26TH
OCTOBER 1947: MAHARAJA HARI SINGH AGREES TO THE ACCESSION OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR TO INDIA
"Now, therefore, I Shriman Inder Mahander Rajrajeswar Maharajadhiraj Shri Hari Singhji, Jammu and Kashmir Naresh Tatha Tibbetadi Deshadhipathi, Ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, in the exercise of my sovereignty in and over my said State do hereby execute this my Instrument of Accession [. . .]"By signing on this legal document, known as the Instrument of Accession, on October 26, 1947, Hari Singh, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, agreed that the State would become a part of India.
In the immediate aftermath of India’s independence, three rulers had still not merged their territories with India despite Home Minister Vallabhbhai Patel’s untiring efforts. These were: the Nawab of Junagadh, the Nizam of Hyderabad, and Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir. The accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India would become one of the most significant events in the politics and history of the subcontinent.
Kashmir became a princely state on March 16, 1846 after the British acquired it. They then sold it to Gulab Singh, the ruler of Jammu. Hari Singh was the great-grandson of Gulab Singh.
The founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, had perhaps assumed that Kashmir, by the logic of its majority Muslim population, would become a part of his country. But a few years before Partition, when he sent an aide to Kashmir for an assessment, the conclusion was sobering: “No important religious leader has ever made Kashmir [. . .] his home or even an ordinary centre of Islamic activities,” the aide reported. “It will require considerable effort, spread over a long period of time, to reform them and convert them to true Muslims.”
Hari Singh, in the weeks after August 15, 1947, gave no indication of giving up his State’s independence. Pakistan then decided to force the issue, and a tribal invasion to drive out the Maharaja was given the green signal.
According to C. B. Duke, the then British High Commissioner in Lahore, “[Kashmir] has always been regarded as a land flowing with milk and honey, and if to the temptation to loot [by the tribesmen] is added the merit of assisting oppressed Muslims, the attractions will be nigh irresistible.”
In the early hours of October 24, 1947 the invasion began, as thousands of tribal Pathans swept into Kashmir. Their destination: the state’s capital, Srinagar, from where Hari Singh ruled.
The Maharaja appealed to India for help.
On 25 October, V. P. Menon, a civil servant considered to be close to Patel, flew to Srinagar to get Hari Singh’s nod for Kashmir’s accession to India.
On 26 October, Hari Singh and his durbar shifted to Jammu, to the safety of the Maharaja’s winter palace, and out of harm’s way from the marauding tribesmen.
Hari Singh’s prime minister, M. C. Mahajan, later recalled: “I requested immediate military aid on any terms. [I urged Nehru to] give us the military force we need. Take the accession and give whatever power you (India) desire to the popular party. The [Indian] army must fly to save Srinagar [. . .] or else I will go to Lahore and negotiate terms with Mr. Jinnah.”
The accession to India was completed.
On 27 October, India’s 1st Sikh battalion flew into Srinagar. “In the early hours of the morning of the 27th, I could hear the noise of the planes [. . .] carrying military personnel to Srinagar. At about 9 a.m., I got a message from [. . .] Srinagar that [Indian] troops had landed there and had gone into action,” Mahajan later recalled.
Srinagar was soon secured from the Pakistani invaders but the battles in the larger region were just beginning.
When Jinnah learnt of the Indian troops’ landing, he reportedly ordered his acting British commander-in-chief General Sir Douglas Gracey to move two brigades into Kashmir — one from Rawalpindi and another from Sialkot. The Sialkot army was supposed to march to Jammu and arrest Hari Singh. The Rawalpindi column would take Srinagar. Gracey refused, saying he could not follow orders that would plunge India and Pakistan into war, without the approval of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck.
Predictably enough, Auchinleck would not agree to sending troops to Kashmir, either.
Lord Louis Mountbatten, India’s viceroy, later described a volatile meeting he had with Jinnah in the days following Kashmir’s accession to India: “Jinnah said that this accession was the end of a long intrigue and that it had been brought about by violence. I countered this by saying that I entirely agreed that the accession had been brought about by violence; I knew the Maharaja was most anxious to remain independent, and, nothing but the terror or violence could have made him accede to either Dominion; [. . .] the violence had come from tribes for whom Pakistan was responsible [. . .]”
