Tribal Invasion, Accession and the Instrument of Accession

The invasion (October 1947)

• On 22 October 1947, thousands of Pathan tribesmen, with Pakistani support, crossed into the State at Muzaffarabad and moved to Uri and Baramulla. India calls it Operation Gulmarg.
• Muzaffarabad fell on 24 October. The raiders destroyed the Mohora power house, and Srinagar lost electricity.
• Brigadier Rajinder Singh, Chief of Staff of the State Forces, held up the raiders near Uri and died there (awarded the Maha Vir Chakra after death).
• Maqbool Sherwani, a National Conference worker, misled the raiders at Baramulla and was killed by them. He is remembered as a martyr.

Accession

The Instrument

• J&K handed over three subjects to India: Defence, External Affairs and Communications. Other powers stayed with the State. It was the same form signed by other princely states. For its legal meaning see Polity: Accession and the Instrument of Accession.

Emergency Administration

• Sheikh Abdullah was made head of the Emergency Administration (30 October 1947). In March 1948 he became Prime Minister of the State.

The big picture (summary)

• On 15 August 1947 India was partitioned and Pakistan was created. About 565 princely states were free to join either India or Pakistan or stay independent. The Maharaja wanted to remain independent.
• J&K was attacked on 22 to 24 October 1947 and India helped on the condition that J&K join India, so the Instrument of Accession was signed on 26 October 1947.
• 5 March 1948: Maharaja Hari Singh announced an interim popular government with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah as Prime Minister.
• 1951: the State Constituent Assembly was elected; it met first in Srinagar on 31 October 1951.
• The State's own Constitution came into force on 26 January 1957, under which elections to the State Legislative Assembly were first held.
• Till 2019 J&K remained a State. On 5 August 2019 a bill was introduced in Parliament that ended the special status, and J&K later became a Union Territory.