Jammu and Kashmir Black Day | |
---|---|
Status | Observed |
Date(s) | 22 October |
Frequency | Annual |
Country | India |
Next event | 22 October 2024 |
Participants | Government of India, civil society, refugees |
Major events | Awareness related events, posters, banners, hoardings, panel discussion, exhibitions, publications |
Other names | Jammu and Kashmir Invasion Day |
Jammu and Kashmir Black Day is an annual commemoration established in the Republic of India by the Narendra Modi-led government on 22 October 2020 with the stated aim of highlighting Pakistan's role in the 1947 Kashmir conflict, and to term it as an invasion and a "Black Day." [1] [2] The creation of the day has been described as a move to counter Pakistan's narrative on Kashmir. [3]
According to Indian sources, the invasion did not start on 22 October. The first skirmish, comprising 2 JAK Infantry, took place at Owen Pattan on 8–9 October 1947. [4] Sehnsa was attacked on 9 October, and the following days saw more skirmishes at different locations. [4] However, 22 October is the day of observance of the invasion due to the so-called importance of the Kashmir valley, the day the Instrument of Accession was signed, and political decisions taken. [4]
A number of awareness related events, including cultural event, have been held. [5] [6] In 2020 a number of panel discussions were held, with panelists including Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain and Amitabh Mattoo. [7] The Union Ministry of Culture and state government of Jammu and Kashmir mark the day with exhibitions and events. [7] In 2020, Raiders in Kashmir, a book written by Mohammed Akbar Khan, a retired major general of Pakistan Army, was republished. [8] Refugees also mark the day. [9] [2]
Azad Jammu and Kashmir, officially the State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity and constituting the western portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947. Azad Kashmir also shares borders with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the south and west, respectively. On its eastern side, Azad Kashmir is separated from the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir by the Line of Control (LoC), which serves as the de facto border between the Indian and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir. Geographically, it covers a total area of 13,297 km2 (5,134 sq mi) and has a total population of 4,045,366 per the 2017 national census.
Jammu and Kashmir was a region formerly administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019, constituting the southern and southeastern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pakistan and China since the mid-20th century. The underlying region of this state were parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, whose western districts, now known as Azad Kashmir, and northern territories, now known as Gilgit-Baltistan, are administered by Pakistan. The Aksai Chin region in the east, bordering Tibet, has been under Chinese control since 1962.
Since the Partition of British India in 1947 and subsequent creation of the dominions of India and Pakistan, the two countries have been involved in a number of wars, conflicts, and military standoffs. A long-running dispute over Kashmir and cross-border terrorism have been the predominant cause of conflict between the two states, with the exception of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which occurred as a direct result of hostilities stemming from the Bangladesh Liberation War in erstwhile East Pakistan.
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.
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.
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.
An accession day is usually the anniversary of the date on which a monarch or executive takes office. The earliest records of accession celebrations date from the reign of Emperor Kanmu of Japan, and the custom is now observed in many nations.
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.
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.
The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, also known as the Jammu and Kashmir Vidhan Sabha, is the legislature of Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
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. It became an official public holiday in Jammu and Kashmir for the first time in 2020.
The 2014–2015 India–Pakistan border skirmishes were a series of armed clashes and exchanges of gunfire between the Indian Border Security Force and the Pakistan Rangers: the paramilitary gendarmerie forces of both nations, responsible for patrolling the India-Pakistan border) along the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir region and the borders of the Punjab. Tensions began in mid-July 2014, with both countries' military officials and media reports giving different accounts of the incidents and accusing each other of initiating the hostilities. The incident sparked outrage in both countries and harsh reactions by the Indian and Pakistani militaries and the Indian and Pakistani governments.
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.
Brigadier Rajinder Singh Jamwal, MVC, also remembered as the Saviour of Kashmir, was an officer in the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces. He briefly served as the Chief of Staff of State Forces and died fighting during the First Kashmir War. Rajinder Singh and his small contingent of about 100 men successfully delayed the advance of a 6000 strong force of Pakistani tribal raiders near Uri for several days, during which the Maharaja of Kashmir acceded to India and the Indian forces air-lifted for the defence of Kashmir.
Maqbool Sherwani was a National Conference member who delayed the invasion of Pashtuns tribesmen from Pakistan in Baramulla, Kashmir in October 1947. In this manner, he played an important role in buying time for Indian Army's Sikh Regiment troops who landed in Srinagar once the accession was accepted. Sherwani was killed by the tribesmen.
The 2016–2018 India–Pakistan border skirmishes were a series of armed clashes between India and Pakistan, mostly consisting of heavy exchanges of gunfire between Indian and Pakistani forces across the de facto border, known as the Line of Control (LoC), between the two states in the disputed region of Kashmir. The skirmishes began after India claimed to have conducted surgical strikes against militant launch pads within the Pakistani-administered territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on 29 September 2016.
Jammu and Kashmir is a region administered by India as a union territory and consists of the southern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and between India and China since 1959. The Line of Control separates Jammu and Kashmir from the Pakistani-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan in the west and north. It lies to the north of the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab and to the west of Ladakh which is administered by India as a union territory.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 is an act of the parliament of India containing provisions to reconstitute the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Indian-administered union territories (UTs) called Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, and becoming effective on 31 October 2019. A bill for the act was introduced by the Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah, in the Rajya Sabha on 5 August 2019 and was passed on the same day. It was then passed by the Lok Sabha on 6 August 2019 and it received the president's assent on 9 August 2019.
Colonel Narain Singh Sambyal, OBE, also remembered as the Savior of Kashmir, was a Commander of 4th Jammu and Kashmir State Forces who died fighting during the First Kashmir War at Domel Muzaffarabad.