An Experiment in Dyarchy and its Failure continues......

Thus some delay took place in the supply of arms to the Sheikh’s volunteers. The Sheikh took this opportunity to complain to Pandit Nehru and told him that the arms that had been sent for the use of the National Conference Volunteers had been given by me to its rivals, the Rashtarya Swayamsevak Sangh. He further added that they were using these anus for killing Muslims in Jammu. The complaint was not only false but malicious. Without any enquiry Pandit Nehru took the words of Sheikh Abdulla as gospel truth and wrote a very nasty letter to the Maharaja against me.

His Highness gave the letter to me for reply. I wrote to Pandit Nehru that I had not received a single rifle from him, the rifles sent were in the possession of the Officer Commanding the Indian Forces in the State who had not given a single rifle to the R. S. S. I challenged the Sheikh to prove his allegations. Pandit Nehru promptly withdrew the allegations. He expressed regret and said he was sorry to learn that he had been misinformed.

The Sheikh also made an attempt to poison the mind of Mahatma Gandhi against me. He wrote to the Mahatma that Muslims were being killed in Jammu at the instigation of His Highness and myself. Mahatmaji, without even asking me charged us with these killings, in one of his post-prayer speeches. I wrote him a very strong letter protesting against such a charge and asked him to disclose the source of his information. Mahatmaji in a brief reply wrote to me that he never meant to charge me and His Highness personally of the happenings in Jammu and all that he meant was that constitutionally we were responsible for these happenings as we had not been able to give full protection to the Muslims in Jammu and its neighbourhood. The fact was that we were quite helpless in the matter. The evacuation of Muslims from Jammu to Pakistan was being carried out under the protection of the Indian army.

To be continued.....