Jammu and Kashmir - History
Kashmir, if literally translated, means land desiccated from water: “Ka” (the water) and shimeera (to desiccate). Tradition says that Kashmir was originally a lake that was drained by the great saint of ancient India Kashyap. It was included in the empire of Ashoka Maurya who is credited with the foundation of the city of Srinagar around the year 250 BC.
Jammu is the Duggar land where the past still has a living presence. A land of grand ancient temples, and beatiful palaces. All nestling in the foothills of the Himalayas. The name of Jammu figures in the Mahabharata. Recent findings of Harappan remains and artifacts of Mauryan, Kushan and Gupta periods at Akhnoor have added new dimensions to its ancient character.
It may be stated that while plenty of material describing the geological evolution, early history, geographic, political, cultural and economic changes witnessed in the past by the valley of Kashmir is available, the ancient history of Jammu province is shrouded in mystery due to the non-availability of even a single chronicle which could throw some light on the happenings of the period prior to 18th century.
Jammu is justly famous for its temples. In fact it is known as the city of temples and the every fame of its tends to overshadow its palaces, forts, forests and powerful ziarats. If Bahu Mata is the presiding deity of Jammu, the dargah of Peer Budhan Ali Shah is the other shrine that protects Jammuites. The other major tourist attraction is the Ragunath Temple Complex. Maharaja Gulab Singh began the construction of the Raghunath Mandir Complex in the crowded downtown Bazaar named after it, in 1851. It was left to his son, Ranbir Singh, to inaugurate it six years later perhaps the most popular temple north of Benares, it contains representations of almost entire Hindu pantheon, though the emphasis falls on the various incarnations of Lord Vishnu. The complex houses a rich collection of ancient texts and manuscripts.
Raja Jambu Lochan, who lived in the later vedic period, decided to found his capital, Jambupura, on his soil, on the right bank of the Tawi, overlooking his brother king Bahu’s fort. It is said that, on becoming King, the Suryavanshi Jambu Lochan went on a hunt and, crossing the Tawi, found a deer and a tiger drinking water from the same tank. His ministers explained that this meant that the soil of the place was so virtuous that no living creature bore enmity against another.
Today the temple of Maha Kali ( better known as Bahu or Bawey Wali Mata), located in the Bahufort, is considered second only to Mata Vaishno Devi in terms of mystical power. The present temple was built shortly after the coronation of Maharaja Gulab singh, in 1822. The existing fort, as well as the Manasabdar’s palace inside it, was constructed in 1820.
According to the most popular legend that is also recorded in Rajtarangani and Nilmat Purana, two most authoritative books, Kashmir was once a large lake and it was Kashyap Rishi who drained it off the water, making it a beautiful abode. But geologists have their own theory, which says that geographical changes made way for the outflow of water by subsidence of the mountain at Khadianayar, Baramulla and thus emerged the Valley of Kashmir, the paradise on earth. Ashoka introduced Buddhism to Kashmir in the 3rd century B.C., which was later strengthened by Kanishka. Huns got the control of the valley in the early 6th century.
The Valley regained freedom in 530 AD but soon came under the rule of the Ujjain Empire. After the decline of the Vikramaditya dynasty, the valley had its own rulers. There was a synthesis of Hindu and Buddhist cultures. Lalitaditya (697-738 A.D.) extended his rule up to Bengal in the east, Konkan in the south, Turkistan in the northwest and Tibet in the northeast. Considered as the most famous Hindu ruler, Lalitaditya was known for constructing beautiful buildings.
The 7th Century AD witnessed the establishment of a dynasty called the Karkota whose foundation stone was laid by Durlabhavarrdhana. The most famous ruler of this dynasty was Lalitaditya Muktapid who built the world famous sun temple (Martand) in Kashmir. The Karkotas were supplemented by the Utpalas in 855 AD. The most important ruler of this dynasty was Avanti-verman. He recovered Kashmir from utter political and economic disorder into which Kashmir had fallen during the rule of his predecessors. Didda, a Gupta widowed queen, ruled Kashmir until 1003 AD when the Lohara dynasty took over. The last Hindu ruler of Kashmir was Udyan Dev. His Chief Queen Kota Rani was the de-facto ruler of the kingdom. With her death in 1339 the Hindu rule in Kashmir came to an end and thus was established the Muslim rule in Kashmir under Sultan Shamas-ud-din-whose dynasty ruled the valley for 222 years.
