India-Pakistan Dispute: UN Resolution No. 47 on Kashmir

Most of us who take interest in Current Affairs have been witness to various India-Pakistan Kashmir debate on TV Channels. Most of the time we listen to the Pakistanis parroting the same line "Indian PM Nehru took Kashmir issue to the United Nations and so India must honor the UN Resolution on Kashmir Plebiscite". These Pakistani panelists apparently have neither read the United Nations Resolution No 47 clearly nor have they read their own country's history correctly for they have all grown up with information that their leaders have fed them.

Before we discuss the UN Resolution on Kashmir, let us have a look at the India-Pakistan history of conflicts  first:

• 1947: When British partitioned India in 1947 into two countries viz. India and Pakistan, the state of Kashmir was a princely state and the Maharaja of Kashmir chose to stay Independent and not go with India or Pakistan. It was apparent that Pakistan would not get Kashmir, so Pakistan sent their armed tribesmen and army to occupy Kashmir. The Maharaja of Kashmir sought India's help and India put a condition that Kashmir accede to India before India could save Kashmir from Pakistan's illegal intrusion. The Maharaja of Kashmir signed the instrument of accession but by that time Pakistan had illegally occupied 1/3rd of Kashmir. India airlifted its troop to defend its sovereign territory to Kashmir and defended 2/3rd of Kashmir from Pakistani infiltrators.
   
• In 1965: Pakistan once again sends infiltrators into the Indian state of Kashmir but the powerful Indian Army flushes them out and Pakistan achieves nothing after initiating the war. The war ends in stalemate as India had no intention to occupy a foreign territory.
   
• in 1971: Pakistan when created in 1947 had two wings - East Pakistan and West Pakistan, while East Pakistan had more population and paid more taxes, their people had a very little say in the government and also received just a small fraction of the total funding for development, most of which went to West Pakistan. This led to the civil war in East Pakistan and many Pakistanis after being tortured and raped by the Pakistani military started crossing the border to seek shelter in India. The number of refugees kept increasing and the East Pakistan leaders asked India to Intervene. Pakistan lost its patience and ordered its Air Force to carry out Air Strikes on India. Their fighter aircraft bombed many Indian military bases but failed to cause much damage to a powerful India. This Pakistani provocation was considered as an act of war and the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a full fledged war on Pakistan decisively beating Pakistan and taking 50,000 Pakistani Army men as POW. India's victory also helped creation of Bangladesh (earlier East Pakistan). Pakistani leaders and military had no face to show to their people back then and since then Pakistan has been hellbent on taking revenge.
   
• 1999: Knowing that it could not take Kashmir militarily from India, Pakistan decided to wage a proxy war against India by harboring terrorists and transporting them to India to carry out their Jihad. In 1999, Pakistani militants and their Army captured peak areas of Kargil in Kashmir where India didn't have a military presence. India retaliates and flushes out all Pakistanis out of Kargil.

4 Wars with India and 4 defeats, Pakistan military has got shame to their people on all the occasions. Now let us talk about the United Nations Security Council Resolution No 47. You may find the link to the whole document on the United Nations link mentioned at the end of this article.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 47

The United Nations Security Council Resolution 47, adopted on April 21, 1948 is Non-Binding and it is not mandatory for India to enforce that resolution and conduct a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir. 

Secretary General Kofi Annan has already went on records saying that the Kashmir plebiscite issue is something that Pakistan can keep harping on but the United Nations doesn't see it happening. As a matter of fact, in November 2010 the United Nations removed Jammu and Kashmir from its list of disputed territories.

This is what the United Nations Resolution on Kashmir dated April 21, 1948 states:

• 1.  The Government of Pakistan should undertake to use its best endeavours.:
  
  (a) To secure the withdrawal from the State of Jammu and Kashmir of tribesmen and Pakistani nationals not normally resident therein who have entered the State for the purpose of fighting, and to prevent any intrusion into the State of such elements and any furnishing of material aid to those fighting in the State;
  
  (b) To make known to all concerned that the measures indicated in this and the following paragraphs provide full freedom to all subjects of the State, regardless of creed, caste or party, to express their views and to vote on the question of the accession of the State, and that therefore they should co-operate in the maintenance of peace and order.
  
   
• 2. The Government of India should:
  
  (a) When it is established to the satisfaction of the Commission setup in accordance with the Council's resolution 39 (1948) that the tribesmen are withdrawing and that arrangements for the cessation of the fighting have become effective, put into operation in consultation with the Commission a plan for withdrawing their own forces from Jammu and Kashmir and reducing them progressively to the minimum strength required for the support of the civil power in the maintenance of law and order;
  
  (b) make known that the withdrawal is taking place in stages and announce the completion of each stage;
  
  (c) When the Indian forces have been reduced to the minimum strength mentioned in (a) above, arrange in consultation with the Commission for the stationing of the remaining forces to be carried out.

According to the points above, these are the 3 primary steps that the UN Resolution No 47 called for:

1. Pakistan needs to demilitarize from Pakistani Occupied Kashmir to the satisfaction of the UN.
2. India also needs to demilitarize with a presence to be permitted to defend itself against any Pakistani aggression.
3. Having both of the above 2 steps taken place, in sequence, to the satisfaction of the UN that a Plebiscite could take place. Also the Plebiscite doesn't give an option for an Independent Kashmir, it only gives Kashmiris two choices - Accede with India or with Pakistan.

Now that Pakistan keeps parroting the same plebiscite line on Kashmir, they must understand that they were the aggressors in 1947 and have illegally occupied a part of Kashmir which legally belongs to India.

Pakistan must also understand that it has no moral right to ask for a plebiscite when it refused to honor the very basic condition of the United Nations of withdrawing its troops and citizens from their occupied Kashmir.

Pakistan must also understand that it needs to withdraw its troop and civilians from POK before it talks about Plebiscite. It should also understand that the UN Resolution is not binding on India. Pakistan keeps bombing Kashmir through its pseudo army called Jihaadis and has done everything to prevent any development in Kashmir. Sadly this strategy of Pakistan has not paid off in the last 6 decades and it won't pay off in the future either.

Glad that PM Modi has taken a tough stance against Pakistan. Enough of our tolerance. I am of the opinion that we should put the Kashmiri separatist behind bars and execute them for carrying out activities against national interest. India shouldn't be a soft state no more. Apart from dealing with the Kashmiri militants, we should also ensure that we give Kashmiris what they deserve, good infrastructure, electricity, food, water, shelter and more importantly 'Jobs'.

United Nations Security Council Resolution on Kashmir