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Kashmir is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley

Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, it denotes a larger area that includes the Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir (which includes the region of Jammu, Kashmir

Kashmir Valley, Ladakh

Ladakh and Siachen), the Pakistani-administered territories of Azad Kashmir

Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and Chinese-administered territories of Aksai Chin and the Trans- Karakoram

Karakoram Tract.[1][2][3] In the first half of the 1st millennium, the Kashmir region

Kashmir region became an important centre of Hinduism

Hinduism and later of Buddhism; later still, in the ninth century, Kashmir Shaivism

Kashmir Shaivism arose.[4] In 1339, Shah Mir

Shah Mir became the first Muslim

Muslim ruler of Kashmir, inaugurating the Salatin-i-Kashmir or Shah Mir

Shah Mir dynasty.[5] Kashmir

Kashmir was part of the Mughal Empire

Mughal Empire from 1586 to 1751,[6] and thereafter, until 1820, of the Afghan Durrani Empire.[5] That year, the Sikhs, under Ranjit Singh, annexed Kashmir.[5] In 1846, after the Sikh defeat in the First Anglo-Sikh War, and upon the purchase of the region from the British under the Treaty of Amritsar, the Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh, became the new ruler of Kashmir. The rule of his descendants, under the paramountcy (or tutelage) of the British Crown, lasted until the partition of India

India in 1947, when the former princely state of the British Raj

British Raj was claimed by both Pakistan

Pakistan and India. Since 1947, the greater region of Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir has been embroiled in a territorial dispute between India, Pakistan

Pakistan and China

China — with India

India controlling approximately 43% of the region and 70% of its population. Pakistan

Pakistan controls roughly 37% of the region while China controls the remaining 20%.[7][1][2] Kashmir

Kashmir is widely regarded as the world's most militarized zone — the region has witnessed three major wars between India

India and Pakistan, another limited war between India

India and China, numerous border skirmishes, high mountainous warfare, an ongoing insurgency, a mass Hindu

Hindu exodus and internal civilian unrest.[8]

Contents

1 Etymology 2 History

2.1 Hinduism
Hinduism and Buddhism
Buddhism in Kashmir 2.2 Shah Mir
Shah Mir Dynasty 2.3 Mughal rule 2.4 Afghan rule 2.5 Sikh rule 2.6 Princely state 2.7 1947 and 1948 2.8 Current status and political divisions

3 Demographics 4 Economy

4.1 Transport

5 See also 6 Notes 7 Bibliography 8 Historical sources 9 External links

Etymology[edit] The Sanskrit
Sanskrit word for Kashmir
Kashmir was káśmīra.[9] The Nilamata Purana describes the Valley's origin from the waters, a lake called Sati-saras.[10][11] A popular, but uncertain, local etymology of Kashmira is that it is land desiccated from water.[12] An alternative, but also uncertain, etymology derives the name from the name of the sage Kashyapa
Kashyapa who is believed to have settled people in this land. Accordingly, Kashmir
Kashmir would be derived from either kashyapa-mir (Kashyapa's Lake) or kashyapa-meru (Kashyapa's Mountain).[12] The Ancient Greeks called the region Kasperia which has been identified with Kaspapyros of Hecataeus of Miletus
Hecataeus of Miletus (apud Stephanus of Byzantium) and Kaspatyros of Herodotus
Herodotus (3.102, 4.44). Kashmir
Kashmir is also believed to be the country meant by Ptolemy's Kaspeiria.[13] Cashmere is an archaic spelling of present-Kashmir, and in some countries it is still spelled this way. In the Kashmiri language, Kashmir
Kashmir itself is known as Kasheer.[14] History[edit] Main article: History of Kashmir Further information: Timeline of the Kashmir conflict
Kashmir conflict and Kashmir conflict Hinduism
Hinduism and Buddhism
Buddhism in Kashmir[edit] Further information: Buddhism
Buddhism in Kashmir
Kashmir and Kashmir
Kashmir Shaivism

Surya
Surya temple at Martand, photographed by John Burke, 1868.

Martand
Martand Sun temple, built in 8th-century CE in Anantnag, Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir
Kashmir is dedicated to Mārtanda.

This general view of the unexcavated Buddhist
Buddhist stupa near Baramulla, with two figures standing on the summit, and another at the base with measuring scales, was taken by John Burke in 1868. The stupa, which was later excavated, dates to 500 CE.

During ancient and medieval period, Kashmir
Kashmir has been an important centre for the development of a Hindu- Buddhist
Buddhist syncretism, in which Madhyamaka
Madhyamaka and Yogachara
Yogachara were blended with Shaivism
Shaivism and Advaita Vedanta. The Buddhist
Buddhist Mauryan emperor Ashoka
Ashoka is often credited with having founded the old capital of Kashmir, Shrinagari, now ruins on the outskirts of modern Srinagar. Kashmir
Kashmir was long to be a stronghold of Buddhism.[15] As a Buddhist
Buddhist seat of learning, the Sarvastivada school strongly influenced Kashmir.[16] East and Central Asian Buddhist
Buddhist monks are recorded as having visited the kingdom. In the late 4th century CE, the famous Kuchanese monk Kumārajīva, born to an Indian noble family, studied Dīrghāgama and Madhyāgama in Kashmir under Bandhudatta. He later became a prolific translator who helped take Buddhism
Buddhism to China. His mother Jīva is thought to have retired to Kashmir. Vimalākṣa, a Sarvāstivādan Buddhist
Buddhist monk, travelled from Kashmir
Kashmir to Kucha
Kucha and there instructed Kumārajīva
Kumārajīva in the Vinayapiṭaka. Karkoṭa Empire
Karkoṭa Empire (625 CE – 885 CE) was a powerful Hindu
Hindu empire, which originated in the region of Kashmir.[17] It was founded by Durlabhvardhana during the lifetime of Harsha. The dynasty marked the rise of Kashmir
Kashmir as a power in South Asia.[18] Avanti Varman ascended the throne of Kashmir
Kashmir on 855 CE, establishing the Utpala dynasty and ending the rule of Karkoṭa dynasty.[19] According to tradition, Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara visited the pre-existing Sarvajñapīṭha (Sharada Peeth) in Kashmir
Kashmir in the late 8th century or early 9th century CE. The Madhaviya Shankaravijayam states this temple had four doors for scholars from the four cardinal directions. The southern door of Sarvajna Pitha was opened by Adi Shankara.[20] According to tradition, Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara opened the southern door by defeating in debate all the scholars there in all the various scholastic disciplines such as Mīmāṃsā, Vedanta
Vedanta and other branches of Hindu
Hindu philosophy; he ascended the throne of Transcendent wisdom of that temple.[21] Abhinavagupta
Abhinavagupta (c. 950–1020 CE[22][23]) was one of India's greatest philosophers, mystics and aestheticians. He was also considered an important musician, poet, dramatist, exegete, theologian, and logician[24][25] – a polymathic personality who exercised strong influences on Indian culture.[26][27] He was born in the Kashmir
Kashmir Valley[28] in a family of scholars and mystics and studied all the schools of philosophy and art of his time under the guidance of as many as fifteen (or more) teachers and gurus.[29] In his long life he completed over 35 works, the largest and most famous of which is Tantrāloka, an encyclopaedic treatise on all the philosophical and practical aspects of Trika and Kaula
Kaula (known today as Kashmir Shaivism). Another one of his very important contributions was in the field of philosophy of aesthetics with his famous Abhinavabhāratī commentary of Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata Muni.[30] In the 10th century Mokshopaya
Mokshopaya or Moksopaya Shastra, a philosophical text on salvation for non-ascetics (moksa-upaya: 'means to release'), was written on the Pradyumna hill in Srinagar.[31][32] It has the form of a public sermon and claims human authorship and contains about 30,000 shloka's (making it longer than the Ramayana). The main part of the text forms a dialogue between Vashistha
Vashistha and Rama, interchanged with numerous short stories and anecdotes to illustrate the content.[33][34] This text was later (11th to the 14th century CE)[35] expanded and vedanticised, which resulted in the Yoga Vasistha.[36] Queen Kota Rani was medieval Hindu
Hindu ruler of Kashmir, ruling until 1339. She was a notable ruler who is often credited for saving Srinagar
Srinagar city from frequent floods by getting a canal constructed, named after her "Kutte Kol". This canal receives water from Jhelum River at the entry point of city and again merges with Jhelum river beyond the city limits.[37] Shah Mir
Shah Mir Dynasty[edit]

