J&K- Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlatha Hai- Part V

Let’s recapitulate.

• We saw in Part I that the Princely States had the option of joining India or Pakistan or remaining Independent, how States like Junagarh, Jodhpur, Travancore and Hyderabad resisted integration with India and how they finally merged with India.
•   Part II explained how Pakistan’s pressure tactics aimed at forcing J&K to sign the accession agreement with itself resulted in J&K signing the agreement with India and the different steps followed by India to ensure wholesome merger of the States.
•  Part III explained that India gave more time to J&K to decide on merger with India because of the war situation, Nehru-Gopalaswamy Ayyangar team introduced Article 370 and the arguments for and against the same.
•  We explained in Part IV how both the options-remaining independent or aligning with Pakistan- would have left the people of J&K in a much more miserable state than what they are today.

Am I suggesting that the situation prevailing in J&K is the ideal one? No. I am only pointing out that aligning with India was perhaps the best out of the options available to J&K 60 years back. But the situation there by no means is the best.

Then what needs to be done?

•  During Nehru’s period J&K was given an unduly special status; it was pampered. Come Indira Gandhi’s period, it was treated like any other state, all of a sudden. (Of course she had a problem with strong state leaders wherever they were.) People found it difficult to adjust to this sudden shift. The current UPA government seems to think that J&K is doing us a favour by choosing to remain with us whereas we have seen that it is the other way. The government first needs to get out of this mind set.

• Then it has to effectively convey this to the people of J&K - how India has been supporting J&K and that the other side is not greener. The Indian success story viz. development and growth in the rest of India, particularly the success of Kerala in tourism, should be taken to the nooks and corners of J&K so that the people realize what they have lost by remaining separate and what they can expect by integrating with India. Realize, they will because they don’t have the baggage of columnists/ political parties/ religious groups. But this requires concerted effort from and greater involvement of Indian government and results cannot be expected in the short term. (Unfortunately the UPA government is busy managing one crisis after another; it has no time for such long term efforts.)

•  Delink religion from this issue. Do not treat it as Hindu-Muslim issue because that is how Pakistan has been treating this and that is how separatists have been putting forward this problem to the people. They take extreme positions, demand undue concessions. If India also takes this line, it has to beat them only by taking further extreme position, offering more than their expectation. There will be no end to this race.

•  Militancy and violence need to be put down. People of J&K should perceive India to be a strong nation. As long as India does not do this, the common people will dismiss India as and incapable of protecting them from militants. Consequently even if they are convinced of the Indian arguments, they will not have the courage to accept.

•  Giving more grants is not the solution. The problem is that most of these funds do not reach the people; the funds evaporate somewhere along the delivery chain. As a result when the separatist or pro-Pak militants preach either the independence or “align with Pakistan” theory, they strike a chord with the common people. So while this problem viz. government schemes not reaching the poor, exists throughout India, we cannot afford to have this at least in J&K. No short cuts to this problem. Simply ensure delivery.

•  Gradually, but in a time bound manner remove one by one the restrictions placed by Article 370.

I think J&K problem can be solved; but it requires sincerity and commitment.

Hope government also thinks so.

PS: While some of you have put your comments in the site, those who differed from my views or those who wanted me to emphasize certain issues, either sent me mails or called me over phone. Perhaps they did not want to put these comments in the site. I have tried to address their points in the subsequent parts. Where I could not agree with them, I explained to them why I could not. One more point. I have consciously kept these articles simple so that everyone gets interested in them; I have avoided quoting sections/ articles/ clauses. Many. many thanks for all your comments and views.

J&K- Yeh Rishta Kya Kehalatha Hai- Part IV

Here is the comparison with Sikkim:

•          Sikkim signed an agreement with India in 1950 vesting defence, external affairs and communication in India. Very similar to the Instrument of Accession signed by J&K.
•          The agreement with India was signed by Chogyal, the monarch of Sikkim and not by any elected government. Again in the case of J&K, the agreement was signed by Maharaja Hari Singh.
•          Chogyal ruled the State for the next 23 years with his State Council. In other words, the State was independent except for the 3 subjects that were under India’s control. J&K’s Constituent Assembly did not ratify merger with India. Indian control was primarily restricted to the matters specified in the Instrument of Accession and few other laws which were made applicable to J&K in accordance with Article 370. In other words J&K was also independent; the difference was only in degree, not in kind. India had a few more powers over J&K than in it had on Sikkim.
•          Just as Sheik Abdullah revolted against Maharja Hari Singh, Lhendup Dorji mobilized the masses against the Chogyal regime in the late 60s. (Of course during this period Sheik Abdullah’s stars were bad; he turned against India. He was arrested on sedition charges in 1953 and released in 1964. He was out of power till 1975.)
•           The Chogyal government was unable to control the revolt. This is where the similarities with J&K end.



