Srinagar: Former Jammu Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday courted a major controversy after he said that all Indian Muslims were Hindus first.
Addressing a gathering of workers the former Congress leader said, “All Indian Muslims were Hindus first who converted to Islam later.”
He said, Islam has come to our Hindustan only a few years back but Hinduism is very old. So 10-20 people must have come from outside in the army of Mughals and the rest are converted from Hindus.”
He further said, “In Kashmir, all Muslims were converted from Kashmiri Pandits. Everybody is born in Hindu Dharma only.”
Pertinent to mention, The presence of Muslims in Kashmir has been recorded less than 140 years after the demise of the prophet of Islam. Instead of Arab chroniclers, this information has been recorded by none other than Kalhana, Kashmir’s celebrated poet, who started writing about Kashmir’s kings and queens in 1148 CE. It took him almost two years to complete his Rajatarangini, the book that Kashmir showcases as the oldest written history of the region.
The conversion of individuals to Islam was not a uniform process, and it occurred over centuries due to a variety of reasons, including spiritual beliefs, social interactions, and political dynamics.
