Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948
The Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948, also known as the first Kashmir war, was a war fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four Indo-Pakistani wars between the two newly independent nations. Pakistan precipitated the war a few weeks after its independence by launching tribal lashkar (militias) from Waziristan, in an effort to capture Kashmir and to preempt the possibility of its ruler joining India.
| Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948 | |||||||||
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| Part of the Indo-Pakistani wars, Kashmir conflict, and the Partition of India | |||||||||
Indian soldiers during the 1947–1948 war | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Lord Mountbatten Jawaharlal Nehru Rob Lockhart Roy Bucher K. M. Cariappa Hari Singh Mehr Chand Mahajan Sheikh Abdullah |
Mohammad Ali Jinnah Liaquat Ali Khan Frank Messervy Douglas Gracey Col. Akbar Khan Khurshid Anwar Zaman Kiani William Brown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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1,103 army deaths 1,990 J&K forces killed or missing presumed killed 32 RIAF members 3,154 wounded Total military casualties: 6,279 |
6,000 killed ~14,000 wounded Total military casualties: 20,000 | ||||||||
| Conflict began when Pashtun tribesmen and Tanoli from Pakistan invaded the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting the armies of India and Pakistan to get involved shortly afterwards. | |||||||||
Hari Singh, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, was facing an uprising by his Muslim subjects in Poonch, and lost control in portions of the western districts. On 22 October 1947, Pakistan's Pashtun tribal militias crossed the border of the state. These local tribal militias and irregular Pakistani forces moved to take the capital city of Srinagar, but upon reaching Baramulla, they took to plunder and stalled. Maharaja Hari Singh made a plea to India for assistance, and help was offered, but it was subject to his signing of an Instrument of Accession to India.
The war was initially fought by the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces and by militias from the frontier tribal areas adjoining the North-West Frontier Province. Following the accession of the state to India on 26 October 1947, Indian troops were airlifted to Srinagar, the state capital. British commanding officers initially refused the entry of Pakistani troops into the conflict, citing the accession of the state to India. However, later in 1948, they relented and Pakistan's armies entered the war shortly afterwards. The fronts solidified gradually along what later came to be known as the Line of Control. A formal ceasefire was declared effective 1 January 1949.