The Chinar Leaves: A Political Memoir

By M.L. Fotedar

Memoir of one of Indira Gandhi's closest confidants
One day, soon after M.L. Fotedar had joined Indira Gandhi as political secretary in July 1980, she told him to sit at 1 Akbar Road. This would enable him to meet the people who came to her with various requests. She suggested a small room to serve as his workspace. But it was one she was emotionally attached to -- it was used by her son Sanjay, who had recently died in an air crash.For the rest of Indira Gandhi's final term in office, this room would be the nerve centre of Fotedar's work. Ordinary people and senior party leaders would come there for him to filter their requests and complaints. From assessing future leaders -- be it V.P. Singh, Pranab Mukherjee or Ahmed Patel -- with remarkable foresight, to straightening up those who were being difficult, he did it all. The Chinar Leaves paints a portrait of a six-decade-long political career that began in Kashmir and gives insights into the murky world of national politics. Here are the stories of many careers that were made and unmade in the Congress. Among these are the saga of Narasimha Rao's no-holds-barred effort to stay in power, Amitabh Bachchan's falling out of favour with the Gandhi family, the machinations of succession after Indira Gandhi's death, Giani Zail Singh's tiff with Rajiv, and many more. Fotedar, for long the voice of political wisdom in the party, also passes his verdict on the current crop of Congress leadership and searches Indira Gandhi's will, to which he was a signatory, for the true successor to her legacy.As a record of Indian politics at a time of momentous events, this is a frank and sometimes shocking look at recent history from the man who exercised immense influence from behind the scenes and whose impact continues to this day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9789351774778

M.L. Fotedar

MAKHAN LAL FOTEDAR was born in a middle-class Kashmiri Brahmin family in Mattan, Anantnag, and was initiated into politics by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in the 1950s.He served as Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's political secretary from 1980 to 1984 and was one of her closest confidants. He was also one of the two signatories to her will and advised her on various matters of political and national importance, as she had immense faith in his exceptional ability to understand statecraft.He played a major role in ensuring that Rajiv Gandhi succeeded his mother after her assassination. He served as Rajiv's political secretary for about three years before joining his Cabinet. He was also primarily responsible for getting Sonia Gandhi into active politics and later installing her as Congress president.He is a permanent invitee to the meetings of the Congress Working Committee, and is a member of the party's Central Election Committee. He occasionally advises the party leadership whenever his counsel is sought. He has three sons and two daughters and lives with his family in Gurgaon.

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The-Chinar-Leaves

This book is dedicated to the memory of my leader

Smt. Indira Gandhi

CONTENTS

The-Chinar-Leaves

Title Page

Acknowledgements

Preface

  1. Early Years in Kashmir

  2. My Political Beginnings

  3. The Delhi Agreement

  4. Political Education

  5. Sheikh Abdullah: Release and Rearrest

  6. The Politics of Loyalty

  7. Moi-Muquddas

  8. The Passing of a Giant

  9. Operation Gibraltar

10. A Test of Power

11. Political Messaging

12. 1971—The Creation of Bangladesh

13. The Kashmir Accord

14. The Emergency and After

15. Return to Power

16. 1979—Rae Bareli

17. Back to Kashmir

18. Political Secretary, 1980–87

19. Party Affairs

20. Turmoil in Punjab

21. The Chinar Leaves

22. Rajiv Gandhi Takes Over: The Beginning of a New Era

23. Peace Initiatives

24. The 1985 Centenary Session

25. The Presidential Election of 1987

26. Operation Brasstacks

27. In the Union Cabinet

28. Visit to China and the USSR

29. The 1989 Lok Sabha Elections—The Politics of Mandal and Kamandal

30. The Rao Years

31. The Demolition of Babri Masjid

32. Congress Tiwari

33. Sonia Gandhi

Annexure 1: The Last Page of Indira Gandhi’s Will

Annexure 2: My Letter to Rajiv Gandhi

Annexure 3: My Letter to P.V. Narasimha Rao

Annexure 4: My Letter to Sonia Gandhi

Photographs

About the Author

About the Book

Talk To Us

Copyright

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The-Chinar-Leaves

This book is the story of my journey that started from a small town in Jammu and Kashmir. This journey was made possible by the affection and support of a large number of friends, well-wishers, family members, party colleagues and workers. I am grateful to all of them for helping me and making invaluable contributions along this eventful journey.

