1.   The presence of Baramulla Dist is unique from perspective of history since its story is connected to the formation of Kashmir Valley itself. ‘Nilmata Purana’ (dated between 6th to 8th Century AD), considered as a source for the famous book ‘Rajataringini’ by Kalhana (12th Century AD), mentions the legend of formation of Kashmir Valley. As per legend mentioned in this text, the present day Kashmir Valley was a lake called ‘Satisar’ inhabited by a demon called ‘Jalodbhava’. He had a boon of immortality from Lord Bramha as long as he stayed in the waters of Satisar. 

 2.  Having obtained the boon, the demon began eliminating every human being and sages who came to this part of Himalayas. The Naga tribe(residing in vicinity) prayed to Rishi Kashyap and his son Nila for elimination of Jalodbhava. Rishi Kashyap and Nila sought help of Lord Vishnu who appeared in the form of ‘Varaha (wild boar) and using his ‘Mula’ (tusk) drained ‘Satisar’ and subsequently killed Jalodbhava by his Sudarshan Chakra. The name ‘Varahamula’ (present day Baramulla) thus came to be known as the place where Satisar was drained from and the now dry land which emerged out of Satisar was named as Kashmira after Rishi Kashyap. The city of Baramulla, from which the district derives its name, is believed to have been founded by Raja Bhimsina in 2306 BC. 

 3.     In the Mahabharata the rivers of India including those flowing through Jammu and Kashmir have been described. The rivers from which Indians have been drinking water have been enlisted. In this the Indus, Chandra Bhaga (Chenab), Sutlej and Vipasha (Vyas) rivers have been enumerated which flow through the present State of Jammu and Kashmir. Besides the waterways and rivers the various provinces and regions that have been described also mention Kashmir. The Map of areas as described in Mahabharata is on display in Purana Qila, Delhi. Map in Purana Qila Delhi

 4.       In 600 BC, in a Buddhist chronicler called Aguttar Nikaya the 16 regions India’s landmass were described as Kashi, Kaushal, Anga, Magadha, Vajji, Mallas, Vatsa, Chedi, Kuru, Panchala, Matsya, Suarsena, Awanti, Assaka, Gandhara and Kamboja. Of these 16 regions, Kamboja encompassed the present North-West Pakistan & Jammu and Kashmir. The capital of this region was initially called Raja’s Raj Avar. But with the passage of time the name kept on changing to Raj Puri to Raj Varj to Raj Vara to Raj Vare to Raj Avar to Rajour and at last to the present-day Rajouri.

 5.     In the ancient political chronicle Arthasastra, circa 300 BC, Acharya Vishnu Gupt, better known as Chanakya or Kautilya, has described this region as befitting the rule of a chakravarti emperor (mighty ruler). It says Bharat as a whole is a single nation in which all the regions from the Himalayas to the oceans are worthy of being ruled by a single emperor. Kashmir was included in the empire of Ashoka Maurya who is credited with the foundation of the city of Srinagar around the year 250 BC. The Kushans succeeded the Mauryas who ruled over the entire North-West India and Central Asia. Around this phase of history, Kashmir saw the spread of Buddhism and during the period of influence of Kanishka, the third Buddhist council took place in Kashmir which has been attested by the seventh century Chinese traveller Huen Tsang. Hinduism continued to hold its wave in the region. It was in seventh century AD Durlabhavarrdhana laid the foundation stone of dynasty that was to be known as Karkota Dynasty. The builder of sun temple now known as Martand temple in Kashmir – Lalitaditya Muktapid was the most famous ruler of this dynasty. Under the Karkota dynasty Kashmir is believed to have reeled under political and economic disorder.

6.    In 855 AD the Utpala Dynasty replaced the Karkotas. The most important and influential ruler of Utpala Dynasty, Avanti-Verman brought Kashmir out of the political and economic crisis. Suyya, a 9th century minister of king Awanti Verman, had built many irrigation projects. He had become so popular that the present town of Sopore, once called Suyyapur, was built in his memory. Awantipora was christened after the 9th century king, Awanti Verman (855-83), who had constructed numerous temples there. With his chief queen Kota Rani as de facto ruler, Udyan Dev is reported to be the last Hindu ruler of Kashmir. A shrewd and able ruler, Kota Rani died in 1339 leading to the end of Hindu rule and paving way for establishment of Muslim rule in Kashmir. For several hundred years Kashmir had been regarded as a highest seat of learning. Shaivite philosophers like Abhinav Gupt and Vasugupt propounded a new theory on Shaivism. Sanskrit scholars like Panini and Patanjali lived in Kashmir. It captivated scholars from all over India and abroad. Students from Afghanistan and Central Asia came to Kashmir for studying mathematics, astronomy and philosophy.