Lhendup Dorji

•          Indian government intervened. A referendum was held in April, 1975 when 97% of the people voted for merger with India.

Sikkim became the 22^nd state of India! How was this possible? First religion was not brought into this conflict. Second Dorji was genuinely concerned about the welfare of the State and he felt that annexing with India was “the solution”. Third he was a real leader of the masses because 97% of the people supported his views. Fourth Indira Gandhi firmly believed in a strong center and dealt with this problem in a decisive manner.

Coming back to J&K, autonomists and separatists argue that J&K should have the right of self determination- the people should decide whether to be independent or to join India or Pakistan. Let’s evaluate both the options.

Consider that J&K becomes independent.

Its population is approximately 1 cr- 70% Muslims and the balance Hindus, Budhhists and Sikhs. Will it be any different from Srilanka? Though in terms of population Srilanka is twice the size of J&K, the majority-minority divide is more or less same- 73% Sinhalese and 17% Tamils. Like Indian J&K, Srilanka also is a secular country. What did Srilanka see in the last few decades? Nothing but violence. Was Srilanka able to contain the violence? No. It depended on India.

We saw a little while ago what happened to Sikkim when it was an Independent State- it was unable to contain internal disturbances.

Small State with sharp ethnic or religious divide in its population is perhaps not the right recipe for being independent.

Let’s look at J&K’s finances.

1.      J&K’s total expenditure in 2009-10 was Rs. 22, 400 cr. How did it meet this expenditure? By taking Rs. 13,252 cr as grants from India- about 60% of the State’s total expenditure is met out of grants. What are grants? In simple terms, these are monies which need not be repaid. Normally only 30% of the Central assistance to most of states is in the form grants and the balance is in the form of loans whereas in the case of J&K, 90% of the assistance is in the form of grants!

2.      Is it any different in 2010-11? No. As per the revised estimates of J&K government, Central grant is Rs. 15,733 cr. What is the budget for 2011-12? Rs. 17,570 cr!

3.      Was the past any different? Total amount of grants given to J&K from 1989-90 to 2009-10 amounted to a whopping Rs. 94,409 cr!

4.      Grants to J&K amount to approximately 10% of the total grants given by Indian government to all the States whereas the population of the State is only 1% of the total.

If the State becomes independent, how will it fill this big hole in the budget?

Let’s turn to the other option. Join Pakistan.

To understand this better and to understand whether J&K would have been better off had it joined Pakistan, we need to see what has been happening in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). There are two parts to POK- one the northern area or Gilgit- Baltistan and the other the “Azad Kashmir.”

First Northern Area. This area is “governed directly from Islamabad”- a euphemism for “Army Rule”. When a judge of the POK Supreme Court gave a verdict in 1994 that this part is illegally occupied by Pakistan Army, he became a hero overnight! Such was the frustration of the people! Normally a retired army officer is appointed as the Chief of this region. There is a legislative council, but the members are nominated. People’s representation? Forget it. The Council has very, very limited powers. Further this area does not elect its representatives to Pakistan Parliament.  People of this region do not have the “fundamental rights” specified in Pakistan Constitution. Is there any better definition of the word “orphan’?

Azad Kashmir.  Sardar Abdul Qayyum, who wanted J&K to be acceded to Pakistan, launched a movement against the Maharaja in 1947 and seized control of the area now known as Azad Kashmir. Thereafter All Jammu & Kashmir Muslim Conference, his party appointed him as “president of Azad Kashmir.” He remained in such position till 1970. Thereafter elections were held to Azad Kashmir’s assembly. It is another matter that in all elections from 1970 to 1991 Sardar Mohammad Abdul Qayyum Khan was elected as the President. Martial Law was declared in Pakistan in 1977. Consequently the assembly was suspended for 8 years. Even today candidates participating in the elections to the Assembly have to sign an affidavit owing allegiance to Pakistan!

We saw that India has been contributing 60% of J&K’s budget. What is Pakistan’s contribution to Azad Kashmir? About 30%- the total outlay of Azad Kashmir for 2009-10 was Pakistan Rupees 34.5 bill and Pakistan’s contribution in this was Pakistan Rupees 10.75 bill (1 INRd 1.9 Pakistan Rupees). Proportion of its support is half of what India gives to J&K. (Hardcore finance professionals will point out that we cannot do such simple comparisons. But as I said in the beginning of this series, we are common people and we can do.)

Mangla Dam Power station

Far from supporting Azad Kashmir, Pakistan took electricity generated from Mangla Dam situated in Azad Kashmir and did not pay royalty for 38 years! Mangla Dam in Mirpur district was constructed in 1967. The hydro power station has an installed capacity of 1,000 MW and satisfies nearly 20% of Pakistan’s power requirements. Pakistan went back on its promise to pay royalty; it did not pay till 2005 while North West Frontier Province received due royalty for electricity generated from its Tarbela dam! Can there be any better case of discrimination?

We saw that you and I cannot become residents of J&K. What about Azad Kashmir? Thousands of Afgans have been allowed to settle down there.

So would the people of J&K have been better off either being independent or by joining Pakistan?

But then what needs to done?

Wait for Part V, the concluding part.

TRP-ke liye Kuch Bhi Karega

Latest TAM data show that TV serials are losing TRPs to reality shows and sports events. Not only the production houses are concerned, but Star TV, half of whose schedule is filled with TV soaps is also equally concerned. Uday Shankar, CEO of Star TV calls the Producers for a meeting.  Imagine TV’s CEOs and producers of Imagine and Zee also join to find a common solution. Let me take you over there.

Uday is intensely looking at the globe. Ekta Kapoor (Pavitra Rishta) enters the conference hall.

Uday Shankar addressed the group

Ekta listens

Ekta: Hi Uday…what are looking at in the globe?

Uday: Seeing where to hold the next Star Pariwar awards…Macau, Canada, Singapore, Thailand , Malaysia, South Africa, Mauritius  are all over…either we or Zee has gone there…mmm…looking at Kazakshtan, Uzbekistan, Nicaragua….I want something NEW…

Someone enters the room. Uday could not recognize him.

Ekta: Uday, you don’t know him? He is the CEO of Rakhi Sawant TV.

The person: No..no..Imagine TV…

Ekta(apologetic): Sorry…Sorry…Imagine TV… whenever I switch on your channel, I see only Rakhi…issi liye….

Other producers enter the room.

Uday addresses them. “Daily soaps are losing TRPs. Soon KBC is going to start. You guys can’t be silent spectators. You need to do something….something NEW…something different…either in the story or in the format. Otherwise even Tele Shopping programmes will overtake you guys in TRPs.

“Saath Nibaana Saathiya” Producer: I agree. I have already started doing…I am sending Gopi bahu to school…totally unheard of in Indian Soap history!

Ekta: Arey…tu chup kar …Gopi will go to school only when Rashee and her mother finish their phone conversation…15 minutes of each episode goes to their phone call…like Radia tapes, you should call your serial “Rashee tapes”.

“Geet” Producer: Ekta...what have you done new? First six months, Archana marries Manav; Varsha and Vaishu find their husbands. Next six months all of them come back home…

Ekta: Main kya karoon…Manav and Archan’s relationship is so pure that I am unable to move the story except by making and breaking their relationship…

Kavita Barjatia (Yahan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli): See how I manage Abha’s pavitra rishta with Karan. …I rely on 60s ka humshakal concept…Old, but gold. Time tested. If Karan goes, Sid comes…Abha is always happy

“Yeh Ishq Hai” Producer: I do not believe in humshakal…bakwas concept…I keep a spare…Manjari loves Ranbir for six months…then she loves Akshay for next six months…both are intense,  both are pure love…now she is back to….

