‘Black day’ in Kashmir marks the 1947 Indian Army’s arrival seventy years ago after Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession
Every year, without fail, black flags go up in Jammu and Kashmir on October 27 amid a sense of gloom. What exactly is Black Day and why is it observed now after more than seventy years?
Let Us Go Back To History to Discover What is Kashmir’s Black Day
Black Day goes back decades when on October 27, 1947, with the landing of the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Army arrived in Kashmir because Pakistan was also laying claim to Kashmir during the time of the signing of the Instrument of Accession and India anchored there to defend Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan, as they say.
However, it did become a bloody zone of resistance where emotions of wrath and fire exploded, and ever since then, Kashmir is marked as “Black Day” on October 27th worldwide among Kashmirs. As it happened on a Friday, this day is also called Black Friday. This Black Day brought a massive change in the Valley blasting decades of deadly violence with the loss of thousands of lives sparking the world’s deadliest disputes and even triggering two huge wars between India and Pakistan.
Today, Kashmir is called the most militarized zone in the world. There are more than 700,000 Indian military personnel deployed in the state; and sources say that for every eight Kashmiris, there is an Indian soldier.
The Historical Facts Behind the Black Day
Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India on 26 October 1947, and the Indian forces arrived the next day to take over the territory. Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession, and Jammu & Kashmir became an integral part of India.
Dr Karan Singh, the son of Maharaja Hari Singh, from the Congress party said, ” I was in the room I was in the house when the Accession was signed and it is a historical fact that the erstwhile princely state of Jammu & Kashmir acceded to India on 26 October 1947.
Smokescreens are created over this to confuse anyone talking about this day and as Indians, we all diplomatically avoid the subject. Congress Parliamentarian Dr. Karan Singh said during a debate in Rajya Sabha that Jammu & Kashmir acceded to India on 27 October 1947. He said, “….the day my father (Maharaja Hari Singh) signed the Instrument of Accession it (Jammu & Kashmir) became an integral part of India there is no doubt about it. I was in the room I was in the house when the Accession was signed…,”.
The most significant fact to note is that after the Instrument of Accession was signed on a specific date, nobody had the power to refuse or withdraw the accession. Neither the British Queen nor her representative Lord Mountbatten had any role in that Princely State’s accession.
Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October 1947 and on 27 October 1947, Lord Mountbatten made a file entry about it.
Mountbatten’s counter signature and “acceptance” of Hari Singh’s signed Instrument of Accession was merely a file noting. Mountbatten did write: “I do hereby accept this Instrument of Accession.”
The first India-Pakistan war over Kashmir was fought after independence from British rule when armed tribesmen from Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (now called Khyber-Pakhthunkhwa) invaded the disputed territory in October 1947.
After this, Kashmir’s ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, faced with an internal revolt as well as an external invasion, requested assistance from India’s armed forces – in return for acceding to India. He handed over control of his defense, communications, and foreign affairs departments to the Indian government.
Though both sides agreed the accession signed by Maharaja Hari Singh would be authorized by a referendum, held after hostilities ceased, that vote was never held even after 70 years making Kashmir an unsolved legacy of partition.
War Between India and Pakistan over Kashmir
India, ignoring the Independence Act and Partition Plan in 1947, which stated that the Indian British Colony would be divided into two sovereign states, sent its troops to Jammu and Kashmir and forcibly occupied the princely states of Hyderabad, Junagarh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety. Rebel groups have been fighting since 1989 for the Indian-administered portion to become independent or merge with Pakistan.
Over a lakh of people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown with no changes in the conflict and continues to be the same as it was 70 years ago.
Khalid Bashir, a Kashmiri author of Kashmir says “The conflict gave rise to armed struggle, deaths, and destruction, but still there has been no seriousness in solving the issue. The conflict has resulted in orphans and injured, and bloodshed continues. Both India and Pakistan have their arguments, but it is a Kashmiri who gets the bullet.”
The Early History of Kashmir
Kashmiris are a Dardic ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley, who speak Kashmiri which is classified as a part of the Dardic branch of the greater Indo-Aryan languages. The earliest known Neolithic sites in Kashmir Valley are from c. 3000 BCE.
The most important locations are Burzahom. During the later Vedic period, the Uttara–Kurus occupied Kashmir. In 326 BCE, Abisares, the King of Kashmir, aided King Porus against Alexander the Great in the Battle of Hydaspes. After the battle, Abhisares submitted to Alexander by sending him treasures and elephants and they made a peace truce.
During the reign of Ashoka (304–232 BCE), Kashmir became part of the Maurya Empire and the city of Srinagari (Srinagar) was built.
Kanishka (127–151 CE), an emperor of the Kushan dynasty, conquered Kashmir. In the eighth century, during the Karkota Empire, Kashmir grew as an imperial power. Lalitaditya Muktapida defeated Yashovarman of Kanyakubja and conquered the eastern kingdoms of Magadha, Kamarupa, Gauda, and Kalinga. He defeated the Arabs at Sindh. The Utpala dynasty, founded by Avantivarman, followed the Karkotas.
Queen Didda, who descended from the Hindu Shahis of Udabhandapura on her mother’s side, took over as ruler in the second half of the 10th century. After her death in 1003 CE the Lohara dynasty ruled the region.
In 1339 Shah Mir became the ruler of Kashmir, establishing the Shah Mir dynasty. During the rule of the Shah Mir dynasty, Islam spread in Kashmir. From 1586 to 1751 the Mughal Empire ruled Kashmir. The Afghan Durrani Empire ruled from 1747 until 1819.
The Sikhs, under Ranjit Singh, annexed Kashmir in 1819. In 1846, after the First Anglo-Sikh War, the Treaty of Lahore was signed and upon the purchase of the region from the British under the Treaty of Amritsar, the Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh, became ruler of Kashmir. The rule of the Dogra dynasty under the British Crown lasted until 1947 when the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir became part of India. It is now a disputed territory, administered by three countries: India, Pakistan, and the People’s Republic of China
What Do Kashmiris Want?
Kashmiris are still waiting for peace talks over the table. Peace talks are the only answer. The Kashmiris have lost enough lives over decades of violent resistance and bloodstained battles. It is reported that the Indian armed forces have killed thousands in Kashmir Valley including women and children. Thousands of innocent youth have vanished while in custody and their whereabouts remain untraced. Many of those are feared to be buried in thousands of unmarked graves discovered in the territory after being killed. Hundreds remain in prison without a trial or laws to protect them.
More than 340 youths have lost one or both eyes to pellet injuries while over 1,020 are on the verge of losing their eyesight. Hundreds of people including Hurriyat leaders are in prison. In just the past 27 years, militancy in Jammu and Kashmir has claimed a total of 41,000 lives which means an average of 4 deaths per day in the state or 1519 casualties every year, according to the latest available government data.
The issue remains an international dispute. One Kashmiri said, “We only hope that this problem will end when there are talks on the table. Only peace, love, and understanding can turn the Valley into a beautiful Heaven.”