Jammu & Kashmir: Dilemma of Accession

This book authored by Radha Rajan analyses Prime Minister Pandit Ramchandra Kak's first-hand narrative of the tragic events which shook Riyasat e Jammu wa Kashmir wa Ladakh wa Tibet ha or the Kingdom of Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and the Tibet in the critical years of 1946-47 when Pandit Ramchandra Kak was Prime Minister of the kingdom. Prime Minister Kak describes the role played by the Indian National Congress in the affairs of Jammu and Kashmir from 1938 onwards and explains why the Kingdom could not accede to India in 1946 when the offer to accede was first made and again in 1947 when the Prime Minister came under pressure from several quarters to accede to Pakistan and to India. In her analysis of the Pandit Ramchandra Kak document (RCK Paper), the author has cited V.P Menon's Integration of the Indian States and the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (CWMG) to present the complete picture of the course of events which led to Maharaja Hari Singh quitting Kashmir after being forced to transfer power to Sheikh Abdullah. Sheikh Abdullah of the Kashmir Valley was given full control of the entire Kingdom including Jammu and Ladakh. From that day till the present, the Sunni Muslims of the Kashmir Valley decide and determine the politics of the entire State. V.P Menon was both Constitutional Adviser to the Governor-General and Secretary, Ministry of States headed by Sardar Patel, and in these powerful positions Menon had an insider's view of all events rocking not only the Princely States including the Kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir but also in the Provinces. While V. P. Menon's book for reasons unknown does not touch upon the critically important details which culminated in the tragedy of absolute power and total control over the entire kingdom being transferred to Sheikh Abdullah, it nevertheless provides critical insights and information which supplement Prime Minister Kak's narrative; and read together, they provide all missing links in the official history of the tragedy. Pandit Kak's document is not available in India and while the original is with a family member, a copy of the original is housed in the India Office Library and Records, London. Voice of India Publications through Radha Rajan's book places this document for the first time since independence in the public domain in India.