Muslim rule in Kashmir was not established, as in Hindostan, by the invaders from beyond the Himalayas, Mohibul Hasan Khan writes. Its foundations were laid by a Ladakhi Buddhist prince Rinchana who had come to Kashmir as a fugitive after his father was killed by Baltis. He had come to Kashmir to save his life running away from Ladakh with a loyal band of followers who stood with him all through. He happened to be there in Kashmir when it was in turmoil and was ruled by a weak and cowardly king Suhudeva. An attack by Mongol chieftain Dulucha in 1320 devastated the entire Kashmir valley and there was large-scale destruction all around.
Suhudeva fled to Kisthwar when the Mongols attacked and it was only after eight months of bloodshed and loot that the Mongols thought of retreating and going back to where they had come from, beyond the Himalayas. However, as luck would have it, winter came early that year and all the wealth they had looted got buried in heavy snow in the passes they were trying to exit from. This was a period of anarchy and Suhudeva came back to Kashmir to reclaim his throne. However, he had lost the sympathy and support of his subjects who detested him for having fled in their hour of need.
Before Suhudeva, who was the last Hindu king of Kashmir, for several centuries, powerful rulers presided over its destiny of Kashmir, beginning with Mauryan King Ashoka who founded the city of Srinagar. At least eight centuries after Ashoka, Kashmir was ruled by powerful Lalitaditya Mukapida who constructed the grand Martand Temple. Muktapida repelled the forays of Arabs towards the territories he ruled with such decisive force that no Islamic invader dared turn towards Kashmir for at least 250 years. It was not the swords of Islamic invaders which conquered Kashmir but the conversion of Buddhist Rinchana which did the deed.
Suhudeva’s Prime Minister Ramchandra held Kashmir together in his absence and wielded all power after the Mongols had retreated and perished in snow blizzards. Fugitive prince Rinchana had survived the killings and mayhem spread by the Mongols as he and his Tibetan followers did not confront them. Once the Mongols were gone, Rinchana found that he alone had loyal followers, soldiers who had accompanied him from Ladakh. The Mongols had butchered all Kashmiri men of arms during their long stay of eight months and this presented an opportunity for Rinchana which he used by killing Ramchandra at Lar (near Kangan of today).
Rinchana then married Ramchandra’s daughter Kota Rani and became the king of Kashmir thereafter. All these seismic events that changed the history of Kashmir irrevocably happened in a short span of about a year. Being a Buddhist and a Ladakhi who had come from outside, Rinchana thought he would not be easily accepted by the ordinary Kashmiris who were following the Shaivite traditions for several centuries. As such, he approached the Brahmins who formed a powerful clique, to get converted to Hinduism. One account of that episode says that the Brahmins discussed the possible conversion for days on end but could not come to a firm conclusion. This account says that the wise Kashmiri Brahmins could not decide what caste to be conferred on Rinchana after conversion to Hinduism.
The Brahmins then refused to participate in any activity meant to convert Richana and he then went to a Sufi saint Bulbul Shah who readily agreed to convert him to Islam. Thereafter, Rinchana became a Muslim, assumed the name of Sadr ud Din and became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir. He ruled for about three years, between 1320 and 1323 when he fell victim of a court intrigue, was attacked but survived. The wounds inflicted during the palace fight proved fatal later but before dying he entrusted his queen Kota Rani and his son to a trusted minister Shah Mir. With the help of Shah Mir, and nobles she commanded, Kota Rani ruled Kashmir for about a decade.
Later, Shah Mir, who had come to Kashmir from Swat during the reign of last Hindu king Suhudeva, became too powerful, challenged Kota Rani and assumed control of Kashmir in 1339. Shah Mir became the founder of a dynasty which ruled for approximately 222 years, from 1339 to 1561. M J Akbar describes how Kashmir became Islamic in his book, Vale Of Kashmir, and it is one of the most astute accounts of that era. This book needs to be read by those people who want to have a better understanding of Kashmir’s conversion to Islam and other aspects of its everyday life.
