Historical Background In 1947, Pakistan invaded Jammu and Kashmir – What Happened Here Two months after the partition of India, on October 22, 1947, Pakistan Army regulars and tribal raiders invaded the Kashmir Valley.
The Pakistan Army named its capture of Jammu and Kashmir mission Operation Gulmarg. It was launched by the Narendra Modi government as India’s first serious move to counter Pakistan’s narrative of Kashmir since 1947.
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Accordingly, October 22 is observed as Black Day, a reminder of Pakistan’s invasion of the Kashmir Valley. This day is in stark contrast to October 27, 73 years ago, which was observed by separatists as a black day on the occasion of the landing of Indian forces in the Valley. Before Pakistan invaded Jammu and Kashmir when India gained independence. And when it was partitioned to form Pakistan in August 1947, Jammu and Kashmir was a state ruled by Hari Singh.
The partition of India was on communal lines and had an impact in Jammu and Kashmir where a section of Muslim leaders started a campaign of non-payment of taxes and resorted to armed rebellion, especially in the Poonch region.
Hari Singh had decided not to accede to India or Pakistan. Imperial rulers were empowered by the Indian Independence Act of 1947 – passed by the British Parliament to grant India independence and create Pakistan – to join any country.
Hari Singh had his own vision of the future and he wanted a standstill agreement with both countries. Pakistan signed the agreement but used it to take control of communication channels, telegraph services, and transport.
Partition-related violence was particularly high in the border areas. By mid-October, small groups of armed mercenaries – now seen as an attempt by Pakistan to check whether Indian forces were rushing to the king’s rescue – began guerrilla attacks on border villages. were They were robbing the citizens. Hari Singh sent cables to the Pakistan government asking them to stop raiding parties from entering his state.
But it was taken away and its access ignored. The stage was now set for Pakistan to launch an all-out strike. This was also the time when Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, was in touch with Hari Singh and was trying to convince him to accede to Pakistan. But Hari Singh did not move.
22 October Attack Pakistan was now ready to attack the Kashmir Valley but disguised its military mission as raids by tribal raiders. The truth is that the entire operation was called Operation Gulmarg which was conducted under the command of Pakistan Army officers. This is detailed in a recently published book by retired Pakistan Army Major General Akbar Khan, who was part of the military project.
On October 22, thousands of tribal mercenaries and Pakistani army regulars attacked Muzaffarabad and others At points he attacked the Kashmir valley, overrunning the outposts held by the royal forces, as he advanced towards Srinagar, his ultimate goal. Hari Singh did not have a large army.
Furthermore, he found his Muslim soldiers, who were outnumbered by Hindu Dogra troops, joined Pakistani invaders in attacking the King’s forces and resisting civilians. Atrocities were done. Citizens were robbed, women were raped, many of them were killed and even hospitals were attacked.
The population resisting the invaders was also documented in a film based on Kashmiri resistance hero Shahid Maqbool Sherwani. Sherwani was a member of the National Conference, whose leader Sheikh Abdullah – who was the most popular at the time – Jammu. and campaigning for democracy in Kashmir but did not support integration with Pakistan.
Sherwani was killed by the raiders when they found out that he had cheated them on a different route when they Asked the direction of Srinagar airport. The capture of the airport was an important part of the Pakistan Army’s Operation Gulmarg. Hari Singh was forced to seek help from India.
Against this backdrop of destruction, Hari Singh contacted the Indian government in Delhi. They signed the instrument of accession and on October 27, Indian troops began landing in Jammu and Kashmir. Indian troops counterattacked. By 8 November, Indian forces secured Srinagar, the seat of the princely state.
The pushback continued until mid-November when the scale of the battle decreased. The war continued with less intensity until the end of 1948. The Armistice Agreement was officially signed in January 1949.
