It is also undeniable irony that Maharaja Hari Singh was ill-advised. His earlier Prime Minister Ramchandra Kak and ‘Raj Guru’ Swami Sant Dev had planted the idea of remaining independent. We have seen earlier that Ramchandra Kak, was a stooge in the hands of the British and hence never really supported Kashmir’s accession with Bharat. Swami was an archetype of the current day ‘Godman’. Even today, such Godmen exercise considerable influence over the minds of some of the top politicians of the country.

Raj Guru Swami Sant Dev exercised colossal control over the Maharaja lineage. He lived luxuriant life in Maharaja’s kingdom and resided in the house, which is presently Srinagar’s Raj Bhavan, situated overlooking Dal Lake. Earlier, it was a palace Maharaja had built for his fourth wife, the mother of Dr. Karan Singh. Such a palace, a car, and many other facilities were made available to Swami Sant Dev. Swami had ‘predicted’ to Maharaja that a still shining future awaited him, implying that he, with the lapse of paramountcy, should become independent and declare Kashmir, as an independent nation!!!

Keeping deep belief in his rhetoric, cost Maharaja profusely. The irony eventually turned out, that Maharaja lost even what he had before 1947.  And the last turn of event was most uncanny. When Maharaja eventually left Srinagar for Jammu at 2 am on the night of October 26th and between approaching dawn of October 27th, he found the Swami who had been emphatically advising the Maharaj, against leaving Srinagar, was walking hurriedly ahead of the caravan.

Meanwhile, a full-scale tribal invasion, backed by the Pakistani army, was launched. The tribesmen comprising Afridis and Mahsuds as well as the Pakistani army, their freedom fighters were all operating under the overall command of Major General in Pakistan army, Akbar Khan, who was given the code name of ‘General Tarique’. To dwell a little regarding this code name, apparently, Tarique was a Moorish fighter, who bravely fought in Spain for the cause of Islam.

Hence, the code name itself indicated the motive of invasion. It is believed that the acute shortage of dynamite and other potent arms did not let the state administration, destroy the Krishan-Ganga bridge at Muzaffarabad. (We have earlier read about the ‘mischief’ done by British army officers, in charge of both armies, who deliberately delayed sending the armament after repeated requests from the Maharaja until the intervention by Home Minister Sardar Patel, as the British had other cynical plans).

Muzzafarabad fell in hands of Pakistani raiders on October 23rd and immediately Maharaja grasped the gravity of the situation and he had made up his mind. The very next day, he approached the Government Bharat for assistance and help. On the same day, Mohara power station was captured by the raiders and Maharaja’s beloved Srinagar plunged into an eerie darkness.

The very next day, V P Menon, secretary of the Ministry of States, flew to Srinagar to assess the situation. Menon remarked, “Stillness of the graveyard all around.” Consequently, V P Menon immediately had a word with Sardar Patel, the Minister for Home and Princely states, and sought help from the Government of Bharat and by then Maharaja offered to sign the instrument of annexation. In his letter to Lord Mountbatten, on October 26th, Maharaja HariSinh said: ” With the conditions obtaining at present in my state and the great emergency of the situation as it exists, I have no option but to ask for help from the Indian Dominion. Naturally, they can not send the help asked for by me without my state acceding to the Dominion of India. I have accordingly decided to do so and I attach the Instrument of Accession for acceptance by your Government.”

Accepting the accession, Lord Mountbatten replied to the Maharaja on October 27th: ” In the special circumstances mentioned by Your Highness, my Government has decided to accept the accession of Kashmir State to the Dominion of India. It is my Government’s wish that, as soon as law and order have been restored in Kashmir and her soil cleared of the invaders, the question of the State’s accession should be settled by a reference to the people. Meanwhile, in response to Your Highness’s appeal for Military aid, action has been taken today to send troops of the Indian army to Kashmir to help your own forces to defend your territory and to protect the lives, property, and honor of your people.”

Now, every second was crucial. The raiders were moving ahead swiftly, demolishing the property, looting and mercilessly assassinating lives, and damaging the peace.  Maharaja and his officials were waiting anxiously for Bharatiya troops and arms to arrive and save the situation.  But, unfortunately for Kashmir (and in the future, for Bharat), Pandit Nehru’s intimate affinity and as a result, personal vendetta overpowered the larger goal of national integrity. He remained stubbornly unmoved until Maharaja had fulfilled one more condition.

And, that was handing over Kashmir’s reigns in hands of Shaikh Abdullah!  When Kashmir’s Prime Minister, Meharchand Mahajan reached out to Pandit Nehru, with the letter of accession, Nehru did not accept the letter, right away. Instead, he involved Shaikh, who was already present in Delhi (It is believed, he was present at Pandit Nehru’s residence, waiting and seated in another room, when Mahajan arrived) as Pandit Nehru, was keen on giving the credit to Shaikh, for Kashmir’s annexation and deterred it being bestowed upon, on Maharaja. Shaikh Abdullah had fled from the war scene, when Kashmir and Kashmiris, whose “Massiah” he addressed himself as, were in peril.

The coming generations, woefully, perceived the notion of Kashmir’s annexation, with absolute negativity as History had portrayed it. Something similar happened in Hyderabad’s annexation, where the Nizam of Hyderabad had chosen to attack Bharatiya’s army, following Pakistan’s advice, yet he was awarded the purvey purse of  Rupees One Crore per annum! The same Nizam had ignited the communal fire, through Layak Ali and Kasim Rizvi, in Hyderabad, yet he was rewarded with the post of “RajPramukh” or the constitutional head of the Hyderabad state, as respect and tribute to his status!

Why was Maharaja HariSinh not granted indistinguishable treatment?!

Pandit Nehru’s empathy towards Shaikh Abdullah was so very dangerous that it humiliated Maharaja extensively. Instead of appointing him as the Constitutional head of state of Kashmir (which could have been an illustration of Kashmir’s unity or designating him on another honorable post, he was simply banished from the state and did not even have the good fortune of breathing his last on his own soil. At the end of Fourteen-year long banishment, from Jammu and Kashmir, he died in Bombay (Mumbai) in April 1961.

Sources of Information :

हमारी भूलोका स्मारक : धर्मांतरित कश्मीर

नरेन्द्र सहगल

कश्मीर : दहकते अंगारे

जगमोहन जी

जम्मू कश्मीर की अनकही कहानियां

कुलदीप चंद अग्निहोत्री

Kashmir : Behind The Vale

M J Akbar

My Frozen Turbulence in Kashmir

Jagmohan ji.