The two independent Dominions of Countries were so born as an immediate outcome or result of the Act passed in the British Parliament under the name of Indian Independence Act, 1947 as had been mentioned earlier. Their creations were done as per provision laid down in the first para of the Act of which the 'seeds for the division' had already been 'sown' from the time of Viceroy, Minto of the much earlier period (from November 1905 to November 1910), according to whose reforms introduced under an Act known as Government of India Act, 1909 separate electorates from the Muslims in the country had been provided to serve the purpose of 'divide and rule' policy of the British for weakening the 'oneness' of the Indian people for their going against them for achieving their demand of 'full independence' for the country as one.

The Act so passed allowed all the Native States, some 500-600 in number, then existing in semi-independent status, till then to 'opt' for joining with 'Either' of the two dominions by merging along with their contiguous neighbouring provinces, or to remain as a separate state within the dominion, if considered 'viable' to do so from the political, financial and other essential points of views, and as such all of them at once joined and merged in the Dominion of India smoothly and quite peacefully by absorbing into their contiguous neighbouring provinces except the States of Hyderabad, Kashmir, Benaras, Tripura and Manipur.

In the case of the former two giant States, they were merged after they were forced to do so as a result of swift and unchallengeable military actions taken by the mighty Indian Army in the pretext of taking internal police actions, in the case of Hyderabad, and in the case of Kashmir, after a brief spell of war taken place with Pakistan who most aggressively intruded and assisted their tribesmen in their sudden raid carried out on the State, which by then was under the independent ruling of a Hindu King over a vast majority of Muslim subjects and the king who, greatly alarmed by their rapid aggression fully backed by Pakistan Army, at once 'acceded' his kingdom to the Indian Union and sought the immediate military assistance of the Govt of India and thus the action of the Indian Army had been taken till it was stopped by an intervention directed from the United Nations after which the State became recognised as a fully merged State within the Dominion of India minus a large area on the western sector that had been forcibly occupied by Pakistan as a part of their Dominion being known as the 'occupied Kashmir' for which the dispute between the two dominions of India and Pakistan is still dragging on unsettled.

In fact, the dispute very adamantly raised still by Pakistan is on the issue of claiming the entire State of Kashmir to be acceded to her on the basis of having its vast majority of Muslim population like that of having a majority of Hindu population in the case of Hyderabad under a Muslim ruler, the Nizam.

The accession of Kashmir done by its Hindu Maharaja was immediately ratified by Sheikh Abdullah, leader of the All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, an organisation who enjoyed popular support. Sheikh Abdullah became the Prime Minister, a special status, of the merged State of Kashmir and in November 1956 its Constituent Assembly legalised her status as being the 'de facto' integral part of the dominion of India.

Had it not been due to the timely, swift and highly commendable service and action of the gallant troops of the Indian army, particularly of the Air-borne troops under the command of the most able and well know, Brigadier Thimaya, Kashmir would have been, perhaps in the map of Pakistan by now, and in that case what could have been the actual 'scenario' of relationship in between the two countries by now, particularly in their spirits of 'hostilities' is the 'billion dollar' question that keeps everyone highly guessing and wondering.

The accession of Hyderabad, the biggest State in India, with the India union, was not effected without bloodshed. The State with a Muslim ruler and a large majority of Hindu population, just the opposite to that of Kashmir, entered into a year's stand-still agreement with the Indian Union on 29 November, 1947. As a result of the Agreement, Indian troops were withdrawn, but the Hyderabad police force and the local Razakar troops under Syed Kasim Razvi took complete control over the civil population.

Moreover, the Nizam demanded an outlet to the sea and the port of his choice was Goa. The Government of India tried to persuade Hyderabad to immediately accede to the Indian Union and accordingly prepared a Draft Agreement for that purpose. The growing violence of the Razakar troops in Hyderabad and smuggling of arms from foreign Governments precipitated a great crisis. The Govt of India demanded the immediate disband-ment of the Razakar troops and the deployment of the Indian troops at Secunderabad. But the Nizam, who had sought intervention of the United Nations, refused to accept these terms.

— to be continued

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