Kashyapa (Sanskrit कश्यप kaśyapa) was an ancient sage, who is one of the Saptarshis in the present Manvantara. The others Saptarshis are Atri, Vashishtha, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, Bharadwaja. The valley of Kashmir is named after him.

The Valley of Kashmir is named after Kashyap Rishi. He was a Saraswat Brahmin by caste. According to Hindu Mythology, he is the son of Marichi, one of the ten sons (Maanasa-putras) of the Creator Brahma. The Prajapati Daksha gave his thirteen daughters (Aditi, Diti, Kadru, Danu, Arishta, Surasa, Surabhi, Vinata, Tamra, Krodhavaśā, Ida, Khasa and Muni) in marriage to Kashyapa.

His sons from Aditi or Adityas were, Aṃśa, Aryaman, Bhaga, Dhūti, Mitra, Pūṣan, a daughter Bhumidevi, Śakra, Savitṛ, Tvaṣṭṛ, Varuṇa, Viṣṇu, and Vivasvat or Vivasvan. Vivasvat went on to start the Solar Dynasty (Suryavansha), which later came to be known as Ikshvaku dynasty, after his great grandson, King Ikshvaku. King Raghu changed it to Raghuvansh Dynasty which further extended up to Lord Ram, the son of Dashrath.

His sons from Diti were, Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha and a daughter Sinhika, who later became the wife of Viprachitti. Hiranyakashipu had four sons, Anuhlada, Hlada, Prahlada, and Sanhlada, who further extended the Daityas.

Garuda and aruna are the sons of Kashyap from his wife, Vinata. The Nāgas (serpents) are his sons from Kadru. The Danavas are his sons from Danu. The Bhagavata Purana states that the Apsaras were born from Kashyap and Muni. Uttar Ramayana says Diti had a son named Maya who was the lord of Daityas.

In the family line of Kashyap, along with him there are two more discoverers of Mantras, namely, his sons Avatsara and Asita. Two sons of Avatsara, namely, Nidhruva and Rebha, are also Mantra-seers.

Kanishka the Great, was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty, under whose reign lasting for 23 yrs (c. 127-150 CE) the Kushan empire reached its zenith. Kanishka was a descendant of Kujula Kadphises, who founded the Kushan Empire. Earlier scholars believed that Kanishka ascended the Kushan throne in 78 CE, and that this date was used as the beginning of the Saka calendar era. However, historians no longer regard this date as that of Kanishka's accession and strongly support that Kanishka came to the throne in 127 CE.

When Kanishka came to rule, the Kushan empire extended from Central Asia and Gandhara to Patliputra on the Gangetic plain. The capital of his empire was located at Puruṣapura (modern day Peshawar) in Gandhara, with another major capital at Mathura. However with his battlecraft and able leadership, he extended his empire to southern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, north of the Amu Darya (Oxus) in the north west to Northern India, as far as Mathura in the south east (the Rabatak inscription even claims he held Pataliputra and Sri Champa), and his territory also included Kashmir, where there was a town Kanishkapur (modern day Kanispora), named after him not far from the Baramulla Pass and which still contains the base of a large stupa.

Kanishka's reputation in Buddhist tradition regarded with utmost importance as he not only believed in Buddhism but also encouraged its teachings as well. As a proof of it, he administered the 4th Buddhist Council in Kashmir as the head of the council. It was presided by Vasumitra and Ashwaghosha. Images of the Buddha based on 32 physical signs were made during his time. Hence he personally embraced both Buddhism and the Persian attributes but he favoured Buddhism more as it can be proven by his devotion to the Buddhist teachings and prayer styles depicted in various books related to Kushan empire. His greatest contribution to Buddhist architecture was the Kanishka stupa at Purushapura, modern day Peshawar. Archaeologists who rediscovered the base of it in 1908–1909 estimated that this stupa had a diameter of 286 feet (87 metres).

He was a patron of buddhism which can be concluded from his stupas and the coinage issued during his reign. He extended the regional boundaries and also achieved the imperial goal of controlling both, the silk road and the sea trade routes between South Asia and Rome.

The King Pravarasena II founded the city of Srinagar before 2000 years ago.(1) Sri Pravarasena II (reigned c. 530-590 CE), based on the regnal lists of the Rajatarangini, was a 6th-century Huna king of the Alchon Huns in the area of Gandhara and Kashmir in north-western India.[2] His reign probably lasted about 60 years from about the year 530 CE.[3]

According to Kalhana's 12th century text Rajatarangini, a king named Pravarasena II established a new capital named Pravarapura (also known as Pravarasena-pura). Based on topographical details, Pravarapura appears to be same as the modern city of Srinagar. Aurel Stein dates the king to 6th century. He also built a temple named "Pravaresha".[4]
Sri Pravarasena is thought as the most likely ruler to have succeeded the Alchon Huns ruler Mihirakula in the area of Kashmir Gandhara, and he would have been the son of Toramana.[3]

Pravarasena was probably succeeded by a king named Gokarna, a follower of Shiva, and then by his son king Narendraditya Khinkhila.[3] The son of Narendraditya was Yudhishthira, last known ruler of the Alchon Huns. Srinagar City became a part of the Maurya Empire which used to be the largest empire in the Indian sub-continent. In the 1st Century AD, this city came under the rule of the Kushanas. During the sixth century, Srinagar became a region of the Vikramaditya’s kingdom who was the ruler of Ujjain. The Hindu rulers ruled the city till the 14th century.

