Kashmir Timeline: From Sultanate to Partition
Disclaimer: I dislike calling the Kashmir crisis a "conflict." Deeming it so reduces the fight for actual Kashmiri autonomy and sovereignty to a mere territorial dispute between Pakistan and India. The dispute was borne out of pre-partition tensions and intense communal violence - it is, perhaps, the greatest post-colonial legacy of the British Raj.
Western media outlets - which are largely dominated by Indian perspectives themselves due to the West's own leanings towards the 'largest democracy in the world,' point to Pakistan-sponsored tribal attacks as the sole reason for the first Indo-Pak War over Kashmir in 1948. Let's rewind a little because Kashmir deserves proper nuance sans nationalist bias and understanding.
This post is not a space for you to convince me, a person whose family members still live under the world's longest military occupation, why your country's claim is more 'valid' and neither is it an excuse for any Islamophobic or Hindu nationalist rhetoric. All such comments will be blocked.
PRE-PARTITION TIMELINE
1339 - 1561: Sultanate of Kashmir
After the invasion of Kashmir by Turkik-Mongol, Zulju, the last ruler of the unpopular Lohara Dynasty (1003–1320) fled. After Zulju, Rinchana secured power. Shah Mir's coup on Rinchana's successor established the Shah Mir Dynasty - it is around this time when Islam became the dominant religion in the region and Persian became the official language. The Sultanate period of Kashmir comprised of native Kashmiri rulers and played an important role in the political, economic, social, cultural/religious development of Kashmir, especially after previous unstable Hindu rule.
1589 - 1750s: Mughal Rule
Direct Mughal rule of Kashmir did not come until Akbar in 1589, after Yakub Shah Chak, the final native Muslim ruler of Kashmir, surrendered to him. (Akbar conquered by deceit). Nadir Shah's violent invasion of India in 1738 weakened Mughal rule, establishing an Afghan rule for a short period under which Kashmiris suffered.
1820s - 1846: Sikh Rule
Kashmir was conquered by Sikh armies led by Ranjit Singh. Sikh rule was considered more oppressive than Afghan rule, with several anti-Muslim laws being passed (banning of the Islamic call to prayer, the closing of Jamia Masjid, etc) and extremely high taxation, which was noted by European visitors.
1846 - 1947: Dogra (Rajput Hindu) Rule
During the first Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46), the Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh became a trusted advisor of Sir Henry Lawrence which helped him broker two treaties, the Treaty of Lahore and the Treaty of Amritsar. The Treaty of Lahore was the peace treaty marking the end of the war and the East India Company made provisions to eventually sell Kashmir, to Gulab Singh, the Raja of Jammu. The Treaty of Amritsar was the sale of Kashmir to Gulab Singh and historically prohibited non-natives from buying land in Kashmir.
The Treaty of Amritsar freed Gulab Singh from his duties to the Sikh dynasty, and made him the first Maharaja of the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir. (During the British Raj, princely states were ruled under regional leaders on the condition of allegiance and homage.) The region was overwhelmingly Muslim, and the affluential Dogra ruling class and Kashmiri Pandits were loyal to the British.
Dogra rule was severely oppressive to the Muslim-majority: high taxes, poverty, anti-Muslim laws, unpaid labor, and was marked by famines and lack of education.
Muslims were not able to politically organize until the 1930s.
PARTITION TIMELINE
1947: The Beginning
Hari Singh was the Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir when the partition of British India into India and Pakistan was finalized for August of the same year. Princely states were advised to follow the wishes of their people and take into account geographic location - In 1947, Kashmir was close to 80% Muslim living under an oppressive Hindu rule. Several scholars believe that Hari Singh had already made up his mind to accede to India as early as April of 1947, with the genocide of Jammu Muslims in September accelerating his decision.
In spring, the Poonch revolt occurred due to extreme oppressive taxation by the Dogras and in August, the Maharaja's forces fired upon demonstrations in favor of Kashmir joining Pakistan in Poonch: villages were burnt and thousands of Poonch families fled to Pakistan, returning with arms. In the last week of August, a more organized rebellion erupted in Poonch, Mirpur, and Muzaffarabad. (These regions eventually declared their own independent government as "Azad" Kashmir - also known as Pakistan administered Kashmir - in late October.)
1947: The Middle
During mid-August, when the Partition was set in motion, Kashmir signed a standstill agreement with Pakistan to ensure trade, travel, and communication. When the state-led violence erupted, Pakistan blocked supplies allegedly to show support to the Muslims of the region in September. Hari Singh dismissed his Prime Minister, Ram Chandra Kak, replacing him with pro-India Janak Singh.