“Pratigya” Producer: Uday…yeh log nahi sudharenge…why should you always search for a boy for the heroine or a girl for the hero…See I have brought a girl for Sajjan Singh, Pratigya’s sasur…Mann ki awas ko suno…you will get new ideas.

Geet: I agree. See what I am doing…Mann Singh has a totally new disease… short term memory loss. It’s not just the plastic surgery of Ekta’s era. He forgets his last one year only…he forgets Geet. He remembers everyone else…totally new…

“Sasural Gendha Phool” Producer: But that is what happened to Ishaan also- he also forgot Suhana…

“Geet”: But Mann does not forget Suhana; he forgets Geet. You see the difference…?

“Is Pyar Ko.Kya Naam Dhoon.” Producer: My story line is totally new… it is not the run of the mill saas-bahu….Ek kadak boss and a Boli-baali employee…their love…how is it?

“Geet”: But that’s what Geet is all about….

“Is Pyar Ko..”: No.. .you are missing the point… Geet is a Punjabi ladki whereas Kushi is Lucknowi…

Uday (irritated): Guys…guys…stop. You are not able to think out of the box. New…I want new… See I make the celebrities meet Karan Johar and that becomes Koffee with Karan. Then I do something different. The same celebrities meet Simi Garewal…and that becomes India’s Most Desirable…Rishta Wohi, Soch Nayi! Do you understand now what I want?

Rajan Shahi (“Yeh Rishta Kya Kehalatha hai.” Producer) enters with 5-6 pundits and jyothishts.

Uday is obviously puzzled. “Rajan, who are they? Strangers are not allowed.”

Rajan: They are not strangers, Uday. They are an important part of my story team. They read Vedas, Ithihaas and puranas and find new rituals, reethi, riwaas, festivals…you can’t be content with just godhbharai, sahaay, mehendi, holi and karva chot…NEW reethi, riwaas…

Geet: When you say godhbharai, I am reminded of the fuss the heroines make. Geet was pregnant. I was expecting the child will come. Then there will be naming ceremony. 4-5 weeks will go on this….But Geet does not want to deliver. Becoming a mother will affect her career/image. I had to arrange a miscarriage…

Ekta: Haa yaar! Forget heroines…Even Varsha, the second fiddle, goes and aborts…If children are not allowed to be born, how do we introduce new characters?

“Geet”: Easy…I made Dev get a mother all of sudden from Canada…why depend on child?

Imagine TV CEO: If you guys are unable to think anything new, why don’t you at least borrow from Big Screen?

“Baba Aiso Var dhoondo” Producer: That’s what I did… If Kamal Hasan can be a short hero, why can’t Bharati be a short heroine? See I didn’t just copy…heroine instead of hero. Dimaag lagaya maine…

Ekta: I am also thinking on similar line. Why not take my next bahu from Pakistan or Afghanistan?

Uday: Why Pakistan and Afghanistan? Why not U.S. or Europe?

Ekta: Pagal hai kya! U.S. is a terrorist state. It detains Sharukh without knowing that his name is Khan. Pakistan is the most civilized nation in the world. It gave him Zara. Uday, I think you should conduct your next Star Awards in Karachi. Call  it Star Milap Award.

Vaibhavi Merchant enters. “There is no way soaps can beat a dance show… fantttasttttickkkk….   fanttabulous….  excelllenttest…  beuuutifulest… raapchchak… chhhupchaak…”

Ekta: What do these words mean?

Vaibhavi: These are adjectives published in Reality Show Dictionary, you haven’t seen them? I am practicing them to praise the performers in Just Dance.

Uday (not satisfied with the discussions so far): Looks like I have to rely only on Star Pariwar Awards, Big TV Awards….main soch rahahun…why not have Star Monday Awards, Star Tuesday Awards, Star Wednesday Awards….

Imagine TV CEO: I can’t also depend on you guys. I think I have to make my channel a matrimonial channel…Rakhi ka Swayamwar, Rahul ka Swayamwar, Ratan ka Rishta…how about Sajjan Singh ka Shaadi?

Thakur Sajjan Singh ks Shaddi

J&K- Yeh Rishta Kya Kehtlatha Hai- Part III

So Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession with India.

Maharaja Hari Singh

What were its contents?

