Knowledge (XXG)

Iftikhar Khan (governor)

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260: 532:'During the forty-nine years of Aurangzeb's reign Kashmir was administered by no less than fourteen governors sent from Delhi. Most of them were broad-minded and efficient. They dispensed justice and carried on the administration well. In times of unforeseen calamities like famines, floods, and fires they gave succour, and relief to the suffering people.' Unfortunately a bigoted, and cruel administrator, Iftikar Khan, was appointed governor in 1671 A.D., one who tyrannised over the Brahmins to such an extent that it is said that he sent to the Emperor bundles of sacred-threads of Brahmins, he had either converted or forcibly killed. 663:: 'Iftikhar Khan ... was using force to convert the Pandits in Kashmir to Islam. Some pious men among the Pandits then met and decided to go to Amarnath and invoke the mercy of Siva there for deliverance from the tyrannies of the bigot. At the Amarnath cave, one of the Pandits saw Lord Siva in a dream who told him to go to Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, in the Punjab, and ask for his help to save the Hindu religion. He spoke to his companions about the revelation about 500 proceeded to Anandpur where Tegh Bahadur lived.' 570:
vengeance. (In his book, The Sikh Religion, Max Arthur Macauliffe refers to the governor of Kashmir as Sher Afghan Khan but most historians including Kirpal Singh and Kharak Singh call him Iftikhar Khan.) Thousands of Brahmins were thrown into jail and the process of a systematic genocide was launched. Those who had not yet been arrested sought safety by fleeing from the state. Only a handful of Brahmins had converted to Islam, it was obvious that soon the rest would either have been exterminated or would have fled the state.
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Pandits met and decided to go to AmarNath and invoke mercy of Siva there for deliverance from the tyrannies of this bigot. At the Amar nath Cave one of the pandits saw Siva in a dream who told him to go to Teg Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru in the Punjab and ask for his help to save the Hindu religion. He spoke to his companions about this revelation.
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History is a witness that under the commands of Aurangzeb, Iftikhar Khan was using torture towards the Pandits in Kashmir, and was forcibly converting them to Islam. He also used to seize pretty Panditani girls and make them over as gifts to the Musalmans for their harems. Some pious men among the
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He gave orders that no Hindu should be allowed to wear janeu or tilak (the marks of a devout Hindu) in Kashmir and those who refused to give them up should be put to death. Iftikhar Khan, the governor of Kashmir (1671-75), as bigoted as his emperor, set out to implement Aurangzeb's orders with a
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to seek the assistance of the Sikhs. A delegation of around five hundred Kashmiri Pundits, led by Pundit Kirpa Ram, sought the Guru's help at Anandpur Sahib and detailed the genocidal policies enacted against the Hindus of Kashmir under the governorship of Iftikhar Khan.
463:, including destruction of Hindu temples, indiscriminate killings, and forced conversions. Many girls and women from the Kashmiri Hindu community were seized for the Islamic harems during his governorship period. His policies pushed the 259: 475:. According to traditional lore, after the appeal made to Shiva at Amarnath, one of the participating Kashmiri Pundits had a dream of Shiva instructing the group to seek assistance from the ninth Sikh guru, 442: 435: 428: 659:
How Guru Tegh Bahadur took up cudgels on behalf of the pandits of Kashmir is best explained by a contemporary Kashmiri historian, P.N.K. Bamzai, in his
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Iftikhar Khan (1671-1675) won a lot of notoriety by unnecessarily torturing Hindus and the following account will throw light on his policy.
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He was appointed as governor of the Kashmir province in 1671 and is said to have enacted discriminatory policies, on the orders of
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community to the brink and made an organized group 500-strong from the community seek divine help from
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The genocidal actions against the Kashmiri Hindus during his reign was noted and documented by the
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Painting of Iftikhar Khan containing a Perso-Arabic inscription on the border, ca.1650–1675
472: 460: 381: 186: 65: 406: 309: 282: 720: 706: 479:, to put a stop to the oppression. This was taken by the group as a divine sign from 396: 190: 488: 456: 301: 251: 679:. Kashmir Through Ages. Vol. 1. Sarup & Sons. p. 130. 616:
The Odyssey Of Kashmiri Pandits: Destination-Homeland-Panun Kashmir
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Founder of the Khalsa: The Life and Times of Guru Gobind Singh
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His reign as governor of the subah lasted until 1675.
530:. Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. pp. 293–300. 277: 269: 243: 528:Guru Tegh Bahadur, Prophet and Martyr: A Biography 586:. Ashish Publishing House. pp. 132–133. 436: 8: 53:Learn how and when to remove these messages 443: 429: 319: 258: 240: 189:. Please do not remove this message until 526:Singh, Trilochan (1967). "Chapter XXII". 227:Learn how and when to remove this message 209:Learn how and when to remove this message 148:Learn how and when to remove this message 185:Relevant discussion may be found on the 713:(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000) p.45. 507: 368: 342: 331: 521: 519: 517: 515: 513: 511: 377:Medieval persecution by Muslim rulers 7: 609: 607: 605: 603: 548: 546: 544: 542: 540: 387:Captivity of Kodavas at Seringapatam 392:Captivity of Nairs at Seringapatam 14: 77:to comply with Knowledge (XXG)'s 34:This article has multiple issues. 164: 111: 64: 23: 737:17th-century Indian politicians 42:or discuss these issues on the 727:Governors of Jammu and Kashmir 1: 584:Kashmir Shaivism: Under Siege 553:Dahiya, Amardeep S. (2014). 677:Kashmir: History and People 191:conditions to do so are met 753: 493:Prithivi Nath Kaul Bamzai 417:1947 Rawalpindi massacres 257: 250: 90:may contain suggestions. 75:may need to be rewritten 643:Singh, Patwant (2007). 582:Chitkara, M.G. (2002). 461:local Hindus of Kashmir 316:Governorship of Kashmir 120:Some of this article's 732:17th-century governors 334:Persecution of Hindus 675:Bakshi, S.R. (1997). 351:Religious persecution 647:. Crown Publishing. 614:Bhat, M.L. (2017). 356:Freedom of religion 312:from 1671 to 1675. 178:of this article is 661:History of Kashmir 361:Religious violence 453: 452: 412:Direct Action Day 402:Malabar rebellion 336:in pre-1947 India 300:) was the Mughal 291: 290: 237: 236: 229: 219: 218: 211: 158: 157: 150: 105: 104: 79:quality standards 57: 744: 694: 693: 672: 666: 665: 640: 634: 633: 618:. 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Subahdar

Kashmir
province
governor
Subah
Kashmir
a series
Persecution of Hindus
in pre-1947 India

Religious persecution
Freedom of religion
Religious violence
Medieval persecution by Muslim rulers

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