Today, international media, secularists and politicians from Kashmir are shouting from their rooftops that Kashmir is a Muslim Majority land and the abolition of Article 370 is a conspiracy to alter its Muslim Majority character.

But the first glance of place-names of Kashmir will show us how far these claims are removed from the truth. Kashmir has been a Hindu land for thousands of years and its Hindu character is still reflected in place-names of Kashmir. Most of them are of Sanskrit origin. The following list provides the original Sanskrit names of important places of Kashmir.

It is amazing how Kashmir has managed to retain the old Sanskrit place-names despite direct Islamic rule from 1339 CE until 1819 and at least 7 exoduses of its Hindu population.
This shows how strong and prevalent the Hindu roots of Kashmir have been. But these place names have come under the target of Islamist Wahhabis in the Post-Independence era.

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In 1980, then Kashmir CM Sheikh Abdullah renamed 2500 villages. He erased the historic heritage of these place-names and replaced them with Islamic names. Anantnag became Islamabad. Hari Parbat (skt. Sharika Parvata) became Koh-I-Maran.

It is amazing how such gross elimination of historic heritage and blatant Islamization did not come under the notice of anyone in Secular India. This incident happened right under the nose of then PM Indira Gandhi. Now, more than ever, there will be attempts to erase whatever is left of Hindu heritage and history in Kashmir. It is imperative for us to be aware and raise our voice.

Srinagar Sanskrit Shrinagara (literally meaning ‘the city of prosperity’)
Baramulla Sanskrit Varahamula (‘the place of Varaha incarnation’)
Pampore Sanskrit Padmapura (‘the town of the lotus’)
Anantnag Sanskrit Anantanaga (‘the spring of Ananta the snake’)
Sopore Sanskrit Suyyapura (‘the place of Suyya (engineer)’)
Gulmarg Sanskrit Gaurimarga (‘the path of Goddess Gauri’)
Harmukh Sanskrit Haramukta (‘the crown of Hara (Shiva)’)
Rajouri Sanskrit Rajapura (‘the place of the king, capital’).
Rajapura was the capital of ancient Kashmira
Kulgam Sanskrit Kulagrama (‘the village of the clan’)
Pahalgam Sanskrit Paharagrama (‘the earliest village’ (to Amarnath?))
Bandipora Sanskrit Bhandapura (‘the town on the water banks’.
Bandipora is on Wular Lake)
Deogol Sanskrit Devagraha (‘house of the God(s)’)
Badgam Sanskrit/IA Vadagrama (‘the large village’)
Awantipora Sanskrit Avantipura (‘the town of (King) Avanti(varman)’)
Bijbehara Sanskrit Vijayeshwara (‘the town of victorious Shiva’)
Pattan Sanskrit Pattana (‘the city’)
Ganderbal Sanskrit Gandharapura (‘the place of Gandhara (Brahmins)’)
Kanispora Sanskrit Kanishkapura (‘the town of (King) Kanishka’)
Ushkur Sanskrit Huvishkapura (‘the town of (King) Huvishka’)
Kalampor Sanskrit Kalyanapura
Origins of names (etymology) of places in Kashmir
For sources and further information on #Kashmir’s ancient place names, please refer:
1) Kalhana’s Rajatarangini (ed.Stein)
2) Place Names in Kashmir, Shyam Lal Sadhu (2000)
For information about how Abdullah changed the Hindu place-names in 1980, please refer “Kashmir Conflict: A study of what led to the insurgency in Valley” by Priyanka Bakaya and Sumeet Bhatt.

Credit – @Trueindology

 

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