Let’s go back to the era of Sultan Sikandar known to the history as Butshikan, meaning, iconoclast. He was a religious fanatic, the like of whom would put any bigot to shame.
In 1394 Sultan Sikandar came to the throne and soon earned the nick name of Butshikan or Iconoclast, from the intense zeal he showed in destroying the grand old temples which the Hindu rajas had bequeathed to Kashmir.
He attracted learned Musalmans to his court, Hindu temples were felled to the ground, and for one year a large establishments was maintained for the demolition of the grand Martand temples . Having glutted his vengeance on Hindu temples Sikandar turned his attention to the people who had worshipped in them ,and he offered them three choices, Death, Conversion or Exile. Many fled, many were converted and many were killed, and it is said that though this monarch burnt “seven mounds‟ of sacred threads of murdered Brahamans.
It is pleasant to turn to the more enlightened reign of Zain-ul-Abidin, who succeeded to the throne of Kashmir. The result of his religious tolerance was the return of exiled Kashmiri Pandits.
HOW DID ZAIN-UL-ABIDIN BECOME BENEVOLENT TOWARDS KASHMIRI HINDUS ?