Accession is Legal and Final: Unveiling the Truth Behind The Kashmir Imbroglio
By Maj Gen Goverdhan Singh Jamwal, AVSM
The historical context surrounding the creation of Pakistan by the British reveals a critical piece of information—the intention to include Kashmir as an integral part of it. In fact, it can be argued that Pakistan was established by the British to secure control over Gilgit and Baltistan, two strategically vital regions of the world. These regions were originally part of the Jammu and Kashmir State and held great significance due to the emerging threat of communism, particularly with the inclusion of China and Russia as neighboring giants.
It is an undeniable fact that the British conspired to annex Gilgit and Baltistan as part of their plan to capture Kashmir. The invasion was meticulously planned and executed by the Army Headquarters of Pakistan under the command of British General Sir Frank Messervy. On August 20th, 1947, he sent a top-secret operational order, titled ‘Operation Gulmarg,’ directly to his brigade commander Brig CP Murray, who was leading the Bannu Frontier Brigade Group. This order, received and opened by Maj Onkar Singh Kalkat, the brigade major, exposed the planned attack on Jammu and Kashmir. Maj Kalkat immediately informed the brigade commander, who, at the time, was visiting the Mirali outpost. The brigade commander advised Maj Kalkat to keep the information secret, warning him that his life would be in jeopardy if he disclosed it to anyone. However, Maj Kalkat managed to escape with a copy of the order and reached India on October 18th, 1947 (refer Operations in Jammu & Kashmir 1947-48, Ministry of Defence, Govt of India Page 16-18). This incident serves as concrete evidence that the invasion of J&K State had been planned well in advance, even prior to India’s Independence Day.
The delivery of the operation orders on August 20th was strategically timed because J&K had not acceded to either of the dominions before August 15th, 1947. Unfortunately, Pandit Nehru, then Prime Minister of India, even refused to enter into a Stand Still Agreement, which would have provided India with crucial information and insight into the game being played by Great Britain and Pakistan. Nehru’s refusal can be attributed to Mountbatten’s persuasion that J&K should go to Pakistan. During Mountbatten’s visit to Kashmir in June 1947, he had urged Maharaja Hari Singh to make a decision before August 15th, 1947, assuring him that India would not object if he joined Pakistan. Aware of Mountbatten’s intentions, Maharaja Hari Singh avoided an official meeting with the Viceroy on the last day, feigning indisposition. This deliberate act allowed him to avoid acceding to Pakistan, as he believed that his subjects—Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, and even Shia Muslims—would not be safe and secure in a fundamentalist Pakistan. In Maharaja Hari Singh’s view, India provided the right environment for people of diverse backgrounds to flourish. However, there was no one to engage with him, as Nehru did not allow even Patel to handle Kashmir affairs and took it upon himself to deal with the State. Nehru’s refusal to accept the Stand Still Agreement, which could have averted the J&K imbroglio, casts him in a poor light. There was no justification for Nehru’s actions, and it clearly indicates the influence the British held, resulting in unfavorable outcomes for both India and Pakistan due to the Kashmir dispute.
Our contention is that the Pakistani invasion of Kashmir was pre-planned, not by Pakistan itself, but by the British generals. It was one of the best-planned operations, although not well executed by Pakistan. As a result, they lost control over the valley, despite engaging in the Battle of Shallantong on the outskirts of Srinagar. They came close to losing Kashmir when they were pushed back beyond Uri, with the Indian Army poised to capture Muzaffarabad by the autumn of 1948. However, British generals, who were directing both the Indian and Pakistani armies, intervened and slowed down the Indian pursuit towards Muzaffarabad. Kuldeep Singh Bajwa’s book, ‘J&K War 1947-48, Political and Military Perspective,’ provides detailed accounts of these events. It is an authentic work based on factual information and should be studied by anyone seeking to understand the true position and the role played by the British in the ongoing Kashmir dispute, which, unfortunately, shows no signs of resolution in the foreseeable future.
It is interesting to observe the attempts made by Allen Campbell in his book ‘Mission with Mountbatten’ to downplay these facts. In Chapter Nineteen, ‘Kashmir Imbroglio,’ on page 223, Campbell writes, “At Karachi, we had no limit of the drama awaiting us in Delhi. We arrived at Palam, very tired, at one o’clock in the morning. Vernon was there to greet us with the news that since dawn Monday, Indian troops have been marching, or rather flying, into Kashmir. I was just about to get into bed at a quarter to three when Pete Rees called me and said that Mountbatten wanted to brief me at once on the latest Kashmir developments. Events, Mountbatten said, had taken a serious turn, and three hundred and thirty men of the First Sikh Battalion were flown in to block a major invasion by North-west Frontier tribesmen, who are moving rapidly on Srinagar, the summer capital…” How can one believe that the Governor-General, who was still overseeing both armies even after August 15th, 1947, was unaware of the Operation Order signed by British Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan, Gen Messervy, and delivered to the brigade commander on August 20th, 1947? It is a blatant cover-up of the British role in the subcontinent and the Indo-Pak wars over Jammu and Kashmir.
