The day of October 26 1947, holds historical significance for India. On this same day, Maharaja Hari Singh signed the “Instrument of Accession” of Jammu & Kashmir to India. It is well known that on October 22 1947, Pakistani armed forces in the guise of tribals entered Kashmir and started moving towards Srinagar speedily, committing plundering, robbing the border subjects, mistreating women etc. Although Maharaja was in favour of a merger with India from the beginning and he had also recommended it to Nehru in July 1947, seven decades after independence, it was propagated by the Congress and Left parties that the delay in the merger was on his part. Whereas the fact remains that the process of the merger was delayed by contemporary Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He had said that “the appropriate time for the merger has not yet come and they want ‘something’ more than merger.” On July 24 1952, Nehru himself made this point clear in the Lok Sabha after an agreement with Sheikh Abdullah. It was that “a month before getting independence, that is, in July 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh had contacted him regarding the merger of the princely state of Jammu & Kashmir in India and then he reprimanded the Maharaja and his request and proposal. It is a matter of research and analysis that when the ruler of the princely state himself wanted annexation then why did Nehru want to keep Kashmir-merger as the only exception? What more did he want than a merger?
It should be kept in mind that when Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession, neither did he put any conditions for the merger on his behalf nor did he put any pressure on the Indian Government later. We must remember that the Maharaja had the option to go with whomever he wanted, either India or Pakistan. He could easily take advantage of this situation and impose all the conditions for the merger and could bargain. But he made no such effort. Lord Mountbatten had also repeatedly pressurised him to merge with Pakistan. Due to vested interests, future benefits and the strategic-geographical importance of Jammu & Kashmir, the British Government wanted that it should be merged with Pakistan. The British Government was more convinced of the arbitrary use of the Pakistani Government than India. But Maharaja Hari Singh did not want to go with Pakistan at any cost. Rejecting all kinds of pressures and temptations, he accepted to live in India voluntarily.
If the most injustice or humiliation has happened to anyone in the history of independent India, it has happened to Maharaja Hari Singh. Due to the well-planned, facilitative, pseudo-secularist thinking of proving someone as a hero, someone a villain, it was deliberately heavily publicised without any special historical investigation that Maharaja Hari Singh should make Jammu & Kashmir an independent nation and himself as its head of state. Is it feasible that Maharaja Hari Singh won’t understand anything that is obvious to the average person? Maharaja Hari Singh who in the Second World War was a member of the ‘War Council’ had a better understanding of the political situation and circumstances of the country as well as the world. Is it conceivable that he does not have a sense of the geographical, and demographic situation and reality? The truth is that he knew very well that his geographical and demographic condition would not allow him to exist for long as an independent nation and ruler. It is not at all possible that he was not aware of the hidden intentions of Jinnah and Pakistan and the potential danger of China. As a well-educated person, he would be able to easily anticipate the national consciousness prevailing in the entire country and change accordingly. He must have had a certain feeling that the monarchy is not going to last long. Therefore, it is also unfair to call him an advocate of the monarchy. All his decisions also prove him to be a liberal, progressive and people-friendly ruler of that period.
Maharaja Hari Singh not only strongly supported India at the Round Table Conference in London but also clearly said that when India becomes an independent nation, he will be a part of it. He did many works for the promotion of education in his state. Being an Arya Samaji, he had opened the doors of temples for the Dalits in his state at a time when it could not be imagined in other princely states. Yes, he did have some apprehensions and concerns about the security and future of their non-Muslim subjects of the Valley. With the aspiration of their security and a better future after the merger with India, he must have definitely wanted some concrete assurances from Nehru ji. But on the issue of interests and concerns of the minorities (Hindu-Sikh-Buddhist etc.) in the valley, Nehru Ji was wearing a mysterious silence. It is also important to note that while Sardar Patel was looking out for the interests of the union of other princely states, Nehru held all of the power to make decisions on Jammu & Kashmir.
Maharaja was already dissatisfied and annoyed with all the policies of Nehru regarding Jammu & Kashmir. In particular, his unrequited love and inclination towards Sheikh Abdullah left him in dilemma and indecision. Rather, the Maharaja’s doubts and apprehensions towards Sheikh Abdullah proved to be true and Nehru’s faith in the future proved to be false. His assessment of Abdullah on the test of time proved to be realistic and Nehru’s sentimental and pneumatic. Isn’t it true that the Abdullah whom he kept fitting pieces in the background to establish him in the state’s politics, the same Abdullah later became a snarl around his neck and the situation reached such a point that he had to put Abdullah in jail? The truth is that holding Maharaja Hari Singh responsible or villainous for the complex problem of Jammu & Kashmir was a simply, one-sided and ungrateful conclusion, which Congress and Left parties nurtured for decades. Whereas in the light of arguments and facts, his name should have been included in the category of leading heroes of the country.
