Kashmir 1947: Rival Versions of History

by Prem Shankar Jha

Kashmir is one of the most intensely disputed regions of the world. Lying between India and Pakistan, it was acceded to India by the British when they left in 1947; however, with a majority Muslim population, many Kashmiris and Pakistanis felt that it should have become a part of Pakistan. To this day, it continues to be the subject of passionate conflict between the two countries -- in late 2002, as troops aligned on the borders, the prospect of a possible nuclear war was only narrowly avoided. In such a context, a book on the history of Kashmir is not only timely but of great usefulness to anyone who wishes to understand the full and complex background to the ongoing conflict. Prem Jha is a renowned Indian scholar and his new book is a controversial account, based on exhaustive research and recently declassified papers. Jha provides a virtually day-to-day account of the critical times when the fate of Kashmir was decided in the context of Britain's geo-political strategies. Drawing on personal accounts by the main players in the events of 1947, he examines the contrasting versions of history that have emerged since that time. Offering vital insights into the volatility of politics in the Indian subcontinent, this is an indispensable book for students, teachers, journalists and anyone interested in the history of the region.

Genres: History, India, Politics

200 pages, Hardcover

First published May 23, 1996

Reviews

[Santosh Mani]

I was recently at the the Indian High Commission in Wellington and noticed bookshelves with lots of books. I checked with the receptionist and she said they could be borrowed at no cost and asked me to select a book and let her know and that she would unlock the bookshelf and issue the book. I selected a fiction book by an Indian author. When I asked her to issue the book to me she said that was the only book shelf for which they did not have the key!

So on an impulse I asked for this book from the non-fiction shelf. I had recently visited Kashmir and found parts of it really beautiful. I also felt people there were a bit subdued and unhappy. I didn't know much about the history of Kashmir except that it was ruled by a Hindu king when India was partitioned by the British in 1947. This book gave me a better understanding of the of the people of Kashmir and made me better empathize with their problems.

India had 562 princely states i.e. territories ruled by kings during the partition. These states were not part of British India. The British gave them the princely states the choice of remaining independent or working out which country to join.

The Princely state of Kashmir was a Muslim majority state with 77% Muslims (as per the 1941 British census). It was naturally assumed that Kashmir would join Pakistan during the partition of India. However the Kashmiri king Maharaja Hari Singh, who was a Hindu chose to join India.

This book describes the events in 1947 that led to the king deciding to join India. Partly this book also focuses on refuting other writers who contended that this decision was either illegal or immoral.

This book also attempts to prove (and does this quite convincingly) that Indian troops only entered Kashmir after the Instrument of Accession was signed by Maharaja Hari Singh. This is not accepted by Pakistan which believes that Indian troops entered Kashmir, committed atrocities and forced the signing of the Instrument of Accession. This difference of opinion still is the bone of contention between India and Pakistan and has resulted in 4 wars.

Prem Shankar Jha goes into much detail about the build up to the accession and quotes many sources to back his views. The role of many key players including Nehru, Maharaja Hari Singh, Jinnah, Sardar Patel, Mountbaten is shown. All of this makes fascinating reading.

One-third of Kashmir is currently part of Pakistan and I have heard many people say that this is Nehru's fault and that the Indian army could have regained all of Kashmir when the first war was fought. This book argues that this was a delibrate move by Nehru who being a Kashmiri recognized the inherent differences between the 'Kashmiris' and the Muslims in the part of Kashmir now with Pakistan and was happy to let that part of Kashmir stay with Pakistan.

Other controversial incidents are also dealt with such as the award of three tehsils of Gurdaspur to India, which allowed India to have a land link with Kashmir.

Despite the number of problems contemporary India seems to be facing, they seem to be nothing in comparison to the issues facing Pakistan. Unfortunately the corruption and sheer incompetence of the Indian governments have led Kashmiri youth to mistakenly believe that there is hope for them with joining Pakistan.

This book is a great read though there are parts where the detailed investigations into claims and counterclaims by analyzing various sources might seem to be a bit dry for somebody who is curious to know what happened next. :-)

[Vishnu E]

A very clear investigation of both India's and Pakistan's version of events that occurred around the accession of Kashmir to India.

[Akash Jha]

"As usual Nehru talked about United Nations, Russia, Africa, God almighty, everybody, until Sardar Patel lost his temper.
He said, ‘Jawaharlal, do you do you want Kashmir, or do you want to give it away’.
He [Nehru] said, ‘Of course, I want Kashmir.

Then he [Patel] said ‘Please give your orders’.
And before he [Nehru] could say anything Sardar Patel turned to me and said. ‘You have got your orders’.

