For decades intellectuals have been claiming Kashmir as a Muslim land and with the same argument they justify the killings of Kashmiri Hindus in 1990. Today I will prove that Kashmir was always a Hindu land and one of the holiest sites for the Hindus.
The most important and influential scripture of Kashmir Hinduism was and still is the ‘Nilamatapurahna’ believed to date from the sixth or seventh century A.D. The rites it prescribed are said to have been proclaimed by Hila, the king of the Kashmir Nagas. Thus when a religious point arises after the coronation of Yasovati, the third ruler of the Gonanda line of Kashmir, even the god Krishna is depicted as quoting the authority of Nilamatapurahna in support of the view that Kashmir is Parvati and its king a portion of Shiva.
Kalhana says: “There is not a space as large as a sesamum without a tirtha”.
Al-beruni tells us that in his time Kashmir held the same position among holy places as Banaras, Kurukshetra etc. Al-Buruni writes in his book: “A similar place is Pukara, the story of which is this : Brahman once was occupied in offering there to the fire, when a pig came out of the fire. Therefore they represent his image there as that of a pig. Outside the town, in three places, they have constructed ponds which stand in high veneration, and are places of worship. Another place of the kind is Taneshar, also called Kurukshetra, i.e. the land of Kuru, who was a peasant, a pious, holy man, who worked miracles by divine power. Therefore the country was called after him, and venerated for his sake. Besides, Taneshar is the theatre of- the exploits of Vasudeva in the wars of Bharata and of the destruction of the evil-doers. It is for this reason that people visit the place. Mathura, too, is a holy place, crowded with Brahmans. It is venerated because Vasudeva was there born and brought up, in a place in the neighborhood called Nandagola. Nowadays the Hindus also visit Kashmir. Lastly, they used to visit Multan before its idol-temple was destroyed.”
H.H.Wilson , An Essay on the Hindu History of Kashmir in Res XV.p.83. writes: “The religion of Kashmir has been Hindu from a very remote date. Snake worship was a part of Hindu ritual, and the Nagas are included in orthodox pantheon. The adoration of Shiva was soon engrafted upon this, even if the two rites were not originally identified.” Snakes and snake deities figure quite important in the worship and traditionary history of Kashmir, learned from Abul-Fazl, who observes that in seven hundred places there are carved figures of snakes which they worship. The national faith of Kashmir has ever since continued Hindu, and the almost exclusive form of adoration has been that addressed to Lord Shiva.
Kashmir has from times immemorial been a land of holy Hindu sites. Kashmir was always a Hindu and an Indian land.
