THE KASHMIRSAGA(REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION)

(REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION)

First Edition: 1965

Second Edition: 1990

Published By: Farooq SuhailVERINAGPUBLISHERS - MIRPURAZAD KASHMIR

Printed By: Shirkat Printing Press,Lahore.

SARDAR M. IBRAHIM KHANFounder - President ofAzad Jammu and Kashmir

VERINAGPUBLISHERS - MIRPURAZAD KASHMIR

CONTENTS

1. Prefaceii. Historical Background 9iii. Political Consciousness 25iv. Kashmir State -1947 38v. Atrocities in Kashmir 47vi. Background of Azad Kashmir Movement 56vii. Beginning of Azad Kashmir Movement71viii Sudhan Revolt77ix. Tribal People 95x. And Kashmir Army102xi Azad Jammu And Kashmir Government115xii. Difficulties - Causes of Failure 132xiii. Security Council - 1948 138xiv. U.N.C.LP. 148xv Security Council 1949-1950 160xvi. Sir Owen Dixon and Frank P. Graham 168xvii People of the Kashmir Valley177xviii Kashmir’s Ties with Pakistan187xix. Some Blunders Committed in Kashmir 198xx. Accession issue of the State 211xxi. Possible Solutions 223xxii Future Prospects 230xxiii Kashmir as a Country 239xiv Muslim Countries and Kashmir 243

PREFACE

In the preface to the first edition of this book, I with-heldcertain facts, which at that particular moment, I thought,could raise wild controversies I made a promise, in thispreface, to the public that these facts will be disclosed ata later time. I had also promised that if not disclosedduring my life time these facts will be disclosed after mydeath. I had promised. to make arrangements to thateffect. That arrangement will now be not necessary.Because in this, second edition, I have given almost allthose facts which at the time of first publication could notbe made public. I am convinced of the truth of thesefacts~ and it is fair enough to the future generation toknow what exactly happened in 1947 vis-a-vis theKashmir issue. Kashmir problem is still as muchimportant today as it was in 1947. The very existence ofPakistan depends on the solution of this problem. I haveadded a new chapter in this book - Kashmir as aCountry’. This chapter gives a new line of thinking to thesolution of this problem I leave it to the future generationof Pakistani and Kashmiri people to reconsider andreview the whole problem in the context of moderntrends and modem events that have taken place since1947, including the separation of East Pakistan fromPakistan.

In any case, in my view, if Kashmir were projected as acountry and accepted by the countries of the World andadmitted into the UNO, this future Kashmir would be

easily a mini Pakistan.

S.M. IBRAHIM KHAN

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Chapter I

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

THE State of Jammu and Kashmir is bounded in thenorth by the Russian and Chinese Republics. Theindependent Republic of Afghanistan lies to the north-west. On its southwest is Pakistan. A very small area inthe south-east of the State has common boundaries withthe Republic of India.

The State has an area of 84,471 sq. miles. There are onlytwo plains in all this vast area. One is the valley ofKashmir, 84 miles long and about 25 miles wide with thesummer capital, Srinagar, in the centre, and the Jhelumriver running from east to west down the centre. Theother is the Jammu plain, which is a continuation of thePunjab plains, divided to the east by the Chenab, andseparated on the west from the hills of the Rawalpindiand Hazara districts of Pakistan by the Jhelum river. ThePanjab range of mountains, averaging 14,000 ft. high,encloses the valley of Kashmir on its southern and

western sides. The slopes of the Jammu plain are acontinuation of the plains of West Pakistan.

The main Himalayan chain, with summits from 15,000 to23,600 ft. runs north-west from the southern boundary ofthe Indian Hill State of Chamba, in an almost straightline near the Indus. A quarter of the States area lying tothe south-west of this main Himalayan chain, iscomparatively well-watered and supports as large apopulation as in its two plains. beyond the mainHimalayan chain, the upper reaches of the Indus drain adrier and more barren broad belt of mountainsculminating in the north in the high peaks of Karakorum,separating Ladakh and Baltistan from Sinkiang - aProvince of Socialist China, and cut right through by theHunza river near their western end, where they arecontinued in the Hindukush

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running along the northern boundary of the State ofChitral, now acceded to Pakistan. The valleys of easternLadakh support a saparse polulation1 but in the muchlower valleys of Baltistan and the digit Agency to thenorth-west, a considerable part of the population lives onagriculture. Southwest and west of Gilgit. the mountainsdo no attain such heights and are more broken Theclimatic conditions of the country vary from the arcticcold in Ladakh district to the extreme heat of the WestPakistan plains. Tropical heat is experienced in JammuProvince. The Kashmir valley enjoys a temperate climateduring summer but is very cold in winter. In earlyNovember, the Banihal Pass on road to Srinagar fromJammu becomes snow-bound, and throughout the wintermonths is not open to any traffic. In the FrontierDistricts, extreme cold prevails throughout the year. Thedeep narrow valleys in Kashmir and digit aTe, however,hot and damp.

Since this book was first published in 1965, a significantevent has occurred. This event has made a tremendouseffect on the geographic position and on the politicalaspect of the state of Jammu and Kashmir; namely, aroad has been constructed from the Frontier Province ofPakistan right up to T-Iunza, -Khanjarab and beyond intoChina. Formerly this used to be Silk Route betweenChina and Indo-Pak sub-continent. The trade was carriedon by means of animals. It would take weeks and weeks

together to cross this Silk Route from China to India, adistance of 500 miles or so. Now that this newmagnificent road has been built by the assistance ofChina, a new trade has been opened between china andPakistan. This road has given great importance to theregion of Gilgit and Ladakh and, consequently, to Jammuand Kashmir state

When Pakistan was constructing this road, India raisedserious objections because, according to India, the Stateas a whole ~0nstitutioflally belonged to India and,therefore, revolutionary changes in this area would affectIndian position. Monumental construction of the roadshas given importance to the legion and a new relationshiphas happily developed between Pakistan and China.

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A question now has been raised in the Pakistan press andin the political circle that Northern Provinces of the state,namely, Gilgit, Ladakh and Baltistan be either annexed toAzad Jammu and Kashmir State or to Pakistan. Thequestion of a part of the state acceding to Pakistan doesnot seem feasible, and if it is done, it is going to effectvery badly Pakistan’s cause in United Nation, In myopinion these Northern Provinces of Jammu and KashmirState should go to Azad Jammu and Kashmir becausethey are a part of Kashmir State and have been sothrough ages. These areas should be governed by theappointment of a Governor and the Legal jurisdiction ofthe Supreme Court and High Court should extend tothese areas so that the people of this area also benefitfrom an organised judicial system. It is a question whichyet has to be debated and decided. Only a very strongCentral Government of Pakistan can be in a position tosolve this matter one way or the other. In the meantimethe area is governed by Military and Civil administrationwith wide autocratic powers. This position jeopardizesthe peoples rights in this area. It must be said that a lot ofcredit is due to its people and their ancestors who foughtfor freedom, along with the rest of Kashmiries in 1947.Rainfall is scanty in the frontier regions, but in the rest ofthe State it varies from 30 inches tr, 65 inches a year.From the point of view of area, the State of Jammu andKashmir is the largest in India and Pakistan. Its area is

slightly smaller than that of Great Britain. The area of theformer Indian States of Mysore, Travancore, Jaisalmeerand Bikaner, all put together, is equal to the area ofJammu and Kashmir State. The area of Jammu andKashmir is again equal to the area of Belgium, Denmark,Holland, Austria and Albania, all put together.

The population of the State, according to the CensusReport of 1941, was 40, 21,616. The following figuresbased on the Census Report of 1941, give thecomposition of the main communities in differentProvinces of the State.

12Name of Province Total Muslims Non

Muslims.PopulationJammu Province 19,81,433 1245,676

7,65,757Kashmir Province 17,28,705 16,15,478

1,13227Frontier Districts 2,84,478 2,70,093

14,385

This population has now increased to one crore people(10 millions).

Thus it is evident that the population of the State ofJammu and Kashmir is larger than that of Iraq and almostequal to that of Switzerland. The main religions of thepeople of the State are Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism andBuddhism. It will be observed from the statistics givenabove, that, in 1941, the Muslims formed a Majority inall the provinces of the State. They constituted 77.11percent of the total population of the State, the Hindusbeing 21.12 percent and the Sikhs 1.64 percent. There aresome 40,000 Buddhists in Eastern Ladakh, but thepopulation of Ladakh as a whole, including Baitistan, ispredominantly Muslim. The annual increase inpopulation has been estimated at a little over one percent.

We now understand that India has allowed its non-Muslim people to increase their population in the State

with the result that ratio between Muslims and non-Muslims has been badly affected. It is feared if this sortof policy continues for a long time and no plebiscite isheld within the state, within a reasonable time, the wholecomplexion of population will undergo a terrific changeand Pakistan’s cause and the cause of the Muslims in thisstate will be irreparably damaged.

In race and culture, the people of Jammu and KashmirState vary according to the region in which they live. Thepeople of Ladakh and Baltistan have typically Mongolianfeatures. Their culture and language are different fromthose who live in Gilgit or in the valley of Srinagar itself.The people of Gilgit, though akin in their features to thepeople of

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Ladakh and Baltistan, have markedly differentcharacteristics. Their language is different from thosewho live in Gilgit and in the valley of Srinagar or thosewho live in the Province of Jammu.

The people of the valley of Kashmir speak “Kashmirilanguage which is different from rest of the State. Theyhave a different dress and follow slightly differentcustoms. The people in the rest of the State, namely thewhole of Jammu Province, including Poonch, are closelyakin to the Muslims of West Pakistan.

The Hindus of ancient times were never good historians.There is, therefore, no reliable historical material relatingto the Hindu period in all parts of India. However, withthe ancient land of Kashmir this is not the case. Recordof our past has been preserved in a famous book called“Raj Tarangini” by the prominent historian Kalhana wholived in the first half of the twelfth century AD.

The Hindu kings ruled over Kashmir for over fourthousand years. During this long period of history,twenty-one dynasties came to power one after the other.An account is given about the kings of this period, butmost of it appears to be of a conjectural nature.

It is not possible to describe precisely the social oreconomic conditions of the people of the Kashmir during

the earlier parts of the Hindu period except that thegovernments in those days were based on absolutepatriarchy. The quality of every regime depended on thepersonal traits of Raja. It does not fall within the scope ofthis small book to go into its detail.

The most famous king of Kashmir was one RajaLalitaditya (715-752 A.D). It is related that when heascended the throne, the State of Kashmir was in adisorderly condition. He restored peace and normalconditions and established a strong Government. Alterdoing this, he started on a wide conquest of othercountries. It is told that he went as Far as Central Asiaand returned to his country via Tibet after an absence oftwelve years from his scat of Government

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It is obvious that the life of the Hindu Kings, generallyspeaking, was very simple. Most of them were absolutemonarchs, peculiar to mediaeval times, but this did notprevent some of them from looking alter their subjectsvery well. They realised that their lives were closelyassociated with the people of their country, and many ofthem were not infrequently drawn from amongst theirpeople. Huan Tsiang, the great Chinese traveler, whovisited Kashmir in 617-53. AD. found the people in theState prosperous and happy. He narrates that some of theadjacent territories of the State wife subject to the rule ofkings of Kashmir.

Inspite of the simple times of those days, the people wereadvanced in their culture and in many other walks of life.Their progress was striking enough even for this modemage. We, of the present generation, can and should takelegitimate pride in the fact that our earlier ancestorsevolved a philosophy of their own was profound andpopular. This philosophy was characterized by absolutemonism, a depth of fine originality which has beenuniversally acknowledged.

Between the years 1310 A.D. and 1553 A.D, Kashmirwas ruled by local Muslim kings. Between 1515 AD. and1718 AD., the State was ruled by Mughal kings andbetween 17Th A.D. and 1819 A.D , by Afghan

Governors. This would show that Kashmir was underindependent Muslim rule for more than five hundredyears. In the beginning of the fourteenth century politicalchanges occurred when a Tibetan Prince fled from hiscountry and took shelter under the king of Kashmir. Afterliving in Kashmir For several years he took advantage ofthe unsettled conditions and came into power himself,while the king of Kashmir was absent in Kishtwar.Subsequently, this Tibetan Prince embraced Islam. Afterthat the government of Kashmir passed into the hands ofthose who were alien in birth and in culture. TheseMuslim Sultans ruled Kashmir for more than a centuryand a half. The most famous, and still very well knowneven to the average Kashmiri today, was Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, otherwise known as Budshah (the GreatMonarch). During the reign of his predecessor SultanSikandar, a large number of Kashmiri Pandits leftKashmir and settled in

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the Punjab and elsewhere in India. During the reign ofZain-ulAbidin Budshah, many industries wereintroduced: for instance, paper-making, sericulture andshawl-manufacture. He became extremely popularamong all sections of the people, including Hindus,because of his tolerance.

Akbar the Great conquered Kashmir in 1586 AD. Duringthe whole Mughal occupation of Kashmir, it wasgoverned by governors appointed by the MughalEmperors from time to time. The Mughal occupation ofthe country was marked by the prevalence of peace andhappiness. But as soon as the Mughal Empire startedcrumbling, after the death of Aurangzeb, conditionsbecame very unsettled again.

In 1750 A.D Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded andconquered Kashmir. The country thus passed into thehands of the Afghans. Their rule in Kashmir is known asvery harsh. Tales of religious persecution, devastationand rapine are still told in every household throughoutthe valley of Kashmir. During this period people ingeneral, and Hindus in particular, must have sufferedbecause of their misrule.

The Sikhs succeeded in wresting the valley of Kashmirfrom the Afghan rulers in 1819. The Afghan Governorwas defeated and Kashmir passed into the hands of newmasters from the Punjab . From 1819 AD. to 1846 AD.Kashmir remained under the rule of Sikhs. The change ofthis rule made no difference at all to the lot of the people.Maharaja Ranjit Singh and other Sikh rulers after himhad neither time nor the inclination to look into theadministration of this new Province of the Sikh kingdom.They always sent their governors to rule for them inKashmir. William Moorcraft, who visited Kashmir in1824 A.D., wrote; ‘The Sikhs looked upon the Kashmirisas little betterthan cattle. The murder of a native by a Sikh waspunished with a fine by the Government from sixteen totwenty rupees of which four were paid to the family ofthe deceased, if a Hindu, and two if he was aMohammadan.

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According to Moocraft, the people were everywhere in amiserable condition and they were subjected to everykind of extortion and oppression.

Some of the Muslim rulers of Kashmir, like AhmadShah, Akbar and Jehangir, did great things for thisunfortunate land. The Mughals brought back as muchpeace and prosperity to the country as they could. Akbarbuilt the wall round Hari Parbat. Jebangir and Shah jehanwere very fond of the valley and paid frequent visits to it.Some of the gardens round the Dal Lake are a standingmonument of the good work of the Mughals In our~iineS, and probably in all times, visitors from all overthe world will see these monuments as great marks of agreat age in thg He%~T7 o€ tbt Kn’v” ~r

8etniet, who visited Kashmir during the reign ofAurangzeb, was pleased to see the conditions thenprevailing everywhere. He was particularly impressed bythe industrious habits of the people and he appreciatedThe shawl of Kashmir which was manufactured in thosedays. -

In 1819 AD. Kashmir came under the PunjabGovernment Sheikh Imam muddin was appointed asGovernor. His rule continued upto 1846 AD., when the

British took over the State. It was not until November,1846 AD. that Maharaja Gulab Singh was brought intoIca5hmh with the aid of British troops. During the fivecenturies of Muslim rule, Islam won the greatest part ofthe people to its fold. The piety and learning of Syed AliHamdani made such a great impression on the people thata large number of them embraced Islam.

Jammu Province has a different history.

From the twelfth up to the fifteenth century, the Rajas ofJammu, who held sway over Dogra country (round aboutMansarand Sarvansar Lake), remained under the suzerainty oftheGhauri dynasty of Afghanistan and they got Jagirs fromtheAfghans. After 1554 A.D. they accepted the suzerainty oftheMughal Kings, during this period Rajauri was under BajaIkram Ullah Khan of Rajauri. Bhimber was under Raja

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Azimullah Than of Bhimber, Mirpur was under DewanGhulam Ali and Haider Ali Khan Ghakhar of Mirpur. In1770 AD. the Sikhs attacked Jammu, and it had, perforce,to accept the suzerainty of the Lahore GovernmentGhulab Sing’s father got the Jagir of ‘Andwara’ from theBritish Government in the Jammu Tehsil. Later onGhulab Singh’s father entered the service of the PUnjabGovernment. In 1809 A.D. Gulab Singh entered theservice of the Sikh Army as a trooper. In lieu of his goodmilitary service, he got a Jagir in the districts of Jhelumand Sialkot. In 1820 AD. Gulab Singh was made the Rajaof Jammu and his two brothers were given theprincipalities of Poonch in the north-west and Ramnagar,north-east of Jammu.

Poonch has a typicalhistorical background.

From the end of seventeenth century up to 1837 A.D.Poonch was ruled by the Muslim Rajas of Loran inTehsil Haveli. It then fell into the hands of Raja PaiztalabThan of Rajuri to whom it was handed over by thePunjab government. Poonch was included in the transferof the hilly country to Maharaja Gulab Sing in 1846.Before this transfer, Poonch was considered a district ofLahore. Maharaja Gulab Singh grante&Chibal, Poonchand other ilaqas to Jawahar Singh and Moiti Singh, sonsof his brother Dhian Singh. The Raja of Poonch had to

present to the Maharaja of, what is now known as Jammuand Kashmir, one horse with gold trappings. The Raja ofPoonch was not to effect any administrative changes inthe territory of Poonch without previous consultationwith the Maharaja of Kashmir. Poonch was convertedinto a Jagir by Maharaja Hail Singh In 1935-36 bybullying the Raja of Poonch into submission.

The Dogra Maharajas found it extremely difficult toestablish their Government in Poonch. It refused toaccept, ipso facto, the do jure sovereignty of the Dogras.Poonch had, therefore, to be conquered by them. Duringthis regular conquest the Dogras met with stiff armedresistance. When ultimately, by sheer strength of arms,Dogra sovereignty was firmly established, they picked anumber of leaders from the people and had them flayedalive in public. For the people of Jammu and Kashmir theplaces where these horrible crimes were

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committed against humanity Will always remain asunique memorials to the cause of freedom.

In a repetition of history, it was these self-same peoplewho first rose in arms against the Dogras in 1947.

The history of the beginning of the Dogra rule would beconsidered incomplete without a mention of the infamousTreaty of Amritsar which was concluded betweenMaharaja Gulab Singh and the British authorities in 1846A.D. By the terms of this treaty the Valley of Kashmirwas sold by the British to Gulab Siugh. When this treatywas concluded between British Government andMaharaja Gulab Singh, the territory that was surrenderedto Maharaja in lieu of seventy-five lakhs of rupees wasonly the valley of Kashmir. Poonch was never a part ofthis infamous agreement. Therefore, ilaqa of Poonch hadto be re-conquered by the forces of Maharaja GulabSingh. These forces of Maharaja perpetrated unheard ofatrocities on men and Women. Relevant portions of theTreaty

of Amritsar read as follows:- -

Article 1.

The British Government transfers and makes over forever in independent possession to Maharaja GhulabSingh and the hefts male of his body all the hilly or

mountainous country with its dependencies situated tothe eastward of the River Indus and the westward of theRiver Ravi including Chamba ait excluding Lahul, beingpart of the territories ceded to the provisions of the articleIV of the Treaty of Lahore, dated 9th March,1846.

Article 3.

In consideration of the transfer made to him and his heirsby the provisions of the foregoing article, MaharajaGulab Singh will pay to the British Government the sumof seventy-five laths of rupees (Nanak5hahI)~ fifty lathsto be paid on ratification of this Treaty and twenty-fivelakhs on or before the 1st October of the current year,A.D.1846.

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Article 9.

The British Government will give its aid to MaharajaGulab Singh in protecting his territories from externalenemies.

Article 10.

Maharaja Gulab Singh will acknowledge the supremacyof the British Government and will in token of suchsupremacy present annually to the British Governmentone horse, twelve shawl goats of appro~aed breed (sixmale and six female) and three pairs of Cash-mereshawls.

According to the Treaty of Amritsar, the district of l-Iazara went to GuIab Singh, but this was, later on,exchanged for Mandir, Dadhi, Kathua and Suchetgarh inthe l’unjab.

It will appear that the Treaty of Amritsar does notmention anything pertaining to the internaladministration of the State. Gulab Singh, It seems, wasgiven a free hand to deal with matters as he chose. Inlater days the British Authorities themselves regretted the

handing over of Kashinir to an Indian Prince. It seemsthat when the Treaty of Amritsar was concluded, theEnglishmen who were dealing with the matter, had notthe slightest notion of the strategic and other value of thevalley of Kashniir. They found the Amritsar arrangementinevitable, because during that time L’unjab politics werein a fluid state and the North-West Frontier andAfghanistan were unsettled. To them it was anadvantageous disposal of ICashmir. In any case theythought Gulab Singh was a good ally in the North. Drewwrote-

“One great objective which the Governor-General had inview when he made this arrangement for the Jammu andKashmir territories, was to lessen the force of Sikhs byestablishing on their flank a power independent of themand inclined to the British. This objective may be said tohave so far succeeded that, on the next and final trial ofstrength between the Sikhs and the British, GulabSingh’s

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aid was withheld from the nation to which formerlybelong his allegiance”.

It will, of course, appear that the treaty does not evenmention of a British Resident in Kashmir, and when thematter of appointment of a Resident was taken up by theBritish, the Maharaja resisted. Ultimately, in 1851 A.D.the Maharaja had to agree to the appointment of a BritishOfficer. Finally, after a lot of controversy over thematter, the Resident was appointed.

“The Maharaja did not achieve his ends by methodswhich were always beyond criticism. He did not hesitateto resort to the tricks and stratagems which would, inordinary life, be considered dishonourable. He wastrained in a hard school, where for ages itthumanlty andtreachery were all considered part and parcel of politics”.

During the early period of the Dogras, the people ofKashmir suffered much misery. Though the AmritsarTreaty gave outward peace to the people and they wererid of the Pathan and the Sikh misrule, this peace,probably, helped the upper class of people. The Hindusconsolidated their position and started growing rich at theexpense of the general Mussalman masses. So far as thegeneral masses were concerned, no economic or socialprogress was possible. The land was In a sony conditionduring the period of Gulab Singh and Ranbir Singh. The

taxes were arbitrary and exorbitant. Revenue wascollected in kind and sepoys were deputed to collect It, inadvance, at the time of harvesting. Since these sepoyswere theniselth not regularly paid, one can imagine themisery and havoc they worked on the villagers. Therewere strange taxes. To quote ‘one instance, there was atax on the sale of horses which amounted to fifty percentof the purchase money.

Every Department was full of corruption and the burdenof it all fell on the poor peasant. All officials, particularlythe revenue officials, were corrupt to the core. Since therevenue official could collect money in this inhumanmanner it was respected in upper society because moneygave it position.

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Therefore, the question of exercising any check onhim was

never contemplated.But the biggest disgrace that Will be associated with theDogra rule was the obnoxious system of forced labourtermed ‘begaar’. The State Officials, by law, could forceanyone among the villagers into forced labour, namely,‘begaar’. Poor and helpless people were miserablydragged, like slaves, out of their homes and against theirwill, to carry loads over long distances. They wereneither paid nor were they given any ration during thislabour. They had to carry their own dry bread with themto sustain them. This system continued right up to veryrecent times. Dr. Arthur Never described this in thefollowing words: “I was at Islamabad striving to fight anepidemic ofcholera by sanitation, and noticed that coolies were beingcollected from the surrounding region, each with hisblanket, spare grass shoe, his carrying crutch, and lightframe of sticks and rope in which to carry the load uponhis back. And I was present at the great concourse on agreen meadow In front of mosque when a sort of farewellservice was held for those starting on this perilousjourney. laud was the sobbing of many, and fervid the

demeanour of all, as led by the Mulla, they intoned theirprayers and chanted some of their special Ramzanpenitential psalms. Even braver men than the Kashmirismight well have been agitated at such occasion whentaking farewell of their loved ones!~ Who would till theirfields? What would happen during the long absence totheir wives and children? To what perils would theyth&mselves be exposed to in the snowy Pass of hillyGilgit district?”

Knight has given a graphic account of this system inpathetic language. He says:

“An enormous transport service is needed to supply thegarrisons on the North Frontier with grain; and theKashmir authorities have been utterly careless of thecomfortj and even of the lives of the unfortunatewretches, who are dragged from their homes andfamilies, to trudge

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for months over the wearisome marches on that aridcountry. They fall on the road to perish of hunger andthirst, and, thinly clad as they are, are destroyed hundredsat a time by the cold on the snowy pass. When a man isseized for this form of ‘begaar’ his wife and childrenhang by him, weeping, taking It almost for granted thatthey will never see him again. A gang of these poorcreatures, heavily laden with grain, toiling along thedesolate range between Astore and Gilgit, on a burningsummer day, urged on by a Sepoy guard, is perhaps aspitiable a spectacle as anything to be seen on the roads ofSiberia. But these are not convicts and criminals, they areMussalman formers, harmless subject of the Maharaja’.

The ‘begaar’ system worked great hardships, which havebeen described In the very forthright language above. Butone of the hardships was that people were forced to this‘begaar’ at a time when the villagers were most neededin their fields. Thus the crops badly suffer from theirabsence. When a revenue official would sweep down in adistrict to collect men for ‘begaar’, he would collectmoney by granting immunity to those who paid him.Whenever it was known that an official was to visit aparticular village for this purpose, alt male members ofthe village would run away and hide themselves to~ savethemselves hum this tmgedy. One could go on quotingInstances which would move even hardest mind as tohow the subjects of the Maharaja of the. State of Jammu

and Kashmir suffered under his most uncivilised andbarbarous system of forced labour.

During the great famine of 1877 A.D. thousands ofpeople died of starvation and the whole Country-side wastotally mined. Whatever may be said about the causes ofthe famine, the responsibility for the loss of lives thatensued lies on the shoulders of the Dogra administration.Unfortunately, the famine was followed by a terribleearthquake in 1885, as a result of which a large numberof people died. Nobody could or

would look after these miserable creatures who diedunder the debris of collapsing houses. Nor was there anymoney to finance

any relief that could be given to these people.

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In consequence of these two calamities, namely thefamine of 1877 and the Earthquake of 1885, a largenumber of people of the valley died in their homes, andmost of those who left their homelands to seek shelterelsewhere, died on their way travelling to the Punjab andother areas of India. On the whole Indian sub-continentalmost every other city and village contains the peoplehaving their origin from the valley of Kashmir. FromCalcutta to Peshawar in the sub-continent, KashmiriMohallas separate these settlers from the rest of thepopulation. In these separate Mohallas the Kashmiripeople have lived on trade and commerce through ages.They made Kashmiri Shawls and Kashmiri Carpets andthey travelled through vast Indian continent, most of thetime on foot, to sell their products. In fact the cities likeLahore, Amritsar, Delhi, Allahbad later on produced, outof these Kashmiris, great leaders and lawyers anddoctors. Some of the people who once migrated in amiserable condition from the parts of Kashmir, likeAllama Sheikh Mohammad Iqbal, contributed greatly tothe independence movement of India. To mention someof the leaders Jawahar Lal Nehru and his father Moti LalNehru, Tej Bahadur Sapru, Khawaja Nazim-ud-Din andthe family of Nawab of Dhakka top the list.

The Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir ruled in a mostautocratic manner. His word was law. More often, the

Maharaja had incompetent officers. He himself scarcelycame into contact with the people or their problems. Theimpact of the outside world made no impression on thesocial, economic and educational problems of the people.At one lime they were not even allowed to readnewspapers. To submit even legitimate demands of thepeople to the Maharaja was tantamount to sedition andentailed exile from the State. For small sins of thisnature, a number of people were actually exiled.

During the War of 1914-18 a large number of Statepeople went abroad to serve the cause of the Allies inIraq, Iran and in France. When these soldiers came homefrom abroad and after seeing things for themselves theyrealised the great difference in their lives at home.

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In this context it must be mentioned that the State ofPoonch, district-wise contributed a large number ofsoldiers to the British Army. These people as soldierstraveled throughout the British empire. They gotdisciplined, they got new culture on their own. Thus inthe wars of 1914 and 1939-45, Poonch made a greatcontribution to the cause of the British. In return thesesoldiers became very much alive to their miserablecondition at home and they were easily made ready to gointo battle against the forces of the Maharaja and then tothe Indian forces in their struggle for freedom that beganin 1947. That struggle is still continuing and the state ofJammu and Kashmir is still to be liberated. In thismovement of liberation the people of Poonch will alwaysplay a crucial role. The soldiers who came from the warfronts, after the second World War, made a far reachingcontribution in 1947.

After the last war, which concluded in 1945, things havecompletely changed in the State. The soldier, who cameback this time, was no longer so docile as to submiteasily to ‘begaar’. He was defiant and almost In a moodto revolt. When he realised during 1947-48 that his kithand kin would be butchered by the Dogra rulers for hisact of treachery, the soldier revolted against the Dograregime throughout the State. What shape the revolt tookwill be described in the following pages.

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Chapter II

POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS

When, at the beginning of the present century, to thepeople in the Valley of Kashmir came politicalconsciousness, the first thing that the Mussalmans inKashmir realized so keenly was the fact that, in the StateServices, they were not represented at all. Since therewas a dearth of educated State subjects for the civilservices, the State had to recruit people from outside.And the outsiders so entrenched themselves in theservices of the Sate, that they practically monopolized allpositions of any consequence. At one Lime, the KashmiriPandits, who were the only educated community in theState, agitated against this foreign usurpation of almostall important services in the State. During this particularperiod of political development, the Muslims of the Statenaturally welcomed their brethren from outside, becauseno State Muslim of any qualification was available tohold any important appointment in the State. Pandit PremNath Bazaz in his book ‘Inside Kashmir’, describes theposition thus: “At the beginning of the present century a

new problem confronted the people; that of facing theoutsider who had occupied every position of vantage inthe administration of the country. From these early timesthe struggle for the rights of the people living in the Stateagainst outsiders took a definite shape. While the masseswere groaning under the unbearable load of taxes andcrushing economic poverty, the upper classes feltdispleased and resentful because of this foreigndomination in every branch of administration. Thefeeling of resentment which was running underground forcenturies, found an outward expression, though it was notyet directed against the Ruler or his administration assuch. Representations were

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made to the Government of India, who, in a letter to theKashmir Durbar at the close of the last century, sentinstructions that in the matter of State employment,natives of Kashmir should be given preference over theoutsiders and that this principle should be strictly adheredton.

The agitation by Kashmiri people against the outsiderscontinued till 1912 AD., when the definition of ‘StateSubject’ was formulated for the first time.

During this period what was taking shape was anotherfactor. The Muslims of the State were getting equallyaware that, because they also lacked education, theycould not possibly secure representation in the Stateservices. They, therefore, began clamouring for measuresfor the making up of their deficiency in the matter ofeducation. This demand they persistently pursued till1916, when Mr. Sharp, the Educational Commissioner ofthe Government of India, visited the State and examinedthe Muslims’ demands and grievances. He made certainrecommendations to the State but they remained un-implimented and no serious notice was taken of them.

In 1924 Lord Reading, who was then Viceroy of India,visited Kashmir. Muslims of the State submittedmemorandum to him demanding due representation inthe State services, and the abolition of the system of

‘Begaur’. Surprisingly enough, this memorandum, whichalso contained a number of other grievances, was signedby some Jagirdars and two Mir Waizes. The committee,which was appointed to examine these grievances,however, reported that there was no substa:~ce whateverIn the demands. And some of those who had sigrted thepaper were promptly exiled from the State. The positionremained unchanged till 1929 when the state again beganseething with discontent. Sir Albion Banerjl, one of theMaharaja’s cabinet ministers, seriously deplored theexisting state of affairs and resigned his membership ofthe Council of Ministers, a post he had held for over twoyears. Before leaving the State, Sir Albion made thefollowing statement to

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The Associated Press which later on became historical. Itran thus: “Jammu and Kashmir State is labouring undermanydisadvantages, with a large Mohammedan populationabsolutely illiterate labouring under poverty and very loweconomic conditions of living in the villages andpractically governed like dumb driven cattle. There is notouch between the Government and the people, nosuitable opportunity for representing grievances and theadministrative machinery itself requires over-haulingfrom top to bottom to bring it up to the modemconditions of efficiency. It has at present little or nosympathy with the people’s wants and grievance?.

On the subject of public opinion at that time he said:-

‘There is hardly any public opinion in the State. Asregards the press It is practically non-existent with theresult that the Government is not benefited to the extentthat It should be by the impact of healthy criticism”.

The people of Jammu Province were comparativelybetter off, as they enjoyed greater political freedom. Theyorganized a party known as the Dogra Sabba,membership of which included practically all the pro-government retired servants. About the Dogra Sabha,Pundit Prem Nath Bazaz, in ‘Inside Kashmir’, on page

92, says :“In the name of the people the Sabha protectedtheinterests and safeguarded the rights of the upper classDogras. It was most loyal body so that even theGovernment servants were allowed to join it. Havingfound out that Dogra aristocracy wanted more voice inthe administration of the State the rulers had allowed theexistence of this organisation to act as a safety-valve toevaporate and discharge any dangerous agitation thatmight otherwise go underground. When during thetwenties of this century, the signs of discontent becamevisible in the upper classes of the people of Kashmir, theorganization was extended to that province as well”.

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In the province of Kashmir all political activity wasbanned. Nevertheless, despite this ban, a number ofyoung men, graduates of the Muslim University ofAligarh, forms a reading room known as the ‘PatchKadal Reading Room. In this room, people collected anddiscussed the state of affairs existing at that time,particularly the question of the representation of Muslimsin the State services. This is of some interest, because itwas these Reading Room men, with eduction from theAligarh University, who started political conscjousn~ inthe real sense.

It is said that on the 11th September, 1930, the youngmen of the Patch Kadal Reading Room sent theirrepresentatives to meet the Council of Ministers.Included in this deputation was Sheikh MuhammedAbdullah, who had returned from Aligarh Universitywith an M .Sc.. degree. All the members of the Councilof Ministers of the Maharaja’s Government were present,including the Prime Minister, Mr. Wakefield when heexplained to this body, the principle governing theConstitution of the Recruitment Board, and also tried toconvince them that the Recruitment Board was there forthe purpose of safeguarding the interests of educatedpeople. His arguments, however, did not convince thisbody of representation, and the grievances took firmerroot in the minds of the educated and hastens formation

of political parties, both in Kashmir and in Jammu.

In the Province of Jammu, a similar body, known as theYoung Men’s Muslim Association had come intoexistence, with almost the same objects in view. Towardsthe end of 1930, the Jammu and Kashmir groups becameaware of each others’ activities from reports in thePunjab Press. They started approaching each other toorganise themselves into an All Jammu and KashmirOrganisation Prem Nath Bazaz, while tracing thispolitical development says: “We have seen that educatedMuslim young men weredissatisfies and were making preparations to get theirgrievances redressed. They were now trying to organisethemselves on ait all-State basis, or at any rate, theYoung

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men living in the two capital cities of the provinces werejoining hands to make a move. It is doubtful whether anyof them was at this stage thinking in terms of a revolutionor even a drastic change. Most of them were anxious toget a big slice in the Government services and some ofthem might have been anxious to ameliorate the lot of thepoorer classes, such as peasants. A few intelligent mendesired small constitutional reforms. But all of themknew that a spontaneous mass-rising unknown in theannals of the State would take place very soon in spite ofthem. Little did they know that historical forces hadalready prepared a field and they were tools in the handsof time to work a change in the political conditions ofKashmir which they could not imagine or dream about.

It was inevitable that this cooperation between the twoparties in Srinagar and Jammu would culminate in theformation of a regular political party. Throughout thisperiod popular feeling in Kashmir had found expressionin many upheavals and finally In 1932 the first MuslimConference was held in Kashmir. One of its foremostaims was to demand enforcement of agrarian reforms inthe State. The ensuing agitation was put down by theMaharaja with the help of the British Army. It is worthnoting that, although it did not bring about the reforms, it

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set out to achieve the 1931 agitation, it strengthened theKashmir’s movement for constitutional Government forthe people of the State, and the setting up of LegislativeBody.In this movement the two bodies that showed greatinterest in the Punjab were the Ahrars and the Ahmadis,Thus when, in 1931, an All Jammu and Kashmir Stateagitation started against the repressive policy of theGovernment, the Majflis-i-Ajzrar took up the Cause ofthe Muslims of Kashmir and sent a large number ofvolunteers to support this agitation, but they wereimprisoned in Punjab. A Ic

Kashmir Committee was formed, under the chairmanshipof the head of the Ahmadia Community, to help andsupport this agitation for political rights of the people inKashmir, I may quote here Bazaz:

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“Evidently Ahrars and Ahmadis could not and did notjoin hands. Both worked mostly independently of eachother. This produced an inevitable rift and a constantsetback in the progress of the movement. We shalldiscuss that at its proper place. For the present we mustonly say that. the outlook and the activities of both theparties produced a highly communal atmosphere insidethe State. Even the Punjab politics were gravely affectedby it subsequently, when the movement assumedenormous proportions.

Desides there were Muslim politicians belonging to theAll India Muslim League and the All India MuslimConference (which was still functioning then) as alsocertain eminent statesmen, owing no party affiliations,who interested themselves in the affairs of the State. Atthe first beat of drum all of then, became active and alert.Their communal and religious sentiments were rousedand, though they did not take a prominent part as did theAhrars and Ahmadis, yet their contribution was by nomeans negligible’.

The Hindus generally, and the Dogras particularly, hadalways been against this movement. The Hindus thoughtthat, if the Muslim political movement succeeded, and, asa result, a popular Government came into existence, theywould be deprived of their vested interests. They weremainly jagirdars, and upper Hindu class, who were

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extremely reactionary, and opposed to this movement.They were against any such agitation as would ultimatelyresult in the Government passing into the hands of themajority - the Muslims. Similarly, in the Valley ofKashmir all the Hindus, with the exception of a fewKashmiri Pandits, were opposed to this movement. SinceKashmiri Pandits formed the bulk in the State services,they reckoned that Muslim Government, if it came intopower, could deprive them of their positions for arepresentative Government.

The Muslims of the State wanted to act, but they couldnot have their activities publicised because there were nopress facilities available. Even if there were, It could nothave published anything against the Government.Ultimately

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therefore they had to arrange for the necessary publicityoutside the Sate and, in due course, articles startedappearing in the Lahore newspapers, like ‘Inqilab’ and‘Zamindar’.

The Reading Room Party had, in the meantime, enlistedthe sympathies of two Mir Waizes of the State. One ofthem was Maulana Ahmad Ullah Mir Waiz of the JamiaMasjid, who died in 1931 and was succeeded by MaulanaYusuf Shah, the present Mir Waiz of Jamia Masjid, nowvirtually an exile in Pakistan.

In 1931, certain events took place which gaveopportunity to this Reading Room Party to organisethemselves. Incidents that took place interfered with thereligious freedom of the Muslims of the State. Anagitation started for the redress of grievances. Mr.Wakefield, the Sate Prime Minister, advised the Muslimsto send a few representatives to Srinagar, where, alongwith other representatives of the Kashmir Muslims, theywould be afforded an opportunity to present themselvesbefore His Highness to submit their demands. How thismovement got an electric momentum is related in thefollowing words:

At the end of the function, when the meeting had already

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been adjourned and the leaders had left the premises, anugly-looking, short-statured Pathan, Abdul Qadir byname, obviously excited by the environments, deliveredan inflammatory speech vehemently denouncing andabusing the Hindus and the Hindu Raj, before thegathering which was dispersing. This Pathan belonged tothe North-West Frontier Province and had come toSrinagar with a European visitor as his cook. AbdulQadir was arrested on 25th of- June for his speech, whichwas considered seditious”.

On 13th July, 1931, while Abdul Qadir was being tried inthe Central Jail, a large crowd gathered and demandedentry into the jail to hear the evidence against him. Whenthe State authorities refused this request the crowd forcedan entry into the building, with the result that the policehad to open fire, killing and wounding many people. The13th of July is, therefore, observed by the people ofKashmir as ‘Martyrs Day.

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Following this incident a Commission headed by Mr.B.J.Glancy, was appointed to report on the actual state ofaffairs leading to the agitation. The Glancy Commission,while submitting their recommendations to theGovernment, made a number of suggestions forintroducing reforms, but only a few of them wereimplemented. Nevertheless a State Legislative Assemblywas then convened,, and the first political organisation,as has already been mentioned, thus came into being.This account has been summed up by “Bazaz:“ Duringthe summer of 1932, soon after the Glancy Reportwas published, the Muslim leaders felt that to safeguardthe interest of the Mussalmans - which by now were nomore than the interest of the upper and middle classes -the establishment of some organisation was necessary.The All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference was,therefore, founded. Its first session was held at Srinagaron the 15th, 16th and 17th October, 1932, whenthousands of Muslims attended it. Obviously, both YusufShahis and Abduuahites had by this time reconciledthemselves with the upper class ideology. Although theConference was primarily a function of the AbdullahParty, Mir Waiz Yusuf Shah willingly participated in itsdeliberations. The Mir Wait did not, however, take anyshare in the subsequent sessions of the Conference as thepersonal differences had become acute with the passageof time.

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The All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conferenceremained in existence till June, 1938. It held six annualsession in all. The first, second, fifth and sixth sessionwhich were held at Srinagar, Mirpur, and Poonch andJammu respectively, were presided over by SheikhMuhammad Abullah. The third session was held atSopore under the presidency of Mian Ahmad Yar, whilethe fourth session was held at Srinagar with ChoudhriAbbas in the chair’.

In 1938 Sheikh Abdullah and Ch. Ghulam Abbas agreedtoalter the political structure of the Muslim Conference bycalling it a National Conference, the ideology of whichwas identified with the ideology of the Indian Congress.The resolution of the

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Working Committee, which met in Srinagar in June,1938, was as follows:

Whereas in the opinion of the Working Committee thetime has now come when all the progressive forces in thecountry should be rallied under one batmer to fight forthe achievement of responsible Government, theWorking Committee recommends to the General Councilthat, in the forthcoming annual session of theConference, the name and constitution of theorganisation be so altered and amended that all suchpeople who desire to participate in this political strugglemay easily become members of the Conferenceirrespective of their caste, creed or religionTM.