Gateway of enclosure, (once a Hindu
Hindu temple) of Zein-ul-ab-ud-din's Tomb, in Srinagar. Probable date 400 to 500 CE, 1868. John Burke. Oriental and India
India Office Collection. British Library.

Shams-ud-Din Shah Mir
Shah Mir (reigned 1339–42) was the first Muslim
Muslim ruler of Kashmir[38] and founder of the Shah Mir
Shah Mir dynasty.[38][39] Kashmiri historian Jonaraja, in his Dvitīyā Rājataraṅginī mentioned Shah Mir was from Swat, and his ancestors were Kshatriya, who converted to Islam.

Shāh Mīr arrived in Kashmir
Kashmir in 1313, along with his family, during the reign of Sūhadeva (1301–20), whose service he entered. In subsequent years, through his tact and ability, Shāh Mīr rose to prominence and became one of the important personalities of the time. Later, after the death in 1338 of Udayanadeva, the brother of Sūhadeva, he was able to assume the kingship himself and thus laid the foundation of permanent Muslim
Muslim rule in Kashmir. Dissensions among the ruling classes and foreign invasions were the two main factors which contributed towards the establishment of Muslim
Muslim rule in Kashmir.[40]

Rinchan, from Ladakh, and Lankar Chak, from Dard territory near Gilgit, came to Kashmir
Kashmir and played a notable role in the subsequent political history of the Valley. All the three men were granted Jagirs (feudatory estates) by the King. Rinchan became the ruler of Kashmir for three years. Shah Mir
Shah Mir was the first ruler of Shah Mir
Shah Mir dynasty, which had established in 1339 CE. Muslim
Muslim ulama, such as Mir Sayyid
Sayyid Ali Hamadani, arrived from Central Asia to proselytize in Kashmir
Kashmir and their efforts converted thousands of Kashmiris
Kashmiris to Islam[41] and Hamadani's son also convinced Sikander Butshikan to enforce Islamic law. By the late 1400s most Kashmiris
Kashmiris had accepted Islam.[42] Mughal rule[edit] The Mughal padishah (emperor) Akbar
Akbar conquered Kashmir, taking advantage of Kashmir's internal Sunni-Shia divisions,[43] and thus ended indigenous Kashmiri Muslim
Muslim rule.[6] Akbar
Akbar added it in 1586 to Kabul Subah, but Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan carved it out as a separate subah (imperial top-level province) with seat at Srinagar. Afghan rule[edit] The Afghan Durrani dynasty's Durrani Empire
Durrani Empire controlled Kashmir
Kashmir from 1751, when weakling 15th Mughal padshah (emperor) Ahmad Shah Bahadur's viceroy Muin-ul-Mulk was defeated and reinstated by the Durrani founder Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shah Durrani (who conquered, roughly, modern day Afghanistan
Afghanistan and Pakistan
Pakistan from the Mughals and local rulers), until the 1820 Sikh triumph. The Afghan rulers brutally repressed Kashmiris
Kashmiris of all faiths (according to Kashmiri historians).[44] Sikh rule[edit] In 1819, the Kashmir Valley
Kashmir Valley passed from the control of the Durrani Empire of Afghanistan
Afghanistan to the conquering armies of the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh of the Punjab,[45] thus ending four centuries of Muslim rule under the Mughals and the Afghan regime. As the Kashmiris
Kashmiris had suffered under the Afghans, they initially welcomed the new Sikh rulers.[46] However, the Sikh governors turned out to be hard taskmasters, and Sikh rule was generally considered oppressive,[47] protected perhaps by the remoteness of Kashmir
Kashmir from the capital of the Sikh Empire
Sikh Empire in Lahore.[48] The Sikhs enacted a number of anti-Muslim laws,[48] which included handing out death sentences for cow slaughter,[46] closing down the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar,[48] and banning the adhan, the public Muslim
Muslim call to prayer.[48] Kashmir
Kashmir had also now begun to attract European visitors, several of whom wrote of the abject poverty of the vast Muslim
Muslim peasantry and of the exorbitant taxes under the Sikhs.[46][49] High taxes, according to some contemporary accounts, had depopulated large tracts of the countryside, allowing only one-sixteenth of the cultivable land to be cultivated.[46] Many Kashmiri peasants migrated to the plains of the Punjab.[50] However, after a famine in 1832, the Sikhs reduced the land tax to half the produce of the land and also began to offer interest-free loans to farmers;[48] Kashmir
Kashmir became the second highest revenue earner for the Sikh Empire.[48] During this time Kashmiri shawls became known worldwide, attracting many buyers, especially in the West.[48] The state of Jammu, which had been on the ascendant after the decline of the Mughal Empire, came under the sway of the Sikhs in 1770. Further in 1808, it was fully conquered by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Gulab Singh, then a youngster in the House of Jammu, enrolled in the Sikh troops and, by distinguishing himself in campaigns, gradually rose in power and influence. In 1822, he was anointed as the Raja of Jammu.[51] Along with his able general Zorawar Singh Kahluria, he conquered and subdued Rajouri (1821), Kishtwar
Kishtwar (1821), Suru valley and Kargil
Kargil (1835), Ladakh
Ladakh (1834–1840), and Baltistan
Baltistan (1840), thereby surrounding the Kashmir
Kashmir Valley. He became a wealthy and influential noble in the Sikh court.[52] Princely state[edit] Main article: Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)

1909 Map of the Princely State of Kashmir
Kashmir and Jammu. The names of regions, important cities, rivers, and mountains are underlined in red.

