SHOMNATH

  ISLAM Ref. Islamic History- A very short introduction by Adam J. Silverstein Oxford University Presws , First published in 2010 EXCERPTS Islam began in Arabia. To Muslims this happened not with Muhammad but with Abraham who- together with his son Ismael, the progenitor of the- Arab build the K-aba in Mecca. Muhammad was born in Mecca circa 570….. he began to receive revelations that would become verses of the Koran,…... In 622 , he was forced to flee together with his supporters. ……as his relation with the Jews soured, their tribes were gradually expelled from the town and even, in some instance , executed. The Meccans were defeated eventually in 630 and over the next two years Muhammad managed to unite the tribes of Arabia under the umma’s banner. Ali became caliph in 656 and struggled to exert his influence widely …... After Ali’s death…… Mu’awiya’s accession came to be known as the first civil war or strife in Islamic history…… Mu’awiya move the capital to Damascus a

 On Kashmir  by  Ira Pande. "Kashmir is an integral part of India". I have heard this line parroted by leaders of all political hues.  Recently I came across facts that have changed my perspective on Kashmir totally. Facts that have astounded me. But more than that baffled me, for they reveal glaring lacunae in the history we have been led to believe is true. Understandable that the British established a syllabus designed to obliterate our glories and inculcate shame in us for all things Indian.  But, 70 years post-independence, we're still guilty of toeing their line. The facts I speak of are proof that Kashmir is the fountainhead from which flows our culture, in fact, everything that defines our identity as Indians. I had no clue at all about the significance of Kashmir in Indian history and that it was home to Panini, whose Ashtadhyayi is considered the most scientific and flawless treatise on grammar in the world...! Sharangdev, considered the father of both Hindustan