The Punjab The Punjab The Punjab (pronounced or ; Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], [[Shahmukhi script|, ), also spelled Panjab handed over to the British, as equivalent for (rupees) one
croreA crore is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to ten million , or 100 lakh. It is widely used in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Pakistan. It was 500,000 in the now-obsolete Persian number system.Large money amounts in India are often written in the form "Rs 23 cr", that is,...
of indemnity, the hill countries between
BeasBeas may refer to:* Beas, Punjab, a town in Punjab, India.* Beas River, a river in the northwestern region of India....
and Indus; by the second the British made over to Gulab Singh for (Rupees) 75 lakhs all the hilly or mountainous country situated to the east of Indus and west of
RaviThe Ravi is a river flowing through India and Pakistan. It is one of the five rivers which gives the Punjab region its name. The Ravi was known as Paruṣṇī or Irāvatī to Indians in Vedic period and as to the Ancient Greeks.-Course:...
" (
i.e. the Vale of Kashmir). Soon after Gulab Singh's death in 1857, his son, Ranbir Singh, added the emirates of
HunzaHunza may refer to*Hunza Valley*Former State of Hunza*Hunza River*Hunza Peak*Hunza people*Hunza is the Muisca name of the city of Tunja, Colombia...
,
GilgitGilgit is the capital city of the Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Gilgit City forms a tehsil of Gilgit, within Gilgit District. Its ancient name was Sargin, later to be known as Gilit, and it is still called Gilit or Sargin-Gilit by local people. In the Burushaski language, it is named Geelt...
and
NagarNagar can refer to:* Nagar, Syria, an ancient city* Nagar, Pakistan, a town in Pakistan* Nagar Valley, a valley in Pakistan* Nagar , former state in Pakistan* Nagar, Bangladesh* Nagar is 'town' in Hindi...
to the kingdom.
The
Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu (as it was then called) was constituted between 1820 and 1858 and was "somewhat artificial in composition and it did not develop a fully
coherent identity, partly as a result of its disparate origins and partly as a result of the
autocratic rule which it experienced on the fringes of Empire." It combined disparate regions, religions, and ethnicities: to the east,
LadakhLadakh is a region situated in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south...
was ethnically and culturally
TibetanTibetan can refer to:*Of or relating to Tibet*Tibetan people, an ethnic group*Standard Tibetan language*Tibetan script, a writing system*Tibetan art*Music of Tibet*Tibetan culture*Tibetan food*Tibetan Spaniel dog breed*Tibetan Mastiff dog breed...
and its inhabitants practised Buddhism; to the south, Jammu had a mixed population of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs; in the heavily populated central Kashmir valley, the population was overwhelmingly
SunniSunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. It is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘ah or Ahl as-Sunnah for short...
Muslim, however, there was also a small but influential
HinduA Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, a set of religious, philosophical and cultural systems that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The vast body of Hindu scriptures, divided into Śruti and Smriti , lay the foundation of Hindu beliefs which primarily include dhárma, kárma, ahimsa and saṃsāra...
minority, the Kashmiri brahmins or pandits; to the northeast, sparsely populated
BaltistanBaltistan , also known as بلتیول in the Balti language, is a region in northern Pakistan , bordering Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. It is situated in the Karakoram mountains just to the south of K2, the world's second highest mountain. It is an extremely mountainous region, with an average...
had a population ethnically related to Ladakh, but which practised
Shi'a Islam; to the north, also sparsely populated,
Gilgit AgencyThe Gilgit Agency was a political unit of British India, which administered the northern half of the Princely state of Kashmir and Jammu. The Gilgit Agency was created in 1877 and was overseen by a political agent of the Governor-General of British India. The seat of the agent was Srinagar...
, was an area of diverse, mostly
Shi'a groups; and, to the west,
PunchPoonch District is a district of Kashmir that is divided between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani part of Poonch District is part of its Azad Kashmir territory, whilst Indian Poonch is part of Jammu and Kashmir state.-Ancient History:...
was Muslim, but of different ethnicity than the Kashmir valley. After the
Indian Rebellion of 1857The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May, 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
, in which Kashmir sided with the British, and the subsequent assumption of
direct ruleThe British Raj was the British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule...
by Great Britain, the
princely stateThere were as many as 568 states in India before independence. A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entity of British rule in India that was not directly administered by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-The British...
of Kashmir came under the
suzeraintySuzerainty is a situation in which a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary some limited domestic autonomy. The superior entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a suzerain...
of the
British CrownThe Crown is a corporation sole that in certain countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as in any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof, represents the legal embodiment of executive government...