In 1845, the First Anglo-Sikh War
First Anglo-Sikh War broke out. According to The Imperial Gazetteer of India,

" Gulab Singh
Gulab Singh contrived to hold himself aloof till the battle of Sobraon (1846), when he appeared as a useful mediator and the trusted advisor of Sir Henry Lawrence. Two treaties were concluded. By the first the State of Lahore (i.e. West Punjab) handed over to the British, as equivalent for one crore indemnity, the hill countries between the rivers Beas and Indus; by the second the British made over to Gulab Singh
Gulab Singh for 75 lakhs all the hilly or mountainous country situated to the east of the Indus and the west of the Ravi i.e. the Vale of Kashmir)."[45]

Drafted by a treaty and a bill of sale, and constituted between 1820 and 1858, the Princely State of Kashmir
Kashmir and Jammu
Jammu (as it was first called) combined disparate regions, religions, and ethnicities:[53] to the east, Ladakh
Ladakh was ethnically and culturally Tibetan and its inhabitants practised Buddhism; to the south, Jammu
Jammu had a mixed population of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs; in the heavily populated central Kashmir
Kashmir valley, the population was overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, however, there was also a small but influential Hindu minority, the Kashmiri brahmins or pandits; to the northeast, sparsely populated Baltistan
Baltistan had a population ethnically related to Ladakh, but which practised Shia Islam; to the north, also sparsely populated, Gilgit
Gilgit Agency, was an area of diverse, mostly Shi'a groups; and, to the west, Punch was Muslim, but of different ethnicity than the Kashmir
Kashmir valley.[53] After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, in which Kashmir
Kashmir sided with the British, and the subsequent assumption of direct rule by Great Britain, the princely state of Kashmir
Kashmir came under the suzerainty of the British Crown. In the British census of India
India of 1941, Kashmir
Kashmir registered a Muslim majority population of 77%, a Hindu
Hindu population of 20% and a sparse population of Buddhists and Sikhs comprising the remaining 3%.[54] That same year, Prem Nath Bazaz, a Kashmiri Pandit
Kashmiri Pandit journalist wrote: “The poverty of the Muslim
Muslim masses is appalling. ... Most are landless laborers, working as serfs for absentee [Hindu] landlords ... Almost the whole brunt of official corruption is borne by the Muslim masses.”[55] Under the Hindu
Hindu rule, Muslims faced hefty taxation, discrimination in the legal system and were forced into labor without any wages.[56] Conditions in the princely state caused a significant migration of people from the Kashmir Valley
Kashmir Valley to Punjab
Punjab of British India.[57] For almost a century until the census, a small Hindu
Hindu elite had ruled over a vast and impoverished Muslim
Muslim peasantry.[54][58] Driven into docility by chronic indebtedness to landlords and moneylenders, having no education besides, nor awareness of rights,[54] the Muslim
Muslim peasants had no political representation until the 1930s.[58] 1947 and 1948[edit] Further information: Kashmir
Kashmir conflict, Timeline of the Kashmir conflict, 1947 Poonch
Poonch Rebellion, Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, 1947 Jammu
Jammu massacres, and 1947 Mirpur massacre

The prevailing religions by district in the 1901 Census of the Indian Empire.

Ranbir Singh's grandson Hari Singh, who had ascended the throne of Kashmir
Kashmir in 1925, was the reigning monarch in 1947 at the conclusion of British rule of the subcontinent and the subsequent partition of the British Indian Empire
British Indian Empire into the newly independent Dominion of India
India and the Dominion of Pakistan. In the run up to 1947 there were two major parties in the princely state: the National Conference and the Muslim
Muslim Conference. The National Conference was led by the charismatic Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah who tilted towards favouring the accession of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir to India
India whilst the Muslim
Muslim Conference tilted towards favouring the accession of the princely state to Pakistan.[59] The National Conference enjoyed popular support in the Kashmir Valley
Kashmir Valley whilst the Muslim
Muslim Conference was more popular in the Jammu
Jammu region.[60] The Hindus and Sikhs of the state were firmly in favour of joining India, as were the Buddhists.[61] However, the sentiments of the state's Muslim population were divided. Scholar Christopher Snedden states that the Muslims of Western Jammu, and also the Muslims of the Frontier Districts Province, strongly wanted Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir to join Pakistan.[62] The ethnic Kashmiri Muslims
Kashmiri Muslims of the Kashmir
Kashmir Valley, on the other hand, were ambivalent about Pakistan[63] (possibly due to their secular nature)[64] although Snedden claims that the best-informed English language newspaper on the state's affairs, the CMG, reported on 21 October 1947 that there had been a massive upsurge in favour of Pakistan
Pakistan in the southern section of the Kashmir Valley-which was the stronghold of the socialist Kisan Mazdoor Conference party led by Kashmiri Pandit
Kashmiri Pandit Prem Nath Bazaz.[65] Many supporters of National Conference and Sheikh Abdullah
Sheikh Abdullah also did support Jinnah and the Muslim
Muslim League.[66] Conversely, The Times reported that Sheikh Abdullah's influence in Srinagar
Srinagar was 'paramount'.[67] The fact that Kashmiris
Kashmiris were not particularly enamoured with the idea of Pakistan
Pakistan reflected the failure of the idea of Pan-Islamic identity in satisfying the political urges of Kashmiris.[68] At the same time there was also a lack of interest in merging with Indian nationalism.[69] According to Burton Stein's History of India,

" Kashmir
Kashmir was neither as large nor as old an independent state as Hyderabad; it had been created rather off-handedly by the British after the first defeat of the Sikhs in 1846, as a reward to a former official who had sided with the British. The Himalayan kingdom was connected to India
India through a district of the Punjab, but its population was 77 per cent Muslim
Muslim and it shared a boundary with Pakistan. Hence, it was anticipated that the maharaja would accede to Pakistan
Pakistan when the British paramountcy ended on 14–15 August. When he hesitated to do this, Pakistan
Pakistan launched a guerrilla onslaught meant to frighten its ruler into submission. Instead the Maharaja appealed to Mountbatten[70] for assistance, and the governor-general agreed on the condition that the ruler accede to India. Indian soldiers entered Kashmir
Kashmir and drove the Pakistani-sponsored irregulars from all but a small section of the state. The United Nations was then invited to mediate the quarrel. The UN mission insisted that the opinion of Kashmiris
Kashmiris must be ascertained, while India
India insisted that no referendum could occur until all of the state had been cleared of irregulars."[71]

