By DR.ABDUL AHAD
A huge and ever-growing spiritual and intellectual acquisitiveness induced grand propagandists and dedicated zealots of the Hindu and Buddhist civilizations to undertake, successively, a systematic voyage to explore fairly adequate and socio-religiously temperate zones for bringing them within their fold and sphere of influence. Kashmir being the most highly developed Asiatic esse; a cordial and peaceful entity and; a picturesque land with bewitching beauty and too enticing a climate appealed them more than other places, notwithstanding its geographical hitches and topographical complexities. These civilizations sequentially settled here and endeavoured to reshape its ethos on healthy basis.
Perhaps no one, even with a little knowledge of history, can dispute the observable that geographical seclusion, hostile terrain and harsh climate have pushed some human societies to the fringes of civilization, far away from its outstanding gifts and profound refinements; leaving them to louse themselves up with a solipsistic view of life and a pernicious feeling that there exists no world outside the boundaries of their countries; obscurıng, thus, the prospects of their healthy social intercourse with other cultures and vigorous and vibrant interaction with different races. Deeply off-putting various cultural currents and cross-currents to crash on to their lives, such an impermeable geo-physical environment and resultant attitude has, thus, enforced a kind of solitariness. Isolationism and idleness amongst these societies; making their members endure an endemic infestation of inertia and cynicism.
But Kashmir has been a notable exception in this case. Its geography, though complicated in many ways, has, in fact, been its invaluable asset which has acted not only as its natural defending champion against foreign incursions but also as a great source of inspiration for the outside World; attracting major civilizations to benefit from its institutions, its knowledge bank, its benevolence, its altruism, and its scenic beauty, and in return augment its cultural wealth by appropriate spiritual fusion. Since the dawn of its recorded history,Kashmir has always kept its doors and windows wide open to let the fresh breeze of various civilizations blow through its vales and dales to wrap these up in its fragrance producing, thereby, a new feeling of optimism, resilience and buoyancy to spread across its territories; its gigantic mountains, and its uneven passes.
History and geography have both, thus, been too benevolent to create great opportunities for Kashmir to become a focal point for Asiatic civilizations; a hub of caravan trade and frenetic commercial activities; and a great centre for spiritual, artistic and religious discourses. These have been mind bogglingly so generous that all the blessings of paradise have marvelously collaborated to transform Kashmir into a real and blissfully enjoyable heaven on earth, and into a laboratory where the blending of cultures was experimented one after another for outpouring and subsequent transmission of new ideas and institutions to distant outposts of South Asia, Central Asia and China persuading people liberally to visit the Valley at least once in their life time.
Both inside and outside factors have pooled together to cause this phenomenal spectrum. Internally, it was equally and essentially innate Kashmiri inquisitiveness: their unquenchable thirst for knowledge; their relentless urge and striving after perfection, and above all their burning desire of sharing skills, experiences and other innumerable benefits accruing from a frequent, vibrant and lovely cultural give and take; that prompted Kashmir to interact more widely and enthusiastically with the world beyond Zojila, Burzil, Tosamaidan, Banihal and Uri and, thereby, develop requisite acumen to fathom the complexities of Universe and become more and more objective and moral to launch a protracted struggle against ignorance, superstition, backwardness, poverty and injustice.
Externally, nothing but a huge and ever-growing spiritual and intellectual acquisitiveness induced grand propagandists and dedicated zealots of the Hindu and Buddhist civilizations to undertake, successively, a systematic voyage to explore fairly adequate and socioreligiously temperate zones for bringing them within their fold and sphere of influence. Kashmir being the most highly developed Asiatic esse; a cordial and peaceful entity and ; a picturesque land with bewitching beauty and too enticing a climate appealed them more than other places, notwithstanding its geographical hitches and topographical complexities.
to be continued …..
Dr. Abdul Ahad is a well-known historian of Kashmir. He presents a perspective on the Kashmir issue and talks about Kashmir’s history and individuality and personality.
