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JAMMU KASHMIR LADAKH
Jammu &Kashmir is a state in India. It is a large state
and was ruled by a Maharaja (Indian King) in the past. Jammu
& Kashmir is made up of many regions but is called Jammu
& Kashmir because the two most populous regions in the
state are called Jammu and Kashmir. There are other distinct
regions in the state including Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan and
Skardu. India's neighbour, Pakistan, grabbed many of these
regions about 50 years ago. Some parts of the state were forcibly
taken over by China. The largest portion of the original state
of Jammu & Kashmir remains as a state within India.
Jammu and Kashmir came into being as a single political and
geographical entity following the Treaty of Amristar between
the British Government and Gulab singh signed on March 16,
1846. The Treaty handed over the control of the Kashmir State
to the Dogra ruler of Jammu who had earlier annexed Ladakh.
Thus a new State comprising three distinct religions of Jammu,
Kashmir and Ladakh was formed with Maharaja Gulab Singh as
its founder ruler.
Jammu district derives its name from the city of Jammu which
besides being the winter capital of the state, is known as
the city of temples. It is believed that the city was originally
founded by Raja Jamboo Lochan who lived in fourteenth century
B.C. The Raja had gone out one day for hunting when he happened
to witness a tiger and a goat drinking water from one and
the same pond. This extraordinary phenomenon set him thinking
and he decided to build a city at this site so that the strong
and weak could live together in peace and mutual tolerance.
Eventually, he founded the city which came to be known as
"Jamboo" after his own name. With the passage of
time and due to its frequent use the pronunciation of the
name got slightly distorted and the city, came to be known
as 'Jammu' as it is called now
Jammu and Kashmir or J&K has the distinctiveness of having
multihued, motley of unique cultural blend, differentiating
it from the rest of the country. Jammu & Kashmir is not
only different in cultural forms and heritage, but also different
in geographical, demographically, ethical and social entities
from other parts of the country. The state is accurately shaped
into a spectrum of variance and variation
Clearly visible in the distinct parts - Jammu, Kashmir and
Ladakh, all yielding diverse religion, language and culture,
but constantly interfusing, making it sparkling specimens
of Indian unity in diversity. The various cultural forms like
art & architecture, fairs & festivals, rites &
rituals, seers & sagas, languages and landscapes, mounted
on the ageless era of history, speaks aloud of uniformity
and diversity with matchless cultural symmetry & service.
The sheer beauty and grandeur of the Kashmir Valley cannot
be captured in plain words. Set at the foot of the awesome
Himalayas, with the splendid Jhelum river meandering through
it, this land of raw natural magnificence has enticed people
from all over the world, for centuries. Aptly referred to
as Paradise, Kashmir has been ruled by Emperor Ashoka, the
Kushans, Gonondas, Guptas, Karkotas, Mughals, Afghans, Sikhs,
and finally by the Dogras in the 19th century. Despite all
these invasions, the Kashmiris have retained their traditions
and innate simplicity. The major chunk of the population is
Muslim, followed by Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians.
Kashmir is a land crisscrossed by umpteen lakes and rivers,
each fascinating in its own way. The Jhelum or Vitasta, as
it was called, is not only the bloodline, as it were, of the
state, but also poses as the ethereal inspiration for many
songs, legends, and poems. The other notable lakes include
the Manasbal Lake, the Liddar river, the famous Dal lake,
Nagin Lake and the Wular Lake, the largest in the state. Shalimar,
Nasim Bagh, Nishat Bagh, and the legendary Chashme - e - Shahi
are some of the delightful gardens, that are to be found here.
Apart from its being the land of soaring snowclad mountains,
sparkling waterfalls, shikaras (water taxis), impressive chinar
trees, and vast fields of vibrant flowers, Kashmir is also
renown for its unique handicrafts - papier-mache, woodwork,
stone jewellery, fine Pashmina and Shahtush shawls, carpet
weaving and silverware. The arts and crafts of this region
are more than 500 years old, and bear a distinct Persian imprint.
The valley is studded with several mosques and temples, built
in diverse architectural styles. The Hazratbal Mosque, the
holiest of all Muslim shrines, the stone temples of Avantipur,
the cave at Amarnath, the most sacred Hindu shrine in the
state, the great Shankaracharya temple, the Martand Temple
all add to the kaleidoscopic appeal of Kashmir.
Kashmir has been the highest learning point of Sanskrit and
Persian where early Indo-Aryanic civilization has originated
and flourished. Ladakh on the other side, has been the highest
living centre of Tantrayan Buddhism. Similarly Jammu, has
been the axis of Rajas and Maharajas, who have enriched the
cultural, historical and social bonds of all these diverse
ethnic and linguistic sections of the state. The ancient archeological
monuments and remnants of the past are the true picture of
the rich cultural traditions of the state. |
