KASHMIR-20

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS  1952 - 1965

 Sheikh Abdullah Dismissed

1.         Under  the  Delhi  Agreement  of  24  July  1952,   the  state  was  to  enjoy  certain  unique 

privileges within the Indian Union relating to land holding, declaration of emergency by President, and a  separate flag. There was dissent against Sheikh Abdullah’s regime by the Ladakhi people (due to religious and political differences) and also by activists in Jammu belonging to the Praja Parishad,  who feared domination by the majority community in the state. On 9 Aug 1953 the Sadar-i-Riyasat, Karan Singh dismissed Sheikh Abdullah from office and appointed Bakshi Gulam Mohammed as Prime Minister. Sheikh Abdullah was arrested for the main offence of conducting ‘treasonable consequence with foreign powers’.

2.       The constituent Assembly decided upon a constitution for the state which was adopted on 26 January 1957.  This  constitution  provided for ‘jurisdiction in the state of the Indian Supreme Court and the Indian Comptroller and Auditor-General. It declared that the state of Jammu and Kashmir is and shall be an integral part of  the Union of India’.  Sheikh Abdullah was released on 8 January 1958 and re-arrested on 30 April 1958 for his attempts to destabilise the state. Elections,  under the  new constitution  were held in March 1957 and the National Conference won with 68 seats. In 1962, elections were held again with similar results. These elections amply proved the democratic environment in which the governance of the state was carried out. On 3 October 1963, Bakshi Gulam Mohammed resigned amidst growing discontent against his administration.

3.       On 26 December 1963, the sacred hair of Prophet Mohammed was stolen from the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar.  However,  on  3 January 1964 the Relic was recovered and restored in its place. There were large-scale violence and political activity revolving around the loss of the Relic. On 8 April 1964, Sheikh Abdullah was released from custody.

The China Factor

4.       By the end of 1950s ,

Pakistan’s strategists realised that alliance with China was more advantageous than an alliance with USA, for, while USA could not be an ‘enemy’ of India, China was already one, having a number of disputes with India. At the same time, only the USA could provide Pakistan with modern weapons. These twin strategic needs shaped Pakistan’s policies during the period.

5.       Pakistan at that time had a border problem with China (it has a 2000-mile border in the Hunza region). Pakistan could, obviously, perceive that a settlement of its border with China would lead to Chinese recognition of its claim to the J&K State. In any case, the region was a ‘disputed’ territory, which was to be settled through a plebiscite as per UN resolutions, and thus, Pakistan could not loose much.

6.       In early 1963, Pakistan engaged in talks with China and in the second round of talks the Sino-Pakistan border agreement was signed by foreign minister of Pakistan. Although Pakistan claimed to have gained 750 Square miles of land, the Indian side believed they had ceded 2700 square miles of Hunza region belonging to India. The Pakistanis countered the allegation stating that the agreement was provisional pending a proper boundary treaty once the Kashmir dispute had been resolved. China’s agreement to the negotiations was interpreted as public acceptance of Pakistan’s position that the status of J&K had not yet been finalised. The Chinese had already constructed a road in this inhospitable uninhabited north-eastern corner of Ladakh (Aksai Chin-Ladakh Road) rising to an altitude of 16,000 feet which provided a direct link between Tibet and Chinese territory of Sinkiang province, and the agreement was only to legalise the road in international fora.