Srinagar, June 22 :
Accepting that the Instrument of Accession (IOA) of Jammu and Kashmir with Indian Union is available for public scrutiny, officials at National Archives of India have said the document was transferred to it by the Home Ministry in year 2010.
“The document (original IOA) in question has been transferred by the Ministry of Home Affairs to the National Archives of Inda in 2010”, said Jayaprabha Ravindran the Assistant Director of Archives in reply to an RTI query filed by RTI activist Advocate Irfan Hafeez Lone.
“You are most welcome to visit the National Archives of India to ascertain the information and take copies of documents”, read a reply to a question whether the copies of IOA and the 1846 Treaty of Amritsar can be provided to the RTI activist.
“National Archives of India has a treaty signed between the British and Maharaja Gulab Singh of Jammu dated 16 March 1846 in its custody”, added the officer in reply to a specific question.
The National Archives of India (NIA) has also confirmed that the signatures of Lord Mountbatten and Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir are affixed on the Instrument of Accession. However, the authorities at the NAI have expressed ignorance about a 1945 news report suggesting that the IOA had gone missing.
“NAI has the instrument of accession signed by the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir in its custody and no information on the news report is available among the records”, the reply read.
The Central Government agency has also expressed its ignorance on whether the J&K Government was provided the Instrument of Accession. “As per preliminary search, no information is available with the National Archives of India on this issue”, the NAI officer said. (KNS)
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