The Army was then dispatched into Kashmir and the rest is history- alas written in blood."

This book seeks to examine the accession of Kashmir to India in 1947, on the basis of the wealth of material that become available in recent years after crucial documents and correspondence of that period were made available to the public.

When an issue generates so much bitterness and frustration, some of this feeling is bound to percolate to those attempting to study it. It is not therefore, surprising that over the years, two completely different versions of Kashmir’s accession to India have come into being, not only in peoples’ perceptions-that is only to be expected- but in the academic literature on the subject. These versions have then been fed into the popular perception through the media.

This book examines both versions in the light of contemporary accounts, documents, and correspondence, which are exhaustively discussed in the footnotes. The author has made a great attempt at building up a clear, week by week, day by day, and finally hour by hour account of events and actions in 1946 and 1947, as these emerge from the sources enumerated above.

Jha through the book has made a brilliant attempt, off course based on historical sources at debunking a lot of Western Myths surrounding the accession of Kashmir to India.

I have always said that before commenting on Kashmir, it's important to understand Kashmir and the events in its History and to that end, I highly suggest reading this one.

[Abdullah Mushtaq]

The book is written primarily as a response to Alastair Lamb's books on Kashmir and a vindication of Indian position on this issue. It references a very narrow set of sources, primarly relying on the fortnightly reports of W.F. Webb, the British political resident in Kashmir and by Gen. Scott, the commander of Mahraja's Dogra state forces. The author stated his conclusions at the very start of 1st chapter, the rest of the book is merely an attempt to defend them:

1) that Maharaja Hari Singh's 'Dogra' rule of Kashmir was not tyrannical, any more than British rule in India could be described as such, and was most certainly not communal;

2) that at least till the end of September 1947, when communal disturbances in the subcontinent were causing considerable disquiet to both the people and the administration of Kashmir, there was next to no animosity between Hindus and Muslims, and no communal violence inside the state, barring a few sporadic incidents in the Jammu region;

3) that there was no spontaneous revolt in Jammu & Kashmir against the Maharaja, at least till the end of September, and that what happened in the Poonch region of the State at the end of August and in early September, was assiduously instigated by Pakistan.

4) That while there were undoubtedly atrocities committed by bands of Sikhs and by some of the state troops against Muslims in the border belt of Jammu province in the first weeks of October, these were caused by an overspill into the state of the communal carnage occurring all along its borders in East and West Punjab, and overreaction and loss of control by the state forces in the face of atrocities committed by Muslims on Hindus both within Jammu & Kashmir state and in the adjoining areas of West Punjab. Pakistan's charge that state troops were 'cleansing' the state of its 77 per cent Muslim population in order to enable the Maharaja to accede to India is wholly unsustainable

5) That the raids into Kashmir by the Pathan tribesmen were not spontaneous retaliations aimed at saving their Muslim brethren from Dogra genocide, but were carefully planned and instigated at least from the end of August or early September.

6) There is unambiguous evidence in the declassified documents and correspondence that, far from having decided that India was the best choice as the future custodian of Kashmir, and therefore of British strategic interests in Central Asia, it was Pakistan that had throughout been cast in this role.

7) Lastly, there is equally unambiguous proof that the Gurdaspur award was neither orchestrated by the British government from London, nor by Lord Mountbatten in Delhi.

Reading the very first conclusion, puts one off for the rest of the book the expectations. He dismissed Poonch rebellion as an outsider instigation by Pakistan. But how much of this is true, one can listen to what Sheikh Abdullah had to say about it as reported by the Associated Press of India under the dateline, New Delhi, October 21, 1947:

“That the present troubles in Poonch, a feudatory of Kashmir, were because of the policy adopted by the State. The people of Poonch who suffered under their local ruler, and again under the Kashmir Durbar, who was the over-lord of the Poonch ruler, had started a people’s movement for the redress of their grievances. It was not communal. ‘The Kashmir State sent their troops, and there was panic in Poonch. But most of the adult population in Poonch were ex-Servicemen in the Indian Army, who had close connection with the people in Jhelum and Rawalpindi. They evacuated their women and children, crossed the Frontier, and returned with arms supplied to them by willing people. The present position was that the Kashmir State Forces were forced to withdraw in certain areas’.”

The book became tedious to read due to blatant partisanship and lack of proper referencing. DNF!

[Ajeet Amber]

I want to read this book

[Shekhar Rawat]

Kashmir a tragic place

[Makrandika]

Nice righteous

[Abhishek]

Definitely a must read for anyone interested in the birth of kashmir conflict.

[Prem Patel]

good contextual background, can tell the author writes for the Hindu