Lalitaditya alias Muktapida (Lalitaditya Muktapida 724 CE–760 CE) was a powerful ruler of the Karkota dynasty of Kashmir region in the Indian subcontinent.

The 12th-century chronicler Kalhana characterizes Lalitaditya as a world conqueror, crediting him with extensive conquests and miraculous powers in his Rajatarangini. According to Kalhana, Lalitaditya defeated the central Indian king Yashovarman, and then marched to eastern and southern parts of India. He subjugated several more rulers on his way back to Kashmir, and then subdued several northern kings. Based on a reconstruction of Kalhana's account, art historian Hermann Goetz (1969) theorized that Lalitaditya managed to create a short-lived empire that included major parts of India as well as present-day Afghanistan and Central Asia. Goetz' analysis was accepted and cited widely by subsequent authors writing on the history of Kashmir.

Lalitaditya was the first Hindu ruler of India who had curved out a vast empire stretching across the whole of the Indian subcontinent upto Central Asia, thus making it evident that ‘Akhand Bharat’ was a reality in the ancient times too.

Following his victories in the South, Lalitaditya now focussed on the North again and attacked Ladakh as well as other western provinces, which were under the rule of the Tibetans and liberated them. This was the time when Muhammed Bin Qasim had invaded Multan in 712 AD and the Arabic invaders had wanted the entire India to be subjugated under the Islamic fold. Victory over the Arabs was, by no means, easy. Lalitaditya came into contact with the Tang dynasty of China, who were at their peak during the 7th century AD. He was successful in making the Tang dynasty his ally in his fight against the Arabs and Tibetans. Lalitaditya recruited a number of Chinese mercenaries and strategists in his army which gave him an edge over his contemporary rulers. With the help of the Tangs, Lalitaditya was successful in defeating the Tibetans and extended their rule over modern day Bangladesh and Ahom (modern day Assam) and other North Eastern States of India. His exploits are mentioned in the famous book ‘Xing Tang Shu’ which is well known for documenting the history of the Tang dynasty of China as he extended his conquest even upto China. Iranian scholar, Al-Beruni, in his treatise, ‘Tarikh-I-Hind’ mentions that the Kashmiris celebrated the second of Chaitra as his victory over the Tibetans.

It was in the beautiful valley of Kashmir, that a line of masters over a period, evolved which laid the foundation of wisdom seekers and philosophers who dived deep to unravel the nature of existence and evolution. In this succession in around 11th CE a great polymath Abhinavgupt came on the scene who with his sharp intellect and inquisitive mind distilled the philosophy, polished the concept of Rasas and synthesized the philosophical streams in such a manner that it connected all this phenomenal existence to Supreme Shiva, the one on which the universal existence hinges upon.

Abhinavgupt continued with intellectual tradition of thinkers of Kashmir and touched all spheres of life which includes, aesthetic experience, tantric praxis and universal consciousness. It was the encyclopedic genius of Abhinavgupt which endeared him from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. He was an exponent of Trika philosophy, theory of art and literature, poetics, nature of sound, etc. We may refer him the greatest jewel of ancient India who glorified Kashmir immensely. There are about almost forty four different works which he had authored, though many have been lost due to upheaval in Kashmir, but whatever is available to us is so profound and scholarly that even after thousand year we are unable to fathom the genius of this super human being. Many scholars have referred to him as an incarnation of Dakshnamurthy-Shiva and some refer to him as Sheshnaga. By whichever name we may refer him, we are simply awe struck by his genius expositions, clarity of thought, depth of understanding, approach to natural laws and above all his methodology of convincing arguments with facts and logic.

During his lifetime Abhinavgupt is credited with learning from various masters and his sharp innovative disposition made him the dearest disciple of all those with whom he learnt various subjects. Abhinavgupt emphasized that one should keep learning from various guru’s and enhance one’s wisdom. On learning under different masters, He writes,
“It is only the black bee and not the honey bee which has the enormous appetite for the fragrance of the Ketaki flower. Similarly, only those rare people who are guided from within by the grace of Siva, find interest in absolute non dualistic worship of Bhairava the One perfect whole of everything.” (Abhinavgupt, TA, IV, 276)

There are about two forty-eight manuscripts of Abhinavgupt’s work in various libraries of India. The thirty seven chapters of Tantraloka are one of the greatest Sanskrit works both in terms of content and poetic expression.

Kalhana is the author of Rajatarangini, an account of the history of Kashmir. He wrote the work in Sanskrit between 1148 and 1149. All information regarding his life has to be deduced from his own writing, a major scholar of which is Mark Aurel Stein. Robin Donkin has argued that with the exception of Kalhana, "there are no literary works with a developed sense of chronology, or indeed much sense of place, before the thirteenth century".

