New Information on Jawaharlal Nehru's Decision on Ceasefire in Kashmir after India's Independence
Recent reports reveal new information about Jawaharlal Nehru's decision to negotiate a ceasefire in Kashmir after India's independence. According to correspondence with General Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher, the then commander-in-chief, Indian troops were facing fatigue and an urgent need to end the conflict in Kashmir. Classified letters suggest that Nehru was urged by his most senior general to take the decision.
Bucher wrote in a missive dated 28 November 1948, that lack of training in the junior leaders and fatigue in the other ranks were weakening the Army. He emphasised that the army needed a respite for leave, training, and vitalisation, and that an overall military decision was no longer possible. While Nehru mentioned the possibility of war with Pakistan and their plan to bomb Indian positions in the coming weeks, Bucher advocated for a political approach to the problem.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor found the report fascinating and shared it on Wednesday. It is worth noting that the ruling BJP has frequently criticised Nehru for his handling of Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India. On 22 October, as the region marked 75 years since accession, party leaders demanded that the Congress apologise, claiming that PM Modi had corrected his predecessor's errors. If timely action had been taken, there would be no part of the state under Pakistan's control.
According to party leader Gaurav Bhatia, Congress has spread falsehoods and suppressed the truth about the issue. Nehru had allegedly made Pakistan a party by taking an 'internal issue' to the United Nations, and Bhatia condemned Nehru for floating the idea of a plebiscite. These Nehruvian errors cost India heavily for seven decades, and finally, in 2019, when ‘India First’ became the only guiding principle, history took a turn, according to Union Minister Kiren Rijiju's tweet.