Page 9 - Seniors Today - Vol1 Issue 3

regular without uniform. The attacks started
Gen. Thimaya seen distributing rations to refugees at Baramulla
accede to it by strangulating the supplies and
communication and by other coercive methods.
Whose wisdom allowed the important Posts
and Telegraphs Department to be handed
over to Pakistan to run is very circumspect as
the diabolical plans were already made to get
to this end. To achieve this they started the
armed Kabali invasion in Uri and Baramulla,
and simultaneously subverted the Muslim
population and the state forces.
However, it was the economic blockade of the
Valley which was the defining factor of this
three-pronged war. There were forced food
shortages, depletion and rationing of petrol and
other fuels. The postal department handling all
cash transactions and banking activities was
totally strangulated, thus making miserable
the ordinary life of the Valley residents. The
communal disturbances fuelled by Pakistan
added to the travails of the state administration
whose forces were distributed across the state
in penny packets. Soon small numbers of people
started migrations in different directions. The
situation in Poonch area became serious as the
state’s ragtag force was fighting against well-
armed fighters as well as the Pakistani army in
uniform. This was part of the deliberate plan, as
it was the pre-cursor to the large-scale invasion
into the valley by “tribals”.
By around the middle of October, the state
was largely incapacitated and there was no
administration as such. The main attack plan
was called “Operation Gulmarg” and was
actually handled and signed by the head of the
Pakistan Army. Each of the detachment of these
tribals was commanded by a Pakistani army
9
on 21–22 October with Muzzafarabad being
the epicentre. The state forces unfortunately
aligned themselves with the Kabali raiders
and so this important city was over-run. Soon
Domel – strategically important – was taken.
There really was no resistance in between
Domel and Uri. It was here that Brig Rajinder
Singh, chief of the state forces, laid defences to
halt the massive invasion. Unfortunately his
motley forces could not hold the position as they
were outnumbered. After retreating a number
of times, the state forces were totally destroyed
and the gallant Brig Rajinder Singh too fell
on the outskirts of Baramulla. This town was
completely destroyed, looted and raped. Many
years later my good friend, Melville De Mellow,
made a radio feature and called it “The Rape of
Baramulla”. That radio feature brought tears to
the eyes of PM Nehru and the many others who
heard about the depravity of the marauders.
On one of his visits to Baramulla, Gen Thimaya interacting with
local Muslims after the destruction of the city by the invaders
These events, as well as the overall situation
being desperate, prompted the Maharaja to
request the Indian Government for assistance
and help. From Baramulla the raiders had
advanced to a small hamlet, Shalteng, just 5
kms out of Batmaloo, Srinagar. It was decided
by the cabinet in Delhi that the Indian forces
could only be sent after a written document was
signed by the state ruler. It was at this juncture
that the Maharaja signed the Instrument of
Accession on October 26, 1947, thus paving the
SENIORS TODAY | Volume 1 | Issue 3