Jesus' tomb in India? All you need to know about Kashmir's Roza Bal Shrine

It shot to fame in 2010 when a New York-based writer, Suzanne Olsson, claimed that the site was her 'private family tomb'.

Is Jesus Christ's tomb located in India? This is a question that has lingered long among those aware of the Roza Bal shrine in Kashmir.

The shrine, located in the back-alleys of Srinagar and believed to house the tomb of a sage called Yuzasaf, shot to popularity when in 1899 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement, proclaimed that the shrine is actually the tomb of Jesus Christ!

However, local caretakers are of the opinion that this is nothing but a myth.

Ahmad had also written a book, Jesus in India (Masih Hindustan-mein), where he opined that Jesus did not die from crucifixion, but escaped to India where he spent his later years.

Biblical historian Per Beskow, in his book, Mystifications: Jesus in Kasmir, states that Ahmad divided Yuzasaf into two—Yuz (Jesus) and Asad (the Hebrew verb for 'gather').

Howard Walter, an American Congregationalist and author, visited the site in 1913 and spoke to local Muslims who told him that the shrine was a Hindu grave until the 14th century when Bulbul Shah brought Islam to Kashmir.

Another historian, Günter Grönbold, is of the opinion that the tomb is among the Buddhist and Hindu shrines which were converted to Islamic shrines as the religion flourished in the region.

The interconnectedness between religions that flourished in India can be understood by the fact that the name 'Yuzasaf', as per a local legend, refers to Gautam Buddha.

The tomb shot to fame once again in 2010 when a New York-based writer, Suzanne Olsson, claimed that the site was her "private family tomb".

In a series of letters to the shrine, as per a report in the Times of India, she said, "My family has it (sic) origins in France, where Jesus and his wife Mary Magdalene lived for 30 years after the crucifixion. There they had two sons and one daughter. We're descendants of the son. And if you wish to know more, I refer you to a book called Bloodline of the Holy Grail by Sir Lawrence Gardner."

She further added, "We feel any claims you make about the sanctity of the grave are invalid ... we would prefer to move our grandfather (out of Srinagar).''

Olsson reportedly tried to dig up the grave within the shrine, after which the caretakers had to padlock the door.

The publication spoke to a caretaker of the shrine, who said that local traders wanted to propagate the myth that Roza Bal is a shrine of Jesus Christ as it would boost their businesses and attract more tourists.