.
Year 1947 and 1948
Ranbir Singh's grandson
Hari SinghMaharaja Hari Singh was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in India....
, who had ascended the throne of Kashmir in 1925, was the reigning monarch in 1947 at the conclusion of British rule of the subcontinent and the subsequent
partitionThe Partition of India was the partition of British India that led to the creation, on August 14, 1947 and August 15, 1947, respectively, of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India...
of the British Indian Empire into the newly independent Union of India and the
Dominion of PakistanThe Dominion of Pakistan was a federal country in South Asia that was established in 1947 as a result of the partition of British India into two sovereign dominions: the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The Dominion of Pakistan, which included modern-day Pakistan and Bangladesh, was...
. As parties to the partition process, both countries had agreed that the rulers of princely states would be given the right to opt for either Pakistan or India or—in special cases—to remain independent. In 1947, Kashmir's population "was 77 per cent Muslim and it shared a boundary with Pakistan. Hence, it was anticipated that the Maharaja would accede to Pakistan, when the British paramountcy ended on 14-15 August. When he hesitated to do this, Pakistan launched a guerilla onslaught meant to frighten its ruler into submission. Instead the Maharaja appealed to
MountbattenAdmiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC was a British admiral and statesman and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
for assistance, and the
Governor-GeneralThe Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
agreed on the condition that the ruler accede to India." Once the Maharaja signed the
Instrument of AccessionThe Instrument of Accession is a legal document executed by Maharajah Hari Singh, ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, on October 26, 1947...
, "Indian soldiers entered Kashmir and drove the Pakistani-sponsored irregulars from all but a small section of the state. The
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
was then invited to mediate the quarrel. The UN mission insisted that the opinion of Kashmiris must be ascertained, while India insisted that no referandum could occur until all of the state had been cleared of irregulars."
In the last days of 1948, a ceasefire was agreed under UN auspices; however, since the plebiscite demanded by the UN was never conducted, relations between India and Pakistan soured, and eventually led to two more wars over Kashmir in
1965The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between India and Pakistan. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...
and
1999The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control...
. India has control of about half the area of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir; Pakistan controls a third of the region, the
Northern AreasGilgit-Baltistan is an autonomous region in northern Pakistan. It was formerly known as the Northern Areas . It is the northernmost political entity within the Pakistani-controlled part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
and
Azad KashmirAzad Jammu and Kashmir or, for short, Azad Kashmir is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-controlled part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Although there was a clear Muslim majority in Kashmir before the 1947 partition and its economic, cultural, and geographic contiguity with the Muslim-majority area of the Punjab (in Pakistan) could be convincingly demonstrated, the political developments during and after the partition resulted in a division of the region. Pakistan was left with territory that, although basically Muslim in character, was thinly populated, relatively inaccessible, and economically underdeveloped. The largest Muslim group, situated in the Vale of Kashmir and estimated to number more than half the population of the entire region, lay in Indian-administered territory, with its former outlets via the Jhelum valley route blocked."
The UN Security Council on 20 January 1948 passed
Resolution 39United Nations Security Council Resolution 39, adopted on January 20, 1948, offered to assist in the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir Conflict by setting up a committee of three members; one to be chosen by the India, one to be chosen by Pakistan and the third to be chosen by the other two...
, establishing a special commission to investigate the conflict. Subsequent to the commission's recommendation, the Security Council ordered in its
Resolution 47United Nations Security Council Resolution 47, adopted on April 21, 1948, after hearing arguments from both India and Pakistan the Council increased the size of the Commission established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 39 to five members, instructed the Commission to go to the...
, passed on 21 April 1948, that the invading Pakistani army retreat from Jammu & Kashmir and that the accession of Kashmir to either India or Pakistan be determined in accordance with a plebiscite to be supervised by the UN.