7.   The Islamic conquest for capture of Kashmir began since 8th century, the Kingdom of Kashmir was subjected to several attacks aimed at its conquest. Several attempts to conquer Kashmir were made by the Arabs who had established themselves in Sindh (711-13 C.E), under the leadership of Muhammad bin Qasim. Kashmir remained generally unaffected by invasions that were aimed at the plains of India, up until 1320 C.E.  In the spring of 1320, a Mongol chieftain by the name of Zulju, invaded Kashmir via the Jhelum Valley route. Suhadeva (1301–20 C.E), last ruler of the Loharas, tried to organise resistance, but failed due to his unpopularity among the masses. Rinchana, son of a Ladakhi chief, who was employed by Ramachandra (Prime Minister of Kashmir) to establish law and order, took advantage of the chaos. He got Ramachandra murdered, occupied the Kashmir throne by the end of the year 1320, and ruled until his death in 1323 C.E. In order to gain acceptance of Kashmiris, he married Kota Rani, the daughter of Ramachandra, and made Rawanchandra (Ramachandra's son) his commander-in-chief. 

8.    Rinchan converted to Islam after coming into contact with Sayyid Sharfudin, a Sufi preacher commonly known as Bulbul Shah, who had come to Kashmir during the reign of Suhadeva. He changed his name to Sultan Sardarudin Shah after converting to Islam and thus became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir. Following the conversion of Rinchan, his commander in chief also became Muslim. The royal patronage for Islam won it new converts and many Kashmiris are believed to have embraced the creed of Bulbul Shah. 

9.   The Shahmiri Dynasty (1339-1561 C.E), founded by Sultan Shah Mir, ruled Kashmir for the next 222 yrs. Various Sufi saints including Bulbul Shah, Shah-e-Hamdan, Nund Rishi popularised Islam in the valley through their moderate Sufi ideologies. In 1586/1587 AD Kashmir became a part of the mighty Mughal Empire. The conquest of Kashmir by Mughals marked the beginning of Kashmir’s modern history with Akbar as proclaimed Emperor. His son Jahangir, had great love for the Valley and is credited with the creation of more than 700 gardens in Kashmir.  In 1627, he was succeeded by his son Shah Jehan. Aurangzeb, who came to the throne in 1658, was the last of the Mughal Emperors to make any impact on Kashmir’s history. It was the reign of Aurangzeb that earned a bad name for the Mughal dynasty in Kashmir. The dignity of administration was severely jolted under his rule leading to the decline of Mughal rule in Kashmir. It was around this time that following the complaints of Kashmiri Pandits to the contemporary Sikh Guru, 

Guru Tegh Bahadur, that intervention of Sikh rulers was noticed in Kashmir.  Nadir Shah’s invasion of the seat of Mughal power at Delhi in 1738 had weakened their imperial hold on Kashmir still further.

10.    In 1757 Kashmir came under the control of Ahmed Shah Durrani, the Afghan who invaded India many times. In 1762, in alliance with the Dogra Rajput ruler, Raja Ranjit Dev of Jammu, the Afghans attached Kashmir. When the Afghan leader, Ahmed Shah Durrani, died in 1772, Jawan Sher the Afghan ruler of Kashmir, set himself up as an independent ruler. The Afghan reign lasted for a little over 50 years, but the period is generally remembered as one of the darkest of Kashmir history. Towards the end of this period, through the assistance of the Sikhs and Ranjit Singh – a ruler in nominal alliance, the Afghan rule was overthrown. In 1819 Kashmir was annexed by Ranjit Singh and made a part of his Sikh Empire. 

 11.     In 1819, after the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh seized control of Kashmir, the number of Hindus and Sikhs in the area increased. Ranjit Singh, the dominant Sikh ruler, awarded Jammu to Gulab Singh, one of his top generals, in 1837. Gulab Singh, the founder of the Dorga dynasty, soon added territory of Ladakh and Baltistan in 1837 & Gilit and Kashmir in 1846 to his kingdom. Gulab Singh gained control of Kashmir after siding with the British against his fellow Sikhs. He agreed to follow pro-British policies and paid 10,00,000 British pounds for the territory. 