Kalhana was born in a Kashmiri Hindu family to a Kashmiri minister, Chanpaka, who probably served king Harsa of the Lohara dynasty. It is possible that his birthplace was Parihaspore and his birth would have been very early in the 12th century. It is extremely likely that he was of the Hindu Brahmin caste, suggested in particular by his knowledge of Sanskrit. The introductory verses to each of the eight Books in his Rajatarangini are prefaced with prayers to Shiva, a Hindu deity. In common with many Hindus in Kashmir at that time, he was also sympathetic to Buddhism, and Buddhists tended to reciprocate this feeling towards Hindus. Even in relatively modern times, Buddha's birthday has been a notable event for Kashmiri Brahmins and well before Kalhana's time Buddha had been accepted by Hindus as an avatar of Vishnu.

Kalhana was familiar with earlier epics such as the Vikramanka devacharita of Bilhana, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, to all of which he alludes in his own writings. However, his own writings did not employ what Stein has described as "the very redundant praise and flattery which by custom and literary tradition Indian authors feel obliged to bestow on their patrons". From this comes Stein's deduction that Kalhana was not a part of the circle surrounding Jayasimha, the ruling monarch at the time when he was writing the Rajatarangini.

People called him with the epithet of the nightingale of Kashmir, Bulbul Shah’s Real name was Syed Sheriff Uddin Abdul Rehman and title Syed Bilal that owing to frequent use changed into Bulbul. Hence he came to be known as Bulbul Shah or the Bulbul-e-Kashmir. Bulbul Shah sought allegiance to the renowned saint, Shah Nemat-Ullah Farisi Shirazi, of the Suharawardy Order who, in turn, looked to Zia Uddin-Ul-Najeeb Abdul Qahiri.

Bulbul Shah’s native town is a matter of controversy among the writers. Dr. S. N Naz thinks, he was from the region of Tamkastan of the ancient Iran, some relates him to Baghdad; still others trace him from Turkistan. He reached Kashmir with his friend Mullah Ahmad. Some hold, he came to Kashmir with one thousand refugees out of the fear of the Mangols. Others believe, he entered the valley in 1324 AD. during the reign of Rinchan Shah. We think his arrival during the reign of Rinchan Shah, a Bodh ruler, is more probable. Rinchan Shah was a seeker of Truth. Hinduism could not satisfy him and found the answer with Bulbul Shah. His meeting with Bulbul left a deep mark on him and he learnt the teaching of Islam from his precepts and actions. He embraced Islam under the assumed name Sadar Uddin, and along with him thousands became Muslims.

Rinchan Shah shared a greater responsibility in the propagation of Islam. He ordered for the construction of a monastery for Bulbul Shah, came to be known as the Khanqah-e-Bulbul Shah which formerly stood in the Mohalla Bulbullinko. In addition to it, he raised a mosque and several other buildings which don’t exist now and of which we read in books only.

Lalla Ded is seen as a blend of Hindu-Muslim amalgamation. The Hindus regard her as the reincarnate whereas the Muslims, a perfect mystic saint. The Hindus say that her name was Lal Ishwari born of the Hindu parents and remained absorbed in meditation and praise of God. The Muslims hold that she was averse to the Hindu religion, embraced the Islam at the behest of Syed Hussain Samnani.

She is called by several names in Kashmir: Lalla Arifa, Lal Vaid, Lalla-Ji, Lalla Ded or Lalla-Ishwari. In fact she was the lamp of Kashmir who benefited all the communities, Hindus as well as Muslims. Both love and respect her.

Lalla Arifa was lost in spiritual wonderment; walked about naked; fought against herself; and renounced the world. Her teachings gave new lease of life to thousands of people. She was a blessed soul and could move the hardhearted man. Lalla Arifa was a poetess and sang of spiritual and divine bliss.

Lalla Arifa was born in 1335 AD near Sempore or Pandrethan. She is estimated to have died in 1373, and a grave near Bijbehara is commonly attributed to her, although there is no confirmation. To Shri Zaida Pundit or Zindia Bat, the landlord at a village Pander – then, three miles from away form Srinagar. He was God fearing gentleman.

Following her marriage, she was renamed, as is custom, to Padmavati, but continued to be known as Lalla or Lal Ded. Some reports suggest her marriage was unhappy, and that she left home, between the ages of twenty-four and twenty-six, to become a disciple of a spiritual leader, Siddha Srikanth or Sed Boyu, who was a Shaivite. As part of her religious education, she travelled alone on foot, surviving on alms, before becoming a teacher and spiritual leader herself.

Lal Ded's poems represent some of the earliest known works of Kashmiri literature, and were written as Kashmiri began to emerge as a distinct language from Apabhramsa-prakrit, which was spoken in North India. A total of 285 poems, known as vakhs, are attributed to Lal Ded.

Lal Ded's works were first recorded in writing in the twentieth century, and have been frequently republished since, in Kashmiri as well as in translation. In 1914, Sir George Grierson, a civil servant and the Superintendent of the Linguistic Survey of India, commissioned a copy of Lal Ded's vakhs. Her poems (vakhs) have been translated into English by Richard Temple, Jaylal Kaul, Coleman Barks, Jaishree Odin, and Ranjit Hoskote.

The leading Kashmiri Sufi figure Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali was highly influenced by Lal Ded. He ultimately led to the formation of the Rishi order of saints and later gave rise to many Rishi saints like Resh Mir Sàeb. One Kashmiri folk story recounts that, as a baby, Nunda Rishi refused to be breast-fed by his mother. It was Lal Ded who breast-fed him.

