Jawaharlal Nehru's letters banish Modi's stance on Kashmir trouble
World
The letters can also have noteworthy political concerns for India’s nationalist government.
(Web Desk) - The India’s current government has tried to retain a series of letters confidential which portrays a weak picture of the Indian army’s position in its 1948 war with Pakistan, showing that Jawaharlal Nehru was urged to agree to a ceasefire by his most senior general.
According to a Guardian report, Mr Nehru was advised by Gen Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher, who was the commander in chief of the Indian army, to compromise with Pakistan due to their military’s inability to withstand a long military operation. The correspondence from Gen Bucher shows that Mr Nehru’s decision was not a blunder, and that he was acting on his top commander’s advice that a political compromise was needed.
In his message to Mr Nehru, on November 28, 1948, Gen Bucher warned of fatigue among Indian troops in Kashmir, adding that an “overall military decision was no longer possible”.
Revealing Indian army’s weak positions on the battlefield, he wrote: “Army personnel evince two weaknesses, lack of training in the junior leaders, tiredness and ennui in the other ranks … In brief, the army needs respite for leave, training, and vitalising.”
In a later letter on Dec 28, Gen Bucher finally advised a ceasefire, saying “I am afraid we cannot take military action to stop every road-building operation by Pakistan. May I suggest a political approach to this problem.” The war ended with a ceasefire on Jan 1, 1949, and Mr Nehru provided special status to the state of Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir, giving the region autonomy.
The letters can also have noteworthy political concerns for India’s nationalist government that is being led by Prime Minister Modi who discredited Jawaharlal Nehru’s decision to compromise with Pakistan on the status of Kashmir as an ill-informed “blunder”, the Guardian said.
