501.BC Kashmir/5–1848: Airgram
The Ambassador in India (Grady) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 27.]
A–222. Reference Embassy’s despatch No. 524 dated May 18, 1948 entitled “Transmission of Text of GOI Message to Security Council Regarding Kashmir Resolution.”1
Mr. V. P. Menon, Secretary of the Ministry of States, told an officer of the Embassy that the GOI was prepared to receive and cooperate with the United Nations Commission and that the Indian Government had great hopes that the Commission would be able to offer a constructive plan for the solution of the Kashmir problem.
Mr. Menon said that the Government of India would be willing to accept a solution based upon the partition of the State. According to him the GOI would be willing to let the areas of Mirpur and Poonch go to Pakistan. In reply to a question he said that Gilgit could also go to Pakistan, which would make that Dominion responsible for the defence of this area of the world against Soviet aggression. He expressed his great fear of Soviet infiltration through Gilgit and expressed doubt that Pakistan would effectively prevent such infiltration. Mr. Menon said that the GOI would never suggest the partition of Kashmir as outlined above but would accept such a solution if it should be made by the United Nations Commission. He anticipates that if a solution is arrived at on the basis of partition no plebiscite would be held.
In reply to a question, Mr. Menon admitted that it was true that there were some Communists in the Kashmir National Conference but that he was certain that their influence was not extensive.
In the opinion of the Embassy, Mr. Menon’s statement that the Government of India would accept a solution of the Kashmir problem based on partition is significant since in their past utterances both Pandit Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah have declared that they were unalterably opposed to partition. The Embassy believes—particularly since Mr. Menon emphasized that, if the solution of partition is adopted, no plebiscite will be held—the GOI is beginning to doubt that it would win a plebiscite of all the inhabitants of the State on the question of accession of the State to India or Pakistan.
- Despatch 524 not printed. The message it transmitted to the Department was a copy of a letter from the Indian Prime Minister which was read at the 290th meeting of the Security Council on May 7. The letter (S/734) stated that it was not possible for the Indian Government to implement certain parts of the Resolution of April 21 but that if the Council should still decide to send out the Commission, the Government of India would be glad to confer with it. For text, see SC, 3rd yr., No. 64, p. 37.↩