The story of Kashmir is complex, woven with threads of historical, political, and cultural intricacies. It’s not just a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, but a saga involving myriad actors, each with their own narratives and stakes.
Beyond the two dominant nation-states and their respective religious narratives, there are the Kashmiri people, with diverse ethnic, religious, and political identities, yearning for their voice to be heard. Moreover, global powers and their geopolitical interests also play a role in this intricate drama.
In this series, we aim to unravel some of the complexities of the story of Kashmir and make you see the different sides of it. Let’s begin…
The Hindu Story:
The story of Kashmir is at least 5000 years old, if not more. It has multiple sides to it depending upon who is telling the story. What we see today is merely the manifestation of centuries-old clash of two major civilisations: Hindus and Muslims. It goes without saying that there is more to it: the Afghan invasion, the Buddhist invasion, the Dogra rule, the British and the Sikhs. But, if you scratch the surface and dig deeper, eventually you’d get to the heart of this and find the conflict between two civilisations.
Let’s start with the Hindus. Among the major religions today, Hindus were among the first people to have lived there. In fact, the very name Kashmir is derived from ancient Sanskrit word Kashmira. You would the mention of Kashmir on multiple occasions – sometimes as it is, sometimes with respect to some particular places in the valley. Even the major Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, tell the stories of Kashmir.
The philosophical roots of the whole conflict have important connections with a book called Rajatarangini. It was written in the 12th century CE by a Sanskrit scholar and historian Kalhana. Literally translated as ‘Flow of Kings’, Rajatarangini is a historical chronicle of early India, particularly of the northern part, and especially about the rulers of king.
Where is the problem in that?
Muslims fear that the book gives some kind of legitimacy — albeit a false one — to Hindu fundamentalists who claim that Kashmir belongs to Hindus. Hindus, on the other hand, use this history to support their case.
There was no religious conflict in Kashmir when this book was written in the 12th century as there were mostly Hindus in the valley. There were some Buddhists as they had ruled Kashmir for some time. And then, there were recently arrived Muslims from the west of Kashmir. One of them was Shah Mir who had come from Swat valley and was working in the courts of Kashmir. He later became the Prime Minister of Kashmir. During this time, as you can see, there were people from different faiths – all of which would soon write the destiny of Kashmir. The administration, the kingdom, the courts still functioned as per the Hindu customs.
This was the time when Turks were expanding their empire and were constantly raiding India. So, the rulers of the valley united and fought against the invaders. Eventually, they succeeded and Shah Mir became the Sultan of Kashmir. The Shahmiri Dynasty (1339-1561 C.E) ruled Kashmir for 222 years.
During this time (and later), the demographics of the valley changed. Some Hindu temples were desecrated. The language of the office was changed. And so did many of the customs along with the culture. As the Shahmiri dynasty was followed by the Mughal rule (1586-1751), Islam continued to grow. This was further followed by the Afghan Durrani empire (1747-1819). After which, the Sikhs, and then the Dogras ruled until 1947. Since then, Kashmir has been a disputed territory.
So, what does the Hindu narrative sound like? In simple words, something like this: Hindus lived in Kashmir. Muslims arrived. They changed the demographics, destroyed the ancient culture, and post India’s independence, due to growing insurgency, threw them out of their homes. Most of the Kashmiri Hindus today live in exile.
What about the Muslim story? We will find out in the next episode.
Recommended Books:
Kalampedia 