An Experiment in Dyarchy and it's failure begins..

Sheikh Abdulla returned to Srinagar after  military operations had started. The Indian forces suffered heavily in the first attack but after reinforcements arrived they drove out the raiders from the neighbourhood of Srinagar where they had infiltrated after looting and destroying the town of Baramula.

When the military situation improved, I invited Sheikh Abdulla to Jammu and asked him to share the administration with me, Meantime, I sent my Deputy Prime Minister to Srinagar to carry. on his duties there with the help of the other Ministers. This arrangement  however  did  not  work.  Sheikh  Abdulla  came  after a few days. I suggested to him to draw up a document suggesting how in his opinion administration was to be carried on.

He said he would act as advised by Sir Gopalswami Aiyangar who, though now a member of the Indian Cabinet, had served for several years as the Prime Minister of Kashmir earlier. I requested him to get an elucidation from Panditji of the condition, “Sheikh Abdulla should be taken in the administration along with the Prime Minis- ter”. We both accordingly proceeded to New Delhi. A conference was held at the residence of Pandit Nehru in which Sardar Patel and Mr. V. P. Menon joined. Sheikh Abdulla demanded that he should be appointed “Prime  Minister  of  Jammu  and  Kashmir” and I should become a glorified dummy as a “Dewan” with no powers. I had not the slightest intention to remain in such a posi- tion in the State. I knew the Maharaja would not have agreed to the appointment of the Sheikh as his Prime Minister. After a three hours’ discussion it was decided that Sheikh should be designated as the “Head of the Emergency Administration” and I should carryon as Prime Minister. I knew that the Sheikh would not only try to grab as much power as he could but also use his position and power in the State to cut me out. We returned to Jammu in the same plane in a friendly atmosphere.

To be continued......