Kashmiris
have rarely seen good days. From 1300 A.D. they had to undergo foreign
rule for a long time. Kashmir was invaded very often. Because of this
there was bloodshed every now and then, and the government changed hands
every so often.
Kashmir
has been ruled by the Mughals, the Afghans, the Sikhs and the Dogras.
Some of these rulers were cruel and narrowminded. They destroyed temples
in Kashmir, and persecuted the Kashmiri Pandits. It is said that the
Kashmiri Pandits had to face so much hardship that they either became
converts to Islam or left Kashmir for good. It is also said that at one
time the number of Kashmiri Pandits was reduced to only eleven families.
But not
all the rulers were bad. Some of them were compassionate and progressive.
They kept both the Kashmiri Hindus and Muslims happy and made Kashmir
prosperous. From among these rulers Zain-ul-Abdin's name is mentioned with
particular reverence. That is why both Hindus and Muslims affectionately
call him "the great king".
Chapter
35
