ABSTRACT
The secret deal between the Maharaja of Kashmir and the Indian leaders had probably been cooked up before the award of the boundary commission was announced, for right after the announcement the Indians began hastily to build a new bridge across the Ravi River between Pathankot Tehsil and Jammu State. The Maharaja's prime minister at the time was Pandit Kak, who advised the ruler to accede to Pakistan. There were economic and geographic factors which supported this position. Abdullah kept pressing his demand and the Muslim Conference movement kept gaining strength. "It is the people's right to decide on accession" was the slogan which rang out through the valleys of Kashmir. On January 1, 1949, a cease fire was declared in Kashmir. With a cease fire in the state and continuing its military occupation of most of it, the Indian government slowly worked its way to a complete breach of the principle of a plebiscite.