Post-1948 developments
The eastern region of the erstwhile princely state of Kashmir has also been beset with a boundary dispute. In the late 19th- and early 20th centuries, although some boundary agreements were signed between Great Britain, Afghanistan and Russia over the northern borders of Kashmir, China never accepted these agreements, and the official Chinese position did not change with the communist takeover in 1949. By the mid-1950s the
Chinese armyTwo modern armies have been known in English as the Chinese Army:* People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China* Republic of China Army , which replaced the National Revolutionary ArmyFor Chinese armies before 1912, see:...
had entered the north-east portion of Ladakh.
- "By 1956–57 they had completed a military road through the Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin, also Aksayqin, Akesaiqin or Akesai Qin , is a disputed region located in the northwestern region of the Tibetan Plateau north of the western Kunlun Mountains...
area to provide better communication between XinjiangXinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China and also claimed by the territory of the Republic of China.-Names:Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan, Sinkiang, East...
and western TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
. India's belated discovery of this road led to border clashes between the two countries that culminated in the Sino-Indian warThe Sino-Indian War , also known as the Sino-Indian Border Conflict , was a war between China and India that occurred in 1962. A disputed Himalayan border was the main pretext for war, but other issues played a role. There had been a series of violent border incidents after the 1959 Tibetan...
of October 1962."
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
has occupied
Aksai ChinAksai Chin, also Aksayqin, Akesaiqin or Akesai Qin , is a disputed region located in the northwestern region of the Tibetan Plateau north of the western Kunlun Mountains...
since the early 1950s and, in addition, an adjoining region almost 8% of the territory, the
Trans-Karakoram TractThe Trans-Karakoram Tract is an area of nearly 5,800 km² that, India claims, was transferred by a border agreement from the Pakistani-administered Northern Areas to China in 1963 with the proviso that the settlement was subject to the final solution of the Kashmir dispute...
was ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963.
Meanwhile, elections were held in Indian Jammu & Kashmir, which brought up the popular Muslim leader
Sheikh AbdullahSheikh Mohammed Abdullah , Sher-e-Kashmir , was the leader of the National Conference, Kashmir's largest political party, and one of the most important political figures in the modern history of Jammu and Kashmir...
, who with his party
National ConferenceThe Jammu & Kashmir National Conference is a political party in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Led at the time of Indian Independence in 1947 by Sheikh Abdullah, it dominated electoral politics in the state for many decades...
, by and large supported India. The elected
Constituent AssemblyConstituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir was a body of representatives elected in 1951 to write the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir.-Background:...
met for the first time in
SrinagarSrinagar , is the capital of the northernmost state of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir that is situated in India-administered Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. The city is famous for its lakes and houseboats...
on October 31, 1951. Then The State Constituent Assembly ratified the accession of the State to the Union of India on February 6, 1954 and the President of India subsequently issued the Constitution (Application to J&K) Order under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution extending the Union Constitution to the State with some exceptions and modifications. The State’s own Constitution came into force on January 26, 1957 under which the elections to the State Legislative Assembly were held for the first time on the basis of adult franchise the same year. This Constitution further reiterated the ratification of the State’s accession to Union of India. However, these tidings were not recognized by Pakistan, which has continued to press for a plebiscite to ascertain the wishes of the people. Pakistan set up its own Kashmir, called
Azad KashmirAzad Jammu and Kashmir or, for short, Azad Kashmir is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-controlled part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
in a tiny Western chunk that it controls. The much larger region of Pakistani Kashmir in the North-West, which was a province named
Northern Areas in the erstwhile state, by and large bore no mention in Pakistani laws and Constitution as being of any status, until in 1982 the Pakistani President General Zia ul Haq proclaimed that the people of the Northern Areas were Pakistanis and had nothing to do with the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Current status and political divisions
The region is divided among three countries in a territorial dispute:
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
controls the northwest portion (
Northern AreasGilgit-Baltistan is an autonomous region in northern Pakistan. It was formerly known as the Northern Areas . It is the northernmost political entity within the Pakistani-controlled part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
and
Azad KashmirAzad Jammu and Kashmir or, for short, Azad Kashmir is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-controlled part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
),
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
controls the central and southern portion (
Jammu and KashmirJammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the Pakistani...