In the last days of 1948, a ceasefire was agreed under UN auspices. However, since the referendum demanded by the UN was never conducted, relations between India
India and Pakistan
Pakistan soured,[71] and eventually led to two more wars over Kashmir
Kashmir in 1965 and 1999. India
India has control of about half the area of the former princely state of Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir, while Pakistan
Pakistan controls a third of the region, the Northern Areas and Kashmir. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, "Although there was a clear Muslim
Muslim majority in Kashmir
Kashmir before the 1947 partition and its economic, cultural, and geographic contiguity with the Muslim-majority area of the Punjab
Punjab (in Pakistan) could be convincingly demonstrated, the political developments during and after the partition resulted in a division of the region. Pakistan
Pakistan was left with territory that, although basically Muslim
Muslim in character, was thinly populated, relatively inaccessible, and economically underdeveloped. The largest Muslim
Muslim group, situated in the Valley of Kashmir
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."[72]

Topographic map
Topographic map of Kasmir

Current status and political divisions[edit] Main articles: Aksai Chin, Azad Kashmir, Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit–Baltistan, and Trans- Karakoram
Karakoram Tract The eastern region of the former princely state of Kashmir
Kashmir is also involved in a boundary dispute that began in the late 19th century and continues into the 21st. Although some boundary agreements were signed between Great Britain, Afghanistan
Afghanistan and Russia
Russia over the northern borders of Kashmir, China
China never accepted these agreements, and China's official position has not changed following the communist revolution of 1949 that established the People's Republic of China. By the mid-1950s the Chinese army had entered the north-east portion of Ladakh.[72]

"By 1956–57 they had completed a military road through the Aksai Chin area to provide better communication between Xinjiang
Xinjiang and western Tibet. India's belated discovery of this road led to border clashes between the two countries that culminated in the Sino-Indian war of October 1962."[72]

The region is divided amongst three countries in a territorial dispute: Pakistan
Pakistan controls the northwest portion (Northern Areas and Kashmir), India
India controls the central and southern portion ( Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir) and Ladakh, and the People's Republic of China
China controls the northeastern portion ( Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin and the Trans- Karakoram
Karakoram Tract). India controls the majority of the Siachen
Siachen Glacier area, including the Saltoro Ridge passes, whilst Pakistan
Pakistan controls the lower territory just southwest of the Saltoro Ridge. India
India controls 101,338 km2 (39,127 sq mi) of the disputed territory, Pakistan
Pakistan controls 85,846 km2 (33,145 sq mi), and the People's Republic of China
China controls the remaining 37,555 km2 (14,500 sq mi). Jammu
Jammu and Azad Kashmir
Azad Kashmir lie outside Pir Panjal
Pir Panjal range, and are under Indian and Pakistani control respectively. These are populous regions. Gilgit–Baltistan, formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a group of territories in the extreme north, bordered by the Karakoram, the western Himalayas, the Pamir, and the Hindu Kush
Hindu Kush ranges. With its administrative centre in the town of Gilgit, the Northern Areas cover an area of 72,971 square kilometres (28,174 sq mi) and have an estimated population approaching 1 million (10 lakhs). Ladakh
Ladakh is a region in the east, between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south.[73] Main cities are Leh
Leh and Kargil. It is under Indian administration and is part of the state of Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in the area and is mainly inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent.[73] Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin is a vast high-altitude desert of salt that reaches altitudes up to 5,000 metres (16,000 ft). Geographically part of the Tibetan Plateau, 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
India nor Pakistan
Pakistan has formally recognised the accession of the areas claimed by the other. India
India claims those areas, including the area "ceded" to China
China by Pakistan
Pakistan in the Trans-Karakoram Tract in 1963, are a part of its territory, while Pakistan
Pakistan claims the entire region excluding Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin and Trans- Karakoram
Karakoram Tract. The two countries have fought several declared wars over the territory. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 established the rough boundaries of today, with Pakistan
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 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 resulted in a stalemate and a UN-negotiated ceasefire. Demographics[edit] In the 1901 Census of the British Indian Empire, the population of the princely state of Kashmir
Kashmir and Jammu
Jammu was 2,905,578. Of these, 2,154,695 (74.16%) were Muslims, 689,073 (23.72%) Hindus, 25,828 (0.89%) Sikhs, and 35,047 (1.21%) Buddhists (implying 935 (0.032%) others).

A Muslim
Muslim shawl-making family shown in Cashmere shawl manufactory, 1867, chromolith., William Simpson.

A group of Kashmiri Pandits, natives of Kashmir Valley
Kashmir Valley belong to one of the prominent Shaiva sects of Hinduism, shown in 1895.

Among the Muslims of the Kashmir
Kashmir province within 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 ..."[74] These kram names included "Tantre", "Shaikh", "Bat", "Mantu", "Ganai", "Dar", "Damar", "Lon", etc. The Saiyids "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."[74] The Mughals who were not numerous had 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 Pashto."[74] Among the main tribes of Muslims in the princely state are the Butts, Dar, Lone, Jat, Gujjar, Rajput, Sudhan and Khatri. A small number of Butts, Dar and Lone use the title Khawaja. The Khatri
Khatri use the title Shaikh and the Gujjar use the title Chaudhary. All these tribes are indigenous to the princely state which converted to Islam
Islam from Hinduism
Hinduism during its arrival in the region. The Hindus were found mainly in Jammu, where they constituted a little less than 60% of the population.[74] In the Kashmir
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
Gilgit only 94 out of every 10,000 persons (0.94%)."[74] In the same Census of 1901, in the Kashmir
Kashmir Valley, the total population was recorded to be 1,157,394, of which the Muslim
Muslim population was 1,083,766, or 93.6% and the Hindu population 60,641.[74] Among the Hindus of Jammu
Jammu province, who numbered 626,177 (or 90.87% of the Hindu
Hindu population of the princely state), the most important castes recorded in the census were "Brahmans (186,000), the Rajputs (167,000), the Khattris (48,000) and the Thakkars (93,000)."[74] In the 1911 Census of the British Indian Empire, the total population of Kashmir
Kashmir and Jammu
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
India in 1941, the total population of Kashmir
Kashmir and Jammu
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
Muslim population was 2,997,000 (75.97%), the Hindu
Hindu population was 808,000 (20.48%), and the Sikh 55,000 (1.39%).[75] The Kashmiri Pandits, the only Hindus of the Kashmir
Kashmir valley, who had stably constituted approximately 4 to 5% of the population of the valley during Dogra
Dogra rule (1846–1947), and 20% of whom had left the Kashmir valley
Kashmir valley by 1950,[76] began to leave in much greater numbers in the 1990s. According to a number of authors, approximately 100,000 of the total Kashmiri Pandit
Kashmiri Pandit population of 140,000 left the valley during that decade.[77] Other authors have suggested a higher figure for the exodus, ranging from the entire population of over 150[78] to 190 thousand (1.5 to 190,000) of a total Pandit population of 200 thousand (200,000)[79] to a number as high as 300 thousand[80] (300,000). People in Jammu
Jammu speak Hindi, Punjabi and Dogri, the Vale of Kashmir speaks Kashmiri and the sparsely inhabited Ladakh
Ladakh region speaks Tibetan and Balti.[81] The total population of India's division of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is 12,541,302[82] and Pakistan's division of Kashmir
Kashmir is 2,580,000 and Gilgit-Baltistan
Gilgit-Baltistan is 870,347.[83]

