History of Kashmir, Ladakh & Gilgit (Photostat)

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The history of Kashmir is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent in South Asia with influences from the surrounding regions of Central and East Asia. Historically, Kashmir referred to only the Kashmir Valley of the western Himalayas. Today, it denotes a larger area that includes the Indian- administered union territories of Jammu and Kashmir (which consists of Jammu and the Kashmir Valley) and Ladakh, the Pakistan-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Chinese-administered regions of Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract.

In the first half of the Ist millennium, the Kashmir region became an important centre of Hinduism and later under the Mauryas and Kushanas of Buddhism. Later in the ninth century, during the rule of the Karkota Dynasty, a native tradition of Shaivism arose. It flourished in the seven centuries of Hindu rule, continuing under the Utpala and the Lohara dynastics, ending in the mid-14th century.

Islamization in Kashmir began during the 13th century, accelerated under Muslim rule during the 14th and 15th centuries, and led to the eventual decline of the Kashmir Shaivism in Kashmir.

In 1339, Shah Mir became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir, inaugurating the Shah Mir dynasty. For the next five centuries, Muslim monarchs ruled Kashmir, including the Mughal Empire, who ruled from 1586 until 1751, and the Afghan Durrani Empire, which ruled from 1747 until 1819. That year, the Sikhs, under Ranjit Singh, annexed Kashmir. In 1846, after the Sikh defeat in the First Anglo- Sikh War, the Treaty of 1 ahore was signed and upon the purchase of the region from the British under the Treaty of Amritsar, the Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh, beeame the new ruler of Kashmir. The rule of his descendants, under the paramountcy (or tutelage) of the British Crown, lasted until 1947, when the former princely state became a disputed territory, now administered by three countries: India, Pakistan, and the People's Republic of China.

There are few so interesting, full of details and illustrative travel books on "Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Skardu, Astor etc." as this. The numerous guide books either lack in details, necessary hints, illustrations and maps or are too bulky and costly. In this book all the important routes, places of interest along with their history and routes, guide maps and all the relevant, useful and latest information that may be of any use to visitors to that country have been dealt with in a descriptive-yet concise form. This book also contains chapters, full of necessary information, on Arts and Crafts, Fishing, Hunting, Religious buildings, Fruits and Vegetables.

The bibliography at the end of the book will prove the fact that materials for the book have been collected from numerous valuable sources and I am confident that they will stand the test of critical observers.

The author is not wholly and solely interested in India alone but has got an equal infatuation for other prominent countries of the world in their political, economical and commercial aspects. All negotiations are welcomed.

THIS Guide to Kashmir written by Mr. Arora should be a great help to those visiting Kashmir, especially to those taking the longer journeys up the numerous valleys, and to the land of the Lamas.

Visitors before engaging House-boats or placing orders with merchants in the city should go to the Office of the Visitors Bureau to seek their advice and look at "the black list" and so save themselves from unnecessary loss.

In every country there are sharks and crooks and Kashmir is no exception to other countries in this matter.