Instrument of Accession with India.
India’s armed action against
Pakistan intruders had begun on
October 27, 1947, in the areas of
Jammu and Kashmir then under
the attack and occupation of
Pakistan. The armed conflict had
developed into a mini-war between
India and Pakistan and ended with
a cease-fire agreement in
Jan,1948. It is curious to note that
it was British Chiefs of the Army who
were commanding the armed
forces when the armed conflict had
begun between India and Pakistan.
This will give a glimpse of
imperialist policy and role in the
origin and continuation of disputes
between the earstwhile colonies.
Thus the first division of Jammu and
Kashmir had taken place with no
consent of its people and Pakistan-
occupied Kashmir and Kashmir
conditionally integrated in India had
emerged.
The Special status for Kashmir
and Promises
The Indian Govt. as well as
Jawaharlal Nehru had assured in
the UNO and publicly in India that
the Instrument of Accession will be
honored in letter and spirit and the
political future of Jammu and
Kashmir will be finally decided
through a democratically held
plebiscite in accordance with
Kashmir. The Article 370 was
included in the Indian Constitution
(draft) on Oct 17 th , 1949 according
a special status for Kashmir as
promised by promised by the Indian
Govt. Jammu and Kashmir came to
have a Constituent Assembly,
Constitution, Flag of its own, etc
and Sheikh Abdulla as its Prime
Minister. This is one part of earlier
history of Jammu and Kashmir.
Acting against the Letter and
Spirit of Agreement
But, another part of history
had begun right in 1953. The Indian
4
Govt. had arbitrarily removed
Sheikh Abdulla as the Prime
Minister of Jammu and Kashmir in
August 1953 as it found him as an
obstacle in the way of its proposed
moves of further integration of
Kashmir. Bakshi Ghulam – a
deserter of National Conference
and a loyalist of Indian ruling
classes was installed in his place.
Then, series of moves like doing
away with the separate Constituent
Assembly, Constitution and Prime
Minister followed. The Plebiscite
Front was banned in Kashmir.
Sheikh Abdulla was arrested and
foisted with a conspiracy case.
Though the case was withdrawn
after 6 years, he was kept under
detention till 1964. Again, he was
kept under house arrest in 1965
till 1974. The Indian Govt. used this
period to push through the
changes it intended to bring in
Kashmir and pressurize Sheikh
Abdulla in the name of engaging
him in dialogue to bring him to terms
with the Indian Govt. Sheikh
Abdulla’s release was possible only
because of his compromise with
the Indian Govt. on some points
that weakened the special status
of Jammu and Kashmir. The
process of dilution of Article 370
continued even after Sheikh
Abdulla’s return to power in 1975.
Ghulam Nabi Azad was deliberately
concealing this part of sad and
tragic history when he presented
the role of Congress in Kashmir in
bright colors.
The story did not end here.
The period between 1953 and
2014 was bloody for Kashmir
people. The entire Kashmir valley
was turned into a vast dumping
ground for military and para-military
forces protected by (AFSPA)
special powers. Imposition of Sec
144, curfews, prohibitions,
blockades and imprisonments, for
days together whenever there is a
protest; declaring vast areas as
disturbed areas and prolonging
them for an unlimited time; the
innocent youth being branded as
terrorists or suspected terrorists,
disappearances, encounters of
people; the people coming into
streets in protests against police
atrocities, injustices and even to
get the dead bodies of their near
and dear who had died in police
firings and protests assuming
massive and prolonged nature; the
people taking part in these protests
with courage and defiance had
become a normal feature of life in
Kashmir.
The Indian Govt. had enacted
the drama of democratic elections
to show that Kashmir people are
ruled by a democratically elected
Govt. and there exist normal,
democratic and peaceful conditions
of life in Kashmir. It used the
riggings, toppling, president’s rule
and coalition to maintain a façade
of democratic rule.
On one side, the congress
rule went on diluting the Article 370
with an aim of reducing it into an
empty shell. On the other side, it
tried to keep the Kashmir people
under the illusion that the congress
Govt. continues to be committed to
retain the Article370 and Article 35-
A in the Indian constitution. It also
tried to put up a show of a dialogue
with the people. However, this so
called dialogue and other
maneuvers were only meant to
convey the message to the Kashmir
people that they are left with no
alternative to integrate themselves
in India unconditionally and forget
about their national aspirations
and rights once forever.
The Pakistan rulers, on their
part, had been doing everything to
project the Kashmir issue as a
dispute between Pakistan and
Class Struggle