The greatest ruler of this dynasty was undoubtedly Sultan Zain-ul-Abdin. Under his rule, Kashmir was culturally and politically at its zenith. He was essentially a man of secular out-look and patronized all faiths and religions alike. He made Kashmir the centre of a great culture and worked hard to promote learning and to build up the economy of the people. Badshah was not anxious for the expansion of his dominion but was equally reluctant to part with the territories which belonged to Kashmir and were of a strategic importance.
The Chiefs of Ladakh and Baltistan who had acknowledged their allegiance to Shahab-ud-Din and Sikandar his predecessors had, however, declared themselves independent during the weak rule of Ali Shah. He, therefore, set out with his army and made a Bumlde IV, Raja of Ladakh, to recognize his sovereignty. The ruler of Baltistan also followed suit and surrendered. He next captured the town of Kulu which was till then in the possession of Ladakhis. After these achievements, Badhshah proceeded to subdue the ruler of Ohind who had also declared himself independent during the reign of Ali Shah. As before, the ruler of Ohind was defeated and agreed to acknowledge the sovereignty of the king of Kashmir. Badshah also exchanged embassies with various foreign countries. In particular, he deputed his envoys to Khurasan, Egypt, Mecca, Rukh, son of Timur, were most cordial.
Budshah took a series of measures for development of Agriculture trade and Commerce. He constructed many irrigation canals. As a result of these works and the reclamation of vast areas, Kashmir became self-sufficient in food. According to Moorcroft, Kashmir produced as much as 5.50 lakh tons of rice per year during the time of Badshah. The Kingdom was annexed into the Mughal Empire in 1586. In 1757 Kashmir came under the control of Ahmed Shah Durrani, the Afghan who invaded India many times.
During the 12th century, Rajputs of Jammu province and carved out separate estates and principalities in Jammu Province, such as, Jammu, Kishtwar, Bhaderwah, Basholi, Reasi etc. which they ruled as independent sovereigns. Except the fact that the city of Jammu was founded by Raja Jamboo Lochan who lived in 9th century AD, very little information is available about the successive regimes which swayed the different regions of the province from time to time.
Islam came to Kashmir during 13th and 14th century AD Zain-ul-Abedin (1420-70) was the most famous Muslim ruler, who came to Kashmir when the Hindu king Sinha Dev fled before the Tatar invasion. Later Chaks overran Haider Shah, son of Zain-ul-Abedin. They continued to rule till 1586 when Akbar conquered Kashmir.
From all available information, it appears that the first Raja of Dogra dynasty, named Agnivarna settled at Parol near Kathua and his son subsequently extended his domination as far west as Jammu Tawi. Four other Rajas followed in succession and two of the sons of the fifth Raja Agnigarbha, named Bahu Lochana and Jamboo Lochana, are said to have founded the Bahu Fort and the Jammu town respectively. With the installation of Sikh rule in Punjab, however, Jammu and all other adjoining areas were annexed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh with his territories.
Raja Ranjit Dev, son of Dhruv Dev, proclaimed himself as the ruler of the principality of Jammu in 1730 AD. In 1752, Kashmir passed on from the feeble control of the Mughal emperor of the time to Ahmed Shah Abdali of Afghanistan. The Valley was ruled by the Pathans for 67 years. The land of Jammu was divided into 22 hill principalities. Raja Maldev, one of the Dogra rulers, conquered many territories to consolidate his kingdom. Raja Ranjit Dev ruled over Jammu from 1733 to 1782. His successors were weak, and thus Maharaja Ranjit Singh annexed the territory to Punjab. He later handed over Jammu to Raja Gulab Singh, a scion of the old Dogra ruling family, who had grown powerful among Ranjit Singh's governors and had annexed almost the whole Jammu region. The State was governed by Dogra rulers till 1947, when the Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession in favour of the Indian Union on 26 October, 1947.