Administered by Area Population % Muslim % Hindu % Buddhist % Other

India Kashmir
Kashmir Valley ~4 million (4 million) 95% 4%* – –

Jammu ~3 million (3 million) 30% 66% – 4%

Ladakh ~0.25 million (250,000) 46% – 50% 3%

Pakistan Azad Kashmir ~4 million (4 million) 100% – – –

Gilgit–Baltistan ~2 million (2 million) 99% – – –

China Aksai Chin – – – – –

Trans-Karakoram – – – – –

Statistics from the BBC
BBC In Depth report.

Brokpa
Brokpa women from Kargil, northern Ladakh, in local costumes

Economy[edit]

Srinagar, the largest city of Kashmir

Further information: Azad Kashmir
Azad Kashmir § Economy, and Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir
Kashmir § 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 asparagus, artichoke, seakale, broad beans, scarletrunners, beetroot, cauliflower and cabbage. Fruit trees are common in the valley, and the cultivated orchards yield pears, apples, peaches, and cherries. The chief trees are deodar, firs and pines, chenar or plane, maple, birch and walnut, apple, cherry. Historically, Kashmir
Kashmir became known worldwide when Cashmere wool
Cashmere wool was exported to other regions and nations (exports have ceased due to decreased abundance of the cashmere goat and increased competition from China). Kashmiris
Kashmiris are well adept at knitting and making Pashmina shawls, silk carpets, rugs, kurtas, and pottery. Saffron, too, is grown in Kashmir. Efforts are on to export the naturally grown fruits and vegetables as organic foods mainly to the Middle East. Srinagar
Srinagar is known for its silver-work, papier-mâché, wood-carving, and the weaving of silk. The economy was badly damaged by the 2005 Kashmir earthquake which, as of 8 October 2005, resulted in over 70,000 deaths in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir
Kashmir and around 1,500 deaths in Indian controlled Kashmir. The Indian-administered portion of Kashmir is believed to have potentially rich rocks containing hydrocarbon reserves.[84][85] Transport[edit] Transport is predominantly by air or road vehicles in the region.[86] Kashmir
Kashmir has a 135 km (84 mi) long modern railway line that started in October 2009, and was last extended in 2013 and connects Baramulla
Baramulla in the western part of Kashmir
Kashmir to Srinagar
Srinagar and Banihal. It is expected to link Kashmir
Kashmir to the rest of India
India after the construction of the railway line from Katra to Banihal
Banihal is completed.[87] See also[edit]

Kashmir
Kashmir Valley Jammu Ladakh Kashmir
Kashmir conflict Kashmiris List of Kashmiri people 1941 Census of Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir Line of Control Human rights abuses in Kashmir List of Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir-related articles Cashmere (other)

Notes[edit]