In September, a state-sponsored genocide of Jammu Muslims began, partly out of revenge for the Poonch uprising. Hari Singh's forces, Hindu and Sikh citizens organized by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (a very prominent right-wing Hindutva group in India), and additional weapons and soldiers sent by the Maharaja of Patiala were employed to violently dilute the Jammu Muslim population. Doing so would make it easier to accede Kashmir to India because it would no longer have a majority-Muslim population and the remaining citizens could take over Muslim properties. More than 200,000 Muslims were killed; Much like other Partition era violence, rape was systematically used, and half a million Muslim refugees fled to Pakistan. They were never allowed to return.
1947: The End
The Muslim Jammu genocide that started in September and ended in late November of 1947 is usually omitted or glossed over in the Kashmir timeline. This "forgotten massacre" is what truly triggered the events leading to the first Indo-Pak war (thus birthing the conflict) and showed the dire need for Kashmiri autonomy, self-determination and freedom from the Dogra rule. Jawaharlal Nehru (the first Prime Minister of India) and Mahatma Gandhi were aware of the genocide but chose to take no direct action for it would make it easier to eventually accede Kashmir to India.
In October, tribal militias from Northern Pakistan who were recruited by the Poonch "rebels" and had family ties in Jammu entered Kashmir to fight against the Dogra army. They had the unofficial support of the newly formed Pakistani government, including Muhammad Ali Jinnah (the first Governor-General and founder of Pakistan) and Liaquat Ali Khan (the first Prime Minister).
Unable to fight back, Hari Singh hastily signed the Instrument of Accession with India on October 26th in return for Indian assistance, following Lord Mountbatten's (the final Viceroy of British India and first Governor-General of India) advice. In doing so, Hari Singh violated both the autonomy of the Kashmiri people and the standstill agreement with Pakistan). The Indian Army invades the region a day later, officially starting the first Indo-Pak war.
1947 and Beyond
The Instrument of Accession was and still is interpreted as provisional; a plebiscite would be held in Kashmir to fulfill the official promise of self-determination and true azaadi.
In November, as a precondition for a plebiscite, India asked Pakistan to withdraw all its troops first which Pakistan rejected saying that the Kashmiris would not vote freely given the presence of the Indian army. Pakistan proposed simultaneous withdrawal of all troops to allow for a neutral vote, which India rejected leading Pakistan to send in regular forces.
The first war ends in 1949: both countries went on to engage in two more wars and several cross-border fires at the Line of Control since then.
Thousands of Kashmiris lost their lives and thousands more became refugees.
CURRENT STATE
In the past seven decades, a plebiscite has never taken place. Several Kashmiri governments have been appointed and removed at the whim of the Indian government - whether it be the BJP or a more "tolerant" party.
Kashmir remains under the world's longest military occupation, is an epicenter of human rights abuses against women and children: hundreds of thousands Kashmiris have been killed and thousands have disappeared. Kashmir is the most militarized region in the world, effectively blockading it from the rest of the world.
On August 5th, 2019, India illegally scrapped Article 370A which guaranteed the semi-autonomous status of Kashmir and sent in more troops - There are close to 950,000 Indian soldiers in Kashmir today. The communication blockage and siege continues until this day.
India has descended from occupation to settler colonization in doing so. Non-natives are being sold domicile certificates (an abrupt undoing of the Treaty of Amritsar), in an effort to diminish the native population.
SOURCES
Al Jazeera
Azad Kashmir by Prem Nath Bazaz
"Economy of Kashmir Under Sultans (Sultanate Period)" by Manzoor Ahmad
Incomplete Partition by Alastair Lamb
"Jammu 1947" by Ved Bhasin
Kashmir, 1947: Rival Versions of History by Prem Shankar Jha
Kashmir In Conflict: India, Pakistan and The Unending War by Victoria Schofield
"Kashmir, Kashmiris, Kashmiriyat: An Introductory Essay" by T. N. Madan
Kashmir Library: 1947 Timeline (CAN ONLY BE ACCESSED THROUGH WEB ARCHIVE)
Kashmir: Roots Of Conflict Paths To Peace by Sumantra Bose
Kashmir Watch
Language of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir by Chitralekha Zutshi
Official Records of the United Nations Security Council Meetings
Pakistan by Ian Stephens
Partition and Its Aftermath by Ilyas Ahmad Chattha
Stand With Kashmir
State, Community, and Neighbourhood in Princely North India, (c. 1900–1950) By Ian Copland
"The Long Shadow of 1947: Partition, Violence and Displacement in Jammu & Kashmir" by Ilyas Chattha
"The Question of Accession" by Balraj Puri
"The Truth About Kashmir" by Prem Nath Bazaz
Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris by Christopher Snedden
White Paper (on Jammu & Kashmir) by the Government of India