Pakistan finally did send troops to Kashmir but by then Indian forces had taken control of nearly two thirds of the state. Gilgit and Baltistan territories were secured by Pakistani troops. Fighting between Indian troops, and the tribesmen and Pakistani troops continued for more than a year after the accession, in what is generally known as the first India-Pakistan war.
Finally, a United Nations (UN) ceasefire was arranged at the end of 1948. After long negotiations, the cease-fire was agreed to by both countries, and came into effect. The terms of the cease-fire, laid out in a United Nations resolution of August 13, 1948, were adopted by the UN on January 5, 1949.
India and Pakistan have different views on the Instrument of Accession and the circumstances under which it was executed. The Indian government’s stated position is: “The Accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India, signed by the Maharaja [erstwhile ruler of the State] on October 26, 1947, was completely valid under the Government of India Act [1935] and international law and was total and irrevocable. The Accession was also supported by the largest political party in the State, the National Conference. In the Indian Independence Act, there was no provision for any conditional accession.”
Also on this day:
1932 — Sarekoppa Bangarappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka, was born
1974 — Raveena Tandon, Bollywood actress, was born.
1988 — Tatapuram Sukumaran, Malayalam writer, passed away
2000 — Manmath Nath Gupta, freedom fighter and writer of historical and fictional books, passed away
Whereas the Indian Independence Act, 1947, provides that as from the fifteen day of August, 1947, there shall be set up as Independent Dominion, known as India and that the Government of India Act, 1935, shall, with such 01nission, additions, adaptations and modifications as the Govemor General may by order specify be applicable to the Dominion of India;
AND WHEREAS the Government of India Act, 1935 as so adapted by the Governor-General provides that an Indian State may accede to the Dominion of Indian by an Instrument of Accession executed by the Ruler thereof:
Now Therefore
I. I, Shriman Inder Mahendra Rajrajeshwar Maharajadiraj Shri Hari Singh Ji, Ruler of Jammu and Kashmir in the exercise of my sovereignty in and over my said State Do hereby execute this instrument of Accession, and
1. l hereby declare that I accede to the Dominion o'f India with the I ntent that the Governor-General of India, the Dominion Legislature, the Federal Court and any other Dominion authority established for the purposes of the Dominion shall, by virtue of this my Instrument of Accession, but subject always to the terms therefore and for the purpose only of the Dominion, exercise in relation to the State of Jammu and Kash1nir (hereinafter referred to as "this State») such functions may be vested in them by or under the Govern.men t of India Act, 1935 as in force in the Dominion of India on the 15th Day of August, 1947 (which Act as so in force is hereinafter referred to as "the Act").
2.
. I hereby assume the obligation of ensuring that due effect is given to the provision of the Act within this State as they are applicable therein by virtue of this my Instrument of Accession.
3. I accept the matters specified in the schedules here to as the matters with respect to which the Dominion Legislature may make laws for this State.
4. I hereby declare that I accede to the Dominion of India on the assurance that if an agreement is made between the Governor-General and the Ruler of this State where by any functions in relations to the administration in this State of any law of the Dominion Legislature shall be exercised by the Ruler of this State, then any such agreement shall be deemed to form part of this instrument and shall be const rued and have effect accordingly .
5. The term s of this my Instrument of Accession shall not be varied by any amendment of the Act or of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, unless such amendment is accepted by me by an Instrument supplementary to this Instrument .
6. Nothing in this Instrument shall empower the Dominion Legislature to make any law for this State authorizing the compulsory acquisition of land for any purpose, but I hereby undertake that should the Dominion for the purpose of Dominion law which applies in this State deem it necessary to acquire any land I will at their request acquire the land at their expense or if the land belongs to me transfer it to them on such terms as may be agreed or in default of agreement determined by an arbitrator to be appointed by the Chief Justice of India.
