Victory in the North
Jammu and Kashmir
General Shahnawaz Khan had begun to move his forces from Pathankot to Srinagar on September 18th, 1946. Just like the rogue militias of Hyderabad, the Kashmiri militias also thought themselves superior to the Indian forces and had occupied the main road leading to the state capital. Shahnawaz Khan had 20 tanks with him and 4 mechanised brigades with him allowing him to run over his opponents. It also helped that they were armed only with swords, pikes and homemade guns. By the time the Indian force reached Srinagar, they had slaughtered 2000 men.
Maharaja Hari Singh had been confined to his room in his palace whereas Sheikh Abdullah had taken over the administration and now held his own Durbar in the palace, much to the king's chagrin. Being completely inexperienced in fighting a war, Abdullah had made a complete mess of preparing for the Indian offensive. He had posted the entirety of the state forces, which amounted to 20,000 men, in Srinagar. Khan was aware of this and decided to surround the city and attack. He also ordered the Air Force to bomb Srinagar and the surrounding countryside. Given that the state forces did possess anti-air artillery or any artillery for that matter, they could not do anything against it. Within a week, the bombing campaign had caused at least 5000 casualties.
On the morning September 25th, Khan's forces attacked Srinagar. The city, with the exception of the palace, had been reduced to rubble. The state forces gave a tough fight for the first few hours, since Indian soldiers had to take the city house by house. By the time the afternoon approached, the Kashmiri forces had suffered 7000 dead against a 1000 dead for the Indian forces.
By nightfall the state forces had all fled to the palace as the city had fallen to the Indians. Sheikh Abdullah was incensed at this and despite his officers' advice, he refused to surrender. The following morning, Shahnawaz Khan aimed his tanks towards the palace and used a megaphone to ask them to surrender. Khan, who was standing 20 feet away from a tank, almost died when an artillery shell struck the tank and destroyed it. The state forces had used a 120 year old cannon from when Kashmir was under the Sikh Empire and had managed to make it functioning again. The shot surprised the Indian forces who had thought that the state forces lacked artillery. Khan was a shocked and angered. He ordered all his tanks to fire at the palace, despite Bose's orders to not harm the historical building.
All the tanks fired twice and within 20 minutes, the palace was half-destroyed. Before the state forces could fire back, around 40 Indian jeeps with the Vickers machine guns began to fire. 20,000 rounds were fired within two minutes. Immediately after, Khan ordered his men inside the palace.
Other than the King, his family and Sheikh Abdullah, no other prisoners were to be taken. After what could only be described as a merciless slaughter, the soldier set out to find the fugitives. Hari Singh was found hiding in a drum in his wine cellar, and was dragged into the courtyard, as General Shahnawaz Khan sat atop a tank smoking a cigarette and looking at the helpless king. His family was brought out soon after, however the women and children were brought out with dignity. Sheikh Abdullah sat on the throne as the soldiers entered the courtroom. He had a pistol in his hand, and the soldiers aimed their guns at Abdullah as an officer asked him to surrender.
Dejected, he threw the pistol away and said, "Let's get this over with".
As both the Sheikh and Maharaja were on their knees, General Khan spoke,
"Well, isn't this a fine sight ? The puppet and his master. Tell me then, Maharaja Hari Singh, how come the Sheikh was found on your throne ?"
"He..I...Well I ca-
"Shut up old man. You know you could've saved yourself a lot of anguish if you had not rebelled. Look at the Maharaja of Patiala. Loyalty to Netaji has its benefits."
"He does not have a backbone nor does he have any hon-
Khan fired his pistol into the air,
"Be careful with your words, Hari Singh. You will talk respectfully when you speak of a friend of the regime. Now let me tell you what is going to happen next. But before I do that, whose idea was it to use that cannon and destroy the tank ?'
"It was mine, you infidel. You're no muslim. Supporting a Hindu against the caliphate. You will rot in he-
Another shot was fired by Khan
"A good idea, Abdullah. A few feet to the left, and your shot could've helped you win that rebellion. Ah well, what could have been. However, a warning for you Sheikh Sahab. You speak to me in that tone again, or to any of my officers and soldiers, I will shoot you in the head. Is that understood ?'