To the outer world, Lal Ded is arguably Kashmir's best known spiritual and literary figure; within Kashmir, she has been venerated both by Hindus and Muslims for nearly seven centuries. For most of that period, she has successfully eluded the proprietorial claims of religious monopolists. It is true that Lal Ded was constructed differently by each community, but she was simultaneously Lallesvari or Lalla Yogini to the Hindus and Lal'arifa to the Muslims; today unfortunately, these descriptions are increasingly being promoted at the expense of one another.

Baba Payam Uddin was born around 1411 to a noble and a minister of the contemporary ruler, at Chander-nau-gaon in the region of Lar. It is also said that Baba Payam Uddin was himself a noble of high rank and a trusted man of the king and lived a life of ease and luxury. Still he liked the company of the saints and sages and sought their blessings.

As the legend goes, one day he rode a horse and on the way he saw a train of ants carrying grains. He descended and observed them. If God wills, he directs him with small things. He thought that the small ants were working hard to gather grains for winter. He was there entrapped in the glamour of the world and unmindful of his next life. (A’khirat), anxiety of the life after death sat so heavily on his mind that he resigned his job, renounced his home, and came to Baba Zain Uddin who put him to prayers and meditation. On completion of the internal training he asked his permission to retire in solitude at Tang-Marg in Rabnoh village. There lived men ill of nature and low of character that objected to his stay but finally he won them over and improved them. He then came to Baba Shukuruddin, a disciple of Nund Rishi and spent 2 years together, learning to follow a Sufi lifestyle.

He spent rest of his life near a Dargah already existing there. He helped people and preached Islam for inner purity of the hearts. This was the land of flowers and scenic beauty and pure air with a very soothing aroma. He is said to have performed several miracles there. These included bringing the Dargah which was at a difficult to reach elevation to a lower altitude, making it easily accessible to devotees. This was done by his mystical power of bringing the entire piece of land on which the Dargah was built to a lower level.

Baba Rishi also built a kitchen with a daan (typical Kashmiri earthenware Chula) for cooking food in earthen ware vessels. People from all over the valley used to go there and plaster the daan and offer sacrifices and cook food. This was distributed to the Langar (free eating place for public) for people visiting that place. This practice is still followed at Baba Rishi, a shrine named after him. It is also believed that childless couples are blessed with a progeny after praying there. In addition, people go there and tie knots inside the shrine around the sanctum sanctorum (Dashei in Kashmiri) and make a wish, which according to believers is always granted.

Baba Payam Uddin left for his heavenly abode on 3, Zil Hajja 889 Hijri (30th December 1484) and was buried at the Ziyarat which as seen today is a three-storey monument built in a Mughal and Persian style with a big minaret. Inside the shrine is Noor Khwan where the grave of Sufi saint lies. It is covered with a silken green cloth with writings from the holy Quran as embroideries. The Noor Khwan is made of glass and wood carvings. The Urs or the anniversary of Baba Payam Uddin Rishi, is observed annually on this date.

On 2 September 1989 the 300 years old shrine and the daan built by Baba Rishi was gutted in a fire under mysterious circumstances. The adjoining buildings were also severely damaged causing a huge loss to the historic place. It has since been rebuilt. It is believed that whenever a fire breaks out in the shrine some severe calamity befalls on the people of Kashmir, which seems to have been proven right.

Muslim Sultans of Kashmir occupied the throne for more than two centuries and a half. The most remarkable and popular of them all was Shahi Khan, the youngest and favourite son of Sultan Sikandar, the sixth sultan of the Shah Mir dynasty. Named Shahrukh by parents, Shahi Khan was charged with the rule of the kingdom of Kashmir when his elder brother, Ali Shah, left on a pilgrimage to Mecca. It was at this time Ali Shah gave him the title of Zain-ul-Abidin, literally the “Ornament of the Adorers”, or the “Glory of the Devout”. He was the eighth ruler of the 222-year-long Kashmir Sultanate and he ruled from 1420-1470 A.D.

He was noted early in life for his abilities. His accession was, therefore, hailed with joy by both Hindus and Muslims. He ushered in a period of nearly half a century of peace, prosperity and benevolent rule for his people. The first thirty-five years of his reign are described by Jonaraja in the Rajatarangini Dvitiya, while the subsequent years are described by the pupil of Jonaraja, Srivarain, in the Rajatarangini Tritiya. He acquired a halo in popular imagination which still surrounds his name in spite of the lapse of nearly five-hundred years. He was known by his subjects and indeed still is, as Badshah (the Great King). Historian Mohibul Hasan has said that “Of all the Sultans who sat on the throne of Kashmir, Zain-ul-Abidin was undoubtedly the greatest”.
About his physical appearance Srivara says that he was handsome and had a black, flowing beard. He was married to Taj Khatoon, to whom he had been very devoted. He possessed a deeply religious nature, a mild temper and was very rarely provoked to anger. He was strict in performance of his religious duties, praying five times a day and keeping the Ramadan fasts during which he did not take meat.