I thank my family, especially my wife Uma Ratan Rani, for their unflinching support. Uma worked silently behind the scenes her whole life. While I spent my time and energy doing party work, she took care of everything else. She has been a storehouse of strength and support for me. My journey has been made possible by her sacrifices.

To write this memoir, I had to select events and memories of a lifetime and organize them in the form of a book. In this process, many people played a part and I am thankful to all of them. I would like to specifically express my deep gratitude to Shri Pankaj Vohra, well-known columnist and journalist, and Shri S.S. Soni, secretary to former President of India Shri Shankar Dayal Sharma, who helped me collate my thoughts and notes. Once the manuscript was ready, there was the tedious job of proofreading and checking and re-checking names, dates and historical facts. For this I must thank my son Arun and his friend Mahendra Ranga. With their hard work, research, thoughtful inputs and insights, they have tried to make the narrative an enjoyable read.

Krishan Chopra, publisher and chief editor at HarperCollins, Siddhesh Inamdar and Rajinder Ganju worked very hard on the book, diligently going through each revised version. I am short of words to thank them for their sincere efforts. A special word of thanks to Bonita Vaz-Shimray for the beautiful cover design and for patiently trawling through a vast collection of photographs to help me make the final selection for this book. I am also indebted to Sanjoy Narayan and Sanjay Malik of HT Media for providing some memorable pictures from their archives.

My son Arun worked closely with me during the writing of this book. He painstakingly shuffled through my large collection of notes and documents, took down dictations from me and typed them out. He also helped me research, collect and verify background information and coordinate with the publishing team. My sincere appreciation for his dedication.

PREFACE

The-Chinar-Leaves

Since 1952, I have had personal experience, through first- hand observation, of many fascinating elements that have gone into the making of our recent political history. These include the leadership of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Mrs Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Mrs Sonia Gandhi; the trends in the thinking of the people and the nature of their urges and aspirations; the dynamics of party politics; the instruments and processes of governance; various emotive issues, events and challenges; the absorbing drama of triumphs and tragedies; trust and treachery and the unfolding of India’s future amidst a complex interplay of international factors.

Now, after more than six decades in public life, I feel a sense of obligation and duty to provide an account of some of the events of contemporary history that I was witness to. I feel this would be one way of sharing the privilege that I had of gaining insights into events, processes and personalities. In some important respects this may enable the reader to get a clearer idea of the thinking that was behind certain decisions, by various personalities of the time, which had a bearing on the life of the people.

Of course, all this is presented as seen from my viewpoint. I therefore thought it appropriate and necessary to acquaint the reader with some information about the region and place I hail from, my family history, my upbringing and education, so that this memoir is seen for what it is: the story told by an individual from an ancient and remote village in the Vale of Kashmir, whom destiny decreed to be associated with some legendary figures in our history for a not inconsiderable period.

1

EARLY YEARS IN KASHMIR

The-Chinar-Leaves

Kashmir has always been vivid in India’s consciousness, as a region of great natural beauty and spiritualism. The exquisitely picturesque image of snowy mountains, rich green forests and meadows, the noble Chinar being caressed by the soft, cool breeze from the mountains, sparkling rivers and serene lakes captivates the minds of all who know Kashmir.

Kashmir has other, and perhaps more significant, blessings. It has a rich history of social and religious harmony and a heritage of ethnic diversity and plurality of social ethos. These are woven into Kashmir’s rich culture of arts and craft, costume and cuisine, language, literature, architecture, music and dance. Kashmir is home to sacred shrines and holy places of great antiquity which are revered by all religions. Diverse philosophies and religious traditions have flourished and co-existed harmoniously for centuries, nay, millennia.