^ a b "Kashmir: region, Indian subcontinent". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 16 July 2016. Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent. It is bounded by the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang
Xinjiang to the northeast and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the east (both parts of China), by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab
Punjab to the south, by Pakistan
Pakistan to the west, and by Afghanistan
Afghanistan to the northwest. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan
Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, ... The southern and southeastern portions constitute the Indian state of Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian- and Pakistani-administered portions are divided by a “line of control” agreed to in 1972, although neither country recognizes it as an international boundary. In addition, China
China became active in the eastern area of Kashmir
Kashmir in the 1950s and since 1962 has controlled the northeastern part of Ladakh
Ladakh (the easternmost portion of the region)." ^ a b " Kashmir
Kashmir territories profile". BBC. Retrieved 16 July 2016. Quote: "The Himalayan region of Kashmir
Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India
India and Pakistan
Pakistan for over six decades. Since India's partition and the creation of Pakistan
Pakistan in 1947, the nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars over the Muslim-majority territory, which both claim in full but control in part. Today it remains one of the most militarised zones in the world. China
China administers parts of the territory." ^ " Kashmir
Kashmir profile — timeline". BBC. Retrieved 16 July 2016. Quote: "1950s – China
China gradually occupies eastern Kashmir
Kashmir (Aksai Chin). 1962 – China
China defeats India
India in a short war for control of Aksai Chin. 1963 – Pakistan
Pakistan cedes the Trans-Karakoram Tract
Trans-Karakoram Tract of Kashmir
Kashmir to China." ^ Basham, A. L. (2005) The wonder that was India, Picador. Pp. 572. ISBN 0-330-43909-X, p. 110. ^ a b c Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume 15. 1908. Oxford University Press, Oxford and London. pp. 93–95. ^ a b Puri, Balraj (June 2009), "5000 Years of Kashmir", Epilogue, 3 (6), pp. 43–45, retrieved 31 December 2016, It was emperor Akbar
Akbar who brought an end to indigenous Kashmiri Muslim
Muslim rule that had lasted 250 years. The watershed in Kashmiri history is not the beginning of the Muslim
Muslim rule as is regarded in the rest of the subcontinent but the changeover from Kashmiri rule to a non-Kashmiri rule. ^ Margolis, Eric (2004). War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir
Kashmir and Tibet (paperback ed.). Routledge. p. 56. ISBN 9781135955595. ^ Coleman, Peter (2011). The Five Percent: Finding Solutions to Seemingly Impossible Conflicts (paperback ed.). Hachette UK. ISBN 9781586489229. ^ "A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages". Dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2015-05-29. ^ Akbar, M. J. (1991), Kashmir, behind the vale, Viking, p. 9 ^ Raina, Mohini Qasba (October 2013), Kashur The Kashmiri Speaking People, Trafford Publishing, pp. 3–, ISBN 978-1-4907-0165-3 ^ a b Snedden, Christopher (2015), Understanding Kashmir
Kashmir and Kashmiris, Oxford University Press, pp. 22–, ISBN 978-1-84904-342-7 ^ Khan, Ruhail (2017-07-06). Who Killed Kasheer?. Notion Press. ISBN 9781947283107. ^ P. iv ' Kashmir
Kashmir Today' by Government, 1998 ^ A.K. Warder, Indian Buddhism. Motilal Banarsidass 2000, page 256. ^ A.K. Warder, Indian Buddhism. Motilal Banarsidass 2000, pages 263–264. ^ Life in India, Issue 1. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. ^ Kalhana (1147–1149); Rajatarangini. ^ Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. p. 295. ISBN 978-8122-411-98-0. ^ Shyama Kumar Chattopadhyaya (2000) The Philosophy of Sankar's Advaita Vedanta, Sarup & Sons, New Delhi ISBN 81-7625-222-0, ISBN 978-81-7625-222-5 ^ Tapasyananda, Swami (2002), Sankara-Dig-Vijaya, pp. 186–195 ^ Triadic Heart of Shiva, Paul E. Muller-Ortega, page 12 ^ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 27 ^ Re-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, page 4 ^ Key to the Vedas, Nathalia Mikhailova, page 169 ^ The Pratyabhijñā Philosophy, Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare, page 12 ^ Companion to Tantra, S.C. Banerji, page 89 ^ Doctrine of Divine Recognition, K. C. Pandey, page V ^ Introduction to the Tantrāloka, Navjivan Rastogi, page 35 ^ Luce dei Tantra, Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta, Raniero Gnoli, page LXXVII ^ Slaje, Walter. (2005). "Locating the Mokṣopāya", in: Hanneder, Jürgen (Ed.). The Mokṣopāya, Yogavāsiṣṭha and Related Texts Aachen: Shaker Verlag. (Indologica Halensis. Geisteskultur Indiens. 7). p. 35. ^ Gallery – The journey to the Pradyumnaśikhara Archived 23 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Leslie 2003, pp. 104–107 ^ Lekh Raj Manjdadria. (2002?) The State of Research to date on the Yogavastha (Moksopaya) Archived 15 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine.. ^ Hanneder, Jürgen; Slaje, Walter. Moksopaya Project: Introduction. Archived 28 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Chapple, Christopher; Venkatesananda (1984), "Introduction", The Concise Yoga Vāsiṣṭha, Albany: State University of New York Press, pp. x–xi, ISBN 0-87395-955-8, OCLC 11044869 ^ Culture and political history of Kashmir, Prithivi Nath Kaul Bamzai, M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1994. ^ a b Concise Encyclopeida Of World History By Carlos Ramirez-Faria, page 412 ^ The Pearson Indian History Manual for the UPSC Civil Services Page 104 "However, the situation changed with the ending of the Hindu
Hindu rule and founding of the Shahmiri dynasty by Shahmir or Dhams-ud-din (1339–1342). The devastating attack on Kashmir
Kashmir in 1320 by the Mongol leader, Dalucha, was a prelude to it. It is said ... The Sultan was himself a learned man, and composed poetry. He was ..." ^ Baloch, N. A.; Rafiqi, A. Q. (1998), "The Regions of Sind, Baluchistan, Multan and Kashmir" (PDF), in M. S. Asimov; C. E. Bosworth, History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. IV, Part 1 — The age of achievement: A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century — The historical, social and economic setting, UNESCO, pp. 297–322, ISBN 978-92-3-103467-1 ^ Amin, Tahir; Schofield, Victoria. Kashmir. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. A large number of Muslim
Muslim ʿulamāʿ came from Central Asia to Kashmir
Kashmir to preach; Sayyid
Sayyid Bilāl Shāh, Sayyid Jalāluddīn of Bukhara, Sayyid
Sayyid Tajuddīn, his brother Sayyid
Sayyid Ḥusayn Sīmānī, Sayyid
Sayyid ʿAlī Ḥamadānī, his son Mir Muḥammad Hamadānī, and Shaykh Nūruddīn are some of the well-known ʿulamāʿ who played a significant role in spreading Islam. ^ Amin, Tahir; Schofield, Victoria. Kashmir. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. The contribution of Sayyid
Sayyid ʿAlī Hamadānī, popularly known as Shah-yi Hamadān, is legendary. Born at Hamadān (Iran) in 1314 and belonging to the Kubrawīyah order of Ṣūfīs, a branch of the Suhrawardīyah, he paid three visits to Kashmir
Kashmir in 1372, 1379, and 1383; together with several hundred followers, he converted thousands of Kashmiris
Kashmiris to Islam. His son Sayyid
Sayyid Muḥammad Hamadānī continued his work, vigorously propagating Islam
Islam as well as influencing the Muslim
Muslim ruler Sikander (1389–1413) to enforce Islamic law and to establish the office of the Shaykh al-Islām (chief religious authority). By the end of the fifteenth century, the majority of the people had embraced Islam. ^ Snedden, Christopher (2015). Understanding Kashmir
Kashmir and Kashmiris. Oxford University Press. p. 29. ISBN 9781849043427. Similarly, Sunni and Shia Kashmiris
Kashmiris had troubles at times, with their differences offering the third Mughal Emperor, Akbar
Akbar (ruled 1556–1605), a pretext to invade Kashmir, and capture it, in 1586. ^ Zutshi, Chitralekha (2004). Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 35. ISBN 9781850657002. Most historians of Kashmir
Kashmir agree on the rapacity of the Afghan governors, a period unrelieved by even brief respite devoted to good work and welfare for the people of Kashmir. According to these histories, the Afghans were brutally repressive with all Kashmiris, regardless of class or religion ^ a b Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume 15. 1908. "Kashmir: History". pp. 94–95. ^ a b c d Schofield, Kashmir
Kashmir in Conflict 2003, pp. 5–6 ^ Madan, Kashmir, Kashmiris, Kashimiriyat 2008, p. 15 ^ a b c d e f g Zutshi, Languages of Belonging 2004, pp. 39–41 ^ Amin, Tahir; Schofield, Victoria. Kashmir. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. During both Sikh and Dogra