There were a number of people, however, who dissentedfrom this ‘decision in 1940, primarily in JammuProvince. The old Muslim Conference, with its ideal ofworking for the amelioration and betterment of theMuslims of the State, was revived. This becamenecessary, because Hindus were not liberal enough to seethe liquidation of the autocratic rule of a HinduMaharaja. Though Shekih Abdullah continued to be thehead of the National Conference Party right up to 1953-55, till he was dismissed and arrested, he alwaysexperienced difficulty in working with Hindus, especiallyon any ideology which could go against the Dogra Raj.Therefore, even the National Conference continued to beconsidered a virtual Muslim Organisation. It was given to

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Sardar Gohar Rehman and others to revive the MuslimConference. This revived Muslim Conference wasultimately joined by Choudhry Ghulam Abbas who hadin the meantime left the National Conference. This bodythen identified in ideology with the Muslim Leagueprogramme in the indo-Pakistan Sub-continent.

In 1947 Sheikh Abdullah’s Party started a ‘Quit Kashmirmovement, on the pattern of the ‘Quit India’ movementlaunched by the Indian Congress. It was aimed againstthe ruling family of the State which was given anultimatum to quit.the country, and leave it to be governedby its own people. The ‘Quit Kashmir’ movement,however, petered out fairly soon. Sheikh Abdullah wastried for treason, found guilty and sent to jail.

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Meanwhile, the Muslim Conference continued itspolitical activity, and speedily gained strength andpopularity, it went on agitating for responsibleGovernment in the State. In June 1946, the’ MuslimConference passed a resolution, directing Muslim toprepare themselves for action if they wished to gain theirobjectives. The annual session of the Muslim Conferencewhich was to be held in October, 1946, was banned byGovernment and all prominent members of theConference, including its President, Choudhry ChulamAbbas, were imprisoned. Though deprived of many of itsprominent leaders, the Conference fought the electionsfor, the State Assembly in 1947 and captured 15 out ofthe 21 elective Muslim seats in the Legislative Assembly.For the remaining six seats, the nomination papers of theMuslim Conference candidates were rejected, with theresult that those seats were not contested. The NationalConference, however, boycotted the elections.

In 1947, the British Government announced its plan forthe future of the Indo-Pak Sub-Continent. Paramountcyover the States was to cease on the appointed day, the15th August 1947, and the States were to be left free todecide to which dominion they should accede. But theMaharaja of Jammu and Kashmir was not able to decideon the issue of States accession. On Pakistan Day, theMuslim Conference demonstrated, unequivocally, in

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favour of accession to Pakistan. On the 19th July, 1947,it formally decided to accede to Pakistan by a resolutionin the following words:- -

(1) This meeting of All Jammu and KashmirMuslim

Conference Convention expresses itssatisfaction and

congratulates the Quaid-i-Azam for hisachievement.

(2) The people of the Indian States expected thatthey

would walk shoulder to shoulder with thepeople of

British India in the attainment of freedom. Onthe

partition of India the people of British Indiahave

obtained independence but the announcementof June

(3)1947, has strengthened the hands of the IndianPrinces and unless the Princes respond to the

callOf the times, the future of the people of Indian

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states is very dark. There are only three ways open topeople of Jammu and Kashmir State:

1. To accede to India or2. To accede to Pakistan, or3. To remain independent.

~The Convention of the Muslim Conference has arrivedat the conclusion that keeping in view the geographicalconditions, 80 per cent Muslim majority out of totalpopulation, the passage of important rivers of the Punjabthrough the State, the language, cultural and racial,economic connection of the people and the proximity ofthe borders of the State with Pakistan, are all facts whichmake it necessary that the Jammu and Kashmir Stateshould accede to Pakistan”.

This resolution further emphatically demanded of theMaharaja that he should declare internal independence,accept the position of a Constitution head of the State andform a Constituent Assembly. It also demanded that thedepartments of Defence, Communication and ForeignAffairs should be acceded to Pakistan ConstituentAssembly. This Convention, the resolution continued,

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makes it clear that, if the Kashmir Government ignoresthis demand and advice of the Muslim Conference undersome internal or external influence, and decides In favourof accession to the Indian Constituent Assembly, theMuslims of Jammu and Kashmir shall oppose this movetooth and nail.

This convention of all Jammu and Kashmir MuslimConference was held on 19th of July, 1947 at theresidence of the author. This fact has a background of itsown. When the leaders of Muslim Conference wanted tohold this convention they tried to get a place for itsvenue, but failed. The reason for it was that forcefulorganisation of the National Conference, in the valleyitself, and, particularly in Srinagar city was opposed to it.So much so that, even a house boat could not be secured(or holding the convention of Muslim Conference.Therefore, this author had to evacuate his family from hishouse, in Aab-e-guzzer part of the city, for holding this36

convention. This is how this convention was held at theresidence of the author. Some people did not realise thegravity of the situation that existed then and some peoplegrudge that the historical convention took place at theresidence of the author. Some people even today do notsee eye to eye with the idea of this nature. They fail torealise that the author of this book had made supremesacrifice in the Interest of the Conference and the causeof Pakistan by placing his residence at the disposal of thisconvention. The Jammu and Kashmir Government and

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its agencies did riot appreciate such a move. On thecontrary, the author had to run the risk of the safety andsecurity of his life to hold the convention at his ownresidence.

There were other political parties in Jammu and KashmirState which may be mentioned. Besides the MuslimConference and the National Conference, the principalpolitical parties in the State were the Kashmir SocialistParty, the Parja Parishad Party, the Kashmir State PanditsConference the Communist Party, the KashmirDemocratic Union and the kisan-Mazdoor Conference.

The Kisan-Mazdoor Conference based on theKisan/Mazdoor population, was particularly well-organised in the valley of Kashmir and was in favour ofaccession of the State to Pakistan. Its President was laterimprisoned by the Abdullah Government for his pro-Pakistan activities. The Kashmir Democratic Union wasformed with, more or less, the same objects in view. Itsleader, Prem Nath Bazaz, has always believed that theaccession of the State should be decided by the free willof the people, the majority of whom wishes to accede toPakistan. Pandit Prem Nath Bazaz was imprisoned in1947 and served his sentence under Sheikh Abdullah’sGovernment for 3/4 years. and when ultimately released,he was exiled from the State. Pandit Prem Nath Bazaz,one of the foremost leaders of the State, thinksprogressively and really wished to work for thebetterment of the masses of the State. Though he ishimself a Kashmiri Pandit and comes of a teactionary

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class, he is probably the most advanced of all Kashmirileaden in his political views.

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The Praja Parishad is a party which believes in theideology of the RSSS. It favours the separation ofJammu, or at least Hindu areas of Jammu and Ladakh,from the State and its accession to the Indian Union. Noother political party wishes the division of the State ofJammu and Kashmir.

Only very recently Sheikh Abdullah, then Prime Ministerof India-held Kashmir, has admitted that units of Jammuprovince will get local autonomy on cultural basis, whena constitution is framed by his Constituent Assembly.

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Chapter III

KASHMIR STATE - 1947

AUGUST 1947 ushered in an extraordinary eventunparalleled in history of the Indo—Pak sub-continent,an event, which probably and in more ways than one,will effect the future course of history throughout Asia.This was the granting of independence to India and itspartition into two countries -

BHARAT AND PAKISTAN.

The movement for Pakistan has a brief but unique andglorious history. I have no intention of going into thathistory, nor am I qualified to do so. In this movement forthe creation of Pakistan, the personality of Quaid-e-AzamMuhammad Ali Jinnah is, at least to the writers mind,very nearly as miraculous as the achievement of Pakistanitself. Seldom, in our times, has one man fought againstso many, with such meagre resources, and with so muchcourage and determination. In pre-partition India therewas perhaps not a single Muslim whose life had not been

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affected, one way or another, by the actions of one men -Jinnah - during the years 1937-1947.

The desire for a free and independent Muslim State haddeeply influenced Muslims, wherever they were, whetherin small or large number. There were very few peopleoutside the Indo-Pak sub-continent, who seriouslybelieved that Jinnah would be able to accomplish thepartition of India into two separate dominions. It wasindeed a great surprise for Muslim countries to see theemergence of Pakistan on the 14th of August, 1947, aswas to us the birth of Indonesia. In fact, Indianpropaganda, particularly in Egypt, always showed Jinnahas an agent of the British and also made out that he wasnever serious about his demand for Pakistan. Thecreation of a very large consolidated Muslim State, allalong the border of Jammu

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and Kashmir, gave the Muslims of the State a completelynew hope and an entirely different outlook on life.Thirty-two lac Muslims in the State of Jammu andKashmir had, for very nearly one hundred years, lived alife of slavery and bondage. They had patiently sufferedinsult, injury and servitude. They had borne the worstforms of coercion and tyranny. They had, at the point ofbayonet, been subjected to indignities, religiousintolerance and Hindu fanaticism. The people of Kashmirhad, in short, lived a miserable Life under the autocraticrule of Hindu Maharajas of a reactionary and bigotedDogra dynasty. Under the Dogra rule, Muslims had beensubjected to political segregation, economic inequalities,educational disadvantages and step-motherly treatment inevery walk of life. It is possible that, but for the impetusgiven by the establishment of Pakistan, the AzadKashmir Movement in October, 1947, might have beenimpeded and delayed, but it was bound to come one day.It is inconceivable that by sheer force of arms about fourmillion human beings could be kept under an autocraticand inhuman rule indefinitely. Just across the borders ofthe State, the entire sub-continent of India wasundergoing a huge political and psychological revolution,which was, steadily but surely, shaking the mighty

British Empire. The people of Jammu and Kashmir- Statecould not have remained unaffected by these happeningsin India.

In India, the struggle between the Congress and MuslimLeague became so sharp, that Muslims, perhaps for thefirst Lime since the advent of British rule, became reallypolitically alive, very much united and systematicallyorganised. These objectives, incidentally, were not somuch the result of the efforts of the Muslim League, withdue deference to that body, as of the policies so foolishlypursued by the Congress Party and the CongressMinistries, particularly in the minority Provinces ofIndia. For this reason, the Muslim League gained itsfollowing and strength more in the Muslim minorityProvinces, The demand for the State of Pakistan thus,slowly but surely, came to be accepted as an article offaith by Muslim in these Provinces. By a strange irony offate, the Muslims in these Provinces later had to makesupreme sacrifice for their, 4oyalty to a political ideal.Similarly, in Kashmir State,

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though the Muslims were in majority, they lived under athoroughly hostile rule of the Dogra dynasty. TheMuslims of Jammu and Kashmir very soon realized thattheir emancipation may well within sight, especially afterthe achievement of Pakistan. Naturally, therefore, thePakistan Movement gathered a terrific momentum there.So much so that, the use of the Pakistan slogan, withinthe State was treated as seditious by the MaharajaGovernment.

As the establishment of Pakistan became more and morea reality, the Maharajas Government became increasinglyaggressive. The State authorities resorted to moreoppressive and coercive methods, developing into sheerbullying in Poonch, Mirpur and Muzaffarabad Districtsof the State, which now fonn a part of Azad Kashmir.Following a change in the State Governments’ policy theRSSS-a militant Hindu organisation -began to make itsinfluence felt in all parts of the State. The RSSS hadestablished its headquarters in Jammu city and hadorganised branches everywhere. In the city of Jammu,secret training in the use of arms had started on a verylarge scale. The State authorities were also in possessionof information that arms were being smuggled from twodirections - Kathua and Muzaffarabad and use of armswas regularly taught to these men. Training in the use ofarms was imparted to the members of the RSSS in thetraining schools established for this purpose by the Hindu

Mohasabha in Jammu. News of all this activity andpreparation spread panic among the Muslims, particularlyin the districts of Kathua, Jammu, Udhampur and parts ofRiasi, where Muslims were in minority.

What really alarmed the Muslims most was themovement of Dogra troops, who were being spread out inthe districts of Poonch, Mirpur and Muzaffarabad - allalong the Jhelum River. In Poonch troops were posted allover the district. The writer will refer to this subject insome detail elsewhere Then a cunningly devised postingof all Muslim officers in the Dogra Army betrayed theevil designs of the authorities. Movement of the Statetroops indicated the real intentions of the Government.Brigadier Sott, Chief of Staff of the Dogra Army~ notunnaturally, expressed his apprehension on this score.He~ later refused to be associated with these dispositionsand with

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the wholesale transfer of Muslim Officers. These actionswere, in themselves, ominous and forebode serioustrouble - possibly a general massacre of the Muslimpopulation of the area. I am told that Brigadier Scott alsodid not agree with other similar policies of the Maharaja.Under these circumstances, Brig. Sott had no option butto quit the State in a not very agreeable manner.Similarly, another British Officer, the Inspector-Generalof Police, was forced to resign from his post and leavethe State. They were soon replaced by Dogra Officers,who belonged to the Maharajas family. These newofficers were know,, to be lacking in administrativeability. Their views about the Muñalmans very clearlyindicated what was going to be the future policy of theState Government, vis-a-vis its Muslim subjects. It wasthus in a very tense atmosphere, surcharged with allmanner of rumours, that an historical Convention of theAll-Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference took placein the house of the writer at Srinagar. No less than twohundred leaders and workers of the All-Jammu andKashmir Muslim Conference, drawn from all parts of theState, participated in this Convention. Almost all themembers of the Muslim Conference group in the Jammuand Kashmir State Assembly were present to take part inthese discussions. Finally, after long and very seriousdeliberations, the Convention decided in favour of anunqualified accession of the State to Pakistan. There was,however, a large group of workers, headed by Choudhry

Hamidullah Khan, the Acting President of the All Jammuand Kashmir Conference, in favour of the Stateremaining independent of both India and Pakistan. Itshould be said, on behalf of the - Independence’ groupthat they adopted this course on the strength of the bestadvice available to them from the MI-India MuslimLeague. The writer has never been able to ascertain thetruth of this fact, not even from the Quaid-e-Azamhimself. That the decision of accession to Pakistan was,however, to become historic and was later proved so. In1948, when the Kashmir case came up before theSecurity Council, this decision of the All-Jammu andKashmir Muslim Conference was cited as proof that theMuslims of the State, who formed an overwhelmingmajority of the population, wanted accession to Pakistan.In fact, the decision to accede to Pakistan was welcomedby the mass of the

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Muslim population in the State, no matter to whatpolitical party they belonged. Even the members of theAbdullah National Conference were in full agreementwith the Muslim Conference members that ultimatedecision regarding accession of the State must be left tothe people of the State themselves. The NationalConference leaders, however, qualified this wit~ theproviso that only a State Constituent Assembly, properlyconvened, could decide the issue. The MuslimConferences view was that, since Muslims formedmajority in the State, and were, one and all, in favour ofPakistan - a fad which could, if necessary, be ascertainedby a plebiscite -therefore, the State should ipso factoaccede to Pakistan.

This decision was formally conveyed to the StateGovernment of the Maharaja, as well as to the All-IndiaMuslim League authorities in India. This Convention washeld in July 1947.

Before the leaders and workers dispersed, their topleaders, including the Acting President of the MuslimConference, secretly met again at the house of the• writerto consider especially the serious situation existing inPoonçh, which caused the Dogra regime much anxietyfor a number of reasons. First, the communal situation inthe Punjab was disturbing, and since Poonch wasadjacent to the Punjab, it was bound to be effected by

what was happening there. Secondly, it was agreed by allwho were conversant with the State affairs that it wasonly from Poonch that a serious and effective challengeto the Dogra Government could originate and flourish.The situation was equally disturbing for us. The KashmirMuslims knew that if the people of Poonch were onceeffectively suppressed it would become difficult tolaunch any anti-Dogra political movement.

Having carefully considered this most ticklish problem,we assured the workers from Poonch that, in case any ofthem was arrested anywhere, we would immediatelycounter by launching a movement, from the Centre, onthe Pakistan issue. To mark this solemn occasion, theHoly Quran was brought in and every one presenttouched the Holy Book to make sure that nothing woulddeter us form implementing the promise we had

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made. The writer remembers the solemn and secretnature of the ceremony. The event that followed thismeeting were both swift and dramatic. None of us couldcomprehensively assess the situation. Poonch was soonafter placed under Martial Law and all kinds of outragescame to be perpetrated on the people in the name of lawand order. None of us could think clearly enough toprovide an answer to these happenings in Poonch. Thewriter knew that on his shoulders rested greatresponsibility. He was prepared to do his best so long ashe knew what was in the best interest of the people.

Soon after, we started to organise Muslim Conference inSrinagar. Our chief difficulty was funds, collection ofwhich is always an unpleasant job. Some of our Pakistanifriends came forward to help us but they were very few.The result was not very encouraging. The writer was apractising lawyer, he could not afford much of his sparetime. Even the Muslim Conference was divided into twogroups. Everything was possible, but who could bring theleaders to one place? Some of our Pakistani friends didmake sincere efforts to bring about this unity, which wasthe most desirable thing~ Since differences were notideological but personal, everybody was jockeying forposition.

Suddenly the Government of Kashmir decided to lift theban they had hitherto imposed on Sheikh Abdullahs

National Conference. Some of the Nationalist leadencame out of their hide-outs and started their activities inpublic. Informal negotiations were already started withSheikh Abdullah while he was still in prison in Jammu.Arrangements were undertaken to bring Sheikh Abdullahfrom Jammu to Srinagar. It was still doubtful whetherSheikh Abdullab would whole-heartedly support India,because his party followers would not have backed anydecision on the accession issue made in a hurry. Aftermeeting some of Ut NaLionalist leaders in Srinagar, thewriter was of the view that the best of the Nationalistswere not necessarily anti-Pakistanis.

The political atmosphere in Srinagar was changing everyhour since that fateful August 1947. The then PrimeMinister of Jammu and Kashmir State, Pandit RamChand Kak, had gone to Delhi to meet the Viceroy aswell as the Congress leaders.

44

He also had an interview with Quaid-e-AzamMuhammad Au Jinnah. After coming back from Delhi,Pandit Kak advised the Maharaja, the writer was told, toremain neutral for the moment and sign a standstillagreement both with India and Pakistan. Pandit Kak alsoadvised him to let Pakistan operate the Postal andTelegraph services. He then went onto advise theMaharaja to ultimately find out the wishes of his Muslimpopulation on the issue of accession. If the Muslimpopulation, being the majority in the State, wished toaccede to Pakistan, he should then accede to Pakistan. Tothis advice the Maharaja did not abide. He asked hisPrime Minister to resign. which he did. The Premiershipof the State was handed over to General Janak Sing, aclose friend of the Maharaja and also a near member ofhis family. Since then the Maharaja received top leadersfrom the MI-India Congress, including Mahatma Gandhi,and the president of All India Congress. The visit ofthese Hindu leaders to the State made It quite evident thatan intrigue was going on with regard to the accession ofthe State to India against the will of the people.

These intrigues perturbed the Muslims of the State. InPoonch the methods of repression and coercion becamemore pronounced. Political arrests started and the DograArmy started a persecution campaign which is mentionedin detail elsewhere in this book.

Warrants of arrest were issued against me. It was madequite clear that in no case would! be allowed to enterPoonch.

On 14th August, 1947, when Pakistan was declared, agrand dinner was arranged to celebrate the occasion byall the friends of Pakistan. A large number of Pakistanisand other guests attended this dinner. At this function Imade a speech in which the issue of accession was dealtwith in all its aspects. The Maharaja himself wasrequested to let the people of the State decide the issue,or at least, no decision of such paramount importance betaken without consulting his Muslim subjects. Theseproceedings were duly conveyed to the Maharaja. Afterthis speech it became quite clear that for me to stay inSrinagar any longer, without being arrested, was notpossible. It was known to all Muslim Conference leaders,as well as other

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Pakistani friends, that the writer’s arrest in Srinagarwould be useless and would serve no purpose, in that thewriter would have only to rot like so many others in thejails of the Maharaja. The Poonch people would bepersecuted and an otherwise good movement, which hadalready started in Poonch, would fizzle out. It was,therefore, considered most essential that the writer shouldreach the people of Poonch and start whatever he couldagainst the impending unwise step of the Maharaja.

When the writer eventually reached Lahore RailwayStation, after his escape from Srinagar, what hewitnessed there was a small Qayamat, doomsday. A massof humanity, in which were wounded women andchildren, was streaming into Lahore. These women toldhorrible tales of cruelty, butchery and inhuman treatmentmeted out to the helpless Mussalmans across the borderin India. Five to seven million of human beings wereruthlessly pushed into Pakistan. In fact, one could hardlyimagine that any Government could exist against thisunexpected deluge of humanity. When I went to see therefugees camp at Walton, the largest camp in thhore, thesmell of congested humanity reached me at a distance ofhalf a mile. All the train services having gone topsy-turvy, the Pakistan Army dispersed all over South-East

Asia, the Baluch regiment fighting a huge battle single-handed, one could hardly hope of the survival ofPakistan. Perhaps, only once in his life, that great man,Quaid-e-Azam, was broken in spirit. This was some thingthat had come to pass against his anticipation. The PrimeMinister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, who hadspecially come to Lahore in connection with the influx ofrefugees, unfortunately, lay in his bed because of hearttrouble. None seemed to be there to proclaim theexistence of Pakistan.

To add to all this, one could witness, to one’s shame andhonor, in the streets of Lahore, shameless and fearlessloot of shops and houses going on. The Hindu and Sikhpopulation left in Lahore, and probably in all parts of thePunjab and the Frontier Province, was no doubt subjectedto great hardship though not quite similar to the oneexperienced by the Mussalmans in the East Punjab. Onlya future historian will be able to present both sides of thepicture in a dispassionate

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manner. This certainly was a very sad picture of Pakistanabout theendof August.

Against this background, I could scarcely conceive thatthis great country of Mussalmans across the Jhelum rivercould be of any assistance to the helpless and thoroughlytrapped people of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.Though prospects seemed so bleak, the writer wasconvinced that, if any assistance could be available, itwas only from the people of Pakistan. It is easy toconvince one man of a particular situation, but toconvince all the men who walked up and down Anarkaliin Lahore was a very hard job. No two persons seemed toagree on one thing. There was hardly any organization ofthe people with which one could discuss such a

Chapter IV

ATROCITIES IN KASHMIR - 1947On the 3rd June, 1947, the British Governmentannounced its plan for the future of the Indo-PakistanSub-Continent. Paramountcy over the States ceased onthe appointed day, namely the 15th August 1947, and theStates were to be left free to decide to which Dominionthey should accede. At the same

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As events in India moved fast and Pakistan seemed amuch nearer possibility, the State administration becamemore nervous. In this sheer nervousness, it resorted toaggressive actions against Mussalmans. In JammuProvince a militant Hindu organization, the HinduMahasabba, was given positive encouragement by theState Hindu officialdom. As this attitude of the Stateauthorities became manifest, tension and mistrust amongthe public increased in equal measure. Despite thisatmosphere, Mussalmans, who had lived a life of miseryfor a long time, started talking differently and moredefiantly. The ‘Pakistan’ slogan, which was onceseditious in the State, came to be openly discussed inprivate and in public, even by the employees of the State.Reading the League paper Dawn’ was accepted by theGovernment as no offence. The Muslim officers of theState, however, who subscribed to this paper, were put ona secret black list. Some of the prominent Governmentservants, nevertheless, expressed their candid views onPakistan without much censure from the Government.But later on, as things completely changed, all pro-Pakistan officers were either imprisoned or persecuted. It

47so appears that regular lists were scrupulously kept by asecret staff of those Muslim officers whose tendencieswere pro-Pakistan. Some of these officers, who weretrapped on the occupied Kashmir side, had to pay a veryheavy penalty for their views at the hands of theMaharaja’s Government.

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time, the Crown Representative advised the rulers of theStates to take into consideration economical faclurs,geographical contiguity, the wishes of their people andother factors, in arriving at a decision vis-a-vis accession.As this position crystallized, a regular wooing of Jammuand Kashmir State started under a well thought-out plan.A series of visits were arranged by the Hindu leaders ofIndia to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. MahatmaGandhi visited the State on 1st of August, 1947 and had along interview with the Maharaja. His visit was closelypreceded by that of Kriplani. the Congress President. It isa fantastic undertaking to try and make us believe thatthese visits were without any purpose. Hindu leaders, inall probability, told the Maharaja of the consequencesand dangers of the State’s accession to Pakistan. Theymay have given him a warning that, in case of accessionto Pakistan, the Dogra regime would suffer liquidation.What, perhaps, really convinced the Maharaja was theargument, then so strongly put forward by the Hinduleaders, that Pakistan itself would not be able to surviveeconomically, and otherwise, for more than six months.

Simultaneously, the Maharajas policy of accession toIndia by means of achieving complete elimination of theMuslims of the State, began to be put into operation.Repression and massacre of the Muslims by the Sikh andRSSS armed gangs, assisted by the Dogra police andArmy, started in early September 1947. Muslim refugees,

47mainly from Jammu, began to cross over to Pakistan intheir hundreds and thousands in search of asylum.Repression of Muslims in the State increased in intensityfrom day to day.

Realizing the consequences of a hasty step the Maharajaapproached both India and Pakistan for conclusion of astandstill agreement with two Dominions, as they thenwere. India demurred, while Pakistan accepted the offerand the standstill agreement with Pakistan came intoforce on the 15th of August 1947. Pakistan thus steppedinto the shoes of the pre-partition government of Indiaand acquits lawful control over the Defence, ForeignAffairs and Communications of the State. In pursuance ofthis agreement, the Pakistan railways continued tooperate the small railway in the State while

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Pakistan personnel took over its Postal and Telegraphservices. Pakistan was entitled to, and, in due course,would also have assumed control over defence servicesand foreign relations of the State. Usually, standstillagreements are a prelude to a full-scale accession andalmost everyone in Jammu and Kashmir expected thatthe conclusion of a standstill agreement with Pakistanwould fructify into the final accession of the State to thatDominion.

But the Maharaja, in conjunction with his Hinduadvisers, had hatched another plot. Recent experiencehad shown that even majorities could be liquidatedsuccessfully if persistent and vigorous attempts weremade on the ‘right lines. A number of instances could bequoted from the East Punjab States in this respect.- Ifcomplete elimination of the Muslims could be effected inthe State, it would open the way for the Maharaja toaccede to the Dominion of India, with which hissympathies certainly lay. In pursuance of this plot, theMaharaja sent out invitations to and provided free entryinto the State for the RSSS and Sikh murder gangs. Theybegan to pour into the State by the middle of August1947. In the meantime the standstill agreement wassigned with Pakistan to avoid the suspicion of theMuslim population of the State. Under the camouflage ofthis agreement, the Maharaja was playing for time tocreate the necessary conditions which would furnish him

47with a plausible excuse to ask the government of India tosend their troops into the State if the people of the Staterevolted against such a move.

Another very significant event that took place in July1947, was a secret meeting of a number of Rajas andMaharajas of the Kangra Valley in Srinagar. There aregood reasons to believe that in this meeting a conspiracywas hatched in collaboration with the Rashtrya SevakSang at Amritsar to carry out a wholesale massacre of theMussalmans in the State, beginning with Poonch wherethey expected stiff resistance. This had to be carried outsystematically with the active assistance of the DograArmy. With this end In view, the Dogra Army Unitswere posted in the most strategic places, for instance, allalong the Jhelum river in Mirpur and Poonch Districts.To post Dogra

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the RSSS were supplied with arms and ammunition, andthe State Hindu officers were sent to give them propertraining in the use of arms.

The Sikhs, meanwhile, started migrating from the formerFrontier Province via Muzaffarabad into the Valley ofKashmir. It was definitely reported to the State policethat huge quantities of arms and ammunition weresecretly imported into the State by these Sikhs throughMuzaffarabad. In fact, it was later on discovered thathuge dumps of arms and ammunition were collected inMuzaffarabad in a Guidwara by these Sikhs. A similardump was also created round-about the city of Baramula.It may be mentioned here that the Sikhs had quite a goodhold in these two districts. Since the refugees from theFrontier Province came, some with real and some withimaginary tales of attacks on them, a good deal of tensionand fear was spread in the area. Muslims In these twodistricts were an unarmed and helpless lot. There is noactual proof on this point but I had grave misgivings thatthe Sikh community was busy importing arms from theformer Frontier Province into State, with some nefariousdesign in mind. In fact, they were very aggressive inBaramula. Sot-ne Kirpan attacks had already taken placein that district during the months of July andAugust1947.

In other parts of the State, particularly in Poonch and

47Mirpur and all the districts of Jammu Province, Muslimswere in imminent danger of being rounded up andbutchered by the Dogra Army. This was certainly nosmall apprehension and this tragedy did take place inUdhampur, Kathua and Jammu in September, Octoberand November 1947.

In Poonch people were already semi-armed and militarilyvery well trained and were ready to meet even a plannedmilitary attack on public life. By September. 1947, theDogra Army started a regular campaign of terror tofrighten these people into submission or force them to flyto Pakistan. Loot, rape and general terror by the DograArmy resulted in a regular revolt in Poonch on October6,1947. On the 22nd of October1947, Tribal people cameto the aid of the people of Muzaffarabad. A regular fightwith Dogra troops ensued, resulting in a complete

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Army contingents on all bridges and ferries on theJhelum river was a part of the same plan.

The revolution, which started in October, 1947 inWestern Kashmir, digit and Ladakh, and eventuallyspread throughout, would not have been ignited sorapidly, except for the brutal treatment which Dograsoldiers meted out to the people. It needs a book to givein detail the tales of horror which reached the writer inMurree during the months of September, October andNovember of 1947. All local Sikhs and Hindus hadplayed the unworthy role of spies to the Dogra troops,though the primary duty of this Army was supposed to beto protect the honour, life and property of the subjects ofthe States who contributed with their hard-earned incometo the maintenance of this very Army. Dogra soldiers,having nothing in common with the local people, andalso having the stupid idea that the Dogras were theruling race, resorted to loot, rape, desecration of sacredplaces and burning of the Holy Quran without leastcompunction. About all these happenings, the writer sentfrom Murree an urgent telegram to the Maharaja. Andrequested to take steps to put an end to what washappening in Poonch and elsewhere. It is needless to saythat it went unheeded.

Complete panic prevailed all over Jammu province.Though Muslims were a sixty per cent majority in

47JammuProvince, the districts of Jammu, Kathua and Udhampurhad aHindu majority. These districts are either inhabited byRajput- Dogras or Brahmins who are staunch Mahasabhites,and extremely conservative in their outlook. Under the-State laws, these Hindus could keep arms of every kindwithout licence. Every Hindu in these parts was armedwith some weapon. The atmosphere across the border, inthe Punjab, was rampant with communal frenzy. Murderswere taking place on a vast scale and law and order hadso completely broken down that even the BoundaryForces could not do anything in the matter. It was learntthat during this period the Sikhs and the RSSS had beentransferred from Amritsar to Jammu. The RSSS startedtheir activities openly with a licence from authorities. Aplan was made to completely wipe out the Muslimpopulation in the city of Jammu and districts of JammuProvince. All branches of

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rout of the Dogra Units. The Tribal people, assisted bylocals, reached the outskirts of Srinagar on or about24th/ZSth of October1947.

Earlier in June, 1947, the people of Poonch started a ~no-tax’ campaign. This arose from the fact that as soon asthe Maharaja secured direct control over Poonch, as aresult of his successful suit against the Jagirdars ofPoonch, the Maharaja imposed on this district all thenumerous taxes enforced in the rest of the State. Thepeople of Poonch resented this heavy imposition of taxesand started an agitation which the Maharaja tried to putdown by force. A Press note issued by the Maharaja’sGovernment on September 12, 1947, said-

‘On August 24,1947, a large and highly excited mobcollected in the west of Bagh Tehsil, and on the 25th,disregarding all efforts to persuade them to disperse,carried on to Bagh town when they reached the numberof some five thousand, which swelled considerablyduring the next two days. These mobs were armed withweapons of various patterns, such as axes and spears anda variety of others.”

On August26,1947, these mobs clashed with the StateForces. The Dogn armies started bren-gun firing on thishuge crowd of 5,000-and more with the result thathundreds of people were either killed and/or wounded.

47The reports of these brutalities reached Pakistan and wereextensively published in the Pakistan Press.

As on the 24th and 25th of October 1947, the tribal‘Lashkar’, assisted by locals, reached the outskirts ofSrinagar. The Maharaja, Han Singh, finding his safetyimpossible, fled from Srinagar. How this evacuation waseffected is a very interesting story. I am told that all thepetrol supply was taken over during the hours ofdarkness by some army officers who issued petrol only tothose who were running away. The Maharaja himselfcollected all his luggage, money and jewellery andloaded them on lorries to make his flight from Srinagar.During the night when lorries and other vehicles were notavailable any more a huge caravan of tongas’ started

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for Jammu on a two hundred mile trek. All Hinduofficers, and whatever was left of the Governmentmachinery were shifted to the other side of Baniha] Pass,leaving Srinagar city in chaos and confusion.

We have it on good evidence that on reaching Jammuand also on his way Sir Hari Singh himself gave orders tohis troops and police to kill every Muslim found to savethe Dogra Raj from destruction. These instructions, heleft at Batood and Kud on his way to Jainmu. In Jammuitself arms were distributed to Rajputs and Brahmins, onsome occasions under the supervision of the Maharajahimself. Once on his way back from Kathua during thisperiod, when the Maharaja, saw the dead bodies on themad, he showed heinous satisfaction on this gruesomescene. -

In Jammu city Muslims assembled from outer districts tosave their lives. The large number of Muslims, whopoured into this Hindu-dominated city, made the jobeasier for those who had already planned for theirwholesale massacre. The shooting of Muslims started inbroad daylight in Jammu. Muslims’ electric supply lines

47were cut. Their water supplies ceased, and, above all,their rations were stopped. Headed by Mian Nasir-ud-DinAhmad, these Muslims put up on stiff resistance withwhatever anns they could get hold of. If they hadreceived the arms that later on the receipt of their franticcries for help we managed to send them, they might havesaved their lives and given a good account of themselves.

In the midst of this fight, a proclamation was issued bythe Dogra Government asking the Muslims to surrender,and guaranteeing safe custody across the border intoPakistan. Accepting the bona fides of this proclamation,Muslims surrendered in good faith. They were then askedto assemble on an open piece of land so that lorrieswould be able to convey them to Pakistan. As many assixty lorries were loaded with women, children and oldmen. These sixty, and, a day after, more lorries weretaken into the wilderness of Kathua Jungle. Sikh, Dograand Brahmin armed gangs were let loose on theseinnocent women and children and an unparalleledbutchery was perpetrated. Very few of these peopleescaped to tell U,pir

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woeful tale in Sialkot — a city in Pakistan. All thesehappenings were taking place in full view of the IndianArmy which had by then entered the State. Theresponsibility of these killings squarely lay on theshoulders of Pandit jawahar Lal Nehru, then PrimeMinister of India, who was duly informed about all thisbeforehand. It must be said, to the credit of PanditJawahar Lat Nehru, that he candidly admitted hisresponsibility. Sheikh Abdullah himself had taken overthe administration of the State. Therefore, he also cannotbe morally absolved of the responsibility of these heinousaimes ~mmitted on innocent women and children.

From the Province of Jammu, particularly from thedistricts of Jainmu, Kathua and Udhampur, no less thanthree laths of refugees poured into Pakistan, while largegatherings in Miran Sahib and Ranbir Singhpura (aTehsil of Jammu District) camps were machine-gunnedin cold blopd. Three laths of Muslims in these areas weresupposed to have been annihilated. The rest took refugein Pakistan. The way Pakistan treated them is a very wellknown stow. They are still the sacred trust of Pakistan.These helpless Jammu and Kashmir refugees stillpatiently - wait for return to their homeland. But is theday for their return any nearer now than It was when theyentered the country of their refuge?

47What had happened in Jammu had its naturalrepercussions in what is now And Kashmir, or those partsof Icashmir which, by that time, had been liberated. Theatrocities committed by the Dogra troops in these parts ofthe State, and also by spying of the non-Muslims, hadbred a feeling of hatred against the Sikhs and the Hindusin the minds of the Muslims. As soon as the news of thecarnage of Muslims in Jammu reached these parts. therandom killing of Hindus and Sikhs took place here too.In some places innocent women and children weresubjected to maltreatment and the male population wasmurdered. There can be no justification for such actions.No retaliation on our part against innocent people herecould make any difference to the lot of the Muslims whohad been trapped in different parts of Kathua, Jammu andUdhampur districts. On the other hand, if we could treatthe Hindu population better, our fight for freedom wouldhave

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risen much higher in the eyes of future historians. As itwas, it seemed humanly impossible for any agency tocontrol these things.

What our tribal brethren did on their way to Srinagar hasbeen exaggerated by the other side. An exaggerated anduntrue propaganda is made by Indian Press and Radio. Ileave it to the future historians to bring to light the truefacts. Nonetheless, I have no hesitation in saying thatwhat happened in Muzaffarabad on or about the 22nd,23rd and 24th of October, 1947, was bad enough, and Isaw the whole thing with my own eyes. There could nothave been any justification for a killing of that sort. Thefault does not at all lie with the tribal fighters; and thewhole blame goes to those who were leading them.

The And Kashmir Government had numerousdifficulties, but it certainly did its best to organize campsfor the non-Muslims. Some of the camps existed for 3 to4 years. One camp at Muzaffarabad existed as late as1950-1951. Those people who have since been evacuatedto India, will bear testimony to the fact that, under allcircumstances, we did our best for them. In the beginningwhat we could do was not, very effective. I quote onlyone instance to explain this. During the month ofNovember, 1947,1 went to Mirpur to see things there formyself. I visited, during the night, one Hindu refugeecamp at Ali Baig

47-about 15 miles from Mirpur proper. Among the refugeesI found some of my fellow lawyers in a patheticcondition. I saw them myself, sympathised with them andsolemnly promised that they would be rescued and sentto Pakistan, from where they would eventually be sentout to India. In Azad Kashmir no big refugee campscould be maintained because of obvious difficulties.Alter a couple of days, when I visited the camp again todo my bit for them, I was greatly shocked to learn that allthose people whom I had seen on the last occasion hadbeen disposed of. I can only say that nothing in my lifepained my conscience so much as did this-incident. Theshame and horror of it, has never left my mind. Whatthose friends would have thought of me. Those who werein charge of those camps were øuly dealt with but thatcertainly is no compensation to those whose near anddear ones were killed.

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Chapter V

THE BACKGROUND OFAZAD KASHMIR MOVEMENT

THE Budget Session of Jammu and Kashmir StateAssembly for the year 1947 was held in March-April.This was the first Session of the Assembly in which Iparticipated, after being elected a member of the StateAssembly in January, 1947. This being the BudgetSession, it was, as usual, a very busy one.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, it fell upon me to bringtogether all Mussalman M.L.As into one MuslimConference group in the Assembly from different parts ofthe State, but there were others who, though not electedon the Muslim Conference ticket, did believe in theMuslim Conference ideology. They willingly Joined theMuslim Conference group.

During this Session speeches were made in theAssembly, expressing the apprehension about theactivities of the Praja Parishad Party and the RSSS in the

47State. It was clearly pointed out by the writer that a semi-military organisation was being built up in certain partsof the State, with the intention of killing the Mussalmans.This apprehension was converted into a reality inlJdhampur, Jammu and Kathua. It was also very clearlypointed out, during these speeches, that the Dogra Armywas resorting to high-handedness in the districts ofPoonch and Mirpur. These speeches, of course, werenoted down, but no action was ever taken on them.

During the month of April, 1947, Maharaja Han Singhtoured the State frontier areas of Manawar, Bhimber,Mirpur, Kotli, Poonch, Rawalakot and Nowshera. LikePandit Nehru on his tour of the North-West FrontierProvince the previous October, the Maharaja saw thatalmost all Mussalmans were in

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favour of Pakistan. He was specially impressed andalarmed by a great gathering of about forty thousandmen, almost all ex-servicemen of the British Army fromSudhnuttj and Bagh Tebsjl of Poonch, assembled to greethim on April 21,1947 at Rawalpindi.

During this tour the Maharaja gave clear instructions tohis non-Muslim officers to aid the Hindu and Sikhpopulation wherever it was possible to do so. Later onthe Maharaja ordered more troops into these westerndistricts of Jammu Province. A Mirpur-Poonch Brigadehad been formed with headquarters at Nowshera, and inthe summer of 1947, another separate Brigade composedpurely of non-Muslim troops, Dogra-Hindus, Gurkhasand Sikhs. was formed as Poonch Brigade Garrisonwhich had hitherto been kept in the main centres, were tobe in all small towns, central villages, and at bridges andferries and other key-points.

After the March-April Assembly Session had ended atJainmu, the writer visited his own constituency ofPoonch and, particularly, Sudhnuti and Bagh Tehsils.These two Tehsils of Bagh and Sudhnuttj bordered onPakistan from end to end. I genuinely warned the peopleon way from Jammu to Poonch of the coming ominous

47events. I had thoroughly realized by this time that aconspiracy had already been hatched and the RSSS andDogra troops, in cooperation with each other, were goingto be a part of that conspiracy. I, therefore, urged thepeople to get organised politically. In my privatemeetings I disclosed to the people the dangers that layahead of them. I told them that they may be completelyannihilated by the Dogra troops after being rounded up. Iasked them to get prepared militarily to meet effectivelysuch a danger. In order to give people courage I madevery strong speeches. These speeches produced thenecessary effect, and people generally got courage,became defiant, and started organising themselvesexactly on military lines. These preparations remainedsecret throughout, though the Hindu population of thisarea got alarmed by my speeches and sent irresponsibletelegrams to the Maharajas Government. in themeantime, while I was still at Rawalakot, one night somewandering people appeared in the villages of Rawalakotarea from the Punjab. This alarmed the

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l)ogm troops stationed them. The Commander of thesetroops, in desperation, attacked some of these villages inorder to arrest those people. During this incident Dogratroops arrested and beat innocent Mussalmans, andmolested women in a village very near to Rawalakottown, The next day I called a very big meeting of thewhole area, and twenty thousand people collected to hearmy speech which I delivered in most ‘seditious terms. Iemphasizej upon the people that Pakistan— a Muslim State- was going to be established along theborder of the State of Jammu and Kashmir and in anycase the Mussalmans of Jammu and Kashmir cannotremain unaffected by this great event. They, therefore,should take courage and meet all insults from the Dogratroops with courage. From that day a strange atmospheretook the place of the usually peaceful life in these parts.

After this speech I had a long meeting with the Wazir ofPoonch at his request. The Wazir of Poonch told me,during this meetings, that he had no power to deal withmailers which affected the Army. He only pronthed tosend the whole case of Rawalakot to the higherauthorities He, nevertheless promised that he wouJdobtain the dismissal of the Subedar who led the armycontingent into the village for this raid.

I then left for Srinagar with my famUy. As soon as Ireached Srinagar, I contacted all the Government

47agencies with regard to the situation obtaining in Poonchbut everybody seemed to think that whatever washappening in Poonch was my own creation. A restrictiveorder was served on me towards the end of June, 1947,and warrants of arrest were issued on August 20, 1947.Before those warrants could be executed I escaped toPakistan.

