| Instrument of Accession of Jammu and Kashmir State | |
| Long Name: | Instrument of Accession of Jammu and Kashmir state to the Union of India |
| Type: | Accession Treaty |
| Date Signed: | 26 October 1947 |
| Location Signed: | Srinagar/Delhi |
| Date Effective: | 27 October 1947 |
| Condition Effective: | Acceptance by the Governor-General of India |
| Date Expiration: | Perpetual Validity |
| Signatories: | Maharaja Hari Singh, Lord Louis Mountbatten |
| Parties: | Jammu and Kashmir Dominion of India |
| Depositor: | Dominion of India |
| Language: | English |
| Wikisource: | Index:Instrument of Accession and Standstill Agreement of Jammu and Kashmir to Dominion of India.pdf |
The Jammu and Kashmir Instrument of Accession is a legal document executed by Maharaja Hari Singh, ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, on 26 October 1947.[1] [2]
By executing an Instrument of Accession under the provisions of the Indian Independence Act 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh agreed to accede his state to the Dominion of India.[3] [4]
On 27 October 1947, the then Governor-General of India, Lord Mountbatten accepted the accession. In a letter sent to Maharaja Hari Singh on the same day, he said, "it is my Government's wish that as soon as law and order have been restored in Jammu and Kashmir and her soil cleared of the invader, the question of the State's accession should be settled by a reference to the people."[5]
Islamic Republic of Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah stated that the accession was "fraudulent", and that the Maharaja "betrayed" trust by acceding to India at a time when a standstill agreement signed as per his personal request to the Maharaja was still in force.[6]
The accession to India is celebrated on Accession Day, which is held annually on 26 October.[7]
The text of the Instrument of Accession, excluding the schedule mentioned in its third point, is as follows:[8]
The Schedule referred to in paragraph 3 of the Instrument of Accession reads as follows:[9]
While the Instrument of Accession carries the date of 26 October, some scholars believe that it was actually signed on 27 October.[10] However, the fact that the Governor General accepted the accession on 27 October, the day the Indian troops were airlifted into Kashmir, is generally accepted.[11]
An Indian commentator, Prem Shankar Jha, has argued that the accession was actually signed by Hari Singh on 25 October 1947, just before he left Srinagar for Jammu.
Before taking any action on the Maharaja's request for help, the Government of India decided to send V. P. Menon, representing it, who flew to Srinagar on 25 October. On realizing the state of emergency, Menon advised the Maharaja to leave immediately for Jammu, for his own safety. He followed this advice and left Srinagar for Jammu that night, while Menon and Prime Minister Mahajan flew to Delhi early the next morning, 26 October. When they reached there, the Indian Government promised Menon and Mahajan military assistance for Jammu and Kashmir, but only after the Instrument of Accession had been signed. Hence, Menon immediately flew back to Jammu with the Instrument. The official version of events is that on his arrival, he contacted the Maharaja, who was asleep after a long journey, but who at once signed the Instrument. Menon then flew back immediately to Delhi with the legal documents on 26 October.[12]
In 1950, a United States Department of State memorandum prepared by American diplomats George C. McGhee and John D. Hickerson, approved by Secretary of State Dean Acheson, stated on the basis of an Office of Legal Counsel opinion that the Instrument of Accession could not finalize the accession to either dominion.[13] According to this memorandum, the Attorney General for England and Wales and Foreign Office legal advisors felt that the accession was inconsistent with Kashmir's obligations to Pakistan, and for that reason it was "perhaps invalid".
"The question of when exactly he signed the instrument of accession has been the focus of much scholarly debate and has resulted in a literature out of all proportion to the importance of the matter. Suffice it to say that it was almost certainly signed on 27 October 1947—not the 26th as claimed by India."