After
the execution of the illegal, immoral and unconstitutional instrument of accession by the fugitive ruler of Kashmir, the government of
India rightly regarded the accession as provisional and temporary,
subject to the will of people. The Indian constitution guaranteed a special status to Kashmir by virtue of Article 370. It further pledged constitutionally through Article 253 that the final disposition of
the state shall be made by the government of the state. India signed and agreed United Nations resolutions and its rulers repeatedly made commitments and promises
to hold a plebiscite in Kashmir.
Following
are some of the commitments made by Indian authorities regarding Kashmir:
1. In his
letter of acceptance of the instrument of accession, the Governor General of India, Lord Mountbatten wrote to Maharaja Hari Singh, the Dogra ruler of Kashmir
on October
27, 1947:
“In
consistence with their policy that, in case of any state where the issue of accession has been the subject of dispute, the
question of accession should be decided in accordance with the wishes of the people of the state. It is my government’s
wish that as soon as law and order have been restored in Kashmir the question of the state’s accession should be settled by a reference to the people.”
2. The
Indian Prime Minister, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru said:
“I
should like to make it clear that the question of aiding Kashmir in this emergency is not designed in any way to influence the state to accede to India. Our view which we have repeatedly made public is that the question
of accession in any disputed territory or state must be decided in accordance with wishes of people and we adhere to this
view.”
(Telegram
402 Primin-2227 dated 27 Oct, 1947 to Prime Minister of Pakistan repeating telegram addressed to Prime Minister of United
Kingdom)
3. In other
telegram to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nehru wrote:
“Kashmir’s accession to India was accepted by us at the request of the Maharaja’s government
and the most numerously representative organization in the state which is predominantly Muslim. Even then it was accepted
on condition that as soon as law and order had been restored, the people of Kashmir would decide the question of accession. It is open to them to accede to either dominion then.”
(Telegram
no 255, dated 31 October 1947, addressed to the Prime Minister of Pakistan)
4. In his
broadcast to the nation, Pandit Nehru said:
“We
have declared that the fate of Kashmir is ultimately to be decided by the people. That pledge we have
given not only to the people of Kashmir but to
the world. We will not and cannot back out of it.”
(All
India Radio, November 3, 1947)
5. In his
statement in the Indian parliament, Pandit Nehru said:
“In
order to establish our bonafides, we have suggested that when the people are given the chance to decide their future, this
should be done under the supervision of an impartial tribunal such as the United Nations Organization. The issue in Kashmir is whether violence and naked forces should decide the future or the will of the
people.”
(Statement
in the Constituent Assembly (legislature) of India, November 25, 1947)
6. In his
report to the all India Congress Committee on July 6, 1951,
Pandit Nehru said:
“Kashmir has been wrongly looked upon as a prize for India or Pakistan. People seem to forget that Kashmir is not a commodity for sale or to be bartered. It has an individual existence
and its people must be the final arbiters of their future. It is here today that a struggle is bearing fruit, not in the battlefield
but in the minds of men.”
(The
Statesman, New Delhi, July9, 1951)
7. In a
letter to the U.N representative, Pandit Nehru wrote:
“The
government of India not only reaffirms its acceptance of the principle that the question of the continuing accession of the
state of Jammu and Kashmir to India shall be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite under
the auspices of the United Nations, but is anxious that the conditions necessary for such a plebiscite should be created as
quickly as possible.”
(Letter
dated September 11, 1951)
8. Answering
a question in the Indian legislature, Nehru said:
“Kashmir is not the property of either India or Pakistan. It belongs to the Kashmir people. When the Kashmir acceded
to India, we made it clear to the leaders of Kashmir people that we would ultimately abide by the verdict of their plebiscite. If they
tell us to walk out, I would have no hesitation in quitting Kashmir.”
(Amrita
Bazar Patrika, Calcutta, January 2, 1952)
