Overview
- Archaeologists at Zehanpora in Baramulla confirmed Kushan-period Buddhist remains through a collaborative excavation by the J&K Department of Archives and Kashmir University, facilitated by the Union Ministry of Culture.
- The team uncovered stupas, structural foundations and nearly 2,000-year-old artefacts, with additional pottery, copper objects and stone walls consistent with Kushan layers reported at the site.
- An archival photograph in a French museum showing three stupas in Baramulla provided the key lead, supported by drone surveys, aerial photography and mapping.
- The site sits along a historic Silk Route corridor toward Kandahar, reinforcing scholarly views of Kashmir as a conduit within the Gandhara–Himalayan Buddhist network and recalling traditions linked to Kanishka and the Fourth Buddhist Council.
- The discovery has drawn national attention, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi referencing the Baramulla stupas in his Mann Ki Baat address.