Although fundamentally a peaceful man, Zain-ul-Abidin was protective of his territory. Operating from Naushehar, the capital he founded, he had a strong army but was not known for conquests like his grandfather Shihab-ud-Din. However, he defended the territory he inherited. Throughout his half-a-century rule, he sent his army to Gilgit and Baltistan many times to retain the desert as part of his state. He was once personally part of the campaign. The Sultan conquered whole of the Punjab. He added Western Tibet between 1460-1470 A.D to his dominion. Here he rescued a golden image of Buddha from destruction in Saya-Desha above Leh on the Indus. He had excellent relationship with most of his contemporary kings within the neighbourhood, especially in Central Asia and mainland India. Available records suggest his impressive diplomacy even with states as far as Mecca.

When Zain-ul-Abidin came to the throne, corruption in the country was rampant. He appointed spies to inform him about the conduct of his officials of all ranks. His spy system was so efficient that the Sultan was able to know “all about his subjects except their dreams”.

To his good fortune the Sultan had a band of trustworthy and able followers like Helmat Raina and Ahmad Raina. He appointed his brother Mohammad Khan as his chief minister. Srivara, his Hindu historian and author of Zainatarangni, says that Zain-ul-Abidin “published a common order that if any theft occurred anywhere, the headman of the village or town where the theft occurred should be held responsible”.

Born around 1554 in the small village of Chandrahar in India, Habba Khatoon is remembered as one of the great mystic poets of her era and was called Zooni (translated as the moon) because of her great beauty. She is considered one of the great influences on Kashmiri culture and her songs and poetry are still popular within the region today.

There are several stories related to her and she is a popular figure in Kashmiri literary history. Her life was a difficult one and it is said that the influence she has exerted over the popular imagination had much to do with the difficulties she herself faced in her life. She was born a peasant girl and lived in poverty with very little education. Her first marriage was to a local peasant boy an in early age which ended in a divorce soon after. Her husband, an illiterate peasant, could not really understand her attraction to poetry which caused friction amongst her family, and after a few years of a troubled married life, left her. It was after this divorce that Zoon started to write and sing songs in Kashmiri. Unlike many of her friends and family, Khatoon was unusual in that she learned to read from an early age, primarily with the help of a local moulvi or Muslim doctor of law.

From the very beginning, Khatoon rebelled against the poetic norms of the day that many of her male counterparts adhered to. Most of the poetry written at this time was spiritual and often suffocating in its concentration on the individual rather than society as a whole.

It is said that Yusuf Shah Chak, who later on went to become the ruler of Kashmir, was out hunting one day when he heard Zoon singing under a Chinar tree. Upon hearing her melancholic melodies, he stopped and went looking for the woman singing in such beautiful voice. He found Zoon sitting under a tree and was stunned by her beauty. It was love at first sight for both of them and they decided to get married soon after. After marriage, she changed her name to Habba Khatoon.

For a while everything was all romantic and dreamy. Yousuf Shah Chak became the king of Kashmir and Habba Khatoon was the queen. But then came Akbar and his conquest of Kashmir. Chaks were a tribe of fighters from Gurez Valley who continued to rule Kashmir until 1589 AD, when it was annexed to Mughal Empire. They were formidable fighters of huge structure and had successfully resisted the attempts of Babur and Humayun to conquer Kashmir. When Akbar became the king, Chaks still remained to be a problem for Mughals when they defeated Akbar’s Army twice. This made the Mughal emperor realize that taking Kashmir by force may not be the best way out; hence he invited Yousuf to Delhi for a peaceful resolution.
Habba Khatoon did not like this idea even a bit. She is said to have a considerable control over her husband, the king. Sensing Akbar’s offer as bait, she tried to stop Yousuf the best she could. The king on the other hand knew that their Army will not be able to stand a third attack from Akbar. They have been fighting Mughals for a while but this is as far as it could have gone. Another attack by Akbar’s Army would have resulted in a massacre of his own people in the battlefield. He himself knew that he was walking into a trap; but had little choice other than to comply with Akbar’s offer and hence went to Delhi for talks.

As Habba Khatoon feared, Yousuf was captured on his arrival in Delhi and imprisoned in Bengal. He was later shifted to Bihar where he died and where his grave remains. Three years later, Akbar conquered Kashmir and annexed it to Mughal Empire with little to no resistance.

Zorawar Singh Kahluria (1784–12 December 1841) was a military general of Dogra Rajput ruler Gulab Singh of Jammu. He served as the governor (wazir-e-wazarat) of Kishtwar and extended the territories of the kingdom by conquering Ladakh and Baltistan. He also boldly attempted the conquest of Western Tibet (Ngari Khorsum) but was killed in battle of To-yo during the Dogra-Tibetan war. In reference to his legacy of conquests in the Himalayan mountains including Ladakh, Tibet, Baltistan and Iskardu as General and Wazir, Zorowar Singh has been referred to as the "Napoleon of India", and "Conqueror of Ladakh".

He was born in September 1784 in a Kahluria (Subname for Chandel of Kahlur) Rajput family in the princely state of Kahlur (Bilaspur) state, in present-day Himachal Pradesh. His family migrated to the Jammu region where, on coming of age, Zorawar took up service under Raja Jaswant Singh of Marmathi (modern Doda district). Zorawar Singh was employed by the ambitious Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu and was placed under the commandant of the Reasi fort (Bhimgarh fort). While delivering a routine message to the Gulab Singh, Zorawar told him of the financial waste occurring in the fort administration and boldly presented his own scheme to effect savings. Gulab Singh was impressed by Zorawar's sincerity and appointed him commandant of Reasi.

