Write the information about merger of Kashmir in India.

Answer:

• At independence, Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, did not join either India or Pakistan and wanted to remain independent; he signed a standstill agreement with Pakistan.
• In October 1947 Pakistan sent armed tribal raiders, supported by its army, into Kashmir; they advanced towards Srinagar.
• The Maharaja appealed to India for help. India said it could send its army only if Kashmir joined India, so the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October 1947. Shaikh Abdulla, the popular leader of the National Conference, supported the merger.
• The Indian army was airlifted to Srinagar on 27 October 1947 and drove the raiders back from a large part of the state.
• India took the issue to the United Nations in January 1948; a ceasefire came into force on 1 January 1949. A part of Kashmir remained under Pakistan’s occupation (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir), and the Kashmir issue continues to affect India–Pakistan relations.