Pakistan was declared to have come into being on 14th ofAugust, 1947, and eversin~ the whole atmospherechanged in the State. On August 15, 1947, Srinagar, thecentre of all activities, gave ample proof of its being pro-Pakistan. Processio~ and meetings were arranged in allparts of Srinagar. Pakistan flags were flying over at leastfifty per cent of the buildings and houses. All house-beatowners were flying the Pakistan flags and the Jhelumriver presented a fortifying

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sight. Though Sheikh Abdullahs party was yet indecisiveon the issue of Pakistan, this pro-Pakistan demonstrationobviously made them extremely uncomfortable. Forcedby events and suddenly changing circumstances, evenSheikh Abdullah’s party men were forced to speak infavour of Pakistan, because the public in general leanedin that direction. As a matter of fact some people were sosanguine as to believe that, as soon as Sheikh Abdullahcame out of prison he himself would declare accession ofthe State to Pakistan.

The majority of the Muslim Conference leaders were injail. Those who were outside were not united internallythough they were all agreed on the issue of Pakistan. Themasses were ready for a furious drive in favour ofPakistan but Muslim Conference leadership was not at allequal to the task.

Agha Shaukat Au, the then General Secretary of theMuslim Conference, was on parole for a fortnight fromSrinagar Jail. He went round to meet some of thePakistani friends whose advice we needed ever so much.The task was really very big and any good advice fromthe Muslim League leaders was not available. None of uswas so ripe in experience as to clearly visualize theimplications of Pakistan and natural repercussions of iton State politics. We did not want to bungle the situationby taking risks or unnecessarily precipitating the mauer.

47Some of the Muslim League leaders, who visitedSrinagar in those days, contacted the Nationalist leadersinstead of Muslim Conference leaders. Somehow,Muslim League leaders were impressed that SheikhAbdullahs organisation was comparatively much weakerin Srinagar and throughout the valley of Kashmir. As hasbeen pointed out, there were a number of leaders inSheikh Abdullahs party itself who believed in accessionof the State to Pakistan as a natural consequence of thepartition of India. Jammu Province and Poonch, however,were much better oragnised, so far as the MuslimConference was concerned. These areas were absolutelydecided on the Pakistan issue. In Poonch things movedvery much quicker than one expected. Nothing couldhave possibly arrested the march of events there.

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Assemblies of more than five persons were prohibited byan order of the District Magistrate at the end of July,1947, but, in fact, t he control of Poonch had alreadypassed to the State troops, who now had posts andpickets at all keypoints. The arms deposited by theMussalmans with the police by the orders of the DistrictMagistrate were handed over to the Military. Theydistributed these arms to local non-Muslims and to Sikhs,originally from Hazara, who moved during the summerinto the Bagh area and Poonch itself, after being trainedand organised in Muzaffarabad.

This alarmed the Mussalmans. They started takingwhatever measures they could to defend their hearths andhomes. In the villages, in August, 1947,.some leadingmen particutarly ex-Serviceman, began to collect moneyto buy arms from tribesmen of the former FrontierProvince, because it had now become absolutely clearthat only by force of arms could they remove theMaharajas oppressive army occupation and save theirown lives. There were others who crossed to Pakistan toescape arrest or to leave their families at a place wherethey could live safely and honourably while theythemselves could take up the fight against the DograMaharaja.

During these days a very big meeting of Mussalmans was

47held in front of the mosque at 1-lajira, Poonch. It wasaddressed by Muslim preachers and also by a local Sikh,Khazan Sing of Arunka, who declared that, the Statebeing overwhelmingly Muslim should join Pakistan andthat the Muslim authorities should treat the Sikh andHindu minorities fairly as they wished to remain in theirhomes in harmony with their Muslim neighbours. In thismeeting they passed resolutions asking for a responsibleGovernment right of free assembly, release of politicalprisoners, accession to Pakistan and abolition of allrecently imposed taxes by the Central Government atSrinagar.

A tolumn of troops was sent from Poonth via Hajira tomarch through Rawalakot to Bagh where strongeragitation was in progress. To protect their friends of theBagh area, who sent messengers asking that the ftoopsshould be held up, the

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villager of lChai Gala attempted to block the road andprevent their passage to Rawalakot. They had no arms,only woodmans axes, which every man carries in thesehills, but the Dogra troops fired on them and killed threeand wounded many more before they cleared the treesand boulders blocking the road and marched through.

There were a number of clashes between the Muslim ex-Servicemen of Poonch and the Maharajas Hindu troops.Captain Baiwant Sing, in charge of the Dogra troops atBagh, agreed that the Muslim demand for accession toPakistan was legitimate. lie sent a Muslim official of theState to pacify the crowd, which eventually held ameeting and camped outside Bagh. Next day, however,there was more trouble and fighting broke out when theDogra pickets around Bagh opened up with rifles andbren-guns on the Muslim crowd encamped below,causing heavy casualties.

Dogra troops sent out their patrols to the neighbouringMuslim villages. One patrol was sent to surround anearby village, the centre of agitation against the Dograsand the Muslim villagers were threatened with extinctionif they did not deliver up the local Muslim Conferenceleader, Khadim 1-lassain Shah. To save them hesurrendered himself and was taken to Bagh. Before theykilled him, the Dogra officer asked him what he wanted.He replied~ ‘Freedom and Pakistan”. On this he was

47bayoneted through his chest!

Reinforcements continued to arrive from Poonch throughRawalakot. Pandit Ramchandra Raina, a decent KashmiriHindu, who was a revenue officer in Poonch, was sent totour the troubled areas to seize weapons and to pacify thepeople. But the civil officials were now powerless.Poonch had, since July, been given up to the unrestrainedcontrol of the non-Muslim occupying forces, whoreceived secret orders from the Maharaja and his Dograchiefs. There were, however, some Hindu civilianofficers, who positively encouraged the Dogra troops tostamp out the popular movement and clear the country ofall the inhabitants who demanded self-government andPakistan.

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Immediately after the Bagh firing, columns of troops,accompanied by bands of armed Sikhs and civilianHindus aided by non-Muslim villagers, were sent outthrough the country-side to search and plunder villages ina most merciless and random fashion. In most cases theunarmed Muslim male villagers abandoned their villageswhen the troops and armed bands approached, remainingbidden in the nearby forest till they had passed. Thecivilian armed bands and local non-Muslim villagersassisted the police and army in their loot and arson.Women were raped mercilessly. The writer was told ofan incident where a girl of thirteen was raped by tensoldiers and she ultimately died of this.

It was then so clear to all of us that the Maharaja wasbent on joining India in total disregard of the wishes ofeighty per cent of his people and that resistance to hisplan of accession to India would be ruthlessly crushed.This meant the expulsion from their homes or theslaughter of a million Muslims living in a broad belt ofterritory along Pakistan borders, from Muzaffarabad toKathua.

One of the best commentaries on the Pakistan Movementin Poonch is that of Sheikh Abduflah himself. Asreported by the Associated Press of India, under the date-line. New Delhi, October 21, 1947. Sheikh Abdullah

47said:‘That the present troubles in Poonch, a feudatory ofIcashmir, were because of the policy adopted by theState. The people of Poonch who suffered under the localruler, and again under the Kashmir Durbar, who was theoverlord of the Poonch ruler, had started a peoplesmovement for the redress of their grievances. It was notcommunal.

~The Kashmir State sent their troops and there was pankin I’oc,nch. But most of the adult population in Poonchwere ex-Servicemen of the Indian Army, who had closeconnection with the people in Jhelum and Rawalpindi.They evacuated their women and children, crossed thefrontier and returned with arms supplied to them by

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willing people. The ICashmir State Forces were thusforcedto withdraw from certain areaC.

The story of this rising has been described by a Hinduleader of ICashmir, Pandit Prem Nath Baiaz, In thefollowing words~In Poonch, where thousands ofdemobilised Muslimveterans ol’ the Second World War live, an open armedrebellion broke out against the Maharaja and his newadministration. The rebellion spread rapidly to theadjoining areas of Mirpur where, also, war veterans livedin large numbers. Instead of realising what he had done,Maharaja Hari Singh egged on by Congress leaders andthe new Counsellors, despatched the whole of the Dograarmy to quell the disturbance, or, as one Rajput colonelputs it, to reconquer the area’. The Army perpetratedunheard-of atrocities on the people of Poonch; wholevillages were burnt down and innocent people massacre&Report reaching Srinagar were not allowed to bepublished in the press, and no official reports were issuedto allay the fears of the public. This happened inSeptember and the tribesmen did not enter the Statebefore the 23rd of October, 1947

In Srinagar itself the Dogra Government became moreand more insecure because of the events in Poonch.Larger contingents of troops were sent from Srinagar. As

47the information of the movement of troops reached us webecame more nervous, and, it was only too evident thatthe whole of the State appeared to be ready for a large-scale disaster. Somehow the State authorities came to bequite convinced, probably on the basis of good evidence,that I was wholly responsible for the events in Poonch.On one occasion Thakar Janak Sing, the then PrimeMinister, during an interview, pointed this out veryclearly to a deputation which met him to discuss theevents in Poonch. I was a member of this deputation.Even at this stage I gave him the solemn guarantee ofcomplete peace and order in Poonch, provided all troopswere withdrawn and Poonch district was left functioningunder normal civil administration. This seemed to him avery intriguing advice.

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I was served with an order by the Government throughtheir Chief Secretary, not to leave Srinagar under anycircumstance. If I remained in Srinagar the Governmentwill have no objection. My entry into Poonch was in anycase, considered undesirable. Warrants for my arrestwere placed with the border authorities in Kohala,Banihal and 1-laji Fir Pass. In the meantime, informationabout the events in Poonch reached me daily. Every newday brought a more urgent and fervent appeal from thepeople of that district to do something about the matters.Poonch being my conslituency, my moral and otherresponsibilities were so great that I eventually did gatherthe courage to do what I actually did and came to thetimely rescue of an otherwise lost but brave people.

On or about the 20th August, 1947, 1 and Agha ShaukatMi, the General Secretary of the Muslim Conferencewent to meet some of our Pakistani friends and advisers.We were looking for solid advice and reliableinformation on all matters that confronted us. ThesePakistani gentieman were holidaying- Culmarg. They were in possession of solid facts andgave us good advice. The next meeting was held at thehouse of the late Dr. Mohammad Din Tasir in Srinagar

We had a long meeting with these gentlemen anddiscussed with them the existing state of affairs in

47Icashmir. We appraised them of the conditions existing inPoonch. These gentlemen were of the opinion that, unlessthere was some counter preparation, there was a genuineapprehension of Mussalmans being exposed to the dangerof complete annihilation. They had come to thisconclusion, in all probability, on the basis if someinformation that they had in their possession and theirviews were confirmed by the facts that were placedbefore them. It was with these gentlemen that we hadanother meeting in Srinagar at the house of late Dr. M.D.Tasir. It was suggested in this meeting, that if I had to getarrested at all, it must be done in Rawalakot, my homeplace, where easily twenty to thirty thousand peoplewould have followed me into the jail, making thesituation extremely difficult for the Government. TheWazir of Poonch had informed Srinagar authorities thatmy entry into Poonch would

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not be desirable and my arrest anywhere in that areawould entail a major crisis for the Government.

During this meeting it was also decided that, in themeantime, I should leave immediately for Pakistan, inorder to re-enter Poonch to head the movement there.All-Jammu and ICashmir Muslim Conference, sent me aletter of authority in Pakistan, which I produce below-SRINAGAR,I7FH SEPTEMBER, 1947.

%{y dear Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, We havestarted the civil disobedience movement here, and Ihave addressed a number of mass meetings. I may bearrested at any moment. Therefore, in consultation withthe available members of the working committee, I amconstrained to appoint you as my successor.. As such,you will be perfectly competent to receive and delivergoods on behalf of the Muslim Conference. You cannegotiate with any party or organisation. and arrive atany understanding you deem fit and proper. The MuslimConference will be bound by your acts and words. In myand my colleagues’ opinion, you are utterly worthy of thetrust reposed in you. I hope and trust you will, as usual,discharge your heavy responsibilities with zeal andenthusiasm, and our community will surely profit byyour able guidance. You will please appoint yoursuccessor whenever the prospect of your arrest arise.

47May God bless you,

Yours sincerely.(Sd) HAMIDULLAH KHAN,Acting President,AIl-J,&K, Muslim Conference.

NB.-- It may please be noted that, as long as jam notarrested, you are, even now, quite competent to act on mybehalf outside the State.Sdf- HAMJDuLLAH KHAN.

I was to escape to Pakistan accompanied by AghaShaulcat AlL A day for escape was also Fixed. This factwas to be kept

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dead secret but somehow the Government Caine to knowall about it. The next day, early in the morning, before wecould make the first move, Agha Shaukat Ali was re-arrested and ~ken back to jail. When Irtachaibs hou t 7o’clockm the morning, it was being closely watched bythe police and Agha Shaukat AIi had already beendelivered to the jail authorities.

The moment I learnt about it~ I decided to disappear, Idid not attend the courts and spread the story through myclerks that I had gone to Islamabad for a day to attend acase. The police rushed to Islamabad as foolishly as theydid so many other things. The whole day I kept awayfrom my house because.them was a twenty-four hourwatch on my movements. Today it seems like a miraclethat all arrangements for my escape from Srinagar werecomplete by the end of that day. Two persons wereresponsible for this arrangement. One was Sultan HasanAli Khan of Boi District Hazara and the other Raja AbdulHamid Khan of Muzaffarabad, one of my colleagues.

I would like to mention here a small incident. Before myescape, we had a meeting at Dr. M.D. Tasir’s place. Dr.Tasir, who had a real sense of humour, suggested quiteseriously that I should escape wearing a ‘Burqa.? Thissuggestion I at once turned down. It would be a disgracáill was caught by the police in a burqa. Owing to the factthat such suggestion was put forward, the rumour,

47somehow, got around that I actually escaped in a ~burqa.Dr. Tasir himself, in an article which he published in1948, contradicted this.

The day I escaped from Srinagar, my littie son, Javed,was running a high temperature. One of our friends, Dr.Noor Hussain, volunteered to look after him. I told myvery credulous and simple wife that I was going toLahore and would be back soon. The same friends whowere responsible for my escape, also arranged foraccommodation in a house-boat for my last night inSrinagar.

In the morning of August 25, 1947 while Srinagar Policelooked for me in a dreary drizzle, I reached Domel

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(Muzaffarabad) without any incident. The journey tron.Srinagar to Abbottabad was without an incident of anykind. I learnt later on that a warrant of arrest was lyingwith the Customs Officer at Domel. There was no searchof my taxi. In my taxi there happened to be twovagabond-friends of the taxi driver, who were runningaway from Srinagar courts. Though I had paid for thewhole taxi, they made themselves comfortable in it bythe courtesy of the taxi driver. On reaching the other sideof the border, I was told that they were running awayfrom the Police. I did not, however, tell them that I wasmyself travelling for a similar reason.

While in Abbottabad I learned to my grief and extremesorrow that in Tehsil headquarters of Bagh the DograArmy had opened fire on a crowd of ten thousand people.This certainly was a declaration of war on the people andleft no doubt in my mind that people of Poo~pch werefaced with a major catastrophe. Unless some outside helpreached them in good time their life and security wereexposed to grave risk.

Sitting in my hotel in Abbottabad, I wrote not less thanone hundred chits in my own hand to different people inPoonch area. In these I asked the people not to losecourage and to prepare to defend their homes at everycost. In these chits I conveyed to them that I was busytrying to get them the necessary arms, though at that

47moment I did not have the slightest idea as to what Icould do for them in concrete form. There was, however,a strong belief in my mind of solid help either comingfrom the Government or the people of Pakistan. Thesechits, it seems, did re~h their destinations safely, thoughthe Dogra security arrangements were fairly stiff. When,in the mad fury of a mob, in the chaos of thought andaction, people paused and took stock of what they had,they found that they had very little.

In the meantime the Dogra Govcrnment issued orders tothe following effect:

(a) Confiscation of all arms;(b) Clearing of Pakistan Border arcas;

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(c) Empowering of the Dogra Army to shoot any personsuspected of ‘subversive’ activities; and(d) I’oonch and Mirpur districts to be placed underMartial Law.

Against this background, I reached Lahore on 28 August,1947. On the Lahore Railway Station, complete chaosprevailed. I paid Rs. 15 to get a tonga to reach my hotelin Anarkali. Normally, it should have cost me a rupee. Icarried letters for Mian Amir-ud-Din, who was theMayor of Lahore at that time. Through the good officesof this gentleman, I tried for a meeting with the Quaid-e-Azam, who was then the Governor-General of Pakistan,in order to place before him the Kashmir case. TheQuaid-c-Azam himself did not wish to meet me becausehe did not desire, in any manner whatever, to beassociated with anything that was happening in the Stateof Jammu and Kashmir at that moment. Accompanied byanother friend, Mr. BA. Hashmi, a friend of the Srinagarmeeting, I approached Raja Ghazanfar Ali Ichan, theCentral Minister of Refugee and Rehabilitation, with theobject of arranging a meeting with Quaid-e-Azam. RajaChazanfar Mi Khan failed to contact the Quaid-e-Azam.As a matter of fact the whole atmosphere was souncertain and everybody felt so awkward to approach theQuaid-e-Azam that no one possessed enough courage todraw the attention of the Pakistan’s Governor-General toICashmir affairs and save so many Mussalmans from

47disaster. Pakistan herself was most tragically gripped bythe problem of the influx of refugees. Complete chaQsseemed to take possession of everything. Most well-wishers of Pakistan doubted if Pakistan could existanother couple of months.

For a full period of one week I went round seeing thepeople in Lahore. Every dawn brought mc newdisappointments. There was not a ray or glimmer ofhope. There was hardly any Newspaper editor whom Idid not meet. The Press were quite prepared to do theirbest, and, in fact, they did their best as the movementactually started But nothing disappointed me more thanthe streets of Lahore. The sun rose dyer Lahore and wentdown with the same mechanical precision. Every hour,every day for me in Lahore was the greatest agony ahuman being could possibly undergo.

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I was completely disappointed, tired and exhausted. Allavenues of hope had been explored, and I was thoroughlydismayed with everything—people, streets, tongas, othernoises and limitless thoughts. The noises of Lahoreseemed such an unreal drudgery. People seemed soselfish. Could not they possibly realise that all businessand trade was useless? Could not they visulaize that awhole nation was faced with the threat of virtualannihilation? All these thoughts rose and fell like wavespf the sea in my mind who had no second person to sharethe secjtts of his mind.

I decided to pack and return to the scene of the tragedy.Keenly conscious of the great duty which nature had sosuddenly and prematurely called me to perform, equallyconscious of my failings and limitations, something stillworked within my mind like a volcano. With all thedisappointments and failures lodged in my heart, Iwanted to see, before leaving Lahore, the Editor of thePakistan Times—a daily of Lahore. I started for theoffice of that paper while my bedding was being packedin my hotel. As I was passing the ‘Nila Gumbad’ area acar stopped near my tonga. and a gentleman asked me tocome down from the tonga and get into the car. Iaccompanied him to Model Town, where he was going tosee the bungalows of his Hindu friends just to make surethat they were safe. The journey from that point in the

47city right down to Model Town and back, could havetaken hardly an hour or so. Within this short time I wasable to convince my friend of the impending tragedy ofthe people of Kashmir. I did not really believe that hecould do much. But I would have told this story toanyone who had lent me a sympathetic ear. This friend,strangely enough, promised to do his best but he insistedthat he should make sure about things for himself. He,therefore, proposed to proceed to Srinagar. To anyproposal which could help the cause in any manner Icould have no objection. I told him that I was proceedingto Murree where he could always contact me if he sodesired.

It seemed that he did consult quite a number of peoplebefore arriving at a definite decision. From Murree hecollected his wife and went to Srinagar with the pretextof his wife’s

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diagnosis about some disease. After remaining inSrinagar for about a week or so he came back to Murreeto have a conference with mc. To my entire satisfactionand relief, he agreed with me on all points. He realisedthe urgency of the matter and also the risks Mussalmanswere exposed to if no outside assistance was extended tothem in good time. I really do not wish to go into detailsof what happened after that but I must admit that thisgentleman did his best with deep sincerity and honesty ofpurpose. He did his utmost to advance the cause of themovement which, later on, came to be known as the AndKashmir Movement. This gentleman was no other personthan Mian Iftikharuddin of Lahore, a great leader in hisown right. He died in 1960 or so. The echo of thismovement rose out of the high hills of Kashmir and ranground the world and is by no means finished yet. Thegentleman mentioned gave up his association with themovement when he accepted a Ministry in the Punjab.

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Chapter VI

BEGINNING OF AZAD KASHMIRMOVEMENT

I stayed in Murree and made it my base, if one mayborrow an army expression, where some sympathisersloaned a number of rooms in a hotel. In that hotel muchwas said during the dark hours of night and nothing wasdone or said during the long hours of the day. The PunjabPolice, Intelligencc Department, though quite vigilant,probably did not know much about the whole thing. Forthe work which I had undertaken Murree was a veryconvenient and congenial place. One could have all theinformation from Srinagar every day and also easilycontact Muzaffarabad, Poonch and Mirpur. From Murreeone could easily establish contacts with people in Poonchalong the Thelum River during the night. During the dayDogra Army soldier regularly patrolled all the possibleroutes of communication.

Not quite single handed, I took the decision to resort toarms in defence of our lives, honour and property, and toprepare the people for it. Before taking this most crucial

47decision, I did not consult my colleagues, because I didnot have the opportunity to do so. The decision was nottaken just overnight. I collected some sympathetic armyofficers of the State before whom I placed the wholesituation. These officers, at great risk to themselves andother advisers, calculated all the pros and cons of thewhole matter. A number of conferences were held. Mapswere studied and all other possible loop-holes wereforeseen. By the advice of these really great friends wewere able to chalk out a scheme by which Mussalmanscould be saved and an effective resistance could be putup to Dogm troops and their satellite, the RSSS. Here Imust mention that the question of tribal people coming toour assistance was neither

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visualised nor contemplated at this stage of planning. Onthe other hand, when I got the information that tribesmenwere prepared to come to our assistance, it was a pleasantsurprise to me.

After making the difficult decision to resort to arms wegot busy with the collection of weapons of all sorts. Asecret collection of Muzzle Loaders was started, and withthese Muzzle Loaders we collected gun-powder and leadfrom all over the I’unjàb. A small factory was started invillage Basian in the Tehsil of Murree, where lead wasconverted into bullets. During October nights, thesethings were transported across the Jhelum river. All armsthat could be had in the district of Rawalpindi werecollected. It had become easier now, because the story ofthe atrocities of Dogra troops had spread all over thePunjab and some of the refugees from Bagh had alreadycrossed the

Jhelum river into Pakistan, where they were camping inthe Tehsil of Murree. Even the burning of villages inPoonch could easily be seen from the high hill of Murree.About this time a strong protest was lodged by theCovernment of Pakistan with the Maharajas Governmentabout the atrocities committed by the Dogra troops onPoonch Mussalmans.

In Murree I was able to mobilise, most effectively, public

47opinion in our favour. We were able to raise some fundswhich we sent to the Frontier Province for the purchaseof ‘drawl or one shot rifles. This method, though it had asmall beginning, made huge progress in due course oftime. Very soon it became possible to find ways bywhich we could collect a large number of rifles. Beforethese rifles could be distributed it was made sure that anorganisation existed which would utilize this material tothe best of our advantage.

In Murree a unique service to our cause was rendered bythe local Tehsildar at the risk of his job. It was in hishouse that we were able to collect the ‘stuff . Then duringthe night, in an extremely well-guarded manner, the‘stuff was despatched on mules to the banks of theJhelum river. On the banks of this river, on both sides,awaited parties who had prepared

• Raja Suiwn Maqsood.

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‘shinas -- inflated goat skins -- for the transportation ofarms and ammunition across the river. In this, otherwisemost risky and dangerous enterprise, the Tehsildar, notonly risked his job but also his life. All this ‘business wasto be a hush-hush affair. The police were never taken intoconfidence. Once we were caught red-handed on this sideof the Jhelum river. We completely denied anycomplicity in the matter, though some others were hauledup. The loss of valuable arms was sustained with a heavyheart.

The area of operation was mainiy divided into two largesectors, Muzaffarabad to Bhimber, and Bhimber toJammu. Gilgit was left out, because the Gilgitorganisation was separate. The Dogra Army MuslimOfficers, raising a local rebellion, had established anadministration of their own. This was effectivelyarranged with officers who were posted in Gilgit by theDogra Government. Each sector was given a separatequota of rifles for operation and placed under an ArmyLeader. Similarly, different leaders were put in charge ofdifferent sectors to provide the necessary political link.Before the whole scheme could operate in an organisedand effective manner, we needed an army to fight anarmy. That mere armed crowds could not possiblyachieve much was realised in the very beginning. Itseemed, therefore, that the sine qua non of the wholeplan was that a peoples army be organised. It could only

47be effectively done in Pakistan and probably in Mirpur,though Muzaffarabad was also organised. Mirpur failedto provide the immediate need because the Dogra troopshad not done that much damage in Mirpur as they haddone in Poonch, and, moreover, Poonch had no less than80,000 discharged soldiers from the old Indian Army.The bulk of the Azad Army was consequently raisedfrom Poonch. For this purpose, during the month ofSeptember, 1947, 1 crossed the Jehlum River a numberof times during the nights on a ‘shina — with the help ofsome of our great men, who later so heroically laid downtheir li,4es during the fight that ensued. Most of them areno more amongst us today but each of them played aunique part in the early days of our liberation movement.No matter how much is said in their praise, words surelycannot sum up their great deeds of personal bravery andheroism. We hope that

1

Chapter XIIIU. N. C. I. P.DURING 1948, the Security Council sent out a U.N.C.I.P. which landed in Karachi on 7July. The Commission left for Delhi on the 10 July, 1948, to confer with the Governmentof India, and immediately started exploring the possibilities of an immediatecease-fire in Kashmir. The suggestion of a ceasefire was discussed at a formal meeting ofthe Commission held on July 23 in New Delhi which was attended by the Pakistanrepresentatives. From 10 July to 13 August the Commission held a number of meetingsand discussion, both with the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan. Ch.Ghulam Abbas Khan and the writer also had a chance of having discussions with theCommission in Karachi, on the various aspects of the Kashmir problem. The commission,in the meantime, sent a Military Sub-Commission to study the military situation in theliberated areas of Jammu and Kashmir. This Sub-Commission first flew to Srinagar andafter seeing the Indian side of Kashmir rejoined the Commission in Karachi. TheSub-Commission then left for the Azad Kashmir area on August 12.After having further meetings with the representatives of India and Pakistan, theCommission released to the press its resolution of 13th, August and the correspondenceconnected therewith. A further meeting took place in Rawalpindi on 14th Septemberbetween Ch. Ghulam Abbas Khan and the writer on the one hand, and Messrs Hunddleand Graefee on the other. These two gentlemen of the Commission visited Mangla Headworks in Mirpur in Azad Kashmir territory, where they were E itertained to a lunch bythe Azad Kashmir Government.-Afteriis, the Commission left for Srinagar and stayed there until ' • tey returned to Geneva.

2

After these prolonged parleys and discussions, the Commission, on the 13th August, 1948,passed the resolution, which follows, embodying the Cease-Fire and truce agreement-The Preamble expressed the opinion that prompt cessation of hostilities and the correctionof conditions, the continuance of which was likely to endanger international peace andsecurity, were essential for effecting a final settlement of the situation in the State ofJammu and Kashmir. In reply to a query of the Pakistan Government, the Commissionexplaining on the 27th August, that the expression "a final settlement of the situation didnot fall short of, nor go beyond, the terms of the Security council's Resolution of 21stApril, 1948, and was in harmony with it." The commission went on to add that it wasnot committed to a rejection of a peaceful solution, which might be agreed to by the twogovernments provided that such a solution reflected the will of the people.PART IThis part of the Resolution provided that the Governments of India and Pakistan wouldissue cease-fire order to all forces operating under the High Commands of India andPakistan including, for this purpose, the forces of Azad Kashmir and the Tribesmen. It alsoprovided for the appointment of neutral military observers on both sides of thecease-fire line to supervise the observance of the cease-fire order, and called upon theGovernments of India and Pakistan to appeal to their respective peoples to assist increating and maintaining an atmosphere favourable to the promotion of furthernegotiations.This part of the Resolution laid down the following principles as a basis for theformulation of a truce agreement, the details of which were to be worked out indiscussion between their representatives and the Commission-PART II

3

(1) The Pakistan Government was called upon to agree to withdraw its troops fromthe State. It was subsequently explained that the withdrawal of the Pakistan troopswould be synchronised with the withdrawal of the bulk of the Indian Army from Jammuand Kashmir.The Pakistan Government was asked to use its best endeavours to secure thewithdrawal from the State of all its nationals as had gone into the State for the purposeof fighting. The Commission made it clear to the Pakistan Government that theAzad Kahsmir Forces would neither be withdrawn nor disbanded, but would continue toremain intact in the areas under the operational control of the Pakistan High Command.The territory evacuated by the Pakistan troops would be administered by the localauthorities, under the surveillance of the Commission. It was explained that by localauthorities was meant the de facto Government in this area, namely, The AzadKashmir Government. As regards the Commission's surveillance, this did not meanactual supervision or control but was introduced only to ensure that the 'localauthorities' did not do anything against the spirit of the truce agreement.(iv) When the tribesmen and Pakistan nationals had withdrawn, and the Pakistan Forceshad begun their withdrawal, the Government of India were to begin the withdrawal ofthe bulk of their forces from the State, in stages to be agreed upon with the Commission.The Commission, while recognising the need for the security of the State, assumed thatthe danger of external attack would disappear with the establishment of a truce andthat the Indian troops to be retained in Jammu and Kashmir would be the minimumrequired for the maintenance of internal law and

1 51order in areas other than those in charge of the Azad Kashmir Government.PARTThis part of the Resolution called upon the governments of India and Pakistan to reaffirmtheir wish, that the future status of Jammu and Kashmir would be determined inaccordance with the will of the people, and that the two Governments would confer withthe Commission to determine fair and equitable conditions, whereby such freeexpression would be assured. The Commission informed the Pakistan Government on the19th September, 1948, that in implementing Part /II of the Resolution, the Commissionwould be guided by the terms of the Security Council's Resolution of April 21, 1948,setting forth conditions for a plebiscite, subject to such modifications as theCommission might determine, with the agreement of the Governments of Pakistanand India.The Government of India accepted the Commission's Resolution, subject, however, tothe following interpretations placed upon it-The Commission was to recognise the sovereignty of the Maharaja over the entire area ofJammu and Kashmir.Responsibility for the administration of the sparsely populated area of the State inthe North (namely, Ladakh), should revert to the Government of Jammu and Kashmir,after Pakistan troops and tribesmen had withdrawn.The Government of Pakistan should have no part in the organisation or conduct of theplebiscite, or in any other matter of internal administration in the State.The Commission should recognise the necessity of effective insurance of the security of theState against external aggression and internal disorder, and the responsibility of theGovernment of India in this regard.

5

The Government of Pakistan was not fully satisfied with all the provisions ofthe Commission's resolution, yet they accepted it, subject only to one reservation,namely, that the Government of India should accept the conditions laid down in Part'B'(Articles 6 to 15 , both inclusive) of the Security Council's resolution of 21st April, 1948,as explained by the sponsors of the resolution in the Security Council, for a free and impartialplebiscite to decide whether the State of Jammu and Kashmir is to accede to India orPakistan. The Pakistan Government base their case on the universally recognisedprinciple, that the will of the people should be allowed to prevail. The accession of theState of Jammu and Kashmir is the main point in dispute between the governments ofPakistan and India, and, if it is to be decided by peaceful means, the only method is to holda free and impartial plebiscite, under neutral auspices, to determine the Dominion to whichthe State should finally accede.When this Commission landed in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, the war in Kashmirwas going on. But the parties had come to an unwritten understanding that no majoroperations would be undertaken. An unofficial cease-fire seemed to exist. At least we,who were not very high up, were told on our side, that we should not do anything whichwould militate against the spirit of this unofficial understanding and aggravatethe situation.In the meantime we were all the time getting information that, in spite of this so-calledunderstanding the Indian Army was continuing its build-up, particularly in theNowshera Sector. A manifold increase in the strength of the Indian troops had beenundertaken. While the Security Council's Commission wasdiscussing the Kashmir casewith regard to a cease-fire agreement, India, it seems, wasbuilding up her forces for anall-out offensive in Kashmir with the avowed object of forcing a military decision bysubjugating completely the whole of Jammu and Kashmir State, and thus presenting theworld with a fait accompli. But, as the plan unfolded itself, it became clear that its realobjective was more far-reaching, and that it was aimed directly at the security ofPakistan. The subjugation of

6

the Azad Kashmir forces in Rajouri Mender Sector, led to the exodus of a very largenumber of Muslims from Rajouri and Poonch, because the policy of the Indian Army wasto liquidate the Muslims from the villages, and to resettle Hindus and Sikhs in theirplace.This big offensive towards the end of 1948, came as a surprise to all concerned. Indiastarted a very big push from Nowshera, their Corps Headquarters, branching out intodifferent directions. One push was started towards Kotli and another towards Rajouri.Our build-up and strength, particularly on the Mandhar front were very weak. In thefirst place, we had no direct line of communication with the Mandhar valley.Secondly, the Azad troops were not very large in number, and were spread out from thetop of Shopian, in the Kashmir Valley, down to Azim Garh Fort in Rajouri. Thirdly, theseAzad Army soldiers were very poorly equipped. They, at least the majority of them,belonged to Mandhar valley. Last, but not least, the troops on this front lacked anefficient command. We could not spare first class Azad Army troops from Poonch becausethese troops were necessary to surround the small city of Poonch, where the Indian armyhad built up strong enough reserves to break through and overrun the western parts ofPoonch, if they so desired.During the months of November and December, 1948, when the Indian Army built upCorps Headquarters at Nowshera, they also built an elaborate line of communicationbetween Nowshera and Jammu. The Air Force based at Jammu could very easily give themsuch air support as the Indian Army would require in an advance. In December, 1948, asthe Indian Army began their advance from Nowshera towards Rajouri, a similaradvance towards Kotli was beaten back by the Azad Kashmir Brigade. This Brigade,though lacking in gun support, automatic arms and air cover, resisted the Indian Armyattack with unparalleled heroism. The push towards Rajouri and Mandhar was in avery much larger formation. I am told that at least two brigades started this push withtanks, guns and air support. The spear-head, finding a weak spot, breached throughour defences. As they breached through, they made a very quick advance towardsMandi Nala and Mandhar proper.

7

This move practically cut away all the Azad troops all along this front from theirbase. The Indian Army started a ruthless butchery of people and burning of houses.When this information reached Azad Army soldiers on the front, they deserted theirunits, and ran back to save their families from this wanton destruction. A huge migrationof population started from the whole of the Mandhar Valley and Rajouri area towardsPakistan. No less than two lakhs of people migrated en masse to Pakistan. How thesehelpless people started on foot, carrying their pitifully small amount of luggage on theirheads towards Pakistan, in groups of thousands, constitutes a woeful tale of misery,which will probably be told by historian when, in due time, he will write the history of thiscampaign. How little, barefooted children walked down the hilly terrain of these parts,while the Indian Army troops were after their blood, is one of the most pathetic stories!.The groups of refugees, helpless as they were, were bombed by the I.A.F. on a number ofoccasions. These people were without food and shelter for days together but they neverlost heart and reached Pakistan after a terrible journey.Simultaneously with their attack on Mandhar front in the month of December, the IndianArmy made another push on the Ladakh front. They pushed us back from Dras to Kargil, andultimately to Skardu. How the Azad Army resisted this push on the Ladakh front, isanother wonderful story of bravery, heroism and patience. The Azad Army troops, whofought on the Ladakh front without any line of communication behind them deserve thegreatest praise and credit. It is impossible here to deal, in detail, with difficulties underwhich the Azad Army troops fought on this front.The Indian Army, while making these two advances, achieved certain objectives. Oneobjective was link with Poonch, thus releasing the Poonch city garrison. Secondly, toeffect a link up with Leh, the headquarters of Ladakh tehsil. This straightenedout the line from Jammu to Ladakh for the Indian Army. These two advances withina short period of couple of weeks, caused to us the loss of huge areas of territory. We alsolost in army and public morale. This was the largest

8

major set-back that we suffered since the beginning of the campaign.As this retreat was taking place in the Mandhar valley, great panic spread through thePoonch district. I hurried from Trarkhel to Hajira and from Hajira to Rawalakot tokeep up the morale of the people. I am quite sure that if I had not undertaken this tour, ata time when the morale of the people was at the verge of complete collapse,there would have perhaps started another exodus of at least five lakhs of peoplefrom the rest of Poonch. This would have created additional difficulties fbr us. Inthe meantime I received an urgent message to reach Karachi. As soon as wereached Karachi the matter of cease-fire was brought into discussion.Ch. Zafarullah Khan, Foreign Minister of Pakistan, had complained to the SecurityCouncil that the Indian offensive was a violation by India of the pledge they hadgiven that they would not do anything that might aggravate the situation. It becameclear later that by such means India wanted to gain control over all the strategicareas, just before the cease-fire agreement was reached and to solve two majordifficulties, namely, one of supplying Leh and the other of maintaining Poonch.Supplies to these two garrisons were straining the air resources of India to breakingpoint.Whatever the merits or demerits of the proposition, if we had to agree to a cease-fire, weshould have done •it a little earlier. At the time of this agreement, so far as the provinces ofJammu and Kashmir were concerned, we had lost most of the territory in a very briefperiod. If we had not agreed to the cease-fire, we probably would have lost the rest ofPoonch, Mirpur and Muzaffarabad. We could have probably continued theLiberation Movement from Gilgit and Ladakh side. The fact that we have got afoothold on the western part of Kashmir is certainly of great use to us. If we hadlost even an inch of territory on this side of Kashmir our bargaining position would havebeen reduced to nil. I can say with certainty that conditions were so dangerouslyunfavourable that it was quite possible that we might have lost the whole of theterritory.

9

On the other hand, by agreeing to a cease-fire, we have, anyhow, not been the gainers. TheIndians have been able to consolidate their position, and have built up very strongdefences all along the cease-fire line. They will never take upon themselves to launchan offensive, therefore we are left with two alternatives; (a) either the case is settled bypeaceful means of negotiation, or (b) we are forced to attack. If the matter is settledthrough the U.N.O. by peaceful means, well and good. If these means fail, and if westart the attack, we shall be blamed as aggressors, and India will have world opinionon her side. Even after starting an attack, it is not sure whether war can be kept strictlywithin the four corners of Kashmir State. If that cannot be done and a general war startsbetween India and Pakistan, one really cannot be sure of the consequences. In that case theconsequences will be too terrible to contemplate and both countries might go under. Byaccepting a cease-fire at the time at which we did, I think, we have lost much of ourbargaining power. My only contention is that we should either have managed a ceasefireearlier or the Pakistan Government should have gone whole-heartedly into the show tocounter the last Indian offensive. It was to counter the major Indian offensive of 1948 thatPakistan had to send a small number of troops into Kashmir in May to defend the bordersof 1:he Pakistan territory. Everybody is much wiser after the event!After getting the consent of both India and Pakistan, the U.N.C.i.P.passed tworesolutions, one on August 13, 1948, and other on January 5,1949. The resolutions,taken together, provided for a cease-fire, followed by the demarcation of a cease-fireline. The cease-fire became effective on January, 1, 1949, and the agreement on thedemarcation of the cease-fire line was arranged after a number of meetings of highmilitary authorities of both sides on July 27,1949. The resolutions provided for thedemilitarization of the State in two stages: the truce stage and the plebiscite stage.When the cease-fire became effective, armed forces engaged in the Kashmir fightingcomprised the following lines-

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On the Indian side there were the regular troops of the Indian Army, the IndianVolunteers, the State Military Forces and the Jammu and Kashmir State Militia. Onthe Pakistan side there were Azad Kashmir regular forces, the tribesmen, the PakistanVolunteers, and the regular troops of the Pakistan Army. The resolutions of theU.N.C.I.P. envisaged the disposal of the forces in the following manner--Pakistan was to use her best endeavours to secure the withdrawal of tribesmenand Pakistani volunteers. The Pakistan Government, in their earnest desirefor a peaceful solution, have already carried out the undertaking, althoughthey were under no obligation to do so till a truce agreement had been reached.In the next stage, it was envisaged that the regular forces of India and Pakistanwould withdraw in the following manner--Pakistan would take the first step in the withdrawal of the regular forces, but,after Pakistan's troops had begun to withdraw, India undertook to begin thewithdrawal of its forces in stages to be agreed upon by the Commission. The

Commission assured the Pakistan Government that the withdrawal of thePakistan Army and the withdrawal of the bulk of the Indian Army would besynchronized by the two High Commands.The resolution of January 5,1949, empowered the Plebiscite Administrator to determinethe final disposal of the Indian Forces remaining in the State, the State Forces andState Militia, on the one hand, and on the other, the final disposal of the Azad KashmirForces.When the Commission actually started grappling with the matter of demilitarization,India tried to obstruct the Plan, so that ultimately it would defeat the proposal ofthe Plebiscite. They put forward fresh and fantastic demands; for example, they raisedthe question of the disbandment of the Azad Kashmir Forces, and the question ofadministi Ation and

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defence of the Northern Areas of Gilgit and Ladakh. It may be emphasized here, that theAzad Kashmir Forces are not an outside element. They consist of the nationals ofJammu and Kashmir State, who launched the Liberation Movement at the end of August,1947. They represent the will of the people of Kashmir to be free. And, in any case, onthe question of the Azad Kashmir Forces, the United Nations Commission hadtaken a clear-cut and unambiguous stand.The Northern areas, which are mainly mountainous, have a 100% Muslimpopulation. The freedom upsurge in these areas formed part of the Azad Kashmirmovement, and in their mountains they had rapidly thrown off the yoke of theMaharaja of Kashmir.Then a long controversy arose as to the interpretation of the agreed resolutions ofAugust 13,1948 and January 5,1949. India put her own interpretation on theseresolutions. The U.N.C.I.P., however, did not agree with the Indian interpretation,and it proposed that all points of difference concerning the truce agreement be referredto arbitration by Admiral Chester W.Nimitz, whom both India and Pakistan hadaccepted as the Plebiscite Administrator. This statesmanlike proposalwas supported by the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of theUnited Kingdom. Pakistan accepted the arbitration proposal unconditionally but Indiaturned it down. The United Nations Commission had then no alternative but to refer thecase back to the Security Council in December, 1949.In December, 1949, the writer left for New York to attend session of the Security Council.The Security Council was then presided over by General McNaughton of Canada. TheGeneral was one of the great personalities I have had a chance to meet. He wasauthorized,by the Security Council to mediate between the parties. GeneralMcNaughton, with all the thoroughness and exactitude of a military mind, prepared hisown plan with regard to the Northern Areas, and also with regard to the subject ofdemilitarization. Pakistan generously accepted General McNaughton's proposal, butIndia insisted on

12

amendments, which were tantamount to a rejection of the proposal.Then a lengthy debate in the Security Council followed. Eventually on March 14,1950, the Security Council passed a resolution confirming the U.N.C.I.P.resolutions of August 13,1948, and January 5,1949. The Security Council, in thisresolution, emphasized that steps should be taken forthwith for thedemilitarization of the State and for the expeditious determination of its future, inaccordance with the freely expressed will of the inhabitants.Then the Security Council called upon the Governments of India and Pakistan, toprepare and execute, within a period of 5 months from the date of the resolution, 'aprogramme of demilitarization on the basis of the principles of paragraph 2 ofGeneral McNaughton's proposal, or of such modifications of those proposals as may

be mutually agreed upon. The Security Council also decided to appoint a U.N.representative to replace the U.N.C.I.P., so that the United NationsRepresentative could assist India and Pakistan in the preparation and execution of

a programme of demilitarization. The United Nations representative was alsoempowered to make any suggestion to India and Pakistan, or to the SecurityCouncil, which, in his opinion, was likely to contribute to the expeditious andenduring solution of the dispute which had arisen between the two Governments inregard to the State of Jammu and Kashmir'. Sir Owen Dixon, a well-known Jurist ofAustralia, was nominated as United Nations Representative on April 12,1950. Hearrived in the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent on May 20,1950.

