The Jammu and Kashmir Instrument of Accession is a legal document executed by Maharaja Hari Singh, ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, on 26 October 1947.
Parties
By executing an Instrument of Accession under the provisions of the Indian Independence Act 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh agreed to accede his state to the Dominion of India.
On 27 October 1947, the then Governor-General of India, Lord Mountbatten accepted the accession. In a letter sent to Maharaja Hari Singh on the same day, he said, "it is my Government's wish that as soon as law and order have been restored in Jammu and Kashmir and her soil cleared of the invader, the question of the State's accession should be settled by a reference to the people."
Pakistan governor-general Mohammad Ali Jinnah stated that the accession was "fraudulent", and that the Maharaja "betrayed" trust by acceding to India at a time when a standstill agreement signed as per his personal request to the Maharaja was still in force.
The accession to India is celebrated on Accession Day, which is held annually on 26 October.
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[[File:Kashmir Accessiuon document side 1.jpg|thumb|upright=1|P1.
Instrument of accession Kašmir]]
[[File:Kashmir Accessiuon document side 2.jpg|thumb|upright=1|P2.
Instrument of accession Kašmir]]
The text of the Instrument of Accession, excluding the schedule mentioned in its third point, is as follows: