The capital of Jammu and Kashmir and the largest city in the state, Srinagar is famous for its canals, houseboats and Mughal gardens. The city itself is quite unlike most other large Indian cities for here you are much more in Central Asia than on the sub continent. It's a city full of intriguing alleyways and curious buildings.
The capital of Jammu and Kashmir and the largest city in the state, Srinagar is famous for its canals, houseboats and Mughal gardens. The city itself is quite unlike most other large Indian cities for here you are much more in Central Asia than on the sub continent. It's a city full of intriguing alleyways and curious buildings. A place where it's very easy to spend a few hours simply wandering - particularly along the old city streets near the Jhelum river. The city has long been a center of art and leaning. Srinagar is a unique city because of its lakes - the Dal, Nagin and Anchar. The River Jhelum also flows through a part of the city.
History of Srinagar
The city was founded by the King Pravarasena-II over 2,000 years ago, and the city of Srinagar has a long history, dating back at least to the 3rd century BC. The city was then a part of the Maurya Empire one of the largest empires of the Indian Sub Continent. Ashoka introduced Buddhism to the Kashmir valley, and the adjoining regions around the city became a centre of Buddhism. In the 1st Century, the region was under the control of Kushans and several rulers of this dynasty strengthened the Buddhist tradition. Vikramaditya (of Ujjain) and his successors probably ruled the regions just before the city fell to the control of the Huns in the 6th Century, and Mihirkula was the most dreaded ruler of the city and the valley.
The Hindu and the Buddhist rule of Srinagar lasted until the 14th century when the Kashmir valley, including the city, came under the control of the several Muslim rulers, including the Mughals. It was also the capital during the reign of Yusuf Shah Chak, a ruler who was tricked by Akbar when he failed to conquer Kashmir by force. Yusuf Shah Chak remains buried in Bihar in India. Akbar established Mughal rule in Srinagar and Kashmir valley.
When the disintegration of the Mughal Empire set forth after the death of Auranzeb in 1707, infiltrations to the valley from the Pathan tribes increased, and they ruled the city for several decades. Raja Ranjit Singh in the year 1814 annexed a major part of the Kashmir Valley, including Srinagar, to his kingdom, and the city came under the influence of the Sikhs. Subsequent to the signing of a treaty between the Sikh rulers and the British in Lahore in 1846, known as the Treaty of Lahore. The treaty provided the British de-facto suzerainty over the Kashmir Valley, and British installed Gulab Singh as an independent and sovereign ruler of the regions, and Srinagar became part of his Kingdome, and remained for long one like one of the several princely states of undivided India.
After, India's independence, certain tribes, mostly Pathans and Pashtuns, actively supported by elements of the Pakistani force, invaded the valley to wrestle control, by armed force, of the city of Srinagar and the Valley. This was done in spite of the-then ruler Maharaj Hari Singh having a solemn and sovereign assurance (of the British Government) backed by the international law that all rulers of such states were free to remain as independent entities, or to choose to annex either to India or to Pakistan. In view of infiltration by armed forces and the possibility of his kingdom, including the city of Srinagar falling into the hands of the forces inimical to him, his kingdom and to the people the valley, Hari Singh allegedly signed a covenant in 1948 with the government of India, which ensured integration of his kingdom into the newly formed Republic of India conditioned on the requirement of having a plebiscite after any conflict had ended.
The Government of India, in view of its obligation enjoined upon it subsequent to this covenant, immediately air-lifted Indian troops to Srinagar, and the city was flushed clean of the invading forces. The killings of partition fresh in his mind, the Prime Minister of India, a native Kashmiri, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, avoided further bloodshed of two newly formed countries by letting the international community decide on the fate of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. The lessons of letting the international community decide were quickly learned; Bangladesh was liberated swiftly when the democratically elected Prime Minister of Pakistan was overthrown by the military of Pakistan on the basis of ethnic hatred. The tensions between economic liberalization, regional aspirations and terrorist and military interventions continue in Kashmir, unfortunately.
