*For those on secular dope ,a dose of history
First Migration of Kashmiri Hindus*
In AD 1339, after defeating Kota Rani by a foul strategem and procuring her death, Shahmir ascended the throne of Kashmir under the name of Sultan Shamas-ud-Din (The Light of the Religion - Islam).
*He got khutaba read and the coins struck to his name. Islam became the court religion*.
*Under the influence of Bulbul Shah and Shahmir, he converted to Islam along with 10,000 Brahmins. This resulted in the emergence of a Muslim ruling class for the first time. What followed, was a reign of terror on the Hindus who did not convert*.
Shahmir became the author and architect of Muslim rule in Kashmir.
*With the establishment of the new regime Muslim missionaries, preachers, sayyids and saints penetrated into the Valley. Sayyid Jalal-ud-Din, Sayyid Taj-ud-Din, Sayyid Hussain Simnani, Sayyid Masud and Sayyid Yusuf came to Kashmir to avoid the intended massacre by Timur*.
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*Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani (Shah Hamadan) entered Kashmir with 700 sayyids; and, his son, Mir Muhammad Hamadani, with 300 more. They endured in the Valley under royal protection and disseminated the message of Islam*.
*He tried to revive orthodoxy and gifted his book Zakhirat-ul-Mulk to Sultan Qutub-ud-Din (1373-1389 CE). , this discourse on political ethics and government rules also described the 21 most demeaning conditions that are recommended to be enforced upon non-Muslim subjects by Muslim rulers*.
He came to Kashmir for the first time during the reign of Sultan Shihab-ud-din in 1372 and stayed here for a brief period of four months. Sultan Qutubudin (brother of Sultan Shahabuddin) welcomed the second visit of Hamdani in 1379 A.D This time Hamdani was accompanied by 700 members who assisted him in establishing mosques, seminaries, and centers of preaching across the length and breadth of the valley. This visit was thus a landmark in the dissemination of Islam.
After spending two years, he went back to Turkistan via Ladakh, but again visited the valley in 1383 A.D with the intenton to stay for long but had to return earlier on account of illness and died in Kunar Afganistan .
His remains were taken to Kolab in Khatlan (Tajikistan) and buried there. He succeeded in extending the movement of the Islam to the nook and corner of the Kashmir.
*Before leaving Kashmir, he deputed his son Mir Muhammad Hamdani to take forward the sacred mission of faith of Islam. Mir Muhammad Hamdani later institutionalized the Islamic mission in Kashmir. He supervised the construction of, Khankah e Maula ( built on Kali Temple ) (Srinagar), Khankah e Faizpanah (Tral), Khankah-I-Aala (Pulwama), Khanqah, (Wachi Shopian) which played a instrumental role in the spread of Islam in Kashmir*.
*Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani (AD 1314-AD 1385) wrote in “ Zakhirat’ul Maluk ”* :
1. Muslim ruler shall not allow fresh constructions of Hindu temples and shrines for image worship.
2. No repair shall be executed to the existing Hindu temples and shrines.
3. They shall not proffer Muslim names.
4. They shall not ride a harnessed horse.
5. They shall not move about with arms.
6. They shall not wear rings with diamonds.
7. They shall not deal in or eat bacon.
8. They shall not exhibit idolatrous images.
9. They shall not built houses in the neighbourhood of Muslims.
10. They shall not dispose of their dead in the neighbourhood of Muslim graveyards, nor weep or wail over their dead.
11. They shall not deal in or buy Muslim slaves.
12. No Muslim traveller shall be refused lodging in the Hindu temples and shrines where he shall be treated as a guest for three days by non-Muslims.
13. No non-Muslim shall act as a spy in the Muslim state.
14. No problem shall be created for those non-Muslims who, of their own will, show their readiness for Islam.
15. Non-Muslims shall honour Muslims and shall leave their assembly whenever the Muslims enter the premises.
16. The dress of non-Muslims shall be different from that of Muslims to distinguish themselves.
The first thing done by the Sufi Saint was to build his khanquah after demolishing Kali temple, as mentioned in the Baharistan-i-Shahi.
Dr. Farooq Peer writes,
*The Valley of Kashmir is indebted to the great saint for cleaning it from idol worship and blessing it with the gift of Islam*
*Sultan Sikandar (1389-1413 CE), also known as Butshikan or iconoclast, was deeply influenced by Sufi Syed Hamadani. He attempted to establish Sharia with the help of Sufi Syed Ali Hamadani’s son, Sufi Mir Mohammad (Amir Sayyid Muhammad) and Saif-ud-Din (a newly converted Brahmin). The Muslim historian Hasan describes this period as an orgy of cruelty, violence and terror let loose on the Brahmins*.
*The credit of wiping out the vestiges of infidelity and heresy from the mirror of the conscience of the dwellers of these lands,” goes to the holy Sufi saint Sayyid Muhammad, notes Baharistan-i-Shahi*.
