The Kashmir Connection: Doubting Thomas was there?

http://www.tombofjesus.com/2007/home.html

Well this hostage deal in India got me wondering about the religious history of that area.

I knew there had been major influence by the Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims.

But I did not know about the speculation concerning the "lost tribes" of Israel winding up there or the claims that Jesus spent a lot of time there.

So it is hard to figure how an area supposedly influenced by so many religions who preach Peace and good will could have so much hate and discontent.

You're kidding, right?

Just look at how peaceful the "Holy Land" has been.

Well if you are referring to Jerusalem and etc. I have always wondered the same thing about them.

But India has ties to even more religions than Israel does.

I don't have a problem with most of the major religions.

But the extremist fundamentalists of all of them can subvert the religion it seems to me.

Wasn't the Moslem state of Pakistan (East and West) formed by the same resolution in 1947 that recognized the state of Israel and returned the land to the Jews?

Well Terri the common perception is that the history is just squabbling between the Hindus and Muslims.

But closer examination seems to indicate that Christians had a big hand in it by occupying the whole area as part of their "empire" and then creating the separate states and imposing boundaries.

This resulted in mass relocation/immigration/exile of millions of people on both sides.

Estimates range up to 1 million refugees being murdered in the process, as well as those millions of uprooted people naturally being bitter about giving up their homes and being forced to move to the other side.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_India

If I understand correctly the Kashmiris themselves would like to be independent of both India and Pakistan, but nobody bothers to ask THEM. I also recall a predominate religion that is neither perfectly hindu or muslim, but that goes back to grad school and the memory is hazy.