October 26, 1947 is the accession day, and this is the day when the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir Hari Singh signed the instrument of Accession, thereby joining the secular and democratic India. We are celebrating the Accession Day on October 26, 2023, and it will be a celebration with much fanfare. This year, the UT and its people are marking the 76th Accession Day. Thus this day has a special importance in the post independent history of not only Jammu and Kashmir but of the India as well. So this day should be celebrated with gaiety and fervor. But it is very disturbing that 26th October is not celebrated in the manner it deserves to be celebrated. However the LG administration had rightly issued order to all government offices and educational institutions to celebrate the accession day in a befitting manner.
Celebrating this day is very important given that the government has declared 26 October a public holiday in commemorating the accession of J&K with the Indian Union. Accession Day in India’s Jammu and Kashmir marks the day these lands joined the Dominion of India. This, coupled with a set of other events in 1947, sealed the fate of British Raj, which was then partitioned into two countries, independent dominions of India and Pakistan, out of which the latter had territories embedded within northern India. The Maharaja’s decision was crucial since he was a Hindu ruler with a predominately Hindu and Muslim populace. The festivities of the day include holding rallies, lighting firecrackers, singing India’s national anthem, and raising the flag of India. Thus, accession day carries great importance as it was on this day in 1947 that the then Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir signed the Instrument of Accession to become part and parcel of the greatest and largest democracy of the world. This day marks the anniversary of Maharaja’s signing the Instrument of Accession with the government of India. The signing of the document cemented Jammu and Kashmir as a member of the Dominion of India.
The people of India as well as of J&K especially children need to be taught about the historical developments which led to the signing of the Instrument of Accession and the importance of this day in independent India. The accession day became an official public holiday for first time in Jammu and Kashmir in 2020.While this day is celebrated and commemorated for acceding of Jammu and Kashmir with India and is celebrated by all nationalistic people but the separatists observe it as a black day. Across the whole Union Territory of JK, the accession day is celebrated with great enthusiasm and honour every year on 26th October. Special functions are observed to mark the day. The day became an official public holiday in J&K for the first time in 2020 after the abrogation of article 370 and 35-A on August 5th 2019.
The Instrument of Accession is a legal document executed by Maharaja Hari Singh, ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir on October 26, 1947. By executing this document under the provisions of Indian Independence Act, of 1947,Maharaja Hari Singh agreed to accede to Dominion of India. It is pertinent to mention that Maharaja Hari Singh, sought the help of the Indian armed forces after an invasion from the army and tribesmen of Pakistan. Accession day is the new holiday that residents of Jammu and Kashmir will celebrate. Earlier the Jammu and Kashmir administration replaced former CM Shiekh Abdullah’s anniversary and Martyrs day from its list of public holidays for 2020 and included Accession Day which will be celebrated every year on 26, October.
The government should not have cancelled the holiday of the anniversary of Baba-e-Koum-Sher-e-Kashmir Shiekh Mohammad Abdullah because he was the towering political personality and his role is commendable for the upliftment of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Though it is so good to have cancelled the holiday on account of the so called martyrs day of 13th July but the government should not have tinkered with the holiday of the anniversary of Shiekh Abdullah .It is a bad politics and politics of vengeance. The accession day is observed on 26, October every year .This day marks anniversary of Maharaja Hari Sing signing the Instrument of Accession with government of India. The people in Jammu and Kashmir whose national sentiments favor India celebrate the day by lighting fireworks, singing the Indian national anthem and hoisting the national flag.
Those in Jammu and Kashmir who have more separatist aspirations observe the day as a black day mourning kashmiri's independence. After the first Indo-Pak conflict concluded, India requested mediation from the UN. The UN suggested a referendum to determine the wishes of the Kashmiri people, and India refused. So, Jammu and Kashmir became part and parcel of India. One Article conferred special state status to it in the Indian Constitution. This special provision was, however, abrogated in 2019, and Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two separate union territories: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
In summary, accession day is treated as a holiday. Thus, accession day draws attention to the modern history of Jammu and Kashmir. Under it, successful accession witnessed various other political possibilities related to the state, and this is where, through accession, we get a more reasonable understanding of the political aspirations the citizens of the erstwhile state possessed.Like special statehood, if Jammu and Kashmir is given a check, this prevents the refreshing body to be continuously used as an expression of opinion by letting the people, especially the future generation, know when and how to treat January 26. Accordingly, the children should be taught about differently what accession day means, and it is our responsibility to create in children an awareness of the importance of this day for the country: Accession, basically, hardens and creates the Jammu and Kashmir connection with India, and thus the signing of the Instrument of Accession can't really get too much exaltation with regard to how that made all of it happen with Maharaja Hari Singh and thus significance of this day can't be exaggerated.
(Vivek Koul)
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