According to mythology and legend, the region of the Kashmir valley was a huge lake—called Satisar—and the Rishi Kashyap drained the water of the lake and reclaimed the land, which was then called Kashyap-Mar, and later, Kashmir. The ancient Greeks referred to it too—as Kaspeiria, Kaspatyror, Kaspapyros, and so on. The great Chinese scholar-traveller Hiuen Tsang, who visited Kashmir in 631 AD and stayed for two years engrossed in his scholarly and religious studies, refers to Kashmir as Kia-she-mi-io. It remained part of the Mughal Empire as the summer residence. The famous gardens of Shalimar and Nishat owe their existence to the Mughals. After the Mughals, Kashmir passed on to the Pathans led by Ahmed Shah Abdali. He held it for sixty-seven years through his governors. Kashmir became part of the empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1819. His death in 1839 proved to be very significant for us. After the close of the first Anglo-Sikh war, Raja Gulab Singh was asked by the British to pay Rs 1 crore as war indemnity. Initially he expressed his inability to do so but later agreed to pay the sum on the condition that he was given a title to the territories. However, he did not take the Chamba area. An abatement of Rs 25 lakh was granted to him for the exclusion, and he ended up paying Rs 75 lakh to the British. The history of the present state of Jammu and Kashmir can be traced back to 1846, when Maharaja Gulab Singh got it leased to him. Gulab Singh was later succeeded by Maharaja Ranbir Singh and Maharaja Pratap Singh. Maharaja Hari Singh ascended the throne in 1925, a few years before I was born.

My family hails from the Valley of Kashmir. It is said that our ancestors shifted to the Kashmir Valley in Rainawari after leaving their settlements on the bank of the legendary Saraswati river. The surname Fotedar came to be acquired because one of our forefathers was the custodian of the state’s treasury— ‘fot’ is Persian for ‘treasury’, and ‘dar’ for ‘charge’.

There is a charming story as to how my forefathers settled in Mattan in Anantnag district. It is said that displaced by some political or other developments, our forefathers were migrating from Rainawari in Srinagar to a safer place. When they reached the village of Wanpuh, now on the Srinagar–Jammu National Highway, 3 km from Anantnag, further movement was blocked because heavy snowfall had closed down the Banihal Pass. This meant an enforced halt for several months before the pass reopened. While they waited, members of the party were enthralled by the surrounding environment. They found clear warm-water springs, and in the nearby village of Mattan, the beautiful Lidder river flowing by.

Mattan was also a sacred place. It was the only place where Surya—the Sun God—was worshipped in the whole of north and central India. It was equally revered for its being at the confluence of the waters of Sheshnag and Mattan Nag. It was called Matsya Bhavan—sacred place of fish—and later Machha Bhavan. The fish of the springs are eaten neither by Hindus nor Muslims. Mattan was important for its Vijay Saptami celebrations as well as for the performance of the Shraddh ceremony at the ancient Martand temple. This temple, dedicated to Surya, was built during the 8th century by King Lalitaditya. Even today tourists on the way to Pahalgam and pilgrims going for the Holy Amarnath Yatra pay obeisance at this temple.

I was born on 5 March 1931 at Mattan. I was the youngest among four brothers and two sisters. My father Pandit Narayan Jee Fotedar passed away when I was about nine years old. I was brought up by my mother and my elder brother. My mother Shrimati Lakshmi Devi was a very pious lady and a regular visitor to temples. I remember sadhus and fakirs visiting our house and being offered hospitality by her regularly. She had a strong sense of community service, a quality I inherited from her. She used to urge us to remain compassionate towards one and all.

The year 1931 holds a special importance in Indian history. It was the year the Round Table Conference to tackle the growing demand for self-rule in India was organized by the British government. Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, also attended the conference in London. There the maharaja made the statement that ‘freedom is our birthright’. This irked the British, and G.E.C. Wakefield, the prime minister of the state, began encouraging anti-maharaja forces to work for his removal.

