1947 Gilgit rebellion

1947 coup d'etat by the Gilgit Scouts yes April 2024 Infobox 1947 Gilgit rebellion(Operation Datta Khel) Gilgit, Jammu and Kashmir the Kashmir conflict and Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 Gilgit Scouts during Gilgit Rebellion.jpg Gilgit Scouts raising the Pakistani flag during Operation Datta KhelBrown 2014 Appendix I August 1947 – 16 November 1947Brown 2014 Appendix I British India army Gilgit Scouts Flag of Hunza.svg Princely State of HunzaBrown 2014 Chapter 4 : The Coup D’état (October to November 1947)Nagar State Flag.png Princely State of NagarBrown 2014 Chapter 4 : The Coup D’état (October to November 1947) Supported by:Pakistan PakistanSingh 1990 239-240 Flag of Jammu and Kashmir (1936-1953).svg Jammu and Kashmir State ForcesSingh 1990 239 Flag of Jammu and Kashmir (1936-1953).svg 6th Jammu and Kashmir Infantry Flag of Jammu and Kashmir (1936-1953).svg Sikh Company Flag of Jammu and Kashmir (1936-1953).svg Muslim Company Pakistan victoryBrown 2014 Chapter 5: The End Game (November 1947 to January 1948) Hari Singh loses control over Gilgit and surrounding areasSingh 1990 239-240 Pro-Pakistan Government is setup in Gilgit and surrounding regionsBrown 2014 Appendix I : Singh 1990 240 William BrownRoger BaconA. S. MathiesonMirza Hassan Khan Hari Singh Majid KhanSingh 1990 239Ghansara Singh Tikoo, Tej (2013). 1947–48 Indo-Pak War: Fall of Gilgit and Siege and Fall of Skardu. " With practically nothing or no one available to defend his position Brig Ghansara Singh surrendered and was immediately put under arrest" *Gilgit Baltistan declares independence from Jammu and Kashmir Gilgit accedes to Pakistan In November 1947, the paramilitary force of Gilgit Scouts stationed at Gilgit rebelled against the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, soon after it acceded to the Indian Union. Under the command of a British officer Major William Brown, they executed a coup d'etat, overthrew the governor Ghansara Singh, and imprisoned him. The Muslim troops of Jammu and Kashmir State Forces stationed at Bunji joined in the rebellion under the command of Captain Mirza Hassan Khan, imprisoned their own commander Colonel Abdul Majid, and eliminated the non-Muslim troops. A provisional government was declared under a local chief Shah Rais Khan, which lasted for about two weeks. On 16 November, a Pakistani political agent Khan Mohammad Alam Khan arrived and took over the administration.Bangash 2010 Background In August 1947, there was a rumour in Gilgit that the government of the Jammu and Kashmir was making plans to disband the Gilgit Scouts, which caused the 'disciplined and secular Scouts' to oppose the government.Warikoo K. Himalayan Frontiers of India: Historical, Geo-Political and Strategic Perspectives Taylor & Francis Routledge Contemporary South Asia Series 2009 978-1-134-03294-5 https://books.google.com/books?id=w_Z8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 60 Gilgit's population did not favour the State's accession to India. The Muslims of the frontier ilaqas (Gilgit and the adjoining hill states) had wanted to join Pakistan.Bangash 2010 William Alexander Brown was a British officer who was entrusted the task of directing the Gilgit Scouts, a paramilitary force under the control of Gilgit Agency. As per the plan of the partition of erstwhile India, the princely states had the option of either joining Pakistan or India. Hari Singh, the maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir was in a conundrum to join either dominions. After the Pakistani tribal invasion on 22 October 1947, he signed the Instrument of Accession to India, acceding to it. Brown urged the governor of Gilgit Agency to join Pakistan as the majority of local population was Muslim.June 2026 Planning Major Brown was mindful of the anti-maharaja sentiments among the people of Gilgit. Sensing their resentment, Major Brown organised a coup on 1 November 1947, overthrowing the Governor, Ghansara Singh. The soft coup d'etat and takeover of the region was planned by Brown to the last detail under the code name Operation Datta Khel.Brown 2014 Chapter 3: The Gathering Storm Major Brown is also credited to have come to rescue Hindu population in Gilgit from being harmed. He acted to prevent bloodshed and took some personal risk in doing so. The local populace of Gilgit supported the tribal fighters as they were eager to force the Dogras rule out of Gilgit.June 2026 Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan countenanced an intrusion of the princely state, by Major Khurshid Anwar in the north and a force led by the ex-Indian National Army personnel in the south, which eventually led to the First Kashmir War between India and Pakistan, and the formation of Azad Kashmir provisional government.Snedden Christopher Christopher Snedden The forgotten Poonch uprising of 1947 http://www.india-seminar.com/2013/643/643_christopher_snedden.htm India-seminar Brown was assisted by his second-in-command, Captain A. S. Mathieson.KO 2015-07-28 Why India Insists on Keeping Gilgit Baltistan Firmly in the Kashmir Equation https://kashmirobserver.net/2015/07/28/why-india-insists-on-keeping-gilgit-baltistan-firmly-in-the-kashmir-equation/ https://web.archive.org/web/20230222112206/https://kashmirobserver.net/2015/07/28/why-india-insists-on-keeping-gilgit-baltistan-firmly-in-the-kashmir-equation/ 2023-02-22 2026-08-23 Kashmir Observer en-USWho Is Responsible for the Gilgit-Baltistan Dispute? https://thediplomat.com/2017/03/who-is-responsible-for-the-gilgit-baltistan-dispute/ 2026-08-23 en-US Coup d'etat The governor, Ghansara Singh, refused the manifesto. Brown, along with his group of local