YouTube hosts a wonderful array of newsreels from Kashmir in the late 1940s - some propaganda assemblages and others as made and broadcast at the time. There's a selection of these videos here.
This wonderful Pathe newsreel dates from 1948 andincludes shots of both the men's and women's militia (the latter more accurately the Women's Self Defence Corps) parading and being inspected by Nehru during a visit to Srinagar. This is likely to date from early May when there was a week of celebrations of Kashmir's 'independence', meaning the ending of princely rule. The commentary goes as follows:
'The people of Kashmir celebrate newly won independence. They are rejoicing at the cutting of the maharajah's oppressive powers, tempered by the realisation that Kashmir is the stumbling block to peace between India, represented here by prime minister Pandit Nehru, and Pakistan, who sent no representative. The frontier battles have been going on incessantly, and the war that has even put the women of their state under arms occupies the minds of all on this independence day.
'Addressing the crowd, Pandit Nehru speaks of the plebiscite by which Kashmir will be able to affirm its accession to the Indian Dominion, It was this provisional union that last year precipitated the frontier incidents. As in the world's trouble centres. it's the fanaticism which makes soldiers of women which defies solution by the peacemakers.
'A UNO commission is now on its way to the valley of Kashmir, the scenic beauty of which is world famous. Hopes of a settlement seem dim for in a country where even young boys are put in uniform and given arms, peace must remain remote.
'A river procession is the climax to the seven-day long celebration. The frontier war recedes as Pandit Nehru accompanied by Sheikh Abdullah, Kashmir's prime minister, says farewell to the people of India's youngest state. If the fighting spreads to this peaceful valley, Hopes of Indian unity will - '
This wonderful Pathe newsreel dates from 1948 andincludes shots of both the men's and women's militia (the latter more accurately the Women's Self Defence Corps) parading and being inspected by Nehru during a visit to Srinagar. This is likely to date from early May when there was a week of celebrations of Kashmir's 'independence', meaning the ending of princely rule. The commentary goes as follows:
'The people of Kashmir celebrate newly won independence. They are rejoicing at the cutting of the maharajah's oppressive powers, tempered by the realisation that Kashmir is the stumbling block to peace between India, represented here by prime minister Pandit Nehru, and Pakistan, who sent no representative. The frontier battles have been going on incessantly, and the war that has even put the women of their state under arms occupies the minds of all on this independence day.
'Addressing the crowd, Pandit Nehru speaks of the plebiscite by which Kashmir will be able to affirm its accession to the Indian Dominion, It was this provisional union that last year precipitated the frontier incidents. As in the world's trouble centres. it's the fanaticism which makes soldiers of women which defies solution by the peacemakers.
'A UNO commission is now on its way to the valley of Kashmir, the scenic beauty of which is world famous. Hopes of a settlement seem dim for in a country where even young boys are put in uniform and given arms, peace must remain remote.
'A river procession is the climax to the seven-day long celebration. The frontier war recedes as Pandit Nehru accompanied by Sheikh Abdullah, Kashmir's prime minister, says farewell to the people of India's youngest state. If the fighting spreads to this peaceful valley, Hopes of Indian unity will - '
The video that follows appears to be five minutes of mute out-takes (with some repetitions) filmed at the same time as the previous item - and including Nehru, Sheikh Abdullah, Indian troops, the men's and women's militia, and some brief shots of the maharajah and of Begum Abdullah.
These are wonderful images - but of course the individuals are not identified. With the help of veterans and historians, we have managed to name some of the featured members of the militia. Grabs from the newsreel are posted below. If you can help identify any others, or have information or observations, do please either comment on this post or get in touch using the contact form below:
Kaushalya Kaul
From the left: Freda Bedi, Krishna Misri, Indu Pandit
Vimla Atri
Sajjida Zameer Ahmed nee Malik talking to Nehru
Sajjida Zameer on the far left, others unidentified
A member of the militia with the symbol of the National Conference on his cap
Perhaps members of the Cultural Front
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