Zorawar Singh fulfilled his task and his grateful ruler made him commissariat officer of all forts north of Jammu. He was later made governor of Kishtwar and was given the title of Wazir (minister).

Even though it was a newly conquered region Zorawar had no trouble in keeping the peace; many of the local Rajputs were recruited into his army. In 1835 the nearby region of Paddar was taken from Chamba (now in Himachal Pradesh) in the course of a battle. Paddar later became known for its sapphire mines. But this was a mere sideshow to General Zorawar Singh's more famous expeditions, on which he had already embarked in the previous year.

To the east of Kishtwar and Kashmir are the snow-clad mountains of the upper Himalayas — the rivers of Zanskar Gorge, Suru River, and Drass rise from these snows, and flow across the plateau of Ladakh into the Indus River. Several petty principalities in this region were tributary to the Gyalpo of Ladakh (King). In 1834 one of these, the Raja of Timbus, sought Zorawar's help against the Gyalpo. Meanwhile, the Rajput general had been burning to distinguish himself by expanding the territory of Raja Gulab Singh — also at that time, according to the Gulabnama, Kishtwar went through a drought that caused a loss of revenue and forced Zorawar to extract money through war.

The Rajputs of Jammu and Himachal have traditionally excelled in mountain fighting; therefore Zorawar had no trouble in crossing the mountain ranges and entering Ladakh through the source of the Suru River where his 5000 men defeated an army of local Botis. After moving to Kargil and subduing the landlords along the way Zorawar received the submission of the Ladakhis — however Tsepal Namgyal, the Gyalpo (ruler), sent his general Banko Kahlon by a roundabout route to cut off Zorawar's communications. The astute general doubled back to Kartse, where he sheltered his troops through the winter. In the spring of 1835 he defeated the large Ladakhi army of Banko Kahlon and marched his victorious troops towards Leh. The Gyalpo now agreed to pay 50,000 rupees as war-indemnity and 20,000 rupees as an annual tribute.

General Zorawar Singh with the Gyalpo (King) and Gyalmo (Queen) of Ladakh. Following his conquest the King of Ladakh agreed to pay 50,000 rupees war indemnity and 20,000 rupees tribute per annum in 1835. Alarmed at the gains of the Dogras, the governor of Kashmir, Mehan Singh, incited the Ladakhi chieftains to rebel but Zorawar quickly marched back to the Himalayan valleys and subdued the rebels, now forcing the Raja of Zanskar to also pay a separate tribute to Jammu. But in 1836 Mehan Singh, who was in correspondence with the Lahore durbar, this time instigated the Gyalpo to revolt — Zorawar force-marched his army in ten days to surprise the Ladakhis and forced them to submit. He now built a fort outside Leh and placed there a garrison of 300 men under Dalel Singh — the Gyalpo was deposed to an estate and a Ladakhi general, Ngorub Stanzin, was made King. But the latter did not prove to be loyal hence the Gyalpo was restored to his throne in 1838.

Gulab Singh was born on 17 October 1792 in a Hindu Dogra Rajput family. His father was Kishore Singh Jamwal. He joined the army of Ranjit Singh in 1809 and was sufficiently successful to earn a jagir worth 12,000 rupees and also 90 horses.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh annexed Jammu and Kashmir by the battle of Jammu in 1808. Ranjit Singh appointed Kishore Singh as his governor for this state. Later in 1821 Gulab Singh conquered Rajouri from Aghar Khan and Kishtwar from Raja Tegh Mohammad Singh (alias Saifullah Khan). That same year, Gulab Singh took part in the Sikh conquest of Dera Ghazi Khan. He also captured and executed his own clansman, Mian Dido Jamwal, who had been leading a rebellion against the Sikhs.

Kishore Singh died in 1822 and Gulab Singh was confirmed as Raja of Jammu by his suzerain, Ranjit Singh. Shortly afterward, Gulab Singh secured a formal declaration of renunciation from his kinsman, the deposed Raja Jit Singh. As Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh was one of the most powerful chiefs of the Sikh Empire. Under the Imperial and Feudal Army arrangement, he was entitled to keep a personal army of 3 Infantry Regiments, 15 Light Artillery Guns and 40 Garrison Guns.

Maharaja Gulab Singh was the founder of Dogra dynasty and the first Maharaja of the Dogra Rajput princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, the second largest princely state under the British Raj, which was created after the defeat of the Sikh Empire in the First Anglo-Sikh War. During the war, Gulab Singh stayed aloof which helped the British victory, and even became prime minister of the Sikh Empire for the final 38 days of conflict. He signed the treaty of Amritsar in 1846 which formalised the sale of Jammu and Kashmir by the British for 7,500,000 Nanakshahee Rupees.

Shri Tara Chand of Gairu (Noorpur Village), popularly known as Kashyap Bandhu and Bulbul-e-Kashmir, should have been given the same position among social reformers in Kashmir as is bestowed to Raja Ram Mohan Roy of Bengal. He is better known as a political leader rather than a social reformer. His efforts to revolutionize the thinking of Kashmiri Pandits - change their social structure and social disabilities, brought about a tremendous change in the community, the impact of which is visible even today in the dress of our women folk i.e. 'saree' and in the fast growing education of our women.