) and
LadakhLadakh is a region situated in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south...
, and
ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
controls the northeastern portion (
Aksai ChinAksai Chin, also Aksayqin, Akesaiqin or Akesai Qin , is a disputed region located in the northwestern region of the Tibetan Plateau north of the western Kunlun Mountains...
and the
Trans-Karakoram TractThe Trans-Karakoram Tract is an area of nearly 5,800 km² that, India claims, was transferred by a border agreement from the Pakistani-administered Northern Areas to China in 1963 with the proviso that the settlement was subject to the final solution of the Kashmir dispute...
). India controls the majority of the
Siachen GlacierThe Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains at about , just east of the Line of Control between India-Pakistan. India controls all of the Siachen Glacier itself, including all tributary glaciers. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and...
area including the Saltoro Ridge passes, whereas Pakistan controls the lower territory just southwest of the Saltoro Ridge. India controls of the disputed territory, Pakistan and China, the remaining .
JammuJammu is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
and
Azad KashmirAzad Jammu and Kashmir or, for short, Azad Kashmir is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-controlled part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
lie outside Pir Panjal range, and are under
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n and
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
i control respectively. These are populous regions. Main cities are
JammuJammu is the largest city in the Jammu region and the winter capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is a municipal corporation.-Geography:...
,
MuzaffarabadMuzaffarabad is the capital of Azad Kashmir. It is located in Muzaffarabad District on the banks of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers. The district is bounded by North-West Frontier Province in the west, by the Kupwara and Baramulla districts of on the Indian side of the Line of Control in the east, and...
and
RawalakotRawalakot is a city in Azad Kashmir, and is the capital of Rawalakot District. It is in a saucer-shaped valley at an elevation of 1615 metres ....
.
The
Northern AreasGilgit-Baltistan is an autonomous region in northern Pakistan. It was formerly known as the Northern Areas . It is the northernmost political entity within the Pakistani-controlled part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
are a group of territories in the extreme north, bordered by the
KarakoramKarakoram is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan , Ladakh , and Xinjiang...
, the western Himalayas, the
PamirThe Pamir Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia formed by the junction or knot of the Himalayas, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Hindu Kush ranges. They are among the world’s highest mountains and since Victorian times they have been known as the "Roof of the World", translated from...
, and the
Hindu KushThe Hindu Kush is a mountain range stretching between and north-western Pakistan and eastern and central Afghanistan. The highest point in the Hindu Kush is Tirich Mir in the Chitral region of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan.It is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the...
ranges. With its administrative center at the town of
GilgitGilgit is a city in Northern PakistanGilgit may refer to other terms related with the area of the city:* Gilgit River* Gilgit Valley* Gilgit District* Gilgit Agency * Gilgit Airport...
, the
Northern AreasGilgit-Baltistan is an autonomous region in northern Pakistan. It was formerly known as the Northern Areas . It is the northernmost political entity within the Pakistani-controlled part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
cover an area of 72,971 km² (28,174 mi²) and have an estimated population approaching 1,000,000. The other main city is
SkarduSkardu , is the principal town of the region Baltistan and the capital of Skardu District, one of the districts making up Pakistan's Northern Areas....
.
LadakhLadakh is a region situated in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south...
is a region in the east, between the
KunlunThe Kunlun Mountains is one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending more than 3,000 km.The Kunlun runs westwards along the northern part of the Tibetan plateau to form the border range of northern Tibet. It stretches along the southern edge of what is now called the Tarim Basin, the...
mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south. Main cities are
LehLeh , was the capital of the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh, now the Leh District in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India.The town is still dominated by the now ruined Leh Palace, former home of the royal family of Ladakh, built in the same style and about the same time as the Potala Palace...
and Kargil. It is under Indian administration and is part of the state of
Jammu and KashmirJammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the Pakistani...
. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in the area and is mainly inhabited by people of
Indo-AryanIndo-Aryan is an ethno-linguistic term referring to the wide collection of peoples united as native speakers of the Indo-Aryan branch of the family of Indo-European languages. Today, there are over one billion native speakers of Indo-Aryan languages, most of them native to South Asia, where they...
and
TibetanThe Tibetan people are indigenous to Tibet and surrounding areas stretching from Central Asia in the North and West to Myanmar and China Proper in the East and India, Nepal and Bhutan to the south.-Demographics:...
descent.
Aksai ChinAksai Chin, also Aksayqin, Akesaiqin or Akesai Qin , is a disputed region located in the northwestern region of the Tibetan Plateau north of the western Kunlun Mountains...
is a vast high-altitude
desertA desert is a landscape or region that receives almost no precipitation. Deserts are defined as areas with an average annual precipitation of less than per year, or as areas where more water is lost by evapotranspiration than falls as precipitation. In the Köppen climate classification system,...
of
saltA salt, in chemistry, is an ionic compound, and can result from the neutralization reaction of acids and bases. Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
that reaches altitudes up to . Geographically part of the
Tibetan PlateauThe Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Tibel-Qingai Plateau or Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province in China and Ladakh in Kashmir, India...
, Aksai Chin is referred to as the Soda Plain. The region is almost uninhabited, and has no permanent settlements.
Though these regions are in practice administered by their respective claimants, neither India nor Pakistan has formally recognised the accession of the areas claimed by the other. India claims those areas, including the area "ceded" to China by Pakistan in the
Trans-Karakoram TractThe Trans-Karakoram Tract is an area of nearly 5,800 km² that, India claims, was transferred by a border agreement from the Pakistani-administered Northern Areas to China in 1963 with the proviso that the settlement was subject to the final solution of the Kashmir dispute...
in 1963, are a part of its territory, while Pakistan claims the entire region excluding Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract. The two countries have fought several declared wars over the territory. The
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, sometimes known as the First Kashmir War, was fought between India and Pakistan over the region of Kashmir from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four wars fought between the two newly independent nations...
established the rough boundaries of today, with Pakistan holding roughly one-third of Kashmir, and India one-half, with a dividing line of control established by the United Nations. The
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between India and Pakistan. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...
resulted in a stalemate and a UN-negotiated ceasefire.
Kashmir valley
The
Kashmir valley or
Vale of Kashmir is a valley between Himalayas and the
Pir Panjal RangeThe Pir Panjal Range is mountain range in the Middle Himalayas running from east to west across the states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir in the Republic of India as well as Pakistan administered Kashmir...
. It is around 135 km long and 32 km wide, formed by the
Jhelum RiverJehlum River or Jhelum River is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District...
. It was called as "Paradise on Earth" by
JahangirNur-ud-din Salim Jahangir was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1605 until his death...
. Currently it has population of around 4 million, mostly
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
.
It lies completely within Indian administration in the state of
Jammu and KashmirJammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the Pakistani...
.
SrinagarSrinagar , is the capital of the northernmost state of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir that is situated in India-administered Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. The city is famous for its lakes and houseboats...
is its main city and also the summer capital of the state. Other main cities are
AnantnagAnantnag , is a city and a municipality in Anantnag district in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, India....
and
BaramullaBaramulla is a City in the Baramulla District in the Indian-administered Kashmir valley. The name of the city is derived from the original Sanskrit name Varahamula .- History :...
. There has been armed insurgency since 1989 due to the
conflictThe Kashmir conflict refers to the territorial dispute over Kashmir, the northwesternmost region of South Asia . The parties to the dispute are India, Pakistan, China and the people of Kashmir....
. It has access to the rest of India through Banihal Tunnel near
QazigundQazigund is a town and a notified area committee in Anantnag district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.Qazigund is located at . It has an average elevation of 1670 metres .- Demographics :...
on NH 1A to
JammuJammu is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
, which is interrupted by snowfall in winter.
Demographics
In the 1901 Census of the British Indian Empire, Muslims constituted 74.16% of the total population of the princely state of
Kashmir and Jammu, Hindus, 23.72%, and Buddhists, 1.21%. The Hindus were found mainly in
JammuJammu is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
, where they constituted a little less than 80% of the population. In the Kashmir Valley, Muslims constituted 93.6% of the population and Hindus 5.24%. These percentages have remained fairly stable for the last 100 years. Forty years later, in the 1941 Census of British India, Muslims accounted for 93.6% of the population of the Kashmir Valley and the Hindus for 4%. In 2003, the percentage of Muslims in the Kashmir Valley was 95% and those of Hindus 4%; the same year, in
JammuJammu is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
, the percentage of Hindus was 66% and those of Muslims 30%.
