Thread by @GarudaPrakashan

1/n Excerpts from CH 5: ‘QUIT KASHMIR’ AGITATION BY SHEIKH ABDULLAH – NEHRU SUPPORTED IT – OTHER CONGRESS LEADERS CONDEMNED AGITATION from the BOOK: Nehru's Himalayan Blunders
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2/n Not many people would know that there was a “Quit Kashmir Agitation” in J&K in the year 1946, ostensibly on the lines of “Quit India Movement” of 1942. But, both were as different as chalk and cheese. While 1942 movement was about asking the British to quit India,

3/n , the 1946 agitation was to drive out the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, who was son-of-the-soil. who was son-of-the-soil.
The prime actor driving this agitation was, of course Sheikh Abdullah, the enfant terrible for India in general, and Jammu and Kashmir, in particular.

4/n And the main actor supporting him was the future Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru.
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5/n Saxena writes, “But as Abdullah was almost mad with fury against Maharaja Hari Singh for not granting him an interview, he decided to leave no stone unturned to destroy the Dogra dynasty itself even though that might not have helped him recover his leadership of the state he

6/n had lost already.”
“Abdullah got a lengthy memorandum drawn up at Bombay for presentation to the British Cabinet Mission, which was then holding discussions with representatives of various stakeholders in India with regard to the future of Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah returned

7/n to New Delhi in the middle of May, 1946. The document got prepared by Sheikh Abdullah was the ‘Quit Kashmir’ memorandum.”
“The presentation of this ‘Quit Kashmir’ Memorandum to the British Cabinet Mission by Sheikh Abdullah came as a great surprise and shock to members of the

8/n working committee of the Kashmir National Conference as none of them had been consulted while drawing this up, and specially because it was a complete reversal of the National Conference policy. It had throughout stood for a responsible government in J&K under the aegis of

9/n the Maharaja. Moreover, the facts and figures mentioned in this memorandum were completely wrong as these were based on the state budget for 1930-31 and many changes had taken place in the finances of the state during the previous 16 years as a result of progressive measures

10/n adopted by Maharaja Hari Singh. It was felt that the memorandum had been drawn up with a view to painting the actual conditions prevalent in Kashmir in the darkest of colours possible, without taking into consideration the conditions then prevalent in other native states of

11/n India.”
Saxena writes, “During the four days beginning May 15, 1946, Sheikh Abdullah delivered a number of speeches in the city openly inciting the people to take to violence to compel the Maharaja to leave Kashmir.He made irresponsible and indecent utterances against

12/n the Maharaja and his family.”
Jagmohan writes: “In his speech on May 17, 1946, Sheikh Abdullah said, ‘The tyranny of the Dogras has lacerated our souls. It is time for action’. You must fight slavery and enter the field of ‘Jihad’ as soldiers. Every man, woman and chill will

13/n shout ‘Quit Kashmir’. The Kashmiri nation has expressed its will. I ask for a plebiscite on this question’.”
Saxena writes, “The result was that there were several communal clashes in the city and there was a serious clash between Hindus and Muslims in the Amirakadal area

14/n on May 18, 1946.”
Dina Nath Raina writes, “This offensive of Abdullah was so sudden, inopportune and dictatorial that everyone was taken by surprise.”
“Because of the vilification of Dogras as a whole by the National Conference and the anti-Dogra heat generated by the

15/n ‘Quit Kashmir’ agitation, the Jammu region got completely isolated from the National Conference and leadership of Sheikh Abdullah.”
Saxena writes, “The result was that Sheikh Abdullah was compelled to suspend his agitation on May 19, 1946, when he came to know that the

16/n state government had decided to arrest him. He, therefore, tried to escape from the clutches of the law and started hurried preparations to run away from the state, after rousing communal tension and creating trouble inside the state. “But, the state police could not be

17/n hoodwinked as they had been keeping a constant vigil on his activities and he was arrested on May 21, 1946, in the afternoon between Uri and Garhi while he was trying to run away to British India. He was brought back to Srinagar, where he was once again locked up in the

18/n Badami Bagh military cantonment as a special prisoner.”“The State Government also arrested other leaders of the National conference, and they were also sent to the Central Jail. The state government posted the Army in various parts of the city to prevent any kind of trouble

19/n following these arrests. There were a few processions leading to clashes, when firing had to be resorted to killing two men and injuring 10.”
Saxena writes, “But the position of Congress leaders was just the opposite. Almost all Congress leaders had been piqued by

20/n the launching of this agitation without authorisation of any kind. It was considered by all of them as most inopportune, as it raised a new issue of removal of the Indian Prince at a very wrong time.”
“The result was that ‘Quit Kashmir’ agitation was strongly criticised by

21/n leaders of the Indian National Congress. Acharya JB Kriplani, the then Congress President, stated categorically that this agitation was the most mischievous move and unless it was withdrawn, it was impossible to bring about any compromise between the Kashmir Government and

22/n the Indian National Congress there.”
“Although the local authorities in Srinagar had taken into custody most leading members of the National Conference, two of its leaders, Ghulam Mohammad Bakhshi and Dwarka Nath Kachru, managed to escape to British India where they went to

23/n meet Nehru, who was then the President of the All-India States’ People’s Conference. They painted the conditions in Jammu and Kashmir in a very dark colour and represented to Nehru that Sheikh Abdullah had been arrested when he was coming to meet him (Nehru) for consultation

24/n in connection with the latest developments in state politics.”
“Nehru, without caring to understand the real situation in Jammu and Kashmir by hearing the other side, issued a lengthy statement to the Press from Delhi on the happenings in Kashmir, leading to the arrest of

25/n Abdullah and others on May 21, 1946.”
Dina Nath Raina writes. “Nehru added fuel to the fire and gave his powerful support to this patently misguided agitation.” “Nehru issued a devastating and wrong statement from Delhi against the Kashmir Government. He said:
To be cont..