7. Nothing in this Instrument shall be deemed to be a commitment in any way as to acceptance of any future Constitution of India or to fetter my discretion to enter into arrangement with the Governments of India under any such future Constitution.
8. Nothing in this Instrument affects the continuance of my sovereignty in and over this State, or save as provided by or under this Instrument the exercise of any powers, authority and rights now enjoyed by me as Ruler of this State or the validity of any law at present in force in this State.
9. I hereby declare that I execute this Instrument on behalf of this State and that any reference in this Instrument to me or to the Ruler of this State is to be construed as including a reference to my heirs and successors.
Given under my hand this 26th day of October nineteen forty seven .
Sd/ - Hari Singh Maharaja Dhiraj of Jammu and Kashmir
1 do hereby accept this Instrument of Accession.
Dated this twenty seventh day of October, Nineteen hundred and forty seven. Sd/ - Mountabatten of Burma Governor General of India
27th October, 1947
.The matters with respect to which the Dominion Legislature may make laws for the State.
A. Defence
I . The naval, military and air forces of the dominion and other armed force raised or maintained by the Dominion; any armed forces, including forces raised or maintained by an acceding State, which are attached to, or operating with the armed forces of the Dominion.
2. Naval, Military and Air force works, administration of cantonment areas.
3. Arms, firearms; ammunition.
4. Explosives.
In the immediate aftermath of India’s independence, three rulers had still not merged their territories with India despite Home Minister Vallabhbhai Patel’s untiring efforts. These were: the Nawab of Junagadh, the Nizam of Hyderabad, and Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir. The accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India would become one of the most significant events in the politics and history of the subcontinent.
Kashmir became a princely state on March 16, 1846 after the British acquired it. They then sold it to Gulab Singh, the ruler of Jammu. Hari Singh was the great-grandson of Gulab Singh.
The founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, had perhaps assumed that Kashmir, by the logic of its majority Muslim population, would become a part of his country. But a few years before Partition, when he sent an aide to Kashmir for an assessment, the conclusion was sobering: “No important religious leader has ever made Kashmir [. . .] his home or even an ordinary centre of Islamic activities,” the aide reported. “It will require considerable effort, spread over a long period of time, to reform them and convert them to true Muslims.”
Hari Singh, in the weeks after August 15, 1947, gave no indication of giving up his State’s independence. Pakistan then decided to force the issue, and a tribal invasion to drive out the Maharaja was given the green signal.
According to C. B. Duke, the then British High Commissioner in Lahore, “[Kashmir] has always been regarded as a land flowing with milk and honey, and if to the temptation to loot [by the tribesmen] is added the merit of assisting oppressed Muslims, the attractions will be nigh irresistible.”
In the early hours of October 24, 1947 the invasion began, as thousands of tribal Pathans swept into Kashmir. Their destination: the state’s capital, Srinagar, from where Hari Singh ruled.
The Maharaja appealed to India for help.
On 25 October, V. P. Menon, a civil servant considered to be close to Patel, flew to Srinagar to get Hari Singh’s nod for Kashmir’s accession to India.
On 26 October, Hari Singh and his durbar shifted to Jammu, to the safety of the Maharaja’s winter palace, and out of harm’s way from the marauding tribesmen.
Hari Singh’s prime minister, M. C. Mahajan, later recalled: “I requested immediate military aid on any terms. [I urged Nehru to] give us the military force we need. Take the accession and give whatever power you (India) desire to the popular party. The [Indian] army must fly to save Srinagar [. . .] or else I will go to Lahore and negotiate terms with Mr. Jinnah.”
The accession to India was completed.
On 27 October, India’s 1st Sikh battalion flew into Srinagar. “In the early hours of the morning of the 27th, I could hear the noise of the planes [. . .] carrying military personnel to Srinagar. At about 9 a.m., I got a message from [. . .] Srinagar that [Indian] troops had landed there and had gone into action,” Mahajan later recalled.
Srinagar was soon secured from the Pakistani invaders but the battles in the larger region were just beginning.
