Accession Day (Jammu and Kashmir)

Last updated

Accession Day
Kashmir Accessiuon document side 1.jpg
Kashmir Accessiuon document side 2.jpg
Original text of the Instrument of Accession
Observed by Jammu and Kashmir, India
SignificanceAccession of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir
Date 26 October
Next time26 October 2025 (2025-10-26)
FrequencyAnnual
First time26 October 2020 (as an official public holiday in Jammu and Kashmir [1] )
Related to Republic Day
Independence Day

Accession Day is a public holiday in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, commemorating 26 October 1947, when Maharaja Hari Singh signed off the Instrument of Accession, in which Jammu and Kashmir joined the Dominion of India. [1] It became an official public holiday in Jammu and Kashmir for the first time in 2020. [2]

Contents

The festivities of the day include holding rallies, bursting of firecrackers, singing India's national anthem, and raising the flag of India. [3] [4] [5] In some areas, the festivities are as big as those of the Hindu festival of Diwali. [6] [7] [8]

Pakistani perspective

The "Accession Day" is observed as "Black Day" by Kashmiri separatists like Syed Ali Shah Geelani and followers of All Parties Hurriyat Conference against Kashmir's accession to India. Geelani has been caught on a few occasions trying to disrupt public order due to his political motivations. [9] [10] [11]

However, the "Black Day" is mostly an extention of Pakistani politics on account of Pakistan's position against Kashmir's accession to India, a narrative that Pakistan's government frequently stresses on every October by releasing statements and hosting events on the "Black Day" which is projected as a "global event" but hosted at Pakistan's embassies the world over.

Projecting the issue as an international problem has been met with criticism on account of the fact that the Kashmir dispute was declared a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan as part of the Simla agreement.

The problems with Pakistani Argument

While Pakistan blames India as a belligerent actor in Kashmir, it did historically resort to use of tribal forces and proxy militants in Kashmir despite a standstill stance of Kashmir's Maharaja Hari Singh. Unilateral aggression by Pakistan became apparent prior to the conflict. Operation Gulmarg, as Pakistanis would call the invasion plan, was formulated and put into action on 20 August, 1947. The designs were further attributed to a threatening letter from Pakistan to Hari Singh dated 24 August which explicitly stated that, “The time has come for Maharaja of Kashmir that he must take his choice and choose Pakistan. Should Kashmir fail to join Pakistan, the gravest possible trouble will inevitably ensue”. On 4 September 1947, General Henry Lawrence Scott, commander of the Jammu and Kashmir State forces, complained about multiple covert incursions from Pakistan and asked the Maharaja’s government to raise this issue with Pakistan. [12] On 12 September, Prime Minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan held a meeting with military and civilian officials where a go-ahead was given to two plans: raise a tribal force to attack Kashmir from the north and arm the rebels in Poonch. [13] These actions cemented Kashmir's trajectory towards India which manifested in the signing of the accession document after which, with the permission of Kashmir's ruler, India resorted to military action to ward off hostile and invasive forces sent by Pakistan.

Pakistan views Kashmir's separation from India from the lens of the Two Nations theory and refuses to accept Maharaja Hari Singh's move to accede the territory to India. Pakistan’s commitment and belief to the UN resolution on Kashmir (1948) is based on political rhetoric. Pakistan was not "sincere" in implementing the clauses of the UN resolution. Pakistan bases its argument on Clause III of the 1948 UN resolutions without concurrent reference to Clause II of the resolution. Pakistan’s reluctance to withdraw its troops and tribesmen led to a situation where implementation of the UN resolution was impossible. [14] And the failure of such implementation has led to perception among Pakistan's political elites that Kashmir was invaded despite the fact that Kashmir faced a tribal invasion from the Pakistani side on October 22, 1947.

The problem was further compounded when Pakistan "re-enacted" the 1947 tribal invasion in 1965 and has been directly involved in instigating violence in the valley since 1989. The 1999 Kargil crisis is an extension of a similar strategy. Pakistan has adopted a dual strategy in Kashmir. It applies the option of a military offensive that increasingly relies on low intensity conflict now. [14] The low intensity conflict relies on proxy militants and political groups that further try to portray separatism as a just cause of "Kashmiris".

