Page 6 - seniors today August issue
P. 6
Cover Story The first Republic Day Parade in
Srinagar, 1950. All photographs
copyright Sati Sahni.
The Kashmir
Document
The story behind the Instrument of Accession and its signing, by India’s first
war correspondent, the late Sati Sahni, who was there
The Instrument of Accession signed by Sir Hari in British India, or failing this, entering into
Singh, Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir State on particular political arrangements with it or
26 October 1947 is legally and constitutionally them.” The Indian Independence Act 1947
a valid document. Time and again this is accepted this as its guiding and main principle.
questioned by many people and having been in Except for a few states, all 562 states acceded
Kashmir at that crucial time, I have observed either to India or Pakistan before 15 August
and have also written about the events closely. 1947.
Here are the facts;
In 1947 and before the partition of India, the
constitutional relationship between British
India and the Government of India Act of
1935 was on a federal basis. Under this act
accession by states was to be voluntary while
for provinces it was automatic. The ruler of a
state had the power to sign the Instrument of
Accession and the Paramount Power signified
its acceptance. It was the Cabinet Mission Sat Paul (Sati) Sahni, who was born in
Memorandum of 12 May 1946, announced by Rawalpindi in 1922, participated in the Indian
Lord Mountbatten, which was to be the basis freedom struggle and later became one of the
of the policy of the government towards the few multimedia journalists of his generation.
states to decide on the partition. This document He was a pioneer photojournalist, and
provided that the paramountcy of the British worked for leading international publications
over Indian States would lapse on 15 August and news agencies. An experienced war
1947. “This void could be filled over either by the correspondent, he covered all the four major
wars India was involved in, and has written
states entering into a federal relationship with many books – his last book was titled Nehru’s
the Successor Government or Governments Kashmir. He passed away in October 2010.
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