Foreign relations of India
India's relations with the world have evolved since the British Raj (1857–1947), when the British Empire monopolised external and defence relations. When India gained independence in 1947, few Indians had experience in making or conducting foreign policy. However, the country's oldest political party, the Indian National Congress, had established a small foreign department in 1925 to make overseas contacts and to publicise its independence struggle. From the late 1920s on, Jawaharlal Nehru, who had a long-standing interest in world affairs among independence leaders, formulated the Congress stance on international issues. As a member of the interim government in 1946, Nehru articulated India's approach to the world.
Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir
India gained its independence from the United Kingdom on midnight of 15 August 1947 IST, and simultaneously Pakistan was created as a new country as a result of the partition of India. Jammu and Kashmir, then a princely state under suzerainty of British Monarch, and ruled by the Maharaja Hari Singh tried to avoid declaring his state's accession to either of the two dominions at the time of independence (although that was not an option under the Indian Independence Act, 1947). A Muslim majority state ruled by Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh (then the ruler of the state), government of the state signed a standstill agreement with Pakistan. However, on 6 October 1947, Pakistani Muslim tribes, supported by the government of Pakistan, attacked Jammu and Kashmir on the behest of Pakistan to achieve forcible accession to Pakistan. Maharaja Hari Singh requested assistance from India, and when India requested an Instrument of Accession to India, Maharaja signed it so that India could help in defense.