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Chapter XIVSECURITY COUNCIL 1949-50AS already mentioned in the last chapter, the U.N.C.I.P. failed in their historicmission. They returned to Geneva, where they took a long time to prepare theirreport for the Security Council. In this report they admitted the difficulties involved,and suggested the dissolution of the Commission and the appointment of one man asmediator. The Commission could not have succeeded so easily, because, I personallybelieve, the Commission had their own difficulties. Secondly, the problem ofKashmiris a very difficult one. On the one hand, it involves the prestige of theGovernment of India, and, on the other hand, the very existence of Pakistan isat stake.The paramount difficulty was that India every time adopted an unreasonable attitude.Particularly, the Government of India put their own strange interpretation on thelanguage of the resolutions which the Commission itself was not prepared to accept.There could not be any acceptable via media, therefore the Commission had to endup with a report of failure.The Kashmir case again came up before the Security Council towards the end of1949. In this connection, for the second time, I visited the

Headquarters of the United Nations in Lake Success, to attend the meetingof the Security Council as a representative of the Azad Kashmir

Government. During my first visit in 1948, I was very muchhandicapped by the fact that, abroad, very little was then known about the

Azad Kashmir movement. This time the question of Kashmir was a veryfamiliar subject to the world press and the people. Since 1948, we had been

successful in establishing contacts with organizations all overthe world, which did a great deal of propaganda in favour of ourmovement. For example, all over England we had by now our organisation known asthe Azad

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Kashmir League. It had branches in London, Birminghani, Leeds, New Castle,Manchester, and even in Scotland. Similar organisations were working in Egypt andother Muslim countries, for instance, Turkey. These branches, from all over the world,contributed towards the Azad Kashmir Movement in money, material and goodwill.During the second visit to the Security Council, I took advantage of the occasion andspent some time in America, England, Cyprus, Turkey and Egypt. During my visit Imade excellent contacts abroad and was able to do concerted publicity in favourof Azad Kashmir and Pakistan. The Kashmir problem had jeopardised

Indo-Pakistan peace and, consequently, it had affected world peace. Itwas for this reason that people were deeply interested in this problem. Since both Indiaand Pakistan had done fairly wide publicity with regard to the question ofKashmir, vis-a-vis Indo-Pakistan relations, public interest abroad had also beenexcited. There was hardly any first class newspaper anywhere in the world,probably with the exception of Russia, which had not, in one way or another,commented on the problem of Kashmir. For the same reasons, wherever I went, I foundevery newsman very keenly interested in whatever I had to say. My pressconferences were always given fairly good publicity and space in foreign'newspapers.On my way to the Security Council, after Cairo the next scheduled stop was London. Atthe London Airport I was warmly received by the people of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan,who were residing in different parts of England. As I have already mentioned, thesepeople had formed themselves into a well-knit organisation. I have no doubt that thesepeople, who belonged to Azad Kashmir and elsewhere were working wholeheartedlyfor the liberation movement of Azad Kashmir in England. It was because of theefforts of this Azad Kashmir League, that we were able to organise a very big meetingin Holborn Hall in London. This meeting was indeed a very great success. It was presidedover by Mr. Hector Hughes, a member of the British Parliament. It was also attended bypeople of different nationalities, including some Africans. While speaking inEnglish, I was able to impress upon the public the

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magnitude of the problem that Kashmir involved, and how that problem wasaffecting the peace and security of the world. Secondly, I was able to tell them, I believein an effective manner, just how Pakistan stood, with regard to the issue of theaccession of Jammu and Kashmir State. Thirdly, I was able to tell them, with full

conviction, that economically Pakistan and Kashmir were part and parcel ofeach other, and their economies were completely interdependent and

complementary.While summing up this lecture, and the discussion that took place afterwards,Mr. Hughes was able to say that if the facts brought out in the lecture, were true,and were put in a similar manner before the Security Council, there was no reason todoubt that Pakistan was bound to win her case against India.I must say that, luckily, the atmosphere then in England was very favourable. Thereason was that Pandit Jawaharlal-Nehru, Prime Minister of India, on his way backfrom the United States, had addressed a Press Conference in London. In that PressConference he had let himself go, after being completely over-powered by anger andpassion. He had given expression to something which was not only undignified butwas alsoin bad taste. The words he used against Pakistan, and the people of Pakistan, weredefinitely unjustified, and no sane person was prepared to accept an opinion that wasexpressed by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. He had certainly uttered things which did notbefit him or his high office.During my stay in London, and during my tour all over England, I made good contactswith the British Press. I met the Foreign Editor of The London Times, ProfessorRushbrookl Williams, an extremely fine man. He knew so much about the Kashmirproblem, that it was indeed a great pleasure to discuss things with him. He could see thereasonableness of Pakistan with regard to Kashmir. I also met Editors andSub-Editors of other London newspapers, which off and on, write on the subject ofSouth-Asia. I am very glad to say that these British Journalists appredated the point ofview of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan. In fact some of them, whose names I need notmention,expressed quite candidly that they were thoroughly convinced that since thebeginning of the Kashmir Movement, Pandit

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Jawahar Lal Nehru had been shifting ground on the Kashmir issue. They were equallyconvinced of the fact that, looking at the problem from the economic, geographical andpopulation points of view, there was no doubt that the State of Jammu and Kashmir shouldautomatically accede to Pakistan. In addition to all this, what convinced every saneperson in England, and everywhere else, was the fact that the stand it had taken withregard to Junagadh and Hyderabad was so radically different from the stand it hadtaken with regard to Kashmir. To be candid the Government of India's stand bluntlyamounted to a policy of "heads I win, tails you lose". The problem that baffledthem was how India's face could be saved in the Kashmir dispute. In Kashmir,judged from any point of view, only India's prestige is involved, but so far as Pakistan isconcerned, I consider it is a question of life and death. The British Pressmen, thoughappreciative of our point of view, pointed out unanimously that they could not do muchin the matter. They thought that the position of the United Kingdom, vis-a-vis India andPakistan, was one of neutrality/England wanted good relations with both India andPakistan.I have no intention of going into the matter as to what stand United Kingdom shouldhave taken in this matter, as a senior member of the British Common-wealth ofNations. What my opinion was on this matter, I had occasion to express in a latermeeting in London, where I addressed world newsmen on my way back from the SecurityCouncil. I said, "What use would it be to be member of a club where, if two membersquarrel, the Chairman is unable to compose their differences or do anything in thematter!" That was such a pointed question that, though it interested everybody,nobody was able to answer it. The position for England, however, as one is able toappreciate, was difficult. During my stay in England I visited Birmingham, Nottingham,Newcastle and Leeds. In all these places I addressed meetings which were attendedby the British public. The provincial Press gave the Azad Kashmir Movement muchbetter publicity than the London Press. The -London press perhaps got their cue fromthe Foreign Office. Also perhaps the Indian Embassy had not contacted the provincialpress. When I addressed a very big meeting in

1 64Birmingham, some of the people who belonged to Azad Kashmir areas burst into tearswhen I explained to them how miserably the Mussalmans in Kashmir had suffered.The people of Azad Kashmir living in England made their contributions to theMovement of Azad Kashmir in their small and humble way. Their efforts have beenmagnificent. In this regard I might particularly mention the name of late Syed FazalShah who was the President of the Azad Kashmir League in England.During my stay in London I was invited by the British Broadcasting Corporation tobroadcast from their studios on the Kashmir issue, though I waspolitely asked by one of their editors that the subject may be madethe least controversial. When I had actually made this broadcastI learnt that the Indian High Commission in London registereda regular protest with the British Broadcasting Corporation. WhereverI went, whether in America, England, Turkey or Egypt, the IndianEmbassies were sensitive and touchy about me. Whatever I undertookto do, they did their best to counteract.When I reached New York, the Kashmir case was not yet before theSecurity Council. We had, in between the meetings of the SecurityCouncil, time to visit different places.fn America it is impossible to arrange a fixture for a lecture at shortnotice. In fact, for big meetings, one has to arrange throligh specialpublicity agencies. I had fixtures in Boston, PhiladelphiaUniversity, Washington and New York. In Boston I addressedthe students at two different places. The discussions at these placeswere interesting. Some of the students knew quite a lot about theKashmir problem. In Philadelphia University, I addressed a class ofpersons who had been writing on Kashmir affairs in differentjournals in America. I had long discussions with them over theKashmir issue.Then I visited Washington for about a week. I appeared on televisionand in a radio programme. Mr. Mubarak Ali Shah of Arizona State, a well-known MuslimLeaguer, arranged a very big dinner in Washington, which was attended by at least

I

165fifteen Congressmen, which, I was told, is a difficult thing to manage in Washington. Iwas able to speak on Kashmir at this dinner, and every one of the Congressmen spoke onKashmir as well. What really was a virtual discovery for them, was the fact thatKashmir was on the borders of Communist Russia and Communist China. Only thenwas their interest aroused. This is true in a smaller or longer way, with regard toevery American. After the Second World War destiny has placed theleadership of the democratic world in the hands of American people. America, it isquite true, has economically aided some of the small countries of Europe. TheAmericans today are not a nation trying to exclude themselves from world affairs. On thecontrary, America has got the effective leadership of all the countries which aregrouped together against the Russian bloc.In Washington we had a number of fixtures at different places. There aresocieties and clubs which are interested in the affairs of the South-Asia. Membership ofthese clubs isusually very small but they take keen interest in Asian affairs. Forexample, when we took up the Kashmir question, a number of people already knew alot about this dispute between India and Pakistan. They were in the nature ofspecialists, who themselves make detailed and special studies on South Asiansubjects. In all these meetings were present the officials of the Indian as well asPakistan Embassies, who had heated discussions among themselves.It goes without saying that the Indians in America do very wide publicity in' avourof their country. Because of strained Indo-Pakistan relations they have beendoing dangerous propaganda against Pakistan. An average American doesnot know much about Pakistan. Nor is there any effective machinery on thePakistan side to either counteract that propaganda or do positive publicity forPakistan. It is not an easy job either, because, in the first place, it costs a lot of money,which small countries can hardly afford; and, secondly, it needs specializedknowledge and experienced men to undertake scientific publicity abroad. We at thismoment lack both. Vis-a-vis India we are handicapped in another manner. India is awell-known country all over the world. In America India is known because of Mr.Gandhi and his pacifist

19

philosophy. I remember in 1948, when Mahatma Gandhi was murdered in New Delhi,huge publicity was given to this incident. Therefore, it is not an easy task topublicise Pakistan. In spite of this, two factors have come in handy to achieve this resultto a degree which would have not been possible ordinarily. In the first place,Pakistan has played a good role in the United Nations organizations, andsecondly, because of Kashmir. I personally believe that much more is possible in thefield of publicity in all countries of Europe, as far as Pakistan is concerned.The Security Council met and requested General McNaughton, thePresident of the Security Council, as mentioned in the last chapter, to get into touchwith the parties and to see if he could bring about a settlement. GeneralMcNaughton carried out his task and made two reports: an interim report and a finalreport. These reports incorporated the fundamental principles which have beenagreed upon between the parties, namely, that the accession issue of the state shouldbe determined through a free and impartial Plebiscite. General McNaughton hadexplained that he proceeded on the basis that the agreement already arrived at, must bepreserved and that differences that have since arisen with regard to the agreementshould be resolved. Leaving aside the technicalities, he took the problem ofdemilitarization as a whole, and made certain changes with regard to the scheme thatwas visualized by the commission.After General McNaughton's mediation efforts failed, and the matter had come before theSecurity Council, the Pakistan representative, Ch. Zafarullah Khan, addressed theSecurity Council in the following words--"As I said in the opening part of my submission to the Council, on all the criteria thatthe Government of India has to date suggested with regard to accession, Kashmir oughtto accede to Pakistan, if the choice had to be made by Kashmir itself. The interest of themajority of the inhabitants of Kashmir indisputably points in that direction."

1

I

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During the same speech, the nearly exasperated Foreign Minister of Pakistan expressedhimself as follows--"But it has been agreed that the whole matter shall be settled on the basis of a free andimpartial plebiscite. Well, then let the free and impartial plebiscite take place."The question to-day is not of any fresh conditions, or any new conditions. The wholequestion is to implement the resolutions to which the two parties have agreed".On behalf of the Government of Pakistan, it was emphasised that, in order to eliminateall possible sources of pressure, the following measures were necessary--Withdrawal of all outside troops;Neutralization of the Civil Administration;Provision of the fullest and widest powers for the Plebiscite Administrator;andEnsuring complete freedom for legitimate political activity.Before this chapter is closed, one might mention, along with the failings of theCommission, the achievements which the Commission was able to bring about. One wasthe implementation of the cease-fire and the other was that the Commission was able tosecure, of course with the agreement of the parties, the appointment of the PlebisciteAdministrator, who fulfilled in every respect the qualities that were laid down as beingessential in this case in the person of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.The Commission recommended the appointment of a United Nations Representativeand then the Commission was dissolved.

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Chapter XVIIISOME BLUNDERS COMMITTED INKASHMIRKASHMIR is a land of extreme beauty. Its valleys, in summer, give a rare view to thosewho go there to observe and enjoy its scenic beauty. Its rivers, small streams andshimmering lakes, have no parallel on the face of the earth. Its gardens, Shalimar, Nishatand Nasim, at the base of a sky-high mountain, are certainly a heaven on earth.Kashmir produces a number of rare fruits, apple among them. Peaches and pears are justas lovely. Its people are handsome with clear cut features as if chiselled by an art ist.Wdmen of Kashmir, especially, the Kashmiri Pandit ladies, are among the mosthandsome females on earth. People certainly are intelligent and hard-working. Theyare prepared to bear the hardships of an extremely rigorous winter.Kashmir, because of its beauty, had to pay heavily through ages. Conquerors came andwent away, leaving this unfortunate land in misery. Just as one oppressor left, anotherpounced upon it with fury and hunger. Under Hindu rule, down to Sikhs and Dogras, theland over the ages suffered all the way. Taxes, begar and personal persecution made thevalley people submit to any insult which came upon them from a whimsical ruler.1947 saw the Indo-Pakistan continent emerging into two independent countries. The stateshad to accede to one dominion or the other or could possibly remain independent. Otherstates, numbering about 500, quickly decided. But sates like Kashmir, Junagadh andHyderabad, became a cause for differences and war between India and Pakistan.

199In Kashmir, however, a war of liberation was started in early 2947, particularlyin the province of Poonch. The foreigners who have offered comments on the originof this war, like Johnson, Stephens and Bird Wood, I would quote in these pages.But before I quote foreigners, let us first see what Sheikh Abdullah had to say onthis episode:On October 21, 1947 Sheikh Abdullah said:-"That the present troubles in Poonch, a feudatory of Kashmir, were because of thepolicy adopted by the state. The people of Poonch who suffered under the localruler, and again under the Kashmir Durbar, who was the overlord of the Poonch ruler,had started a people's movement for the redress of their grievances. It was not

communal.The Kashmir State sent their troops and there was panic in Poonch. But most ofthe adult population in Poonch were ex-Servicemen of the Indian Army, who had close

connection with the people in Jhelum and Rawalpindi. They evacuated theirwomen and children, crossed the frontier and returned with arms supplied to themby willing people. The Kashmir State Forces were thus forced to withdraw fromcertain areas".The foreign commentators include Ian Stiphens who has given a fairly unbiasedopinion in the following lines, in his book "PAKISTAN". On page 194 of this bookhe has narrated the story as follows:-"The small State referred to, among the three dangerously undecided ones, was

Junagadh, on the Kathiawar coast about half-way between Bombay andKarachi. Most of its inhabitants were Hindu; its ruler the Nawab-not an impressiveperson, by all accounts - was Muslim. Within the terms of Lord Mountbatten's advice,the Nawab's best course was to seek accession to India, because of his subject's

communal leaning; and a mild amazement was the general public reaction - forJunagadh in itself was of negligible

23

importance, indeed most people had scarcely heard of it -when the fact came to popularnotice in mid-September, amidst a welter of vastly bigger, bloodcurdling events, thathe had in fact, a few days after Partition, asked to accede to Pakistan.""What the Government of Pakistan's motives were for agreeing to this, and presumably forhaving encouraged it, is not known. Campbell-Johnson, unkind as usual, hints at a complex'trap', carefully set by the Pakistani Cabinet for India's detriment. But it seems likelierthat the decision was rapidly made, on ill-considered though doubtless hostileimpulse, amidst tremendous pressure of other business. In any case, it proved veryunwise. It could indeed be up-held legally (and Mr. Jinnah perhaps attached too muchweight to legal things); for as explained, the Princes strictly speaking were free to accede toeither Dominion -or to none. And had the times been more normal, it might have beenjust sustainable geographically too, because of Junagadh's maritime position. But thatseems about the most that can be said. It did Pakistan no sort of practical good; it ruinedthe foolish Nawab and his family; its subsequent uses in argument about. Kashmir were notto Pakistan's advantage, for they could cut both ways; and relations at the time betweenIndia and Pakistan being what they were - acrimonious in the extreme - it caused Indiadisproportionate anger. When it became clear that the Pakistani Government wasserious in accepting the accession, the Indians moved troops towards the Junagadh area;soon, threatening displays of armed strength were being made and a 'provisionalgovernment of free Junagadh' was permitted to function on Indian soil, headed by adistant relative of Mr. Gandhi. Then minor disorders within the State were fostered, or at anyrate occurred; on October 26th the Nawab fled to Pakistan; and a few days later the Indianforces marched in, and occupied the State 'to assist in maintenance of order'. A techniqueof aggrandisement had been learnt, to be reapplied later elsewhere: not only in 1961successfully against Goa, and in modified form in 1950-51 and again in 1961-2 against

24

Nepal, but in 1948, as we shall now briefly describe, against another of the threeprincely States which on Independence Day had remained undecided, and a very muchbigger and more important one - Hyderabad."The Hyderabad affair needs examining here out of proper chronological sequence: It brokeout several months later than the more intricate Kashmir affair, but it endeddecisively and very abruptly; and though its geographical scale was quite differentfrom that of Junagadh, its communal context was identical; namely, that history had soarranged things that a Muslim Ruler, the Nizam'incidentally, not a very impressiveperson either-reigned over a population mainly Hindu.Under the British Raj, Hyderabad had been acknowledged as the premier princely Stateof India. The Nizam stood in a class distinct from any other ruler, and was officiallydesignated the British Government's faithful ally'. Since 1857, moreover, he and hisfore-bears had been widely looked upon throughout the subcontinent as the mainsurviving inheritors of the Moghul tradition. Even excluding Berar - a large tractleased under duress to the British-the State covered about 82,000 square miles, an arearoughly comparable, say, to that of Britain (including Scotland), or West Germany, orRumania. Its total population at the 1941 Census stood at about 16 millions. As apotentially independent entity, however, it had one great physical disadvantage. It waslandlocked; August 1947 found it embedded in the Indian Union. Unlike Junagadh, itlacked access to the sea. And it contrasted with Kashmir in having no direct land-wardcontact with Pakistan".Then about Kashmir in particular, the author Stephens gives his comments on page 196as this:-"In Kashmir, the third princely State which remained undecided on Independence Day,the communal roles, as mentioned, were reversed. It is that which has made the quarrelover it so disastrous, the 'root of all evil' in

25

Indo-Pakistani affairs. The bulk of its people, about 77 percent, were Muslim; but itsruler or Maharaja - in many ways a regrettable character - was Hindu. Yet India, by resortthis time to a totally opposite set of arguments, not democratic but dynastic - and onceagain to armed force contrived, in the latter part of 1947, to overrun the richer and morepopulous half of it, and has since remained there unbudged, professing moreover a legalright to the remainder. How so paradoxical and indeed shocking a position was reachedmust now be examined.

Kashmir - or more correctly the princely State of Jammu and Kashmir - was justa trifle larger than Hyderabad, when deprived of Berar. And besides size, it had

something which Hyderabad had not: great strategic importance, owing to itsposition, in high Central Asia close to Russia, China, Afghanistan and Tibet.

On the other hand its population amounted to only about 4 millions, a quarter ofHyderabad's, owing to its mountainousness. Near its centre, around Srinagar,

lay the renowned and fertile and fairly populous Vale - the real Kashmir as generallyunderstood, and the main region which India laid hold of in 1947; a region of extraordinaryscenic beauty, but perhaps unique also in its long record of human woe - exploited forcenturies by conqueror after conqueror; by such appalling pre-Muslim monarch asMihirakula the White Hun, or the tyrannical Shankarayarman; then, in thefourteenth and fifteenth centuries, by a line of Muslim adventurers, who maintainedthemselves in independence of the Delhi sultans and included the fanatical iconoclastSikander 'Shut-Shikan'; then by the mighty Moghuls - who however gave it some splendidmemorials in their ornamental gardens; and after them, by Afghans proper, mostlybarbaric; by the brutal Sikhs of Ranjit Singh's day; and then by a Dogra Hindu dynasty ofrather shady origins from the hills to the south. As a result of all this, the unfortunateinhabitants of the Vale, though talented in many ways, tended to be spiritless, evasivelot, easily overawed; very different from the Dogras of the south of the state, theSudhans of

26

the south-west, or the Gilgiti peoples of the north. Perhaps the most shameful part ofthe story was the abject condition to which they were reduced, by the rapacity of theMaharajah and his officials, between the Dogra's British-supported access to power in1846 and the revenue-settlement which Lansdowne's Administration insisted upon in1889. Vivid glimpses of this are to be found in Walter Lawrence's and E.F. Knight'swritings."About how the freedom movement got its beginnings, I might repeat what he has said onpage 200 of his book:"As has been mentioned, the leaders of the Sudhnuti revolt - which•later evolved intothe 'Azad Kashmir' movement - had sent men across the Indus plain into Pathan tribalterritory to seek arms. At this time, and on into November, the future political relations(if any) of the quasi-autonomous Pathan tribes with Pakistan were entirely uncertain.Discussions had begun, and it was hoped that these formidable, restless people woulddecide to accede to the new-formed State, if only - by the cynical - because their scopefor mis-chief would be greater otherwise; but the necessary jirgas had not been held. Itwould be fair to say that the Pakistani authorities felt frightened of the tribes, andconscious that, at least for the nonce, they lacked the physical means for coping withthem. The Pakistan Army as yet scarcely existed, it was in process of formation out of theprevious Army of undivided India; bits of the latter were still being shuttled about themap, Hindu and Sikh ones remaining untransferred on Pakistani soil, and Muslim oneson Indian. And for decades, the tribes had proved an intractable, dangerous thorn in theflesh of the much stronger British regime. As recently as 1937-8, those of Waziristanalone, for months, had pinned down no fewer then 50,000 troops of the Imperial forces insanguinary guerrilla warfare".Joseph Karbel, who was a member of India-Pakistan U.N. Commission gives his commentsas follows. In his book "Danger in Kashmir", he says on page 63:-

27

"Through all the mists of uncertainty that shroud the negotiations concerning the futureof Kashmir, one fact alone is clear. This is the irresponsible behavior of the Maharaja.It was this that brought his nation uncommitted, his people's wishes unascertained,past the fatal day of partition, August 15, 1947. It was his stubbornness, his coy

maneuvering, including his "attacks of colic", that brought upon his peopleunparalleled suffering and pain. In this respect at least, he was a worthy "Son of

the Dogras".When the fateful day of August 15 .dawned, Muslims celebrated a "Pakistan Day" withflags enthusiastically displayed throughout the state. The Maharaja ordered themtorn down and retaliated by closing all pro-Pakistani newspapers.Still the pressure mounted, and the stories carried by refugees pouring in from

bloodsoaked Punjab by Sikhs, Hindus, .and Muslims must have done little to allaythe Maharaja's anxiety. Nor did the presence in Kashmir of these bitter and

hysterical refugees do any thing to reduce the tension within Kashmir".Again on page 66 he states:

"Whatever the validity of the mutual accusations, there is 1::tle doubt thatKashmir was brewing with revolt against the Maharaja long before thetribesmen.invaded the country. The political opposition launched in 1930 was

carried into an open resistance in 1946. This was resumed in the spring of 1947, and itreached a critical climax in the summer when the news of the fratricidalstruggle in Punjab echoed throughout Kashmir.

The Maharaja apparently was thoroughly aware of the situation. Hestrengthened the Sikh and Hindu garrisons in the Muslim areas. Then,towards the end of July, he ordered the Muslims to deposit arms withthe police.

The Muslims answered by organising themselves in guerrilla

28

groups in the wild hills of West Poonch, where their movements remained unnoticed forsome time. They were led by seasoned soldiers who previously had been demobilizedfrom the British Indian army. They organized the smuggling of arms. Messengerswere sent to the tribal areas of the North-West Frontier Province, where

manufacturing of small arms and ammunitions had been practiced for years.The Muslim partisans in the hills were armed with these weapons. Many ex-servicemenfrom World War II, hearing about the Maharaja's expeditions against Muslim villages,evacuated their families to West Punjab, where their relatives lived and returned toJammu to fight the Dogra rule.About who led the movement for liberation, Joseph Karbel on page 67 of his book givescandidly the fact that:-"This movement was led by a young Kashmiri, Sardar Mohammad Ibrahim Khan,who since June had traveled throughout the country, arousing the spirit of hiscountrymen. In August he narrowly escaped arrest in Srinagar and fled to Pakistan. AtMurree he laid the foundation for a political movement of liberation, out of whichlater grew theAzad (free) Kashmir government".As soon as Kashmir war of liberation started in the Poonch province of the state,Pakistan Government got, naturally, alarmed. Firstly, because this area ofthe state was on the border of Pakistan from Sialkot to Abbotabad.Secondly Pakistan army has a large number of army personnel from this province.As soon as these soldiers heard that their kith and kin were in extreme danger,the Pakistan Army soldiers started deserting their units and joined the fight for

w.liberation.The Maharaja of Kashmir fled from Srinagar to Jammu in a terrible panic. TheGovernment of India took undue advantage of this panicky situation and forced theMaharaja to sign a conditioned accession to India, promising a loose sort of plebiscite assoon as normal conditions were restored.India took the Kashmir case to the Security Council in a hurryto have Pakistan condemned and have their accession

legalised. But in this effort, they failed to succeed. In 1948, when this author wasrepresenting the Azad Kashmir cause, Security Council was seized of the matter and adebate going on in Lake Success. Mahatama Ghandi was shot dead in Delhi. TheSecurity Council debate was suddenly postponed. Nothing came out of these stupiddebates except a UNCIP Commission to hold parley's with all concerned parties.The first blunder that Pakistan Delegation committed was that it managed to meetSheikh Abdullah in Newyork and asked for the release of our leader ChaudhariGhulam Abbas from Jammu jail. He was supposed to have come to meet Quaide-AzamMohammad Ali Jinnah, the Governor General of Pakistan, with a proposal ofindependent Kashmir. On his first meeting with Mr. Jinnah he out-right rejected anysuch thoughts even. Chaudhari Ghulam Abbas gave start to a quarrel among leaderswhich liquidated the liberation movement and gave birth to a Kashmir AffairsMinistry, with M.A. Gurmani as its Minister. This Ministry played havoc with themovement and had it finally liquidated to the satisfaction of all bureaucrats in Pakistan.Another blunder was the acceptance of accession of Junagadh to Pakistan. Junagadhwas a small state ruled by a Muslim Nawab, but majority of its people were Hindus.The State itself was contiguous to India. Pakistan had no business to accept its accession,for accession any state had to be contiguous to a dominion and Raja or Nawab had toascertain the wishes of his state subjects. If the Nawab of Junagadh had taken thetrouble of ascertaining the wishes of his people, the wishes of the Hindu populationcould not be anything but a wish for accession to India. This gave a strong argument toIndia when Pakistan, on the above criterion, claimed the accession of the state of Jammuand Kashmir. This was a gamble which cost Pakistan, her legitimate claims on Kashmir.Kashmir was lost as was paradise in Milton's poem.

Pakistan committed still another mistake in 1948 whenPatel offered to Liaqat Ali Khan, Kashmir, provided HyderabadState was conceded to India. Liaqat Ali Khan, the Prime Minister,took this author into confidence and sought his

30

opinion. This author, without least hesitation, accepted the proposition as fair and in theinterest of peace and welfare of the State People both in Kashmir and Hyderabad.Liaqat Ali Khan told the author that Ghulam Mohammad, the Finance Minister,was opposed to the proposition and "could I go and convince him of this". Consequentlya meeting was arranged with Mr. Ghulam Mohammad, the Finance Minister. In thismeeting, the author tried his best to convince Mr. Ghulam Mohammad, but he refused tobudge an inch. This author came to know, later on, that one Sydney Cotton, a pilot wasbringing in an aeroplane carrying gold bricks from Hyderabad to Karachi. Mr. GhulamMohammad had a share in this. This tragic event finished all chances of Kashmir'samicable settlement. Hyderabad was, later on, annexed by India by marching theirtroops into it. That finished Hyderabad too.In November, 1947, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was at Lahore, when Indiantroops started pouring into Kashmir, Mr. Jinnah, as a great leader and statesman,ordered his armies to move into Jammu and Srinagar both. It was later explained thatBritish officers in Pakistan army and Indian army came to meet him in Lahore. Mr.Jinnah changed his orders. This may be so, but I had it from the Quaid-e-Azam that hechanged his orders, because his cabinet "got cold feet". He himself told me this in a latermeeting. He was, during his last months, fed up with his cabinet and was not on goodterms with the Prime Minister. This I had from Miss Jinnah herself.If his orders were faithfully and courageously carried out, Kashmir would have fallen inhis pocket" like a ripe fruit". He believed in this bold step but his colleagues were not inagreement with him, Particularly Mr. Ghulam Mohammad made it very difficult forevery one in the cabinet. He once, I am told on good authority, threw his file on the tablewhile Quaid-e-Azarn was presiding and ran out of the room. He was a patient ofblood-pressure. Quaid-e-Azam next day sent a man after him and he was got round.

Pakistan's mistakes were many. I could not do much to prevent them. I was perhaps toosmall a man to make men at the helm of affairs change their policies which amountedto grave blunders.In the context of "Blunders", two events must find a special place. These events are in mypersonal knowledge. One incident could have found a place in the little book "Raiders inKashmir", by General Akbar Khan. He was a party to this decision. But it did not find anyplace in his book.When we were planning a systematic liberation campaign in Kashmir, we at oncerealized the strategic value of Kashmir Airport. This was the only method open to India toland their troops in Srinagar, in the valley of Kashmir anywhere. Since Pathankot gave themno land road connexion, therefore, Indian troops could land only by air. This is whatactually happened later. This was the crucial step by which India got the upper handover us in 1947 on-wards.We prepared a special contingent of tough people, in the command of a dependable person.Politically motivated and otherwise thoroughly dependable, this person was almost afavourite choice of General Akbar Khan. I do not think advisable to mention hisname. This expedition was to travel by land routes to reach the Airport from behind andsorround it all round by dangerous snipers. They could make it easily impossible forIndian planes to land.The Dogra Army, as it was spread all over the state, had become vulnerable andnon-effective. Banihal pass passage was so difficult. In any case, the Indian troops couldnot possibly reach Banihal pass to save Kashmir valley for Dogras or for India.The tragedy happened because our contingent and its young commander got cold feet andran back after covering some distance from Kohala side. When on 27th October, 1947,the Indian Troops actually landed in Srinagar Airport there was no resistance. The troops ofIndia poured into the valley of

209Kashmir, fought our Mujahids outside Baramula and Pathan area. First Indian regimentwas almost wiped out, including its commanders. It was a Kamaoon Regiment with someSikhs in it.This happened to be a crucial incident in the history of Kashmir's liberation struggle.The other event that I wish to mention is another crucial incident. A parallelGovernment in Jammu and Kashmir was formed with a formal announcement on 24thOctober, 1947. This author was its accepted Head. By this time we have had an army ofat 30/40 thousand officers and soldiers. We had liberated whole of Poonch Province,except the city of Poonch. We had also liberated Mirpur and Kotli, liberated almostboth of them.Gilgit and Ladakh were also liberated. Out of a total area of 84000 squaremiles, we had liberated at least 1/2 of the state; Kargil, the northern most areas were underour control. We were behind Shopian, a valley town. Whole of Rajouri area wasconquered. We had already set up an administrative unit in Rajouri area.I have already discussed elsewhere that India was raising hell against Pakistan.Pakistan was being dubbed as aggressor. A grave situation was brewing. It could resultin a war with Pakistan. Pakistan forces being spread all over Indo-Pakistan continent, itwould have created a dangerous situation. With thousands of refugees pouring intoPakistan, Pakistan Government was certainly in a very tight position.On 27th October, 1947, India accepted a conditional accession instrument from theMaharaja, who had run away from Srinagar in a disgraceful manner. This fraudulentaccession obtained by India, gave India a legal and constitutional posture to send hertroops into Kashmir. Pakistan had no such legal character to ask their troops to do the same,which easily they could have if some legal coverage was available to them.I rushed to Karachi with the proposal that Government of Pakistan agree to accept anaccession on behalf of Kashmir State from the Government of Azad Jammu andKashmir.gffiggissingsmommaimmilowilm•ww---•-

e1

Accepting this accession, Pakistan with a good enough legal coverage could ask theirtroops to march to Jammu and Srinagar. This position was almost adopted by theQuaid-eAzam in the first week of November, 1947. My proposal was rejected by LiaquatAll Khan, the Prime Minister. I believe that this was a chance lost. If Pakistan hadtaken courage and played the fiance, things would have turned in our favour.Non-acceptance of this proposal, to my mind, was a grave error that Pakistan committed.

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Chapter XIX.ACCESSION ISSUE OF THE STATESAT the time of independence both India and Pakistan had as many as five hundred oddstates which had to accede either to the Dominion of Pakistan or India. The last Viceroy ofpre-Partition India, in his last address to the Princes, had positively emphasized thatthe Princes had to acceded to one of the two dominions. He had further urged upon themthat the accession must take place, if possible, before August 15,1947. This meeting ofthe Princes took place in the month of July, 1947. They were not altogetherunanimous nor were they decisive. The out-moded old system of the rule of Maharajaswas scattered all over the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent and the Princes had not theslightest idea of how to act when the events proceeded so quickly. Probably, most ofthe Princes thought that the British would never part with power in India, and,therefore, their sun would continue to shine and they would continue suppressing theirown people. The Princes always depended on the support of British in India. Quite oftenthe British forces were used against the people in the States, and the gaddies of theMaharajas were made safe for them at the point of the bayonet.But independence dawned much earlier than these people had expected. They werecaught unaware. Therefore they had no considered opinion on the matter, far less anydecision to announce. Some of the Maharajas, however, were far-sighted enoughand had also enough experience to make up their minds on the accession issue. It wasobvious to them that, in a subcontinent like ours, when the British had already left, andthe Princes had neither good-will in the Congress circl:-,s nor in the Muslim League, theirfuture, unless they unconditionally surrendered according to the advice of the last Viceroy,would

37

be extremely doubtful. There were some Princes, nevertheless,who stillbelieved that the British could help them, or that they could maintain their own

independent entity. For instance, States like Travancore and Cochin tried theirseparatelevel best to maintain their independent existence, but they were completely broken by theIndian States Ministry headed by the late Mr.Patel. But the question of Hyderabad(Dn.), Kashmir and Junagadh was not so easy. These States became the subject ofdisputebetweentheGovernments ofIndia andPakistan.So far as the Indian National Congress was concerned, it had a definite policy on theStates ofIndia.Therewas a separate Congress Organization known as the States Congress, which was oncepresided over by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru himself. The Indian Congress positivelyabhorred the rule of the Maharahjas and the Nawabs and the tyranny which wasimposed on the people of the States. The Congress point of view on the advent of Indian

independence was that the Princes must go. If any one of the Princescame inthe way of this policy he was broken and smashed to bits and pieces. The last

expression of this policy of Government of India was made in case ofHyderabad, where by means of 'police action' they broke the resistance

of the State and occupied it through their armed forces.Since the question of the States had to be determined one way or the other definitelines had to be suggested to their rulers. Certain principles were to be

determined with regard to the accession issue. The States, with this end inview, had to be guided by the British authority in India on the lapse of

paramountcy.On the issue of accession of the States, the last Viceroy of old India had

emphasized the following considerations on the Princes-

'Geographical compulsions which cannot beevaded'; andCommunal majorities of the Ruler's subjects.

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I propose to quote here from Mission with Mountbatten by Alan Campbell-Johnson. He sayson page 192."It has been freely recognized that the act of accession is the prerogative of the Princes.But India's readiness to recognise such acts was governed by the time limit of the 15thAugust, which was, of course, the basis of Mountbatten's urgent appeal to thePrinces on 25th July. Moreover, arising from that speech two other powerful factorshave always been inherent in the choice of accession-first, in Mountbatten's ownwords, certain'geographical compulsions' which cannot be evaded and, secondly, the

communal majorities of the Ruler's subjects."As soon as the British Government announced their plan of June 3,1947, for the future ofthe Indo-Pakistan sub-continent, paramountcy over the States was to cease onthe appointed day, namely the 15th 1947, and the States were to be left free todecide to which Dominion they should accede. At the same time, the Crown

Representative advised the Rulers of the States to take into considerationeconomic factors, geographical contiguity, the wishes of their people and other factors,in arriving at a decision vis-a-vis accession.The Indian Independence Act provided that the suzerainty of the British Crown over theIndian Princely States would lapse after the transfer of power to India and Pakistan.After the lapse of paramountcy, the Crown Representative gave his candid advice to thePrinces based on the definite principles mentioned above.It will appear that at that time the Indian leaders were of the opinion that the accessionof a State to Pakistan or to India should depend upon the will of the people rather thanthat of the ruler. On March 8,1948, the late Mr. Gopalasawamy Ayanger, the IndianRepresentative, explained to the Security Council the Indian position, as regardsaccession of States, in these words-

39

"No doubt the Ruler, as the head of State, has to take action in respect of accession.When he and his people are in agreement as to the Dominion to which they shouldaccede, he applies for accession to that Dominion. However, when he hastaken one view his people have to be ascertained. When so ascertained, the Rulerhas to take action in accordance with the verdict of the people. This is our position."Similarly, in the White Paper on Hyderabad, issued by theGovernment of India onAugust 10,1948 the position was stated in the following words-"The Government of India are firmly of the view that, whatever sovereign rightsreverted to the States on the lapse of paramountcy, they vest in the people andconditions must be created in every State for a free and unfettered exercise of theserights."As has already been pointed out, the accession issue with regard to other States wasamicably settled. Trouble arose with regard to the State of Hyderabad, junagadh andKashmir. . lyderabad had a Muslim Ruler but a majority of non-Muslim copulation.Junagadh, which was contiguous to Pakistan by sea, had also a Muslim Ruler but amajority of non-Muslim population . KashmiT had a Hindu Ruler but an overwhelmingmajority of its population is Muslim. Hyderabad decided to remainindependent for the time being. Junagadh acceded to Pakistan on September 15, 1947and the Maharaja of Kashmir made an offer of accession to India, which the latteraccepted on October 27, 1947, subject to certain conditions.About Hyderabad, the stand of the Government of India was that the State shouldfirst accede to India and then a plebiscite could be held to ascertain the wishes of thepeople; very much like Hitler's proposal for a referendum in Austria after theoccupationof that country by German troops. In August 1948, the Government of India made astatement of their policy with regard to Hyderabad that:-

40

"The Nizam's Government wish to hold a plebiscite under the conditions in which a smallmilitant group controls the destinies of the people and the Razakars are left free toterrorize the people into submission. A plebiscite without an interim Governmentrepresentative of and satisfactory to the majority population in Hyderabad will onlybe a fraud on the people."This, exactly, is the stand taken by the government of Pakistan on the accession ofKashmir. To India what was good enough in Hyderabad was not good enough in Kashmir.It will appear that the Nizam of Hyderabad desired to enter into special treaty relationswith the government of India so that a fair measure of independence could bemaintained for his State. This position was not acceptable to the Government of India,and they asked the Nizam to submit and accede to India without any conditions. TheNizam then offered to hold a plebiscite under the.aegis of the United Natiotts so that thewishes of the people may be ascertained on the issue of accession to India. This position,also, was not acceptable to the Government of India. The choice offered to the Nizam ofHyderabad was a plebiscite, after he had already acceded to India. When no amicablearrangement could be arrived at between the Government of India and the governmentof the Nizam, the Government of India invaded the territory of the Nizam of Hyderabadby means of a 'Police action' and took possession of the State, In the process atrocitieswere committed on the Muslim population of the State.With regard to Junagadh, it entered into a stand still agreement 'with Pakistan on 15thAugust ,1947 and acceded to Pakistan on 15th September, 1947. The Government of Indiastrongly objected to the agreement between Junagadh and Pakistan. The Governmentof India strenuously maintained that accession to Pakistan was in violation of theprinciples on which the partition of the sub-continent had been agreed to and effected. Theyargued that partition of Indo-Pakistan subcontinent had taken place on the basis that,where there were Muslims in the majority that should form Pakistan, and where

41

there were Hindus in majority it should form India. On this basis, they said, theaccession of Junagadh State to Pakistan was not justified and the Government of Indiathought that accession of Junagadh State to Pakistan was a direct encroachmenton Indian sovereignty and territory.The Foreign Minister of Pakistan, while making his speech in the SecurityCouncil in the year 1950, in connection with the accession of the Jammu and KashmirState, said-"Cannot Pakistan with equal justice retort with regard to Kashmir in the very wordsemployed by the Government of India in respect of Junagadh, that the so-calledaccession of Kashmir to India is in utter violation of the principles on which thepartition of the country was agreed upon and effected, that it is an encroachment onPakistan's sovereignty and territory and that it represents an attempt to disturb theintegrity of Pakistan?"It was also pointed out in the same speech by Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan,on the logic produced by India, that the majority of the population in Junagadh wasHindu and the State of Junagadh was contiguous 'to India, the Ruler, though Muslim,had no right to decide the accession issue against the will of the Junagadh people,Kashmir ought to accede to Pakistan unconditionally. It was pointed out that the ruler ofKashmir was a Hindu, but there was an overwhelming majority of Muslim population inthe State. The State of Jammu and Kashmir was geographically contiguous to Pakistan.Then, on what logic and under what considerations could India accept the accession ofKashmir? Speaking further, the Foreign Minister of Pakistan pointed out-"They proposed that the question of accession should be settled either by

negotiations, that is, admitting India's claim to the accession of Junagadh,or by a plebiscite organized under the joint control of the State . of Junagadh and theGovernment of India.If this was a fair offer, why cannot Pakistan with equal justice, contend that theascertainment of the wishes of the

42

government of Pakistan?"people of Kashmir should be by means of a plebiscite held under the joint control of theState of Kashmir and theSubsequently a farcical plebiscite was held in Junagadh,while India was already in military occupation of the State. Pakistan's complaint withregard to the State of Junagadh is still pending before the Security Council. So far as theSecurity Council itself is concerned, it has practically shelved the cases of Junagadh andHyderabad. Kashmir still remains a live issue on its agenda.As regards the issue of the accession of Kashmir it has been discussed in the chapter underthe heading 'Kashmir's Ties with Pakistan.' After the Maharaja of Jammu andKashmir showed his inclination to accede to India, an independence movementwas started by the people of Jammu and Kashmir State against such an accession.Talking about this movement Sheikh Abdullah commented as follows--"The Kashmir State sent their troops and there was panic in Poonch. But mostof the adult population of Poonch were ex-servicemen of the .Indian Army who hadclose connections with the people in Jhelum and Rawalpindi. They evacuatedtheir women and children, closed thefrontier and returned, with arms supplied to them by wi l l i ng p eop le . Thep r esen t pos i t i on was t h a t t he Kashmir State forces were forced towithdraw in certain areas'".

