DNA Exclusive: First war of independent India that changed Kashmir’s future; Check all details

New Delhi: If you might be requested what number of wars India has fought since independence, you might most likely title the 1962 conflict with China, 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, after which the Kargil War of 1999. India’s first conflict that it fought merely two months after independence in 1947 is a lesser-known reality. It, nonetheless, utterly modified the way forward for India. 

The DNA report at present will delve deep into this primary conflict of impartial India and inform you concerning the bid conspiracy that termed this conflict as an invasion by marauding tribes.

On August 15, 1947, India emerged as a brand new nation with a secular and democratic nation, however Pakistan did not digest this reality and conspired to grab the Muslim majority state of Kashmir that was dominated by Hindu Raja Hari Singh. When leaders of India have been celebrating India’s independence, Pakistan’s military was busy hatching conspiracy to usurp Kashmir come what may. 

Pakistan carried out this plan 73 years in the past on at the present time, October 22, 1947. Thousands of tribesmen from Pakistan invaded Kashmir and defeated Raja Hari Singh’s state Force and marched from Muzaffarabad to Srinagar. Muzaffarabad is at present the capital of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. 

22nd October 1947 proved to be a black day within the historical past of India as a result of, after the ceasefire, India had misplaced about 91,000 sq. kilometer space of Kashmir. This misplaced portion of land is the same as the scale of nations like Hungary, Portugal, and Jordan. This a part of India is now referred to as Pakistan Occupied Kashmir whereas Pakistan calls it free Kashmir.

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In the pages of historical past, this Black Day (October 22) was intentionally erased and other people additionally forgot at the present time progressively. On the opposite, Pakistan nonetheless celebrates 26th and 27th October as Black Day. King Hari Singh of Kashmir had signed on the doc of Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India on 26th October 1947, and the following day, 27th October, India Army landed right here to liberate Kashmir from the clutches of tribes.

Pakistan denied having no position within the assault on Kashmir. The pro-Pakistan voices in India additionally attempt to show that Pakistan’s military was not concerned on this assault. This report, nonetheless, will inform you that not solely Pakistan’s military was concerned on this assault, however the assault was additionally carried out underneath the management of the Pak military.

The conflict that began in October 1947 lasted until December 1948. It is the longest conflict of impartial India so far because it lasted for two months and a couple of weeks, however it’s not thought of a conflict. India’s conflict with China lasted just one month in 1962, 1965 conflict with Pakistan lasted solely 17 days, 1971 conflict towards Pakistan was fought for 13 days and the 1999 Kargil conflict lasted 60 days. It is stunning to know that the conflict India fought for 14 months is light from the reminiscence of individuals. 

Codenamed as Operation Gulmarg, the brainchild of the Pakistan Army was meticulously deliberate towards impartial India underneath the guise of tribal invasion. This revelation is made by a former Pakistan Army officer in certainly one of his books, Raiders In Kashmir. Major General Akbar Khan, who authored this e book, was a Brigadier within the Pakistan Army in 1947. He was additionally the Director of Weapons and Equipment within the General headquarters of the Pakistan Army. 

Akbar Khan was conscious of the truth that Raja Hari Singh’s military in Kashmir has solely 9000 jawans and 2000 of them are Muslims. Pakistan had thought that these Muslim troopers of Hari Singh’s state Force would help it, and this perception made Pakistan Army officers overconfident.

The second chapter of Major General Akbar Khan’s e book titled as ‘The Reason Why’ explains why Pakistan had despatched the tribesmen to invade Kashmir. The e book says that the scale of India at the moment was 46 lakh sq. kilometers with 568 princely states the place 40 crore folks lived. Of these princely states, Jammu and Kashmir have been the second largest. This state was geographically essential not solely to India and Pakistan but in addition for your entire Indian subcontinent. 

