[Reader-list] Kashmir Dispute, The Myth - Part III

[Pawan Durani]

*Kashmir** Dispute -  The Myth-III*

**

*By Dr. M.K. Teng*

**

Another man, whose future  was linked with the de marcation of the boundary
in the Punjab, was Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir. The
Jammu-Madhopur fair weather cart-road was the only communication link
between the State and India. The two major all weather motorable
roads, the Jehlum-Valley
Road linking Srinagar with Rawalpindi and the Jammu-Sialkot road ran into
the West Punjab. The railway line connecting Jammu with Sialkot also ran
into the West Punjab. The border between the State and Kangra and the Punjab
Hill States, which had decided to accede to India, was broken by rugged
mountainous terrain. An alternate road could be built via Mukerian to
connect Jammu with Kangra and via Doda with the Punjab Hill States. Indeed,
when Mahajan and Teja Singh pointed out to the Commission the necessity of
securing access to Jammu and Kashmir through East Punjab, Mohammad Munir and
Din Mohammad suggested the construction of an alternate land route via
Mukerian connecting Jammu with Kangra. The Hindu and the Sikh Commissioners
realised, as did Hari Singh, the importance of the tehsil of Pathankot to
the viability and the defensibility of the borders of India as well the Jammu
and Kashmir State.

Sir Shadi Lal and Bakshi Tek Chand kept Hari Singh informed of the boundary
demarcation in the Punjab. They were close to Mehar Chand Mahajan and had
apprised him of the interest Hari Singh had in the demarcation of the
boundary in the Punjab.

Hari Singh was suspicious of Mountbatten, whose mind he knew. He did not
trust the Congress leaders. He had received a communication from States
Minister, in which the latter had advised him to release the National
Conference leaders and come to terms with them. Unsure of the course Sir
Radcliffe would follow in respect of his State, he reportedly, conveyed to
the British officials, through some of his trusted British friends, his
interests in a balance border with the two Dominions of India and
Pakistanand the importance of the Jammu-Pathankot road for the
security of his
State. Reportedly, he conveyed to the British authorities that in case he
was not secured the land route between Jammu and Pathankot he would have no
other alternative except to depend upon the Dominion of India for the
construction of a new transit route, across the eastern borders of the State
with Kangra or with any of the Punjab Hill States, which had already acceded
to India.

The British were not averse to a balanced border of the State with India and
Pakistan, for they were keen to avoid any diplomatic or political lapse
which would push the Maharaja into the lap of India. Some of the British
officials sincerely believed that Hari Singh would opt for an arrangement in
which he was not required to accede to any of the Dominions, if he was
guaranteed peace on his frontiers. Ram Chander Kak, out of stratagem or
straight devotion to his master, had spared no efforts to assure the
British, that Hari Singh pursued a policy, which enabled him to retain his
independence, rather than join India which was beset with serious
difficulties.

In view of the extremely divergent views and deep disagreement among the
Hindu and Sikh Commissioners and the Muslim Commissioners, the Boundary
Commission was unable to reach a mutually acceptable agreement on the
demarcation of the boundary across the Lahore Division. In accordance with
the procedure laid down for the Boundary Commission, in case of disagreement
among the Hindu, Sikh and the Muslim representation in the Commission, it
was decided by mutual agreement to entrust the task of the demaracation to
Sir Radcliffe, the Chairman of the Boundary Commission. The Commissioners,
representing the Hindus and the Sikh as well as the Muslims agreed that the
arbitral award made by Sir Radcliffe would be binding on them.

History had cast a unique responsibility on Sir Radcliffe, to lay down the
future boundaries of the nation of India, which was on the threshold of
freedom from centuries of slavery as well as describe the future boundaries
of an independent Muslim state in India. The Congress leaders, were perhaps,
oblivious of the elemental  change the creation of Pakistan would bring into
the civilisational boundaries of India and the far-reaching effect the
establishment of a Muslim power in India, would have on its northern
frontiers. Jammu and Kashmir formed the central spur of the great Himalayan
uplands poised as the State was, it stood as a sentinel for any eastward
expansion of any power from the west as well as the north.

Pakistan was, however, keenly conscious of the strategic importance of Jammu
and Kashmir. But the Government of Pakistan was unable to judge the ability
of Maharaja Hari Singh to defeat their designs. *Hari Singh played a
historic role in persuading Sir Radcliffe to accept  that his State could
not be completely isolated from the Indian Dominion.*

The Muslim League leaders did not trust Hari Singh. They spared no efforts
to convince the British officials in the Government of India about the
necessity to ensure that the Boundary Commission did not deviate from the
principle of the population proportions. *The Muslim League leaders were
keen to acquire the **Ravi** Headworks at Madhopur isolate the district of *
*Amritsar** and seal the existing road-link connecting **Jammu and
Kashmir**with
**India**.* The League leaders sent Chowdhary Mohammad Ali to convey to the
British officials in the Indian Government their concern about the future of
the Lahore Division. Mohammad Ali met, Lord Ismay, the Political Advisor to
the Viceroy to convey to Mountbatten the anxiety of the Muslim League
leaders about any deviation from the principle of population-proportions the
Boundary Commission may resort to in the demarcation of the boundary in the
Punjab. Ismay told Mohammad Ali that the Boundary Commission was an
independent body of which the functions were determined by its terms of
reference, and the Government of India had no role in its function. Many
years later, research in Pakistan revealed that during his meeting with Lord
Ismay, Mohammad Ali showed the Political Advisor a sketch map of the
demarcation of the boundary between east and west Punjab which was not
strictly based upon the principle of population-proportions. Ismay,
reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with it.