When Jinnah learnt of the Indian troops’ landing, he reportedly ordered his acting British commander-in-chief General Sir Douglas Gracey to move two brigades into Kashmir — one from Rawalpindi and another from Sialkot. The Sialkot army was supposed to march to Jammu and arrest Hari Singh. The Rawalpindi column would take Srinagar. Gracey refused, saying he could not follow orders that would plunge India and Pakistan into war, without the approval of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck.
Predictably enough, Auchinleck would not agree to sending troops to Kashmir, either.
Lord Louis Mountbatten, India’s viceroy, later described a volatile meeting he had with Jinnah in the days following Kashmir’s accession to India: “Jinnah said that this accession was the end of a long intrigue and that it had been brought about by violence. I countered this by saying that I entirely agreed that the accession had been brought about by violence; I knew the Maharaja was most anxious to remain independent, and, nothing but the terror or violence could have made him accede to either Dominion; [. . .] the violence had come from tribes for whom Pakistan was responsible [. . .]”
Pakistan finally did send troops to Kashmir but by then Indian forces had taken control of nearly two thirds of the state. Gilgit and Baltistan territories were secured by Pakistani troops. Fighting between Indian troops, and the tribesmen and Pakistani troops continued for more than a year after the accession, in what is generally known as the first India-Pakistan war.
Finally, a United Nations (UN) ceasefire was arranged at the end of 1948. After long negotiations, the cease-fire was agreed to by both countries, and came into effect. The terms of the cease-fire, laid out in a United Nations resolution of August 13, 1948, were adopted by the UN on January 5, 1949.
India and Pakistan have different views on the Instrument of Accession and the circumstances under which it was executed. The Indian government’s stated position is: “The Accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India, signed by the Maharaja [erstwhile ruler of the State] on October 26, 1947, was completely valid under the Government of India Act [1935] and international law and was total and irrevocable. The Accession was also supported by the largest political party in the State, the National Conference. In the Indian Independence Act, there was no provision for any conditional accession.”
Also on this day:
1932 — Sarekoppa Bangarappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka, was born
1974 — Raveena Tandon, Bollywood actress, was born.
1988 — Tatapuram Sukumaran, Malayalam writer, passed away
2000 — Manmath Nath Gupta, freedom fighter and writer of historical and fictional books, passed away
INSTRUMENT OF ACCESSION - COPY
AND WHEREAS the Government of India Act, 1935 as so adapted by the Governor-General provides that an Indian State may accede to the Dominion of Indian by an Instrument of Accession executed by the Ruler thereof: Now Therefore
I. I, Shriman Inder Mahendra Rajrajeshwar Maharajadiraj Shri Hari Singh Ji, Ruler of Jammu and Kashmir in the exercise of my sovereignty in and over my said State Do hereby execute this instrument of Accession, and
1. l hereby declare that I accede to the Dominion o'f India with the I ntent that the Governor-General of India, the Dominion Legislature, the Federal Court and any other Dominion authority established for the purposes of the Dominion shall, by virtue of this my Instrument of Accession, but subject always to the terms therefore and for the purpose only of the Dominion, exercise in relation to the State of Jammu and Kash1nir (hereinafter referred to as "this State») such functions may be vested in them by or under the Govern.men t of India Act, 1935 as in force in the Dominion of India on the 15th Day of August, 1947 (which Act as so in force is hereinafter referred to as "the Act").
2.
. I hereby assume the obligation of ensuring that due effect is given to the provision of the Act within this State as they are applicable therein by virtue of this my Instrument of Accession. 3. I accept the matters specified in the schedules here to as the matters with respect to which the Dominion Legislature may make laws for this State.
4. I hereby declare that I accede to the Dominion of India on the assurance that if an agreement is made between the Governor-General and the Ruler of this State where by any functions in relations to the administration in this State of any law of the Dominion Legislature shall be exercised by the Ruler of this State, then any such agreement shall be deemed to form part of this instrument and shall be const rued and have effect accordingly .
