HistoriCity | Kashmir: Before the conflict, a mystical, rich history of confluence and influences

According to PNK Bamzai (1910-2007), a Kashmiri historian, Greek accounts of Ptolemy refer to the region as Kaspeiria, while Herodotus, often referred to as the ‘Father of History’, has called it Kaspatrous.

In the 6th century, Hiuen Tsang, the Chinese traveller and Buddhist monk who hiked through Kashmir to India in search of Buddha’s teachings, left a detailed account of the region. Bamzai writes in Culture and Political History of Kashmir, “Hiuen Tsang mentions the names of several viharas and stupas whose identity has been now established with several ancient sites in Kashmir. His account of the climate and soil of the valley is as accurate as the description of the people who inhabited it. His narrative tells us that he left the valley in 633 AD by way of the Tosamaidan route and reached Puan-nu-tso Parnotsa of Kalhana or modern Poonch. Both Poonch and Rajpuri (modern Rajauri) were subject to Kashmir."

Like much of the rest of the Indian subcontinent, this mountainous region witnessed the growth of Buddhism during the reign of Mauryan emperor Ashoka (304-232 BCE). Bamzai writes, “The spread of Buddhism is an event of extraordinary importance in the history of that religion. Kashmir became the headquarters of the Mahayana-Sarvastivadin school. The influence of Kashmir was very marked, especially in the spread of Buddhism beyond India. It penetrated to Kandahar and Kabul, then to Bactria. Tibetan Buddhism also had its essential origin in Kashmir…”

According to the Buddhist tradition, the Kushan ruler Kanishka (127-151 CE) held the fourth Buddhist council in Kashmir, where major contemporary scholars such as Vasumitra, Ashvaghosha and others participated. Kashmir’s reputation as a centre of learning was cemented in the next few centuries.

We find in Kashmir the presence of Vishnu and Shiva worship, along with specific temples to Sun-god. Lalitaditya Muktapida (724-760 CE), a major king belonging to the Karkota dynasty, is credited with the construction of the iconic Martand sun temple, whose ruins show an architectural and sculptural amalgamation of Gandharan, Gupta and even Chinese influences. It was during the Karkota reign during the 7th and 8th centuries that the Kashmir region reached the zenith of prosperity and culture.

The Kuttanimata (Advice of a Procuress) by Damodargupta is believed to have been written in the 9th century during the reign of Jayapida Vinayditya and is a unique text providing glimpses of life in that remote past. According to the 11th-century account of Iranian scribe Al-Biruni, “The most generally known alphabet is called Siddhamâtṛikâ, which is by some considered as originating from Kashmîr, for the people of Kashmîr use it. But it is also used in Varânaṣî. This town and Kashmîr are the high schools of Hindu sciences”. Biruni didn’t travel to Kashmir himself but likely gathered information from his Hindu informants in the present-day region of Peshawar and Multan among other places.

The most elaborate account of the Kashmir region’s early medieval dynasties is contained in Rajataringini, a 12th-century work written by Kalhana, who lived during the reign of Jayasimha, a monarch of the Lohara dynasty. Despite trying, Mahmud of Ghazni failed to conquer the Kashmir region. As the reign of the Lohara dynasty (11th-13th CE) became more oppressive, Islam first established itself not through conquest but by the preaching of Sheikh Nooruddin Noorani who is revered as Nund Rishi by Hindus. He brought together Shaivism and Sufi mysticism along with Buddhist principles. However, during the reign of Sultan Sikandar Shah Miri (1389-1413 CE) or Sultan Butshikan, jiziya tax was imposed on non-Muslims.

The Mughals’s love for Kashmir began with Akbar who added it to the Kabul province of his fledgling empire in 1586 CE. Subsequent Mughal emperors have left behind a vast legacy and architectural heritage of palaces, gardens and mosques. Aurangzeb’s death in 1707 left a vacuum which was sought to be filled by local dynasties and erstwhile feudatories.

In Kashmir, it was the Afghan Durrani rulers who took advantage and ruled the fertile valley till 1819 when they were defeated by the Sikh kingdom. This localisation of power continued till the English rule established itself in the late 18th-19th centuries. The British ruled the continent with money and muscle. As part of this policy, they sold off kingdoms in return for revenue. In 1846, the English sold the Jammu and Kashmir province to Dogra kings following the First Anglo-Sikh war in 1845-46. The Dogras were earlier feudatories of Sikhs but now became independent kings of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Dogras played their cards well with the British and supported them during the revolt of 1857. Their rule is remembered for its rapacious taxation policies, depriving peasants of ownership rights and severe oppression of the majority–the Muslims, leading to discontent and defiance. On April 29, 1865, when weavers and shawl workers protested against Dogra repression in Srinagar, the administration opened fire killing more than two dozen people, marking arguably the first workers’ struggle anywhere in the world.

HistoriCity is a column by author Valay Singh that narrates the story of a city that is in the news, by going back to its documented history, mythology and archaeological digs. The views expressed are personal