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HOW JAMMU AND KASHMIR FORMED?

Hari Singh had ascended the throne of Kashmir in 1925 and was the reigning monarch at the conclusion of British rule in the subcontinent in 1947. One of the conditions of the partition of India imposed by Britain was that the rulers of princely states would have the right to opt for either Pakistan or India or remain independent. In 1947, Kashmir's population was 77% Muslim and it shared a boundary with both Dominion of Pakistan and Union of India. On 20 October 1947, tribesmen backed by Pakistan invaded Kashmir.^[8]

The Maharaja initially fought back but appealed for assistance to the Governor-General Louis Mountbatten, who agreed on the condition that the ruler accede to India.^[9] On 25 October 1947 Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession^[10] on 26 October 1947 and it was accepted on 27 October 1947 by the Governor General of India.^[11] Once the Instrument of Accession was signed, Indian soldiers entered Kashmir with orders to evict the raiders, but they were not able to expel everyone from the state by the time the harsh winter started. India took the matter to the United Nations. The UN resolution asked both India and Pakistan to vacate the areas they had occupied and hold a referendum under UN observation. The holding of this plebiscite, which India initially supported, was dismissed by India because the 1952 elected Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir voted in favour of confirming the Kashmir region's accession to India.^[12] Another reason for the abandonment of the referendum is because demographic changes after 1947 have been effected in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, as generations of Pakistani individuals non-native to the region have been allowed to take residence in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.^[12][13] Furthermore, in Jammu & Kashmir state of India, the demographics of the Kashmir Valley have also been altered after separatist militants coerced 250,000 Kashmiri Hindus to leave the region.^[14][15] Moreover, Pakistan failed to withdraw its troops from the Kashmir region as was required under the same U.N. resolution of 13 August 1948 which discussed the plebiscite.