Accession of Kalat

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The Baluchistan region of British India, including the British Baluchistan province, the Khanate of Kalat and its subsidiary states (National Geographic, 1946)

The princely state of Kalat in Balochistan acceded to the Dominion of Pakistan on 27 March 1948, after having declared independence earlier on 15 August 1947.[1] It was accepted by the Governor General Muhammad Ali Jinnah on 31 March, making Kalat an integral part of Pakistan. The accession was a stormy affair,[2] and is believed to have been against the wishes of the people.[3] Insurgencies against the state of Pakistan continue till the present day.

Background[]

The princely state of Kalat, the dominant state in the Balochistan of the British Indian Empire, was formally independent from 15 August 1947 to 27 March 1948 before acceding to Pakistan.[4] Reports appeared suggesting that the Khan of Kalat wanted to accede to India in order to avoid Pakistan from occupying his state, but India denied them.[5][6]

British Balochistan, which had been leased by the British Raj, was treated as a separate region by Pakistan and allowed to accede to it.[7][8][9]

The accession process was generally a straightforward procedural process for India and Pakistan. This procedural trend however was not the case in the Princely states of Jammu and Kashmir, whose ruler opted for independence but decided to accede to India following an invasion by Pakistan-based forces),[10] Hyderabad State, whose ruler opted for independence in 1947, followed a year later by the police action and annexation of the state by India), Junagarh, whose ruler acceded to Pakistan, but was annexed by India),[11] and in Balochistan, in which voting rights and provincial agency was forfeit or made null.[12]

The Shahi Jirga was stripped of its members from the Kalat State prior to the vote."[13] The then president of the Baluchistan Muslim League, Qazi Muhammad Isa, informed Muhammad Ali Jinnah that "Shahi Jirga in no way represents the popular wishes of the masses" and that members of the Kalat State were "excluded from voting; only representatives from the British part of the province voted and the British part included the leased areas of Quetta, Nasirabad Tehsil, Nushki and Bolan Agency."[13] Following the referendum, the Khan of Kalat, on 22 June 1947, received a letter from members of the Shahi Jirga, as well as sardars from the leased areas of Baluchistan, stating that they, "as a part of the Baloch nation, were a part of the Kalat state too" and that if the question of Baluchistan's accession to Pakistan arise, "they should be deemed part of the Kalat state rather than (British) Balochistan."[13] This has brought into question whether an actual vote took place in the town hall "and that the announcement in favour of accession was secured through sheer manipulation."[13] Under the orders of Pakistan prime minister Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, Balochistan was forcibly occupied on March 22, 1948. [14]

Pakistani human rights activist, Waseem Altaf has proclaimed, "On orders emanating from Mr Jinnah, Balochistan was forcibly annexed to Pakistan on 28th March 1948 when on 27th March 1948, Lt Colonel Gulzar of the 7th Baluch Regiment under GOC Major General Mohammad Akbar Khan invaded the Khanate of Kalat. General Akbar escorted the Khan of Kalat to Karachi and forced him to sign on the instrument of accession while Pakistan Navy's destroyers reached Pasni and Jiwani."[15]

Political scientist Salman Rafi Sheikh, in locating the origins of the insurgency in Balochistan, says "that Balochistan's accession to Pakistan was, as against the officially projected narrative, not based upon consensus, nor was support for Pakistan overwhelming. What this manipulation indicates is that even before formally becoming a part of Pakistan, Balochistan had fallen prey to political victimization.[13]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Amirali (2015), pp. 22–23: "Seven months later, on 27 March 1948, Kalat acceded to Pakistan. Whether it was a willing accession or a coerced one is a disputed matter, with pro-state historians arguing that the Khan willingly made the decision to accede, and nationalist scholars maintaining that Balochistan was annexed."
  2. ^ Amirali (2015), p. 24: "The KSNP [Kalat State Natioonal Party] leaders were arrested and the Khan was put under house arrest."
  3. ^ Amirali (2015), p. 24: "Whether Kalat acceded or was annexed, it is clear that despite the Khan's signing of the accession document, the political consensus within Balochistan had been to remain independent."
  4. ^ Ambreen, Afia (12 April 2019). "Accession of Kalat". .
  5. ^ Mustikhan, Ahmar (2015-03-28). "Did Nehru reject Baloch ruler's accession request?". dailyo.
  6. ^ Zaidi, Z. H. (1993), Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah Papers, Vol. 8: The States: Historical and policy perspectives and accession to Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Papers Project, National Archives of Pakistan, pp. 189–190, ISBN 978-969-8156-13-8 – via archive.org
  7. ^ Jalal, Ayesha (2014), The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics, Harvard University Press, p. 72, ISBN 978-0-674-74499-8: "Equally notorious was his high-handed treatment of the state of Kalat, whose ruler was made to accede to Pakistan on threat of punitive military action."
  8. ^ Samad, Yunas (2014). "Understanding the insurgency in Balochistan". Commonwealth & Comparative Politics. 52 (2): 293–320. doi:10.1080/14662043.2014.894280. S2CID 144156399.: "When Mir Ahmed Yar Khan dithered over acceding the Baloch-Brauhi confederacy to Pakistan in 1947 the centre's response was to initiate processes that would coerce the state joining Pakistan. By recognising the feudatory states of Las Bela, Kharan and the district of Mekran as independent states, which promptly merged with Pakistan, the State of Kalat became landlocked and reduced to a fraction of its size. Thus Ahmed Yar Khan was forced to sign the instrument of accession on 27 March 1948, which immediately led to the brother of the Khan, Prince Abdul Karim raising the banner of revolt in July 1948, starting the first of the Baloch insurgencies."
  9. ^ Harrison, Selig S. (1981), In Afghanistan's Shadow: Baluch Nationalism and Soviet Temptations, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, p. 24, ISBN 978-0-87003-029-1: "Pakistani leaders summarily rejected this declaration, touching off a nine-month diplomatic tug of war that came to a climax in the forcible annexation of Kalat.... it is clear that Baluch leaders, including the Khan, were bitterly opposed to what happened."
  10. ^ Bajwa, Kuldip Singh (2003). Jammu and Kashmir War, 1947–1948: Political and Military Perspectiv. New Delhi: Hari-Anand Publications Limited. ISBN 9788124109236.
  11. ^ Aparna Pande (16 March 2011). Explaining Pakistan's Foreign Policy: Escaping India. Taylor & Francis. pp. 31–. ISBN 978-1-136-81893-6.
  12. ^ Pervaiz I Cheema; Manuel Riemer (22 August 1990). Pakistan's Defence Policy 1947-58. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 60–. ISBN 978-1-349-20942-2.
  13. ^ a b c d e Sheikh, Salman Rafi (2018). The Genesis of Baloch Nationalism: Politics and Ethnicity in Pakistan, 1947–1977. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-02068-8.
  14. ^ Hussein, Altaf (September 5, 2018). "Pakistan military invaded and occupied Balochistan: Altaf Hussain". Business Standard India. Business Standard.
  15. ^ Singh, RSN (2017). Indian Defence Review Jul-Sep 2017 (32.3). . ISBN 9781940988320.

Bibliography[]

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