The book "Heritage of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh" brings out the fact that though the three provinces of J & K are different geographic, cultural and linguistic entities, age told traditions bind them together. While Ladakh is predominently 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 & K heritage, this volume would be a useful addition to any library that would like to draw on transdisciplinary research on the State. |
