Long before the Mughals, the Sultans of Kashmir had laid out some gardens with trees & flowers in them. The Persian merchants & rich inhabitants too planted trees. Then, following Rishi-Order of Sheikh Noor ud Din Noorani (1377-1438AD), the mystics of Kashmir, commonly named Rishis, disgusted with worldly affairs & greed of nobles, adopted asceticism. Restless souls walking from place to place, & wherever they stayed, they had a habit of planting shady [chinars] & fruit trees for the benefit of the common people (Mohib). During the reign of Sultan Zainul Abidin (1420-1470 AD), whatever would have been the type of roads or paths, connecting the villages, ponies & bullocks would always pass by well-shaded trees and the traveler would always find rest underneath the shady plane trees (Hassan). Once introduced everywhere, chinars gave grateful shade to the inhabitants of the villages and farm-houses. As noted above, Chinar or plane tree came to Hindustan from ancient Greece & Persia. The ancient Persia included not only modern day Iran but Turkey & most of the Central Asian States. The people & merchants from Persia had reached Kashmir even before the dawn of Islam in early 14th Century. Kalhana calls them “Turuksha”.
So, it is rightly stated by 1961-Bharat-Ratna-Awardee, Purushottam Dass Tandon,that the tree “was originally imported from Persia”, [obviously during early days of Islam in the valley], “but now it is more numerous in Kashmir than in Persia”.
However, as mentioned earlier, there is second opinion that Chinar was introduced by the Mughals in Kashmir. There is a coterie of well known writers with shared opinion that the magnificent plane trees were bequeathed to posterity by the great Mughals. They credit the Mughal Emperors & their Governors with introduction of Chinar in Kashmir. But, historians & researchers disagree with them. They say that it is not correct to assume that chinar was introduced in Kashmir by the Mughal Emperors & their Governors as the Emperor Akbar & Emperor Jahangir during their visits themselves saw chinars already-standing on the Kashmir-soil. Two “primary sources” are cited to buttress the claim: Akbarnama & Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri.
We know presently there is village, Shadipur, known for a cluster of chinars, situated in District Bandipur of Kashmir. It was previously a “capital town” by the name of Shihabudinpora laid out on the confluence, Sangam, of rivers, Jhelum & Sind, by the ancient genius town planner Sultan of Kashmir, namely, Sultan Shihab-ud-Din (1354-1373 AC), 4th Ruler of the Shah-Miri dynasty of Kashmir who built a mosque & park in it for benefit of people.
When the Emperor Akbar visited the valley on 5th June 1589, he also went to visit the beautiful town of Shihabudinpora & Abul Fazl who accompanied the Emperor records that ” this is a delightful spot on the bank of the Bihat. The planes (Chinars) there raise their heads to the sky, and the verdure enchants the eyesight”. Emperor Jahangir who visited Kashmir after 250 years of Sultan Shihab-ud-Din records in his memoirs that on the banks of Jhelum, in the village of Shihabudinpora, he found” about a hundred plane-trees (chanar) of graceful form clustered together on one plot of ground, pleasant and green, join each other so as to shade the whole plot, and the whole surface of the ground is grass and trefoil so much so that to lay a carpet on it would be superfluous and in bad taste”. The Emperor Jahangir saw plane-trees also at some other places of Kashmir during his visit & he gave orders that plane-trees should be planted on both sides of the banks of the Bihut, Jhelum, downstream from its source in Verinag .
So, the historical chronicles gives us a clear idea that plane tree existed in Kashmir before the Mughals annexed it to their vast Empire as Subah (Province) in 1586. When Mughals came to Kashmir, the chinars stood there already. But the real introduction & expansion of the plane trees throughout the length & breath of the valley was carried out by none other than the great Mughal Emperors & their Subedar, Governors of Kashmir only. And, one of the greats among them has pithily summed up it : The Mughals are ” entitled to the gratitude of posterity [of Kashmiris] if only for the sake of the beautiful & shady plane-tree”. The tradition of planting chinars, Persian native tree, everywhere in the valley took deeper roots during the Mughal Era only & it became essential constituent of all splendid gardens & roads of Kashmir as were laid out by the Mughal Rulers & their Governors. Chinar came to be planted in farmlands, cemeteries & graveyards, places of worship during the Mughal period.
