Truth About The Crucifixion — Page 60
like dress that conforms to your idea of biblical garments, but because their faces have the Jewish cast of features. The curious coincidence-or is it a coincidence?-is that there is a strong tradition in Kashmir of its connection with the. Jews. A recent Indian writer, Mr. V. Rangacharya, in his. History of Pre-Moslem India describes the inhabitants of. Kashmir to the North West Frontier of Kashmir to be ‘very. Jewish'. . Here then, we have an overwhelming accumulation of historical evidence emanating from a large number of independent and objective scholars, from different countries, belonging to different religions, all asserting the close connection of the. Kashmiris to their Israeli descent. The evidence is visible in ethnic features, which no one can concoct or fabricate, in the dress which they wear, in names of persons which they carry, in names of places where they live-indeed, an all permeating reflection of their origin and past. When this large volume of evidence is seen in the context of what the Holy Quran and the. Scriptures contain on the subject one is left with the conclusion that the lost tribes of Israel did settle primarily in the area now known as Afghanistan and Kashmir and some parts of India, like. Bombay and the Malabar Coast. . We have the evidence of the Holy Quran and the Scriptures. . We have also the evidence of eminent writers and historians, both ancient and modern, on the migration and the settlement of the lost tribes of Israel in new lands away from their original home. . In search of facts and truth, however, let us see if there is other evidence available on this subject. . Now it is a well known historical fact that migrating people carry with them their customs, their traditions and, sometimes, even the names of places of their original homeland. The names get distorted, and customs undergo some change, in new environment, or by passage of time, but nevertheless they retain sufficient traces of their origin. By itself this type of evidence may not be sufficient to categorically establish a particular proposition, but at the same time it cannot be disregarded as irrelevant or of no value. I reproduce below a few names of tribes and places in. Kashmir, Afghanistan, in North-western parts of present. Pakistan, in Gilgit, Ladakh areas which bear strong resemblance to biblical names and betray their Israeli origin. . These names are either replicas of biblical names or bear 62