personnel of the Gilgit Scouts, executed a bloodless coup d'état and took control over the region. Taken into custody, Singh was banished to Kashmir.June 2026 On November 2, the Pakistani flag was raised on the old tower in the Gilgit Scout Lines, under the command of Major Brown.Schofield 2003 64 After taking control of Gilgit, the Gilgit Scouts along with Azad irregulars moved towards Baltistan and Ladakh and captured Skardu after a lengthy siege by May 1948. They successfully blocked the Indian reinforcements and subsequently captured Dras and Kargill as well, cutting off the Indian communications to Leh in Ladakh. The Indian forces mounted an offensive in Autumn 1948 and recaptured all of Kargil district. Baltistan region, however, came under Gilgit control.June 2026 On 12 January 1948, the authority was handed over to Colonel Aslam Khan, the first local commander of the Gilgit Scouts, under the command of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir provisional government.Schofield 2003 64 Major William Brown, though claiming to act independently, was covertly supported by certain British individuals sympathetic to Pakistan, notably with Col. Bacon serving as a liaison with the Pakistani government during the Gilgit coup of 1947. While not officially sanctioned by the British government, the King later honored Brown with an OBE, suggesting tacit approval of his actions. India was shocked by the loss of Gilgit, especially as British officials like Governor Cunningham failed to recognize maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India. Mountbatten’s advice to Nehru to approach the UN, instead of pursuing military action, resulted in the internationalisation of the Kashmir issue and the permanent loss of Gilgit to Pakistan.June 2026 Aftermath thumb|right|280px|Gilgit Agency at the northern periphery of Jammu and KashmirThe provisional government persisted for 16 days. According to the historian Yaqub Khan Bangash, it was short of sway over the population. The Gilgit Coup did not have civilian involvement and was the work of military leaders, not all of whom had been in favor of joining Pakistan, at least in the short term. Historian Ahmed Hasan Dani says that although there had been a scarcity of public participation in the coup, pro-Pakistan sentiments were intense in the civilian population and their anti-Kashmiri sentiments were also clear. According to various scholars, the people of Gilgit as well as those of Chilas, Koh Ghizr, Ishkoman, Yasin, Punial, Hunza and Nagar joined Pakistan by choice.Yaqoob Khan Bangash A Princely Affair: The Accession and Integration of the Princely States of Pakistan Oxford University Press 2015 9780199066490 Karachi, PakistanBangash Yaqoob Khan 9 January 2016 Gilgit-Baltistan—part of Pakistan by choice The Express Tribune http://tribune.com.pk/story/1024253/gilgit-baltistan-part-of-pakistan-by-choice/ 5 January 2017 Nearly 70 years ago, the people of the Gilgit Wazarat revolted and joined Pakistan of their own free will, as did those belonging to the territories of Chilas, Koh Ghizr, Ishkoman, Yasin and Punial; the princely states of Hunza and Nagar also acceded to Pakistan. Hence, the time has come to acknowledge and respect their choice of being full-fledged citizens of Pakistan. The Government of Azad Kashmir handed over the administration of Gilgit-Baltistan to the federal government under the Karachi Agreement.Sahni Paul https://books.google.com/books?id=w_Z8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA42 Himalayan Frontiers of India: Historical, Geo-Political and Strategic K. Warikoo 2009 9780203887325 67–77 See also Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 Siege of Skardu 1947 Poonch rebellion Battle of Thorgo Battle of Pandu Stand Down Order (1947) Kashmir conflict Notes References Bibliography Bangash Yaqoob Khan 2010 Three Forgotten Accessions: Gilgit, Hunza and Nagar The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 38 1 117–143 10.1080/03086530903538269 Dani Ahmad Hasan Ahmad Hasan Dani History of Northern Areas of Pakistan: Upto 2000 A.D. https://books.google.com/books?id=MOltAAAAMAAJ 2001 Sang-e-Meel Publications 978-969-35-1231-1 Dani, History of Northern Areas of Pakistan 2001 Dani Ahmad Hasan History of Northern Areas of Pakistan 2nd http://pahar.in/pahar/1991-history-of-northern-areas-of-pakistan-by-dani-s-pdf/ pahar.in 1991 — National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research Dani, History of Northern Areas of Pakistan 1991 Dani Ahmad Hasan History of Northern Areas of Pakistan 1989 — National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research Islamabad https://archive.org/details/kululahoul0000bruc archive.org Dani, History of Northern Areas of Pakistan 1989 Brown William https://books.google.com/books?id=53BtBQAAQBAJ Gilgit Rebelion The Major Who Mutinied Over Partition of India 2014 Pen & Sword Books 9781473841123 En Singh K. Brahma https://books.google.com/books?id=psTeAAAAMAAJ&q=History%20of%20Jammu%20Kashmir%20rifles History of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, 1820–1956 The State Force Background Lancer International 1990 9788170620914 en Victoria Schofield Victoria Schofield Kashmir in Conflict I. B. Taurus & Co London and New York 2003 First published in 2000 978-1860648984 https://archive.org/details/00book584554548 64 Category:Military operations of the India–Pakistan war of 1947–1948 Category:Uprisings of the Kashmir conflict Category:History of Gilgit Agency Rebellion, 1947 Category:Jammu and Kashmir State Forces Category:Battles involving the Rajputs Category:August 1947 in Asia Category:September 1947 in Asia Category:October 1947 in Asia