How some snaps in France confirmed crucial Buddhist discovery in Kashmir

A village in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir is home to several mounds that have remained a mystery for years. Archaeologists from Srinagar and Delhi who studied these structures have now revealed that they are part of an ancient structure. These mounds are located along an ancient Silk Route that leads to Kandahar and even further, suggesting that they likely played some kind of role years ago. The researchers used drone surveys, aerial photography and mapping to learn what these mounds were. This mystery was solved thousands of kilometres away in a museum in France, where three old, blurred photographs held the secret of these mounds. These mounds are nothing but Buddhist stupas. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about them in his Mann Ki Baat address on Sunday. "Three Buddhist stupas were visible in that photograph of Baramulla. From there, the course of discovery changed, and Kashmir's forgotten past began to reveal itself," he said.

The structures in the village of Zehanpora date back nearly 2,000 years and are not the only ones found. Archaeologists also discovered an urban settlement complex belonging to either chaityas or viharas, Kushan-era pottery shards, and copper artefacts and walls, with more expected. This cements the belief that Buddhist learning and monastic activities flourished in Kashmir. There have been references to Buddhism in the Valley in several texts, and now there is archaeological evidence to back it up.

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Buddhism in Kashmir

The Buddhist era in Kashmir started when King Ashoka ruled, around 2,250 years ago. It continued during the Kushan era. During this time the monastic learning was prevalent in the Valley. The Kushans ruled large parts of north India and Central Asia between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE and played a major role in the spread of Buddhism. Harmeet Singh Soodan, the Head of the Department of Political Science at Katra's Government Degree College, says the discovery strongly places Kashmir within the Gandhara Buddhist network, proving that the region was at a cultural and intellectual crossroads linking South Asia with Central Asia over two thousand years ago.

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Soodan says the Zehanpora discovery establishes Baramulla as a crucial gateway linking Kashmir with the Gandhara region in Afghanistan. "All the artefacts recovered so far — pottery, copper objects and stone walls — appear to belong to the Kushan period. There are more stupas at the site, which we plan to excavate in the coming phases," Javaid Ahmed Matto, an excavation assistant with the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums, said.

"We had several clues from years of exploration at the site, as well as references in literary sources. Even the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang), in his travelogue, mentions entering Kashmir along the Silk Route," Mattoo added.