Kashmir’s Accession to India is conditional

India has always claimed that the accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India is absolute and legally unconditional, while the letters exchanged between India’s Governor-General Lord Mountbatten and the State’s Maharaja Hari Singh constitute a political Commitment. A document recently unearthed from the National Achieves of India puts things in perspective. Section 8 (2) of the Indian Independence Act, 1947 empowered the Governors-General of India and Pakistan to make orders to adapt the Government of India Act 1935 to serve as their interim constitution until their respective Constituent Assembly framed their Constitutions.

Muzaffarnagar: War against Indian Muslims

Muzaffarnagar and its adjoining districts are limping back to normalcy after the August 27 riots. This is the message now flashed by the official media. Twenty-eight units of the army, requisitioned earlier to control the situation, have now been recalled, but more paramilitary companies have been inducted to assist the state government to maintain calm. Prime Minister Dr. Manmoham Singh visited the riot-hit areas and took stock of the situation. Officially it is said that 40,000 people, victimized and displaced, are languishing in 50 camps across the twin districts of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli. People from scores of villages have fled and taken refuge in mosques, madrasas and schools. They have left their cattle, homes and agricultural land. The violence has been widespread: as many as five districts such as Muzzafarnagar, Shamli, Meerut, Saharanpur and Baghapat have been hit. Even officially, it is being said that tension is still running high deep in rural areas.  The police did not allow a Mahapanchayat in Allahabad, and 600 students were detained and subsequently released by September 17.