The award of the Boundary Commission was announced on 18 of August 1947,
three days after the transfer of power in India. Sir Radcliffe left
Indiathe same day. The districts of
Amritsar and Gurdaspur were included in the East Punjab, whereas the
districts of Lahore and Sheikhopora were included in the West Punjab. The
entire Muslim League leadership flared upon in anger against the inclusion
of Gurdaspur in the East Punjab and blamed Sir Radcliffe of connivance in a
craftily devised plan to give India access to Jammu and Kashmir and provide
the Indian state the strategic ground to grab the State. Communal riots
flared up in Lahore and spread to the whole of the Punjab.

Sir Radcliffe followed uniform standards in the delimitation of the boundary
between India and Pakistan in Bengal as well as the Punjab. Evidently, he
did not overlook the consideration of other factors, specifically mentioned
in the terms of reference of the Boundary Commission in the delimitation of
the boundary between the East and the West Punjab. He did take into
consideration the nominal majority, the Muslims enjoyed over the Hindus and
the Sikhs in Gurdaspur. The Tehsil of Pathankote in the Gurdaspur district
had a distinct Hindu majority and it could not have been included in the West
Punjab by any stretch of imagination. Sir Radcliffe had not followed the
district boundaries as the basis of delimitation of the boundaries elsewhere
in the Punjab. Besides, the Ravi irrigation headworks were located in
Pathankot and they could not have been excluded from the East Punjab, to
ensure a just and equitable distribution of water resources in the
Punjabbetween
India and Pakistan. undoubtedly, Sir Radcliffe did not overlook the
necessity of providing a balanced border to the Jammu and Kashmir State, for
which Mahajan and Teja Singh had spiritedly  pleaded. The security of the Jammu
and Kashmir State, which constituted the central spur of the northern
frontier of India and which was crucial to the security of the Himalays,
could not be left out the consideration of the Boundary Commission. The
division of the Punjab was a part of the partition  of India and the
demarcation of the boundary between India and Pakistan could not be
undertaken in isolation from its effects on the Indian States. The
delimitation of the boundary in the Punjab around the Bahawalpur State, was
undertaken with due consideration of its future affiliations. Bahawalpurjoined
Pakistan,.

Sir Radcliffe recognised the inclusion of the district of Gurdaspur in the East
Punjab as a strategic requirement of the security of the northern frontier
of India, including the frontier of India in the Punjab. He accepted in his
report that the inclusion of Gurdaspur in the East Punjab was necessary for
the security of the district of Amritsar, which would otherwise he
surrounded by Pakistan. Perhaps, Radcliffe was aware of the security of the
northern Frontier of India, in which the British were more interested than
the Congress leaders, who had warbled notions about the security of the
Himalayas. Unlike the other officials of the Government of India, Radcliffe
was free of the trappings, the British officials of the Indian Civil Service
were strapped to. He did not visualise the partition of India as the British
officials of the Indian Government did, and he was guided by his own
judgement. *He refused to recognise the claim to the geographical expression
of the Muslim nation of **Pakistan**, the way the British officials of the
Indian Government did. He had little regard for their colonial concerns or
Jinnah's notions of the ascendance of the Muslims power in **India**.*

An important consideration which Sir Radcliffe had in mind in dividing the
Lahore Division was the future of the Sikh Community, which was bound to be
adversely affected by the partition of the Punjab. The land and the assets
owned by the Sikhs were largely situated in the west Punjab but a larger
section of their population lived in the East Punjab. Besides, their main
religious centres and most sacred shrines, including the Durbar Saheb, were
located in the Lahore Division. The division of the Punjab was bound to
uproot them from the West Pakistan and deprive them of their land and
assets. The claim laid by the Muslims to the whole of Lahore Division, would
divest them of their sacred places and shrines. Lahore was the seat of the
Sikh empire of the Punjab, which had changed the course of the history of
India. The demarcation of the boundary of the East Punjab was therefore,
crucial to the survival and future of the Sikh community. Both Mahajan and
Teja Singh emphasised upon the need to consider the interests of the Sikh
community in the demarcation of the boundary in the Punjab.

*The inclusion of Gurdaspur in the **East Punjab** mitigated, though only
partially, the rigours of the division of the **Punjab**. *The delimitation
of the boundary in the Punjab, Sir Radcliffe undertook, gave the Muslims,
who constituted 55 percent of the population of the Province, 65 percent of
its territory. The Hindus and the Sikhs who constituted 45 percent of the
population got only 35 percent of the territory of the Punjab. The Muslim
League leaders had no reason to grumble. Their reconstruction were
politically motivated and aimed to prepare ground to launch a new form of
Direct Action to reduce the Jammu and Kashmri State.



* - To be continued*



*(Note: *The Articles in this series are based upon the documentary sources
in the Archives of India, Archives of Jammu and Kashmir State, All States
People's Conference Papers, Nehru Memorial Museum New Delhi, Sapru House
Library, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi, Documentary sources,
published in Pakistan, Contemporary News Paper files and Interviews).