Early History of Kashmir
Early History of Kashmir

Author: Nissar Ahmad Kumar

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2015-01-16

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9781507597170

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Kashmir with its hoary past and bewitching beauty, philosophical intellectualism and mystic spiritualism is a paradise on earth. Not only geographically, Kashmir excels in its cultural heritage too. The lovely people of this lovely land have been known for their arts and crafts throughout the world. Walled off by high mountains and endowed with an unequalled natural beauty, Kashmir remained an inviolate with unequalled natural beauty; Kashmir remained an inviolate sanctuary of Indian culture, till at least the fourteenth century. Buddhism, Shivism and Sanskrit learning flourished in valley and produced a remarkably rich culture till the Muslim conquest over turned the social structure of Kashmir. The integration of Kashmir life was so complete that one of his most remarkable books that Ksemendra, who was himself a Shivite, produced was on the avadanas of the Buddha, a classic later Buddhist literature. Despite its geographical isolation, Kashmir has from ancient times, been a melting pot of nations and cultures. Its magnificent woods, enchanting lakes, rivers, meadows, glorious snow-clad mountains and above all fertile valleys attracted the foreigners to come and settle over here. Trade, religion and other cultural currents followed the ancient routes resulting in the migration of nomads of pre historic periods, and later Mauryan, Sakas, Kushanas, Huns, Syyids, Mughals, Sikhs and Dogras found place in Kashmir. The period covered in this book extends from the earliest times to A.D 1339, when the valley passed into the hands of a Muslim adventurer, Shahmir. The book opens with the account about the geographical features of Kashmir, that is followed by the political background of ancient Kashmir and that thoroughly covers the period of the three indigenous and independent dynasties of Kashmir i.e., Karkotas, Utpalas and Loharas respectively. The work has been written with the objective of giving a comprehensive story of Kashmir involving the common mans social, economic and political life during the times gone by. The work is based on the literary, epigraphic and archaeological sources. we tried to make this study of ancient Kashmir through and systematic. We feel immense pleasure in expressing profound gratitude to our esteemed supervisor Professor Susmita Pande, head of the Department, Vikram University Ujjain, for her scholarly help and advices. We wish to express our grateful thanks to Dr. Dhirendra Solanki and Dr. Ram Kumar Ahirwar and Dr. V.S. Parmar for their kind help, guidance, encouragement, untiring supervision and cooperation and their valuable suggestions, which kept us always on the right track with infinite patience.

The Making of Early Kashmir
The Making of Early Kashmir

Author: Shonaleeka Kaul

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-01-08

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 019909330X

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What is history? How does a land become a homeland? How are cultural identities formed? The Making of Early Kashmir explores these questions in relation to the birth of Kashmir and the discursive and material practices that shaped it up to the 12th century CE. Reinterpreting the first work of Kashmiri history, Kalhana’s Rajatarangini, this book argues that the text was history not despite being traditional Sanskrit poetry but because of it. It elaborated a poetics of place, implicating Kashmir’s sacred geography, a stringent critique of local politics, and a regional selfhood that transcended the limits of vernacularism.Combined with longue durée testimonies from art, material culture, script, and linguistics, this book jettisons the image of an isolated and insular Kashmir. It proposes a cultural formation that straddled the Western Himalayas and the Indic plains with Kashmir as the pivot. This is the story of the connected histories of the region and the rest of India.

Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris
Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris

Author: Christopher Snedden

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 1849043426

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The seemingly intractable Kashmir dispute and the fate of Kashmiris throughout South Asia and beyond are the twin themes in Snedden's meticulously researched book.