Hindu festivals, rituals, processions and music were banned. Even application of tilaks was not allowed. Jizya tax was levied and an institute called Sheikh-o-Islam was made to ensure that Islam is followed strictly. Srivara, a historian of Kashmir, records, referring to the destruction of literature, *Sikander burnt all books the same wise as fire burns hay*. Traditional arts that did not find any place in the Islamic scheme of things were ruined. Grand ancient mandirs and viharas, and murtis of the finest possible workmanship were destroyed. The riches were used to build mosques and khanqahs. The temple of Martand, which was of great significance to the Hindu civilization, was destroyed by digging deep into its foundations, removing the foundational stones, filling the gaping wounds with logs of wood and finally putting it to flames (8). Prior to this, huge hammers were used for one full year only to break and vandalize its fine sculptures. While many scholars have argued that the iconoclasm indulged in by Sikandar is exaggerated, detailed archaeological records are given by the ASI (9). *Jonaraja, the Kashmiri historian (15th century) has also elaborated on the subject. Abul Fazl writes that the Sultan was a rigid follower of religion and a bigot, and he overthrew the temples and persecuted the people who were not of his faith (10). Firishta adds that all the temples were pulled down and idols of gold and silver were melted down*.
*Hindus were given a choice between converting, exile or getting killed. They fled to neighbouring regions of Kishtawar and Bhadrawah via Simthan pass and also to various provinces of India via Batote (known as Bata-wath, the path of the Bhattas or Kashmiri Hindus). Kashmiri Pandits numbering over one lakh were drowned in the lake and were burned at a spot in the vicinity of Rainawari in Srinagar. It is known as Bhatta Mazaar (the graveyard of Kashmiri Pandits) (12). Hindu women were raped and sold. Avoiding brutalities, many committed suicide by jumping into rivers or wells (13)*.
*Drawing a graphic picture of the miseries and traumatic experiences of the exodus, Jonaraja writes*,
*Crowds of Hindus ran away in different directions through by-passes; their social life was totally disrupted, their life became miserable with hunger and fatigue; many died in scorching heat; many got emaciated due to under-nourishment; many lived on alms in villages enroute to the provinces in India; some disguised as Muslims roamed about the country searching their distressed families; their means of livelihood were snatched from them to prevent their education and break their morale; the Hindus lolled out their tongues like dogs searching dog’s morsel at every door*.
Sultan Sikandar “was constantly busy in annihilating the infidels and destroyed most of the temples…,” records Haidar Malik Chadurah (15).
The above resulted in the first exodus of Kashmiri Hindus out of the valley.
References:
Rajatarangini (“River of Kings”) is a historical chronicle of early India, written in Sanskrit verse by Kalhana in 1148 CE. It covers the entire span of history in Kashmir from the earliest times to the date of its composition and is considered to be the best and most authentic work of its time.
Sandeep Balakrishna, “Invaders and Infidels- From Sindh to Delhi: The 500-Year Journey of Islamic Invasions”, Book 1, Bloomsbury India, New Delhi, Printed by Thomas Press India Ltd, 2021, ISBN-HB:978-93-90077-20-5
Pundit KN (1991) “A Chronicle of Medieval Kashmir, (Translation)”, Firma KLM Pvt Ltd, Calcutta (This authoritative seventeenth-century Persian chronicle, entitled Baharistan-i-Shahi, was written anonymously. It has been translated by Prof. KN Pundit under the title, A Chronicle of Medieval Kashmir.)
Parmu R.K. (Dr.), “A history of Muslim Rule in Kashmir, 1320-1819”, P 11
Farooq Peer (Secretary J&K Board of School Education), “Mir Syed Ali Hamadani (RA) The Inventor of Islam in Kashmir”, The Kashmir Horizon, 2018
Pundit KN
Srivara, Zaina Rajtarangini, St 75.
Hasan, Tarikh-i-Kashmir, A 17thcentury Persian chronicle.
Annual Report, ASI, 1915-16,1918:56
Ain-i-Akbari, Abul Fazlm Vol. II, p .387
Tarikhi-Firishta. Firishta, Vol. IV, pp. 464 65.
K.L.Bhan, “Paradise Lost – Seven Exoduses of Kashmiri Pandits,” Kashmiri News Network, First Edition, April 2003
Mohan Lal Koul, “Kashmir: Past and Present – Unravelling the Mystique”, Kashmir News Network, First Edition, August 2002
Jonaraja, Kings of Kashmir, Sts 662, 663, 664, 665, 666, 668, 669ab,669cd. Jonaraja was a Sanskrit poet and a court historian of Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, who supplemented Kalhana’s Rajatarangini to cover post-Kalhana era from 12-14 century.
Chadurah HM (1991) “Tarikh-i-Kashmir”, ed. & trans. Razia Bano, New Delhi, p. 55
Jonaraja, Rajatarangini, English translation by JC Dutt, 1989, Vol III, St.44.
Colonel Tej K. Tikoo (Ph.D.) –Kashmir: Its Aborigines and their Exodus (Revised Edition),Lancer Publishers & Distributors, Printed at Thomas Press, New Delhi, 2020, ISBN-10: 1-935501-34-8
Darakhshan Abdullah, Supervisor – Dr. Abul Majid Mattoo, “Religious Policy of the Sultans of Kashmir (1320-1586 A.D.), Thesis submitted to The University of Kashmir for the Award of Doctorate Degree in History, Post Graduate Department of History, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, November 1991, Maulana Azad Library, Aligarh Muslim University, T5239
A.Khan, “Islamic Jihad – A Legacy of Forced Conversion, Imperialism and Slavery”, Felibri.com, USA, Free PDF
Meenakshi Jain, “Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples – Episodes from Indian History”, Aryan Books International, New Delhi, 2009, ISBN: 978-81-7305-619-2, ch. 3.
exodus, islam, kashmir, kashmiri pandit, pandit
About Author: Mudita Parameswaran
Mudita is a housewife and a perpetual student. She is in awe of ancient temples, loves to be in nature, and explore Indian arts and crafts.
