1947 – The Maharaja of Kashmir and Jammu signs the Instrument of Accession with India.
Maharaja Hari Singh, ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir executed the Instrument of Accession, a legal document, under the provisions of the Indian Independence Act 1947, on October 26, 1947, agreeing to accede to the Dominion of India. In a letter sent to Hari Singh a day later (October 27), the then Governor-General of India, Lord Mountbatten accepted the accession with a remark, “it is my government’s wish that as soon as law and order have been restored in Jammu and Kashmir and her soil cleared of the invader the question of the State’s accession should be settled by a reference to the people.” Lord Mountbatten’s remark and the offer made by the Government of India to conduct a plebiscite or referendum to determine the future status of Kashmir led to a dispute between India and Pakistan regarding the legality of the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India India claims that the accession is unconditional and final while Pakistan maintains that the accession is fraudulent.