12.      Throughout the tumultuous modern history of Kashmir, Baramulla held the position of a gate-way to the valley as it was located on the route to the Valley from Muzaffarabad, now in POJK, and Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan. As such, it was visited by a number of prominent visitors, to include the famous Chinese visitor Heiun T’Sang and Moorcraft, the British historian. Mughal Emperors had special fascination for Baramulla. Being the gateway of the valley, it was a halting station for them during their visits to the Valley. In 1586 AD, Emperor Akbar as well as Jahangir who entered the Valley via Pakhil spent a few days at Baramulla. In the 15th century, Baramulla became important to Muslims, as the famous Muslim saint Syed Janbaz Wali, who visited the valley along with his companions in 1421 AD, chose Baramulla as the centre of his mission and after his death he was buried there. His shrine still attracts pilgrims from all over the Valley. In 1620 AD, the sixth Sikh Guru Shri Hargobind visited the city. Baramulla thus became an abode of Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and Sikhs living in harmony and contributing to a rich composite culture. It was the oldest and the most important town in North of princely state of Jammu & Kashmir and the ‘Gateway of Kashmir Valley’ by Rawalpindi-Murree-MuzaffarabadBaramulla Rd until it became a part of Union of India when the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 Oct 1947. 

 13.          Pashtun tribesmen from the South Waziristan region of Pakistan attacked Kashmir to seize the state. They moved along the Rawalpindi-Murree-Muzaffarabad-Baramulla Rd on 22 Oct 1947. They were assisted by Pakistani soldiers in civilian clothes. Muzaffarabad fell on 24 Oct 1947, and the soldiers captured Baramulla the following day. Fortunately for Kashmir, the tribals were busy raiding, raping all along. On 27 Oct 1947, Biju Patnaik (later CM of Odisha) piloted the first plane to land at Srinagar airport that morning. He brought 17 soldiers from the 1st Sikh Regt, commanded by Lt Col Dewan Ranjit Rai who immediately moved with his small pl towards Baramulla hoping to stop the tribal raiders at the mouth of the funnel which opens 5 km east of Baramulla into a wide valley. It took two weeks for the Indian Army to evict the raiders from Baramulla (who had been joined by Pakistani regulars and were well-entrenched) on 9 Nov 1947. Baramulla survived, however altered and wounded

14.   Maqbool Sherwani, the man from Baramulla, who changed the course of the 1947 India-Pakistan War, was killed on Nov 7, 1947. Born in a Baramulla family that owned a small soap factory, Sherwani right since his adolescence was associated with political activities in the region and joined National Conference (NC) in 1939. A secular to the core, Sherwani used to recite the poems of Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Ali Sardar Jafri, Sahir Ludhianvi, and Dinanath Nadim and made the idea of secularism his political and personal ideology. He would often be heard raising slogans, ‘Sher-e-Kashmir Ka Kya Irshad? Hindu, Muslim, Sikh Ithaad.’ (What does the Lion of Kashmir {Sheikh Abdullah} want? The unity of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs). Sherwani was part of the 22 National Conference volunteers who joined the resistance forces of the national militia and led several detachments of militiamen who toured different areas instilling confidence and unity among the terror-stricken people of Kashmir. Sherwani along with other volunteers worked as guides at vital installations to keep track of the mercenaries. To frustrate the raiders’ advance towards Srinagar, he misinformed them, diverted them, and made them wander in the Sumbal area on the wrong routes. His display of presence of mind exhausted their precious time till the troops of the Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army reached Srinagar for its defense. After realising that they were being misguided, the raiders crucified him in the central square of Baramulla. The courage with which he sought to impede the advance of the tribals and the intensity of his loyalty and commitment towards his motherland made him popular as the ‘Lion of Baramulla’. Every year, in his memory, tributes are paid to him at Maqbool Sherwani Auditorium and Mohammad Maqbool Sherwani Memorial in Baramulla. The Balidan Stambh monument by Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry also bears the name of Maqbool Sherwani. 

15.    Over the years, the winds of religious-socio-political change in rest of the Kashmir Valley have influenced the situation in Baramulla dist as well. The district has been witness to some of the bloodiest times as Pak sponsored terrorism spread throughout the Valley. Being a dist bordering POJK, it was one of the maj transit pts for infiltrators who crossed over to the Kashmir Valley. The history of the dist has had a great influence on the status of Baramulla Dist. We will see more about the current status in succeeding parts. 

Point 8 explain the turning point of Kashmir and the seed of problem today. Who is responsible? Muslim or Hindus?

This report is exclusive to Gaurav Pradhan Gurukul channel and carries a copyright. Its a Olive man research.
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