When the tribesmen had to withdraw back to Abbottabad,the condition in the Jammu and Kashmir State became veryprecarious; and the people of the State were in completepanic and terror. Immediately after this a generalmassacre of the Mussalmans started in the State,particularly in Jammu. I was told by Quaid-e-Azam that,when he felt that the Muslims of Kashmir were in gravedanger, he, as Governor-General, decided to sendPakistan troops into the State. What exactly happenedafter this has been narrated by AlanCampbell-Johnson in his book Mission with Mountbatten onpage 223 as follows-

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"The military and political implications of today's move are grave, and Mountbatten is,of course, under no illusion about that. Although his role can only now, in the lastresort, be advisory. I get the firm impression that his presence may already havehelped to save his Government, overburdened and distracted with the problems ofthe Punjab and Janagadh, from the most dangerous pitfalls. It was a sudden emergency,calling at once for restraint and quick decision.Mountabatten's extraordinary vitality andcandidness were well-adapted to the demands of the hour."I gather from him that it was last Friday night (24th October), at a buffet dinner inhonour of the Siamese Foreign Minister, that Nehru first spoke of bad news and reportedthat tribesmen were being taken in military transport up the Rawalpindi road. Stateforces, it seems, were absent, and altogether a most critical situation was developing.Mountbatten attended the Defence Committee on Saturday 25th, at which GeneralLockhart read out a telegram from the Headquarters of the Pakistan Army stating thatsome five thousand tribesmen had attacked and captured Muzaffarabad and Domelland and that considerable tribal reinforcements could be expected. Reports showed thatthey were already little more than thirty-five miles from Srinagar."

219 He further goes on to say-"The Defence Committee considered the most immediate necessity was to rush in armsand ammunition already requested by the Kashmir Government, which couldenable the local populace in Srinagar to put up some defence against the raiders.The problem of troop reinforcements was considered, and Mountbatten urged that itwould be dangerous to send in any troops unless Kashmir had first offered to accede.Moreover, accession should only be temporary, prior to a plebiscite. No final decisionwas taken on these vital questions on the 25th, but it was agreed that V.P Menonshould fly to Srinagar at once to find out the true position there."V.P.Menon, the Secretary of States for the Government of India, flew to Srinagar andfound the conditions extremely disturbing.' He rushed the Maharaja through theinstrument of accession and flew back to Delhi, leaving the Maharaja at Jammu.Alan Campbell-Johnson throws further light with regard to the Kashmirissue via-a-vis the old Viceroy of India. He says:-"While urging the Maharaja to make up his mind aboutaccession before the transfer of power, he had all along,from his visit in June onwards, exerted his whole influence to prevent him from acceding toone Dominion or the other without first taking steps to ascertain the will of his peopleby referendum, plebiscite election or even, if these methods were impracticable, byrepresentative public meetings. When during the past forty-eight hours it becameclear that the Government were determined, against the military advice both oftheir own Chiefs of Staff and of himself, to send in troops in response to a request fromKashmir for aid, he returned to the charge about accession."Campbell-Johnson again, in the same book, relates the story that when Mr. Stephens,the Editor of The Statesman,

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Delhi, wrote a leading article "which in its anxiety over the decline inIndo-Pakistan" relations, had denounced the injection of Indian troops into

Kashmir, the Viceroy sent for the Editor and admonished him, in this manner-"You cannot build a nation on tricks. Jinnah at Abbottabad had been expecting toride in triumph into Kashmir. He had been frustrated. First there was Junagadh,then yesterday's fantastic hold-up of the Hyderabad delegation. India'smove on Kashmir was an event of different order. Her readiness to accept aplebiscite had been declared from the outset. A large-scale massacre, including acouple of hundred British residents in Srinagar, by tribesmen would have beeninevitable if no military move had been made. The Maharaja's accession gave completelegality to the action so far taken". •How Pakistan was prevented from sending her troops into Kashmir is narrated bythe same author in his book Mission with Mountbatten, which is, of course, interesting.He narrates-"In the middle of to-day's Defence Committee, Auchinleck rang up Mountbatten fromLahore to say that he had succeeded in persuading jinnah to cancel orders given theprevious night for Pakistan troops to be moved into Kashmir. The order hadreached General Gracey, the acting Pakistan Commander-in-Chief in the temporaryabsence of General Messervy through the Military Secretary of the Governor of theWest Punjab, with whom Jinnah was staying. Gracey replied that he was notprepared to issue any such instruction without the approval of the Supreme

Commander. At Gracey's urgent request, Auchinleck flew to Lahore thismorning and explained to jinnah that in so far as Kashmir had acceded to India, the

Government of India had a perfect right to send in troops in response to theMaharaja's request."Before Auchinlekc left him he had not only called off the order, but also invited

Mountbatten and Nehru to come to Lahore. Vernon, however, arriving latefor dinner after some harassing hours on the telephone, announced, 'it is

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the end'. The whole plan had broken down as Nehru could not get to Lahore because ofillness".I am quite positive in my mind today that if, on the urgent call that I had submitted toQuaid-i-Azam, the then Governor-General of Pakistan, on behalf of the people ofKashmir, the Pakistan troops had moved into Kashmir, i.e. into Jammu and Srinagar,the accession of Jammu and Kashmir would have been accomplished for Pakistan. I amjust as sure that there would have been no war between India and Pakistan and I havegood reason for saying so, though I cannot go into these details. The alteration of thisfateful decision changed the course of history and the accession of Jammu and KashmirState is now a matter for the future. On Kashmir, Mahatma Gandhi (relatesCampbell-Johnson), struck an almost Churchillian note. His line was: The result wasin the hands of God; men could but do or die. He would not shed a tear if the littleUnion force was wiped out like the Spartans bravely defending Thermopylae, norwould he mind Sheikh Abdullah and his Moslem, Hindu and Sikh comrades dyingat their posts in the defence of Kashmir. That would be a glorious example to therest of India".Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, in his telegram of 8thNovember, 1947, to the Prime Minister of Pakistan said."It is essential in order to restore good relations between the two Dominionsthat there should be the acceptance of the principle that •where the ruler of a Statedoes not belong to a community to which the majority of the subjects belong andwhere the State has not acceded to that Dominion whose majority community is thesame as that of the State, the question whether the State has finally acceded to one orother Dominion be ascertained by a reference to the will of the people."Then again the government of India took their stand on the same principle. Thestatement of the Indian Representative,

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Mr. Gopalasawami Ayyangar, may be requoted with emphasis. On 8th March, 1948, hesaid-"However, when he (Prince) takes one view and his people take another view, the wishesof the people have to be ascertained. When so ascertained, the Ruler has to take action inaccordance with the verdict of the people. That is our position."It crystallises into this position-Certain states had to accede straightaway to India, and certain others had,without any controversy, to accede to Pakistan;There were other States which wished to remain independent and wished to haverelations with both India and Pakistan;(c) There were still other States whose Rulers were a t va r i ance wi th thepeop le . Na mel y , t he people wished to accede to one Dominion and the Rulerwished to accede to the other.In the last alternative above, it was expected by all concerned, i.e. the BritishGovernment, the Indian Government, and the Pakistan Government, that in such Statethe principle that the will of the people should be ascertained should prevail.While in the case of Hyderabad and Junagadh the Indian Government accepted thisprinciple, in the case of Kashmir they only accepted this principle on paper, and, againstall persuasions, they have so far refused to implement the provisions of the plebisciteagreement.

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Chapter XXPOSSIBLE SOLUTIONSWHEN the Governor-General of India accepted the accession of Jammu and KashmirState in October 1947, its accession was made explicitly subject to a future plebiscite. Inthe Indian Independence Act there was no such provision that any State could effect aconditional accession to one of the two dominions. Accession had to be total andirrevocable. In the case of Kashmir State it was not certain as to which dominion,according to the Governor-General of India, the people wanted to accede. Therefore, anarbitrary procedure was resorted to and adopted by India in this particular case.Again when the matter went to the Security Council about the accession of Jammuand Kashmir State, the Government of India accepted the principle of plebiscite in theState in the clearest terms. The Pakistan Government always insisted that it should bethe will of the people, and not the act of Maharaja, that should decide the issue ofaccession of the State. The principle of plebiscite has ben accepted by all the parties tothe dispute. The United Nations has also, in all its resolutions referring to the issue ofaccession, always laid it down in the clearest terms that it was the democratic process ofplebiscite that should finally decide the issue of accession of Jammu and Kashmir Stateto either India and Pakistan. That has been the position up to date.Though all concerned have accepted a full and impartial plebiscite as the onlymethod of deciding the accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, and the efforts ofthe United Nations have so far been directed to that end, the attitude of the Governmentof India has been the main hitch towards the final achievement of this objective. Thoughthe

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United Nations appointed an Administrator to conduct the plebiscite in the State, hisinduction into office has not so far been possible. The main reason for this delay hasbeen the question of demilitarization of the State and other ancillary matters. Up to thisday it is the demilitarization problem that holds up all progress in the matter. It can besaid without any fear of contradiction that, with regard to the demilitarization of theState, Pakistan and Azad Kashmir authorities have always been very reasonable andthey have been prepared to accommodate the Government of India to every reasonableextent.If a plebiscite is not held in the Jammu and Kashmir State, I have never been doubtful noram I doubtful today as to its results. The State is inhabited by 80 per cent of Muslimpopulation. This Muslim population owed allegiance to a number of political parties. Oneof them was All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference. The case of nationalistleaders is that a very large number of Jammu and Kashmir State people believe in theideology of the National Conference, which in turn owes its allegiance to the IndianNational Congress. Nationalist leaders do not believe in the two-nation theory, on thebasis of which Pakistan was founded, and India was partitioned. On the basis of thistheory, the nationalist leaders believed that the majority of the people of the State wishto accede to India, and, in fact, according to them, they have already acceded to India.The Pakistan and Azad Kashmir case is, that an overwhelming majority of the peopleof Jammu and Kashmir State is in favour of Pakistan and that includes some of non-Muslimsas well. But, taking even a very conservative view of the matter, it would be safe topresume that a very large majority, may be 95 per cent of the Muslims, will vote forPakistan. It is quite true that there may be some people who are with National Conference,but that does not necessarily mean that they automatically would vote for India. Thematter stands this way, that there are National Conference leaders who would like tovote for nationalist leader as Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Sate, but, on theaccession issue, they would not like to vote for India. This matter, however, can always be

confirmed by neutral observers.1111PNIOMI•NllmmmrwwNP..---_

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Nationalist leaders claim that their party followers, because of being members of theNational Conference, would ipso facto vote for India is not an acceptable proposition.This position has greatly changed now, because Sheikh Abdullah and hisparty-men have dissociated themselves from the National Conference. They have nowformed a newparty.If a plebiscitehad been held in 1948-49 or even in 1950, the plebiscite results would havebeen an 80 per cent vote of the people of the Sate in favour of Pakistan. But since thenthings have changed. Their henchmen, and the Government of India, haveconsolidated themselves in the State. They have established things according to theirown ideas. This might make some difference, but, I am still positive, it will nevermake a decisive difference. I believe the result of an overall plebiscite, if a free andfair plebiscite is held under a free and impartial United Nations agency, would be a bigmajority in favour of Pakistan. This position is as true to-day as it was ever before. Thefact of the matter is that India has manifestly and materially lost her prestige in theState, after the demise of Pandit Nehru.There are people who talk of a zonal plebiscite. For this purpose the State could bedivided into the following zones-

Trans-Chenab area i.e., Kathua, Jammu and Udhampur Districts and a partof Riasi.Rest of Jammu Area, that means Mirpur, parts of Riasi District and parts of Poonch.Azad Kashmir territory, which includes parts of Mirpur District, parts of PoonchDistrict, partsof Muzaffarabad District and Gilgit and parts of Ladakh; andThe Valley of Kashmir.If, for some reason, we abandon our accepted principle of an overall plebiscite, and thinkof an alternative plan in the form of zonal plebiscite, this would pre-suppose apartition of the

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State. It would mean that the State must be divided into different zones, and the resultsof these zones, separately, should decide what parts should go to India and what partsshould go to Pakistan. If, for instance, the trans-Chenab area, which is a Hindu majorityarea and is also contiguous to India, returns a result in favour of India, then, it is argued, itshould go to India. I will show how the results of zonal plebiscite would go, but, beforeI do so, I wish to go into the question of partition of the Sate, which a zonal plebiscitepre-supposes.The Government of India is opposed to partition of the State. The Government ofPakistan are also opposed to the partition of the State. All political parties of the State,with the exception of very few; are also opposed to partition. There has not been anysuggestion by the United Nations that the State should be partitioned. There has,however, been a suggestion put forward on a diplomatic level, to the effect that the Statebe partitioned in such a manner that India should get all such contiguous areas as aredominated by the Hindu population. A partition can only be agreed to if the partiesagree. In fact, that is true about any solution of the problem. The Government of Indiaultimately might have to agree to such a solution, but it will be very difficult for theGovernment of Pakistan to agree because if the area across the Chenab goes to India,Pakistan's defence and economic problems will remain unsolved. Since Pakistan iscommitted to the principle of an overall plebiscite, it will be very difficult for her to getaway from this stand. This may, to some degree, be true about India also. As regards thepolitical parties of the State, they have not so far seen their way to even consider analternative plan. But if the matter is put to them, as a last resort, in the name of internationalpeace, it will have to be looked at from a broader angle. After Canal Waters Agreementbetween India and Pakistan this aspect of the problem has become much easier. Thisquestion can now be considered as a feasible and acceptable solution.The results of such a zonal plebiscite, one can safely predict, will be as follows-

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In the trans-Chenab zone of Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir and Kathua anoverwhelming majority of votes will go for India.In the rest of Jammu and all other zones an overwhelming vote will go for Pakistan.The result of this zonal plebiscite would be that in the three districts of Kathua, Jammuand Udhampur, which are contiguous to India, the votes will go for Pakistan.The third possible solution of the problem, which has recently been discussed in certainquarters, is the independence of the Sate. One cannot easily conceive of Jammu andKashmir remaining a full sovereign independent State. There are some psychological andsentimental reasons for such a proposition. If one were to examine the whole problem

dispassionately, one is confronted with the following central facts-Is the State of Jammu and Kashmir, as an independent country, a financial andfiscal possibility?Can the finances of the State be such as to allow the maintenance of some sort of anarmy to guard her frontiers?Are there not very serious possibilities of the State becoming an arena ofinternational intrigue because so many international territories meet on the borders ofthe State?Can the Jammu and Kashmir State be, economically and from the trade andfood points of view, absolutely independent?(e) Can an independent State of Jammu and Kashmirbe of any use to Pakistan or India?

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(f) Can Pakistan or India countenance and benefit from such an independent State tothe extent to which it should?These are some of the fundamental questions which must beanswered. So far as the area and the population areconcerned, one can very well visualize an independentJammu and Kashmir as a Switzerland of Asia. The Statecould welcome visitors from all over the world andprovide an international holiday resort, where peoplecould come and forget their worries and spend somemoney. That is one way of looking at it. Another mannerof looking at it is more difficult. Unless some solideconomic and financial aid comes fromsomewhere an independent Jammu and KashmirState is not feasible. If, for example, the traderelations break down with India and Pakistan forany reason, what will happen to the trade of the State?If her trade fails, can the State financially exist andmaintain her independence, without surrenderingher sovereignty to one of the large countries? This, in myopinion, is not possible. The State will have tocompromise her sovereignty at every point, when ithas to bargain for trade or financial aid. Then the bigquestion is, can the State be independent andmaintain an army which could guarantee the defence ofthe State? The answer is a positive NO. The Statefinances are such that it cannot be possible for theState to maintain any army at all. It will be foolish toimagine that the State can maintain an army, whichwill, if occasion arises, fight with any power across herfrontiers. If this proposition is correct, then the Statehas to live only on the good-will, and certainguarantees, which neighbours must give her. Anautonomous status can be conceded to Jammu andKashmir State by Pakistan essentially and also byIndia. Such a status is conceivable, when Pakistanfirst, and then India can give a joint internationalguarantee that both will respect the integrity andindependence of Jammu and Kashmir State. If such aposition materialises, then the State of Jammu andKashmir will have to enter into a special treatyagreement with Pakistan with regard to her defence,foreign affairs, communications, tradeetc.This will be absolutely essential.

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There is still another thing which could be considered. That the State should remainin a semi-independent condition, and this position may be guaranteed by Pakistan first,and then by India, and also by an international body like the United Nations. A centralgovernment for the State of Jammu and Kashmir may then be established by a coalitionof all the political elements of the State and such a Government should be left tocontinue for a period of ten years to develop the State. In this period, a state-wideeducational programme should be taken up by this Government and the people shouldbe thoroughly educated. Both Pakistan and India should extend financial aid to theState. The people of the State in this period should be given the maximum amount ofpolitical freedom. After this period it should be left to the Government of the people inthe State to hold a plebiscite under auspices of the International Court of Justice or anyother international body, to decide whether it should accede to India or to Pakistan.Both India and Pakistan should bind themselves beforehand to accept such a verdict. Itmay therefore be considered as such by the Governments of Pakistan and India. I must, inthe end, emphasise that Pakistan will be a big loser if the State is lost to her, and it is herindependence and integrity that will be jeopardized. Any solution, other than an overallplebiscite, must first satisfy the country and the people of Pakistan and must beacceptable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir State and must also be essentially ademocratic solution.

Chapter XXIFUTURE PROSPECTSNOBODY can claim to be a prophet, nor is it advisable to hazard a forecast which maymislead the public. Since the Kashmir problem involves issues which have far-reachingimplications in the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent, and, in fact, also in general, so manyfactors have a bearing on the solution of this problem. The world situation, which at themoment is full of grim possibilities, shall as much affect the Kashmir issue as anyother problem. The possibility of a third World-War is already in sight in Vietnam,Indo-China and round Formosa. It should surprise no one if, one day, we find ourselvesinvoluntarily involved in a world conflict. So many events and changes in world politicsaffect problems and lives today that to forecast a definite solution of any problem will notonly be inadvisable but also fallacious.The stage which we have just reached in Kashmir, with the failure of the SecurityCouncil, is really alarming. India, I feel, has not, even one fraction changed from heroriginal attitude. As a matter of fact the opposition parties in India, like the Jan Sangand the Mahasabha, have adopted a stiffer attitude on Kashmir in particular and onPakistan in general. These parties are openly flouting every move of reconciliation betweenIndia and Pakistan. The Mahasabha and the Jan Sang leaders have declared that thepartition of India was not acceptable to them and their political parties wished tointegrate the State of Pakistan with the rest of India. Added to this, there is an agitationgoing on in Jammu province, particularly in the districts of Kathua, Jammu andUdhampur. The Parishad agitation, in brief, has the following programme before them--

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(a ) Application, in foto, of the Indian Constitution toJammu and Kashmir State;Establishment of a responsible Government in the State with the Maharaja as theConstitutional Head;Payment of compensation to the landlords, in the light of the procedure adopted in thisconnection by the Indian Constitution:(d) Banning of cow-slaughter in the State.The Hindu population in Jammu area seeks complete merger with India. IndianGovernment are taking steps, through 'constitutional' means, to effect that merger.National Conference is now being integrated with the Indian National Congress.• The Nationalist Government of Srinagar has not been ableto satisfy any section of the people of the Valley of Kashmir.The Hindu populace of Jammu feel that NationalistGovernment is just as much an alien Government as the one underthe British aegis. In any case, the present Nationalist Government's failure hascompletely disillusioned all sections of the population. To-day the Nationalist

Government is there, not on its own, but it is there because of the support that itis getting from the government of India. The same is true of the Government on theAzad Kashmir side. Politically the state has suffered as a whole, but economic aspectsof the progress cannot and must not be easily ignored.The movement in parts of Jammu has opened up possibilities of certain parts of

Jammu going over to India, because these parts contain a very big majority ofHindus. From these parts Muslims have practically been turned out. This, it

seems, was a pre-planned arrangement, through which Muslims from these parts wereeither to be massacred or driven into Pakistan, so that these parts become a Hindu

dominated areas. Since these areas are adjacent to India they will thus

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automatically fall in line with India. The Hindu leadership has entrenched itself verystrongly against the administration of Srinagar Government, though it is an absolutepuppet in the hands of the Government of India. The repeated declarations of PanditJawahar Lal Nehru and others in authority in Srinagar, that Kashmir has entered into acent per cent accession with India, have failed to satisfy the Hindu elements in Jammuarea. These elements have been supported by the reactionary Hindu organizations inIndia, a mention of which has already been made. An agitation at one time so unnervedPandit Nehru that he had to say that he felt the people of Jammu and Kashmir Statemay not be with India. If that formed the basis of his policy, which it should have asearly as 1947-48 and if certain facts were realistically accepted by Pandit Nehru,the solution of the Kashmir problem may have been much nearer than it now seems tocertain people. If the pace of events continues in the present direction for some time,and the Government of India change their attitude towards the whole problem andaccept with a sincere heart the basis on which Pakistan and India were partitioned, thenit would seem that the whole matter can be settled by sitting round the table, withoutmuch ado, or without resorting to arms.Reverting to the Hindu agitation, which has a very close bearing on the solution of thisproblem, one might remark that a plebiscite offer, to decide the future of Jammu andKashmir State may not be acceptable to the Hindus in Jammu province. The President ofthe Praja Parishad, Pandit Prem Nath Dogra, in his statement published in The Timesof India, Delhi (October 6, 1952), said--"An overall plebiscite in the State was suicidal and that it should be limited only to theKashmir Valley".It will be seen that some other reactionary parties of Hindus in India lent substantialmoral support to the idea that Jammu, in any case, should integrate with India withoutthe plebiscite.

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The late Doctor S.P. Mookerjee, President of Jan San:.his statement published in The Statesman, Delhi, August 15, 1952, said--"The people of Jammu are not prepared to be tagged to Kashmir Valley unless theprinciple of full integration with India is accepted. To curb this natural desire by forceor coercion will be fatal and a separation will then become inevitable. It will be a mistaketo brush aside the depth of such feeling by asserting that they are the outcome of theactivities of a handful of reactionary and communal agitators."This will make it clear that this Hindu movement is directly against an overall ,plebiscite in the State and that certain parts of Jammu should integrate with India inany case. It will also appear from the statements of these reactionary Hindu leaders, thatthey would rather have the state divided in the following manner--Azad Kashmir goes to Pakistan;Praja Hindu movement area goes to India straightaway without a plebiscite; and(c) A plebiscite is held in the Valley.To these suggestions the Mussalmans, whether they are Nationalists or otherwise,are thoroughly opposed. On behalf of this section of people, it has beenproved, and quite rightly, that Jammu province is a Muslim majority province.Therefore, the demand of certain Hindus that Jammu province should integrate withIndia without ascertaining the will of the people is a fallacy and questions the integrityand solidarity of the State. Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru had, of course, agreed that theindivisibility of the State will be maintained. But who knows, after Pandit Nehru, aweak Government at Delhi may give way to the demand of Hindu reactionarygroups.

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Speaking on this matter Maulvi Saeed Masudi, the General Secretary of theAll-Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, said in a speech in the Indian Parliamenton August 7, 1952.The cry and slogan that Jammu and Ladakh were predominantly non-Muslim areas wasfraught with grave danger. It was fantastic to suggest that the districts of Kashmir, beingpredominantly Muslim, should be kept apart from the districts of Jammu and Ladakhwhich were predominantly non-Muslim."Of course, the impression created by Hindu reactionaries that Jammu Province is a Hindudominated province, is an enormous fallacy. That on this so-called basis, the province ofJammu should automatically integrate with India is a still bigger fallacy. That for thispurpose the Jammu Hindus have elicited support from the Hindu reactionary parties inIndia is without any doubt. Pandit Nehru himself in the Indian Parliament on December13, 1952 stated--"The leaders of the Praja Parishad have been in constant touch with the leaders of someorganizations in India, more specially in Punjab and in Delhi. A deputation of PrajaParishad workers had toured and is still touring Punjab and PEPSU endeavouring toenrol volunteers and setting up branches for this purpose at Amritsar, Jullundur, Ludhianaand the Praja Parishad agitation in Jammu. We have received information that the PrajaParishad collected some money in Punjab (I) and in Delhi. Also that rations and somearms and ammunition have been stocked by it."Large-scale American arms aid to India has changed the position substantially. India'sattitude towards Pakistan has become stiff. Any concession to Pakistan on any front byIndia seems unlikely. In Kashmir, India has in right earnest started its integrationwithout caring for what Pakistan does in the matter.

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These factors, if considered in a cool manner, might affect the decisions of theGovernment of India on all matters of IndoPakistan relations. If India and Pakistandevelop cordial relations and all disputes are amicably settled neither of the twocountries need necessarily join any of the power blocs.It will be seen that the possibility of the Security Council producing any solution of Jammuand Kashmir is getting remoter every day. It has already been discussed elsewhere thatthe method of approach to these problems by the Security Council is not that of a Courtwhich can straightaway give a decision and decree on hearing both the parties. Themain difficulty is that the Security Council has the role of a negotiator and ithas only to bring the parties together and put in best efforts to make them agree to a solution.And, for achieving that solution, the Security Council only produces certainformulae to the respective Governments for their acceptance. This process ofbringing out formulae and sending them to the Governments for theiracceptance has already been carried on ad nauseum. Therefore, the effort of solvingthe Kashmir tangle through the Security Council does not seem to hold any prospectsof success. I believe, and it seems that the Security Council also believe, that muchcannot now be achieved by further effort.The possibility of a war between the States of India and Pakistan does notseem to be acceptable to any one at the moment.In any case it will be a big disaster for the whole of Asia if there is an open conflictbetween India and Pakistan. Such a war will destroy the economic and politicalstructure of both the countries. They may, in such eventuality, lose their freedom.No wise man, in either of the countries, will advise his Government to come into anopen conflict.The question of Kashmir will have to be resolved. My view is that instead of bringingIndia and Pakistan into conflict with each other it is more desirable that thepeople of Kashmir should themselves struggle for their freedom, as has been doneby the people of Algeria and by so many other

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people, particularly in Africa and Asia. The struggle of the people for their freedom willbe more commendable for the world in general and for the people themselves. No freedomis worth anything and, indeed, it is no freedom at all, unless it is obtained at the cost of thevery life blood of the people themselves. What I think the shape that this struggle maytake is briefly narrated in the following lines.It has now been established that during the last 15 years or so, Government of Indiahas tried its best to rehabilitate the people of Kashmir economically and politically. Thiswas done by consistent efforts by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. And, in fact, by delaying theplebiscite in Kashmir, his primary and principal object was to so rehabilitate the peoplethere, economically and politically, that the demand for a plebiscite is finished. But, tohis entire disappointment towards the last days of his life, Pandit Nehru was himselfconvinced that he had failed in his mission in Kashmir. India, in occupied Kashmir,has been facing political unrest and economic chaos. As a consequence of political unrestIndia had to put in prison hundreds of people including Sheikh Abdullah, the greatleader of the people of Kashmir, for as long as a period of a decade. Since the release ofSheikh Abdullah from prison he is continuing his great fight against a foreign rule.Sheikh Abdullah has the backing, in his struggle of freedom, of all the people in Kashmir.My plan for a future struggle in Kashmir would be as follows:--(a) Pakistan Government should completely absolve itself of all the responsibility ofmaintaining the cease-fire line in Kashmir. The reason is that, in 1949, the UnitedNations gave solemn guarantees to the people and the Government of Pakistan forholding a plebiscite in Kashmir, when a ceasef i r e a g r e e m e n t w a s r e a c h e db e t w e e n a l l concerned. It is now absolutely clear that the United Nations havefailed to implement their promises. This, no doubt, has been due primarily to theattitude of the Government of India. But,

237nevertheless, Pakistan government should now legitimately, tell the parties to thatagreemen that all have failed to implement their solemn promise of a plebiscite inJammu and Kashmir Therefore, Pakistan by herself is not morally of otherwise in aposition to guarantee th( maintenance of the cease-fire agreement. If otheragreements, which were supposed to follow the cease-fire agreement, have not beenbrought into being, it is useless to compel the people oi Kashmir to be bound by theimplication of ceasefire agreement, which, to them, is worth nothing. The people ofKashmir are still suffering a foreign domination and they are deprived of theirfreedom and liberty.After Pakistan Government have absolved themselves of their responsibility inthe State, the people of Kashmir should be left to themselves to organize amovement of liberation on an all-State level. They should organize themselvessystematically, making Azad Kashmir as a solid base for such a struggle. This struggleshould be left to be pursued by the people of Kashmir and their leaders.Before such a struggle is launched, the Azad Kashmir Government should inform all thedemocratic countries in the world of the existing state of affairs in Kashmir. ThisGovernment, which should be an all-parties Government, should also undertake toget the assistance, moral, political and financial, from all democratic countries ofthe world. After this organisation is complete in all respects the people should launcha struggle for freedom.What is happening in India today, one cannot fail to notice. India is a largesemi-continent. It is inhabited by peoples of all colours and creeds, believing indifferent ideologies and living in different regions and having different

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cultures. It is not possible, particularly, for a weak Government to keep these elementstogether in one united political nation. In India a disintegration process has already setin and it will continue. India may further be divided into different states. This processof disintegration proves that India cannot stand as one country. This one India theory hasagain exploded. If this is realised by the leaders of India and they adjust themselvesaccordingly, this will be good for India herself and for all those countries who are itsneighbours. If, some day, a re-examination of all the political and social problems ofIndia takes place, this will be a healthy development. They will have to concede,in this context, that Kashmir has a separate place in this sub-continent and cannotbe made, by force, part of India.Those who want to make Kashmir a part of India by dint of sheer force only wishto perpetuate an unnatural relationship, which would only end in tragedy for Indiaand Pakistan and Kashmir.

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Chapter XXIIKASHMIR AS A COUNTRYKASHMIR, a Land of magnificent beauty, with a great historical background,unfortunately did not get her freedom in 1947. Other parts of Indo-Pakistansub-continent got their freedom. This freedom was obtained by offering sacrifices inhuman life and in all other ways. August, 1947, dawned on the sub-continent with amessage of peace and happiness.Kashmir had misfortunes instead of independence. Though a policy for accession wasclearly laid down by the British paramountcy to guide the states. The states having aHindu ruler and Hindu majority and contiguous to India had no option but to accede toIndia. This is a simple straight case which hardly needs any debate. Some of the Statestook very little time to decide to accede to India. This settled the fate of most of theStates.Three States, Hyderabad, Kashmir and Junagadh remained undecided. The Maharajaof Kashmir and Nizam of Hyderabad waivered for a tong time. Junagadh, however, tooka wrong decision and decided to accede to Pakistan. In Junagadh the ruler was a MuslimNawab and its population was mainly Hindu. The State was primarily contiguous toIndia. It should have gone to India. Later on India took the State by marching its troopsinto it. The Nawab ran away to Pakistan, leaving his Muslim subject in abject misery.Hyderabad, at one time, could be bargained for Kashmir but that could not beachieved because of one man's intransigence. India, finally, grabbed Hyderabad alsoby marching its troops into it in September, 1948, when Quaid-e-

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Azam died. India took fullest advantage of this opportunity when a calamity fell onPakistan.Kashmir, became a cause for dispute between India and Pakistan. Two wars were foughton Kashmir, one in 1947-1948, the other in 1965, without any outcome. The case wastaken to the Security Council by India where Pakistan successfully fought back. ACommission then was appointed to bring about a plebiscite in Kashmir. A cease-fireand a truce agreement was achieved but stage for actual plebiscite was neverreached. It was mainly due to India's intransigence and Pakistan's weaknesses.Forty years or so have gone by without any sight of deliverance of Kashmiri people fromtheir slavery.Both India and Pakistan have failed, one way or other, to win over completelyand unequivocally the people of Kashmir on both sides of the control line. Internaltrouble in India - held Kashmir has been going on relentlessly for these forty years. While6/7 divisions of the Indian Army and Air force occupy the state by sheer force. Notangible local autonomy has been granted to people. Leaders have been put in prison.Sheikh Abdullah, the great leader of the valley of Kashmir, suffered in-carceration aslong as ten years in Indian prisons. India has little hope of wining over the people of thevalley, because this Muslim population is so sentimentally inclined to Muslim Pakistanthat India cannot change her attitude, no matter what it does for economic

development of that part of the state. This situation is unlikely to change. Theday is not far when India will have to concede a Sikh Land to the Sikhs andKashmir will become out of reach for India. Pakistan has Gilgit and Ladakh province inthe Northern areas of the state. These areas always had oppressive and autocratic rule.The people of this area got a historical importance , when 500 miles long road was built tolink China with Pakistan. This road and area have now assumed a strategic importance. TheGilgit and Ladakh people demand vehemently a self rule for themselves. This cannot bedenied to them for a long time.The Azad Kashmir now is ruled by Kashmir Affairs Ministry, a Council and one electedAssembly. A Government is installed there through the assent and blessings of this

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Ministry. Not much Stability has been achieved here through the years. Localleadership has not been able to rise to the heights which required to build fullestautonomy for Azad Kashmir, though with the efforts of these leaders an assembly, aSupreme Court and a High Court have been established. The Azad Kashmir has anational flag which is colourful and inspiring. All the elements that go to make acountry, a self-supporting and dignified country, exist in Kashmir. Population of AzadKashmir has increased to 3/4 million people, including the refugees settled there.The population of the whole state has increased to a crore of people (Ten million). Thearea of Jammu and Kashmir is equal to Mysore, Travancore, Jaisalmer and Bekanirput together. The area of the state is 84,000 square miles. This area is as big as fiveEuropean countries put together. These countries of Europe are the members of UNO, sois Jibutee, in North Africa, with a population of 1/3 of a million.Kashmir is as big as Pakistan itself minus the area of Baluchistan. Kashmir dispenses allriver water to Pakistan for her magnificent irrigation system. Indus comes all the way fromBaltistan via Gilgit. Jhelum, Chinab and Ravi all come from Kashmir state withheaven-sent advantages pouring shimmering volumes of water to make Pakistan afertile and prosperous country. No less is the advantage of supply of timber to Pakistanat comparatively cheap rates, otherwise India would charge unthinkable prices for it.The case of Kashmir to be treated as a country has become so potent that all seriousthinkers believe that, may be, Kashmir problem can be so easily solved if thisproposition is seriously debated and considered by all concerned.By virtue of its area and population, Kashmir is a country as big as Switzerland. It is asbeautiful as Switzerland. If Switzerland could be kept out of two World Wars, so can beKashmir out of all conflicts. Kashmir can then be a Switzerland of the East. In thatcase both India and Pakistan can have access to this land without any visa restrictions,as it quite manageably happened from 1846 to 1946.

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Both India and Pakistan can financially help to built the state in industry, forestryand irrigation system for its agriculture. Natural resources are in suchabundance that outside help will not be necessary to manipulate its economy. Kashmircan become a viable country if its resources are fully developed and the present obstaclesin its way are removed. If, for experiment, all roads leading to Kashmir are opened byPakistan and India, the feasibility of my proposal can be tested.If a Sikhistan is conceded to the Sikhs, Kashmir's case as a country will becomeclear. Both Pakistan and India, would be rid of a lot of intricate problems. Theirmutual relationship would be on a more natural basis.Kashmir again can be an effective buffer state between China, India and Pakistan,Afghanistan and Russia. Kashmir, of my thinking, would not keep an army , because itjust would not be able to afford an army to defend its frontiers. If any countrycommitsaggression, it will leave Kashmir soon after with a bitter experience.All the above mentioned countries should come out to guarantee the neutralposition of Kashmir, as it has been done in case of Switzerland. I am talking ofsomething which may attract attention of all serious statesmen in the sub-continent in timeto come.Kashmir can be a tourist spot for all countries. If Kashmir becomes easily accessible to allkind of tourists this can serve as a meeting place for all people from the World over. It willincidentally increase the revenues of the state beyond one's imagination. This will collecttremendous amount of foreign exchange alsoLet us hope that, in time to come people will think in these terms. Let us pray for theday when all complications of Kashmir will be settled for ever.

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Chapter XXIIIMUSLIM COUNTRIES AND KASHMIROn my way back from the Security Council, 1950, I had enough time to visit Turkey,Cyprus and Egypt. Of all the Muslim countries, including Pakistan, Turkey, to my mind,is the most advanced from every point of view. One can see that the country hasundergone a social, economic and political revolution. One is apt to form inaccurateimpressions of the country if one visits only Istanbul and Ankara. The impressions mayalso be fallacious if one has been there only for a brief period. Even so, one can quiteeasily see that the people of Turkey have, in a number of fields, made extraordinaryprogress during the last twenty years or so. Turkey has profitable trade agreementswith other countries. Strategically she is so placed, that her position is far from enviable.Because of her, at present, not having good relations with Soviet Russia, she has ahanging threat of Russain aggression. She controls the Dardanelles. Most of herfinances are, therefore, spent onlier Defence. Every son of the soil is a soldier.Turkey has made experiments with dictatorship, and has quite successfully passedthrough that phase, though Turkey's counterparts in Europe have not been able to do so. Sheis now experimenting with party-system of Government. I have no doubt that, withfurther advance education, she will become one of the foremost countries in Asia in allrespects, and probably may lead all Asian countries in establishing a democratic systemof Government.Turkey has a very good press. When I visited that country in February, 1950, most ofthe press belonged to the opposition. ULUS was the only influential Government paper.