Born in March 1899 to Thakur Bhat in Gairu (Noorpur village), he got his education up to primary standard in the local primary school and then in Srinagar up to entrance examination. After passing his entrance examination, a quest for job started and after a great struggle he got a job of Shajrakash in Revenue department. But after some time he left the job and went to Lahore. These were the days when Arya Samaj, Brahmo Samaj and other such organisations were advocating social reforms. He came under the influence of Arya Samaj and joined Vrjanand Ashram in Lahore. He became a total vegetarian and never touched meat etc. Vishwa Bandhu was the Principal of the Ashram. Vishwa Bandhu observed the keen interest of Tara Chand in public service and social reforms and advised him to serve Kashmir. It was he who named him as Kashyap Bandhu. Kashyap Bandhu became the editor of Arya Gazette in Lahore. While in Lahore, he saw the miserable condition of Kashmiri labour who used to migrate during winter months to earn their livelihood. He organised them and started Kashmiri Mazdoor Board of which he became the Secretary. He came into contact with revolutionaries and joined Bhagat Singh's party. He was arrested in Sanders' case but was released.

Kashyap Bandhu was always keen to serve Kashmir and while out of the State, he kept himself abreast of the conditions in the state and particularly about the conditions of his community - Kashmiri Pandits. It was during these years i.e. beginning of 1930-31 when the Muslim Conference came into existence. In 1931 when the leaders of Muslim Conference were in jail, a procession in connection with the demand for their release was taken out in the city of Srinagar. It became unruly and on their way the processionists looted the houses and shops of Kashmiri Pandits. Some of them were killed. Though the killing and looting stopped in no time, the scars remained for a long time. It was after this happening that Kashyap Bandhu returned to Kashmir. He was already familiar with the condition of the State particularly the Kashmiri Pandits. After his return to Kashmir - Shri Prem Nath Bazaz, Shri Shiv Narain Fotedar, Shri Jia Lal Kilam and Bandhuji organised "Yuvak Sabha" with its central office at Sheetal Nath. It was from this place that Bandhuji started his political and social reform activities. He realised that to ameliorate the condition of the community the social evils in the community should be removed and reforms brought in. During the beginning of the thirties he started his programme of Social Reforms. The Reforms which were taken up for implementation were:

1) Widow re-marriage:
In those days widows were not allowed to remarry as the society did not approve of it. Young widows had to suffer for whole life and depend for their existence on the in-laws or own parents. Kashyap Bandhu started the movement, propagated for it along with other workers. Most of the workers who worked with him volunteered and married widows. That was the example they put forth for the community. In those years many widows got remarried.

2) Wasteful expenditure and other customs:
Most of the expenditure incurred during the marriages or other festivals used to be wasteful. The manner in which feasts were given for days together on such occasions and food stuffs and other things wasted was unbearable. To stop all this, Bandhuji and his colleagues started picketing and used to sit on dharnas wherever such feasts were organised. He requested the people to limit the number of Baratis and stop wasting the money and the food stuff. He also advocated limiting the number of preparations on such occasions and refrain from giving huge dowries. Those days it had a salutary effect on the community.

3) Girl Education:
The greatest contribution of Kashyap Bandhu is the spread of education among the girls. It was during that time that girl school such as Vasanta School came into existence. We owe it to him that our women folk have taken to education and are not lagging behind in any field today.

4) Weekly Congregations:
Weekly gatherings used to be organised at Hari Parbat where the community people used to gather in large numbers. Yajnas (Havans) were also performed. This was done to imbibe unity and brotherhood among Pandit Community.

5) Mochchi Phol:
Kashyap Bandhu started collecting contributions and donations both in kind and cash to help widows. His volunteers used to visit each and every house to collect rice and other things just to give solace to the economically and socially backward persons. He started 'Silai Kendra' to give training to the needy widows so that they could sustain themselves.

6) From Pheran to Saree:
Today we see our womenfolk in sarees and salwar kameez. During the period of early thirties, sarees and salwar kurtas were non-existent. Pheran was the common dress for our women without any under garment beneath it. This dress was responsible for lethargy and laziness. Bandhuji requested the women folk to change the dress and start wearing sarees and that too khadi sarees. There was resistance initially but he and his volunteers started visiting each and every house and requested the women to change the dress. His efforts bore results and today saree and salwar kameez have become the normal dress of our women folk.

Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, known as Sher-e-Kashmir was born on 5 December 1905 at Soura, near Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. He is a prominent figure in India’s struggle for independence from British rule, who fought for the rights of the Kashmir region. He won a semiautonomous status for Jammu and Kashmir state within independent India, a status which the state continued to enjoy into the 21st century until its autonomy was suspended in 2019 by Government of India to curb the militant activities.

Abdullah was educated at the Prince of Wales College (Jammu) and the Islamia College (Lahore; now in Pakistan) and received a master’s degree in physics from Aligarh Muslim University in 1930. He championed the rights of the Muslim majority in the Kashmir region during British rule in India and fought against the discrimination exercised by the Hindu ruling house there. In 1932, after Abdullah served the first of what would be many terms of imprisonment, he founded a political party, the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, which seven years later was, renamed the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC). He supported the concept of a secular state, and, when India achieved independence in 1947, he strongly opposed the idea of Kashmiris joining Muslim Pakistan.

