January 22
Former Chief Minister of Jammu Kashmir, Omar Abdullah has urged the Bihar Government to protect the the burial ground of Yusuf Shah Chak, the last independent king of Kashmir.
Omar tweeted, “I request @NitishKumar ji to protect this part of Kashmir’s history that lies far from the valley in Bihar.”
National Conference vice president was reacting to a report titled “Forgotten in a field far away: Grave of an exiled Kashmiri king lies in ruins in Bihar” published by The Hindu.
According to the report the burial ground of one of the last native rulers of independent Kashmir Yusuf Shah Chak was under threat from land grabbers.
Yousuf, who ruled Kashmir from 1579 to 1586, is buried at a cemetery in Biswak village in Bihar’s Nalanda district. Yusuf Shah e Chuk was imprisoned by Mughal King Akbar after being invited, later he was exiled to Bihar.
The caretaker of the cemetery has written over 200 letters to the government, seeking protection for the monument.
Spread over nearly five acres in a corner of Biswak, the cemetery is clearly under siege, the report said.
The Hindu report reveals that a discolored boundary wall encircles around 10 unattended graves of Yusuf Shah Chak, his wife Habba Khatoon, and other family members.