Malik M Ashraf
ACCORDING to the Indian Independence Act, the rulers of princely states were given the choice to freely accede to either India or Pakistan, or to remain independent. However the last viceroy of India Lord Mountbatten while speaking to the Chamber of Princes on 25 June 1947 said “The Indian Independence Act releases the States from all their obligations to the Crown. The States will have complete freedom – technically and legally they become independent. They are free to join any of the dominion but while doing so must keep in mind the geographical proximity and demographic features of the population”
India used the argument of geographical proximity and demographic realities to annex Junagadh and Hyderabad in spite of the fact that the rulers of those states wanted to join Pakistan. But in case of Kashmir it reversed the argument. India landed its troops in Srinagar on 27 October 1947 on the basis of an instrument of accession the Indians claim was signed by the ruler of Kashmir. However Lord Mountbatten while accepting the instrument of accession made it clear that the acceptance of accession was provisional and after the situation in Kashmir normalized the question of accession would be settled through reference to the people. There was a revolt against the decision of the Maharaja and the landing of the Indian troops in Srinagar against their wishes. That is why the Kashmiris on both sides of the LoC and the Kashmiri Diaspora throughout the world observe October 27th as ‘ The Black Day’ every year to express their resentment and determination to win their right to self-determination. Consequently the strife in the valley led to war between India and Pakistan. India took the matter to the United Nations, which facilitated an immediate ceasefire. The UN during the course of its deliberations on the subject passed twenty-three resolutions, including two UNICEP resolutions of 13 August 1948 and 5 January 1949 calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir under the auspices of UN, as was also promised by Lord Mountbatten. Nehru the then Indian Prime Minister accepted the UN resolutions and in his correspondence with his Pakistani counterpart as well as in his statements in the Indian Parliament repeatedly pledged to fulfil Indian obligations in that regard. Regrettably, India reneged on her pledges and through Constituent Assembly of occupied Kashmir made a declaration of accession of State to India.
However, the UN through its resolutions 91 and 122 also repudiated Indian stance that the issue of accession of Kashmir had been resolved by the Constituent Assembly of IO&JK. These resolutions reiterated that the question of accession could not be resolved by any means other than enunciated in the UN resolutions on the subject. This proves beyond any doubt that the Indian claims of Kashmir being an integral part of India represent travesty of the facts and lack any legal basis. This claim has also been effectively negated by the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Supreme Court of India by declaring that Article 370 could not be abrogated and amended. The Indian intransigence to fulfil her obligations in conformity with UN resolutions and insistence on Kashmir being an integral part of India, led to two more wars between India and Pakistan and eventually to the launching of an armed struggle by the people of Kashmir in 1989 to win their freedom. Since then India has been using its military might ruthlessly to suppress the freedom struggle. According to reports compiled by human rights organizations within India and those working on global level like Amnesty International, the Indian troops have brutally killed more than one hundred thousand people and raped 11060 of women since then.
In the wake of new wave of uprising in the backdrop of killing of Burhan Wani in July 2016, which continues unabated Indian security forces have killed 755 Kashmiris, raped 903 women, maimed and injured thousands of them through use of pallet guns and destroyed 3002 structures and buildings. The scrapping of Articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian Constitution by the Modi regime, bifurcation of India-occupied Kashmir into two territories and their amalgamation in the Indian Union further aggravated the situation. Consequently The Black Day became The Blackest Day. Kashmir is under siege cut off from the outside world. The Indian forces continue extra-judicial killings with impunity and reportedly they have killed more than 270 Kashmiris during search and cordon operations. Regrettably, the international community and the UN notwithstanding the fact that they have not accepted the Indian narrative regarding situation in IO&JK being her internal matter and the need to resolve Kashmir dispute in consonance with the relevant UN resolutions, do not seem inclined to force India to resolve the Kashmir issue.
The people of Kashmir, come what may, are not going to accept Indian occupation as is evident from their continued struggle and the determination to take their freedom movement to its logical end. Similarly, Pakistan, being a party to the dispute, cannot remain oblivious to what is happening in the valley. Resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes of the people of Kashmir as enshrined in the UN resolutions is absolutely imperative for both Pakistan and India. The adoption of hostile posture towards Pakistan by India instead of realizing and acknowledging the ground realities is fraught with great dangers. The situation calls for intervention of the UN to dissuade India from acting as war-like state and taking steps to resolve the issue as per its own resolutions.
— The writer is freelance columnist based in Islamabad.