See also

Related Research Articles

The Jammu and Kashmir Instrument of Accession is a legal document executed by Maharaja Hari Singh, ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, on 26 October 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Kashmir</span>

The history of Kashmir is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent in South Asia with influences from the surrounding regions of Central, and East Asia. Historically, Kashmir referred to only the Kashmir Valley of the western Himalayas. Today, it denotes a larger area that includes the Indian-administered union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, the Pakistan-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Chinese-administered regions of Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948</span> 1947–1948 war between India and Pakistan

The Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948, also known as the first Kashmir war, was a war fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four Indo-Pakistani wars between the two newly independent nations. Pakistan precipitated the war a few weeks after its independence by launching tribal lashkar (militias) from Waziristan, in an effort to capture Kashmir and to preempt the possibility of its ruler joining India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syed Ali Shah Geelani</span> Kashmiri separatist leader (1929–2021)

Syed Ali Shah Geelani was a Kashmiri separatist leader and politician in the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. Known for his pro-Pakistan stance, he was a key figure in the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an alliance of separatist groups. A former Indian intelligence officer referred to him as the 'father of the Kashmiri jihad.'

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hari Singh</span> Last ruling Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, from 1925 to 1952

Maharaja Sir Hari Singh was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Parties Hurriyat Conference</span> Political alliance in Kashmir

All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) is an alliance of 26 political, social and religious organizations formed on 9 March 1993, as a united political front to raise the cause of Kashmiri independence in the Kashmir conflict. Mehmood Ahmed Saghar was the first convener of the APHC-PAK chapter when the alliance was established in 1993. The alliance has historically been viewed positively by Pakistan as it contests the claim of the Indian government over the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The organisation is split into two main factions, those being the Mirwaiz and Geelani factions. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is the founder and chairman of Mirwaiz faction and Masarat Alam Bhat is the interim chairman of Geelani faction, who succeeded Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the founder of the faction after his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheikh Abdullah</span> Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir (1905–1982)

Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was an Indian politician who played a central role in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah was the founding leader of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference and the 1st elected Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir after its accession to India. He agitated against the rule of the Maharaja Hari Singh and urged self-rule for Kashmir. He is also known as Sher-e-Kashmir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kashmir conflict</span> Territorial conflict in South Asia

The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, and also between China and India in the northeastern portion of the region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claimed the entirety of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a dispute over the region that escalated into three wars between India and Pakistan and several other armed skirmishes. India controls approximately 55% of the land area of the region that includes Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, most of Ladakh, the Siachen Glacier, and 70% of its population; Pakistan controls approximately 30% of the land area that includes Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan; and China controls the remaining 15% of the land area that includes the Aksai Chin region, the mostly uninhabited Trans-Karakoram Tract, and part of the Demchok sector.

The following is a timeline of the Kashmir conflict, a territorial conflict between India, Pakistan and, to a lesser degree, China. India and Pakistan have been involved in four wars and several border skirmishes over the issue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Poonch District</span>

Poonch District was a district of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which is currently divided between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani part of the erstwhile district is now the Poonch Division in the Azad Kashmir territory, whilst the Indian part of the district is the Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir. The capital of the Pakistan-controlled side is Rawalakot; while the capital of the Indian-controlled side is Poonch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kashmir Solidarity Day</span> National holiday in Pakistan

Kashmir Solidarity Day is a national holiday observed in Pakistan on 5 February annually. It is observed to show Pakistan's support and unity with the people of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir and Kashmiri separatists' efforts to secede from the Indian Republic, and to pay homage to the Kashmiris who have died in the conflict. Solidarity rallies are held in the Pakistani-administered territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and by Mirpuri Kashmiris in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir</span> 1951–1957 body to draft a constitution

The Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly was a body of representatives elected in 1951 to formulate the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir. The Constituent Assembly was dissolved on 26 January 1957, based on Mir Qasim resolution it adopted and ratified the constitution of jammu and kashmir on 17 November 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammad Abbas Ansari</span> Kashmiri political leader (1936–2022)

Mohammad Abbas Ansari was a separatist political leader and a well known Shia Muslim scholar, reformer, preacher and cleric from Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. He was known for his religious lectures and as a Kashmiri separatist, ex-chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, also founder and chairman of the Ittihadul Muslimeen also known as Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM), a Kashmiri nationalist Shia separatist political party which aims for Shi'a–Sunni unity in Kashmir & independence of Jammu and Kashmir from India through peaceful struggle. He is considered a moderate and has called for an end to violence in that region. He is Succeeded by his son Maulana Masroor Abbas Ansari.

The Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir was the legal Constitution which established the framework for the state government of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The constitution was adopted on 17 November 1956, and came into effect on 26 January 1957. It was rendered infructuous on 5 August 2019 by an order signed by the President of India and ceased to be applicable on that date. It also included Ladakh.

Pakistan officially joined the United Nations (UN) on 30 September 1947 just over a month after it came into existence. Today, it is a charter member and participates in all of the UN's specialised agencies and organisations. Pakistan has been elected seven times into the UN Security Council, with the most recent term in 2013. It is also one of the countries which has had a diplomat, Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, serve a term as the President of the United Nations General Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Azad Kashmir</span>

The history of Azad Kashmir, a disputed part of the Kashmir region currently administered by Pakistan, is related to the history of the Kashmir region during the Dogra rule. Azad Kashmir borders the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the south and west respectively, Gilgit–Baltistan to the north, and the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the east. The region is claimed by India and has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947.

Christopher Snedden is an Australian political scientist and author. He has studied and published on the long-running Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan. In his book, The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir (2012), he proposed that the origins of the Kashmir dispute lay in the protests and eventual rebellion by the Kashmiri people of Poonch and Mirpur against Maharaja Hari Singh, and not in the subsequent invasion of Kashmir by Pashtun tribal militias from the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azad Kashmir Day</span> Celebrates the 61st day of the Azad Jammu Kashmir government

Azad Kashmir Day is celebrated in Azad Kashmir on 24 October each year. It commemorates the date of the establishment of the state in 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1947 Jammu massacres</span> Genocidal massacres in Jammu

After the Partition of India, during October–November 1947 in the Jammu region of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, many Muslims were massacred and others driven away to West Punjab. The killings were carried out by extremist Hindus and Sikhs, aided and abetted by the forces of Maharaja Hari Singh. The activists of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) played a key role in planning and executing the riots. An estimated 20,000–100,000 Muslims were massacred. Subsequently, many non-Muslims were massacred by Pakistani tribesmen, in the Mirpur region of today's Pakistani administered Kashmir, and also in the Rajouri area of Jammu division.

William Alexander BrownMBESI was a British military officer based in British-ruled India. He is best known for his actions during the Partition of India, when he assisted the locals of the Gilgit Agency and led a coup d'état, codenamed Operation Datta Khel, against Hari Singh, the Maharaja of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. The successful coup ultimately resulted in the Gilgit Agency becoming a part of Pakistani-administered Kashmir following the First Indo−Pakistani War.

References

  1. 1 2 "Jammu and Kashmir government holiday list 2021". India Today. 1 March 2021. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Preeti, Raina (30 December 2019). "Accession Day Replaces Martyrs Day In Jammu and Kashmir As Regional Holiday". EurAsian Times. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "Accession day is our national day: Jammu Bar". Greater Kashmir. Archived from the original on 28 October 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  4. ↑ "Jammu all set to celebrate accession day". Sify . Archived from the original on 30 October 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  5. ↑ "J&K Accession day celebrations in J&K". GroundReport. Archived from the original on 29 October 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  6. ↑ "J-K Accession Day to be celebrated as Diwali: BJP". Rediff . Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  7. ↑ "Accession Day to be celebrated as Diwali: BJP". Hindustan Times . 25 October 2010. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  8. ↑ "Jammu celebrates Accession Day". The Tribune . 26 October 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  9. ↑ "Kashmir observes Black Day". The Hindu . 27 October 2013.
  10. ↑ "Indian police arrest Syed Ali Geelani in Kashmir". DAWN.COM. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  11. ↑ "Hurriyat leader Geelani arrested". India Today. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  12. ↑ "22 October 1947: The darkest day in the history of Jammu & Kashmir". www.efsas.org. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  13. ↑ "Partition 70 years on: When tribal warriors invaded Kashmir". 22 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  14. 1 2 "Pakistan's Kashmir Policy: Objectives and Approaches". ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu. Retrieved 17 October 2024.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.