A third shot was fired
"Is that understood ?"
"Yes, General Khan."
"And you, Hari Singh. Your folly got a lot of good men killed for no reason. Your monarchy is going to be dissolved, all your wealth is going to be confiscated and you and your family shall be prosecuted for treason against the Government of India."
On September 26th, 1946 the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and its monarchy were dissolved, and a Treaty of Accession was signed. The Maharaja and Sheikh were both sent to Lahore and imprisoned there, as they awaited their transfer to New Delhi.
There were still some rebels in the countryside who raised the cry of Jihad and independence but with the fall of Srinagar, the arrest of Sheikh Abdullah and the massacre of the state army had led to most of them surrendering or going back to their villages. They thought that the Indian army would not find them and they would get back to their lives as if no rebellion had occurred. Bose had other plans. A new plan had been formulated by Himmler to decimate the rebellion completely. As done in Burma, the Indian Bureau of Intelligence(IBI) was following the work of MIG-3 with their variations.
In both Hyderabad and Jammu & Kashmir, IBI was creating secret concentration camps deep inside the countryside to house the prisoners and their families. So far these were makeshift refugee camps with an acute lack of any sort of facilities but the prisoners were being shifted there forcefully. Close to 3,00,000 people had been imprisoned, most of them being the Razakars of Hyderabad and the tribal fighters of Jammu and Kashmir.
The mountainous areas of Jammu and Kashmir were being transformed into a huge prison to house the Muslim League workers who were rioting across India.
In big cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Lahore, the rioting was intense and the suppression was intenser. The police had been authorised to use water cannons, baton charges and even use guns on rioters. 50,000 people had died in the rioting and from police brutality. Yet the riots were nowhere near in control. It was simply beyond the police's ability to handle it.
Therefore, it was the Indian army who was going to handle the situation. Netaji had now decided to institute martial law across all Indian territories.
Indian Air Force officers pose in front of their aircraft at the Srinagar airport
Indian soldiers in Srinagar
POWs: Seen above our tribal militias after their surrender
General Shahnawaz Khan had begun to move his forces from Pathankot to Srinagar on September 18th, 1946. Just like the rogue militias of Hyderabad, the Kashmiri militias also thought themselves superior to the Indian forces and had occupied the main road leading to the state capital. Shahnawaz Khan had 20 tanks with him and 4 mechanised brigades with him allowing him to run over his opponents. It also helped that they were armed only with swords, pikes and homemade guns. By the time the Indian force reached Srinagar, they had slaughtered 2000 men.
Maharaja Hari Singh had been confined to his room in his palace whereas Sheikh Abdullah had taken over the administration and now held his own Durbar in the palace, much to the king's chagrin. Being completely inexperienced in fighting a war, Abdullah had made a complete mess of preparing for the Indian offensive. He had posted the entirety of the state forces, which amounted to 20,000 men, in Srinagar. Khan was aware of this and decided to surround the city and attack. He also ordered the Air Force to bomb Srinagar and the surrounding countryside. Given that the state forces did possess anti-air artillery or any artillery for that matter, they could not do anything against it. Within a week, the bombing campaign had caused at least 5000 casualties.
On the morning September 25th, Khan's forces attacked Srinagar. The city, with the exception of the palace, had been reduced to rubble. The state forces gave a tough fight for the first few hours, since Indian soldiers had to take the city house by house. By the time the afternoon approached, the Kashmiri forces had suffered 7000 dead against a 1000 dead for the Indian forces.
By nightfall the state forces had all fled to the palace as the city had fallen to the Indians. Sheikh Abdullah was incensed at this and despite his officers' advice, he refused to surrender. The following morning, Shahnawaz Khan aimed his tanks towards the palace and used a megaphone to ask them to surrender. Khan, who was standing 20 feet away from a tank, almost died when an artillery shell struck the tank and destroyed it. The state forces had used a 120 year old cannon from when Kashmir was under the Sikh Empire and had managed to make it functioning again. The shot surprised the Indian forces who had thought that the state forces lacked artillery. Khan was a shocked and angered. He ordered all his tanks to fire at the palace, despite Bose's orders to not harm the historical building.
