Was Kashmir ever a Hindu majority?

In the 1941 Census of British India, Muslims accounted for 93.6% of the population of the Kashmir Valley and the Hindus constituted 4%. In 2003, the percentage of Muslims in the Kashmir Valley was 95% and those of Hindus 4%; the same year, in Jammu, the percentage of Hindus was 67% and those of Muslims 27%.

What was the percentage of Hindu in Kashmir in 1947?

and the Anantnag district, where they were 7.84 percent of the population. Scholar Christopher Snedden states that the Pandits made up about 6 per cent of the Kashmir Valley's population in 1947.

When did Hindus leave Kashmir?

The Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, or Pandits, is their early-1990 migration, or flight, from the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley in Indian-administered Kashmir following rising violence in an insurgency.

Who ruled Kashmir before Muslims?

Srinagar was ruled by the Mauryan empire till around the 14th century and it was emperor Ashoka, who had introduced Buddhism to the valley of Kashmir. The Kushans believed to have controlled this region during the first century who ruled over this place from their stronghold at Pakistan and Afghanistan.

What was the religion of Kashmir before Islam?

It was a centre of Buddhism, at least since the time of Ashoka, who lived 2,300 years ago. The history of Kashmir extends to the period when there was pit-dwelling and Neolithic farming in 3,000 BCE, followed by houses built on the ground level and pre-Aryan burial practices found in 1,500 BCE.

How One Neighborhood in Kashmir Is Resisting India’s Army

Why did Kashmiri Pandits convert to Islam?

In 1339 Kashmir throne was captured by Sultan Shahmir who founded Shah Mir dynasty in Kashmir. Subsequently, according to some traditions ten thousand Kashmiris converted to Islam and hence the seeds of Islam in Kashmir were sown.

Who converted Kashmir to Islam?

The mass conversion of the Kashmir Valley to Islam occurred in the fourteenth century. This was catalysed by Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, a Persian Sufi mystic from Hamedan in western Iran, who visited Kashmir thrice in the 1370s and 1380s accompanied by hundreds of disciples, many of whom settled in Kashmir.

Who ended Hindu rule in Kashmir?

The last Hindu ruler of Kashmir was Udyan Dev. His Chief Queen Kota Rani was the de-facto ruler of the kingdom. With her death in 1339 the Hindu rule in Kashmir came to an end and thus was established the Muslim rule in Kashmir under Sultan Shamas-ud-din-whose dynasty ruled the valley for 222 years.

Why did Kashmir not join Pakistan?

He decided to stay independent because he expected that the State's Muslims would be unhappy with accession to India, and the Hindus and Sikhs would become vulnerable if he joined Pakistan. On 11 August, the Maharaja dismissed his prime minister Ram Chandra Kak, who had advocated independence.

Who sold Kashmir to India?

The Treaty of Amritsar (1846) formalised the sale by the British to Gulab Singh for 7,500,000 Nanakshahee Rupees of all the lands in Kashmir that were ceded to them by the Sikhs by the Treaty of Lahore.

When did Muslims take over Kashmir?

In 1339, Shah Mir became first Muslim ruler of Kashmir, setting up the Shah Mir dynasty. For next five centuries, Muslims ruled Kashmir, including the Mughal Empire from 1586 until 1751 and the Afghan Durrani Empire from 1747 until 1819.

How was Kashmir converted to Islam?

Islam is the major religion which is practised in Kashmir, with 97.16% of the region's population identified as Muslims, as of 2014. The religion - Islam, came to the region with the arrival of Mir sayed Ali shah Hamdani a Muslim Sufi preacher from Central Asia and Persia, beginning in the early 14th century.

Are Hindus indigenous to Kashmir?

The indigenous population of Kashmir, however, have already been displaced. Hindus indigenous to the Kashmir Valley, known as Kashmiri Pandits, are the original inhabitants of Kashmir and have a unique ethno-religious culture that dates back more than 5000 years.

How many Hindus were killed during partition?

The Independence of India was accompanied by Partition in which India and Pakistan were formed, leading to the migration of over 1.5 crore people, of whom up to 10,00,000 are believed to have been killed in communal violence as per some estimates.

Which is the oldest religion in Kashmir?

In the first half of the 1st 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.

Who are Kashmiris descended from?

The Kashmiri population is an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group from Jammu and Kashmir state in northern India. The precise origins of the Kashmiri population are unknown. It has been suggested that they are descendants of one of the “lost tribes” of Israel who were exiled in 722 BCE [1].

When did India lose Kashmir to Pakistan?

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, or the First Kashmir War, was a war fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four Indo-Pakistani wars between the two newly independent nations.

Why did Pakistan give part of Kashmir to China?

The Sino-Pakistan Agreement is a 1963 document between the governments of Pakistan and China establishing the border between those countries in the disputed Kashmir region. It resulted in both countries ceding over 1,942 square kilometres (750 sq mi) to the other.

Is Kashmir owned by India or Pakistan?

Today, the term encompasses a larger area that includes the India-administered territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the Pakistan-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Chinese-administered territories of Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract.

Who were the original inhabitants of Kashmir?

The Indigenous People of Erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Hunza : The Hunza or the Burusho people inhabit the Hunza Valley and neighboring Valleys in the extreme North of the state. They speak the Burushaski language which as a language has not been identified with any language Group.

Who sold Kashmir to Pakistan?

Under the terms of the Treaty of Amritsar that followed in March 1846, the British government sold Kashmir for a sum of 7.5 million Nanakshahee rupees to Gulab Singh, hereafter bestowed with the title of Maharaja.

Which caste is highest in Kashmir?

The largest community within the Kashmiri Hindus are the Kashmiri Pandits (Kashmiri Brahmins), who are divided into several gotras, such as the priests (gor or bhasha Bhatta), astrologers (Zutshi), and workers (Karkun). The Wani are historically Banias, with subcastes, such as the Kesarwani.

What happened to female Kashmiri Pandits?

On 13 August 1990, Babli Raina, a Kashmiri Pandit teacher in the Education Department, was gang raped in her house in the presence of her family and then killed. On 30 March 1992, armed militants demanded food and shelter from the family of the retired Hindu truck driver Sohan Lal Baroo in Nai Sadak, Kralkhud.

What was the percentage of Muslims in Kashmir in 1947?

Of these, 2,398,320 (75.94%) were Muslims, 696,830 (22.06%) Hindus, 31,658 (1%) Sikhs, and 36,512 (1.16%) Buddhists. In the last census of British India in 1941, the total population of Kashmir and Jammu (which as a result of the second world war, was estimated from the 1931 census) was 3,945,000.