Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 15: Taking a strong exception to the statement of former Union Minister and senior Congress leader, Prof. Saif-ud-Din Soz, that former Home Minister of India, Sardar Patel was in favour of Kashmir not being a part of India, former Union Minister Prof Chaman Lal Gupta termed it trash and ridiculous.
In a statement issued here today he said this was an attempt to absolve the former Prime Minister, Pt. Nehru of the blunders that were committed by him to appease his friend Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah and maligning the then ruler of the State Maharaja Hari Singh who was the legal authority of accession of his State J&K to Indian Union.
Prof Gupta said that attempts are being made by the cronies of the Congress to distort the facts with a motive to justify the wrongs including the painful division of India and then putting unhealthy conditions with the finality of the accession of the State just to appease the double speak and keep the pot boiling for personnel ends.
Prof Gupta said that Sardar Patel never favoured any kind of communal and moreso, keeping J&K away from India.
Quoting from write ups of the noted intellectual and writer B N B Pandey, Prof Gupta pointed out that Sardar Patel had not only employed other channels to persuade Maharaja Hari Singh to sign the Instrument of Accession to Indian Union but also the then RSS chief Guru Golwalker was persuaded to visit Srinagar to impress upon the Maharaja to do the needful.
At this suggestion Guru Ji visited Srinagar during third week of October 1947 and met the Maharaja to tell him the urgency of the matter for sending the troops in Kashmir.
Maharaja Hari Singh was reluctant to sign the accession document but for various problems including that of one for Nehru’s conditions for release and handing over the power to Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah who had been a foe of the Maharaja.
Prof Gupta said that the apprehensions of Maharaja had ultimately proved true and he was put in exile to die at Mumbai away from his State.
He said that in addition to designs of powers hostile to India, the Kashmir imbroglio was the result of a number of blunders but for friendship of the Sheikh with Nehru and their enmity towards Maharaja Hari Singh, Nehru took a lenient view.
Prof Gupta said that this friendship of Nehru -Sheikh also resulted in taking the Kashmir Affairs in his own hands by Prime Minister Nehru, otherwise there would have been no problem like that of Kashmir.
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