At least his name should never be taken in the chain of the Nizam of Hyderabad, who wrote letters to more than ten countries of the world requesting Hyderabad to be given independent status, and weapons to fight independent India. He collected the money, deposited the royal treasury in the account of the then Pakistani High Commissioner in Britain, Habib Rahmatullah, and misappropriated the money. Maharaja Hari Singh’s opponents have not been able to present any concrete and corroborative evidence to prove that he was suffering from any kind of confusion or ambition regarding the merger of his princely state with India. Against the Maharaja, many historians present Sheikh Abdullah as a hero, as if he was fighting the battle for the Kashmiris. Despite this, his forehead is tainted with the death of the great patriot and statesman Shyama Prasad Mukherjee under mysterious circumstances. It seems despite this, for the fulfilment of vested political interests, he started pursuing the ambition of two legislations, two heads in the same country and in some sense, he was successful in that. In fact, on the test of facts, different conclusions come to the fore apart from Abdullah’s alleged heroism. At that time Jammu-Kashmir was mainly divided into five parts – Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit and Baltistan. The credit for creating a state by tying all these areas in the thread of unity goes to the Dogra Hindus only. It is a matter of research that the acceptance of Sheikh Abdullah was limited only to the valley of these, yet why did Nehru hold on to the dogma of making him the Prime Minister without any electoral process? It is also worth noting that Sheikh Abdullah, whom some historians consider one of the greatest heroes fighting for independence, the movement was not limited to democracy or to the people of the whole region but only to a particular religion. In the movement launched against the Maharaja, he mobilised the Muslims of the valley on the basis of religion. How appropriate is it to glorify a movement which has communalism at its core, mobilisation on a religious basis, as a freedom movement?
It is worth mentioning that Sheikh Abdullah was a postgraduate from Aligarh Muslim University. After returning from there, he felt very disturbed that there should be a minority Hindu ruler in the Muslim-majority valley. He started instigating Muslims against the Maharaja by forming the ‘All Jammu & Kashmir Muslim Conference’. Later, when he felt that his political ambition could not be fulfilled without the inclusion of some other religions and castes, then after a few years he changed the name of this organisation to ‘National Conference’. Yes, he must be given credit for the fact that he was never a strong advocate of the merger of Jammu & Kashmir with Pakistan. But it also had some special reasons. He knew very well that under Jinnah, he would not have any unique identity in the Muslim League. Nor will he be able to make a big mark in independent Pakistan. Because by riding on the religious wave of slogans of separate identity and different nationalism (bi-nationalism), Jinnah had by that time been considered the most recognised leader of Muslims. Abdullah kept on asking Nehru to make every legitimate and illegitimate demand, saying that not going to Pakistan was a great sacrifice. The relentless and blind acceptance of their demands fuelled their indomitable ambitions and they dreamed of making Jammu & Kashmir an independent country the ‘Switzerland of the East’.
After a few years of Jammu & Kashmir becoming the princely state of Sadar, he began to see Jammu-Kashmir as a sovereign nation and himself as an independent head of state. The result of the Abdullah-Nehru friendship was not only tragic for the nation, but its culmination was also tragic. Nehru, who had once handed over the Takhto-Taj of Jammu and Kashmir to Sheikh Abdullah without any electoral process, had to put Abdullah himself in jail in 1953. Due to the stubbornness and passion of Abdullah and his closeness to Nehru, on the one hand, the ruler till yesterday, Maharaja Hari Singh was doomed to suffer the pain of exile, and on the other hand, there was no progress and peace in the fortunes of the residents of Jammu & Kashmir. It is astonishing that the Kashmiriyat, Jamhuriyat and humanity, which were being thrashed by the so-called secular and liberal fractions, included the rich traditions of Bharat Muni, Panini, Anandavardhana, Abhinavagupta, Vasugupta, Lalitaditya, Ksemendra, Kalhana, Bilhan, Rudrata, Mammat, Lladyad etc. and no space or opportunity was left for lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits.
It is noteworthy that Article 370 and Article 35A played a special role in nurturing the indomitable and uncontrolled ambition of power in the glands of Sheikh Abdullah and his successors. Today, when the present Government is firmly on the path of development by taking a bold decision to abolish Article 370 and Article 35A, which hinder the unity and integrity of the country, having dual nationality and provisions, fulfilling the long-awaited nationwide aspirations and expectations. The step has been taken forward, then some people deliberately give air to the divisive-separatist mentality and try to re-irrigate and nurture the poison of partition. Their anxiety can be gauged from the fact that they have made a public appeal to India’s enemy nation, China, to restore the former situation. All the established political houses keep introducing the selfish-ruling mentality like Jaichand-Mirjafar from time to time. These are the same people and families who have been sitting on power and facilities for decades and are still not ready to give up the temptation of power. It is shameless presumptuousness and plain dogma to consider the facilities and concessions received in a particular period as an eternal right. They have to understand that Article 370 and Article 35A have now become chapters of the past. The wheel of the Kalachakra moves forward, not backward. A liberal, dynamic and modern society never revolves around the dead body of facilities and privileges. By learning from the past, and by embellishing the present, he constructs a better and complete picture of the future.
Article 370 and Article 35A had given nothing to the Valley other than promoting terror, secession and bigotry. This is the reason why the general public of Jammu and Kashmir-Ladakh has started liking the change that happened on 5th August 2019. By taking advantage of the policies, schemes, and programs of the Centre, they want to write a new chapter of peace, brotherhood and progress. Both fate and the picture of the valley have started changing. Every impartial person with a free mind can see the radiance returned to the valley today and hear the sound of progress. It would have been better if the parties and politicians with the stubbornness and passion of opposition became travellers and explorers of the path of development, not becoming the nurturers and advocates of violence, terror and alienation.
Leave a Comment