Pakistan be declared the aggressor. In reply to this Pakistan accused India of obtaining the accession by fraud and violence. India claimed that a plebiscite would be held in the region only after Pakistan withdrew its troops.

Later, a telegram was sent by Nehru to Pakistani Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan in which he made this clear. Then, four days later, on 31 October, he sent another telegram in which he mentioned that the Indian troops would be withdrawn as soon as peace and order was restored. He also mentioned that the decision about the future of the state rested with the people of the state - a pledge not only to the government of Pakistan but the people of Kashmir, too. By this it was clear that the Indian prime minister was keen to ensure the people of Kashmir would be able to make up their own minds.

In the meantime, the matter was taken up at the United Nations Security Council, whose Secretary General at the time was the Norwegian Trygve Halvdan Lie   (1896 - 1968). Here, it was declared that a ceasefire must be imposed first. It was also decided that a UN group would be despatched to the zone as observers only. The group would represent both countries and keep the Security Council informed. Many people did not approve of the UN observers in the area, as they thought more could have been done on the inside.

The Security Council also insisted that the decision on Kashmir should be sorted out with a plebiscite. But before this could begin the troops had to be reduced considerably. The Security Council gave India the authority to monitor the situation: whether Pakistani-involved tribesmen were withdrawing or not. A truce, known as the 'Karachi Agreement', was then signed, and Pakistan was declared the aggressor.

The Karachi Agreement was to enable more agreements to be signed, but they were never to include the former princely state.

The reports that were sent back to the UN indicated that there was no withdrawal from the north of the state.

The Karachi Agreement established a dividing line, which was known as 'The Ceasefire Line'. This meant that no military personnel, vehicle, military aircraft or civilians would be allowed to cross. It now divided the former princely state. The north became known as 'Azad (free)' Kashmir and the remaining portion as Indian-administered Kashmir.

In 1959, Indian troops were killed in a shootout with some Chinese troops who had crossed and covered 14,000 square miles of Kashmir, including the Ladakh region. In 1962, China launched a major attack on Assam in eastern India and Kashmir. Until then, the Indian prime minister had always believed that China and India would be able to work for peace and unity in the region, as well as benefit from economic prosperity.

After Nehru's death in 1964, legislation was passed by the Indian government which eventually led to Indian-administered Kashmir becoming part of the nation. It is estimated that the first conflict with Pakistan over Kashmir cost 40,000 lives. The second conflict was to follow almost 17 years after the first.