1. Defence, External Affairs, Communications (Post & Telegraph, Telephone, wireless, broadcasting, railways, etc) and a few other matters (electoral laws, jurisdiction of Indian Courts relating to these matters, etc.) were put under Indian government’s jurisdiction.
2. Maharaja retained sovereign power, authority and right over all other matters.
3. Indian government cannot directly acquire any land in J&K for developmental purposes; however Maharaja agreed to help in acquiring the land.

Terms of this Instrument were pretty much the same, but for the clause relating to land acquisition, as other Instruments signed by rulers of other Princely States.

The difference…? In all other cases, India took the next step of convincing them to sign Merger agreements. Because the State was at war with Pakistan, this was not done.

Along with the signing of the Instrument of Accession with India, the Maharaja appointed Sheik Abdulla as the Prime Minister of emergency administration; this was an interim arrangement till elections could be held.

Sheik Abdullah formed Muslim Conference (which was later renamed as National Conference) in 1932 and had been opposing the Maharaja and his feudalistic rule ever since. Maharaja Hari Singh gave in to some of the demands of Muslim Conference and set up “Praja Sabha” with limited powers. Muslim Conference obviously was not satisfied; launched a Quit Kashmir Movement against the Maharaja in 1946. Against this background, when he signed the Instrument of Accession with India, the Maharaja committed to Lord Mountbatten, who was then the Governor General of India that he would democratize the State Government and as a first step appoint Sheik Abdullah as the Prime Minister of Kashmir.

Sheik Abdullah

Towards the end of 1947 Nehru started discussing with Sheik Abdullah the terms of integration with India- a significant departure from the practice being followed for merging other States with India. Patel and V P Menon were the ones negotiating with the Princely States; even in the case of J&K, it was V P Menon who was holding discussions with the Maharaja till he signed the Instrument of Accession.

Then the next departure- Nehru appointed Gopalaswamy Ayyanger as a Minister in PMO for helping him in “Kashmir matters”.  Gopalaswamy Ayyangar had served as Prime Minister of Kashmir for six years from 1937 under Maharaja Hari Singh. Nehru said he appointed him because of his “intimate knowledge” of Kashmir problem. Obviously this was a serious encroachment on Sardar’s job and the Sardar rightly felt so. He resigned. Gandhiji brokered a compromise between Nehru and Patel and the Sradar stayed on.

It was Nehru-Gopalaswamy Ayyangar team which, after extensive discussions with Sheik Abdullah, produced Article 370 (Article 306 A at that time)- the most debated Article of the Indian Constitution during the past 60 years!

What does Article 370 say?

In simple words-

1. These are temporary provisions with respect to J& K.
2. The State of Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India.
3. In respect of the matters specified in the Instrument of Accession, the provisions of Indian Constitution will apply to J&K after getting the “concurrence” of the Governor of J&K acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
4. In respect of other matters, Indian Constitution will apply to the State after “consultations” with the Governor of J&K.
5. Residuary Powers of the Parliament will not be applicable to J&K. (Indian Constitution specifies 3 lists of matters- Union List containing matters in which the Parliament can legislate, State List containing matters over which the State Legislatures can legislate and Concurrent List where both Parliament and State Legislatures can pass laws. Parliament can also pass laws on any matter not specified in Concurrent or State Lists. This is called the Residuary Power of Parliament.)

Sounds simple? Not really. There are vehement “abolish 370” and “retain 370” groups. What are the objections of “abolish 370” group?

• Article 370 was a temporary provision till the Constituent Assembly of J&K could approve integration with India. Though the Constituent Assembly was “elected” in 1951, it did not approve integration. (There were serious allegations of rigging in the elections; Praja Parishad’s (opposition party) members were either jailed or their nomination papers were rejected; Sheik Abdullah National Conference candidates were elected unopposed in 73 out of 75 constituencies.) The fact that the Constituent Assembly did not approve the integration did not really matter, as it had lost the moral authority to decide on this issue.
• Both Nehru and Ayyangar had assured the Parliament many times that Article 370 would vanish gradually. 60+ years and it has still not vanished!
• Indian government has to secure the “concurrence” of the J&K government even in respect of matters it is competent to legislate.
• Many of the fundamental rights available to people in the rest of India are not available to the residents of J&K.
• J&K constitution confers certain rights to its people which are not available to Indians outside the State. For example persons who are not residents of J&K cannot buy land there. If a Kashmiri girl marries a non resident of J&K, she loses her right to property. Why these discriminations?
• It is border state. In case of emergency, India should be able to act fast and in a firm manner. The restrictions of Article 370 will impose serious impediments to India’s ability to counter the enemy in an emergency.

