Kashmir's Lost Heritage: A Reminder of its Plural Past

• A Bollywood film and a real-life discovery highlight Kashmir's lost Hindu heritage and displaced Pandit community.
• Nazir Ahmad Latoo, a fisherman in Baramulla, found an ancient stone sculpture in the Jhelum River, now with J&K's Directorate of Archives, Archaeology & Museums.
• Many ancient temples in Kashmir, like Sugandhesa Temple in Pattan and Shiva Temple in Kakpora, are in ruins, often met with local indifference.
• The 8th-century Loduv Shiva Temple, standing in a sulfur spring, is the oldest extant stone shrine in the Valley, now largely neglected.
• Historically significant shrines like Avantiswami Temple and Martand's Sun Temple, once razed by Sultan Sikandar Shah Miri, remain neglected, with locals unaware of their historical significance.