This was the time Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah shot into prominence. Sheikh was a very good orator and he used his eloquence to the fullest as he launched a campaign against the rule of the maharaja. He had completed his master’s in science (MSc.) from Aligarh Muslim University, graduating in 1929. He had been appointed as a teacher by the maharaja on a salary of Rs 60 per month and posted in Muzaffarabad, now part of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. However, Sheikh soon resigned from his job and started addressing meetings in Srinagar from mosques. The British encouraged him to instigate the local population against the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh. He started a struggle against the maharaja’s rule and formed the Muslim Conference with Mirza Mohammad Afzal Beg and G.M. Sadiq as its founder members. All three had a common perspective.

Later, in 1939, the Muslim Conference was renamed as the All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference to widen the representation of the party to all sections of the society with a secular, democratic and socialist agenda.

In 1937–38, Gopalaswami Ayyangar was appointed prime minister of the state by the maharaja. He was a Congress sympathizer and remained in touch with its leaders. Ayyangar’s outlook was helpful to the National Conference, as it gave prominence to leaders of the party and gave them scope to consolidate and enhance their influence among the people. It was during his time that elections to the state Praja Sabha (legislative assembly) were held and two members of the National Conference, Mirza Afzal Beg and Girdhari Lal Dogra, the latter from Jammu, were appointed cabinet ministers. They were regarded as public representatives. The influence of the National Conference was thus strengthened. Ayyangar also appointed other National Conference leaders as convenors of the ration committee or committees which provided relief to the people.

I recall Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s visit to Kashmir in 1940. He came to Mattan too on this occasion. Shiv Narayan Fotedar (no immediate relation to my family), the leader of Kashmiri Pandits, and Sheikh Abdullah accompanied him. It was a critical year during the Second World War, as one European country after the other surrendered to Germany’s might. I remember him saying in the public meeting at Mattan: ‘Kaale badal aasman mein mandra rahein hai, aur yeh badal yahan bhee baras sakte hain’ (Dark clouds have filled the sky, and these clouds could cause rain here too).

I was deeply influenced by Pandit Nehru and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. In fact, I knew Netaji’s speeches verbatim and would often recite them to my friends.

Getting an education was very difficult in those days. I studied in my village school up to the 8th standard. I used to take part in debates and always stood first in class. Our headmaster was Pandit Neelkanth. During the Second World War, he used to show us the map of the world and explain to us what was happening where, to make us understand the course of the war. He would do this daily for half an hour after the morning prayers. This created in us an interest in politics, in world history and about the situation around the world.

Khawaja Sayedin, the director of education, was a secular and a literary figure. He used to visit our school every year and interact with students. The maharaja had brought him there from Uttar Pradesh. He was very particular about examining the students of 5th, 8th and 10th standard. He chose these because they were the transitional classes to the next grade of the school and from there to higher education. With each of these classes, he would himself sit for half an hour and test the preparation of each and every student. Such was his conscientious approach. I mention this specially to focus on the dedication and concern which Mr Sayedin showed for the future of us youngsters.

Then I joined the Christian Mission School in Anantnag. It was about 8 km away from my home. Every day I used to go to school on foot—16 km coming and going. I used to be one of the school’s best athletes. Twice a week we used to go for a long race to Ashajipura, which was one mile from the school, and once a week we had swimming lessons. I learned swimming in the famous springs of Mattan. I also had the privilege of crossing the Dal Lake as a student of the Christian Mission School. Those who achieved this feat were known as Dal Cross students.

Mr Biscoe, a Scottish educationist who was the president of the Christian Mission School, used to visit our school every Saturday. He too used to examine each student in great depth, especially the students of the 9th and 10th standard. He would not only test their knowledge but also their power of observation and their interest in social service. Biscoe Saheb used to stress the importance of alertness and keen observation. He would check whether we remembered innumerable details of places, buildings and objects on the route we took to school. He would, for instance, ask us the names of the shops that we passed on our route. He would also check whether we had noticed any stones or thorns on the road which could obstruct or hurt someone and had taken the care to remove them. In the school he would himself study how vigorous and active the students were. There were three floors to the school building. A pole stood next to the building. Biscoe would observe how many students descended from the third floor to the ground using the pole to slide down! The motto of the school was: ‘In all things, be men’. Biscoe took pains to show us how.

