‘Kashmir land of Kashyap Rishi’

New Delhi, Jan 2: Terming Kashmir as the land of Kashyap Rishi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that it’s an inseparable part of India’s soul.
Shah while addressing a gathering here after launching a book “Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh: Through the Ages”, said, “There is every possibility about Kashmir being named after Kashyap Rishi.”
Kashyap Rishi, according to the historians, is said to have drained the Kashmir Valley to make it habitable. “The Valley is named after him, and the word Kashmir is an ancient Sanskrit word that literally translates to Land of Kashyap Rishi,” historians claim.
Referring to the contributions of the historians like Abhinav Gupt, and Pandit Kalhan, the Union Home Minister said, “These historians presented Kashmir before the world in a right perspective.”
Shah said, “As far as the trade is concerned one can easily find the evidence about Kashmir serving as a focal point for trade and commerce through the Silk Route to Central Asia and from Shankara-Acharya temple to Hemis Mutt.”
He said, “Kashmir from the very beginning has remained an abode of harmony and has accommodated people having different views.”
The Union Home Minister said that historians have established that the “Meetings of the advisory council of King Kanishka were held in Kashmir.”
The Union Home Minister also accused a few historians of distorting facts and said, “A few historians did what they did but now who can stop us? The nation is free and there is a government that is running according to the country’s views. It is our work now to represent the nation with facts and proof and from our point of view.”
Kashmir has always remained India’s integral part
He reiterated that Kashmir has always remained an integral part of India’s identity. “To understand Bharat, the facts connecting our country need to be understood. To analyse where Kashmir and Ladakh were by twisting the facts on the basis of who ruled it, who lived here, and what agreements were signed, is pointless and only historians with a crooked vision of history can do this. The 10,000-year-old culture of India spread in all areas was also present in Kashmir. When 8000-year-old books mention Kashmir and Jhelum, then no one can comment on to whom Kashmir belongs,” he said.
“Kashmir is and has always been an inseparable part of India. No one can separate it using sections of law. Attempts were made to separate it using law but those sections were abrogated in the flow of time and all obstacles were removed,” the Union Home Minister said.
He said, “The history of all corners of our country is thousands of years old where activities were done to give something to the civilisations of the world. During the time of dependence, attempts were made to make us forget this. A myth was propagated that this nation was never united and the idea of independence was redundant. A lot of people also accepted this falsehood.”
Referring to British rule, he said, “The definition of our country written in history during British rule was wrong because of their lack of knowledge. The existence of all nations of the world is geopolitical. They are formed by boundaries, as a result of either a war or an agreement.”
“India is the only nation in the world which is a ‘Geo-cultural’ country and the boundaries are defined because of culture. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Gandhar to Odisha and Bengal to Assam, we are connected because of our culture. Those who define a country as something geopolitical, cannot define our country,” Shah said.
‘J&K and Kadakh through the ages’
Referring to the book ‘J&K and Ladakh Through the Ages’, Shah said, “This book presents all factors in detail. The art in the ruins of old temples proves that Kashmir is a part of India only… Kashmir is also an integrated part of the Buddhist journey that went from Nepal to Afghanistan. All the history from Buddhism, to demolished temples, to the use of Sanskrit, to the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, to Dogra reign, to the mistakes made after 1947 and to their rectification, all the 8000 years of history are included in this book.” (KNO)