.
Today, international media, secularists and politicians from Kashmir are shouting from their rooftops that Kashmir is a Muslim Majority land and abolition of article 370 is a conspiracy to alter its Muslim Majority character.
.
But the first glance of place names of Kashmir will show us how far these claims are removed from truth. Kashmir has been a Hindu land for thousands of years and its Hindu character is still reflected in place names of Kashmir. Most of them are of Sanskrit origin.
This list provides the original Sanskrit names of important places of Kashmir. .
It is Amazing how Kashmir has managed to retain the old Sanskrit place names despite direct Islamic rule from 1339 CE until 1819 and atleast 7 exoduses of its Hindu population. .
This shows how strong and prevalent the Hindu roots of Kashmir have been. But these place names have come under the target of Islamist Wahabis in the Post Independence era. .
In 1980, then Kashmir CM Shaikh Abdullah renamed 2500 villages. He erased the historic heritage of these placenames and replaced them with Islamic names. Anantnag became Islamabad. Hari Parbat (skt. Sharika Parvata) became Koh-I-Maran
It is amazing how such gross elimination of historic heritage and blatant Islamization did not come under the notice of anyone in Secular India. This incident happened right under the nose of then PM Indira Gandhi. .
Now, more than ever, will there be attempts to erase whatever is left of Hindu heritage and history in Kashmir. It is imperative for us to be aware and raise our voice .
1) Kalhana's Rajatarangini (ed.Stein) .
2) Place Names in Kashmir, Shyam Lal Sadhu (2000).
For information about how Abdullah changed the Hindu placenames in 1980, please refer "Kashmir Conflict: A study of what led to the insurgency in Valley" by Priyanka Bakaya and Sumeet Bhatti.
PS- Regarding the name of Kashmir, the native Purana known as Nilamata Purana says it comes from "Kashmira" which is name of Goddess Uma.
No comments:
Post a Comment