1 APPENDIX. 639
2 sion of the new chief, a British Resident has been located at Kashmir, The State is
3 now under the management of a Council of Regency.*
4 The chief of Kashmir is entitled to a salute of 21 guns, and has been granted
5 the right of adoption.
6 The first inhabitants of Kashmir were Indo-Aryans who worshipped the
7 the Sun-god. Budhism then triumphed over Brahmanism, and spread its in-
8 fluence in ail directions till, after centuries of struggle, it finally gave way to the
9 religion of the Hindus. The old Hindu sovereignty was subverted by the Mahome-
10 dans, during the reign of Shams-ud-din Altamsh, in the fourteenth century, when the
11 Queen of the last Hindu sovereign, after upbraiding the Mahomedan usurper, stabbed
12 herself ; but Kashmir had been, long before (1012 A. D.), attacked and ravaged
13 by Mahmud of Ghazni. Akber conquered the country in 1586, and the Afghans,
14 under Ahmed Shah, in 1752. The Sikhs conquered it in 1819, and Goldb Singh,
15 who ruled it, in the name of the Sikh Darbdr, was acknowledged its independent
16 sovereign by the British, in March 18£6, on payment of 75 lakhs of rupees.
17 Sultan Baber mentions, in his Memoirs, that the hill country along the upper
18 course of the Hindus (Indus) was, in old times, inhabited by a race of men named
19 ids, from whom the country came to be known Kas-mir, the denomination mir or
20 mere being added to it to signify town or habitation, as is found in Ajmere, Jesalmere,
21 &c., well known towns of Hindostan.
22 The whole of Kashmir, writes Abul Fazl, represents a garden in perpetual spring, and
23 the fortifications with which nature has furnished it are of astonishing height. It rains and
24 snows here at the same season as in Tartary and Persia. Violets, roses, narcissus, and in-
25 numerable other flowers grow wild.
26 The Persian poet Rafi-ud-din writes in praise of it :—
27 I have seen Irak and India, Khorasin and Persia, but no place equal to Kashmir in
28 beanty and excellence of climate, The air, tempered by gentle showers, has all the mildness
29 of spring; there are flowers and green herbage, plains and running streams, palaces, cupolas,
30 and public buildings, beautiful to view. On every side are rising grounds, crystal springs and
31 jofty trees, amid mountains covered with nué trees, apple trees and fig trees. But how shall [
32 describe the lovely damsels of that country? For, in my opinion, the young moon is not
33 eqnal to them in beauty ; with lips sweet as sugar, in stature like the graceful pine, fragrant
34 a3 jusmine; from whatever point of view you look at those nymphs, they appear like the sun or
35 moon. They are charming as houris ; ail fresh, young and blooming.
36 The valley of Kashmir is celebrated throughout the eastern world for its romantic
37 beauty, the fertility of its soil and the salubrity of its climate. Urfi, the poet-
38 laureate of Akber’s Court, has sung in its praise :-—
39 oat pr JG 5S nor} las & ¥ ye — sire predsy Biba Ry Rdger yd
40 “* Any person suffering from vexation of mind who may visit Kashmir : .
41 Is sure to be endowed with the wings and feathers (of health) even if he is a roasted bird.”
42 The surface of the country is generally flat, yielding abundant crops of rice,
43 which forms the staple food of its inhabitants. Fruit trees of all kinds abound, and
44 there is an abundance of grapes and herbs peculiar to cold countries. Water-nuts
45 (singhdras) growing in the lakes form a considerable portion of the food of the
46 poorer classes, and a superior sort of saffron is cultivated in the plains.
47 Kashmir is famous for the manufacture of shawls, the wool from which they are
48 manufactured being brought from the high table-lands of Thibet. The original colour
49 of the wool is dark grey, but it is bleached by means of a preparation of rice-flour.
50 Sulphurous springs exist in many parts of the valley, and earthquakes are of
51 not uncommon occurrence. In 1886, the valley was visited by most terrible shocks,
52 causing enormous loss of property. Many thousand lives were lost, and thousands
53 more were rendered homeless. Qn account of the frequent visitations of earthquakes,
54 the houses are built of wood, or of light bricks and mortar, with a large Intermixture
55 of timber. Many of the houses are two or three storeys high. On the wooden roof
56 a convering of earth is laid, which contributes to the warmth of the house during
57 the winter, and, in the summer, is planted with flowers. The streets are narrow
58 and filthy, The city enjoys a mild salubrious climate, and a river flows through
59 its centre, along the banks of which are covered floating baths.
60 * Vide page 622.
61 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com