New interest in J&K ‘Jesus grave’ - Dr.Subramanian Swamy

Srinagar, June 11: The hypothesis that Jesus Christ is buried in a central Srinagar locality has aroused a lot of interest among historiographers, researchers, scholars, archaeologists and religious groups both in India and worldwide once again.

A team of German researchers, including two archaeologists, is planning to visit Srinagar later this year to investigate the subject. Within India, the Janata Party has set up a group of experts from among its members which would be coming to Kashmir’s summer capital soon to start research work.

The party’s president, Dr Subramanian Swamy, who was in Srinagar last week, said that after reading a booklet by a German he has a “feeling of  curiosity” about Jesus Christ and Moses having visited Kashmir and in the belief that both had died and are buried in the Valley. Muslims in Kashmir and elsewhere revere both Jesus and Moses as “noble prophets” of “Bani Israel” (Children of Israel), as the Quran makes a number of references to them.

Dr Swamy also pointed to the belief of many Kashmiris that they were one of the “Lost Tribes” of Israel. “It is a matter of great interest that Prophet Moses is buried in Kashmir and that Jesus too had visited the Vale, went to Ladakh to visit the Hemis monastery where he took Buddhism as his faith, returned home but left it again for Kashmir to escape persecution, and died here in Srinagar,” he said.

The Janata Party leader said that the team he has set up would do methodical research on the subject and come out with its findings “which everybody in the country would be interested in.” In the past teams of researchers from Israel, Germany and other parts of the world conducted studies on the subject but could not find any scientific verification of the hypothesis.

The premise that Jesus is buried at Rozabal in the Khanyar area of Srinagar and that Moses is buried outside Bandipore town in north Kashmir thus requires a proper scientific study to ascertain the truth. Kashmiri scholar and historian Fida Muhammad Hussein, a former director of the department of archaeology of the State, asserted that in history there is no such thing as the last word on any subject, “because research... and more research” could lead to fresh discoveries.

He believes that the hypothesis that the people of Kashmir are one of the Lost Tribes cannot be baseless as there are many similarities between Israel and Kashmir in terms of language and traditions, and he would like to see a thorough study initiated into the subject. “I think these similarities only strengthen the belief that we are one of the Lost Tribes. Yet the research into the subject must go on,” he told this newspaper.

Suzanna Olsson, the author of a recently published book, Jesus, Last King of Kashmir: Life after the Crucifixion, reveals the findings of her seven-year journey through the Himalayan State. She was in the Valley and also visited other parts of India, went to Afghanistan and other places to spearhead an investigative study into the post-crucifixion life of Jesus Christ.

She says that she drew her inspiration from sources that range from the traditional sacred writings of many of the world’s main religions, to the legendary tales of Europe and Asia and the annals of contemporary research. The author leads readers to what she believes are the tombs of Jesus and his mother Mary, located within India, and expounds on the evidence she has uncovered.

Ms Olsson is personally convinced of the tombs’ authenticity but frustrated in her efforts to obtain scientific verification, which is vital for acceptance by the rest of the world. According to her, the basis of the beliefs is through tracing the lineage of Jesus Christ, correlating traditional Biblical figures and places with those historically recognised throughout the Kashmir region, and interpreting religious texts in an unconventional light, concentrating on their commonalties.

Many others who support the interesting tradition passed down among Kashmiris regarding their ancestry from the Lost Tribes of Israel point out that various places in the region have Israeli names, such as Har Nevo, Beit Peor, Pisga, Heshubon.