In the 1901 Census of the British Indian Empire, the population of the
princely stateThere were as many as 568 states in India before independence. A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entity of British rule in India that was not directly administered by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-The British...
of
Kashmir and JammuJammu is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
was 2,905,578. Of these 2,154,695 were Muslims (74.16%), 689,073 Hindus (23.72%), 25,828 Sikhs, and 35,047 Buddhists.
Among the Muslims of the princely state, four divisions were recorded: "Shaikhs, Saiyids, Mughals, and Pathans. The Shaikhs, who are by far the most numerous, are the descendants of Hindus, but have retained none of the caste rules of their forefathers. They have clan names known as
krams ..." It was recorded that these
kram names included "Tantre," "Shaikh,", "Bhat", "Mantu," "Ganai," "Dar," "Damar," "Lon" etc. The Saiyids, it was recorded "could be divided into those who follow the profession of religion and those who have taken to agriculture and other pursuits. Their
kram name is "Mir." While a Saiyid retains his saintly profession Mir is a prefix; if he has taken to agriculture, Mir is an affix to his name." The
Mughals who were not numerous were recorded to have
kram names like "Mir" (a corruption of "Mirza"), "Beg," "Bandi," "Bach," and "Ashaye." Finally, it was recorded that the Pathans "who are more numerous than the Mughals, ... are found chiefly in the south-west of the valley, where Pathan colonies have from time to time been founded. The most interesting of these colonies is that of Kuki-Khel Afridis at Dranghaihama, who retain all the old customs and speak Pashtu."
The Hindus were found mainly in
JammuJammu is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
, where they constituted a little less than 80% of the population. In the
Kashmir Valley, the Hindus represented "524 in every 10,000 of the population (
i.e. 5.24%), and in the frontier
wazarats of Ladhakh and Gilgit only 94 out of every 10,000 persons (0.94%)." In the same Census of 1901, in the Kashmir Valley, the total population was recorded to be 1,157,394, of which the Muslim population was 1,083,766, or 93.6% and the
HinduA Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, a set of religious, philosophical and cultural systems that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The vast body of Hindu scriptures, divided into Śruti and Smriti , lay the foundation of Hindu beliefs which primarily include dhárma, kárma, ahimsa and saṃsāra...
population 60,641. Among the Hindus of
Jammu province, who numbered 626,177 (or 90.87% of the Hindu population of the princely state), the most important castes recorded in the census were "Brahmans (186,000), the Rajputs (167,000), the
KhattrisKhatri is the Punjabi adaptation of Sanskrit word Kshatriya . , a warrior tribe from the northern Indian subcontinent. As administrators and rulers, Kshatriya were assigned with protecting dharma, and serving humanity and the world...
(48,000) and the Thakkars (93,000)."
In the 1911 Census of the British Indian Empire, the total population of
Kashmir and Jammu had increased to 3,158,126. Of these, 2,398,320 (75.94%) were Muslims, 696,830 (22.06%) Hindus, 31,658 (1%) Sikhs, and 36,512 (1.16%) Buddhists. In the last census of British India in 1941, the total population of Kashmir and Jammu (which as a result of the second world war, was estimated from the 1931 census) was 3,945,000. Of these, the total Muslim population was 2,997,000 (75.97%), the Hindu population was 808,000 (20.48%), and the Sikh 55,000 (1.39%).
According to political scientist Alexander Evans, approximately 95% of the total population of 160,000-170,000 of Kashmir Brahmins, also called Kashmiri Pandits, (
i.e. approximately 150,000 to 160,000) left the Kashmir Valley in 1990 "as militant violence engulfed the state". According to the CIA Factbook chapter on India, approximately 300,000 Kashmiri Pandits from the state of Jammu and Kashmir are
internally displacedInternally displaced persons are people forced to flee their homes but who, unlike refugees, remain within their country's borders. At the end of 2006 estimates of t4.5 million in some 52 countries. The region with the largest IDP population is Africa with some 11.8 million in 21...