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Turkey is vitally interested in Pakistan affairs. During my stay in that country, theTurkish press and people gave me a real welcome. I will not forget the hospitality andpoliteness of the people.During my stay in Turkey, I lectured at a number of places and addressed a number ofconferences. A lawyer from Ankara also used to attend these lectures with his little sonwho was hardly eight years old. When I left Ankara this child gave me a letter asa.token of his love for the children of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. While leaving me atthe station, this young child burst into tears. This goes to show how close the Turkishpeople are to us.Turkey has managed her foreign policy wonderfully well, since the Turkish Republiccome into being. She is placed in a difficult position because she holds a key positionbetween the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. In the context of the world power blocs oftoday, to keep neutrality for Turkey is not an easy game. In the last War she was able todo so. Whether she can do it again in the next World War is a very big question.We have very often been told, probably by interested people, that Turkey has goneun-Islamic. It is quite true that TUrkey has undergone a social and political upheaval,but the people of Turkey are just as much Muslims as people anywhere in Pakistan.Nothing is farther from the truth than the assertion that Turkey is in any way goingun-Islamic. I am told that in the educational system compulsory religious education hasbeen introduced by the Government in Primary Schools. The Government has also aseparate religious department for all religious matters.In the early days of the Turkish Revolution, there indeed was a reaction of indifferencetowards religion, because of political reasons. Mustafa Kamal Ataturk (which inTurkish means father of the Turks) did not like Turkey to be attached to countries, which,though Muslim in name, were in fact, pawns in the hands of the foreign powers. ForTurkey, Kamal Ataturk wanted an independent national existence and a foreign policy

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not tied to that of any other country. In such an attitude he was quite justified from everypoint of view.Though just as Islamic as any other Islamic country, Turkey has got rid of a lot of oldcustoms which tend to hamper the smooth progress of a people. In education, insocial advancement and in political progress, Turks are in the front rank. Turkey had aforeign policy of complete independence till recently. She has no particular liking forbecoming a member of a Muslim Bloc, nor, as matter of fact, any bloc in any other country.The reasons for such an attitude are historical and quite easily undestandable. Butrecently she has been compelled to cast away this policy.My stay in Turkey was brief but in the three weeks that I stayed there I got enough presscoverage. I was able to hold a number of conferences and meetings with the newsmen ofTurkey. During these formal and informal talks, I was able to convince them, and throughthem the press and the people of Turkey, of the nature of Kashmir's Liberation Movement. Iwas also able to tell them how the Kashmir people had been practically overpowered byIndia by sheer force of Arms. Of course, this matter was easier for me to do, because theTurks themselves are a people who heroically fought for their own liberty. They have tobecome stronger still to maintain their own integrity and independence.The Turkish papers also commented on the issue of Kashmir, even before my visit to thatcountry, in a very liberal manner. They always support every cause of Pakistan, though theIndian Embassy in Turkey has always tried its best to put a different picture before theTurkish people. It must be said to the credit of the Turks that they are sufficientlyeducated and wide-awake to examine all matters closely before they form theirjudgement or views. This is exactly what we lack in this country. We go by gossip andbaseless rumours. The people in Turkey are judicious enough to sift what is gossip and whatis true.Before I left Turkey I made it a point to visit most of the historical places in Ankaraand Istanbul. In Istanbul

71

particularly, I visited the old palaces of Turkey. These palaces, and the oldrelics they contain, remind one of the golden age when Muslims ruled over a largepart of the world. One feels really proud of them.After leaving Turkey, I visited Cyprus. Cyprus is a small island in the

Mediterranean, a very important place from the strategic point of view. Themajority of the population of this island is Greek. The rest are Turks. The loyalties ofthe Turks are for Turkey and those of the Greeks, quite naturally, for Greece. The Turkswish to be linked with Turkey, while the Greeks seek union with Greece. This is themost vital question for the people of this island, which was, till recently, governedby the British. The Turks of this island have wide and deep sympathies for everyMuslim cause.When I visited Cyprus only for a day, I found the public very enlightened on theKashmir question. The local Turkish papers gave a good coverage to my visit. Anumber of people came to receive me at the airport. I was their guest for a night andattended a concert there which was purely Turkish, and quite interesting for me,though I could not understand the words they spoke. In the morning when I wasleaving for the airport, after naming a baby in my honour, people crowded in thestreets. One old man, as my car stopped, came to me and asked if I was the one whosepicture had been published in the papers. He showed me the picture in the local paperswhich he hugged. To my saying, 'yes' tears flowed through the stubs of his over-grownbeard. These small things leave an indelible impression on one's mind. This littleisland of Cyprus has been, after attaining her independence, a victim of a civil war.Which is still going on.My next stop was in Egypt. I stayed in Cairo for a number of days. Cairo is the centre ofall Middle East and Arab countries. It is also a holiday resort for Europeanpeople. Perhaps it is one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the world. East and Westmeet here. In the hotels like 'Semiramis;one finds European traveller as well asforeign diplomats. Along with this crowd one finds the Egyptian Pasha, immaculatelydressed with a red fez on his head. Many of the Egyptians in Cairo speak French

72

fluently. They also speak English, but not as well as they do French.Egypt leads the At-ab countries, though not quite effectively, through the Arab League.The Arab League in the beginning was an effective organ to plead the cause of Arabcountries and all the Mussalmans. Today it has grown weaker. One only wishes that theArab League were a completely free agency, and not, in any manner, influenced by anyforeign power. With the coming into power of the Wafd Government in Egypt in 1948, itwas expected that the Arab League would become a strong and independentorganisation. The results have been quite the contrary. The new revolution which hastaken place in Egypt is expected to change the whole situation. But one has to watchcarefully what happens in Egypt, for it is certainly a danger spot in global strategy. Shehas always been wooed by Western powers because of her position. A suggestion in theform of Middle East Defence has already been put to Egypt for their consideration.Egyptians and the Egyptian Government had sympathies with the Muslim cause ofKashmir. The Press undoubtedly accepted the case of Pakistan as the real truth aboutKashmir. As long as the Wafd Government was in power, it always had a leaning towardsPandit Nehru, because of a personal friendship between Pandit Nehru and Mustafa NihasPasha, the Wafd Leader. The Press, and, in some respects the Government, nevertheless,supported the Pakistan case in Kashmir, though they were not very enthusiastic aboutit. The policy of the present Government vis-a vis Pakistan and the Kashmir problem,has not yet crystallized into something definite. From the present uncertain affairs,Egyptians will come to understand the Kashmir problem very well because the Sudanproblem is similar to the Kashmir problem.It is necessary that there should be stability in Egypt in order to create stability in theMiddle East. If Egypt is strongthen the Muslim countries, jointly or separately, get strength. Since Egypt is a country ofthe Arabs, therefore the people of Pakistan have very deep sympathies and connectionswith the people of Egypt. In any case, Egypt is a country with thousands

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of years of history behind it. People all over the world love to talk about Egypt. We hopethat Egypt, after all its economic and political turmoils, will emerge as a strong andindependent nation. In the context of present international politics, it is hardly possiblefor anyone of the Arab countries to lead a completely independent existence.As I have already mentioned, to Egypt, Kashmir is another Sudan. Kashmir's caseregarding accession to Pakistan, is exactly what Sudan is to Egypt. It was, therefore,very easy for me to put before the Egyptian Pressmen the Kashmir case. There are anumber of Cairo Pressmen who have already been to India, Pakistan and Azad Kashmir.All of them have, naturally, sympathies for Pakistan. As far as the Kashmir case wasconcerned, it needed no logic to argue with the Egyptians. All of them had sympathiesfor us. They also appreciate the moral side of the case, though one has to admit thatIndia is also trying her best to concentrate over her popularity in Egypt.The majority of people in Egypt have genuine sympathies for Pakistan. There are otherswho, like the deceased Shah Faruq, think that Pakistan is a rival country. This is quitenatural. But I am sure, by our consistent sympathetic attitude towards Egypt, and allother Muslim countries, such impressions will disappear in the long run. In due courseof time all Muslim countries will be able to form into one united bloc, not necessarily aparallel political bloc, but an organisation based on regional ties and religious sympathies.Only then will Muslims, pulling in one direction as a united whole, be able to affectpolitical and economic issues of the world. That seems to be the only way by which all theMuslims and Muslim countries of the world would not only maintain their independencebut also would be able to fight for the other small nations of Asia.India wishes to exert influence over Egypt in order to win her favour. / do not think Indiawill succeed in this. India does not like the Arab League, because India disowns any blocbased on religious or any other racial basis. Egypt would like to be a leader of all Arabcountries, which is a natural aspiration. Because of Kashmir, Indo-Pakistan relationshave been strained. A consistent propaganda has been carried on by India

74

in Egypt against Pakistan. In spite of her admiration for Hindu leaders for their strugglefor freedom against the British, Egypt has always been on the side of Pakistan. Onething, however, has been exploited by the enemies of Pakistan. This has been thepropaganda that Pakistan has been a deliberate creation of the British. Since Egyptians,because of the Sudan and the Suez Canal policy of the British, have not much liking forthe British, the above line of propaganda has done substantial damage to Pakistan'scause. The way the Pakistan delegation took up the cause of Palestine has, to some extent,retrieved our position in all the Arab countries. Pakistan indeed played a veryconspicuous role in the fight for Palestine in the United Nations Organisation. Pakistanlater on earned for herself a lot of good-will, by espousing also the cause of the manysmall Muslim countries of North Africa in the United Nations.I wish to say something, in passing, about Islam in Middle Eastern countries. I admit that Ihave no experience of wide travelling in these regions, and for this reason my impressions,may be wrong or based on scanty information and inadequate experience. My feeling isthat Islam is not a very strong point with the Muslim countries today. Internal andexternal policies of the Middle Eastern countries are under the influnce of big powers forthe last two centuries or more. So long as foreign influences exist in the form of economicimperialism, Islam's revival does not seem to be a very bright possibility. All the Asiancountries have adopted, in one way or the other, the Western political systems. Becauseof Western domination of the Eastern countries for the last two to three hundred years, itbecomes clear, that unless these countries revive economically, they are bound to succumbto foreign influences. Strategically countries like Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and alsoPakistan, are so placed, that in a global war it would be a miracle for them to keep neutral.But that does not, necessarily mean a policy of surrendering a country's sovereignty to aforeign power. One surely should have honourable alliances and trade and otherrelations, withqut which no modern country can exist.Formation of an Arab League by itself is not a strong proof of Islamic revival. Islam asa living economic, political and

2 5 0social guide does not exist anywhere today. The Western type of democracy, in all itsessentials, does not exist anywhere either. We are today living under a mongrel sort ofsystem, which is Western in character, and is imposed on people whom it does not suit.Unless we again apply Islamic values to solve our problems, we shall be faced with apsychological chaos and all round confusion. If we all agree on this, then no time shouldbe wasted in applying them.In order to overcome the economic bankruptcy of all the Middle Eastern countries, whichhas resulted in the economic dependence of an unprecedented nature, economic planningneeds to be done afresh. Special conditions of these countries may be studied and a body ofeconomic specialists be appointed to evolve a plan which should be implemented bymutual cooperation of the countries of these regions. Necessary cooperation of theU.N.O. may be obtained for economic emancipation, without surrendering politicalsovereignty to any particular bloc.The Kashmir cause has been recognised by almost all the Muslim countries, exceptperhaps Afghanistan. All countries, for instance, Iran, Iraq, Syria and others, haveexpressed their deep sympathies for Pakistan's cause in Kashmir. Iran in particular,through her Press, has, in clearest terms, supported Pakistan in her struggle in Kashmir.The writer of this little book has had the occasion of visiting a large number of countries,in 1964, as a member of the Kashmir Goodwill Mission. The writer visited West Africaand East Africa. He also visited Turkey, Egypt and Sudan. After these countries, thewriter has had another occasion to visit large areas in South-East Asia. This includedcountries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and Philippines.African countries have gained their freedom at the expense of great sacrifices. Theyare emerging as independent nations, claiming full share in the comity of nations of theworld. The emergence of independent states in Africa is a source of great inspiration tothose countries which are struggling for freedom throughout the world, particularly in theareas which

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were formerly in colonial yoke. The writer was impressed the way in which thisGoodwill Mission was received by the Governments and the people of these countries inAfrica. This is also true of the countries in South-East Asia. It is hoped that thesecountries will support, morally and otherwise, a struggle that may be launched inKashmir by its people. The writer is also convinced that the countries like China andRussia, who have always supported the struggle for freedom of the subjugated peoplein the world, will morally support such a struggle in Kashmir. These Communist countriesmust also be approached in this connection and informed of the existing state of affairsin this region. I am also not disappointed with Western democratic countries. Even they willbe convinced of a struggle for freedom in Kashmir. Though they may not be able to giveany substantial assistance, I am thoroughly convinced they will not oppose our strugglefor freedom.What is of basic importance is the fact that all concerned in India and Pakistan,recognise the entity of the people of Kashmir. They are a people who have alwaysstruggled for and suffered tremendously in their struggle for freedom. All theirefforts, to be free, must be supported as such. Nobody should have the idea thatKashmir can be had and owned as a piece of property. Those who have such ideas mustabandon them. It will be unfair for anybody to think that Kashmir can be used as a pieceof property. This is what the people of this land will not tolerate at any cost.

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Chapter XIII

U. N. C. I. P.DURING 1948, the Security Council sent out a

U.N.C.L1’. which landed in Karachi on 7 July.The Commission left for Delhi on the 10 July,1948, to confer with the Govermnent of India,and immediately started exploring thepossibilities of an Immediate cease-fire InKashmir. The suggestion of a cease-fire wasdiscussed at a formal meeting of the Commissionheid on July 23 in New Delhi which was attendedby the Pakistan representatives. From 10 Julyto 13 August the Commission held a number ofmeetings and discussion, both with theGovernment of India and the Government ofPakistan. Cit. Ghulam Abbas Khan and the writeralso had a chance of having discussions withthe Commission in Karachi, on the variousaspects of the Kashmir problem. The commission,in the meantime, sent a Military Sub-Commissionto study the military situation in theliberated areas of Jammu and Kashmir. This Sub-Commission first flew to Srinagar and afterseeing the Indian side of Icashmir rejoined theCommission in Karachi. The Sub-Commission thenleft for the Azad Kashmir area on August 12.

After having further meetings with therepresentatives of India and Pakistan, theCommission released to the press itsresolution of 13th, August and thecorrespondence connected therewith. A furthermeeting took place in Rawalpindi on 14thSeptember between Ch. Ghulam Abbas Khan andthe writer on the one hand, and Messrs Hunddleand Graefee on the other. These two gentlemenof the Commission visited Mangla Head works inMirpur In Azad Kashmir territory, where theywere itertalned to a lunch by the And KashmirGovernment.-After us, the Commission left for

Srinagar and stayed there until tey returnedto Geneva.

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After these prolonged parleys anddiscussions, the Commission, on the 13thAugust~ 1948, passed the resolution, whichfollows, embodying the Cease-Fire and truceagreement-

The preamble expressed the opinion thatprompt cessation of hostilities and thecorrection of conditions, the continuance ofwhich was likely to endanger internationalpeace and security, were essential foreffecting a final settlement of the situationin the State of Jamiflu and Kashmir. In replyto a query of the Pakistan GoverfllfleT~t, theCommission explaining on the 27th Augtst, thatthe expression “a final settlement of thesituation did not fall short of, nor go beyond,the terms of the SeCUrity council’s ResolUtionol 21st April, 1948, and was in harmony withit. The commission went on to add that it wasnot committed to a rejection of a peacefulsolution, which might be agreed to by the twogovemmefl~ provided that such a solutionreflected the wilt of the people.PART I

This part of the Resolution prcwided thatthe Governments of India and Pakistan wouldissue cease-fire order to all forces operatingunder the High Commands of India and Pakistanincluding, for this purposes the forces ofAzad lCashTr’ir and the Tribesmen. It alsoprovided for the appointment of neutralmilitary observers on both sides of the cease-fire line to supervise the observance of thecease-fire order, and called upon theGoverflmeflb of India and Pakistan to appealto their respective peoples to assist increating and maintaining an atmospherefavourable to the promotion of furthernegotiations.

This part of the Resolution laid down thefollowing principles as a basis for the

formulation of a truce agreemeflt~ thedetails of which were to be worked out indiscussion between their representatives andthe CommiSsiO”FART U

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(I) The Pakistan Government was called upon toagree to withdraw its troops from theState. It was sUbsequently explained thatthe withdrawal of the Pakistan troops wouldbe synchronisM with the withdrawal of thebulk of the Indian Army from Jammu andKashmir.

(ii)The Pakistan Government was asked to useits best endeavours to secure thewithdrawal from the State of all itsnationals as had gone into the State forthe purpose of fighting. The Commissionmade ft clear to the Pakistan Governmentthat the Azad Kahamir Forces would neitherbe withdrawn nor disbanded, but wouldcontinue to remain intact in the areasunder the operational control of thePakistan High Command.

(iii) The territory evacuated by the Pakistantroops would be administered by the ‘localauthorities, under the surveillance of theCommission. It was explained that by ‘localauthorities was meant the de factoGovernment in this area, namely, The AzadKashmir Government. As regards theCommissions surveillance, this did not meanactual supervision or control but wasintroduced only to ensure that the ‘localauthorities did not do anything against thespirit of the truce agreement.

(iv)When the tribesmen and Pakistan nationalshad withdrawn, and the Pakistan Forces hadbegun thelT withdrawal, the Government ofIndia were to begin the withdrawal of thebulk of their forces from the State, instages to be agreed upon with theCommission. The Commission, whilerecognising the need for the security ofthe State, assumed that the danger ofexternal attack would disappear with theestablishment of a truce and that theIndian troops to be retained in Jammu andIcashmir would be the minimum required forthe maintenance of internal law and

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order in areas other than those incharge of the Azad Kashmir Government.

PART mThis part of the Resolution called upon the

governments of India and Pakistan to reaffirmtheir wish, that the future status of Jammu andKashmir would be determined in accordance withthe will of the people, and that the twoGovernments would confer with the Commission todetermine fair and equitable conditions,whereby such free expression would be assured.The Commission informed the Pakistan Governmenton the 19th September, 1948, that inimplementing Part Ill of the Resolution, theCommission would be guided by the terms of theSecurity Council’s Resolution of April 21,1948, setting forth conditions for a plebiscite1subject to such modifications as the Commissionmight determine, with the agreement of theGovernments of Pakistan and India.

The Government of India accepted theCommission’s Resolution, subject, however, tothe following interpretations placed upon it-

(a) The Commission was to recognise thesovereignty of the Maharaja over theentire area of Jammu and Kashmir.

(b) Responsibility for the administrationof thesparsely populated area of the State intheNorth (namely, Ladakh), should revertto theGovernment of Jammu and Kashmir, afterPakistan troops and tribesmen hadwithdrawn.

(c) The Government of Pakistan should haveno part in the organisation or conductof the plebiscite, or in any othermatter of internal administration inthe State.

(d) The Commission should recognise the

necessity of effective insurance of thesecurity of the State against externalaggression and internal disorder, andthe responsibility of the Government ofIndia in this regard.

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The Government of Pakistan was notfully satisfied with all theprovisions of the çormnission’sresolution, yet they accepted it,subject only to one reservation,namely, that the Government of Indiashould accept the conditions laiddown in Pan B’ (Articles 6 to 15 ,both inclusive) of the SecurityCouncil’s resolution of 21st April,1948, as explained by the sponsors ofthe resolution in the SecurityCouncil, for a free and impartialplebiscite to decide whether theState of Jainmu and Kashmir is toaccede to India or Pakistan. ThePakistan Government base their caseon the universally recognisedprinciple, that the will of thepeople should be allowed to prevail.The accession of the State of Jammuand Kashmir is the main point indispute between the governments ofPakistan and India, and, if it is tobe decided by peaceful means, theonly method is to hold a free andimpartial plebiscite, under neutralauspices, to determine the Dominionto which the State should finallyaccede.

When this Commission landed in themao-Pakistan subcontinent, the war inKashmir was going on. But the partieshad come to an unwrittenunderstanding that no majoroperations would be undertaken. Anunofficial cease-fire seemed toexist. At least we, who were not veryhigh up, were told on our side, thatwe should not do anything which wouldmilitate against the spirit of thisunofficial understanding and

152aggravate the situation.

In the meantime we were all thetime getting information that, inspite of this so-called understandingthe Indian Army was continuing itsbuild-up, particularly in theNowshera Sector. A manifold increasein the strength of the Indian troopshad been undertaken. While theSecurity Council’s Commission wasdiscussing the Icashmir case withregard to a cease-fire agreement,India, it seems, was building up herforces for an all-out offensive inKashmir with the avowed object offorcing a military decision bysubjugating completely the whole ofJammu and Kashmir State, and thuspresenting the world with a frillaccompli. But, as the plan unfoldeditself, it became dear that its realobjective was more far-reaching, andthat it was aimed directly at thesecurity of Pakistan. The subjugationof

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the And Kashmir forces in Rajouri MenderSector, led to the exodus of a very largenumber of Muslims from Rajouri and Poonch,because the policy of the Indian Army was toliquidate the Muslims from the villages, and toresettle Hindus and Sikbs in their place.

This big offensive towards the end of 1948,came as a surprise to all concerned. Indiastarted a very big push from Nowshera, theirCorps Headquartersi branching out intodifferent directions. One push was startedtowards ICotli and another towards Rajouri. Ourbuild-up and strength, particularly on theMandhar front were very weak. In the firstplace, we had no direct line of communicationwith the Maudhar valley. Secondly, the Azadtroops were not very large in number, and werespread out from the top of Shopian, in theICashmir Valley, dowi’ to Azim Garh Fort inRajouri. Thirdly, these And Army soldiers werevery poorly equipped. They, at least themajority of them, belonged to Mandhar valley.Last, but not least, the troops on this frontlacked an efficient command. We could not sparefirst class And Army troops from I’oonchbecause these troops were necessary to surroundthe small city of Foonch, where the Indian armyhad built up strong enough reserves to breakthrough and overrun the western parts ofPoonch, if they so desired.

During the months of November andDecen*Ier, 1948, when the Indian Army built upCorps Headquarters at Nowshera, they alsobuilt an elaborate line of communicationbetween Nowshera and jammu. The Air Forcebased at Jammu could very easily give themsuch air support as the Indian Army wouldrequire in an advance. In December, 1948, asthe Indian Army began their advance fromNowshera towards Rajouri, a similar advancetowards Icotli was beaten back by the AndKashmir Brigade. This Brigade, though lackingin gun support, automatic arms and air cover,resisted the Indian Army attack with

152unparalleled heroism. The push towards Rajouriand Mandhar was in a very much largerformation. I am told that at least twobrigades started this push with tanks, gunsand air support. The spear-head. finding aweak spot, breached through our defences. Asthey breached through, they made a very quickadvance towards Mandi Nala and Mandhar proper.

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This move practically cut away all the Azadtroops all along this front from their base.The Indian Army started a ruthless butchery ofpeople and burning of houses. When thisinformation reached Azad Army soldiers on thefront, they deserted their units, and ran backto save their families from this wantondestruction. A huge migration of populationstarted from the whole of the Mandhar Valleyand Rajouri area towards Pakistan. No less thantwo lakhs of people migrated en masse toPakistan. How these helpless people started onfoot, carrying their pitifully small amount ofluggage on their heads towards Pakistan, ingroups of thousands, constitutes a woeful taleof misery, which will probably be told byhistorian when, In due time, he will write thehistory of this campaign. How little,barefooted children walked down the hillyterrain of these pans, while the Indian Armytroops were after their blood, is one of themost pathetic stories!. The groups of refugees,helpless as they were, were bombed by theI.A.F. on a number of occasions. These peoplewere without food and shelter for days togetherbut they never lost heart and reached Pakistanafter a terrible journey.

Simultaneously with their attack on Mandharfront in the month of December, the Indian Armymade another push on the Ladakli front. Theypushed us back from Dras to Kargil, andultimately to Skardu. How the And Army resistedthis push on the Ladakh front, is anotherwonderful story of bravery, heroism andpatience. The And Army troops, who fought onthe Ladaid, front without any line ofcommunication behInd them deserve the greatestpraise and credit. It is impossible here todeal, in detail, with difficulties under whichthe Azad Army troops fought on this front.

The Indian Army, while making these twoadvances, achieved certain objectives. Oneobjective was link with Poonch, thus releasingthe Poonch city garrison. Secondly, to effect a

152link up with Leh, the headquarters of Ladakhtehsil. This straightened out the line fromlanimu to Ladakh for the Indian Army. These twoadvances within a short period of couple ofweeks, caused to us the loss of huge areas ofterritory. We also lost in army and publicmoraie. This was the largest

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major set-back that we suffered since thebeginning of the campaign.

As this retreat was taking place in theMandhar valley gTeat panic spread throughthe Poonch district. I hurried fromTrarkhel to Hajira and from }Tajira toRawalakot to keep up the morale of thepeople. I am quite sure that If I had notundertaken this tour, at a time when themorale of the people was at the verge ofcomplete collapse, there would have

perhaps started another exodus of at least fivelakhs of people from the rest of Poonch.This would have created additionaldifficulties fbr us. In the meantime Ireceived an urgent message to reachKarachi. As soon as we reached Icarachi thematter of cease-fire was brought intodiscussion.

Cli. Zafarullah Ichan, Foreign Ministerof Pakistan, had complained to theSecurity Council that the Indian offensivewas a violation by India of the pledgethey had given that they would not doanything that might aggravate thesituation, it became clear later that bysuch means India wanted to gain controlover all the strategic areas, just beforethe cease-fire agreement was reached andto solve two major difficulties, namely,one of supplying Leh and the other ofmaintaining Poonch. Supplies to these twogarrisons were straining the air resourcesof India to breaking point.

Whatever the merits or demerits of theproposition1 if we had to agree to a cease-fire, we should have done~ it a littleearlier. At the time of this agreement1 sofar as the provinces of Jaminu and Kashmirwere concerned, we had lost most of theterritory in a very brief period. If wehad not agreed to the cease-fire, we

152probably would have lost the rest ofl’oonch, Mirpur and Muzaffarabad. We couldhave probably continued the LiberationMovement from Gilgit and Ladakh side. Thefact that we have got a foothold on thewestern part of Kashmir is certainly ofgreat use to us. If we had lost even aninch of territory on this side of Kashmirour bargaining position would have beenreduced to nil. I can say with certaintythat conditions were so dangerouslyunfavourable that it was quite possiblethat we might have lost the whole of theterritory.

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On the other hand, by agreeing to a cease-fire, we have, anyhow, not been the gainers.The Indians have been able to consolidate theirposition, and have built up very strongdefences all along the cease-fire line. Theywill never take upon themselves to launch anoffensive, therefore we are left with twoalternatives; (a) either the case is settled bypeaceful means of negotiation, or (I,) we areforced to attack. If the matter is settledthrough the U.N.O. by peaceful means, well andgood. If these means fail, and if we start theattack, we shall be blamed as aggressors, andIndia will have world opinion on her side. Evenafter starting an attack, It is not surewhether war can be kept strictly within thefour corners of Kashmir State. If that cannotbe done and a general war starts between Indiaand Pakistan, one really cannot be sure of theconsequences. In that case the consequenceswill be too terrible to contemplate and bothcountries might go under. By accepting a cease-fire at the time at which we did, I think, wehave lost much of our bargaining power. My onlycontention Is that we should either havemanaged a ceasefire earlier or the PakistanGovernment should have gone whole-heartedlyinto the show to coui~er the last Indianoffensive. It was to counter the major Endianoffensive of 1948 that Pakistan had to send asmall number of troops into Kashmir in May todefend the borders of :he Pakistan territory.Everybody is much wiser after the eventT

After getting the consent of both India andPakistan, the U.N.Ci.P.passed two resolutions,one on August 13, 1948, and other on January5,1949. The resolutions, taken together,provided for a cease-fire, followed by thedemarcation of a cease-fire line. The cease-fire became effective on January, 1, 1949, andthe agreement on the demarcation of the cease-fire line was arranged after a number ofmeetings of high military authorities of bothsides on July 27,1949. The resolutions provided

152for the demilitarization of the State in twostages:the truce stage and the plebiscite stage. Whenthe cease-fire became effective, armed forcesengaged in the Kashmir fighting comprised thefollowing lines-S

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On the Indian side there were the regulartroops of the Indian Army, the IndianVolunteers, the State MilitarY Forces and theJammu and ICashmir State Militia. On thePakistan side there were Mad ICashmir regularforces, the tribesmen, the l’aldstanVolunteers, and the regular troopS of thePakistan Army. The resolutions of theIJ.N.CIP. envisaged the disposal of theforces in the following manner— Pakistan wasto use her best endeayouts to secure the

withdrawal of tribesmen and Pakistanivolunteers. The Pakistan Government, in theirearnest desire for a peaceful solution, havealready carried out the undertaldns, althoughthey were under no obligation to do so till atruce agreement had been reached.

In the next stage, it was envisaged that theregular forces of India and Pakistan wouldwithdraw in the following maflfler

Pakistan would take the first step in thewithdrawal of the regular forces, but, afterPakistan’s troops had begun to withdraw, Indiaundertook to begin the withdrawal of itsforces in stages to be agreed upon by theCommission The Commission assured the PakistanGovernment that the withdrawal of the PakistanArmy and the withdrawal of the bulk of theIndian Army would be synchronizea by the twoHigh Commands.

The resolution of January 5~l949, empowered

152the PlebisciteAdministrator to determine the final disposalof the Indian

Forces remaining in the State, the StateForces~ and State

Militia, on the one hand, and on the other,the final disposal ofthe And Kashmir Forces.

When the Commission actually startedgrappling with the matter ofdemilitarization: india tried to obstruct thePlan, so that ultimately it would defeat theproposal of the Plebiscite. They put forwardfresh and fantastic lemands; for example,they raised the question o~ thedisbandfllcflt of the Mad flshmir Forces, andthe question of adrninistl ..tion and

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defence of the Northern Areas of Cilgit andLadakh. Itniay be emphasized here, that the MadKashmir Forces are not an outside element. Theyconsist of the nationals of Jammu and KashndrState, who launched the Liberation Movement atthe end of August, 1947. They represent thewill of the people of Kashmir to be free. And,In any case, on the question of the And KashmlrForces, the United Nations Commission had takena clear-cut and unambiguous stand.

The Northern areas, which are mainlymountainous, have a 100% Muslim population. Thefreedom upsurge in these areas formed part ofthe Mad Kashmir movement, and in theirmountains they had rapidly thrown off the yokeof the Maharaia of Icashnt

Then a long controversy arose as to theinterpretation of the agreed resolutions ofAugust 13,1948 and January 5,1949. India puther own interpretation on these resolutions.The U.N.C.I.p,, however, did not agree with theIndian interpretation, and it proposed that allpoints of difference concerning the truceagreemel)t be referred to arbitiation byAdmiral Chester W.Nimitz, whom both India andPakistan had accepted as the PlebisciteAdministrator. Thisstatesmanlike proposal was supported by thePresident of the United States and the PrimeMinister of the United Kingdom. Pakistanaccepted the arbitration proposalunconditionally but India turned It down. TheUnited Nations Commission had then noalternative but to refer the case back to theSecurity Council in December, 1949.

In December, 1949, the writer left for NewYork to attend session of the Security CouncilThe Security Council was then presided over byGeneral McNaughton of Canada. The Generaj wasOne of the great personalities I have had achance to meet. He was authorized by theSecurity Council to mediate between theparties. Gefleral McNaughton, with all the

152thoroughness and exaciftude of a military mind,prepared his own plan with regard to theNorthern Areas, and also with regard to thesubject of demilitarizaHon. Pakistan generouslyaccepted General McNaughtons proposal, butIndia insisted on

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amendments, which were tantamount to arejectior~ of theproposal.

Then a lengthy debate in the Security Councilfollowed. Eventually on March 14, 1950, theSecurity Council passed a resolution confirmingthe U.N.C.LP. resolutions of August 13,1948,and January 5,1949. The Security Council, inthis resolution, emphasized that steps shouldbe taken forthwith for the demilitarization ofthe State and for the expeditious determinationof its future, in accordance with the freelyexpressed will of the inhabitants.

Then the Security Council called upon theGovernments of India and PaÜstan, to prepareand execute, within a period of 5 months fromthe date of the resolution, ‘a programme ofdemilitarization on the basis~ of theprinciples of paragraph 2 of GeneralMcNaughton5 proposal or of such modificationsof those proposals as may be mutually agreedupon. The Security Council also decided toappoint a U.N. representative to replace theU.N.C.I.P., so that the United NationsRepresentative could assist India and Pakistanin the preparation and execution of a programmeof demilitarization. The United Nationsrepresentative was also empowered to make anysuggestion to India and Pakistan, or to theSecurity Council, which, in his opinion, waslikely to contribute to the expeditious andenduring solution of the dispute which hadarisen between the two Governments in regard tothe State of Jammu and Kashmir’. Sir OwenDixon, a well-known Jurist of Australia, wasnominated as United Nations Representative onApril 12,1950. He arrived in the Indo-Pakistansub-continent on May 20,1950.

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Chapter XIV

SECURITY COUNCIL 1949-50AS aiready mentioned in the last chapter, the

U.N.C.I.P. failed in their historic mission.They returned to Geneva, where they took a longtime to prepare their report for the SecurityCouncil. In this report they admitted thedifficulties involved, and suggested thedissolution of the Commission and theappointment of one man as mediator. TheCommission could not have succeeded so easily,because, I personally believe, the Commissionhad their own difficulties. Secondly, theproblem of Kashmir is a very difficult one. Onthe one hand, it involves the prestige of theGovernment of India, and, on the other hand,the very existence of Pakistan is at stake. Theparamount difficulty was that India every timeadopted an unreasonable attitude. Particularly,the Government of India put their own strangeinterpretation on the language of theresolutions which the Commission its~If was notprepared to accept. There could not be anyacceptable via media, therefore the Commissionhad tbend up with a report of failure.

The Kashmir case again came up before theSecurity Council towards the end of 1949. Inthis connection, for the second time, I visitedthe Headquarters of the United Nations in LakeSuccess, to attend the meeting of the SecurityCouncil as a representative of the And KashmirGovernment. During my first visit in 1948, Iwas very much handicapped by the fact that,abroad, very little was then known about theMad Kashmir movement. This time the question ofKashmir was a very familiar subject to theworld press and the people. Since 1948, we had

152been successful in establishing contacts withorganizations all over the world, which did agreat deal of propaganda in favour of ourmovement. For example, all over England we hadby now our organisation known as the And

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161Kashmir League. It bad branches in London,sirminghatt~ Leeds, New Castle, Manchester, andeven in Scotland. Similar organisations wereworking in Egypt and other Muslim countries,for instance, Turkey. These branches, from allover the world, contributed towards the MadKashinhr Movement in money, material andgoodwill.

During the second visit to the SecurityCouncU, I took advantage of the occasion andspent some time in America, England, Cyprus,Turkey and Egypt. During my visit I madeexcellent contacts abroad and was able to doconcerted publicity in favour of Mad ICashmirand Pakistan. The Icashmir problem hadjeopardised Indo~Pakista~~ peace and,consequently, it had affected world peace. itwas for this reason that people were deeplyinterested in this problem. Since both Indiaand Pakistan had done fairly wide publicitYwith regard to the question of Kashmir, vis-a-vis Indo-Paldstafl relationS, public interestabroad had also been excited. There was hardlyany first class newspaper anywhere in theworld, probably with the exception of Russia,which had not, in one way o~ another,commented on the problem of Icashmir. For thesame reasons, wherever I went, I found everynewSma1~ very keenly interested in whatever Ihad to say. My press conferences weTe alwaysgiven fairly good publicity and space Inforeign newspapeN

On my way to the Security Council, afterCairo the next scheduled stop was London. Atthe London Airport I was warmly received bythe people of And Icashmir and Pakistam whowere residing in different parts of England.As I have already mentioned, these people hadformed themselves into a well-knitorganisatiOn I have no doubt that thesepeople, who belonged to And Kashmir andelsewhere wee working wholeheartedly for theliberation inovetnelit of Azad Kashmir inEngland. It was because of the efforts of

152this And Kashmir League, that we were able toorganise a very big meeting in HOThOTn Hallin London. This meeting was indeed a veTygTeat success. It was presided over by Mr.Hector Hughes, a member of the BritishParliament. It was also attended by people ofdifferent nationalities, including someAfricans- While speaking in English. I wasable to impresS upon the public the

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162magnitude of the problem that Kashmir involved,and how that problem was affecting the peaceand security of the world Secondly, I was ableto tell them, I believe in an effective manner,just how Pakistan stood, with regard to theissue of the accession of Jammu and KashmirState. Thirdly, I was able to tell them, withfull conviction, that economically Pakistan andKashmir were part and parcel of each other, andtheir economies were completely interdependentand complementary.

While summing up this lecture, and thediscussion that took place afterwards, Mr.Hughes was able to say that if the factsbrought out in the lecture, were true, and wereput in a similar manner before the SecurityCouncil, there was no reason to doubt thatPakistan was bound to win her case againstIndia.

I must say that, luckily, the atmosphere thenin England was very favourable. The reason wasthat Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister ofIndia, on his way back from the United States,had addressed a Press Conference in London. Inthat Press Conference he had let himself go,after being completely over-powered by angerand passion. He had given expression tosomething which was not only undignified butwas also in bad taste. The words he usedagainst Pakistan, and the people of Pajdstan,were definitely unjustified, and no sane penonwas prepared to accept an opinion that wasexpressed by Pandit J~waharlal Nehru. He hadcertainly uttered things which didnot befit himor his high office.

During my stay in London, and during my tourall over England, I made good contacts with theBritish Press. I met the Foreign Editor of TheLondon Times, Professor Rushbrool? Williams, anextremely fine ‘nan. He knew so much about theICashmir problem, that it was indeed a greatpleasure to discuss thingi with him. He ouldsee the reasonableness of Pakistan with regard

152to Kashmir. I also met Editors and Sub-Editorsof other London news~pers, whichoff and on,write on thesubject of South-MM. I am very gladto say that these British Journalists apprecfated the point of view of And Kashmir andPakistan. in fact some of them, whose names Ineed not mention, expressed quite candidly thatthey were thoroughly convinced that since thebeginning of the Kashmir Movement, Pandit

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1 63Jawahar Lal Nehru had been shifting ground onthe Kashmir issue. They were equally convincedof the fact that, looking at the problem fromthe economic, geographical and populationpoints of view, there was no doubt that theState of Jammu and Kashmir should automaticallyaccede to Pakistan. In addition to all this,what convinced every sane person in England,and eveiywhere else, was the fact that thestand it had taken with regard to Junagadh andHyderabad was so radically different from thestand it had taken with regard to Kashmir. Tobe candid the Government of Indias standbluntly amounted to a policy of “heads I win,tails you lose. The problem that baffled themwas how Indias face could be saved in theKashmir dispute. In Kashmir, judged from anypoint of view, only India’s prestige isinvolved, but so far as Pakistan is concerned,I consider it is a question of life and death.The British Pressmen, though appreciative ofour point of view, pointed out unanimously thatthey could not do much in the matter. Theythought that the position of the UnitedKingdom, vis-a-vis India and Pakistan, was oneof neutrality. ‘England wanted good relationswith both India and Pakistan.

I have no intention of going into the matteras to what stand United Kingdom should havetaken in this matter, as a senior member ofthe British common-wealth of Nations. What myopinion was on this matter, I had occasion toexpress in a later meeting in London, where Iaddressed world newsmen on my way back fromthe Security Council. I said, “What use wouldit be to be member of a club where, if twomembers qua net, the Chairman is unable tocompose their differences or do anything inthe matter!” That was such a pointed questionthat, though it interested everybody, nobodywas able to answer it. The position forEngland, however, as one is able toappreciate, was difficult. During my stay inEngland I visited Birmingham, Nottingham,Newcastie and Leeds. In all these places I

152addressed nwetings which were attendS by theBritish public. The pro~1~at Press gave theAzad Kashmir Movement much better publicitythan the London Press. The London pressperhaps got thek cue from the Foreign Office.Also perhaps the Indian Embassy had notcontacted the provincial press. When Iaddressed a very big meeting in

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164Birmingham, some of the people who belonged toAzad Kashmir areas burst into tears when Iexplained to them how miserably the Mussalmansin Kashmir had suffered. The people of AndKashmir living in England made theircontributions to the Movement of Azad Kashmirin their small and humble way. Their effortshave been magnificent. In this regard I mightparticularly mention the name of late SyedFazal Shah who was the President of the AzadKashmir League In England.

During my stay in London I was invited by theBritish Broadcasting Corporation to broadcastfrom their studios on the Kashmir issue, thoughI was politely asked by one of their editorsthat the subject may be made the leastcontroversial. When I had actually made thisbroadcast I learnt that the Indian HighCommission in London registered a regularprotest with the British BroadcastingCorporation. Wherever I went, whether inAmerica, England, Turkey or Egypt, the IndianEmbassies were sensitive and touchy about me.Whatever I undertook to do, they did their bestto counteract.

When I reached New York, the Kashmir case wasnot yet before the Security Council. We had, inbetween the meetings of the Security Council,.time to visit different places.inn America it is impossible to arrange afixture for a lecture at slwrt notice. In fact,for big meetings, one has to arrange thro~ghspecial publicity agencies. I had fixtures inBoston, Philadelphia University, Washington andNew York. In Boston I addressed the students attwo different places. The discussions at theseplaces were interesting. Some of the studentskhew quite a lot about the Kashmir problem. InPhiladelphia University, I addressed a class of

persons who had been writing on Kashmir affairsin different journals in America. I had longdiscussions with them over the Kashmir issue.

152Then I visited Washington for about a week. Iappeared on television and in a radioprogramme. Mr. Mubarak Ali Shah of ArizonaState, a well-known Muslim Leaguer, arranged avery big dinner in Washington, which wasattended by at least

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165fifteen Congressmen which, I was told, is adifficult thing to manage in Washington. I wasable to speak on Kashmir at this dinner, andevery one of the Congressmen spoke on Kashmiras well. What really was a virtual discoveryfor them was the fad that Kashmir was on theborders of Communist Russia and CommunistChina. Only then was their interest aroused.This is true in a smaller or longer way, withregard to every American After the Second WorldWar destiny has placed the leadership of thedemocratic world in the hands of Americanpeople. America, it is quite true, haseconomically aided some of the small countriesof Europe. The Americans today are not a nationtrying to exclude themselves from worldaffairs. On the contrary, America has got theeffective leadership of all the countries whichare grouped together against the Russian bloc.

In Washington we had a number of fixtures atdifferent places. There are societies and clubswhich are interested in the affairs of theSouth-Asia. Membership of these dubs is usuallyvery small but they take keen interest in Asianaffairs. For example, when we took up theKashmir question, a number of people alreadyknew a lot about this dispute between India andPakistan. They were in the nature ofspecialists, who themselves make detailed andspecial studies on South Asian subjects. In allthese meetings were present the officials ofthe Indian as well as Pakistan Embassies, whohad heated discussions among themselves.

It goes without saying that the Indians inAmerica do very wide publicity in favour oftheir country. Because of strained Indo-Pakistan relations they have been doingdangerous propaganda against Pakistan. Anaverage American does not know much aboutPakistan. Nor is there any effective machineryon the Pakistan side to either counteract thatpropaganda or do positive publicity forPakistan. It is not an easy job either,because, in the first place1 it costs a lot of

152money, which small countries can hardlyafford; and, secondly, it needs specializedknowledge and experienced men to undertakescientific publicity abroad We at this momentlack both. Vis-a-vis India we are handicappedin another manner. India is a well-knowncountry all over the world. In America Indiais known because of Mr. Gandhi and hispacifist

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philosophy. I remember in 1948, when MahatmaGandhi was murdered in New Delhi, hugepublicity was given to• this incident.Therefore, it is not an easy task to publicisePakistan. In spite of this, two factors havecome in handy to achieve this result to adegree which would have not been possibleordinarily. In the first place, Pakistan hasplayed a good role in the United Nationsorganizations, and secondly, because ofKashmir. I personally believe that much more ispossible in the field of publicity in allcountries of Europe, as far as Pakistan isconcerned.

The Security Council met and requestedGeneral McNaughton, the President of theSecurity Council, as mentioned in the lastchapter, to get into touch with the parties andto see if he could bring about a settlement.General McNaughton carried out his task andmade two reports: an interim report and a finalreport. These reports incorporated thefundamental principles which have been agreedupon between the parties, namely, that theaccession issue of the state should bedetermined through a free and impartialPlebiscite. General McNaughton had explainedthat he proceeded on the basis that theagreement already arrived at, must be preservedand that differences that have since arisenwith regard to the agreement shouid beresolved. Leaving aside the technicalities, hetook the problem of demilitarization as awhole, and made certain changes with regard tothe scheme that was visualized by thecommission,

After General McNaughton’s mediation effortsfailed, and the matter had come before theSecurity Council, the Pakistanrepresentative, Ch. Zafarullah Khan,

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addressed the Security Council in thefollowing words— ‘As I said in the openingpart of my submission to theCouncil, on all the criteria that theGovernment of India has to date suggestedwith regard to accession, Kashmir ought toaccede to Pakistan, if the choice had to bemade by Kashmir itself. The interest of themajority of the inhabitants of Kashmirindisputably points in that direction.”

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During the same speech, the nearlyexasperated Foreign Minister of Pakistanexpressed himself as follows “But it has beenagreed that the whole matter shall besettled on the basis of a free and impartialplebiscite. Well, then let the free andimpartial plebiscite take place.‘The question to-day is not of any freshconditions, or any new conditions. The wholequestion is to implement the resolutions towhich the two parties have agreed”.On behalf of the Government of Pakistan, itwas emphasised that, in order to eliminateall possible sources of pressum. thefollowing measures were neCeSSaW

i) Withdrawal of all outside troops;(ii) Neutralization of the Civil

Administration;(iii) Provision of the fullest and widest

powers for the PlebisciteAdministrators.

