Considering the tragedy that accompanied the Partition of the subcontinent, many historians have blamed the British government, accusing it of presiding over an unfinished decolonisation. Such a reading undoubtedly enabled the leaders of the Congress and Muslim League to distract attention away from whatever part of the responsibility might be laid at their door. The British diplomatic archives and other documents of that period make it clear that the Raj faced an extremely troubled period, while inter-communal antagonism augured badly for peace. As for the decision makers of the Muslim League and Congress, the Partition doubtless appeared inevitable. 

The India Office Records recently opened to the public reports which the last Viceroy of British India, Lord Louis Mountbatten sent to London, when he was presiding over the departure of the colonial administration. These documents offer a much more nuanced view of the role of Her Majesty’s government during the final weeks of the Raj. They will undoubtedly provoke intense debate among researchers of the subcontinent. 

This research will look at the tribal invasion of Jammu and Kashmir, and thus, the birth of a dispute that continues to pit the Pakistani and Indian states against one another. First, it will address the question of viability of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, while India, seeking to achieve what it called its territorial unity, was quick to portray princes as despots whose people lived in subjugation. In a second step, the study will return to the circumstances of the tribal invasion and Indian and Pakistani discourse. Lastly, the settlement that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) attempted to reach will be discussed.  The UN body quickly lost interest in an arbitration that New Delhi did not want, forcing Pakistan, worried by the Indian threat, to consider other strategies to contain its much larger neighbour.