In 1664 AD when the Emperor Aurangzeb was in Kashmir for three months, he appointed Islam Khan as Governor of the Subah Kashmir. Islam Khan ordered uprooting of all mulberry trees in the precincts of Aali Masjid, Eidgah, Srinagar as the fruit droppings soiled the clothes of the worshippers who visited Aali Masjid for prayers. And, then, on his orders, chinar trees were planted in place of the uprooted mulberry trees in the precincts of the mosque. Needless to remind, on marble stone of Aali Masjid, it is wrongly written that it was built by Sultan Hassan Shah in 1471 AD. The masjid was built by Sultan Ali Shah [1413-1420 AD], eldest son of Sultan Sikandar & elder brother of Shahi Khan eka-name Zainul Abidin Badshah; albeit it was extended & improved upon by within-named Subehdar Islam Khan. Monumental inscription needs to be set right thus.
The chinars in the courtyard of historic Jamia Masjid, Srinagar were originally planted during Emperor Jahangir’s time after the masjid was burnt down second time in its history in 1027 Hijri/1619 AD on the day of Eid when the Emperor was in the valley. The masjid was rebuilt during his reign by Malik Haider, Rais ul Mulk, & his father father, Malik Mohammad, of Chadura when Dilawar Khan was the Subehdar of Kashmir. Chinars were initially planted during 17 years’ reconstruction of the masjid in the Emperor Jahangir’s reign is borne out by two recorded facts: First, Francois Bernier who was the first non-Jesuit-European who travelled Kashmir in 1665 AD during Aurangzeb’s rule does not mention of any trees/plantation inside or outside the courtyard of the Jamia Masjid Srinagar, that was thickly surrounded by residential dwellings, while giving an articulate & complete description of the Jamia Masjid. It unambiguously shows that the masjid did not have chinars originally in its courtyard. Second, when masjid was burn down third time in its history during the Emperor Aurangzeb’s reign in 1083 Hijri/1672, AD, it is recorded that when the news of damage of the masjid in fire was conveyed to him, he anxiously enquired if the chinars in the courtyard of the masjid were safe in the devastating fire. The masjid can be rebuilt soon but a grown up chinar cannot be replaced soon, he said. Kak writes that though “tradition assigns” chinars in Jamia Masjid to the time of Badshah, there is “little doubt” that they are of later origin.
During the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan, (1658-1707 AD) , one noble of his court, Sadiq Khan, built Sadiq Bagh with a beautiful building & planted chinars on Northern bank of Dal Lake. The Emperor Shah Jahan once offered Nimaz in that garden & told Sadiq Khan: ” This garden shall not be a recreation garden. It shall be a place of worship only”. After 67 years, in 1700 AD, Moi-Muqasad of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) was brought to the building of Sadiq Bagh from Bijapur Deccan under the farman of the Emperor Aurangzeb himself, when Fazil Khan (1698-1701 AD) was the subedar of Kashmir. The people gave unprecedented reception & showed utmost respect to the arrival of the holy relic inside the valley of Kashmir. The building along with entire garden land was donatedfor placement & seeing of Moi-Muqasad by the people& the place since that time is called Hazratbal Dargah, Srinagar. Among 16 governors, subedars, of Kashmir during Aurangzeb’s rule, Fazil Khan was most capable & God-fearing man. He built Haft Chinar bund, embankment, near Hazuri Bagh/Sher Garhi Polce Station Srinagar to save city from recurrent flood waters of Doodganga. With that purpose in mind, he lined the bund with seven chinars in order to strengthen it. Hence, the name “hafts chinar”.
To be concluded