Hey guys.
I see a lot of bad history being thrown around.
For Kashmir, there are two distinct issues.
1947-1948
1952
1965
Could you please keep the three events separate for the use of history?
Ticker is right (Oh this day should not have come
) when he says that 1947 and 48 saw ethnic cleansing of Muslims from Kashmir.
Many Indian posters (including our honorable Joe) may not know this dark chapter of Kashmir's bloody history.
In 1946, with the failure of Mission plan, it became obvious that Brits (with agreement form Congress and ML) would "reluctantly" go for Plan B.
Everyone interested in the history of Indian subcontinent should know about Plan A of Brits. Right?
Well for the noobs,
Plan A was to leave the whole continent as one piece intact, undivided. Was that out of love for Indians. Perhaps to a lesser degree.
Brits were mostly concerned with balkanization (do google to find more about the terrible outcome in Europe from such phenomenon) of the sub-continent. They cared less if the united India was run by Muslims or Hindus. They loved Hindu factory owners for their pro-Brit role, and they also loved Muslim landlords for their pro-Brit character. They just wanted to make sure that anyone who takes over the subcontinent remains part of the British geopolitical game (for example at least remain part of the commonwealth).
Plan B was a distant second option in case Plan A failed.
For the noobs,
Plan B was on the table since 1910s. Lala Lajpat rai supported it. CR Das supported it, and both Nehru and Gandhi considered it. Hindu mahasabha was gung-ho supporter too. While Muslims like Jinnah opposed Plan B.
So what the f was this Plan B.
Simply put, it was sort of punishment (in the minds of British elite and Hindu communalists) for the Muslim majority provinces if they do not fall in line with Plan B.
Think about this. A joint family living in a big Haveli, where everyone is rich or poor but they all share the same daal roti, and live their lives.
Then a trouble maker son comes along, and asks for boti (meat or an active role in the politics) instead of daal roti (the usual second class fiddling).
The "establishment" of the haweli doesn't like this upstart. They want to control every aspect of Haweli politics, So how do they threaten him?
Yeah, tell me my dear Joe (I know you are among the few who will give an honest answer)
We all know that "establishment" of Haweli will threaten him with "expulsion" and stop even his daal roti so he would think twice in future when asking for boti.
So this was plan B. To chop off Muslim majority provinces of Punjab and Bengal, then kick out the chopped half that you do not want, and also kick out Sindh and Frontier (KPK). No one talked about Balochistan, because it was distant place that everybody knew about but no body actually went there, sort of Mars in the planetary scheme of things.
Thus the idea was the reduce, chop, cut, minimize as much as you can to make sure the upstart, the boti-demander will not survive for more than two weeks.
Oh and the establishment of haweli made sure that they malign and disrespect this upstart to a point that every generation of haweli would remember him as the bad guy, nay the worst possible thing on the face of the earth.
Now when Indian posters come on this forum to talk about Pakistan, they in fact are blindly regurgitating the propaganda of the "establishment of this haweli".
This is why I have no hope that Pakistan will be accepted by Indian establishment. Ever!
So coming back to Kashmir.
So in 1946 mission plan fails. Plan B is now in motion. Indian Congress is now planning how to make sure Pakistan won't survive just like the younger brother from Haweli. Things are solidified further in the summer of 47.
Congress and Hindu militants came up with a plan to ethnically cleanse Indian Punjab and Kashmir. Then in July 1947 (one month before independence of Pakistan), Guess what? Gandhi Ji who has never been to Kashmir, pays a visit. Immediately after that visit with Mahraja Hari Singh dogra, kicks out the Prime Minister of Kashmir, Ram Chandar Kak, who had no inclination towards India and replaced him with Janak Singh and then by the Indian loyalist, Mehr Chand Mahajan.
The British officers in the Kashmir Army and Police were dismissed including the Inspector General of Police and the Chief of the General Staff. Orders for construction of a bridge over the Ravi River, near Pathankot, to allow connectivity between India and Jammu and Kashmir were issued. The road between Jammu and Kathua was improved and a telegraph line was constructed between Jammu and the valley. This was all possible because of assistance from India. (There are other sources in my library but here is a quick link for the quoted stuff:
How Mahatma Gandhi Stalled Kashmir’s Independence. « ~ Kashmir ~)
then 60,000 Punch Muslims veterans of WWII were asked to disarm.
everyone knew that Hindu militants are being armed to the teeth, so off course Punchi WWII veterans refused. They were attacked by both the Kashmir state and the Hindu extremists and this is how ethnic cleansing of Muslims started in Kashmir and Jammu.
However Indians will continue talking about invasion of Pathan tribes while utterly refusing the despicable role of Gandhi, Congress and Hindu militants.
to be continued....