Kashmir Vote
counts: first, because it does not itself represent the territories of Jammu and Kashmir but only that half of Kashmir which has been under Indian occupation since Partition; second, because both India and Pakistan are bound by the UN resolu- tion of 1949 which said that the future of Kashmir was to be decided by a plebiscite. It may be, therefore, that the vote of the Constituent Assembly will be disregarded by both India and Pakistan and the two countries will continue to agree to differ until something else brings their differences to a climax. On the other hand, there is specific provision, in the Indian constitution, for Kashmir to be represented in the parliament at Delhi as a State of India; and Mr. Nehru could take the view that last week's vote has merely given force to a situation which already existed in theory. ILIndia takes this line, the Pakistanis are bound, at the very least, to invoke the United Nations. For the Indian part of Kashmir, whose accession to India would thus be effected, contains not merely the one million Hindus who would, in any plebiscite, vote for accession to India, but also the capital and surrounding districts where the population contains a large Moslem element.
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