Opinion | Accession Day: The biggest Day in the history of J&K!

‘Fear is danger to your body, but disgust is danger to your soul.’

Perhaps soldiers of that time were saying the same to themselves as they heard the sudden instructions at New Delhi that it was time to
move on to a place that had been marooned and being mowed over by men who considered them as warriors but devils on horse back!’

‘The story is huge and it cannot be described in words but as usual we will definitely make an effort! It is a story of soldiers, their
chivalry, their raw courage in a terrain where they had not operated before! Only one man could have done it! No guesses here as only one stands out, ’the ever reliable Indian Army!’

‘I know many stories about 1947-1948 but that I would relate in my diary (Major’s diary’ but this is the one that is again in my kit back
of copies (registers were not in vogue those says when my dad was a school kid and from a family that was looking up to their elder son to ease them (the family out of what we can term as poverty)!’

‘He was a studious man and he came out of the wretchedness and he loved writing, just like me and this is an extract we are bringing out for the eyes of the readers! (At that time my father was thirteen years of age and he knew what to write!)’

‘Incredible what slender threads you begin to hang your hopes on when we migrated to Jammu’!’ But someone was slogging it out in Kashmir! Now and then it occurs to one to reflect upon what slender threads of accident depend the most important circumstances of his life; to look back and shudder, realizing how close to the edge of nothingness his
being has come! That time to many in Kashmir had arrived! There was no time to prepare but perishing stared at the faces of the defenceless!’

‘But some held on to hold the fort and one of the special ones was Brigadier Rajinder Singh!
‘Brigadier Rajinder Singh Jamwal, MVC also remembered as the Saviour of Kashmir, was an officer in the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces. He briefly served as the Chief of Staff of State Forces and died fighting during the First Kashmir War. Rajinder Singh and his small contingent of about 200 men successfully delayed the advance of a much larger force of Pakistani tribal raiders near Uri for several days, during which the Maharaja of Kashmir acceded to India and the Indian forces air-lifted for the defence of Kashmir.

‘On 30 December 1949, he was posthumously awarded Maha Vir Chakra, independent India’s second highest military decoration. He was the first Indian to receive the honour.’

‘In the games of queens and kings, we leave our dreams at the door and we make do with what we have. Sometimes if we’re fortunate, we still manage to have a good life! I think we in Jammu and Kashmir should feel that we are really fortunate as we live in this wonderful
place which people a few thought that it was a it big time bomb that could explode and that would be devastating for the world! But it was
never to be like that! It could have never! The reason was one and only one,’ The Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Indian paramilitary forces!’

‘The guys of the above mentioned institutions lais their lives and gave a massive breathing space as they were instrumental in evaporating fear from our lives! Not easy though but they made it look easy! The Dare devils from all over the Nation and from interiors of J&K, ‘the stubborn, obstinate fighters who nver feraed fear’!

‘Kashmir after Independence became the house of mirth for the leaders and military sitting across! Pakistan had employed brute force and butchering people was the option they employed! But someone stood in
the way of raging marauders!

‘His ancestors included General Baj Singh who had died serving under Maharaja Gulab Singh. His grandfather Hamir Singh and father Subedar Lakha Singh were both war veterans. Rajinder Singh was brought up by an uncle, Lt. Colonel Govind Singh, since he was a small child. Singh passed out from Prince of Wales College (now GGM Science College) in
Jammu in 1921.’ History was in the making and it was!’

Just a brief of the events as they happened:
-In September 1947, Pakistan started making preparations for raids into Kashmir, with the aim of capturing Srinagar. On the night of
October 21/22, a large number of Pakistani regulars and tribal irregulars gathered near Muzzafarabad.

They were successful in instigating the Muslim soldiers of the 4th J&K Battalion of Maharaja Hari Singh’s army that was based in the town. The Muslim soldiers rebelled, killing Wazir-e-wazarat Duni Chand Mehta and Col.Narain Singh Sambyal in charge and all the other all Dogra soldiers at the base.

This left the 180 km route to Srinagar unguarded, however instead of moving on towards Srinagar, the raiders from Pakistan raided Muzaffarabad.

News of the raid only reached the Maharaja the next day. On 22 October 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh gave his Chief of Army Staff,
Brigadier Rajinder Singh, the order to defend the state until Indian troops arrived, that he should fight till death in doing so, ‘Save the
state till the last man and the last bullet’.