The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and Its Influences
The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and Its Influences

Author: John Siudmak

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2013-04-15

Total Pages: 546

ISBN-13: 9004248323

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The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and Its Influences is primarily based on the study of the largely unpublished corpus of sculpture, mostly of stone, in the Sri Pratap Singh Museum in Srinagar, and of other examples in situ elsewhere in the valley. The disparate nature and fragmentary condition of these sculptures as well as their artistic and iconographical influences have for long defied accurate analysis. The method used in the classification of these sculptures is based on close analysis of their style concentrating on recurring features such as facial and physical typology, modelling, dress and ornamentation. Comparisons are made with other examples of Kashmir bronze, ivory and stone sculpture in private and public collections both within India and abroad.

Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects
Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects

Author: Mridu Rai

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2019-12-31

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 0691207224

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Disputed between India and Pakistan, Kashmir contains a large majority of Muslims subject to the laws of a predominantly Hindu and increasingly "Hinduized" India. How did religion and politics become so enmeshed in defining the protest of Kashmir's Muslims against Hindu rule? This book reaches beyond standard accounts that look to the 1947 partition of India for an explanation. Examining the 100-year period before that landmark event, during which Kashmir was ruled by Hindu Dogra kings under the aegis of the British, Mridu Rai highlights the collusion that shaped a decisively Hindu sovereignty over a subject Muslim populace. Focusing on authority, sovereignty, legitimacy, and community rights, she explains how Kashmir's modern Muslim identity emerged. Rai shows how the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was formed as the East India Company marched into India beginning in the late eighteenth century. After the 1857 rebellion, outright annexation was abandoned as the British Crown took over and princes were incorporated into the imperial framework as junior partners. But, Rai argues, scholarship on other regions of India has led to misconceptions about colonialism, not least that a "hollowing of the crown" occurred throughout as Brahman came to dominate over King. In Kashmir the Dogra kings maintained firm control. They rode roughshod over the interests of the vast majority of their Kashmiri Muslim subjects, planting the seeds of a political movement that remains in thrall to a religiosity thrust upon it for the past 150 years.

The Vale of Kashmir
The Vale of Kashmir

Author: John Isaac

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2008-10-14

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 9780393065251

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"Charmed by the generous people and exquisite beauty of Kashmir, celebrated photographer John Isaac set out to honor this enchanting land that is unknown to so many. The 160 photographs in The Vale of Kashmir present the people and landscape of this remote and exotic region and the unique way of life that has developed on Dal Lake." "Nestled in the lush area where India, China, and Pakistan meet, the Vale of Kashmir is a vast garden dotted with lakes, marshes, orchards, and terraced fields, surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas. Isaac's spectacular photographs show us canals crowded with houseboats, floating gardens on Dal Lake, and the ancient city of Srinagar. The varied details of daily life-the harvesting of saffron, Hindu pilgrimages through the mountains, shepherds on the Himalayan slopes, and prayers at the mosque-come alive in these pages." "In addition to capturing the breathtaking natural beauty of the Vale, Isaac also honors the private realm of family life in Kashmir, with images of the merchants, farmers, weavers, and fishermen who live on the lake. Though renowned for its abundance of superb handicrafts, including carpets, shawls, silks, woodwork, and papier-mache boxes, Kashmir and its people are largely uncelebrated; Isaac's tender portraits honor these hard-working families. This arresting view of the land and Kashmiri people is put into a historical and geographical context by author Art Davidson's insightful and sensitive introduction."--BOOK JACKET.

Kashmir
Kashmir

Author: Chitralekha Zutshi

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2019-09-11

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 0190990465

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Since 1947-48, when India and Pakistan fought their first war over Kashmir, it has been reduced to an endlessly disputed territory. As a result, the people of this region and its rich history are often forgotten. This short introduction untangles the complex issue of Kashmir to help readers understand not just its past, present, and future, but also the sources of the existing misconceptions about it. In lucidly written prose, the author presents a range of ways in which Kashmir has been imagined by its inhabitants and outsiders over the centuries—a sacred space, homeland, nation, secular symbol, and a zone of conflict. Kashmir thus emerges in this account as a geographic entity as well as a composite of multiple ideas and shifting boundaries that were produced in specific historical and political contexts.