All the tanks fired twice and within 20 minutes, the palace was half-destroyed. Before the state forces could fire back, around 40 Indian jeeps with the Vickers machine guns began to fire. 20,000 rounds were fired within two minutes. Immediately after, Khan ordered his men inside the palace.
Other than the King, his family and Sheikh Abdullah, no other prisoners were to be taken. After what could only be described as a merciless slaughter, the soldier set out to find the fugitives. Hari Singh was found hiding in a drum in his wine cellar, and was dragged into the courtyard, as General Shahnawaz Khan sat atop a tank smoking a cigarette and looking at the helpless king. His family was brought out soon after, however the women and children were brought out with dignity. Sheikh Abdullah sat on the throne as the soldiers entered the courtroom. He had a pistol in his hand, and the soldiers aimed their guns at Abdullah as an officer asked him to surrender.
Dejected, he threw the pistol away and said, "Let's get this over with".
As both the Sheikh and Maharaja were on their knees, General Khan spoke,
"Well, isn't this a fine sight ? The puppet and his master. Tell me then, Maharaja Hari Singh, how come the Sheikh was found on your throne ?"
"He..I...Well I ca-
"Shut up old man. You know you could've saved yourself a lot of anguish if you had not rebelled. Look at the Maharaja of Patiala. Loyalty to Netaji has its benefits."
"He does not have a backbone nor does he have any hon-
Khan fired his pistol into the air,
"Be careful with your words, Hari Singh. You will talk respectfully when you speak of a friend of the regime. Now let me tell you what is going to happen next. But before I do that, whose idea was it to use that cannon and destroy the tank ?'
"It was mine, you infidel. You're no muslim. Supporting a Hindu against the caliphate. You will rot in he-
Another shot was fired by Khan
"A good idea, Abdullah. A few feet to the left, and your shot could've helped you win that rebellion. Ah well, what could have been. However, a warning for you Sheikh Sahab. You speak to me in that tone again, or to any of my officers and soldiers, I will shoot you in the head. Is that understood ?'
A third shot was fired
"Is that understood ?"
"Yes, General Khan."
"And you, Hari Singh. Your folly got a lot of good men killed for no reason. Your monarchy is going to be dissolved, all your wealth is going to be confiscated and you and your family shall be prosecuted for treason against the Government of India."
On September 26th, 1946 the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and its monarchy were dissolved, and a Treaty of Accession was signed. The Maharaja and Sheikh were both sent to Lahore and imprisoned there, as they awaited their transfer to New Delhi.
There were still some rebels in the countryside who raised the cry of Jihad and independence but with the fall of Srinagar, the arrest of Sheikh Abdullah and the massacre of the state army had led to most of them surrendering or going back to their villages. They thought that the Indian army would not find them and they would get back to their lives as if no rebellion had occurred. Bose had other plans. A new plan had been formulated by Himmler to decimate the rebellion completely. As done in Burma, the Indian Bureau of Intelligence(IBI) was following the work of MIG-3 with their variations.
In both Hyderabad and Jammu & Kashmir, IBI was creating secret concentration camps deep inside the countryside to house the prisoners and their families. So far these were makeshift refugee camps with an acute lack of any sort of facilities but the prisoners were being shifted there forcefully. Close to 3,00,000 people had been imprisoned, most of them being the Razakars of Hyderabad and the tribal fighters of Jammu and Kashmir.
The mountainous areas of Jammu and Kashmir were being transformed into a huge prison to house the Muslim League workers who were rioting across India.
In big cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Lahore, the rioting was intense and the suppression was intenser. The police had been authorised to use water cannons, baton charges and even use guns on rioters. 50,000 people had died in the rioting and from police brutality. Yet the riots were nowhere near in control. It was simply beyond the police's ability to handle it.
Therefore, it was the Indian army who was going to handle the situation. Netaji had now decided to institute martial law across all Indian territories.
Indian Air Force officers pose in front of their aircraft at the Srinagar airport
Indian soldiers in Srinagar
POWs: Seen above our tribal militias after their surrender
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