Sir
Nizam did not agree to join either India or Pakistan. If it was up to him he would have wanted Hyderabad to remain a sovereign state. But you cannot deny the fact that the Nizam had a soft corner for Pakistan, after all he bankrolled the Pakistani government at the time of Pakistan's inception. At no point did the Indian forces had the permission to enter and take Hyderabad forcefully, it was against the mandate. Thus, India was in clear violation of the law at the time.
The same argument can be used for Junagadh. Nawab Khanji chose to accede to Pakistan but India forcefully captured the state with use of military force. This again was in violation of the law at the time. My question is why is Pakistan being singled out for sending the lashkars to capture Kashmir when India used force to annex Junagadh and Hyderabad. I am clearly seeing a pattern of hypocrisy here Sir. India violated UN's resolution which called for a plebiscite in Kashmir. If my memory serves me right, Nehru also promised to hold a plebiscite in the disputed Kashmir.
Dear Sir,
It is an unexpected honour to have you take notice of my comment, and I hope you will find my explanations adequate.
Please note that with respect to Kashmir and to Hyderabad, the two topics to which I shall confine myself on this explanation, leaving Junagadh for the next, my limited purpose was to contradict two sets of untruths - to use the kindest possible word- which were gathering currency as they went unquestioned.
About Kashmir, both the principles and philosophy of the partition as of the offer made to the princes was distorted, either due to lack of knowledge or due to excess of nationalist zeal. Each to me is as unhealthy as the other. You will agree that I have been scrupulously exact in my narration of the Kashmir matter, both with regard to clarifying that there was no rule assigning a Muslim majority principality to Pakistan, or the other kind to India, and with regard to the deliberate overlooking of the will of the people as reflected in the policies of the National Conference and its leadership of the time.
About Hyderabad, my purpose was to stop this constantly repeated canard, that the Nizam had elected for Pakistan. This was not true, as you know. I freely grant that he sympathized with Pakistan, perhaps, that he made large subventions to the fledgling state, perhaps, but it remains precisely and exactly true that he had not made a choice at the time of the Indian police action.
Please also consider the date. It was September 1948. The old man had been given more than enough time to choose, more important, more than enough time to set his house in order. You are no doubt familiar with the dismal story of how his own Prime Minister and European Advisor were set upon by the Razakars, and hectored, to the point that the distinguished Indian Mussalman who was his PM resigned and returned home to his own principality. What followed was far from being on all fours with Kashmir. It bears closer resemblance to Bangladesh 1971, and is as illegal as that later action was, and justified by the Indian side with the plea of saving greater loss of life and stopping genocide.
Whatever the worth of that plea, it was certainly not the case that Hyderabad declared for Pakistan and India invaded. It was certainly just as strongly the case that Kashmir did declare for India, and Pakistan did invade.
I beg that you will consider my comment only with my limited purpose in mind. As to the hypocrisy, I humbly submit that I am not part of the apparatus Administering national policy towards a neighbouring country, and must decline any charges of hypocrisy on the grounds that I have stated the truth, the narrow truth perhaps, but nevertheless, the exact truth.