Puchtoon
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My impression is that had Pakistan been patient it would have got Kashmir automatically. India could not have conquered it, nor could a Hindu maharaja have ignored the composition of the population, which was predominantly Muslim. Instead, an impatient Pakistan sent tribesmen along with regular troops to Kashmir within days of independence.
While its true that Nehru was keen on Kashmirs accession to India, Patel was opposed to it. Sheikh Abdullah told me in an interview later (February 21, 1971) that Patel argued with him that as Kashmir was a Muslim-majority area it should go to Pakistan. Even when New Delhi received the maharajas request to accede to India, Patel said: We should not get mixed up with Kashmir. We already have too much on our plate.
Nehrus anxiety (on this issue) was clear from his letter to Patel (September 27, 1947), three days before Kashmirs accession to India: Things must be done in a way so as to bring about the accession of Kashmir to the Indian union as rapidly as possible with the cooperation of Sheikh Abdullah. Nehru wanted Indian forces to fight against the Pakistan tribesmen and others advancing in the Valley. It was Mountbatten who asked Nehru to get the instrument of accession signed first before sending troops.
From the very outset, the maharajas preference was for independence. Failing that, he wanted a merger with India. His fear in relation to the second alternative was that with Nehru at the helm of affairs, he would be reduced to a mere figurehead, and Sheikh Abdullah would be the one with real power. When Patel, otherwise close to the maharaja, suggested that he should make a substantial gesture to win Sheikh Abdullahs support, the maharaja knew his fate was sealed.
Mountbatten later told me that Patel had agreed to let Kashmir go to Pakistan if the state so wished. By sending its irregular troops into the state, Pakistan spoiled the whole thing, added Mountbatten. He was, however, worried that Nehrus Kashmiri ancestry would lead him to unwise decisions. (Nehru is reported to have confessed to a British officer: In the same way as Calais was written on Marys heart, Kashmir is written on mine.)
However, Pakistan could not wait. Kashmir had always been a part of the concept of Pakistan and the letter K in its name stood for Kashmir. As the Pakistan minister for Kashmir affairs said in 1951, and this has been repeated by many ministers to this day, Kashmir is an article of faith with Pakistan and not merely a piece of land or a source of rivers.
The Night Shastri Died And Other Stories | Kuldip Nayar
While its true that Nehru was keen on Kashmirs accession to India, Patel was opposed to it. Sheikh Abdullah told me in an interview later (February 21, 1971) that Patel argued with him that as Kashmir was a Muslim-majority area it should go to Pakistan. Even when New Delhi received the maharajas request to accede to India, Patel said: We should not get mixed up with Kashmir. We already have too much on our plate.
Nehrus anxiety (on this issue) was clear from his letter to Patel (September 27, 1947), three days before Kashmirs accession to India: Things must be done in a way so as to bring about the accession of Kashmir to the Indian union as rapidly as possible with the cooperation of Sheikh Abdullah. Nehru wanted Indian forces to fight against the Pakistan tribesmen and others advancing in the Valley. It was Mountbatten who asked Nehru to get the instrument of accession signed first before sending troops.
From the very outset, the maharajas preference was for independence. Failing that, he wanted a merger with India. His fear in relation to the second alternative was that with Nehru at the helm of affairs, he would be reduced to a mere figurehead, and Sheikh Abdullah would be the one with real power. When Patel, otherwise close to the maharaja, suggested that he should make a substantial gesture to win Sheikh Abdullahs support, the maharaja knew his fate was sealed.
Mountbatten later told me that Patel had agreed to let Kashmir go to Pakistan if the state so wished. By sending its irregular troops into the state, Pakistan spoiled the whole thing, added Mountbatten. He was, however, worried that Nehrus Kashmiri ancestry would lead him to unwise decisions. (Nehru is reported to have confessed to a British officer: In the same way as Calais was written on Marys heart, Kashmir is written on mine.)
However, Pakistan could not wait. Kashmir had always been a part of the concept of Pakistan and the letter K in its name stood for Kashmir. As the Pakistan minister for Kashmir affairs said in 1951, and this has been repeated by many ministers to this day, Kashmir is an article of faith with Pakistan and not merely a piece of land or a source of rivers.
The Night Shastri Died And Other Stories | Kuldip Nayar
