KASHMIR'S SIKH ANNEXATION

One of the worst misgovernance that Kashmir witnessed was during the 27 years of the Sikh rule when Kashmir was part of the Lahore Durbar. This annexation was prior permitted by the British, writes Khawaja Zahid Aziz

- Khawaja Zahid Aziz

The state of Jammu and Kashmir has a rich history spread over a period of more than five thousand years preserved in written form. Asoka, Kanishka and Lalitaditya were the most conspicuous figures of the Hindu dynasty. They raised their country to the height of glory it had never reached before. (see Charagh Hasan Hasrat, Kashmir) After them, the history of Kashmir sinks into a long tale of court intrigue with one weak king succeeding another, until the centuries of Hindu Rule came to an end in AD 1323, when Renchan Shah, a Tibetan by birth and an adventurer at the court, raised a successful rebellion and usurped the throne. (Encyclopaedia of Kashmir, vol-I, p15)

MUSLIM RULE

After him, Shah Mir, a Muslim, deposed Kota Rani and founded a Muslim dynasty. That was the first regular Muslim dynasty of Kashmir. This dynasty produced very famous conquerors, administrators and poets like Shihab-ud-Din, Zain-ul-Abidin and Yusuf Shah. They were the shining stars of Shahmiri dynasty. (Maneck B Pithawalla, An Introduction to Kashmir, p62)

The Chaks succeeded the Shahmiris. Their period was notorious for religious fanaticism, wanton barbarity, insecurity and ruthlessness. (Prem Nath Bazaz, Kashmir in Crucible, p7) In 1586, Kashmir became a province of the Mughal Empire and the chapter of its long independent status came to close. (PNK Bamzai, History of Kashmir, Vol II, p150) After the decay of the Mughal empire, Kashmir fell once again into wild disorder and eventually came under the oppressive rule of the Afghans in 1752. That was the darkest period of Kashmir history.

THREE ATTACKS