India, July 7 -- Kashmir's chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on Monday said Kashmir's history cannot be erased or selectively rewritten to suit a particular narrative, asserting that the region's past did not begin in 2019.

His remarks came days after the Lieutenant Governor administration suspended eight officials over the publication of two books that allegedly glorified separatists.

Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Mirwaiz said Kashmir has a rich history stretching back nearly 5,000 years. "Kashmir has a history spanning nearly 5,000 years, and we are proud of every chapter of it. It includes the Buddhist period, Shaivism, Hinduism, the Islamic period and later the developments of 1947, when India and Pakistan came into being. Peo...