But then the “retain 370” group is not convinced; nor are the separatists. Why? Read on.

• “Concurrence of ” or “Consultation with” the Governor acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers does not really mean anything as the Governors are generally appointed by Indian government; elections are generally rigged and hence the Council of Ministers are not true representative of J&K people. Indian government passes laws taking concurrence of these puppets.
• Article 249, which empowers the Parliament to pass laws even on State matters in the national interest, was made applicable to J&K in 1986. This was a fraud. Not only did this seriously impinge on the State’s autonomy, it was a serious breach of the promises made in the Instrument of Accession.
• Plebiscite, as stipulated in the UN resolution was not held. Hence it is not known whether the people of J&K want to be part of India.
• Article 370 states that J&K is part of India. If you abolish, J&K will cease to part of India. (This silly argument is put forward by a senior advocate of Supreme Court.)

Many of the points raised by the “retain 370” group are either technical or theoretical.

While there were serious allegations of electoral malpractices in the 1951 and 1987 elections, there were no serious complaints about the others. Voter turnout was around 60%+ in most of the elections, highest being the 2008 elections. Allegations of rigging/ malpractices are prevalent everywhere. For example there were complains of “cash for vote” in Tamilnadu in the 2009 Loksabha elections; but the election was not set aside. A few years back elections in Bihar used to be marred by violence. What we need to see is the magnitude of the problem-are complaints/allegations so serious that they will vitiate the results? Also we are seeing these days how “representative” the MPs are of the views of the people- Government’s Lokpal draft is one example.

Cases of violence by terrorists were on the rise in late 70s. There were communal disturbances in the 80s. The State was incompetent to handle these issues. Indian government thought it fit to apply Article 249 to J&K- convincing to you and me, but not to the autonomists.

Plebiscite under the UN resolution was not held because one of the conditions of the UN resolution was that Pakistan should withdraw its army from J&K before plebiscite could be held and Pakistan did not.

Here a comparison to Sikkim would be appropriate.

But then we have to wait till Part IV.

J&K- Yeh Rishta Kya Kehtlatha Hai- Part II

And now Jammu & Kashmir.

Any discussion of J&K’s accession will be incomplete without a comparison to Sikkim; however since there are many parallels to be drawn, contrasts to be made and lessons to be learnt, we reserve the Sikkim details for subsequent analysis.

Back to J&K- 80% Muslims and 20% Hindus in 1947; ruled by Maharja Hari Singh, a Hindu Ruler. Maharaja wanted to remain independent. However he signed Standstill Agreement with Pakistan which guaranteed status quo with regard to trade and commerce between them! (We will discuss Standstill Agreement, Instrument of Accession and Merger- their meaning and importance, a little later. Let’s complete the intro first.) However not only was the Maharaja not deciding on signing the Instrument of Accession with Pakistan, but was, in fact exploring the Indian option as well! Pakistan grew restless.

Meanwhile Poonch region, bordering the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan revolted against the Maharaja. Maharaja’s army could not contain them. Seizing this opportunity, Pashtuns, a tribe from Pakistan with the blessings of Pakistan invaded Kashmir and reached the outskirts of Srinagar. Pakistan’s strategy behind the tacit support to Pashtuns’ invasion was to pressurize the Maharaja into signing the Instrument of Accession.

And what happened? Anti-climax as in Ekta Kapoor’s serial…..

Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession with India in October, 1947 and requested India to protect from Pakistan invasion! Thereafter India airlifted its troops. Indian troops under the leadership Filed Marshall Cariappa not only contained the advance of the rebels, but captured back some of the territories.

Meanwhile Pakistan objected to Indian involvement and sent its army.

