The banking system as we know it was first incorporated in what is now Kashmir. The world’s first paid army, guerrilla warfare, waterways and the world’s first parliamentary democracy was also introduced by queens in Kashmir.

These hitherto unknown facts about the history of Kashmir and India were revealed by author Ashish Kaul during a conversation on his book ‘Didda: The Warrior Queen of Kashmir’ on the first day of the Valley of Words festival in Dehradun on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, Kaul said that most are habituated to reading doctored history and hence know little about the history and reality when it comes to Kashmir.

He said, “Kashmir is the only region in the world to have produced the maximum number of able military commanders. During 900 AD, the warrior queen Didda was born without one leg and was abandoned by her parents to be brought up by a servant. However, she rose and among other things was also the first recorded disabled woman athlete in the world. She was the longest serving queen in the world, handling the kingdom for 44 years. She also created the first elite commando force in the world in Kashmir. She was also unique because when she was being forced to commit Sati, she in turn used that as an opportunity to eliminate her foes.”

Kaul said historical facts like those related to Didda are known to few because history has been distorted for a long time.

He said, “Centuries ago, women reigned supreme in Kashmir. Before the Mahabharata, lord Krishna, when he visited the region was so impressed by the queen that he named the region Stree Desh. The banking system as we know it now originated from the cooperative banking system which was introduced first in Kashmir by a woman many centuries ago. The oldest waterways system in the world and even the first paid army in the world were formulated by women rulers in Kashmir. While we think that democracy was created in Greece, the fact is that the first instance of parliamentary system of democracy was introduced by a queen in Kashmir about 3,000 years ago.”

He said that girls and women should seek inspiration from the personalities like Didda who were powerful women and are all the more relevant in the present age.