Kashmir Dispute: U.S. Charg  in India to the U.S. Secretary of State, July 23, 1948

845.00/7-2348

The [US] Charg  in India (Donovan) to the [US] Secretary of State

CONFIDENTIAL - NEW DELHI, July 23, 1948 - No. 842

Subject: Conversation Regarding Hyderabad and Kashmir with Secretary of the Ministry of State.

        SIR: I have the honor to refer to my telegram no. 577 dated July 16, 1948 quoting excerpts from a speech made by the States Minister, Sardar Patel, on July 15 on the occasion of the inauguration of the Patiala and East Punjab States Union in which he touched Indo-Hyderabad Relations.

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        Mr. Menon then began on his own initiative to discuss the Kashmir problem. He expressed the hope that the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan would be able to achieve a peaceful settlement of this problem. Mr. Menon believes that the, Indian psychology must be taken into consideration by the Commission in solving the Kashmir problem. According to him the Indian Government and people are convinced that their action in going into Kashmir to defend the people of the State against depredations of the raiders was morally right. They feel that their motives have been impugned and that the United Nations has refused to take this aspect of the problem into consideration in its deliberations, and has deliberately refused to recognize an obvious fact, namely, that the Pakistan Government has been act assisting the raiders even if it did not directly instigate the invasion. Consequently, Mr. Menon feels that unless the United Nations Commission makes some gesture to recognize the moral motives behind Kashmir policy of India as well as the complicity of Pakistan in the invasion, there is no chance of acceptance by the Government of India of any settlement terms submitted by the Commission.

        Mr. Menon feels that once such recognition is made the Government of India will be willing to accept a solution based upon partition the State. Mr. Menon requested that this information be treated in strictest confidence as it would greatly weaken the Indian position vis- -vis Pakistan if the latter Government discovered that India would accept partition. According to him, the Government of India will accept a settlement based on the cession of Mirpur, Poonch, Muzaffarabad and Gilgit to Pakistan. He also said that the Government of India would accept the results of a plebiscite held in the Vale of Kashmir to determine whether that area would go to India or Pakistan and that it would be willing to withdraw all Indian troops from the Vale during the time that the plebiscite was being held. The only qualification which Mr. Menon made to the acceptance of such a settlement by the Government of India was that the United Nations must ensure the withdrawal of the Pakistan troops and the raiders from the areas which they now occupy before any cease-fire is issued. He said that the Government of India would not take advantage such a withdrawal by sending Indian troops into the areas concern, and that, if the cease-fire order should break down, Indian troops would not take advantage of the withdrawal of the Pakistan troops to enter the area.

        In the evaluation of Mr. Menon's statement it should be taken into consideration that, in opinion of the Embassy, Mr. Menon, along with Sardar Patel, is much more interested in Hyderabad than Kashmir. Consequently, it is likely that he would be more conciliatory as the foregoing statements would appear to substantiate-than would certain other Government of India leaders, particularly Pandit Nehru. Nevertheless, the Embassy has been advised by various other key officials in the Government of India, including Mr. M. K. Vellodi, General Bucher and others, that they favor a solution of the Kashmir problem predicated on the partition of the State and the Embassy therefore inclined to believe that such a solution is the most feasible one at present.

        The information contained in this despatch has been brought to the attention of the United States Delegate on the Commission.

        Respectfully yours,

        HOWARD DONOVAN

From: US Department of State. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1948. Volume V, part 1. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1975, 353-357.