Nehru’s Kashmir Policy

Jammu and Kashmir was largest of the Indian Princely States. The Hindu maharaja of Kashmir ruled over a heterogeneous population of 4 million of which 77 percent was Muslim, but since his state bordered both dominions of Pakistan and India, Maharaja thought he could play off one country against the other, join neither of them, and make his state wholly independent.

On 15 August 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh offered to sign a Standstill Agreement with Pakistan as well as India, which Pakistan signed but India did not. Pakistan wanted to merge Kashmir with itself. So, it sent raiders to back the Muslims in southwest Kashmir to revolt against the maharaja.

Since Maharaja knew that he might need to turn to Nehru for help, on September 29, 1947, he released National Conference Party (NCP) leader Sheikh Abdullah, the nationalist Muslim leader from jail in order to gain popular support. In October 1947, thousands of Pathan tribesmen from northwest Pakistan, armed and guided by the Pakistani army, entered Kashmir; on October 24, when the raiders were well within the state and closing in on Srinagar, the Maharaja asked Delhi to provide military assistance; Abdullah also urged that Delhi do so.

Nehru stated that unless some agreement is signed, India couldn’t send its army to a state where it has no legal standing. Accordingly, a treaty of accession was drafted with the promise of Article 370 in Indian Constitution to safeguard interests of the people of the state. According to the accession treaty, India was to look after only four subjects viz. defense, external affairs, communication and currency; while the local assembly was given powers to decide on all other matters. Similarly, the provisions of part VI of Indian constitution were not to be made applicable to Jammu & Kashmir and it was allowed to have its own Constitution. On the basis of such accession, around 100 fighter planes of Indian Air Force came into action to drive out the raiders. India was able to take back Srinagar as well as valley, however, by that time; Pakistan had already taken one third of Kashmir. The struggle continued for months and there was a fear of full-fledged war.

Here, Nehru made a strategic mistake and on the basis of suggestion by Lord Mountbatten, he referred the Kashmir problem to United Nations Security Council on 30 December 1947, requesting the UNSC for vacation of aggression by Pakistan. This decision was a blunder because instead of taking note of aggression; the UNSC sided with Pakistan and rechristened the problem as India-Pakistan dispute.

The UN passed some resolutions. On the basis of one such resolution; India and Pakistan accepted a ceasefire on 31 December 1948 which still prevails and the state was effectively divided along the ceasefire line. Nehru later blamed the dirty game played by Britain and US, behind the scene.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Abdullah was installed as head of a reconstituted government of Kashmir.  In 1951, the UN passed a resolution, which asked for a referendum under UN supervision so that the people of Kashmir could decide their own fate. But one of the conditions of the referendum was that Pakistan had to withdraw its troops from the part of Kashmir under its control. Pakistan refused to withdraw its forces and India refused to hold any referendum. Since then, India has successively amended its constitution to make Kashmir as its integral part.

The Jammu & Kashmir council of ministers was to be headed by a Prime Minister (in place of Chief Minister of Indian states) and the constitutional head of the state was Sadar-i-Riyasat. In due course, the Prime minister was changed to Chief Minister and Sadar-e-Riyasat was changed to Governor and gradually the reach of Indian constitution was extended to Jammu & Kashmir. The Pakistan occupied Kashmir, though named Azad Kashmir, has remained dependent practically in all matters on Pakistan.

A UN Military Observer Group in India andPakistan (UNMOGIP) still continues to supervise the ceasefire line and reportthe violation of ceasefire. After 1971 war, India and Pakistan had signed Shimla Agreement in 1972. The agreement had formalized the 1949 UN ceasefire line with minor changes as ‘Line of Control’.