Even Pandit Ram Chandra Kak, the prime minister of the state during 1945-47, used to visit our school every year and interact with the senior students. I remember his visit of 1946. He commanded respect amongst the officials. Pandit Kak would meet members of the public and receive their petitions. The deputy commissioner of the district would stand behind him, noticeably nervous lest some complaint be lodged with the prime minister. During his visit to our school, Pandit Kak too stressed the importance of alertness and being observant, and of our duty towards society. There were three high schools and one middle school: the Christian Mission School, the Jamia Millia Islamia and the Government Middle School. Pandit Kak would count the first three, the first being the CMS, as being the institutions of note. He recognized the importance of education, and as prime minister, he visited schools, interacted personally with students and guided us. In 1947 I matriculated from Lahore (Punjab) University because our schools were affiliated with that university.

Politics was very much in the air in those years. In 1945, Pandit Nehru came to Sopore and addressed the convention of the National Conference, which became part of the state’s People’s Conference. In 1946 Sheikh Abdullah had raised the slogan of ‘Quit Kashmir’. In a speech at Zaindar Mohalla, Sheikh appealed to the people to contribute a rupee each so that Rs 75 lakh—the price at which Hari Singh’s ancestor Gulab Singh had purchased the state from the British in 1846— could be returned to the maharaja and the independence of Kashmir could be obtained. His speech brought swift retribution, and he was arrested a few days later. Pandit Nehru came to Kashmir for Sheikh’s release and to appear for him as his lawyer. Nehru was arrested in Murree after he crossed Kohalla and entered Jammu and Kashmir. He was brought to Srinagar and released. There was hullabaloo in Kashmir. When the news of Panditji’s arrest appeared in the national press, two persons committed self-immolation in the Madras Presidency in protest, I recollect. Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Pandit Nehru’s close aide, later pleaded in court for Sheikh’s release.

Mahatma Gandhi came to Kashmir on 2 August 1947. That same year I had joined DAV College Srinagar. I along with four or five students went to Gol Bagh near the present high court to have a glimpse of Gandhiji. We went there at noon. Not more than ten or fifteen people were there. The district magistrate and the superintendent of police, M.K. Dhar, were moving around in a jeep. There were practically no people on the road. At about 4 p.m. there were shouts: ‘Mahatma Gandhi Zindabad, Sher-i-Kashmir Zindabad.’ In a short time more than 10,000 people gathered. This caused a traffic jam all around. There were enthusiastic crowds all along the route. In half an hour Mahatma Gandhi’s car came. We could not see him as the crowds blocked our view. Gandhiji was staying with Lala Kishori Lal, forest lessee and treasurer of the National Conference. We reached his house after an hour or so. We saw Gandhiji when he came out on a balcony—with one hand on Begum Abdullah’s shoulder and the other on Khawaja Omer Bhat, chairman of the Red Cross and a prominent figure of the National Conference. Gandhiji was in his trademark loincloth— a garment he wore to signify his solidarity and identification with India’s poor. It was a charged moment. To see the very personification of India’s struggle for freedom, a person to whom all India bowed—and so simple, clad only in a loincloth— was a deeply moving experience. People just wept on seeing Gandhiji. All of us wept too. We shouted Mahatma Gandhi Zindabad and hailed the Father of the Nation. Even now as I remember that moment I am moved to tears. Such was the effect of Gandhiji. I was happy and proud to have had the darshan of Gandhiji from so close.

The timing of Gandhiji’s visit was noteworthy, coming as it did a bare thirteen days ahead of 15 August, when India was to become independent. At such a crucial juncture, Gandhiji had found the time and considered it necessary to visit Kashmir. His visit had a very material political purpose.