Despite the hurdles created by the British, primarily through Prime Minister Nehru, the accession, which took place on October 26th, 1947, was entirely legal, constitutional, and beyond challenge. Maharaja Hari Singh was the sole ruler of an independent country after August 15th, 1947, and he had the right to join whichever Dominion he deemed fit. From a legal and constitutional standpoint, the accession was complete, and there was no need to impose any conditions, such as a plebiscite. Mountbatten, however, placed this condition as part of a planned strategy. If Maharaja Hari Singh did not accede to Pakistan before August 15th, J&K would be attacked by Pakistan. Moreover, if there were still complications, the British government had contingency plans that could be put into action as the situation developed. For instance, Mountbatten would not accept the accession without a plebiscite, and the Indian Army could not move without the accession. This delay allowed Pakistan an additional two days to reach Srinagar, yet they failed. When the Indian Army was in a position to drive out the Pakistan Army from the state, Nehru was persuaded to go to the United Nations. Eventually, when it became clear that Pakistan could not retain control over J&K against the Indian Army, a cease-fire was imposed. In other words, it must be said that Mountbatten is responsible for the rape of Baramulla. Even a day saved would have saved Brig Rajinder Singh and his forces as in that case the Indian Army would have landed on 26 Oct and Sikhs would have joined the J&K Dogra Forces at Rampur- Buniyar by 11 AM. There would have been no ambush at midnight 26 and 27 and the Chief of Military Staff of Maharaja Hari Singh Forces would have been fully effective in the J&K War which ensured. Not only that if Pakistanis were contained in Uri as planned by the Dogra Forces even a company worth troops if landed in Gilgit next day or before 31 Oct would have changed the history. Gilgit, Baltistan, Ladakh entire area would have saved because as we know now there were no Pakistani troops in Gilgit- Baltistan till Dec 1948 and we would have either taken JAK troops into custody or perhaps they would have not even mutinied. This is what the British led by Mountbatten did to India and to J&K State and our leaders under Nehru even Mahatma Gandhi Ji could never fathom it. This is the most unfortunate part of history of the J&K Operations which continued till 2019 when 370 was abrogated and the structure o the State changed from the State to two Union Territories hoping that we will not make another mistake and if this is again put back under the same Political system then one can accept what is going to happen. If we do not learned lessons from the mistakes committed once then you are committed to making mistakes after mistakes and that is been happening in the last 75 years. No doubt Modi has made the difference which is obvious from the G-20 programmes and we hoped that the times have changed but we have not yet learnt lessons, not written our history correctly that is now the time to know it and let all read history so that we do not commit any more mistakes.
In the end, the British plans to hand over the entire J&K State to Pakistan did not succeed. However, they were able to retain the strategically significant region of Gilgit and Baltistan that they desired. This area remains with Pakistan illegally, as Pakistan has never conquered Gilgit and Baltistan. Instead, it was seized through a military coup engineered by Maj Brown, a British officer of the Gilgit Scouts and an employee of Maharaja Hari Singh. It is evident that whatever has happened or is happening in the J&K state is a result of British vested interests. We are suffering, perhaps by design, as the British aimed to prevent India and Pakistan from becoming the most powerful nation in the world if they were united. Even though the British departed from India, they ensured that we did not live in peace.
Understanding this historical context highlights that there was nothing wrong with the accession of Jammu and Kashmir. As it stands today, Maharaja Hari Singh acceded the entire state to India on October 26th, 1947, and the Indian Parliament has resolved to reclaim all the areas illegally occupied by Pakistan. While this may seem ambitious in the present day, in matters of conventions, international commitments, and relations, one cannot predict what will transpire in the next century. Who would have thought in 1945 that China would become the powerhouse it is today, claiming and occupying our territories based on its interpretation of the McMahon Line in 1962? China continues to occupy significant portions of J&K in Ladakh, while Pakistan has relinquished some areas to China without any rightful authority. Yet, all of these occurrences are undeniably wrong. The entire State of J&K was acceded to India by Maharaja Hari Singh on October 26th, 1947, and it rightfully belongs to India. Therefore, we must strongly advocate for our cause and firmly assert that J&K State has acceded to India, and the entire region belongs to India today. Pakistan is an intruder that must be removed eventually. There should be no compromise on this matter. In this regard, Allan Campbell, in his book ‘Mission with Mountbatten: Kashmir Imbroglio’ (Page 225), writes, “The legality of the Accession is beyond doubt.”
This article was presented at the seminar “Commemorating the 68th Year of the Instrument of Accession to India by Maharaja Hari Singh—Understanding the History of Jammu and Kashmir,” held in Committee Room No. 10, House of Commons, UK, on October 27th, 2015, by the Voice of Dogras and Kashmiri Pandits Cultural Society, UK.
Although Accession is a separate issue which will be dealt with separately. Suffice to say here that it was only Brig Rajinder Singh, Chief of Military Staff of J&K independent country since 15 Aug 1947, and his 100 Gallant Dogras who actually saved Kashmir and ultimately the State. If they had not held out for five days, fighting strategic battles and blocking Pakistanis from access to the Mission critical Airport, Kashmir would have been lost.
In these five days- 22 Oct by blocking the advance of 6000 at Muzaffarabad itself, 23 Oct Battle of Garhi was fought, 24th the battle of Uri where the Uri Bridge was blown, 25th Oct the Battle of Mahura and 26 Oct the final battle of Rampur Buniyar where very heavy casualties were inflicted on Pakistanis. Brig Rajinder Singh blocked the road to airport from the main access from Muzaffarabad-Baramulla till 2 am, morning of 27th Oct and did not allow any vehicle to reach Baramulla before 7 am on 27th Oct. This allowed the Indian Army to land in the next 3 hours at a secure Airport and deploy. Thus, Kashmir was saved. It could not have been saved but for the efforts of Brig Rajinder Singh with his 100 Gallant Dogra soldiers from Garhi to Baramulla.