.
| Administered by | Area | Population | % Muslim | % Hindu A Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, a set of religious, philosophical and cultural systems that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The vast body of Hindu scriptures, divided into Śruti and Smriti , lay the foundation of Hindu beliefs which primarily include dhárma, kárma, ahimsa and saṃsāra...
| % Buddhist | % Other |
|---|
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
|
Jammu |
~3 million |
30% |
66% |
– |
4% |
|
Kashmir Valley |
~4 million |
95% |
4%* |
– |
– |
|
Ladakh |
~0.25 million |
46% Shia |
– |
50% |
3% |
| Pakistan |
Northern Areas |
~1 million |
99% |
– |
– |
– |
|
Azad Kashmir |
~2.6 million |
100% |
– |
– |
– |
| China |
Aksai Chin |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
- Statistics from the BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
In Depth report.
- About 300,000 Hindus in Indian Administered Kashmir are internally displaced due to militancy. - CIA
|
Culture and cuisine
Kashmiri cuisineKashmiri cuisine has evolved over hundreds of years. The first major influence was the food of the Kashmiri Buddhists and Pandits, the Hindus who live in the valley. The cuisine was then influenced by the cultures which arrived with the invasion the Kashmir region by Timur from the area of modern...
includes dum aloo (boiled potatoes with heavy amounts of spice), tzaman (a solid cottage cheese),
rogan joshRogan josh is an aromatic curry dish hailing from Kashmir and is quite popular in India, Pakistan, Singapore and United Kingdom. Rogan means oil in Persian, while josh means heat, hot, boiling, or passionate. Rogan josh thus means cooked in oil at intense heat.Rogan josh was brought to India by...
(lamb cooked in heavy spices), zaam dod (curd), yakhayn (lamb cooked incurd with mild spices), hakh (a spinach-like leaf), rista-gushtava (minced meat balls in tomato and curd curry) and of course the signature rice which is particular to Asian cultures. The traditional
wazwanWazwan, a multi-course meal in the Kashmiri tradition, is treated with great respect. Its preparation is considered an art. Almost all the dishes are meat-based . Wazwan is mostly restricted to the Muslims of Kashmir and they regard it as the pride of their culture and identity...
feast involves cooking meat or vegetables, usually mutton, in several different ways.
Alcohol and Beef are not widely consumed in Kashmir. There are two styles of making tea in the region: nun chai, or salt tea, which is pink in colour and popular with locals; and
kahwahKahwah is a traditional green tea recipe that originates from Kashmir. It is made in parts of Kashmir administered by Pakistan and India, as well as throughout various regions of the countries.-Origins:...
, a tea for festive occasions, made with
saffronSaffron is a spice derived from the flower of the saffron crocus , a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. A C. sativus flower bears three stigmas, each the distal end of a carpel. Together with their styles—stalks connecting stigmas to their host plant—stigmas are dried and used in cooking...
and spices.
Economy
Kashmir's economy is centred around agriculture. Traditionally the staple crop of the valley was rice, which formed the chief food of the people. In addition, Indian corn, wheat, barley and oats were also grown. Given its temperate climate, it is suited for crops like
asparagusAsparagus officinalis is a flowering plant species in the genus Asparagus from which the vegetable known as asparagus is obtained. It is native to most of Europe, northern Africa and western Asia...
, artichoke, seakale, broad beans, scarletrunners, beetroot, cauliflower and cabbage. Fruit trees are common in the valley, and the cultivated orchards yield pears,
appleThe apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family Rosaceae. It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits...
s,
peachThe peach is known as a species of Prunus native to China that bears an edible juicy fruit also called a peach. It is a deciduous tree growing to 4–10 m tall, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae...
es, and cherries. The chief trees are deodar, firs and
pinesPines can refer to:* Pines of Pannonia, the name an Illyrian from Pannonia*Pinnes son of Agron King of Illyria* Pines, a coniferous trees of the genus Pinus, in the family Pinaceae...
,
chenar-References:*...
or plane, maple, birch and
walnutWalnuts are plants in the family Juglandaceae. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts but not the hickories in the same family.The 21 species...
