Kashmir Rechords

Kashmir Rechords is an independent digital archive chronicling the history, culture and socio-political journey of Jammu & Kashmir, with a focus on original research, rare records and forgotten legacies.

Baramulla, October 1947: The Nuns Who Survived the Invasion

In October 1947, as armed tribal raiders swept into Jammu and Kashmir from the direction of Pakistan, Baramulla became one of the most horrifying scenes of the invasion. The attack on St Joseph's Convent and Hospital left a trail of death, destruction and terror in a place dedicated to healing the sick, caring for children and sheltering the vulnerable. Among those who witnessed the unfolding horror were foreign Catholic missionaries—women and men who had come to Kashmir to serve, not to fight. They had no military command, no political constituency to defend and no reason to turn a hospital ward into a battlefield. Yet, when the raiders arrived, these missionaries found themselves confronting violence that would remain etched in their memories for the rest of their lives. Their testimony survives in a little-known publication issued in 1958.
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A Kashmiri Pandit who brought Somnath Temple gates back from Ghazni

Kashmir Rechords Exclusive In October 1833, a young Kashmiri traveller entered Ghazni. Operating as a brilliant Persian scholar and covert intelligence operative for the British,...

1990 Exile and Agitation: Have We Forgotten?

(Kashmir Rechords' Archival Report) The story of the Kashmiri Pandit exodus is usually told through the night of departure—the fear, the abandoned homes and the...

Dr. Kaul: Kashmir’s Forgotten Medical Pioneer in Lahore

(Kashmir Rechords Exclusive) More than a century ago, when modern medical education was still in its formative years in India, a young Kashmiri Pandit travelled...

When Jinnah Ordered Silver from Kashmir

By: Dr Rajesh Bhat History often survives not only in official proclamations, political speeches and government files, but also in invoices, private letters and everyday...

R.C. Kak on Trial: The Forgotten Kashmir case that drew Patel, Nehru, Sheikh Into same file

(By: Dr Rajesh Bhat*) In the turbulent months after Independence, while Jammu & Kashmir was being transformed by war, accession and political upheaval, another drama...

The Manuscripts that survived Gilgit’s cold, Kashmir’s war

Kashmir Rechords Exclusive In the summer of 1931, two cattle-grazers near Naupur village, a few kilometres from Gilgit, stumbled upon something that had remained hidden...

The Myths Kashmiri Pandits once lived by—And History shattered them

A thought-provoking visual representing the Kashmiri Pandit exodus and the collapse of long-held assumptions about their place in Kashmir. The image evokes displacement, loss, changing social realities and the difficult reassessment of beliefs that followed the upheaval of the 1990s.

From Pamposh to IFFJK: Kashmir’s extraordinary journey with Cinema

From Pamposh and Shyama Zutshi to Shammi Kapoor’s romantic Kashmir, the Valley has shared a remarkable century-long relationship with Indian cinema. Then the cameras and cinema halls disappeared amid turmoil. Now, with Bollywood returning, theatres reopening and the International Film Festival of Jammu & Kashmir bringing world cinema to the Valley, Kashmir’s cinematic journey has entered a new chapter.

When Jammu & Kashmir had its own Postal Stamps

(Kashmir Rechords Archival Exclusive) Most of us know that the erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir had its own currency. But how many know that...

Sheikh Abdullah and Kashmiri Pandits: When Merit Lost to Community Arithmetic

( Kashmir Rechords Archives) There are moments in history when a political leader says something in the heat of a legislative debate that reveals more...

1982. 1984. 1986. 1987. Before Anantnag’s 1990 Exodus

The story of Kashmir's turmoil did not begin with the 1987 elections......

When the 1981 Srinagar Income Tax Raids Shook Kashmir

In April 1981, a secret Income-Tax operation in Srinagar targeting several business establishments quickly spiralled into a major controversy. Contemporary newspaper reports recorded the seizure of gold, foreign currency, cash, goods and documents, while also reporting clashes in which members of the raiding party were assaulted. The archival photograph of the injured Income-Tax officers, including two officials shown in wheelchairs, provides a rare human dimension to the episode. Subsequent reports alleged foreign links, concealed income and tax evasion running into crores of rupees. Within weeks, the legality of the raids was challenged before the Jammu & Kashmir High Court, and the dispute eventually reached the Supreme Court. This Kashmir Rechords feature reconstructs the episode exclusively through seven contemporary newspaper clippings preserved in its archive, offering a remarkable day-by-day glimpse of a dramatic and largely forgotten episode in Srinagar's history.