Heritage of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh

Contents: Preface. I. Historiography: 1. Kashmir\'s contribution to Persian historiography/Peerzada Mohammad Ashraf. 2. Some important Sharada inscriptions of Kashmir--a socio-political study/B.K. Kaul Deambi. 3. Ahad Raza--Kashmiri Theory of politics/Manzoor Fazili. 4. The Bakhshali: an extant Sharada Manuscript/Sushma Z. Jatoo. 5. Our heritage our roots: an insight into the literary history of ancient Kashmir/Girdharilal Kaw. 6. The School of Historians in Kashmir/Mukesh Kumar. 7. A glimpse of Kashmir in Chinese travelogue/Devendra Nath Thakur. 8. Kashmir\'s Role in the development of India\'s Cultural traditions--an overview/S.S. Toshkhani. 9. Influence of Kashmir on the ritual literature of Orissa/G.C. Tripathi. II. Art and architecture: 10. Master Artist--Pandit Sansar Chand Sharma/Navin Atal and C.K. Atal. 11. Indigenous architectural heritage of Kashmir/Virendra Bangroo. 12. An enquiry into the Sectarian affiliation of the ruins at Harwan/Geetika Kaw Kher. 13. An endangered monument in Ladakh--Sumda Gogpo/Nawang Tsering Shakspo. 14. Terracotta sculptures of Greater Kashmir/Mohammad Shafi Zahid. III. Philosophy: 15. Buddhism and its development in Kashmir/Advaitavadini Kaul. 16. The philosophical orientation of Trika spirituality/Moti Lal Pandit. 17. The ancient shrine of Summah Devta/O.P. Shahkir. IV. Language and literature: 18. A survey of Sanskrit poets of Kashmir/Sudhir Kumar Lall. 19. Sanskrit and Kashmir/K.C. Sharma. 20. Stutikusumanjali/Vidya Sharma. V. Performative traditions: 21. Drama in Kashmir and the North-West/R.K. Braroo. 22. Introduction to the history of the theatre in Kashmir/V.N. Drabu. 23. Bhand Pather (Folk Theatre of Kashmir)/Moti Lal Kemmu. VI. Bio-diversity: 24. The Karewas of Kashmir (Revisited)/G.L. Badam. 25. Folk herbal treatment in Kashmir/Badrinath Bhat. 26. High altitude lakes of Jammu and Kashmir--myths and mythology/Sati Sahni. Additional references. 

"The book "Heritage of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh" brings out the fact that through the three provinces of J and K are different geographic, cultural and linguistic entities, age told traditions bind them together. While Ladakh is predominantly Buddhist, Kashmir and Jammu are almost entirely inhabited by Muslims and Hindus respectively. This shared universe of discourse has been traversed by this volume, which ranges across geology, archaeology, history, art, architecture, herbal medicine, inscriptions, manuscripts, theatre, religion and corollary subjects. A specially valuable dimension of the volume is its accent on historiography. Kashmir was an important seat of learning for diverse Hindu religious sects. Sufi traditions emerged with the advent of Islam and further invoked values of peace, brotherhood and equality. Even though a large number of the literary works and monuments of Kashmir were destroyed in political convulsions, many of these are still housed in the Gompas of Ladakh and in the Archives, libraries and museums of the state. The present volume dredges the spirit of confluence among the people of the state objectively from the available evidence.

A landmark publication on the latest trends in scholarship on J and K Heritage, this volume would be a useful addition to any library that would like to draw on transdisciplinary research on the state." (jacket)