The next day Mahatma Gandhi went to see the maharaja. It was reported that Gandhiji had advised him to change his prime minister, Pandit Ram Chandra Kak—a Kashmiri Pandit. Kak was a self-made man. He had risen by the dint of his own merit, hard work and loyalty from the post of a librarian. He had married a British woman. He was known to be a very honest person, a man of exceptional integrity. Kak wanted Kashmir to be a semi-independent state with the maharaja as a hereditary ruler. His elder brother, Pandit Amarnath Kak, used to come to our place in Mattan. He was related to our family through his wife.

All Kashmiri Pandits assembled at Sheetal Nag temple where Gandhiji was to come. It had a huge garden which could accommodate over a lakh people. All the roads leading to the temple were packed. Gandhiji’s vehicle could not have come by road as it was full of people. He took a different route—he was brought on a boat—and the assembled people were able to catch a glimpse of him when he appeared on the platform. He stayed for about thirty minutes. I was right there in the midst of the people, and could see Gandhiji from very close—only 10 to 15 feet away. A large number of Kashmiri women sang Kashmiri hymns in praise of Gandhiji, praying for his long life and the safety of Kashmir. The next day he went back to Jammu via Anantnag. His visit had a very positive impact in Kashmir. Kashmiris became hopeful that they would be saved from the catastrophe of Partition.

Around 10 or 11 August, Maharaja Hari Singh came to Akard, 6 km from our house. He had built a beautiful bungalow there and from time to time he would come there to fish. The next day, local farmers told my elder brother that this time the maharaja seemed to be in great agony and was seen writhing on the grass. Later we came to know that he had got rid of Ram Chandra Kak and had appointed his wife’s brother, Raja Janak Singh, as the prime minister.

Till March 1947, it was expected that the rulers of some of the bigger princely states, such as Jammu and Kashmir, might choose independence and remain associated with Britain, particularly in the vital sphere of defence. However, British policy in April 1947 suddenly changed, and the princely states were advised to accede to one or the other dominion. As soon as the agreement on Partition was reached, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, travelled to Srinagar on 17 June 1947 to discuss the future of this strategically placed area with Maharaja Hari Singh. Mountbatten broached the subject with the maharaja during a car drive, with Hari Singh at the wheel of his Bentley. ‘I explained to HH [His Highness] that his choice was between acceding to India or Pakistan and made it clear that I had assurances from the Indian leaders that if he acceded to Pakistan they would not take it amiss,’ he is believed to have said.

The maharaja, whose state was situated between the two new countries, could not decide which country to join as he was Hindu while his population was predominantly Muslim. He signed a Standstill Agreement with Pakistan—so that services such as trade, travel and communication would remain uninterrupted. It was sent to India but was not accepted. Some accounts have it that the post offices were transferred to Pakistan, which is why it did not reach Delhi. It is said that on the advice of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, independent India’s first deputy prime minister and home minister, Mehar Chand Mahajan was appointed as prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir for five years. Mehar Chand Mahajan was a judge at the Lahore High Court. He later became a member of the Boundary Commission headed by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, whose purpose was to recommend how best territories could be divided between India and Pakistan, keeping Hindu and Muslim populations intact as far as possible. Mehar Chand Mahajan had practised in Gurdaspur at the beginning of his career, and he came up with the brilliant suggestion that Gurdaspur district should be part of India. Till that time the unit of division was a district, not a tehsil. Gurdaspur district had four tehsils: Gurdaspur, Batala, Pathankot and Shakargarh. The first three were given to India and the fourth to Pakistan. Pakistan wanted Lahore because they had no suitable capital.

The Radcliffe Award was not announced ahead of 15 August but only on the 17th—after Radcliffe himself had sailed for England. Gurdaspur district being with India provided a route from the plains of India to Jammu and Kashmir through Pathankot tehsil, which was part of Gurdaspur district. We in Kashmir were greatly affected by these decisions.

