Himalayan Times (1954)

Four.

February 14,

jtimalatmn (Tinus

Kalimpong, February 1), 1954

KASHMIR ACCEDES TO INDIA

Kashmir's accession to
India is a -fait accompli
which no power on earth
could question with any
degree of justification. It
makes the issue before
the U. N. simpler No
question of a plebiscite
arises after the unanimous .
passage of the Kashmir
decision. Sot oven had
Sheikh Abdullah f.voured
a plebiscite wh ch he said,
was superfluous. It is true
that Pandit Vehru de(man-
" ded a plebiscite before the
accession was finalised.
But the Kashmir consti-
tuent assembly which had
been elected on the widest
possible frannliise—certain-
ly, much wid'r than ti e
. Pak consembl'y—Tinst be
presumed to . voted
out the need for a- ple-
biscite. Its very e'eeiion
was on the basis of ac-
cession to India.'The pre-. -
sumption is that if the
preponderating Muslim ele- r'
ment in Kashmir was.
against India or for Pak-
istan '.he composition of-
tho present constituent
assembly would have b"en
different. The fact that
the actual decision of the

constituent assembly was
unanimous and not oven
nem cjn (betrays the
emptiness^ ■ of ^Pakistan's
boasts.

For all practical purpo-
ses Kashmir will now
function tn a class "B"'
istatc within the Indian
Union. All that tern inn
to be completed is a
Presidential Instrument of
acceptance of the proposal
to accede. The accession
under the Constitution is
irrevocable. No question
.therefore can arise of a
change of decision at the
time of the next election
to the Kashmir Legisla-
tu-e. This is a point of
law and fact which the
apologist of Pakistan
in. the United' Nations
would do well to take note
of. The Prime Minister
of Indie, mav nuntioue to
press for a plebisc te. But
unless , he means to block
-the accession at this stage
in the very face of the
unanimous decision of the
Kashmir constitution mak-
ers it is difficult to see
how be can enforce a
plebiscite which is not wan-
ted by Kashmir.

■Nobody in India wants
a show-down with Pakis-
tan. Hut the Kashmir
decision raises a very in-
teresting and pertinent
issue of far-reaching inter-
national import With
what face would Pakistan
press her right to the oc-
cupation of Kashmir ? The
people of that Himalayan
valley do not want to
have anything to do with
their western neighbour.
To day the podtion is such
as makes it ri.-ky - even
for the U.N', to issue any
direction in ri gard to the
inov-ment of Indian troops
in an area which is un-
questionably pirt of
the Indian Union. The
people of Kashmir have
freely. given expression to
their choice in no uncer-
tain terms through their
popularly elected conti-
tnent assembly. The only
thins that the UN. can
do and should do is1 tp
e'ear the occupied part of
Kashmir of all alien ele-
ments although they are
the . personal friends of
Admiral \ imitz. Pakistan a.
response to the Kashmir
decision will <b cide. the
purpose of the PakF S.
military a'liance Should
there bo any vestige of
fairness and honesty in
international politics, there
can be no interference,
direct .or veiled, wilh
Kashmir's right- to choo.-e
her own line of actipn.

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