The resulting Indo-Pak war lasted for the next six months when India took the issue to UN. The war continued till Dec, 1948 when ceasefire was declared. But the damage was done by that time- Pakistan was in control of the Northern region comprising Gilgit-Baltistan and Eastern Region (what is now called the Azad Kashmir.)

This issue is pending with UN even today.

So much for the historical background.

Let’s turn to the accession process. Both India and Pakistan followed almost the same process.

Standstill Agreement:

Initially the Princely States were asked to sign a Standstill Agreement. Through this agreement India or Pakistan, as the case may be, guaranteed to the Princely State continuation of trade and other agreements that the Princely State had with the British Government before Independence. In the absence of this agreement, the economies of the Princely States, being small and dependent heavily as they were on British, would have collapsed.

While this agreement gave the Princely States time to think, it did not commit them to joining either India or Pakistan.

Instrument of Accession:

In the next stage, Princely States were asked to sign the Instrument of Accession. While this document committed them to acceding to the country of their choice, it was still not a merger or integration. This document was a loosely worded one. Generally defence, external affairs and communication were the only matters acceded to the Country of their choice- India or Pakistan. In the case of smaller states, a few other subjects were also covered. In other words India or Pakistan could legislate only on these matters. The king of the Princely State retained his right to legislate on all other matters.

Convincing the Rajas, Maharajas, Badshahs and Nawabs to sign even this loose document was a mammoth task. Sardar Patel and V. P. Menon,  Secretary of the States Department (today’s Home Ministry) were very successful in getting the nod of the 550+ States to sign the Instrument of Accession.

Of course the critics have raised issues regarding Maharaja Hari Singh’s signing of the Instrument of Accession.

•         That he signed under pressure- rebellion in Poonch, invasion of Pashtuns, etc. But who applied these pressures?
•          That it was a monarch’s decision, not backed people’s will. But which Princely State had a representative government at that time?
•          That he had already signed a Standstill Agreement with Pakistan. But that did not curtail his freedom to align with another State.

Merger

The final stage. The Princely States were asked to give up all the matters, the jurisdiction over which they had retained for themselves under the Instrument of Accession. This move was resented by many Princely States; they felt that India was breaching the promise it gave while signing the Instrument of Acession viz. the Princely States would enjoy autonomy over all the matters other than the ones specified in the Instrument.

Consider for a moment that the Merger agreements were not signed by the Princely States. What would have happened?

• There would have been Provinces in which India would have been legislating on all issues- defining fundamental rights, setting civil and criminal procedure codes, etc; side by side there would have been 550+ states, some of them as small as talukas, guaranteeing different set of rights and laws to their people. People of one village would have been governed by laws substantially different from the ones applied in the adjacent village! Obviously there would have been large scale migration between the Provinces and Princely States.

• Above all there would have been 550+ Arundhati Roys!

• Poor Chidambaram would be preparing list of 5,000 most wanted criminals (instead of 50) and submitting to Pakistan, China, Srilanka, Bangladesh….!

• Chaos, it would have been!

Why then did India, Sardar Patel in particular, go back on the promises given to Princely States at the time of signing the Instrument of Accession? It appears to me that the Sardar was simply preparing the kings step by step for the merger. The kings, pampered over the centuries, were clearly lacking the vision-they could not see the impracticality of sustaining their States; they could not see the benefits that would accrue to the people by integrating with India; they could not perhaps sacrifice their personal fiefdoms for the sake of the people.

Had Patel started with the Merger Agreements in the first instance, it would have been a non starter.

Finally the kings signed the Merger Agreements in return for Privy Purse- monetary compensation. (Indira Gandhi abolished the privy purse system in 1971- though a very popular move, I think it constituted the real breach of trust.)

There were allegations that the Sardar-V.P. Menon duo applied pressure tactics in getting the kings to agree to the merger; but these were from historians and theoreticians who master the art of viewing things in isolation. For us, the earlier mentioned commoners who cannot but help look at things in perspective, these, even if true, are too trivial considering the enormity of the achievement- just two years and 550 States were integrated! An achievement which the British could not do for more than century!

Let’s turn to the specifics of the Instrument of Accession, the discussions between Nehru and Sheik Abdullah and the consequent changes incorporated in the Indian Constitution.

Of course in Part III.