<P> Pakistan, attempting to force the issue of Kashmir's accession, cut off supplies and transport links . The chaos in Punjab resulting from Partition had also severed transport links with India, meaning that Kashmir's only links with the two dominions was by air . Rumours about atrocities against the Muslim population of Poonch by the Maharajah's forces caused the outbreak of civil unrest . Shortly thereafter, Pathan tribesmen from the North - West Frontier Province of Pakistan crossed the border and entered Kashmir . The invaders made rapid progress towards Srinagar . The Maharaja of Kashmir wrote to India, asking for military assistance . India required the signing of an Instrument of Accession and setting up an interim government headed by Sheikh Abdullah in return . The Maharaja complied, but Nehru declared that it would have to be confirmed by a plebiscite, although there was no legal requirement to seek such confirmation . </P> <P> Indian troops secured Jammu, Srinagar and the valley itself during the First Kashmir War, but the intense fighting flagged with the onset of winter, which made much of the state impassable . Prime Minister Nehru, recognising the degree of international attention brought to bear on the dispute, declared a ceasefire and sought UN arbitration, arguing that India would otherwise have to invade Pakistan itself, in view of its failure to stop the tribal incursions . The plebiscite was never held, and on 26 January 1950, the Constitution of India came into force in Kashmir, but with special provisions made for the state . India did not, however, secure administrative control over all of Kashmir . The northern and western portions of Kashmir came under Pakistan's control in 1947, and are today Pakistan - administered Kashmir . In the 1962 Sino - Indian War, China occupied Aksai Chin, the north - eastern region bordering Ladakh, which it continues to control and administer . </P> <P> Hyderabad was a landlocked state that stretched over 82,000 square miles (over 212,000 square kilometres) in southeastern India . While 87% of its 17 million people were Hindu, its ruler Nizam Osman Ali Khan was a Muslim, and its politics were dominated by a Muslim elite . The Muslim nobility and the Ittehad - ul - Muslimeen, a powerful pro-Nizam Muslim party, insisted Hyderabad remain independent and stand on an equal footing to India and Pakistan . Accordingly, the Nizam in June 1947 issued a firman announcing that on the transfer of power, his state would be resuming independence . The Government of India rejected the firman, terming it a "legalistic claim of doubtful validity". It argued that the strategic location of Hyderabad, which lay astride the main lines of communication between northern and southern India, meant it could easily be used by "foreign interests" to threaten India, and that in consequence, the issue involved national - security concerns . It also pointed out that the state's people, history and location made it unquestionably Indian, and that its own "common interests" therefore mandated its integration into India . </P> <P> The Nizam was prepared to enter into a limited treaty with India, which gave Hyderabad safeguards not provided for in the standard Instrument of Accession, such as a provision guaranteeing Hyderabad's neutrality in the event of a conflict between India and Pakistan . India rejected this proposal, arguing that other states would demand similar concessions . A temporary Standstill Agreement was signed as a stopgap measure, even though Hyderabad had not yet agreed to accede to India . By December 1947, however, India was accusing Hyderabad of repeatedly violating the Agreement, while the Nizam alleged that India was blockading his state, a charge India denied . </P>

Which of these has never been the union minister of india