First Kashmir War 1947-1948: India and Pakistan's First Conflict

The First Kashmir War, also called the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, was fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir just weeks after both countries became independent. It began in October 1947 with an invasion by tribal fighters from Pakistan and ended with a UN-brokered ceasefire on 1 January 1949.

The war divided Kashmir along a ceasefire line that, as the Line of Control, still separates Indian- and Pakistani-administered territory. It was the first of several wars between the two countries over the region.

Background

At the Partition of India in August 1947, the rulers of more than 500 princely states were expected to join either India or Pakistan. Jammu and Kashmir was one of the largest. Its population was about three-quarters Muslim, but its ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, was a Hindu. He hesitated, hoping to remain independent, and signed a standstill agreement with Pakistan, which India did not sign.

In the summer of 1947 a revolt broke out in the Poonch region in the southwest of the state, where many men had served in the British Indian Army. At the same time, communal violence spread in the Jammu region, where large numbers of Muslims were killed or driven out in the autumn of 1947; estimates of the dead vary widely, from about 20,000 to over 100,000.

The tribal invasion and accession

On 22 October 1947 several thousand Pashtun tribesmen from the North-West Frontier Province crossed into the state, with support and organisation from Pakistani officials and army officers. They quickly took Muzaffarabad and advanced towards the capital, Srinagar. At Baramulla they looted the town and killed many residents, which slowed their advance.

The Maharaja appealed to India for military help. India insisted that he first accede, and Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October 1947. Mountbatten, as governor-general, accepted it on 27 October, adding that the people’s wishes should be ascertained once order was restored. The same day Indian troops were flown into Srinagar airfield and began to push the invaders back. Sheikh Abdullah, the popular leader of the National Conference, was appointed head of the emergency administration.

The course of the war

Indian forces stopped the advance at Shalateng outside Srinagar in early November 1947 and recovered Baramulla and Uri. In the north, on 1 November 1947, the Gilgit Scouts revolted against the Maharaja’s governor and declared for Pakistan, and irregular forces advanced into Baltistan, where the town of Skardu fell in August 1948 after a long siege.

Fighting continued through 1948 in difficult mountain terrain. Pakistan formally committed regular army units in spring 1948. In November 1948 Indian troops used light tanks at the high Zoji La pass to retake Dras and Kargil and secure Ladakh, and they relieved the long siege of Poonch. Both armies were still led in part by British officers, and the two commanders-in-chief kept in contact with each other, which helped to limit the fighting at times.

The UN ceasefire

India referred the dispute to the UN Security Council on 1 January 1948. Security Council Resolution 47 of April 1948 and resolutions of the UN Commission for India and Pakistan in August 1948 and January 1949 called for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Pakistani forces, a reduction of Indian forces and a plebiscite. A ceasefire took effect on 1 January 1949, and the Karachi Agreement of July 1949 fixed the ceasefire line.

The plebiscite was never held, because India and Pakistan could not agree on how and in what order their forces should withdraw. Over the following decade India integrated its part of Kashmir more closely, while Pakistan administered its part separately. India kept about two-thirds of the former state, including the Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Ladakh, while Pakistan held about one-third, now Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Military casualties ran into the thousands on each side, though exact figures are disputed.

Key people

• Maharaja Hari Singh (1895–1961): last ruling Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, who acceded to India in October 1947.
• Sheikh Abdullah (1905–1982): leader of the National Conference, head of the state’s emergency administration and later its prime minister.
• Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964): Indian prime minister, who sent troops to Kashmir and took the dispute to the United Nations.
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876–1948): governor-general of Pakistan, which rejected the accession as fraudulent.
• Lord Mountbatten (1900–1979): governor-general of India, who accepted the accession and urged a reference to the UN.

Timeline

• 1947, 15 August: India and Pakistan become independent; Jammu and Kashmir has not acceded to either.
• 1947, 22 October: Tribal forces invade from the North-West Frontier Province.
• 1947, 26 October: Maharaja Hari Singh signs the Instrument of Accession to India.
• 1947, 27 October: Indian troops land at Srinagar.
• 1947, 1 November: The Gilgit Scouts revolt and declare for Pakistan.
• 1948, 1 January: India refers the dispute to the UN Security Council.
• 1948, November: Indian forces capture the Zoji La pass.
• 1949, 1 January: The UN-brokered ceasefire takes effect.

Why it matters

The First Kashmir War turned Kashmir into the central dispute between India and Pakistan. The ceasefire line it produced has been fought over again, including in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, and remains one of the most militarised borders in the world, while the promised plebiscite has never taken place.