, apple, cherry.
Historically, Kashmir became known worldwide when
Cashmere woolCashmere wool, usually simply known as cashmere, is a fiber obtained from the Cashmere goat. The word cashmere derives from an old spelling of Kashmir....
was exported to other regions and nations (exports have ceased due to decreased abundance of the cashmere goat and increased competition from China). Kashmiris are well adept at
knittingKnitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth. Knitting consists of loops called stitches pulled through each other. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can be passed through them....
and making
PashminaPashmina refers to a type of fine cashmere wool and the textiles made from it. The name comes from Pashmineh, made from Persian pashm . The wool comes from changthangi or pashmina goat, which is a special breed of goat indigenous to high altitudes of the Himalayas...
shawls, silk carpets, rugs,
kurtaA kurta is a traditional item of clothing worn in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is a loose shirt falling either just above or somewhere below the knees of the wearer, and is worn by both men and women...
s, and pottery.
SaffronSaffron is a spice derived from the flower of the saffron crocus , a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. A C. sativus flower bears three stigmas, each the distal end of a carpel. Together with their styles—stalks connecting stigmas to their host plant—stigmas are dried and used in cooking...
, too, is grown in Kashmir. Efforts are on to export the naturally grown fruits and vegetables as
organic foodOrganic foods are made according to certain production standards. For the vast majority of human history, agriculture can be described as organic; only during the 20th century was a large supply of new synthetic chemicals introduced to the food supply...
s mainly to the
Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, southeastern Europe, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. Srinagar is known for its silver-work, papier mache, wood-carving, and the weaving of
silkSilk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from cocoons made by the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
.
The economy was badly damaged by the
2005 Kashmir earthquakeThe 2005 Kashmir Earthquake was a major earthquake centered in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and in North West Frontier Province near the city of Muzaffarabad, Pakistan. It occurred at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time on 8 October, 2005...
which, as of October 8 2005, resulted in over 70,000 deaths in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir and around 1,500 deaths in Indian controlled Kashmir.
History of Tourism in Kashmir
During the 19th century rule, Kashmir was a popular tourist destination due to its climate. Only 200 passes a year were issued by the government. European sportsmen and travellers, in addition to residents of India, traveled there freely. The railway to
Rawalpindi' Rāwalpindī) is a city in the Potwar Plateau near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad. Locally known as Pindi, the area was home to the pre-historic Soanian culture indigenous to...
, and a road thence to
SrinagarSrinagar , is the capital of the northernmost state of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir that is situated in India-administered Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. The city is famous for its lakes and houseboats...
made access to the valley easier. When the temperature in Srinagar rose at the beginning of June, the residents migrated to
GulmargGulmarg is a town, a hill station and a notified area committee in Baramula district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.-Geography:Gulmarg is located 52 km from Srinagar. It is located at . It has an average elevation of ....
, which was a fashionable hill station during
British ruleThe British Raj was the British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule...
. This great influx of visitors resulted in a corresponding diminution of game for the sportsmen. Special game preservation rules were introduced, and
nullahs were let out for stated periods with a restriction on the number of head to be shot.
RawalakotRawalakot is a city in Azad Kashmir, and is the capital of Rawalakot District. It is in a saucer-shaped valley at an elevation of 1615 metres ....
was another popular destination.
See also
- Line of Control
Specifically, the term Line of Control refers to the military control line between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir - a line which, still to this day, does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary but is the de-facto...
- Kashmir Conflict
The Kashmir conflict refers to the territorial dispute over Kashmir, the northwesternmost region of South Asia . The parties to the dispute are India, Pakistan, China and the people of Kashmir....
- Who's Who of Kashmir
- Kargil War
The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control...
- 2005 Kashmir earthquake
The 2005 Kashmir Earthquake was a major earthquake centered in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and in North West Frontier Province near the city of Muzaffarabad, Pakistan. It occurred at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time on 8 October, 2005...
- List of Jammu and Kashmir related articles
- Srinagar
Srinagar , is the capital of the northernmost state of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir that is situated in India-administered Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. The city is famous for its lakes and houseboats...
External links