If there is a "Black Day" in Kashmir, it must be October 22 when Pakistan irreversibly changed the course of its history.
The princely state became an "issue" and a "question" on this day, the truth was concealed to further Pakistan's agenda, Kashmir's unity, integrity, and civilizational ethos were purposefully destroyed by Pakistan, and a dishonest and deceitful Pakistan betrayed the people of Kashmir while portraying itself as the defender of their rights.
Pakistan has managed to get away with peddling a fake narrative to cover up its role in the tribal invasion for far too long. It is crucial to sensitise people, especially Kashmir's youth who might not otherwise be familiar with the event's history. They need to be reminded of the atrocities Pakistan had perpetrated on their ancestors and what its true goals were.
On August 12, 1947, Pakistan and the Maharaja of Kashmir signed a Standstill Agreement. Pakistan unilaterally violated the Agreement on October 22, 1947, when it began an invasion to seize Jammu and Kashmir by deploying tribal invaders. As is well known, the raiders violently ravaged the state until the Indian army came to people's rescue.
Pakistan has been able to fabricate a narrative that obscures its involvement in the 1947 invasion by portraying it as a "spontaneous" tribal strike in response to the communal massacres in J&K. Additionally, it has attempted to cast doubt on the validity of J&K's accession to India by characterising the arrival of Indian forces into Kashmir on October 27, 1947, as being unlawful. In order to support its narrative, Pakistan has marked this day as a "Black Day" for decades in Pakistan, Pakistan occupied J&K (POJK), and the diaspora.
For the first time in the previous multiple decades, the Pakistan narrative was challenged for the first time on October 22, 2020, as the day was observed as the Black Day, including in Srinagar.
On 27th October this year, India will mark "Shaurya Diwas 2022" to remind the nation about Pakistan's lies, deceit and deception in Jammu and Kashmir since 1947.
The tribal invasion is documented in the form of eyewitness reports. One of such authors is Akbar Khan (later a Major General and engaged in the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case), whose book "Raiders in Kashmir" leaves no doubt about Pakistan's role in the invasion's planning and execution.
In "From Plassey to Pakistan," Humayun Mirza revealed that Jinnah had given his father, Iskander Mirza, the responsibility of organising a tribal Lashkar in February 1947 to launch a jihad against the British if they did not concede Pakistan. For this, Mirza identified the tribespeople from Waziristan, Tirah, and the Mohmand nations.
To accomplish this, he demanded Rs 1 crore (about £ 750 000 at the time, according to the exchange rate). Jinnah handed him Rs. 20,000 for urgent costs and promised him the rest would come from the Nawab of Bhopal.
The idea did not need to be carried out because Pakistan was founded, thanks to the British. Iskandar Mirza, who was Defence Secretary by October 1947, would have used his prior experience with the tribesmen to plan the invasion.
Shaurya Diwas 2022 will be marked by the nation under Government of India's 75th Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Campaign, to reminisce how the British and Pakistan Army illegally captured the erstwhile kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir after executing deceit and deception of the Standstill Agreement with Maharaja Hari Singh.
The entire nation looks forward to this upcoming day and its unending significance in India's eventful history!
