by Ahmad Khan 16 April 2023
States, regions, or societies rarely find manifests their destiny which is dependent upon the other stakeholders that remain all in all to decide their fate. Alastair Lamb has explained the destiny of a state cursed by its geographical location and the interests of major stakeholders. When the Britishers decided to divide the Indian subcontinent into Pakistan and India, there were three kinds of princely states those which were independent but had some relations with the government in India, those that had close relations with the Indian government, and those which were totally dependent upon the government in India for their policy making. Kashmir came under the first category. There were three different regions: Jammu, Vale of Kashmir, and Gilgit Agency. Gulab Singh was made the administer of Jammu and his younger brother managed Poonch, under Ranjit Singh’s rule. The Vale of Kashmir was gifted to Dogras by the Britishers because they remained neutral in the Anglo-Sikh war. Privileges provided to Dogras were dependent upon the government’s interests in India because due to the great game with Russian expansion southward, the Britishers were acting pre-emptively. China’s western province, India’s NWFP, and Gilgit Agency had remained of utmost consideration for the Britishers. Although the matter with NWFP was resolved when Durand Line was marked as a formal borderline between British rule and Afghanistan, still the threat persisted in the North. To counter that Britishers supported Dogras to expand their influence in Chinese regions and the Gilgit agency, hoping it could mitigate the Russian threat. Somehow, the Britishers succeeded in countering Russia’s growing influence.
But after World War II, it was of grave concern for the Britishers what would happen with this region at the time of their departure. Pakistan and India will be able to manage their states, but who will take care of this Jammu and Kashmir region that is of marked significance for both countries? At the time the Britishers had decided to violate all rules and principles set for the divisions of princely states between Pakistan and India. They anticipated a stronger India will be able to manage the affairs of Kashmir betterly and procure British interests. The maps shown in the book illustrate that the region of Gurdaspur which separated India from Kashmir was falling under Pakistan, but later maps had bestowed the territory to India so it can have untroubled access to the valley. Being the projectors of democracy, both Brithers and India conspired against Pakistan. The matter had to be decided by the people of the valley.
Lamb highlights how the Hindu rulers had been persecuting Muslims under their rule. From the end of the 19th century, there were concerns of the Muslims in Poonch and Jammu against rulers’ suppression and human rights violations. In the Poonch district, they had risen against the rulers which were supported by Tribal people from NWFP. The government of Pakistan had never been involved directly in the conflict. When Jinnah had asked the Army command to take notice of Indian intervention in the region, they simply refused as the Army of both countries was still under one British command. Gogra rulers anticipating resistance against their rule had asked India to intervene. Indian forces landed in the valley in September, while Tribal people were on their way to support the Kashmir struggle. Under Indian pressure, Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh had signed the instrument of accession whose authenticity remains dubious. India took the matter to the security council, but all the plans that were proposed by the committee on Kashmir have remained unacceptable to India as well as Pakistan. Because in most of the suggestions, they had asked Pakistan to ask its tribal people to come back while Indian forces remained in the valley. Any biased plan was obviously unacceptable to Pakistan. There came only one suggestion known as the Dixen plan which is considered the most feasible option for both countries. It said that the Ladakh region should come under India, Poonch under Pakistan while Gilgit had emanated its accession with Pakistan. In the Vale of Kashmir, a plebiscite must be held. But this plan was also not accepted by the parties. There were some perspectives in Nehru-Ayub’s time that were optimistic about a feasible solution through bilateral negotiation between both countries. But Nehru died and the leadership afterward was more impressed by the nationalist ideas that emerged in the post-Sino-India War of 1962. Pakistan-India wars of 1965 and 1971 were based on mutual misperceptions and misunderstandings of each other’s intentions by both countries.
Lamb affirms while concluding that Kashmir was a well thought problem created for Pakistan by the Britishers and Indians. The region still remains suppressed by India’s rule and the problem remains unresolved. The opinions of revoking article 370 had been appreciated in India since 1950, but it is yielded under BJP rule. The future of the valley still remains dubious and the people remain the ultimate victims.