(iv) Ensuring complete freedom forlegitimate political activity.

Before this chapter is dosed, one mightmention, along with the failings of theCommission, the achievements which theCommission was able to bring about. One wasthe Implementation of the cease-fire and theother was that the commission was able tosecure, of course with the agreement of theparties, the appointment of the PlebisciteAdministrator, who fulfilled in every respectthe qualities that were laid down as beingessential in this case in the person ofAdmiral Chester W. Nimitz.

The Commission recommended the appointment

152of a United Nations Representative and thenthe Commission was dissolved.

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Chapter XVIII

SOME BLUNDERS COMMITTED INKASHMIR

KASHMIR is a land of extremebeauty. Its valleys, in summer, givea rare view to those who go there toobserve and enjoy its scenic beauty.Its rivers, small streams andshimmering lakes, have no parallel onthe face of the earth. Its gardens,Shalimar, Nishat and Nasim, at thebase of a sky-high mountain, arecertainly a heaven on earth.

Kashmir produces a number of rarefruits, apple among them. Peaches andpears are just as lovely. Its peopleare handsome with clear cut featuresas if chiselled by an artist. W6menof Kashmir, especially, the KashmiriPandit ladies, are among the mosthandsome females on earth. Peoplecertainly are intelligent and hard-working. They are prepared to bearthe hardships of an extremelyrigorous winter.

Kashmir, because of its beauty,had to pay heavily through ages.Conquerors came and went away,leaving this unfortunate land inmisery. Just as one oppressor left,another pounced upon it with fury andhunger. Under Hindu rule, down toSikhs and Dogras, the land over the

152ages suffered all the way. Taxes,‘begar’ and personal persecution madethe valley people submit to anyinsult which came upon them from awhimsical ruler.

1947 saw the Indo-Pakistancontinent emerging into twoindependent countries. The states hadto accede to one dominion or theother or could possibly remainindependent. Other states, numberingabout 5~, quickly decided. But sateslike Kashmir, Junagadh and Hyderabad,became a cause for differences andwar between India and Pakistan.

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In Kashmir, however, a war of liberation wasstarted in early 1947, particularly in theprovince of Poonch. The foreigners who haveoffered comments on the origin of this war,like Johnson, Stephens and Bird Wood, I wouldquote in these pages. But before I quoteforeigners, let us first see what SheikhAbdullah had to say on this episode:

On October 21, 1947 Sheikh Abdullah said:Thatthe present troubles in Poonch, a feudatoryofKashmir, were because of the policy adoptedby the state. The people of Poonch whosuffered under the local ruler, and againunder the Kashmir Durbar, who was theoverlord of the Poonch ruler, had started apeople’s movement for the redress of theirgrievances. It was not communalThe Kashmir State sent their troops and therewas panic in Poonch. But most of the adultpopulation in Poonch were ex-Servicemen ofthe Indian Army, who had close connectionwith the people in Jhelum and Rawalpindi.They evacuated their women and children,crossed the frontier and returned with armssupplied to them by willing people. TheKashmir State Forces were thus forced towithdraw from certain areas.

The foreign commentators include Ian Stiphenswho has given a fairly unbiased opinion inthe following lines, in his book 1’AKISTAN”.On page 194 of this book he has narrated thestory as follows: “The small State referred

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to, among the three dangerouslyundecided ones, was Junagadh, on theKathiawar coast about half-way between Bombayand Karachi. Most of its inhabitants wereHindu; its ruler the Nawab-not an impressiveperson, by all accounts - was Muslim. Withinthe terms of Lord Mountbatten’s advice, theNawab’s best course was to seek accession toIndia, because of his subject’s communalleaning; and a mild amazement was the generalpublic reaction for

Junagadh in itself was of negligible

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importance, indeed most people had scarcelyheard of it -when the fact came to popularnotice in mid-September, amidst a welter ofvastly bigger, bloodcurdling events, that hehad in fact, a few days after Partition, askedto accede to Pakistan.”“What the Government of Pakistan’s motives werefor agreeing to this, and presumably for havingencouraged it, is not known. Campbell-Johnson,unkind as usual, hints at acomplex trap’, carefully set by the PakistaniCabinet for India’s detriment. But it seemslikelier that the decision was rapidly made, onill-considered though doubtless hostileimpulse. amidst tremendous pressure of otherbusiness. In any case, it proved very unwise.It could indeed be up-held legally (and Mr.Jinnah perhaps attached too much weight tolegal things); for as explained, the Princesstrictly speaking were free to accede to eitherDominion -or to none. And had the times beenmore normal, it might have been justsustainable geographically too, because ofJunagadhs maritime position. But that seemsabout the most that can be said. It didPakistan no sort of practical good; it ruinedthe foolish Nawab and his family; itssubsequent uses in argument about- Kashmir werenot to Pakistan’s advantage, for they could cutboth ways;- and relations at the time betweenIndia and Pakistan being what they were -acrimonious in the extreme - it caused Indiadisproportionate anger. When it became clearthat the Pakistani Government was serious inaccepting the accession, the Indians movedtroops towards the Junagadh area; soon,threatening displays of armed strength werebeing made and a provisional government of freeJunagadh’ was permitted to function on Indiansoil, headed by a distant relative of Mr.Gandhi. Then minor disorders within the Statewere fostered, or at any rate occurred; onOctober 26th the Nawab fled to Pakistan; and afew days later the Indian forces marched in,and occupied the State to assist in maintenance

152of order’. A technique of aggrandisement hadbeen learnt, to be reapplied later elsewhere:not only in 1961 successfully against Goa, andin modified form in 1950-51 and again in 1961-2against

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Nepal, but in 1948, as we shall now brieflydescribe against another of the three princelyStates which or Independence Day had remainedundecided, and a very much bigger and moreimportant one - 1-lyderabad.“The Hyderabad affair needs examining here outof proper chronological sequence. It broke outseveral months later than the more intricateKashmir affair, but it ended decisively andvery abruptly; and though its geographicalscale was quite different from that ofJunagadh, its communal context was identical;namely, that history had so arranged thingsthat a Muslim Ruler, the Nizam incidentally,not a very impressive person either reigns overa population mainly Hindu.Under the British Raj, Hyderabad had been~~knowledgs as the premier princely State ofIndia. The Nizam stood iii a class distinctfrom any other ruler, and was officiallydesignated the British Governments faithfulally’. Since 1857, moreover, he and hisforebears had been widely looked uponthroughout the subcontine1~t as the maulsurviving inheritors of the Moghul tradition.Even excluding Berar - a large tract leasedunder duress to the British the State coveredabout s2.000 square miles, an area roughlycomparable, say, to that of Britain(including Scotland), or West Germany, orRumania. Its total population at the 1941Census stood at about 16 millions. As apotentially independent entity1 however, ithad one great physical disadvantage. It waslandlocked; August 1947 found it embedded inthe Indian Union. Unlike junagadh, it lackedaccess to the sea. And it contrasted withKashmir in having no direct land-ward contactwith Pakistan.

Then about Kashmir in particulars the authorStephens gives his comments on page 196 as

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this:“In Kashmir, the third princely Statewhich remainedundecided on Independence Day, the communalroles, as mentioned, were reversed. It isthat which has made the quarrel over it sodisastrous, the ‘root of all evil’ in

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202Indo-Pakistarii affairs. The bulk of itspeople, about 77 percent, were Muslim; but itsruler or Maharaja - in many ways a regrettablecharacter - was Hindu. Yet India, by resortthis time to a totally opposite set ofarguments, not democratic but dynastic - andonce again to armed force contrived, in thelatter part 011947, to overrun the richer andmore populous half of it, and has sinceremained there unbudged, professing moreover alegal right to the remainder. How soparadoxical and indeed shocking a position wasreached must now be examined.Kashmir - or more correctly the princely Stateof Jammu an~I Kashmir - was just a triflelarger than Hyderabad, when deprived of Berar.And besides size, it had something whichHyderabad had not: great strategic importance,owing to its position, in high Central Asiaclose to Russia. China, Afghanistan and Tibet.On the other hand its population amounted toonly about 4 millions, a quarter ofHyderabad’s. owing to its mountainousness. Nearits centre, around Srinagar, lay the renownedand fertile and fairly populous Vale - the realKashmir as generally understood, and the mainregion which India laid hold of in 1947; aregion of extraordinary scenic beauty, butperhaps unique also In its long record of humanwoe - exploited for centuries by conquerorafter conqueror; by such appalling pre-Muslimmonarch as Mihirakula the White Hun, or thetyrannical Shinkaravarman; then, in thefourteenth and fifteenth centuries, by a lineof Muslim adventurers, who maintainedthemselves in independence of the Delhi sultansand included the fanatical iconoclast Sikander‘Bhut-Shikan’; then by the mighty Moghuls - whohowever gave it some splendid memorials intheir ornamental gardens; and after them, byAfghans proper, mostly barbaric; by the brutalSikhs of Ran~it Singh’s day; and then by aDogra Hindu dynasty of rather shady originsfrom the hills to the south. As a result of allthis, the unfortu,,ate inliabitants of the

152Vale, though talented in many ways, tended tobe spiritless, evasive lot, easily overawed;very different from the Dogras of the south ofthe state, the Sudhans of

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203the south-west, or the Gilgiti peoples of thenorth. Perhaps the most shameful part of thestory was the abject condition to which theywere reduced, by the rapacity of the Maharajahand his officials, between the Dogras British-SuppOrted access to power in 1846 and therevenue-settlement which LansdownesAdministration insisted upon in 1889. Vividglimpses of this are to be found in WalterLawrence’s and BE. Knight’s writings.~About how the freedom movement got itsbeginnings, I might repeat what he has said onpage 200 of his book:“As has been mentioned, the leaders of theSudhfluti revolt-which’ later evolved into the Azad Kashmir’movement-had sent men across the Indus plain intoPathan tribal territory to seek arms. Atthis time, and on into November, the futurepolitical relations (if. any) of the quastautonomous Pathan tribes with Pakistan wereentirely uncertain. Discussions had begun,and it was hoped that these formidable,restless people would decide to accede tothe new-formed State, if only - by thecynical - because their scope for mis-chiefwould be greater otherwiSc but thenecessary jirgas had not been held. Itwould be fair to say that the Pakistaniauthorities felt frightened of the tribes,and conscious that, at least for the nonce,they lacked the physical means for copingwith them. The Pakistan Army as yetscarcely existed, it was in process offormation out of the pievious Army ofundivided India; bits of the latter werestill being shuttled about the map, Hinduand Sikh ones remaining untransferred onPakistani soil, and Muslim ones on Indian.Arid for decades, the tribes had proved anintTactable, dangerous thorn in the fleshof the much stranger British regime. Asrecently as 1937-8 those of Waziristan

152alone, for months, had pinned down no fewerthen 50,000 troops of the Imperial forcesin sanguinary guerrilla warfare”.joseph Karbel, who was a member of India-

Pakistan LN.Commission gives his comments as follows. Inhis book “Dangerin Icashmir”, he says on page 63:-

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“Through all the mists of uncertainty thatshroud the negotiations concerning the - futureof Kashmir, one fact alone is clear. This isthe irresponsible behavior of the Maharaja. Itwas this that brought his nation uncommitted,his peoples wishes unascertained, past thefatal day of partition, August 15, 1947. It washis stubbornness, his coy maneuvering,including his “attacks of colic”, that broughtupon his people unparalleled suffering andpain. In this respect at least, he was a worthy“Son of the Dogras’.When the fateful day of August 15 4awned,Muslims celebrated a Pakistan Day” with flagsenthusiastically displayed throughout thestate. The Maharaja ordered them torn down andretaliated by closing all pro-Pakistaninewspapers.Still the pressure mounted, and the storiescarried by refugees pouring In from bloodsoakedPunjab by Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims must havedone little to allay the Maharajas anxiety. Nordid the presence in Kashmir of these bitter andhysterical refugees do any thing to reduce thetension within Kashmir”.Again on page 66 he states:‘Whatever the validity of the mutualaccusations, there is l::tle doubt thatIcashmir was brewing with revolt against theMaharaja long before the tribesmen. invaded thecountmy. The political opposition launched in1930 was carried into an open resistance in1946. This was resumed in the spring of 1947,and it reached a critical climax in the summerwhen the news of the fratricidal struggle inPunjab echoed throughout Kashmir.The Maharaja apparently was thoroughly aware ofthe situation. He strengthened the Sikh andHindu garrisons in the Muslim areas. Then,towards the end of July, he ordered the Muslims

152to deposit arms with the police. The Muslimsanswered by organising themselves in guerrilla

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groups in the wild hills of West Poonch,where theii movements remained unnoticed forsome time. They were led by seasoned soldierswho previousLY had been demobilized from theBritish Indian army They organized thesmuggling of arms. Messengers were sent tothe tribal areas of the North-West FrontierProvince where manufacturing of small armsand ammunitions had been practiced for years.The Muslim partisans in the hills were armedwith these weapons. Many ex~servicemefl fromWorld War II, hearing about the Maharaja’sexpeditions against Muslim villages,evacuated their families to West Punjab,where their relatives lived and returned toJammu to fight the Dogra rule”.

About who led the movement for liberationJoseph Kathel on page 67 of his book givescandidly the fact that:~This movement was ledby a young Kashmiri. SardarMohammad Ibrahim Khan, who since June hadtraveled throu~hOut the country, arousing thespirit of his countrymen. In August henarrowly escaped arrest in Srinagar and fledto Pakistan. At Murree he laid the foundationfor a political movement of liberation, outof which later grew the And (free) Icashmirgovernment”.As soon as Kashmir war of liberationstarted in the Poonch province of the state,Pakistan Government got. naturally, alarmed.Firstly, because this area of the state was onthe border of Pakistan from Sialkot toAbbotabad. Secondly Pakistan army has a largenumber of army personnel from this province.As soon as these soldiers heard that theirkith and kin were in extreme danger, thePakistan Army soldiers started deserting theirunits and joined the fight for liberation

152The Maharaja of Kashmir fled from Srinagarto Jammu in a terrible panic. The Governmentof India took undue advantage of this panickysituation and forced the Maharaja to sign aconditioned accession to India, promising aloose sort of plebiscite as soon as normalconditions were restored India took theKashmir case to the Security Council in ahurry to have Pakistan condemned and havetheir accession

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legalised. But in this effort, they failedto succeed. In 1948, when this author wasrepresenting the Azad Kashmir cause,Security Council was seized of the mailerand a debate going on in Lake Success.Mahatama Chandi was shot dead in Delhi. TheSecurity Council debate was suddenlypostponed. Nothing came out of these stupiddebates except a UNCLE Commission to holdparley~s with all concerned parties.

The first blunder that PakistanDelegation committed was that it managedto meet Sheikh Abdullah in Newyork andasked for the release of our leaderChaüdhari Ghulam Abbas from Jainmu jail.He was supposed to have come to meetQuaide-Azam Mohammad Mi Jinnah, theGovernor General of Pakistan, with aproposal of independent Kashmir. On hisfirst meeting with Mr. Jinnah he out-rightrejected any such thoughts even. ChaudhariChulam Abbas gave start to a quarrel amongleaders which liquidated the liberatiopmovement and gave birth to a KashmirAffairs Ministry, with MA. Gurmani as itsMinister. This Ministry played havoc withthe movement and had it finally liquidatedto the satisfaction of all bureaucrats inPakistan.

Another blunder was the acceptance ofaccession of Junagadh to Pakistan.Junagadh was a small state ruled by aMuslim Nawab, but majority of its peoplewere Hindus. The State itself wascontiguous to India. Pakistan had nobusiness to accept its accession, foraccession any state had to be contiguousto a dominion and Raja or Nawab had to

ascertain the wishes of his statesubjects. If the Nawab of Junagadh hadtaken the trouble of ascertaining the

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wishes of his people, the wishes of theHindu population could not be aAything buta wish for accession to India. This gave astrong argument to India when Pakistan, onthe above criterion, claimed the accessionof the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Thiswas a gamble which cost Pakistan, herlegitimate claims on Kashmir. ICashmir waslost as was paradise in Milton’s poem.Pakistan committed still anothermistake in 1948 when

Patel offered to Liaqat Ali LChan,ICashmir, provided1-lyderabad State was conceded to India.Liaqat Ali Khan, thePrime Minister, took this author intoconfideiwe and sought his

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opinion. This author, without least hesitation,accepted the propoSitiofl as fair and in theinterest of peace and welfare ofthe State People both in Kashmir and HyderabadLiaqat Mi Khan told the author that GhularflMohammad, the Finance Minister, was opposed tothe proposition and ~could I go and convincehim of this’. consequently a meeting wasarranged with Mr. Chulam Mohamma& the FinanceMinister. In this meeting, the author tried hisbest to convince Mr. Ghulam Mohammad, but herefused to budge an inch. This author came toknow later on, that one Sydney Cotton. a pilotwas bringing in an aeroplane carrying goldbricks from Flyderabad to Karachi. Mr. GhulamMohammad had a share in this. This tragic eventlinished all chances of Kashmir’s amicablesettlement. Hyderabad was, later on, annexed byIndia by marching their troops into it.That finished Hyderabad too.

In November, 1947, Quaid~eAZam Mohan~fl~ AllJinnah. was at Lahore, when Indian troopsstarted pouring into Kashmir, Mr. Jinnah,as agreat leader and statesman, ordered his armiesto move into Jammu and Srtnagar both. It waslaterexplained that British officers in Pakistanarmy and Indian army came to meet him inLahore. Mr. Jinnah changed his orders. Thismay be so. but I had it from the Quaide.AZamthat he changed his orders, because hiscabinet ‘got cold feet. tie himself told mcthis in a later meeting. He was, during hislast months, led up with his cabinet and wasnot on good terms with the Prime Minister.This I had from Miss Jinnab herself.

If his orders were faithfully andcourageously carried out, ICashinir wouldhave fallen in his pocket~ like a ripe fruit.He believed in this bold step but hiscolleagues were not in agreement with him,Particularly Mr. Chulam Mohammad made it verydifficult for every one in the cabinet He

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once, I am told on good authority, threw hisfile on the table while Quaid-e-AZafl~ waspresiding and ran out of the room. He was apatient of blood-P~5SU~ Quaid~e~AZam next daysent a man after him and he was got round.

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Pakistan’s mistakes were many. I could not domuch to prevent them. I was perhaps too small aman to make men at the helm of affairs changetheir policies which amounted to graveblunders.

In the context of “Blunders” two events mustfind a special place. These events are in mypersonal knowledge. One incident could havefound a place in the little book “Raiders inIcashmir”, by General Akbar Khan. He was aparty to this decision. But it did not find anyplace in his book.When we were planning a systematic liberationcampaign in ICashmir. we at once realized thestrategic value of Kashmir Airport. This wasthe only method open to India to land their

troops in Srinagar, in the valley of ICashmiranywhere. Since Pathankot gave them no land madconnexion, therefore, Indian troops could landonly by air. This is what actually happenedlater. This was the crucial step by which Indiagot the upper hand over us in 1947 on-wardsWe prepared a special contingent of toughpeople, in the command of a dependable person.Politically motivated and otherwise thoroughlydependable, this person was almost a favouritechoice of General Akbar Ithan. I do not thinkadvisable to mention his name. This expeditionwas to travel by land routes to reach the

Airport from behind and sorround it all roundby dangerous snipers. They could make it easily

impossible for Indian planes to land.The Dogra Army, as it was spread all over the

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state, had become vulnerable and non-effective.Banihal pass passage was so difficult. In anycase, the Indian troops could not possiblyreach Banihal pass to save Kashmir valley forDogras or for India.The tragedy happened because our contingentand its young commander got cold feet and ranback after covering some distance from Kohalaside. When on 27th October, 1947, the IndianTroops actually landed in Srinagar Airportthere was no resistance. The troops of India

poured into the valley of

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209Kashmir, fought our Mujahids outside Baramulaand Pathan area. First Indian regiment wasalmost wiped out, including its commanders Itwas a Icamaoon Regiment with some Sikhs in it.

This happened to be a crucial incident in thehistory of Kashmirs liberation struggle.

The other event that I wish to mention isanother crucial incident. A parallel Governmentin Jarnmu and Kashmir was formed with a formalannouncement on 24th October, 1947. This authorwas its accepted Head. By this time we have hadan army of at 30/40 thousand officers andsoldiers. We had liberated whole of PoonchProvince, except the city of Poonch. We hadalso liberated Mirpur and Kotli, liberatedalmost both of them. Gilgit and Ladakh werealso liberated Out of a total area of 84000square miles, we had liberated at least 1/2 ofthe state; Kargil, the northern most areas wereunder our control. We were behind Shopian, avalley town. Whole of Rajouri area wasconquered. We had already set up anadministrative unit in Rajouri area.

I hav~ already discussed elsewhere thatIndia was raising hell against Pakistan.Pakistan was being dubbed as aggressor. Agrave situation was brewing It could result ina war with Pakistan. Pakistan forces beingspread all over Indo-Pakistan continent, itwould have created a dangerous situation. Withthousands of refugees pouring into Pakistan,Pakistan Government was certainly in a verytight position.

On 27th October, 1947, India accepted aconditional accession instrument from theMaharaja, who had run away from Srinagar in adisgraceful manner. This fraudulent accessionobtained by India, gave India a legal andconstitutional posture to send her troops intoKashmir. Pakistan had no such legal characterto ask their troops to do the same, whicheasily they could have if some legal coverage

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was available to them.I rushed to Karachi with the proposal that

Government of Pakistan agree to accept anacccssthn on behalf of Kashrnir State from theGovernment of Az~d Jammu and Kashmir.

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Accepting this accession, Pakistan with agood enough legal coverage could asktheir troops to march to Jammu andSrinagar. This position was almostadopted by the Quaid-eAzam in the firstweek of November, 1947. My proposal wasrejected by Liaquat Mi Khan, the PrimeMinister I believe that this was a chancelost. If Pakistan had taken courage andplayed the fiance, things would haveturned in our favour. Non-acceptance ofthis proposal. to my mind, was a graveerror that Pakistan committed.

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Chapter XIX.

ACCESSION ISSUE OF THE STATESAT the time of independence both India and

Pakistan had as many as five hundred odd stateswhich had to accede either to the Dominion ofPakistan or India. The last Viceroy of pre-Partition India, in his last address to thePrinces, had positively emphasized that thePrinces had to acceded to one of the twodominions. He had further urged upon them thatthe accession must take place, if possible,before August 15,1947. This meeting of thePrinces took place in the month of July, 1947.They were not altogether unanimous nor werethey decisive. The out-moded old system of thenile of Maharajas was scattered ~ll over theIndo-Pakistan sub-continent and the Princes hadnot the slightest idea of how to act when theevents proceeded so quickly. Probably, most ofthe Princes thought that the British wouldnever part with power in India. and, therefore,their sun would continue to shine and theywould continue suppressing their own people.The Princes always depended on the support ofBritish in India. Quite often the Britishforces were used against the people in theStates, and the gaddies of the Maharajas weremade safe for them at the point of the bayonet.

But independence dawned much earlier thanthese people had expected. They were caughtunaware. Therefore they had no consideredopinion on the matter, far less any decision toannounce. Some of the Maharajas, however, werefar-sighted enough and had also enoughexperience to make up their minds on theaccession issue. It was obvious to them that,in a subcontinent like ours, when the British

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had already left, and the Princes had neithergood-will in the Congress cirr1~s nor in theMuslim League, their future, unless theyunconditionally surrendered according to theadvice of the last Viceroy, would

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be extremely doubtful. There were some Princes,nevertheless,who still believed that theBritish could help them, or th~t they couldmaintain their own separate independent entity.For instance, Slates like Travancore and Cochintried their level best to maintain theirindependent existence, but they were completelybroken by the Indian States Ministry headed bythe late Mr.Patel. But the question ofHyderabad (Dii.). Kashmir and Junagadh was notso easy. These States became the subject ofdispute between the Governments of India andPakistan.

So far as the Indian National Congress wasconcerned, it had a definite policy on theStates of India. There was a separate CongressOrganization known as the States Congress,which was once presided over by PanditJawaharlal Nehru himself The Indian Congresspositively abhorred the rule of the Maharahjasand the Nawabs and the tyranny which wasimposed on the people of the States. T1eCongress point of view on the advent of Indian

independence was that the Princes must go. Ifany one of the Princes came in the way of thispolicy he was broken and smashed to bits and

On the issue of accession ofthe States, the last Viceroy ofold India had emphasized thefollowing considerations on thePrinces-1. ‘Geographical compulsiàns

which cannot be evaded’;and

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pieces. The last expression of this policy ofGovernment of India was made in case ofHyderabad, where by means of police action theybroke the resistance of the State and occupiedit through their armed forces.

Since the question of the States had to bedetermftied one way or the other definite lineshad to be suggested to their rulers. Certainprinciples were to be determined with regard tothe accession issue. The States, with this endin view, had to be guided by the Britishauthority in India on the lapse ofparamoufltcy.

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I propose to quote here from Mission withMountbatten by Alan Campbell-Johnson. He sayson page 192.“It has been freely recognized that the actof accession is the prerogative of thePrinces. But India’s readiness to recogT~]Sesuch acts was governed by the time limit ofthe 15th August, which was, of course, thebasis of Mountbattens urgent appeal to thePrinces on 25th July. Moreover, arising fromthat speech two other powerful factors havealways been inherent in the choice ofaccession_first, in Mountbatten’s own words,certain geographical compulsions’ whichcannot be evaded and, secondly, the communalmajorities of the Rulers subjects.”As soon as the British Government announced

their plan of June 3,1947, for the future ofthe mao-Pakistan sub-continent, paramountcyover the States was to cease on the appointedday, namely the 15th 1947, and the States wereto be left free to decide to which Dominionthey should accede. At the same time, the CrownRepresentative advised the Rulers of the Statesto take into consideration economic factors,geographical contiguity, the wishes of theirpeople and other factors, in athving at adecision vis-a-vis accession

The Indian independence Act provided thatthe suzerainty of the British Crown over theIndian Princely States would lapse after thetransfer of power to India and Pakistan.

After the lapse of paramountcy, the CrownRepresentative gave his candid advice to thePrinces based on the definite principlesmentioned above.

It will appear that at that time the Indianleaders were of the opinion that the accessionof a State to Pakistan or to India shoulddepend upon the will of the people rather than

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that of the ruler. On March 8,1948, the lateMr. Gopalasawamy Ayanger, the IndianRepresentatives explained to the SecurityCouncil the Indian position, as regardsaccession of States, in these words-

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“No doubt the Ruler, as the head of State,has to take action in respect of accession.When he and his people are in agreement as tothe Dominion to which they should accede, heapplies for accession to that Dominion.However, when he has taken one view hispeople have to be ascertained. When soascertained, the Ruler has to take action inaccordance with the verdict of the people.This is our position.”Similarly, in the White Paper on Hyderabad~issued by the Government of India on August10, 1942 the position was stated in thefollowing words-“The Government of India are firmly of theview that, whatever sovereign rights revertedto the States on the lapse of paramountcy.they vest in the people and conditions mustbe created in every State for a free andunfettered exercise of these rights.”As has already been pointed out, the

accession issue with regard to other States,was amicably settled. Trouble arose with regardto the State of Hyderabad~ Junagadh andKashmir. 1ydera’oad had a Muslim Ruler but amajority of non-Muslim oopulation. junagadh.which was contiguous to Pakistan by sea, hadalso a Muslim Ruler but a majority of non-Muslim population . Kasbmii had a Hindu Rulerbut an overwhelming majority of its populationis Muslim. Hyderabad decided to remainindependent for the time being. Junagadhacceded to Pakistan on September 15, 1947 andthe Maharaja of Kashmir made an offer ofaccession to India, which the latter acceptedon October 21,1947, subject to certainconditions.

About Hyderabad, the stand of the Governmentof India was that the State should firstaccede to India and then a plebiscite could beheld to ascertain the wishes of the people;

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very much like Hitler’s proposal for areferendum in Austria after the occupation ofthat country by German troops. In August 1948,the Government of India made a statement oftheir policy with regard to Hyderabad that:

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215

“The Nizam’s Government wish to hold aplebiscite under the conditions in which asmall militant group controls the destiniesof the people and the Razakars are left freeto terrorize the people into submission. Aplebiscite without an interim Governmentrepresentative of and satisfactory to themajority population in Hyderabad will only bea fraud on the people.”This, exactly, is the stand taken by the

government of Pakistan on the accession ofKashrnir. To 1nct~ia what was good enough inHyderabad was not good enough in Kashmir.It will appear that the Nizam of Hyderabad

desired to enter into special treaty relationswith the government of India so that a fairmeasure of independence could be maintainedfor his State. This position was notacceptable to the Government of India, andthey asked the Nizam to submit and accede to!ndia without any conditions. The Nizaln thenoffered to hold a plebiscite under the aegisof the United Natiohs so that the wishes ofthe people may be ascertained on the issue ofaccession to India. This positions also, wasnot acceptable to the Government of India. Thechoice offered tO the Nizam of Hyderabad was aplebiscite after he had already acceded toIndia. When no amicable arrangement could bearrived at between the Government of India andthe government of the Nizaul, the Governmentof India invaded the territory of the Nizam àf1-lyderabad by means of a Police action’ andtook possession of the State, In the processatrocities were committed on the Muslimpopulation of the State.

With regard to Junagadh, it entered into astand still agreement with Pakistan on 15thAugust ,1947 and acceded to Pakistan on 15thSeptember, 1947. The Government of Indiastrongly objected to the agreement betweenjunagadh and Pakistan. The Government of

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2. Communal majorities of the Ruler’s subjects.

India strenuously maintained that accessionto Pakistan was in violation of theprinciples on which the partition of thesubcontinent had been agreed to and effected.They argued that partition of lndo-Pakistansubcontinent had taken place on the basisthat, where there were Muslims in themajority that should form Pakistan, and where

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216there were Hindus in majority it should formIndia. On this basis, they said, the accessionof Junagadh State to Pakistan was not justifiedand the Government of India thought thataccession of Junagadh State to Pakistan was adirect encroachment on Indian sovereignty andterritory.

The Foreign Minister of Pakistan, whilemaking his speech in the Security Council inthe year 1950, in connection with theaccession of the Jammu and Icashmir State,saidtannot Pakistan with equal justice retortwith regard toKashniir in the very words employed by theGovernment of India in respect of Junagadh,that the so-called accession of lcashnür toIndia is in utter violation of the principleson which the partition of the country wasagreed upon and effected, that it is anencroachment on Pakistans sovereignty andterritory and that it represents an attemptto disturb the integrity of Pakistan?’It was also pointed out in the same speech by

Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan, on the logicproduced by India, that the majority of thepopulation in Junagadh was Hindu and the Stateof Junagadh was contiguous to India, the Ruler,though Muslim, had no right to, decide theaccession issue against the will of theJunagadh people, Kashinir ought to accede toPakistan unconditionally. It was pointed outthat the ruler of Kashmir was a Hindu, butthere was an overwhelming majority of Muslimpopulation in the State. The State of Jammu andKashmir was geographically contiguous toPakistan. Then, on what logic and under whatconsiderations could India accept the accessionof Icashmir? Speaking further, the Foreign

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Minister of Pakistan pointed out-“They proposed that the question ofaccession should be settled either bynegotiations, that is, admitting India’sclaim to the accession of Junagadh, or by aplebiscite organized under the joint controlci the State. of Junagadh and the Governmentof India.0If this was a fair offer, why cannotPakistan with equaljustice, conteml that the ascertainment ofthe wishes of the

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2. Communal majorities of the Ruler’s subjects.

people of Kashmir should be by means of aplebiscite held under the joint control ofthe State of Kashmfr and the goveflMT~eflt ofPakistanT’SubsequenttY a farcical plebiscite was held

in junagadh while India was already in militaryoccUpab0t~ of the State. Pakistan’s complaintwith regard to the State of ~unagadh is stillpending before the Security Council. So far asthe Security Council itself is concerned, ithas practically shelved the cases of junagadhand Hyderabad Kashmit still remains a liveissue on its agenda.

As regards the issue of the accession ofKashmir it has been aiscussed in the chapterunder the heading - Kashmir’s Ties withPakistan.’ After the Maharaja of Jammu andKashm showed his in~clinatiOfl to accede toIndia, an independence movement was startedby the people of jamm~1 and Kashmir Stateagainst such an accession. Talking aboutthis movement Sheikh Abdullah commented asfollows-“The Kashmir State sent their troopsand there was panicin Poonch. But most of the adult populationof Poonch were ex-servicemen of the IndianArmy who had close conneCti0~ with thepeople in Jhelum and RawalPindi me)’evacuated their women and children, closedthe frontier and returned, with armssupplied to them by willing people. Thepresent position was that the Kashmir State

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forces were lorced to withdraw in certainareas’.When the tribesmen had to withdraw back to

Abbottabad, the condition in the Jammu andKashmir State became very precarious; andthe people of the State were in completepanic and tenor. ~~rnediatCly after this ageneral massacre of the Mussalmans startedin the State, particularly in Jammu. I wastold by Quaid~e~nm that, when he felt thatthe Muslims of Kashmir were in grave dangershe, as Govern0rcent decided to send Pakistantroops into the State. What exactly happenedafter this has been narrated by AlanCampbell Johnson in his book MfssiOfl withMountbatten on page 223 as follows

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218

the military and political implications oftoday’s move are grave, and Mountbatten is, ofcourse, under no illusion about that. Althoughhis role can only now, in the last resort, beadvisory. I get the firm impression that hispresence may already have helped to save hisGovernment, overburdened and distracted withthe problems of the Punjab and Janagadh, fromthe most dangerous pitfalls It was a suddenemergency, calling at once for restraint andquick decision.MOUntabatten’5 extraordinarYvitality and candidness were well-adapted tothe demands of the hour.“I gather from him that it was last Fridaynight (24th October), at a buffet dinner inhonour of the Siamese Foreign Minister, thatNehru first spoke of bad news and reported thattribesmen were being taken in militarytransport up the Rawalpindi road. State forces,it seems, were absent, and altogether a mostcritical situation was developing. Mountbattenattended the Defence Committee on Saturday25th, at which General Lockhart read out atelegram from the Headquarters of the PakistanArmy stating that some five thousand tribesmenhad attacked and captured Muzaffarabad andDomel land and that considerable tribalreinforcements could be expected. Reportsshowed that they were already little more thanthirty-five miles from Srinagar.”

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219

He further goes on to say, The DefenceCommittee considered the most immediatenecessity was to rush in arms and ammunitionalready recplested by the Kashmir Governmentswhich could enable the local populace inSrinagar to put up some defence against theraiders. The problem of troop reinforcem~t5was considered’ and Mountbatten urged that itwould be dangerous to send in any troopsunless Kashmir had first offered to accede.Moreover, accession should only betemporat3nr prior to a plebiscite. No finaldecision was taken on these vital questionson the 25th. but it was agreed that V.P MenOnshould fly to Srinagar at once to find outthe true position ther&V.P.Menon, the Secretary ci States for the

Government of India, flew to Srinagar and foundthe conditions extremely ~~5turbiflg? He rushedthe Mthuaraia through the instrument ofaccession and flew back to Delhi, leaving theMaharaja at jammu.

Alan Campbell40~50” throws further lightwith regard to the Kashmir issue via-a-Visthe old Viceroy of India. He says: “Whileurging the Maharaja to make up his mindaboutaccession before the transfer of power’ hehad all along, from his visit in Juneonwards, exerted his whole influence toprevent him from acceding to one Dominionor the other without first taking steps toascertain the will of his people byreferendum, plebisote election or even, ifthese methods were iznpracticables byrepresentative public meetings. When duringthe past forty-eight hours it became clear

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that the Government were determined,against the military advice both of theirown Chiefs of Staff arid ot himself, tosend in troops in response to a requestfrom lcashmir (or aid, he returned to thecharge about accession.’campbellJ0~50fl again~ in the same book,

relates the story that when Mr. Stephens~ theEditor of The Statesman,

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220Delhi, wrote a leading article “which in itsanxiety over the decline in Indo-Pakistan”relations, had denounced the injection ofIndian troops into Icashmir, the Viceroy sentfor the Editor and admonished him, in thismanner-

“You cannot build a nation on tricks. Jinnabat Abbottabad had been expecting to ride intriumph into Kashmir. He had beenfrustrated. First there was Junagadh, thenyesterday’s fantastic hold-up of theHyderabad delegation. India’s move onKashmir was an event of different order. Herreadiness to accept a plebiscite had beendeclared from the outset. A large-scalemassacre, including a couple of hundredBritish residents in Srinagar, by tribesmenwould have been inevitable if no militarymove had been made. The Maharaja’s accessiongave complete legality to the action so fartaken”.

How Pakistan was prevented from sending hertroops into Kashmir is narrated by the sameauthor in his book Mission with Mountbatten,which is, of course, interesting. Henarrates in the middle of to-days DefenceCommittee, Auchinleckrang up Mountbatten from Lahore to say thathe had succeeded in persuading Jinnah tocancel orders given the previous night forPakistan troops to be moved into Icashmir.The order had reached General Gracey, theacting Pakistan Commander-in-Chief in thetemporary absence of General Messervythrough the Military Secretary of theGovernor of the West I’unjab, with whomJinnah was staying. Gracey replied that hewas not prepared to issue any such

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instruction without the approval of theSupreme Commander. At Graceys urgentrequest, Auchinleèk flew to Lahore thismorning and explained to Jinnah that in sofar as Kashmir had acceded to India, theGovernment of India had a perfect right tosend in troops in response to the Maharaja’srequest.“Before Auchinlekc left him he had not onlycalled off the order, but also invitedMountbatten and Nehru to come to Lahore.Vernon, however, arriving late for dinnerafter some harassing hours on the telephone,announced, ‘it is

-

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221the end. The whole plan had broken down asNehru could not get to Lahore because ofillness”.I am quite positive in my mind today that if,on the urgent call that I had submitted toQuaid-i-Azam. the then Governor General ofPakistan, on behalf of the people ol Kashmir,the Pakistan troops had moved into Kashmir,i.e. into Jammu and Srinagar, the accessionof jammu and Kashmir would have beenaccomplished for Pakistan. I am just as surethat there would have been no war betweenIndia and Pakistan and I have good reason forsaying so. though I cannot go into thesedetails. The alteration of this fatefuldecision changed the course of history andthe accession of Jammu and Kashmir State isnow a matter for the future On Kashmir,Mahatma Gandhi (relates Campbelhjohnsoul)rstruck an almost Churchiulan note. His linewas: ~The result was in the hands of God; mencould but do or die. I-ic would not shed atear if the little Union force was wiped outlike the Spartarts bravely defendingThermOPYlae nor would he mind Sheikh Abdullahand his Moslem, Hindu and Sikh comrades dyingat their posts in the defence of Kashmir.That would be a glorious example to the Testof India’.Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of

India, in his telegram of 8th November, 1947,to the Prime Minister of Pakistan said.

~fl is essential in order to restore goodrelations between the two Dominions thatthere should be the acceptance of theprinciple that, where the ruler of a Statedoes not belong to a community to which themajority of the subjects belong and wherethe State has not acceded to that Dominionwhose majority community is the same as thatof the State, the question whether the Statehas finally acceded to one or other Dominionbe ascertained by a reference to the will of

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the people.’Then again the government of India took

their stand on the same principle. Thestatement of the Indian Representatives

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222

Mr. Gopalasawami Ayyangar, may be re-quotedwith emphasis. On 8th March, 1948, he said,However, when he (Prince) takes one view andhis peopletake another view, the wishes of the peoplehave to be ascertained. When so ascertained,the Ruler has to take action In accordancewith the verdict of the people. That is ourposition.”It crystallises into this position-(a) Certain states had to accede

straightaway to India, and certainothers had, without any controversy, toaccede to Pakistan;

(b) There were other States which wished toremain independent and wished to haverelations with both India and Pakistan;

(c) There were still other States whoseRulers were at variance with thepeople. Namely, the people wished toaccede to one Dominion and the Rulerwished to accede to the other.

In the last alternative above, it wasexpected by all concerned, i.e. the BritishGovernment, the Indian Government, and thePakistan Government, that in such State theprinciple that the will of the people should beascertained should prevail.

While in the case of Hyderabad and Junagadhthe Indian Government accepted this principle,in the case of Kashmir they only accepted thisprinciple on paper, and, against allpersuasions, they have so far refused toimplement the provisions of the plebisciteagreement

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223

Chapter XX

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONSWHEN the Governor-General of India accepted

the accession of Jammu and Kashmir State inOctober 1947, its accession was made explicitlysubject to a future plebiscite. In the IndianIndependence Act there was no such provisionthat any State could effect a conditionalaccession to one of the two dominions.Accession had to be total and irrevocable. Inthe case of Kashmir State it was not certain asto which dominion, according to the Governor-General of India, the people wanted to accede.Therefore, an arbitrary procedure was resortedto and adopted by India in this particularcase.

Again when the matter went to the SecurityCouncil about the accession of Jammu andKashmir State, the Government of India acceptedthe principle of plebiscite in the State in theclearest terms. The Pakistan Government alwaysinsisted that it should be the will of thepeople, and not the act of Maharaja, thatshould decide the issue of accession of theState. The principle of plebiscite has benaccepted by all the parties to the dispute. TheUnited Nations has also, in all its resolutionsreferring to the issue of accession, alwayslaid it down in the clearest terms that it wasthe democratic process of plebiscite thatshould finally decide the issue of accession ofJammu and Kashmir State to either India andPakistan. That has been the position up todate.

Though all concerned have accepted a lulland impartial plebiscite as the only method of

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deciding the accession of the State of Jammuand Kashmir, and the efforts of the UnitedNations have so far been directed to that end,the attitude of the Government of India hasbeen the main hitch towards the finalachievement of this objective. Though the

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224United Nations appointed an Administrator toconduct the plebiscite in the State, hisinduction into office has not so far beenpossible. The main reason for this delay hasbeen the question of demilitarization of theState and other ancillary matters. Up to thisday it is the demilitarization problem thatholds up all progress in the matter. It can besaid without any fear of contradiction that,with regard to the demilitarization of theState. Pakistan and Azad Kashmir authoritieshave always been very reasonable and they havebeen prepared to accommodate the Government ofIndia to every reasonable extent.

