Jain Rajtarangini was penned by Shrivar and he has depicted the horrifying vengeance that has destroyed the ancient cultural legacy of Kashmir by the Sayyeds.
सेकंधरधरानाथो यवनै : प्रेरित : पूरा।
पुस्तकान सकलान सर्वास्त्रुनान्यग्निन।।
The Sayyeds ignited Sultan Sikander to burn the eternal Sanskrit literature tomes of Kashmir, like grass.
Sikander “Butshikan” began blazing Sanskrit volumes as well as the largest libraries that were treasures of knowledge. Some of the libraries were ablaze for more than six months. The distinctive sources of knowledge and information were burnt as fuel in the kitchens and Turkish bathing rooms of Muslim Sultans and Sayyeds.
Witnessing such extirpation, many of the Kashmiri Pandits were exceptionally worried as they felt that this was the obliteration of Bharatiya cultural heritage and they feared that such a precious legacy would be lost forever.
Hence, innumerable Hindus, fled via unrevealed routes, in the hilly regions of the Himalayas and forests and many of them successfully delivered this valuable heritage in safe zones.
As Shrivar presents the datum of this historical deponent :
तस्मीन काले बुधा : सर्वे, मोसुलोपद्रवाजवात।
गृहित्वा पुस्तकान सर्वान, यारयूर्द्र दिगंतरम ।।
(Rajtarangini -1: 76.)
During the reign of Sikander Butshiken, thousands of Sayyeds reached Kashmir and promoted blood-stained campaigns of religious conversion. Under the facade of religious preaching, the blood torrent that Sayyeds, infused in Kashmiris can be attributed as a blotted page of human history.
As Shrivar writes in Jain Rajtarangini, – The redbaiting saga of Sayyeds is nothing less than horrifying. It had crossed every limit of inhumanity and viciousness.
Sayyeds murdered Vaidya (Doctor) Pandit Bhuvneshwar and cut his Sandalwood besmeared head and put out on the Rajpath! (4:185-86). To permeate fear among the people, the decapitated heads were hung on the sticks and coal on the bank of river Vitasta!!!
The corpses were thrown away in the river Vitasta. They would be swollen, contaminating the water of Vitasta.
and flowing down towards Woolar Lake. No one ever contaminated about performing their last rites. (4:199).
The women, from both directions of the banks, would be shot with an arrow, lancinating their body parts and it was the commonest occurrence. (4:206). Each day, two to three people were stopped and hanged till death. The carcass of elite seigneur would be thrown on streets as unclaimed. The officers were executed without incurring justice.
Using the governing strength of Sultans, the Sayyeds furthered the conversion movement, concluding fiercely the cultural ethos of Kashmir as well as initiated construction of numerous Mosques and Madrassa to escalate the expansion of Islam. The famous Vilvihar Mosque and Jama Masjid of Srinagar were built during the era.
Post Sikander Butshikan” ‘s demise, his son Ali Shah came to power. He walked on the footprints carved by his father and he did not leave a single stone unturned in persecuting Hindus and forcefully victimizing them to convert to Islam. He was intoxicated to extinct Hindus and with the support of Saifuddin (Suha Bhatt) and elected him as his Prime minister.
Jonraaj, has noted that during Ali Shah’s tenure, Brahmins were victimized to the core. This obnoxious person banned the religious processions and instead persuaded events on “Dooj ka Chand.”
Many Brahmins committed suicide fearing religious conversion Few jumped in fire, few hanged themselves, innumerable jumped off from the cliff. As the roads leading to outside Kashmir were blocked, the Brahmins went absconding, using the interior routes.
Every person was trying to save himself, unable to care for near and dear ones. They had no choice but to face the bloodcurdling experiences while absconding. Shortage of edible food, painful ailments, snake and insect bites, horrific weather, difficult journey evaporated the trepidation of the abyss, and innumerable ones, unable to bear these horrors, died on the way.
Hindus, who were in large numbers in Kashmir, were victimized by Sultans as they were obstacles in the goal of Islamisation. The Islamic rulers adopted every possible method, like inveiglement to massacre to fulfill their aim of Islamisation.
But, there is always a Silver lining, when the dark clouds are multiplying.
One Kashmiri Pandit, Ratnakar Bhatt, initiated embodying Hindus and induced prowess within them. He gathered support from newly converted Muslim Pandits, using his sophistication and diplomacy, to achieve this.
One converted Muslim Pandit, Mulaanauddin gave huge support to Ratnakar Bhatt and both of them were gathering like-minded ones, maintaining complete secrecy. But, as Kashmir had to face further unfortunate periods, they were caught and killed.
There were genuine Kashmiris, who had chosen to convert as they did not have an alternative but some were enticed and did not have much integrity with their roots. One such Muslim Pandit informed the authority and Ratnakar Bhatt’s efforts were tarnished.
Sultan Ali Shah ordered strict enforcement of Conversion and Islamisation and as the result of such violent implementation, only Eleven Hindu families were left. Rest had no choice, but to convert or escape.
Sources of Information:
हमारी भूलोका स्मारक : धर्मांतरित कश्मीर
नरेन्द्र सहगल
My Frozen Turbulence in Kashmir
Jagmohan ji.
Madhvi Bhuta is the National Executive of BJP Mahila Morcha and a Columnist on various Forums.