By Khanum Shafiq
Each year, on October 26, India marks Kashmir Accession Day with official commemorations, hoisting national flags, holding parades, and emphasizing what it calls the legal finality of Jammu and Kashmir’s integration into the Indian Union. Yet, as the tricolor is unfurled in celebration, a contrasting reality shadows the Kashmir Valley. For millions of Kashmiris, this day is not a reminder of unity, but a painful emblem of lost autonomy, broken promises, and continuing political suppression. Kashmir remains a disputed land politically, emotionally and geographically, now seventy seven years into Instrument of Accession of which it is still a signatory. Kashmiris remember accession as the beginning of being alienated and Indian state voiced it as a legal unification.
In 1947, the British Raj failed and the subcontinent was divided into India and Pakistan where Princely states had the choice to join either dominion or remain independent. Initially, ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh, opted independence. But he sought military assistance in India when the threat of his rule was eminent.
On October 26, 1947 the Instrument of Accession was signed, against the will of Kashmiri people, and authorized the Indian army to come intervene. In the agreement of accession, the state was guaranteed to have internal autonomy and India was tantamount with control of communications, foreign policy and defence. This act was not permanent though and it was considered as temporary as per India with the anticipation of a plebiscite held and the Kashmiri people would have been given time to decide their own fate. The first prime minister of India called Jawaharlal Nehru promised a national and international plebiscite but it has not materialized. The Kashmiris have a different view towards the day, as it is more of a political process which had negligence of the views of the Kashmiris.
In the decades following the accession, Kashmiris started to feel more alienated. The Indian Constitution article 370 accorded the special status to the state giving autonomy on all grounds except communications, defence and foreign affairs. This independence was gradually cut out with passage of time.
In August 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir state division by the Indian government into two Union Territories was executed, including the removal of Article 370. The one-sided move not involving the consent of the locals was a breakthrough in the dispute of Kashmir. The hostile environment was enhanced by deployment of tens of thousands of troops, arrests of politicians, and blocking of communication. Most Kashmiris referred to the cancellation as an endangerment of their existence as a people, culture, and demography as well as a legal betrayal. It renewed the will to resist, often through something besides guns but more often than not digital narration, art, literature and civil disobedience.
Any discussion regarding the Kashmir Accession Day is untold without taking into consideration the huge human cost. The wounds are deep seated as there are more than 75 years of militancy. Tens of thousands of people have died between civilians, troop, and terrorists. Laws like the Public Safety Act (PSA) have been responsible in jailing of thousands of people without charge. The use of enforced disappearances and mass graves represent only an ugly memory of the land where justice is still unattainable.
The global human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, have constantly brought out the question as to how the treatment of civilians in Kashmir has been dealt with. The excessive nature of the force used, the eye-gouging pellet gun injuries and the dehumanising and terrorising normalisation of violence have been recorded.In Kashmir, justice remains more than a resolution to a border dispute. It is a matter of recognizing suffering, taking people to account and establishing ground of political bargaining.
The bigger geopolitical dynamics between Pakistan and India cannot be separated form the accession of Kashmir state and the consequent war. It has continued to be a tinderbox in South Asia through which the three wars of 1947, 1965 and 1999 were fought. The area has been unstable due to militarization of Line of Control (LoC), cross border skirmishes and hawks response by both countries.
International organizations such as the United Nations have passed resolutions stressing on the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to decide to have self-determination. However, these resolutions do not matter anymore due to regional diplomacy and strategic interests as well as realpolitik.
Kashmir is at a cross roads as the world commemorates 77 years since the Instrument of Accession. The people of Kashmir continue to live in uncertainty as Pakistan supports self-determination and India maintains its sovereignty. In its purest form, Kashmir Accession Day is about people, not just legality or sovereignty. It is about justice that will not be forgotten, memory that will not die, and resistance that will not perish.
Realizing the humanity of the people who live there is the first step on the long and challenging path to peace in Kashmir. Any solution that disregards the rights, dignity, and will of Kashmiris is doomed to fail. When commemorating Accession Day, let it be a call to conscience rather than a day of political theater—a reminder that people must come first, regardless of politics, borders, or armies.
Khanum Shafiq is Ms in International Relations and is an independent writer and social commentator who explores themes of justice, identity, and transformation in a rapidly changing world.