Dogra rule, heavy taxation, forced work without wages (begār), discriminatory laws, and rural indebtedness were widespread among the largely illiterate Muslim population. ^ Zutshi, Chitralekha (2004). Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 40. ISBN 9781850656944. Kashmiri histories emphasize the wretchedness of life for the common Kashmiri during Sikh rule. According to these, the peasantry became mired in poverty and migrations of Kashmiri peasants to the plains of the Punjab
Punjab reached high proportions. Several European travelers' accounts from the period testify to and provide evidence for such assertions. ^ Panikkar 1930, p. 10–11, 14–34. ^ Schofield, Kashmir
Kashmir in Conflict 2003, pp. 6–7. ^ a b Bowers, Paul. 2004. "Kashmir." Research Paper 4/28 Archived 26 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine., International Affairs and Defence, House of Commons Library, United Kingdom. ^ a b c Bose 2005, pp. 15–17 ^ Quoted in Bose 2005, pp. 15–17 ^ Kashmir. OUP. ^ Sumantra Bose (16 September 2013). Transforming India. Harvard University Press. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-674-72820-2. [permanent dead link] ^ a b Talbot & Singh 2009, p. 54 ^ Snedden, Christopher (2013). Kashmir-The Untold Story. HarperCollins Publishers India. p. 22. ISBN 9789350298985. In 1947, J&K's political scene was dominated by two parties: the All J&K National Conference (commonly called the National Conference) and the All J&K Muslim
Muslim Conference (commonly called the Muslim Conference). Each conference had a different aspiration for J&K's status: the National Conference opposed J&K joining Pakistan; the Muslim
Muslim Conference favoured this option. ^ Snedden, Christopher (2013). Kashmir-The Untold Story. HarperCollins Publishers India. ISBN 9789350298985. The National Conference was strongest in the Kashmir
Kashmir Valley... conversely, outside the Kashmir Valley its support was much less, with perhaps five to 15 per cent of the population supporting it. The Muslim
Muslim Conference had a lot of support in Jammu
Jammu Province and much less in the Kashmir
Kashmir Valley. ^ Snedden, Christopher (2012). The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir. Hurst. p. 35. ISBN 9781849041508. Retrieved 30 December 2016. Those Hindus and Sikhs who comprised a majority in the eastern parts of Jammu
Jammu province were strongly pro-Indian. Their dislike of Pakistan
Pakistan and pro-Pakistani J&K Muslims was further heightened by the arrival of angry and agitated Hindu
Hindu and Sikh refugees from western (Pakistani) Punjab
Punjab after 15 August 1947. Accession to Pakistan
Pakistan therefore, would almost certainly have seen these people either fight to retain their land or take flight to India. In the event of accession to Pakistan, Hindu
Hindu Pandits and Sikhs in the Kashmir
Kashmir Valley, most of whom probably favoured J&K joining India, might also have fled to pro-Indian parts of J&K, or to India. Although their position is less clear, Ladakhi Buddhists probably favoured India
India also. ^ Snedden, Christopher (2013). Kashmir-The Untold Story. HarperCollins Publishers India. ISBN 9789350298985. Similarly, Muslims in Western Jammu
Jammu Province, particularly in Poonch, many of whom had martial capabilities, and Muslims in the Frontier Districts Province strongly wanted J&K to join Pakistan. ^ Snedden, Christopher (2013). Kashmir-The Untold Story. HarperCollins Publishers India. ISBN 9789350298985. An important trait evident among Kashmiris
Kashmiris partially explains why Kashmiri Muslims
Kashmiri Muslims were ambivalent about Pakistan
Pakistan in 1947. ^ Snedden, Christopher (2013). Kashmir-The Untold Story. HarperCollins Publishers India. ISBN 9789350298985. One significant result of the concept of Kashmiriness was that Kashmiris
Kashmiris may have been naturally attracted to secular thinking. ^ Snedden, Christopher (2012). The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir. Hurst. p. 24. ISBN 9781849041508. Retrieved 30 December 2016. The CMG, the best-informed English-language newspaper on J&K affairs, on 21 October 1947 reported that the southern Kashmir
Kashmir Valley, which apparently was the 'stronghold' of the Kisan Mazdoor Conference, 'last week witnessed a massive upsurge in favour of Pakistan'. However, the CMG's report predated the tribal invasion of Kashmir
Kashmir Province by one day, after which support for pro-Pakistan parties may have lessened, at least in the short term, even though southern Kashmir
Kashmir was not directly affected by this invasion. ^ D. A. Low (18 June 1991). Political Inheritance of Pakistan. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 237–. ISBN 978-1-349-11556-3. ^ Snedden, Christopher (2012). The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir. Hurst. p. 24. ISBN 9781849041508. Retrieved 30 December 2016. According to The Times' Special
Special Correspondent in late October 1947, it was 'a moot point how far Abdullah's influence extends among the Kashmiri Muslims...but in Srinagar
Srinagar his influence is paramount'. ^ Chowdhary, Rekha (2015). Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir: Politics of Identity and Separatism. Routledge. ISBN 9781317414049. That is why, Kashmiris were not particularly enamoured with the idea of Pakistan. The developments of 1930s (when Muslim
Muslim Conference was converted into the National Conference) and 1940s (when Kashmiri leadership took a deliberated decision to demand self-government) clearly reflected the failure of pan-Islamic identity satisfying the political urges of Kashmiris. ^ Chowdhary, Rekha (2015). Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir: Politics of Identity and Separatism. Routledge. p. 20. ISBN 9781317414056. However, even while rejecting Pakistan, Sheikh did not agree to accept union with India
India in an unconditional manner. He was very firm about protecting the rights and identity of Kashmiris. As Puri argues, it was the same reason that compelled the Kashmiri leaders to distance themselves from the Muslim
Muslim politics of pre-partition India, which reflected a lack of urge to merge with Indian nationalism. ^ Viscount Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of British India, stayed on in independent India
India from 1947 to 1948, serving as the first Governor-General of the Union of India. ^ a b Stein, Burton. 2010. A History of India. Oxford University Press. 432 pages. ISBN 978-1-4051-9509-6. Page 358. ^ a b c Kashmir. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 27 March 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Archived 13 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine. ^ a b Jina, Prem Singh (1996), Ladakh: The Land and the People, Indus Publishing, ISBN 81-7387-057-8 ^ a b c d e f g Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume 15. 1908. Oxford University Press, Oxford and London. pp. 99–102. ^ Brush, J. E. (1949). "The Distribution of Religious Communities in India". Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 39 (2): 81–98. doi:10.1080/00045604909351998. ^ Zutshi 2003, p. 318 Quote: "Since a majority of the landlords were Hindu, the (land) reforms (of 1950) led to a mass exodus of Hindus from the state. ... The unsettled nature of Kashmir's accession to India, coupled with the threat of economic and social decline in the face of the land reforms, led to increasing insecurity among the Hindus in Jammu, and among Kashmiri Pandits, 20 per cent of whom had emigrated from the Valley by 1950." ^ Bose 1997, p. 71, Rai 2004, p. 286, Metcalf & Metcalf 2006, p. 274 Quote: "The Hindu
Hindu Pandits, a small but influential elite community who had secured a favourable position, first under the maharajas, and then under the successive Congress regimes, and proponents of a distinctive Kashmiri culture that linked them to India, felt under siege as the uprising gathered force. Of a population of some 140,000, perhaps 100,000 Pandits fled the state after 1990; their cause was quickly taken up by the Hindu
Hindu right." ^ Malik 2005, p. 318 ^ Madan 2008, p. 25 ^ CIA Factbook: India–Transnational Issues ^ " Kashmir
Kashmir region, Indian subcontinent". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-04-05. ^ "India, Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir population statistics". GeoHive. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015. ^ " Pakistan
Pakistan population statistics". GeoHive. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2015. ^ Iftikhar Gilani. "Italian company to pursue oil exploration in Kashmir". Daily Times. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2009. ^ Ishfaq-ul-Hassan. "India, Pakistan
Pakistan to explore oil jointly". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 20 November 2009. ^ "Local Transport in Kashmir
Kashmir – Means of Transportation Kashmir
Kashmir – Mode of Transportation Kashmir
Kashmir India". Bharatonline.com. Retrieved 3 August 2012. ^ "How to Reach Kashmir
Kashmir by Train, Air, Bus?". Baapar.com. Retrieved 22 January 2016.

