Nawab wants Musharraf to plead Junagadh's case

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JULY 11. As if the Kashmir dispute is not enough, the `Nawab of Junagadh' has sprung up from nowhere to claim that accession of Junagadh (now part of Rajasthan) to India is disputed and that Pakistan should not ignore the sentiments of the `subjects of Junagadh' as and when it takes up the issue with India.

Grandson of the princely state of Junagadh, Nawab Mohammad Jahangir Khanji, addressed a specially convened press conference today to remind Pakistan on `annexation' of the state of Junagadh by India immediately after independence and demand that as and when Pakistan takes up the dispute with India, it should not ignore the Nawab family as the `third party'.

The Nawab family that has migrated to Pakistan after Junagadh became part of India is now settled in Karachi. There is actually an `official residency of Nawab of Junagadh' in the port city with all the regality and grandeur. Nawab Mohammad Jahangir Khanji had come to the press briefing in the traditional dress and headgear of the royalty.

What was intriguing was the presence of some of the Lashkar-e- Taiba office-bearers at the briefing. In the course of the half- an-hour press meet, the Nawab sought to make a case for the international community and Pakistan to prevail upon India to honour the `Instruments of Accession of States Acceding to Pakistan' signed by his grandfather.

The case of Nawab was that his grandfather after taking the State Council and the Hindus in the region had opted to accede to Pakistan on September 15, 1947. But India decided to annex the state by force. He said Pakistan had filed a case in the United Nations against the ``Indian aggression on Junagadh soil, where the case is still lying pending before the United Nations to this day''. Junagadh continues to figure on the official map of Pakistan as part of its territory along Kashmir.

The local scribes wanted to know how unlike Kashmir where `millions have sacrificed their lives' in support of their right to self-determination, the people of Junagadh had quietly accepted the Indian `annexation'.

The Nawab's reply was that the `oppression and repression' from the Indian establishment was so high in Junagadh that the people had not been allowed to raise their heads. ``Believe me, gentlemen, the people of Junagadh are longing to see their Nawab back as their ruler''.

When journalists wanted to know if he was prepared for a Kashmir type of `jehad' in Junagadh, the Nawab said, ``I believe that the power of the pen is mightier than the sword. Here I am before you appealing it to bring to the notice of all concerned the plight of the people of Junagadh and liberate them from the clutches of India''.

The Nawab maintained that during the rule of his grandfather and his forefathers, the state of Junagadh was a land of honey and milk. ``My heart bleeds for the poor souls in Junagadh. Today they are reduced to travelling on bicycles and rickshaws. The Indian establishment has neglected the state so badly that there is hardly any development in the region''.

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