Hisory of Jammu and Kashmir
Kashmir was a Muslim majority Princely State before the independence of Pakistan and India. On 25 July 1947, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, advised the rulers of the Princely States to accede either to India or Pakistan "keeping in mind the geographical situation of their respective States, the composition of their population and the wishes of their people".
Why is Jammu Kashmir disputed?
Kashmir was a Muslim majority Princely State before the independence of Pakistan and India. On 25 July 1947, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, advised the rulers of the Princely States to accede either to India or Pakistan "keeping in mind the geographical situation of their respective States, the composition of their population and the wishes of their people". It was, in fact, in line with the partition formula whereby all Muslim majority areas of British India were to join Pakistan after 14 August 1947 and the rest were to accede to the erstwhile British Indian Dominion. Although ruled by a Hindu prince, Muslims constituted 78 percent of Jammu and Kashmir and 93 percent of the population of the valley.
There was a common understanding that Jammu and Kashmir would join Pakistan as in addition to the composition of the population, it was linked to the outside world through Pakistani territory. Pakistan was the source of import of all essential items like petroleum, sugar, salt etc. The Jhelum River was the only source to transport timber for export. However, ignoring the wishes of the people and Kashmir's historical, ethnic, religious, cultural and social relations with Pakistan, the Hindu Raja (Prince) requested for accession to India in return for military aid and a promised referendum. India never fulfilled its promise of plebiscite and the Prince's action was never accepted either by the Kashmiri people or Pakistan.
How did Hindu Raja become the ruler of Muslim majority Kashmir?
Historically speaking, Kashmir had been ruled by the Muslims from the 14th century onwards. The Muslim rule continued till early 19th century when the ruler of Punjab conquered Kashmir and gave Jammu to a Dogra Gulab Singh who purchased Kashmir from the British in 1846 for a sum of 7.5 million rupees.
The Raja of Kashmir had initially shown his intention neither to join Pakistan nor India. Subsequently, why did he decide to join India?
The Raja of Kashmir had signed a standstill agreement with Pakistan in August 1947, which allowed continuation of the services Kashmir was availing under the British rule pending fresh agreement. In the meantime, he strengthened his links with the Indian Government by appointing the Indian Congress nominee Mehr Chand Mahajan as the Prime Minister of the State with the promise that military aid could be made available to him at his discretion.
In the meantime, the Raja had ordered his Muslim subjects to deposit all the arms they possessed. Next, he ordered the Muslim personnel of his army to be disarmed. This was followed by a State-supported campaign of RSS- a Hindu fanatic organization- to exterminate the Muslim population of Jammu or to force them to migrate to Pakistan. Commenting on the Raja's reign of terror, the Times of London observed.
"237,000 Muslims were systematically exterminated, unless they escaped to Pakistan along the border by the force of the Dogra State headed by the Maharaja in person". The Raja's attempt to disarm the Muslim population was resisted in Poonch area and a guerrilla movement developed which grew in strength to nearly 70,000 Poonchis who had served in the British army during the Second World War. The Kashmiri guerrillas responded by attacking Raja's army and their relatives in Pakistan also joined them in the resistance movement.
Sheikh Abdullah, a pro-India Kashmiri leader and father of Farooq Abdullah, the puppet Chief Minister of the Indian Occupied Kashmir, confirmed the atrocities of the Raja in his statement on 21 October 1947 (New Delhi) when he said;
"The present troubles in Poonch, were caused by the unwise policy adopted by the 'State. The people of Poonch started a people's movement to redress their grievances."
On 24 October 1947, Maharaja appealed to India for military help. On 26 October, Maharaja addressed a formal letter to the Governor General of India seeking military assistance. He also signed the so-called Instrument of Accession sent by the Indian Government as a quid pro quo. But later researchers like Alistair Lamb doubted the veracity of this instrument.
Was it an unqualified accession to India?
On 27 October, while accepting the instrument of accession, Mountbatten the British Governor General of India after independence wrote back:
"... It is my Government's wish that, as soon as law and order have been restored in Kashmir and her soil cleared of the invader, the question of the State's accession should be settled by a reference to the people."
On 30 October 1947, Nehru addressed a telegram to Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan saying:
"Our assurance that we shall withdraw our troops from Kashmir as soon as peace and order are restored and leave the decision about the future of the State to the people of the State is not merely a pledge to your Government but also to the people of Kashmir and to the world."
On 2 November 1947, in a Radio Broadcast Prime Minister Nehru repeated pledge to hold plebiscite in J&K "under international auspices like the United Nations. So the accession was conditioned with a promise of plebiscite, which was repeated, by the high-level Indian leaders as well as Indian representatives in the United Nations.
However, these promises were never fulfilled.
Legal Argument
India based its argument on Article II of the Simla Agreement, which says that the two countries are resolved to settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations.
What are the Legal Arguments presented by India?
India based its argument on Article II of the Simla Agreement, which says that the two countries are resolved to settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations.
However, Para 1 of the Simla Agreement specifically provides that "the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations shall govern the relations between the two countries". Article 2 of the Charter spells "all members ..... shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the present charter". More specifically Article 103 of the Charter says "in the event of a conflict between the obligations of the members of the UN under the present Charter and their obligations under any other internal agreement, their obligations under the present Charter shall prevail". Many countries have invoked Article 103 whenever their obligations under the Charter conflicted with those under other treaties. The Indian interpretation of the Simla Agreement, therefore, does not diminish the necessity for both Pakistan and India to fulfill their Charter obligations.
Furthermore, the Simla Agreement says, "The principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations shall govern the relations between the two countries". One of the fundamental provisions of the Charter is "respect for the principle of self-determination of peoples" (Article 1). That can also be interpreted as one of the Charter obligations of states and under Article 103- any contrary provision, therefore, of all other treaties including the Simla Agreement cannot take precedence.
Political Argument
After the nuclearization of South Asia the Kashmir dispute is no more just a bilateral dispute between Pakistan and India. Any dispute between Pakistan and India, no matter how less serious, can provoke a nuclear exchange. This poses a serious threat to international peace and security, and global economic and social stability. The international community has therefore an interest in the settlement of bilateral disputes between Pakistan and Indian in a peaceful manner and in accordance with the provisions of the UN Charter. The interest of the international community has been established by resolution 1172, which urges Pakistan and India to address the root cause of their tensions.