HISTORY TODAY. MAHARAJA HARI SING HANDED OVER JAMMU & KASHMIR TO INDIA. Maharaja Hari Singh wanted his state to remain independent, joining neither Pakistan nor India. For this reason, he offered a standstill agreement (to maintain the status quo) to both India and Pakistan. India refused the offer butPakistan accepted it. The Maharaja wasadvised by Mehr Chand Mahajan, who later became his Prime Minister, that a landlocked country such as Kashmir would be soon engulfed by foreign powers such as the USSR or China.The Gilgit Scouts staged a rebellion in the Northern Areas under British command; as a result, this region became effectively a part of Pakistan (and has since been administered by Pakistan). Subsequently tribal Kabailis (Mehsuds and Afridis) from the Northwest Frontier Province invaded Kashmir proper. The Pakistan Armys British chiefs, Sir Frank Messervy and Douglas Gracey, refused to involve the armed forces.With independence no longer an option,the Maharaja turned to India, requesting troops for safeguarding Kashmir. Although the Indian Prime Minister Nehru was ready to send troops, the Governor-General of India, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, advised the Maharaja to accede to India before India would send its troops. Hence, considering the emergent situation, the Maharaja signed an Instrument of Accession to the Dominion of India.As the invading tribal Kabailis spread into the princely state, the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession to the Dominion of India on 26 October 1947. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah had already reached Delhi on 25 October to persuade Nehru to lose no time in accepting the accession and dispatching Indian troops to the State. (Sheikh Abdullah corroborates this account in his Aatish e Chinaar (at pages 416 and 417) and records that V.P. Menon returned to Delhi on 26 October with the signed Instrument of Accession.)The Instrument was accepted by the Governor-General the next day, 27 October. With the signature of the Maharaja and the acceptance by the Governor-General, the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir became a part of the Dominion of India according to the provisions of the Indian Independence Act 1947 passed by the British parliament. Indian troops landed at Srinagar airport in Kashmir on 27 October and secured the airport before proceeding to evict the invaders from the Kashmir valley.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 17:54:22 +0000
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