On 21 October, Pakistan sent tribesmen into Kashmir in an attempt to capture the state. Gen. Rajinder Singh was in charge as the army chief on behalf of Maharaja Hari Singh. The tribesmen had come across the Kohalla bridge and infiltrated into Muzaffarabad, Uri and reached Baramulla. Along the way, they inflicted unimaginable brutality on people. Hari Singh made a plea to India for assistance, and help was offered, but it was subject to his signing an Instrument of Accession to India.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Abdullah had been released on 27 September. He addressed a huge public meeting at Hazoori Bagh near Amar Singh College and discussed the options available. He said he had been in jail and did not know what had happened. He went to Delhi when the Pakistani raiders attacked. In an extraordinary act of bravery, Mohammad Maqbool Sherwani, a staunch National Conference supporter from Baramulla, misled thousands of Pakistani tribesmen for three crucial days and nights, which prevented them from entering the city of Srinagar. Sherwani was eventually killed by the tribesmen when they realized that he had been leading them astray. But by then the Indian Army had advanced in strength upon the scene and the situation was being turned around in India’s favour.

The maharaja went back to Jammu. He sent trucks to various parts of the Valley to transport people of his loyal community to Jammu. However, many Rajputs refused to leave. They preferred to stay on in their villages and were prepared to face the consequences and suffer with the local people.

V.P. Menon, who played a vital role in the country’s integration and was secretary of the ministry of the states, headed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, came to Kashmir on 25 October. He got the accession document signed by Maharaja Hari Singh and went back to Delhi the next day. Mountbatten manoeuvred to insert the will of the people clause in the Instrument of Accession. On 26 October the matter was brought before the Union Cabinet. Sheikh Abdullah, who was in Delhi at that time, also wanted the Government of India to send in the army to save the state. He supported the Instrument of Accession signed by the maharaja. Sardar Patel and Sheikh Abdullah spoke to the people. Pandit Nehru himself had gone to the Delhi airport and stayed there till planes carrying the airborne troops started landing in Srinagar. The accession of Kashmir had a tremendous impact on the political situation in the whole of India.

On 27 October, I as a student, with some of my friends, commissioned about ten vehicles of the Kashmir-Abbottabad Bus Service, stationed near our college, and gave them over to the Indian Army. Sheikh Abdullah and Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad organized a number of public meetings in Srinagar. Everywhere the people of Kashmir welcomed the arrival of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force planes. It was the first time we saw aircraft in the city. There was joy on seeing the Indian Army arrive. The first battalion to land was of Sikhs from Jind—very tall soldiers—who moved in the city in open trucks and were hailed by the people. The battle was joined and the infiltrators were driven out.

On 30 October 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh appointed Sheikh Abdullah as the Emergency Administrator for the state. Later, on 5 March 1948, he issued a proclamation replacing the Emergency Administration by a popular interim government headed by Sheikh Abdullah.

On 15 November, Pandit Nehru came to Srinagar. He addressed a public meeting at Lal Chowk. Sheikh Abdullah and Panditji shook hands in public. Sheikh Abdullah announced, ‘I am with India and will die for India.’ He was profusely cheered by the people. Pandit Nehru responded by saying he would protect the interest of Kashmir. (The situation at that time was that in Muzaffarabad, the Srinagar–Kohalla road was blocked by infiltrators. The Indian Army went to Jammu via Pathankot and came to Kashmir via Banihal Road. The road from Pathankot to Jammu was constructed, and the work went on day and night. Bridges and roads were built, and later too Panditji came to Kashmir via this road.)

In 1948, Sheikh Abdullah went to Lake Success in New York to attend a United Nations Security Council meeting. In his speech before the Security Council, Sheikh Abdullah unequivocally defended the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India and rebuked Pakistan for supporting the armed invasion of Kashmir by tribesmen. He held Pakistan responsible for the massacre of innocent Kashmiris, the loot and arson and for the abduction of thousands of girls.

Sheikh Abdullah was determined to introduce land reforms in the state. Extensive lands were held by big landlords. Under the new agrarian legislation introduced by Sheikh Abdullah, landowners were allowed to retain only up to 182 kanals of land, one kanal being one-eighth of an acre. The rest of their lands were given over to the tenants or actual tillers of the land, and that too without any compensation to the owners. Similarly to tackle the problem of rural indebtedness, legislation was introduced giving relief to the poor from the moneylenders. The payments stood excused and special courts were appointed to hear