1947: When the Maharaja of the State of Jammu and Kashmir signed
the Instrument of Accession (IOA) on 26 October, following invasion by the tribesmen
from Pakistan, India accepted the
accession, regarding it provisional until such time as the will of the
people can be ascertained by a plebiscite, since Kashmir was
recognized as a disputed
territory.
[A plebiscite is the direct vote of all members of an electorate on an
important public question being referred to them, in this case accession
of Kashmir to India or Pakistan.]
It should be noted that the IOA itself does not specify any
provisionality or conditionality of accession, while the White Paper
specifies it clearly, thus creating a conflict between strict legal
interpretation and repeated official promise made to the people of
Kashmir.
1949: On 5 January 1949, UNCIP (United Nations Commission
for India and Pakistan) resolution stated that the question of the
accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India or Pakistan will be
decided through a free and impartial plebiscite. As per the 1948 and 1949 UNCIP
Resolutions, both countries accepted the principle, that Pakistan secures
the withdrawal of Pakistani intruders followed by withdrawal of Pakistani
and Indian forces, as a basis for the formulation of a Truce agreement
whose details are to be arrived in future, followed by a plebiscite;
However, both countries failed to arrive at a Truce agreement due to
differences in interpretation of the procedure for and extent of
demilitarisation one of them being whether the Azad Kashmiri army is to be
disbanded during the truce stage or the plebiscite stage.
1)Part 1: Ceasefire
2)Part 2 : Truce Agreement followed by a Truce Stage
3)Part 3: Plebiscite stage
However, both countries failed to arrive at a Truce agreement due to differences in interpretation in Part 2, some being:
1)Procedure for and extent of demilitarisation: whether actual withdrawal of Pakistan troops is to be done before or after the Truce Agreement
2)whether the Azad Kashmiri army is to be disbanded during the truce stage or the plebiscite stage.
Hence a plebiscite was never carried out;
1953-1954:
In 1953, the governments of India and Pakistan agreed to appoint a Plebiscite Administrator by the end of April 1954.
Pakistan and US signed a Mutual Defence Assistance Agreement in May 1954; Nehru stated that he was concerned about the cold-war alignments and that such an alliance affects the Kashmir issue. India would resist plebiscite efforts from then on. India's Home Minister, Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, during his visit to Srinagar, declared that the State of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and there can be no question of a plebiscite. Kashmiri activists continue to insist on the promised self-determination.