The geographical location of Jammu and Kashmir was such at the moment that there was solely Afghanistan between north Kashmir and the Soviet Union of that point. Ever since Britain introduced the partition of India, Pakistanis felt that Kashmir would go along with them. Pakistan at all times thought of Kashmir as its integral half and Akbar Khan writes that in Pakistan’s spelling ‘Okay’ stands for Kashmir.

According to Akbar Khan, for the reason that Indian subcontinent was being divided on the premise of the Hindu and Muslim populations, Kashmir was anticipated to go along with Pakistan. At that point 75 p.c inhabitants of Kashmir was of Muslims. The Jammu and Kashmir unfold throughout 2 lakh 18 thousand sq. kilometers was not related to India by street, rail, or rivers and there hardly any financial relation between India and Kashmir. These have been the information about Kashmir that grew to become the premise of Pakistan’s design to usurp Kashmir.

Akbar Khan additionally writes that the founding father of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, additionally believed that geographically Kashmir has no alternative however to go along with Pakistan. Jinnah additionally believed that the folks of Kashmir have been very obsessed with Pakistan, subsequently, he was not bothered about leaders like Sheikh Abdullah. 

The assault on Kashmir in 1947 was additionally thought of to a part of a world conspiracy, which suited Pakistan. Kashmir was not a matter of alternative however a matter of necessity for Pakistan, which was afraid that if the Indian military got here to Kashmir, it will simply regulate Pakistan. 

Major General Akbar Khan’s e book, Raiders In Kashmir, writes that earlier than the assault on Kashmir, he met a Muslim League chief named Mian Ift-Kharuddin, who had requested Akbar Khan to make a plan to annex Kashmir in order that it may very well be proven to Pakistani leaders in Lahore. He additionally suggested him to take particular care that nobody is aware of concerning the involvement of the Pakistani military or Pakistani officers in it. 

Akbar Khan, who was then the Director of Weapons and Equipment within the Pakistani Army, was given the duty of arranging weapons for tribes. According to Akbar Khan, about 4000 Military Rifles got to Pakistan’s Punjab Police, but it surely appeared that the Punjab Police didn’t require these Rifles, subsequently, these Rifles got to the tribesmen.

Akbar Khan was very obsessed with his plan and he additionally defined to many Pakistani authorities officers the significance of occupying Kathua Road and Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. The officers had then fastened Akbar Khan’s assembly with the then Pakistan’s Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, and Akbar Khan was promised that he monetarily compensated.

Subsequently, on 22nd October, the tribesmen launched their first assault on undivided Kashmir’s Domail after which captured Muzaffarabad on 23rd October. By the 25th of October, that they had captured Uri and their subsequent goal was Baramula, which was captured on the 26th of October. From Baramulla, the space of Srinagar is merely 50 km and this was the following goal of the Pakistan Army and the tribesmen.

Witnessing the ferocious assault of the tribesmen, Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu Kashmir signed the instrument of accession on 26th October and merged his state with India. The similar day, Pakistan declared Muzaffarabad because the capital of Azad Kashmir.

On the following day, 27th October, Indian forces began touchdown at Srinagar airport and from there Pakistan’s plan to seize Kashmir collapses. When the tribesmen couldn’t transfer past Baramulla, the Pakistan authorities requested Major General Akbar Khan if he would take duty for additional assaults with a pre-condition that nowhere ought to come Pakistan’s military position. 
Akbar Khan agreed to this, however when he reached simply 6 kilometers away from Srinagar, he realised that the Indian Army had blocked all of the roads forward and it was not possible for the tribes to maneuver ahead. This was the turning level within the conflict that additionally foiled Pakistan’s Kashmir plan endlessly. After two days, the Indian Army began shifting ahead and by seventh November 1947, the tribesmen have been pushed to Uri.

Although the tribesmen had began retreating from October 27, 1947, half of Kashmir unfold over 2,22,236 sq. kilometers had gone to Pakistan, which later handed over elements of it to China. 

Do you already know why did India fail to occupy PoK even after pushing again the tribes? Because the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru took this dispute to the UN Security Council on January 1, 1948, and the dispute grew to become a world concern.