The archaeological excavations of Bourzahama 15 kms from Srinagar establish its antiquity to beyond 3000 BC. It has been established that Nagas were the original inhabitants of Kashmir and Kashmiris built their cultural traditions on the habits and customs of Nagas.
The interaction between vedic and Kashmiri traditions did develop in course of time but in Kashmir's religious literature the supremacy of Shiva over Vedic supreme God Indra has often been asserted. Buddhists and Jews have left tremendous influence on Kashmir history and culture.
The amalgamation of Shaivism and Islamic thoughts resulted in yet another school of thought called as Sufism, which flourished for hundreds of years. Both Shaivism and Sufism are the prominent schools of thought which developed in Kashmir and left indelible mark on the psyche of Kashmiris.
"Kashmir has remained a clearing house of several civilizations, it has made monumental contribution to Indian culture. There is hardly any branch of human knowledge to which ancient Kashmir did not make a pioneering and substantial contribution."
According to Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, "Kashmir dominated the intellectual scene of India for almost 2000 years." Kashmir has a distinction of being a place where people from all walks of life and from all across the world have been coming to seek peace, knowledge and spiritual enlightenment.
The recent past quarter of the century has shattered the years old faith but has posed a great challenge before all Kashmiris irrespective of religion whether to collectively defeat the divisive forces and maintain the ancestral heritage.