In 1948 Abdullah became prime minister (head of government; from 1965 called chief minister) of Jammu and Kashmir state. Despite his early support for Indian leader Jawaharlal Nehru, many Indians believed that Abdullah’s ultimate aim was independence for Kashmir; therefore, in 1953 he was dismissed and imprisoned. During the next 11 years he refused to pledge his loyalty to India and spent most of the time under detention. When he was released by Nehru in 1964, he received an enthusiastic reception from the Kashmiri people. In subsequent talks with the Indian government, he worked out the basis of a possible solution to the Kashmir problem.

He was dispatched on a foreign tour to gain the goodwill of Pakistan and Algeria, but India’s relations with Pakistan had by then deteriorated, and Abdullah’s foreign tour came to be seen as seditious by the Indian government. At the same time, his support in Jammu and Kashmir had been eroded by the apparent lack of progress in negotiations with India. Abdullah was again arrested and was not released until 1968. From then until his appointment as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir in 1975 (following the signing of an accord that finalized the status of the state), his Plebiscite Front party (a splinter group of the JKNC) gained some successes, but it lost to the Indian National Congress (Congress Party) in the 1972 state legislative assembly elections. He subsequently reunited with the JKNC, and the party won a solid victory in the 1977 assembly elections. Abdullah was again named chief minister and served in that post until his death.

Abdullah’s relations with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi were sometimes strained, but the 1975 accord which he negotiated with her allowed Jammu and Kashmir to continue a form of autonomy within the Indian union. His government was later accused of corruption, but, though his popularity waned, he was still admired for his outstanding contribution to the cause of Kashmiri national rights. Upon his death, his son, Farooq Abdullah, succeeded him as leader of the JKNC. Farooq was then succeeded as leader by his son, Omar Abdullah, in 2002, but Farooq again took over the party’s leadership in 2009. Jammu and Kashmir lost its autonomy in 2019, but the JKNC continued to advocate for its restoration.

On October 26, 1947, Pashtun tribesmen armed to teeth and sent as a proxy by Pakistan Army had taken control of Baramulla town in North Kashmir, as Maharaja Hari Singh was undecided on joining either the Indian or the Pakistan domain in the wake of freedom from the British and division of the sub-continent.

As Jammu and Kashmir and the entire nation marked the ‘Black Day’ of tribal invasion in 1947 by lashkars of 20,000 Pakistani tribesmen, the nation knows less about the martyr Maqbool Sherwani. Nicknamed The Lion of Baramulla who sacrificed himself to save the lives of Kashmiris and to resist invasion on Indian soil.

Facing no resistance, the Pakistani looted homes and temples, raped women – Hindu, Sikhs, and Christians and killed activists of National Conference in villages and the Baramulla town located on the Jhelum. In no time the invaders, were to reach Srinagar, the capital city.

The idea of Pakistan was to capture Srinagar Airport as it was the only means for urgent procurements and deployment of the Indian army in case of immediate warfare. Controlling the Srinagar airport meant cutting off the valley from the rest of India.

At this juncture, a young Kashmiri aged about 30 to 35 Years (Age needs corroboration), Maqbool Sherwani, misguided the raiders and suggested to them a wrong path that was going to lead them to nowhere. He also led them for some distance astray. However, after wandering on the wrong path for some time and realizing about being misguided, the raiders returned back to find Sherwani and punish him for the delay to buy time to stop their advance.

One day Sherwani was returning to Sumbal from Srinagar. At Duderhama, the local NC leaders Mohan Lal Tikoo Shahpori and Sheikh Ghulam Qadir Baboosa forcefully pleaded that he should not go back as Sumbal and Vaskoora were under the control of the Pakistani Invaders. A brave man that he was, Sherwani did not fear bullets. He was taken captive by the invaders at Satkeri near Zazzunbadampora, 02 Km from Vaskoora and was reportedly kept in the House of a Pandit Family in Sumbal before being taken to Baramulla” (1).

Reflecting the intensity of their hatred for Sherwani, the raiders subjected him to many days of interrogation and torture. They then mutilated his body and crucified it before firing bullets on him. His body, nailed to a wooden plank, was tied to two pillars of Khan Hotel, near Regina Cinema and kept hanging for several days as no one dared to come out. The raiders also pasted a note on his head that read--‘He is a traitor, his punishment is death’. According to a few anecdotes, it is believed that Sherwani kept shouting “Sher-e-Kashmir Zindabad” when he was being executed.

Sherwani died a martyr’s death, which did not go in vain. Kashmiris rose up against the raiders with a greater intensity all over the valley as soon as the news of his martyrdom spread like a wildfire. Most importantly, the misguiding of raiders helped in providing a buffer and buying time for the Indian soldiers to reach Srinagar and save the airport and the city.

A verse recalling the sacrifice of Maqbool Sherwani became popular:

“Kujay Sher Sherwani, Dichath Kithkyan Kurbani, Khudaya Vanya Kar Ahsan, Kashir Baniyav Hindustan, Yoti Ayi Pulhor Choor, Korakh Varan Yi Gulistan, Kasheer Banyav Hindustan”

which means:

“Hail Tiger Sherwani! How he gave supreme sacrifice! God, now have mercy upon us. Kashmir has become Hindustan.Looters who invade this place did not spare even grass-shoes. They ravaged this beautiful garden. Kashmir has become Hindustan.”