If a plebiscite is not held in the Jammuand Kashmir State, I have never been doubtfulnor am I doubtful today as to its results. TheState is inhabited by 80 per cent of Muslimpopulation. This Muslim population owedallegiance to a number of political parties.One of them was All Jammu and Kashmir NationalConference. The case of nationalist leaders isthat a very large number of Jammu and KashmirState people believe in the ideology of theNational Conference, which in turn owes itsallegiance to the Indian National Congress.Nationalist leaders do not believe in the two-nation theory, on the basis of which Pakistanwas founded, and India was partitioned. On thebasis of this theory, the nationalist leadersbelieved that the majority of the people of theState wish to accede to India, and, in fact,according to them, they have already acceded toIndia. The Pakistan and Azad Kashmir case is,that an overwhelming majority of the people ofJammu and Kashmir State is in favour ofPakistan and that includes some of non-Muslimsas well. But, taking even a very conservativeview of the matter, it would be safe to presumethat a very large majority, may be 95 per centof the Muslims, will vote for Pakistan. It isquite true that there may be some people whoare with National Conference, but that does notnecessarily mean that they automatically wouldvote for India. The matter stands this way,

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that there are National Conference leaders whowould like to vote for nationalist leader asPrime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Sate, but,on the accession issue, they would not like tovote for India. This matter, however, canalways be confirmed by neutral observers.

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225Nationalist leaders claim that their partyfollowers, because of being members of theNational Conference, would ipso fGcto vote forIndia is not an acceptable proposition. Thisposition has greatly changed now, becauseSheikh Abdullah and his party-men havedissociated themselves from the NationalConference. They have now formed a new party.

If a plebiscite had been held in 1948-49 oreven in 1950, the plebiscite results would havebeen an 80 per cent vote of the people of theSate in favour of Pakistan But since thenthings have changed. Their henchmen, and theGovernment of India, have consolidatedthemselves in the State. They have establishedthings according to their own ideas. This mightmake some difference, but, I am still positive,it will never make a decisive difference. Ibelieve the result of an overall plebiscite, ifa free and fair plebiscite is held under a freeand impartial United Nations agency, would be abig majority in favour of Pakistan Thisposition is as true to-day as it was everbefore. The fact of the matter is that Indiahas manifestly and materially lost her prestigein the State, after the demise of Pandit NehnL

- There are people who talk of a zonalplebiscite For this purpose the State could bedivided into the following zones-

(a) Trans-Chenab area i.e., Kathua, Jammuand Udhampur Districts and a part ofRiasi.

(b) Rest of Jammu Area, that means Mirpur.parts of Riasi District and parts ofPoonch.

(c) Azad Kashmir territory, which includesparts ofMirpur District; parts of PoonchDistrict, parts ofMuzaffarabad District and Gilgit andparts of

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Ladakh; and

(d) The Valley of Kashmir.If, for some reason, we abandon our accepted

principle of an overall plebiscite, and thinkof an alternative plan in the form of zonalplebiscite, this would pm-suppose a partitionof the

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226State. It would mean that the State must bedivided into different zones, and the resultsof these zones, separately. should decide whatparts should go to India and what parts shouldgo to Pakistan. If, for instance, the trans-Chenab area, which Is a Hindu majority area andis also contiguous to India, returns a resultin favour of India, then, it is argued, itshould go to India. I will show how the resultsof zonal plebiscite would go, but, before I doso, I wish to go into the question of partitionof the Sate, which a zonal plebiscitepre~5UppOSes.

The Government of India is opposed topartition of the State. The Government ofPakistan are also opposed, to the partitionof the State. All political parties of theState, with the exception of very few arealso opposed to partition. There has not beenany suggestion by the United Nations that theState should be partitioned. There has,however, been a suggestion put forward on adiplomatic level, to the effect that theState be partitioned in such a manner thatIndia should get all such contiguous areas asare dominated by the Hindu population. Apartition can only be agreed to if theparties agree. In fact, that is tnie aboutany solution of the problem The Government ofIndia ultimately might have to agree to sucha solution, but it will be very difficult forthe Government of Pakistan to agree becauseif the area across the Chenab goes to India,Pakistan’s defence and economic problems willremain unsolved. Since Pakistan is committedto the principle of an overall plebiscite_ itwill be very difficult for her to get awayfrom this stand. This may, to some degree, betrue about India also. As regards thepolitical parties of the State, they have notso far seen their way to even consider analternative plan. But if the matter is put tothem, as a last resort, in the name ofinternational peace, it will have to belooked at from a broader angle. After Canal

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Waters Agreement between India and Pakistanthis aspect of the problem has become mucheasier.• This question can now be considered as afeasible and acceptable solution.

The results of such a zonal plebiscite.one can safely predict1 will be as follows-

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227

(a) In the trans-Chenab zone of Udhantpur,Jammu and Kashmir and Kathua anoverwhelming majority of votes will gobr India.

(1~)In the rest of Jammu and all other zonesan overwhelming vote will go forPakistan.

The result of this zonal plebiscite would bethat in the three districts of Kathua, Jammuand Udhampur, which are contiguous to India,the votes will go for Pakistan.

The third possible solution of the problem,which has recently been discussed in certainquarters, is the independence of the Sate. Onecannot easily conceive of Jammu and Kashmirremaining a full sovereign independent State.There are some psychological and sentimentalreasons for such a proposition. If one were toexamine the whole problem dispassionately1 oneis confronted with the following central facts-

(a) Is the State of Jammu and Kashmir, asan

•independent country, a financial andfiscal possibility?

(N Can the finances of the State be suchas to allow the maintenance of somesort of an army to guard her frontiers?

(c) Are there not very seriouspossibilities of the State becoming anarena of international intrigue becauseso many international territories meeton the borders of the State?

(d) Can the Jammu and Icashmir State be,economically and from the trade andfood points of view, absolutelyindependent?

(e) Can an independent State of Jammu and

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Kashmir be of any use to Pakistan orIndia?

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228

f) Can Pakistan or India countenance andbenefit from such an independent Stateto the extent to which it should?

These are some of the fundamental questionswhich must be answered. So far as the area andthe population are concerned, one can verywell visualize an independent Jammu andKashmir as a Switzerland of Asia. The Statecould welcome visitors from all over the worldand provide an international holiday resort,where people could come and forget theirworries and spend some money. That is one wayof looking at it. Another manner of looking atit is more difficult. Unless some solideconomic and financial aid comes fromsomewhere an independent Jammu and KashmirState is not feasible. If, for example, thetrade relations break down with India andPakistan for any reason, what will happen tothe trade of the State? If her trade fails,can the State financially exist ~nd maintainher independence. without surrendering hersovereignty to one of the large countries?This, in my opinion, is not possible. TheState will have to compromise her sovereigntyat every point, when it has to bargain fortrade or financial aid. Then the big questionis, can the State be independent and maintainan army which could guarantee the defence ofthe State? The answer is a positive NO. TheState finances are such that it cannot bepossible for the State to maintain any army atall. It will be foolish to imagine that theState can maintain an army, which will, ifoccasion arises, fight with my power acrossher frontiers. If this proposition is correct,then the State has to live only on the good-will and certain guarantees~ which neighboursmust give her. An autonomous status can beconceded to Jammu and Kashmir State byPakistan essentially and also by India. Such astatus is conceivable, when Pakistan first,and then India can give a joint internationalguarantee that both will respect the integrity

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and independence of Jammu and Kashmir State.If such a position materialises, then theState of Jammu and Kashmir will have to enterinto a special treaty agreement with Pakistanwith regard to her defence, foreign affairs,communications, trade etc. This will beabsolutely essential.

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229

There is still another thing which could beconsidered. That the State should remain in asemi-independent condition, and this positionmay be guaranteed by Pakistan first, and thenby India, and also by an international bodylike the United Nations. A central governmentfor the State of Jammu and Kashmir may then beestablished by a coalition of all the politicalelements of the State and such a Governmentshould be left to continue for a period of tenyears to develop the State. In this period, astate-wide educational programme should betaken up by this Government and the peopleshould be thoroughly educated. Both Pakistanand India should extend financial aid to theState. The people of the State in this periodshould be given the maximum amount of politicalfreedom. After this period it should be left tothe Government of the people in the State tohold a plebiscite under auspices of theInternational Court of Justice or any otherinternational body, to decide whether it shouldaccede to India or to Pakistan. Both India andPakistan should bind themselves beforehand toaccept such a verdict. It may therefore beconsidered as such by the Governments ofPakistan and India. I must, in the end,emphasise that Pakistan will be a big loser ifthe State is lost to her, and it is herindependence and integrity that will bejeopardized. Any solution, other than anoverall plebiscite, must first satisfy thecountry and the people of Pakistan and must beacceptable to the people of Jammu and IcashmirState and must also be essentially a democraticsolution.

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230

Chapter XXI

FUTURE PROSPECTSNOBODY can claim to be a prophet~ nor is it

advisable to. hazard a forecast which maymislead the public. Since the Kashmir probleminvolves issues which have far-reachingimplications in thc Indo~Paki5~1~sub~contifle~~t, and, in fact, also in general1so many factors have a bearing on the solutionof this problem. The world situation, which atthe moment is full of grim possibilities shallas much affect the Kashmir issue as any otherproblem The possibility of a third World-War isalready in sight in Vietnam, Indo-China andround Formosa. It should surprise no one if,one day, we find ourselves i~~olufltarilyinvolved in a world conflict. So many eventsand changes in world politics affect problemsand lives today that to forecast a definitesolution of any problem will not only beinadvisable but also fallacious.

The stage which we have just reached inKashmir, with the failure of the SecurityCouncil, is really alarming. India, I feel,has not, even one fraction changed from heroriginal attitude. As a matter of fact theopposition patties in India, like the Jan Sangand the Mahasabha, have adopted a stifferattitude on Kashmir in particular and onPakistan in general. These parties are openlyflouting every move of reconciliation betweenIndia and Pakistan. The Mahasabha and the JanSang leaders have declared that the partitionof India was not acceptable to them and theirpolitical parties wished to integrate theState of Pakistan with the rest of India.Added to this, there is an agitation going onin Jammu province1 particularly in the

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districts of Kathua, Jammu and Udhampur TheParishad agitation~ in brief, has thefollowing programme before them—

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231

(a) Application, in two, of the IndianConstitution to Jammu and KashmirState;

(b) Establishment of a responsibleGovernment in the State with theMaharaja as the Constitutional Head;

(c) Payment of compensation to thelandlords, in the light of theprocedure adopted in this connection bythe Indian Constitution:

(4) Banning of cow-slaughter in the State.The Hindu population in Jammu area seeks

complete merger with India. Indian Governmentare taking steps, through constitutionalmeans, to effect that merger. NationalConference is now being integrated with theIndian National Congress.

The Nationalist Government of Srinagar hasnot been able to satisfy any section of thepeople of the Valley of Kashmir. The Hindupopulace of Jammu feel that NationalistGovernment is just as much an alien Governmentas the one under the British aegis. In anycase, the present Nationalist Governmentsfailure has completely disillusioned allsections of the population. To-day theNationalist Government is there, not on itsown, but it is there because of the supportthat it is getting from the government ofIndia. The same is true of the Government onthe Azad Kashmir side. Politically the statehas suffered as a whole, but economic aspectsof the progress cannot and must not be easilyignored.

The movement in parts of Jammu has opened uppossibilities of certain parts of Jammu goingover to India, because these parts contain avery big majority of Hindus. From these partsMuslims have practically been turned out. This,

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it seems, was a pre-planned arrangement,through which Muslims from these parts wereeither to be massacred or driven into Pakistan,so that these parts become a Hindu dominatedareas. Since these areas are adjacent to Indiathey will thus

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232automatically fall in line with India. TheHindu leadership has entrenched itself verystrongly against the administration of SrinagarGovernment, though it is an absolute puppet inthe hands of the Government of India. Therepeated deciaTations of Pandit Jawahar LalNehru and others in authority in Srinagar, thatKashmir has entered into a cent per centaccession with India, have failed to satisfythe Hindu elements in Jammu area. Theseelements have been supported by the reactionaryHindu organizations in lixija, a mention ofwhich has already been made. An agitation atone time so unnerved Pandit Nehru that he hadto say that he felt the people of Jammu andKashmir State may not be with India. If thatformed the basis of his policy, which it shouldhave as early as 1947-48 and if certain factswere realistically accepted by Pandit Nehru,the solution of the Kashmir problem may havebeen much nearer than it now seems to certainpeople. If the pace of events continues in thepresent direction for some time, and theGovernment of India change their attitudetowards the whole problem and accept with asincere heart the basis on which Pakistan andIndia were partitioned, then it would seem thatthe whole matter can be settled by sittinground the table, without much ado, or withoutresorting to arms.

Reverting to the Hindu agitation, which hasa very dose bearing on the solution of thisproblem, one might remark that a plebisciteoffer, to decide the future of Jammu andKashmir State may not be acceptable to theHindus in Jammu province. The President ofthe Praja Parishad, Pandit Prem Nath Dogra,in his statement published in The Times ofIndia, Delhi (October 6, 1952), said— P!Anoverall plebiscite in the State was suicidal

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and that

it should be limited only to the KashmirValley’.

It will be seen that some other reactionaryparties of Hindus in India lent substantialmoral support to the idea that Jammu, in anycase, should integrate with India without theplebiscite.

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233

The late Doctor 5.1’. Moolcerjee, Presidentof Jan San;~ ii. his statement published in TheStatesman, Delhi, August 15, 1952, said--

“The people of Jammu are not prepared to betagged to Kashmir Valley unless the principleof full integration with India is accepted.To curb this natural desire by force orcoercion will be fatal and a separation willthen become inevitable. It will be a mistaketo brush aside the depth of such feeling byasserting that they are the outcome of theactivities of a handful of reactionary andcommunal agitators.’This will make it clear that this Hindu

movement is directly against an overall,plebiscite in the State and that certain partsof Jammu should integrate with India in anycase. It will also appear from the statementsol these reactionary Hindu leaders, that theywould rather have the state divided in thefollowing manner--

(a) Azad Kashmir goes to Pakistan;(b) Praja Hindu movement area goes to India

straightaway without a plebiscite; andCc) A plebiscite is held in the Valley.To these suggestions the Mussalmans,

whether they are Nationalists or otherwise,are thoroughly opposed. On behalf of thissection of people, it has been proved, andquite rightly, that Jammu province is a Muslimmajority province. Therefore, the demand ofcertain Hindus that Jammu province shouldintegrate with India without ascertaining thewill of the people is a fallacy and questionsthe integrity and solidarity of the State.Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehni had, of course,agreed that the indivisibility of the Statewill be maintained. But who knows, afterPandit Nehru, a weak Government at Delhi may

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give way to the demand of Hindu reactionarygroups.

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234

Speaking on this matter Maulvi Saeed Masudi,the

General Secretary of the All-Jammu andKashmir

National Conference, said in a speech in theIndian

Parliament on August7,1952.“The cry and slogan that Jammu and Ladakhwere predominantly non-Muslim areas wasfraught with grave danger. It was fantasticto suggest that the districts of Kashmir,being predominantly Muslim, should be keptapart from the districts of Jammu and Ladakhwhich were predominantly non-Muslim.”

Of course, the impression created by Hindureactionaries that Jammu Province is a Hindudominated province, is an enormous fallacy.That on this so-called basis, the province ofJammu should automatically integrate withIndia is a still bigger fallacy. That forthis purpose the Jammu Hindus have elicitedsupport from the Hindu reactionary parties inIndia is without any doubt. Pandit Nehruhimself in the Indian Parliament on December13, 1952 stated— “The leaders of the PrajaParishad have been in constanttouch with the leaders of some organizationsin India, more specially in Punjab and inDelhi. A deputation of Praja Parishad workershad toured and is still touring Punjab and

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PEPSU endeavouring to enrol volunteers andsetting up branches for this purpose atAmritsar, Jullundur, Ludhiana and the PrajaParishad agitation in Jammu. We have receivedinformation that the Praja Parishad collectedsome money in Punjab (I) and in Delhi. Alsothat rations and some arms and ammunitionhave been stocked by it.”Large-scale American arms aid to India has

changed the position substantially. India’sattitude towards Pakistan has become stiff. Anyconcession to Pakistan on any front by Indiaseems unlikely. In Kashmir, India has in rightearnest started its integration without caringfor what Pakistan does in the matter.

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2. Communal majorities of the Ruler’s subjects.

These factors, if considered in a coolmanner, might affect the decisions of theGovernment of India on all matters of Indo-Pakistan relations. if India and Pakistandevelop cordial relations and all disputes areamicably settled neither of the two countriesneed necessarily join any of the power blocs.

it will be seen that the possibility of theSecurity Council producing any solution ofJammu and Kashmir is getting remoter everyday. It has already been aiscussed elsewherethat the method of approach to these problemsby the Security Council is not that of aCourt which can straightaway give a decisionand decree en hearing both the parties. Themain difficulty is that the Security Counci1has the role of a negotiator and it has onlyto bring the parties together and put in bestefforts to make them agree to a solution And,for achieving that solution the SecurityCouncil only produces certain formula to therespective Governments for their acceptance.This process of bringing out formulae andsending then to the Governments for theiracceptance has already been carried on adnauseum. Therefore, the effort of solving theKashmir tangle through the Security Councildoes not seem to 1-told any prospects ofsuccess i believe, and it seems that theSecurity Council also believe, that muchcannot now be achieved by further effort.

The possibility of a war between the Statesof India and Pakistan does not seem to beacceptable to any one at the moment.

In any case it will be a big disaster forthe whole of Asia if there is an openconflict between India and Pakistan. Such awar will destroy the economic and political

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structure of both the countries. They may,in such eventuality, lose their freedom. Nowise man, in either of the C0unthes, willadvise his Government to come into an openconflict.

The question of Kashmir will have to beresolved. My view is that instead ofbringing India and Pakistan into conflictwith each other it is more desirable thatthe people of Kashmir should themselvesstruggle for their freedom, as has been doneby the people of Algeria and by so manyother

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235people, particularly in Africa and Asia. Thestruggle of the people for their freedom willbe more commendable for the world in generaland for the people themselves. No freedom isworth anything and, indeed, it is no freedom atall, unless it is obtained at the cost of thevery life blood of the people themselves. WhatI think the shape that this struggle may takeis briefly narrated in the following lines.

It has now been established that during thelast 15 years or so, Government of India hastried its best to rehabilitate the people ofKashmir economically and politically. This wasdone by consistent efforts by Pandit JawaharLal Nehru. And, in fact, by delaying theplebiscite in Kashmir, his primary andprincipal object was to so rehabilitate thepeople there) economically and politically,that the demand for a plebiscite is finished.But, to his entire disappointment towards thelast days of his life, Pandit Nehru was himselfconvinced that he had failed in his mission inKashmir. India, in occupied Kashmir, has beenfacing political unrest and economic chaos. Asa consequence of political unrest India had toput in prison hundreds of people includingSheikh Abdullah, the great leader of the peopleof Kashmir, for as long as a period of adecade. Since the release of Sheikh Abdullahfrom prison he is continuing his great fightagainst a foreign rule. Sheikh Abdullah has thebacking, in his struggle of freedom, of all thepeople in Kashmir.

My plan for a future struggle in Kashmirwould be as follows:-

(a)Pakistan Government should completelyabsolve itself of all the responsibilityof maintaining the cease-fire line inKashmir. The reason is that, in 1949,the United Nations gave solemnguarantees to the people and theGovernment of Pakistan for holding aplebiscite in Kashmir, when a cease-fire

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agreement was reached between allconcerned. It is now absolutely clearthat the United Nations have failed toimplement their promises. This, nodoubt, has been due primarily to theattitude of the Government of India. But

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nevertheless, Pakistan government shouldnow legitimately, tell the parties tothat agreement that all have failed toimplement their solemn promise of aplebiscite in Jammu and KashmirTherefore, Pakistan by herself is notmorally or otherwise in a position toguarantee tin maintenance of the cease-fire agreement. If other agreements,which were supposed to follow the cease-fire agreement, have not been broughtinto being, it is useless to compel thepeople of Kashmir to be bound by theimplication of cease-fire agreement,which, to them, is worth nothing. Thepeople of Kashmir are still suffering aforeign domination and they are deprivedof their freedom and liberty.

b) After Pakistan Government have absolvedthemselves of their responsibility inthe State, the people of Kashmir shouldbe left to themselves to organize amovement of liberation on an all-Statelevel. They should organize themselvessystematically, making Azad Kashmir as asolid base for such a struggle. Thisstruggle should be left to be pursued bythe people of Kashmir and their leaders.

C) Before such a struggle is launched, theAzad Kashmir Government should informall the democratic countries in theworld of the existing state of affairsin Kashmir. This Government, whichshould be an all-parties Government,should also undertake to get theassistance, moral, political andfinancial, from all democratic countriesof the world. After this organisation iscomplete in all respects the peopleshould launch a struggle for freedom.

What is happening in India today, one cannotfail to notice. India is a large semi-

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continent. It is inhabited by peoples of allcolours and creeds, believing in differentideologies and living in different regions andhaving different

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cultures. it is not possible, particularly, fora weak Government to keep these elementstogether in one united political nation. InIndia a disintegration process has already setin and it will continue. India may further bedivided into different states. This process ofdisintegration proves that India cannot standas one country. This one India theory has againexploded. If this is realised by the leaders ofIndia and they adjust themselves accordingly,this will be good for India herelf and for allthose countries who am its neighbours, ii, someday, a re-e)(amjnatjon of all the political andsocial problems of India takes place, this willbe a healthy development They will have toconceive in this context, that Kashmir has aseparate place in this sub-continent and cannotbe made, by force, part of India.

Those who want to make Kashmir a part ofIndia by dint of sheer force only wish toperpetuate an unnatural relationship, whichwould only end in tragedy for India andPakistan and Kashmir,

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Chapter XXII

KASHMIR AS A COUNTRYKASHMIR, a Land of magnificent beauty, with a

great historical background, unfortunately didnot get her freedom in 1947. Other parts ofIndo-Pakistan sub-continent got their freedom.This freedom was obtained by offeringsacrifices in human life and in all other ways.August, 1947, dawned on the sub-continent witha message of peace and happiness.

Kashmir had misfortunes instead ofindependence. Though a policy for accession wasclearly laid down by the British panmountcy toguide the states. The states having a Hinduruler and Hindu majority and contiguous toIndia had no option but to accede to India.This is a simple straight case which hardlyneeds any debate. Some of the States took verylittle time to decide to accede to India. Thissettled the fate of most of the States.

Three States, Hyderabad, Kashmir and Junagadhremained undecided. The Maharaja of Kashmir andNizam of Hyderabad waivers for a tong time.Junagadh, however, took a wrong decision anddecided to accede to Pakistan. in Junagadh theruler was a Muslim Nawab and its population wasmainly Hindu. The State was primarilycontiguous to India. It should have gone toIndia. Later on India took the State bymarching its troops into it. The Nawab ran awayto Pakistan, leaving his Muslim su*ct in abjectmisery.

Hyderabad, at one time, could be bargainedfor Kashmir but that could not be achievedbecause of one mans intransigence. India,finally, grabbed Hyderabad also by marching its

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troops into it in September, 1948, when Quaid-e-Azam

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240died. India took fullest advantage of this opportunity when acalamity fell on Pakistan.Kashmir became a cause for dispute between

India and Pakistan. Two wars were fought onKashmir, one in 1947-1948, the other in 1965,without any outcome. The case was taken to theSecurity Council by India where Pakistansuccessfully fought back. A Commission thenwas appointed to bring about a plebiscite inKashmir. A cease-fire and a truce agreementwas achieved but stage for actual plebiscitewas never reached. It was mainly due toIndia’s intransigence and Pakistan’sweaknesses. Forty years or so have gone bywithout any sight of deliverance of Kashmiripeople from their slavery.Both India and Pakistan have failed one way

or other, to win over completely andunequivocally the people of Kashmir on bothsides of the control line. Internal trouble inIndia - held Kashmir has been going onrelentlessly for these forty years. While 6/7divisions of the Indian Army and Mr forceoccupy the state by sheer force. No tangiblelocal autonomy has been granted to people.Leaders have been put in prison. SheikhAbdullah, the great leader of the valley ofKashmir, suffers in carceration as long as tenyears in Indian prisons. India has little hopeof wining over the people of the valley,because this Muslim population is sosentimentally inclined to Muslim Pakistan thatIndia cannot change her attitude, no matterwhat it does for economic development of thatpart of the state. This situation is unlikelyto change. The day is not far when India willhave to concede a Sikh Land to the Sikhs andKashmir will become out of reach for India.Pakistan has Gilgit and Ladakh province in theNorthern areas of the state. These areas alwayshad oppressive and autocratic rule. The peopleof this area got a historical importance when500 miles long road was built to link Chinawith Pakistan. This road and area have nowassumed a strategic importance. The Gilgit and

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Ladakh people demand vehemently a self rule forthemselves. This cannot be denied to them for along time.

The Azad Kashmir now is ruled by KashmirAffairs Ministry, a Council and one ejectedAssembly. A Government is installed therethrough the assent and blessings of this

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241Ministry. Not much Stability has been achievedhere through the years. Local leadership hasnot been able to rise to the heights whichrequired to build fullest autonomy for AzadKashmir, though with the efforts of theseleaders an assembly, a Supreme Court and a HighCourt have been established. The Azad Kashmirhas a national flag which is colourful andinspiring. All the elements that go to make acountry, a self-supporting and dignifiedcountry, exist in Kashmir. Population of AzadKashmir has increased to 3/4 million people,including the refugees settled there.

The population of the whole state hasincreased to a crore of people (Ten million).The area of Jammu and Kashmir is equal toMysore, Travancore, Jaisairner and Bekanir puttogether. The area of the state is 84,000square miles. This area is as big as fiveEuropean countries put together. Thesecountries of Europe are the members of UNO, sois Jibutee, in North Africa, with a populationof 1/3 of a million.

Kashmir is as big as Pakistan itself minusthe area of Baluchistan. Kashmir dispenses allriver water to Pakistan for her magnificentirrigation system. Indus comes all the way fromBaltistan via Gilgit. Jhelum, Chinab and Raviall come from Kashmir state with heaven-sentadvantages pouring shimmering volumes of waterto make Pakistan a fertile and prosperouscountry. No less is the advantage of supply ofUmber to Pakistan at comparatively cheap ratesotherwise India would charge unthinkable pricesfor it.

The case of Kashmir to be treated as acountry has become so potent that all seriousthinkers believe that, may be, Kashmir problemcan be so easily solved if this proposition isseriously debated and considered by allconcerned.

By virtue of its area and population, Kashmir

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is a country as big as Switzerland. It is asbeautiful as Switzerland. If Switzerland couldbe kept out of two World Wars, so can beKashmir out of all conflicts. Kashmir can thenbe a Switzerland of the East. In that case bothIndia and Pakistan can have access to this landwithout any visa restrictions, as it quitemanageably happened from 1846 to 1946.

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Both India and Pakistan can financially helpto build the state in industry, forestry andirrigation system for its agriculture. Naturalresources are in such abundance that outsidehelp will not be necessary to manipulate itseconomy. Kashmir can become a viable country ifits resources are fully developed and thepresent obstacles in its way are removed. Itfor experiment, all roads leading to Kashmirare opened by Pakistan and India, thefeasibility of my proposal can be tested.

If a Sikhistan is conceded to the Sikhs,Kashmir’s case as a country will become clear.Both Pakistan and India, would be rid of a lotof intricate problems. Their mutualrelationship would be on a more natural basis.

Kashmir again can be an effective bufferstate between China, India and Pakistan,Afghanistan and Russia. Kashmir, of mythinking, would not keep an army, because itjust would not be able to afford an army todefend its frontiers. U any country commitsaggression, it will leave Kashmir soon afterwith a bitter experience.

All the above mentioned countries should comeout to guarantee the neutral position ofKashmir, as it has been done in case ofSwitzerland. I am talking of something whichmay attract attention of alt serious statesmenin the sub-continent in time to come.

Kashmir can be a tourist spot for allcountries. If Kashmir becomes easily accessibleto all kind of tourists this can serve as ameeting place for all people from the Worldover. It will incidentally increase therevenues of the state beyond ones imagination.This will collect tremendous amount of foreignexchange also

Let us hope that, in time to come people willthink in these terms. Let us pray for the day

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when all complications of Kashmir Will besettled for ever.

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Chapter XXIII

MUSLIM COUNTRIES AND KASHMIRON my way back from the Security Council,

1950, I had enough time to visit Turkey, Cyprusand Egypt, of all the Muslim countries,including Pakistan. Turkey, to my mind, is themost advanced from every point of view. One cansee that the country has undergone a social,economic and political revolution. One is aptto form inaccurate impressions of the countryif one visits only Istanbul and Ankara. Theimpressions may also be fallacious if one hasbeen there only for a brief period. Even so,one can quite easily see that the people ofTurkey have, in a number of fields, madeextraordinary progress during the last twentyyears or so. Turkey has profitable tradeagreements with other countries. Strategicallyshe is so placed, that her position is far fromenviable. Because of her, at present, nothaving good relations with Soviet Russia, shehas a hanging threat of Russian aggression. Shecontrols tl~Dardanelles. Most of her financesare, therefore, spent on,J~er Defence. Everyson of the soil is a soldier.

Turkey has made experiments withdictatorship, and has quite successfully passedthrough that phase, though Turkeys counterpartsin Europe have not been able to do so. She isnow experimenting with party-system ofGovernment. I have no doubt that, with furtheradvance- education, she will become one of theforemost countries in Asia in all respects, andprobably may lead all Asian countries inestablishing a democratic system of Government.

Turkey has a very good press. When I visitedthat country in February, 1950, most of the

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press belonged to the opposition. ULUS was theonly Influential Government paper.

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Turkey is vitally interested inPakistan affairs. During my stay in thatcountry, the Turkish press and peoplegave me a real welcome. I will notforget the hospitality and politeness ofthe people.During my stay in Turkey, I lectured

at a number of places and addressed anumber of conferences. A lawyer fromAnkara also used to attend theselectures with his little son who washardly eight years old. When I leftAnkara this child gave me a letter as atoken of his love for the children ofPakistan and Azad Kashmir While leavingme at the station, this young childburst into tears. This goes to show howclose the Turkish people are to us.Turkey has managed her foreign policy

wonderfully well, since the TurkishRepublic come into being. She is placedin a difficult position because she holdsa key position between the Black Sea andthe Mediterranean, In the context of theworld power blocs of today, to keepneutrality for Turkey is not an easygame. In the last War she was able to doso. Whether she can dolt again in thenext World War is a very big question.

We have very often been told, probablyby interested people, that Turkey hasgone un-Islamic. It is quite true thatTurkey has undergone a social andpolitical upheaval, but the people ofTurkey are just as much Muslims as peopleanywhere In Pakistan. Nothing is fartherfrom the truth than the assertion thatTurkey is in any way going un-Islamic. Iam told that In the educational systemcompulsory religious education has beenintroduced by the Government in Primary

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Schools. The Government has also aseparate religious department for allreligious matters. -

In the early days of the TurkishRevolution, there indeed-was a reaction of indifference towardsreligion, because of political reasons.Mustafa Kamal Ataturk (which in Turkishmeans father of the Turks) did not likeTurkey to be attached to countries,which, though Muslim in name, were infact, pawns in the hands of the foreignpowers. For Turkey, Kamal Ataturk wantedan independent national existence and aforeign policy

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245not tied to that of any other country. In

such an attitude he wasquite justified from every point of view. -

Though just as Islamic as any otherIslamic country, Turkey has got rid of a lotof old customs which tend to hamper thesmooth progress of a people. In education, insocial advancement and in political progress,Turks are in the front rank. Turkey had aforeign policy of complete independence tiiirecently. She has no particular liking forbecoming a member of a Muslim Bloc, nor, asmatte, of fact, any bloc In any othercountry. The reasons for such an attitude arehistorical and quite easily understandableBut recently she has been compelled to castaway this policy.

My stay in Turkey was brief but in thethree weeks that! stayed then I got enoughpress coverage. I was able to hold a number ofconferences and meetings with the newsmen ofTurkey. During these formal and informaltalks, I was able to convince them, andthrough them the press and the people ofTurkey, of the nature of Kashmir’s LiberationMovement. I ~as also able to tell them how theKashmir people had been practicallyoverpowered by India by sheer force of Arms.Of course, this matter was easier for me todo, because the Turks themselves are a peoplewho heroically fought for their own liberty.They have to become stronger still to maintaintheirown integrity and IndependenceThe Turkish papers also commented on the

issue of Kashmir, even before my visit to thatcountry, in a very liberal manner. They alwayssupport every cause of Pakistan, though theIndian Embassy in Turkey has always tried itsbest to put a different picture before theTurkish people. It must be said to the creditof the Turks that they are sufficientlyeducated and wide-awake to examine all matters

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closely before they form their judgement orviews. This is exactly what we lack in thiscountry. We go by gossip and baseless rumours.The people in Turkey are judicious enough tosift what is gossip and - what Is true.

Before I left Turkey I made it a point tovisit most of the historical places In Ankaraand Istanbul. In Istanbul,

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246particularly, I visited the old palaces ofTurkey. These palaces, and the old relics theycontain, remind one of the golden age whenMuslims ruled over a large part of the world.One feels really proud of them.

After leaving Turkey, I visited Cyprus.Cyprus is a small Island in the Mediterranean,a very Important place from the strategic pointof view. The majority of the population of thisisland Is Greek. The rest are Turks. Theloyalties of the Turks are for Turkey and thoseof the Greeks, quite naturally, for Greece. TheTurks wish to be linked with Turkey, while theCreeks seek union with Greece. This is the mostvital question for the people of this island,which was, fill recently, governed by theBritish. The Turks of this Island have wide anddeep syinpMhles for every Muslim cause.

When I visited Cyprus only for a day, I foundthe public very enlightened on the Kashmirquestion. The local Turkish papers gave a goodcoverage to my visit. A number of people cameto receive me at the airport. I was their guestfor a night and attended a concert there whichwas purely Turkish, and quite interesting forme, though I could not understand the wordsthey spoke. In the morning when I was leavingfor the airport, alter naming a baby in myhonour, people crowded in the streets. One oldman, as my car stopped, came to me and asked IfI was the one whose picture had been publishedin the papers. He showed me the picture in thelocal papers which he hugged. To my saying, y&tears flowed through the stubs of his over-grown beard. These small things leave anindelible Impression on ones mind. This littleisland of Cyprus has been, after attaining- herIndependence, a victim of a civil war, Which isstill going on.

My next stop was in Egypt. I stayed in Cairofor a number of days. Cairo is the centre ofall Middle East and Arab countries. It is alsoa holiday resort for European people. Perhaps

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it is one of the most cosmopolitan cities ofthe world. East and West meet here. In thehotels like ‘Semlramis,one finds Europeantraveler as well as foreign diplomats. Alongwith this crowd one finds the Egyptian I’asha,immaculately dressed with a red fez on hishead. Many of the Egyptians in Cairo speakFrench

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247fluently. They also speak English, but not aswell as they do French.Egypt leads the Arab countries, though not

quite effectively, through the Arab League.The Arab League in the beginning was aneffective organ to plead the cause of Arabcountries and all the Mussalmans. Today it hasgrown weaker. One only wishes that the ArabLeague were a completely free agency, and not,in any manner, influenced by any foreignpower. With the coming into power of the WafdGovernment in Egypt in 1948, it was expectedthat the Arab League would become a strong andindependent organisation. The results havebeen quite the contrary: The new revolutionwhich has taken place in Egypt is expected tochange the whole situation. But one has towatch carefully what happens in Egypt, for itis certainly a danger spot in global strategy.She has always been wooed by Western powersbecause of her position. A suggestion in theform of Middle East Defence has already beenput to Egypt for their consideration.Egyptians and the Egyptian Government had

sympathies with the Muslim cause of Kashmir.The Press undoubtedly accepted the case ofPakistan as the real truth about Kashmir. Aslong as the Wafd Government was in power, italways had a leaning towards Panda Nehru,because of a personal friendship between PandaNehru and Mustafa Nihas Pasha, the Wafd Leader.The Press, and, in some respects theGovernment, nevertheless, supported thePakistan case in Kashmir, though they were notvery enthusiastic about it. The policy of thepresent Government vis-a vis Pakistan and theKashmir problem, has not yet crystallized intosomething definite. From the present uncertainaffairs, Egyptians will come to understand theKashmir problem very well because the Sudanproblem is similar to the Kashmir problem. -

It is necessary that there should bestability in Egypt in order to create stability

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in the Middle East. If Egypt is strong then theMuslim countries, jointly or separately, getstrength. Since Egypt is a country of theArabs, therefore the people of Pakistan havevery deep sympathies and connections with thepeople of Egypt. In any case, Egypt is acountry with thousands

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248of years of history behind it. People allover the world love to talk about Egypt. Wehope that Egypt, after all its economic andpolitical turmoils, will emerge as a strongand independent nation. In the context ofpresent international politics, it is hardlypossible for anyone of the Arab countries tolead a completely independent existenceAs I have already mentioned to Egypt,

Kashmir is another Sudan. Kashmir’s caseregarding accession to Pakistan is exactlywhat Sudan is to Egypt. It was, therefore,very easy for me to put before the EgyptianPressmen the Kashmir case. There are a numberof Cairo Pressmen who have already been toIndia, Pakistan and And Kashmir. All of themhave, naturally, sympathies for Pakistan. Asfar as the Kashmir case was concerned, itneeded no logic to argue with the Egyptians.All of them had sympathies for us. They alsoappreciate the moral side of the case, thoughone has to admit that India is also trying herbest to concentrate over her popularity inEgypt.The majority of people in Egypt hive genuine

sympathies for Pakistan. There are others who,like the deceased Shah Faruq, think thatPakistan is a rival country This is quitenatural. But I am sure, by our consistentsympathetic attitude towards Egypt, and allother Muslim countries, such impressions willdisappear in the long run. In due course oftime all Muslim countries will be able to forminto one united bloc, not necessarily aparallel political bloc, but an organisationbased on regional ties and religioussympathies. Only then will Muslims, pulling inone direction as a united whole, be able toaffect political and economic issues of theworld. That seems to be the only way by whichall the Muslims and Muslim countries of theworld would not only maintain theirindependence but also would be able to fightfor the other small nations of Asia.

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India wishes to exert influence over Egyptin order to win her favour. I do not thinkIndia will succeed in this. India does not likethe Arab League, because India disowns any blocbased on religious or any other racial basis.Egypt would like to be a leader of all Arabcountries, which is a natural aspiration.Becauseof Kashmir, Indo-Pakistan relations have beenstrained. A consistent propaganda has beencarried on by India

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249in Egypt against Pakistan. In spite of heradmiration for Hindu leaders for their strugglefor freedom against the British, Egypt hasalways been on the side of Pakistan. One thing,however, has been exploited by the enemies ofPakistan. This has been the propaganda thatPakistan has been a deliberate creation of theBritish. Since Egyptians, because of the Sudanand the Suez Canal policy of the British, havenot much liking for the British the above lineof propaganda has done substantial damage toPakistan’s cause. The way the Pakistandelegation took up the cause of Palestine has,to some extent, retrieved our position in allthe Arab countries. Pakistan indeed played avery conspicuous role in the fight forPalestine in the United Nations Organisation.Pakistan later on earned for herself a lot ofgood-will, by espousing also the cause of themany small Muslim countries of North Africa inthe United Nations.

I wish to say something, in passing, aboutIslam in Middle Eastern countries. I admit thatI have no experience of wide travelling inthese regions, and for this reason myimpressions, may be wrong or based on scantyinformation and inadequate experience. Myfeeling is that Islam is not a very strongpoint with the Muslim countries today. Internaland external policies of the Middle Easterncountries are under the influence of big powersfor the last two centuries or more. So long asforeign influences exist in the form ofeconomic imperialism, Islam’s revival does notseem to be a very bright possibility. All theAsian countries have adopted, in one way or theother, the Western political systems. Becauseof Western domination of the Eastern countriesfor the last two to three hundred years, itbecomes clear, that unless these countriesrevive economically, they are bound to succumbto foreign influences. Strategically countrieslike Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and alsoPakistan, are so placed, that th a global warit would be a miracle for them to keep neutral.

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But that does not, necessarily mean a policy ofsurrendering a country’s sovereignty to aforeign power. One surely should havehonourable alliances and trade and otherrelations, without which no modern country canexist.

Formation of an Arab League by itself is nota strong proof of Islamic revival. Islam as, aliving economic, political and

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250social guide does not exist anywhere today.The Western type of democracy, in all itsessentials, does not exist anywhere either.We are today living under a mongrel sort ofsystem which is Western in character, and isimposed on people whom it does not suit.Unless we again apply Islamic values to solveour problems, we shall be faced with apsychological chaos and all round confusion.If we all agree on this, then no time shouldbe wasted in applying them.In order to overcome the economic bankruptcy

of all the Middle Eastern countries, which hasresulted in the economic dependence of anunprecedented nature, economic planning needsto be done afresh. Special conditions of thesecountries may be studied and a body ofeconomic specialists be appointed to evolve aplan which should be implemented by mutual co-operation of the countries of these regions.Necessary cooperation of the U.N.O. may beobtained for economic emancipation, withoutsurrendering political sovereignty to anyparticular bloc.

The Kashmir cause has been recognised byalmost all the Muslim countries, exceptperhaps Afghanistan. All countries, forInstance, Iran, Iraq, Syria and others, haveexpressed their deep sympathies for Pakistan’scause in Kashmir. Iran in particular, throughher Press, has, in clearest terms, supportedPakistan in her struggle in Kashmir.The writer of this little book has had the

occasion of visiting a large number ofcountries, in 1964, as a member of the KashmirGoodwill Mission. The writer visited WestAfrica and East Africa. He also visited Turkey,Egypt and Sudan. After these countries, thewriter has had another occasion to visit largeareas in South-East Asia. This includedcountries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan andPhilippines.

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African countries have gained their freedomat the expense of great sacrifices. They areemerging as independent nations, claiming fullshare in the comity of nations of the world.The emergence of independent states in Africais a source of great inspiration to thosecountries which are struggling for freedomthroughout the world, particularly in the areaswhich

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were formerly in colonial yoke. The writer wasimpressed the way in which this GoodwillMission was received by the Governments and thepeople of these countries in Africa. This isalso true of the countries in South-East Asia.It is hoped that these countries will support,morally and otherwise, a struggle that may belaunched in Kashmir by its people. The writeris also convinced that the countries like Chinaand Russia, who have always supported thestruggle for freedom of the subjugated peoplein the world, will morally support such astruggle in Kashmir. These Communist countriesmust also be approached in this connection andinformed of the existing state of affairs inthis region. I am also not disappointed withWestern democratic countries. Even they will beconvinced of a struggle for freedom in Kashmir.Though they may not be able to give anysubstantial assistance, I am thoroughlyconvinced they will not oppose our struggle forfreedom.

What is of basic importance is the fact thatall concerned in India and Pakistan, recognisethe entity of the people of Kashmir. They are apeople who have always struggled for andsuffered tremendously. in their struggle forfreedom. All their efforts, to be free, must besupported as such. Nobody should have the ideathat Kashmir can be had and owned as a piece ofproperty. Those who have such ideas mustabandon them. It will be unfair for anybody tothink that Kashmir can be used as a piece ofproperty. This is what the people of this landwill not tolerate at any cost.