Karan Singh was present in the room when Hari Singh gave Brigadier Rajinder Singh the command and remembers the incident, ‘Brigadier Rajinder Singh was given the order by my father and he just saluted and walked away.’

With 150-260 men and officers from Badami Bagh cantonment and nearby establishments, equipped with out-dated weapons (though some accounts add that the Brigadier had two 3-inch mortars and MMGs) and using
private vehicles, Brigadier Rajinder left Sringar at 6:30 pm and reached Uri at 2 am on 23 October 1947.’

Brigadier Rajinder Singh moved on with a small platoon, and after fighting raiders in Garhi, he soon realized that his force was greatly outnumbered against the raiders who also had superior weapons.

On 23 October, Hari Singh sent a command to Brigadier Rajinder Singh through Captain Jwala Singh, ‘Brigadier Rajinder Singh is commanded to hold the enemy at Uri at all costs and to the last man. Reinforcement
is sent with Capt Jwala Singh…’.

On 24 October Captain Jwala Singh arrived with a small number of reinforcements, numbering less than 100 men. Brigadier Rajinder Singh ordered the destruction of bridges to slow down the raiders. However
Rajinder Singh’s men had to fall further back to Mahura for another defensive position, reaching Mahura at 10 pm.’

The defense at Mahura held when the enemy decided to resume the attack on the morning of 25 October. Rajinder Singh, also ordered men to blow up the bridges upstream but before the bridges could be destroyed, some raiders had already crossed over. Rajinder Singh once again ordered his men to fall back, moving them to Rampur, where
defensive positions were created throughout the night.’

‘On the morning of the 26th the enemy launched another attack. The defence held effectively again, and the raiders movement was again halted. At dusk Brigadier Singh ordered a withdrawal towards
Baramulla.’

‘At 1 am on 27 October the retreating vehicles were attacked at Diwan Mandir, Boniyar, and the convoy halted. The Brigadier’s driver was
soon killed so the Brigadier drove himself; however soon after he was also mortally wounded.’

The Brigadier ordered his men to continue ahead with the planned defensive strategy, and leave him where he was. Nothing more was heard of Brigadier Rajinder Singh. His men continued the fight until the
next day, but nearly all were killed soon after.’

However the delay the Brigadier and his men caused the raiders, a delay of nearly 4 days, was enough for diplomatic decisions to be taken and for the Indian Army to arrive. And the rest is history!

Accession Day:
It is a public holiday in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, commemorating 26 October 1947, when Maharaja Hari Singh signed off the Instrument of Accession, in which Jammu and Kashmir joined the
Dominion of India. It became an official public holiday in Jammu and Kashmir for the first time in 2020.

The festivities of the day include holding rallies, bursting of fifirecrackers, singing India’s national anthem, and raising the flag of
India. In some areas, the festivities are as big as those of the Hindu festival of Diwali.

Finally the facts known or perhaps unknown about Accession Day J&K:
Maharaja Hari Singh was the last monarch to govern the union-territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

India’s first prime minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was born into a Kashmiri Pandit family and traces his roots back to the community.
The word Kashmiriyat is used to describe the culture of the valley. The name is often used to denote the communal harmony between the different religions, patriotism, and pride for the mountains borne by the residents.

The Jawala Mukhi or the Jawalaji Temple in Khrew, Pulwama, hosts an annual fair called the Jwalamukhi Mela which is celebrated by both Hindus and Muslims.

Pampore in the Pulwama district of Kashmir is known as the Saffron town due to its cultivation of the worlds most expensive spice, Saffron.

Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel or Qazigund railway tunnel is the nations longest railway tunnel with a length of 11.215 Kilometers.

People across Jammu and Kashmir converse in a number of different languages, the primary among them being Kashmiri, Urdu, Dogri, Pahari, Balti, Ladakhi, Gojri, Shina and Pashto.

Hangul or the Kashmiri Stag is the state animal of Jammu and Kashmir.

The traditional attire for both males and females in Jammu and Kashmir is the Pheran or phiran. This traditional attire usually
consists of two gowns, one over the other, which extends to the feet.

But this was all a forgotten golf course but the things have changed rapidity as players have changed and so have the balls! But the Golf
course remains the same the entire beautiful vale of Kashmir!