In 1819 Kashmir was annexed by Ranjit Singh and made a part of his Sikh empire. The two Anglo-Sikh wars fought between the Sikhs and Ranjit Singh resulted in the complete extinction of the Sikh sovereignty in Kashmir. The British gave away Kashmir to Ghulab Singh for the sum of 75 lakhs of rupees under the Treaty of Amritsar. He extended his territory by annexing Ladakh. Ghulab Singh died in 1857 and was replaced by Ranbir Singh (1857-1885). Two other Marajahs, Partab Singh (1885-1925) and Hari Singh ruled in succession. Maharaja Sir Hari Singh ascended the throne in 1925. He continued to govern the state till 1950.
In 1932 Kashmir’s first political party-all Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference was formed by Sheikh Abdullah. The party was later renamed the National Conference in 1939 and continues to be a major political party in Kashmir today. After Indian Independence in 1947, the ruler of the princely state of Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh, refused to accede to either India or Pakistan. When Pakistan invaded Kashmir in the following year, the ruler of Kashmir sought help from the Indian government and agreed to place Kashmir under the dominion of India.
The accession of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir to India took place in terms of the India Independence Act. The Act provided that the rulers of the princely states had to take the final decision whether they wished to join India or Pakistan. There was no provision in the Act for any recourse to ascertaining the wishes of the people. These were the terms under which other princely states also acceded to India or Pakistan.
While the signatory to the offer of accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India was the ruler of the state, Maharaja Hari Singh, Sheikh Abdullah, a Muslim, and the acknowledged political leader of the State, endorsed the decision. His rationale for endorsing the accession was ".if we accede to India there is no danger of a revival of feudalism and autocracy. Moreover, during the last four years, the Government of India has never tried to interfere in our internal autonomy. This experience has strengthened our confidence in them as a democratic State. … The Indian Constitution has amply and finally repudiated the concept of a religious State, which is a throwback to medievalism, by guaranteeing the equality of rights of all citizens irrespective of their religion, colour, caste and class. The national movement in our State naturally gravitates towards these principles of secular democracy. The people here will never accept a principle which seeks to favour the interests of one religion or social group against another. This affinity in political principles, as well as in past association, and our common path of suffering in the cause of freedom, must he weighed properly while deciding the future of the State...”
In order to force the Maharaja to accede to Pakistan , Pakistan engineered the so called tribal raids in 1947 and seized part of the territory of Jammu and Kashmir. They were organized and coordinated by the Government of Pakistan as detailed by the Pakistan Army Officer Akbar Khan , who was in charge of the tribal lashkars and who gives full details of the operational plan in his book " Raiders in Kashmir” "..".... I wrote out a plan under the title " Armed Revolt inside Kashmir” . As open interference or aggression by Pakistan was obviously not desirable it was proposed that our efforts should be concentrated upon strengthening the Kashmiris internally -- and .. to prevent arrival of armed civilian or military assistance from India into Kashmir...”
In 1956 Kashmir was integrated into the Indian Union under a new Constitution. However, PoK Kashmir continued to be under occupation of Pakistan. Following the Soviet Union's withdrawal from Afghanistan, Pakistan decided to use the Mujahideen to foment trouble in Jammu and Kashmir. In ‘ Fateh’ the biography of the former Chief of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence, General Akhtar Abdul Rehman his biographer Brigadier Haroon Rashid states "...The plan which General Akhtar Abdul Rehman had made for Kashmiris movement for independence was to come into effect in 1991. It appears that this plan was made with the struggle for the liberation of Afghanistan in mind, which it was though would be achieved by spring 1989.... However the Kashmir plan was inaugurated in 1984.. The Kashmiris were provided with some arms which were not suitable for the Afghan Mujahideen …"
Pakistan has all along denied that any terrorist groups operate from its soil and had even been insisting that the Lashkar e Taiba , the Harkat ul Mujahideen and the Jaish e Mohammed were Kashmiri outfits with no presence in Pakistan. This was contrary to the evidence as has now been proved by the Pakistani crackdown on these groups.
Kashmir was a tourist’s paradise during the 1970’s and early 1980’s. However tourism in Kashmir declined during the late 1980’s and 1990’s, due to disturbances. The situation has improved and it is hoped that peace will return to Kashmir-followed by tourists, who remember its beautiful parks, Rolling Meadows, spectacular mountains and scenic destinations with nostalgia.
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