5. The term s of this my Instrument of Accession shall not be varied by any amendment of the Act or of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, unless such amendment is accepted by me by an Instrument supplementary to this Instrument .
6. Nothing in this Instrument shall empower the Dominion Legislature to make any law for this State authorizing the compulsory acquisition of land for any purpose, but I hereby undertake that should the Dominion for the purpose of Dominion law which applies in this State deem it necessary to acquire any land I will at their request acquire the land at their expense or if the land belongs to me transfer it to them on such terms as may be agreed or in default of agreement determined by an arbitrator to be appointed by the Chief Justice of India.
7. Nothing in this Instrument shall be deemed to be a commitment in any way as to acceptance of any future Constitution of India or to fetter my discretion to enter into arrangement with the Governments of India under any such future Constitution.
8. Nothing in this Instrument affects the continuance of my sovereignty in and over this State, or save as provided by or under this Instrument the exercise of any powers, authority and rights now enjoyed by me as Ruler of this State or the validity of any law at present in force in this State.
9. I hereby declare that I execute this Instrument on behalf of this State and that any reference in this Instrument to me or to the Ruler of this State is to be construed as including a reference to my heirs and successors.
Given under my hand this 26th day of October nineteen forty seven .
Sd/ - Hari Singh Maharaja Dhiraj of Jammu and Kashmir
1 do hereby accept this Instrument of Accession.
Dated this twenty seventh day of October, Nineteen hundred and forty seven. Sd/ - Mountabatten of Burma Governor General of India
SCHEDULE
.The matters with respect to which the Dominion Legislature may make laws for the State.
A. Defence
I . The naval, military and air forces of the dominion and other armed force raised or maintained by the Dominion; any armed forces, including forces raised or maintained by an acceding State, which are attached to, or operating with the armed forces of the Dominion.
2. Naval, Military and Air force works, administration of cantonment areas.
3. Arms, firearms; ammunition.
4. Explosives.
B. External Affairs
1. External Affairs, the implementing of treaties and agreements with other countries, extradition, including the surrender of criminals and accused persons to parts of His Majesty's Dominion outside India.
2. Admission into, and emigration and expulsion from, India, including in relation thereto the regulation of the movements in India of persons who are not British subjects domiciled in India or subjects of any acceding State; pilgrims to places beyond India.
3. Naturalisation.
C. Communications
1. Posts and Telegraphs. including telephones, wireless. broadcasting and other like forms of communication.
2. Federal Railways; the regulation of all railways other than minor railways in respect of safety, maxim um and minimum rates and fares, station and service terminal charges, interchange of traffic and the responsibility of the administration of such on railways as carriers of goods and passengers, regulating of minor railways in respect of safety, the responsibility of the administration of such railways as carriers of goods and passengers.
3. Maritime shipping and navigation, including shipping and navigation on tidal waters; admirality jurisdiction.
4. Port quarantine.
5. Major ports, that is to say, the declaration and delimitation of such ports, and the constitution and powers of Port Authorities therein .
6. Aircraft and air-navigation; the provision of aerodromes, regulation and organization of air traffic and aerodromes. ·
7. Light house, including light ships, beacons and other provisions for the safety of shipping and aircraft.
8. Carriage of passengers and good by sea or by air.
9. Extension of the powers and jurisdiction of members of the police force belonging to any unit to railway area outside unit.
D. Ancillary
1. Elections to the Dominion Legislature, subject to the provisions of the Act and of any order made there under.
2. Offences against laws with respect to any of the said matters.
3. Inquiries and statistics for the purposes of any of the aforesaid matters.
4. Jurisdiction and powers of all courts with respect to any of the aforesaid matters but, except with consent of the ruler of the Acceding State, not so as to confer any jurisdiction or powers upon any courts other than courts ordinarily exercising jurisdiction in or in relation to that State.
ब्रिगेडियर_नरेन्द्र_ढंड
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Founder & Convener
Veteran's Web Portals.
Brig Narinder Dhand,
Founder & Convener
Veteran's Web Portals.
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