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External links[edit]

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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Kashmir.

Instrument of Accession United Nations Military Observers Group in Kashmir Official website of the Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir Government (Indian-administered Kashmir) Official website of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir Government (Pakistan-administered Kashmir)

Coordinates: 34°30′N 76°00′E / 34.5°N 76°E / 34.5; 76

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Azad Kashmir
Azad Kashmir topics

History

History of Kashmir History of Azad Kashmir History of Gilgit–Baltistan Dynasties of ancient Kashmir Sayyid
Sayyid Dynasty Mughal Empire Durrani Empire Sikh Empire

Modern history

British East India
India Company Princely state
Princely state of Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir Poonch
Poonch jagir British Raj Kashmir
Kashmir Committee 1931 agitation Partition of India 1947 Poonch
Poonch Rebellion First Kashmir
Kashmir War Kashmir
Kashmir conflict Timeline of the Kashmir
Kashmir conflict Indo-Pakistani wars Line of Control Shaksgam tract Simla Agreement Kashmir
Kashmir insurgency Jammu
Jammu Kashmir
Kashmir Liberation Front Hizbul Mujahideen Kashmir
Kashmir Solidarity Day Kashmir
Kashmir earthquake

Government and politics

Karachi Agreement Presidents Prime Ministers Ministry of Kashmir
Kashmir Affairs Legislative Assembly Flag Anthem Seal

Culture and places

Kashmiris
Kashmiris (List) Language Cuisine Music Literature Ethnic groups of Azad Kashmir Diaspora Kashmiriyat

Geography

Districts Cities Pothohar Plateau Poonch
Poonch River Neelum River Chicken's Neck (Pakistan) Line of Control

Districts

Bhimber Kotli Mirpur Muzaffarabad Hattian Bala Neelam Poonch Haveli Bagh Sudhanoti

Cities & Town

Muzaffarabad Mirpur Rawalakot Bagh Kotli

Economy

Mangla Dam Remittances to Azad Kashmir Japan
Japan International Cooperation Agency

Education

Mirpur University of Science and Technology University of Azad Jammu
Jammu & Kashmir University of Poonch Women University of Azad Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir, Bagh Al-Khair University Mohi-ud-Din Islamic University

Sport

Quaid-e-Azam Stadium Bagh stadium

Others

Mughal Road Human rights abuses UN mediation of Kashmir

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Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir topics

Capital: Srinagar
Srinagar (Summer); Jammu
Jammu (Winter)

History

History of Kashmir Kashyapa Dynasties of ancient Kashmir Kambojas Lalitaditya Muktapida Didda Muslim
Muslim conquests on the Indian subcontinent Zain-ul-Abidin Shah Mir
Shah Mir Dynasty Durrani Empire Dogra
Dogra Empire Sikh Empire Mughal Empire East India
India Company Gulab Singh Zorawar Singh Jamwal Indian Rebellion of 1857 British Raj Kashmir
Kashmir Committee Partition of India Hari Singh Kashmir
Kashmir conflict Indo-Pakistani wars
Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts Insurgency Darbar Move

Government and politics

Jammu
Jammu & Kashmir
Kashmir National Conference Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party Instrument of Accession Article 370 All Parties Hurriyat Conference 1974 Indira-Sheikh accord Simla Agreement Sheikh Abdullah Karan Singh Omar Abdullah Syed Ali Shah Geelani Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

Culture and places

Kashmiriyat Music Cuisine Wazwan Kanger Shikara Pashmina Basohli painting Hinduism Kashmir
Kashmir Shaivism Sikhism Islam Alchi Bardan Basgo Chemrey Diskit Hanle Hemis Hundur Korzok Kursha Lamayuru Likir Lingshed Mashro Matho Mulbekh Namgyal Tsemo Phugtal Phyang Rangdum Rizong Sani Sankar Saspul Shey Monastery Spituk Stakna Stok Stongdey Takthok Thikse Tonde Wanla Zangla Dzongkhul Vaishno Devi Amarnath Gulmarg Pahalgam Sonamarg Verinag Wangath Temple complex Yusmarg Zanskar Forts National parks Lakes

Districts and divisions

Jammu
Jammu Division

Kathua Jammu Samba Udhampur Reasi Rajouri Poonch Doda Ramban Kishtwar

Kashmir
Kashmir Division

Anantnag Kulgam Pulwama Shopian Badgam Srinagar Ganderbal Bandipora Baramulla Kupwara

Ladakh
Ladakh Division

Kargil Leh

Cities

Srinagar Jammu Anantnag Baramulla Pulwama Kupwara Budgam Ganderbal Shupiyan Bandipora Kulgam Doda Poonch Rajauri Ramban Reasi Samba Udhampur Kathua Kishtwar

Towns

Downtown Kokernag Magam Shangus Bijbehara Doru Pahalgam Qazigund Achabal Kargil Awantipora Tral Gurez Sopore Pattan Kangan Hazratbal Uri Kreeri Boniyar Tangmarg Rafaiabad Badami_Bagh Buchpora Munawar_Abad Nowhatta Karnah Kupwara Lolab Handwara Charari Sharief Beerwah Chadoora Khan Sahib Quimoh Pahloo Damhal Hanji Pora

Famous villages

Padgampora Iskander Pora Mazhom Rathsoon Botingoo Fatehpora Durhama Hanjiwera Hardu-Aboora Kreeri Ladoora Ogmuna Seeloo Zazun Wakura Nawabagh Ratnipora

Regions

Jammu Kashmir Ladakh

Railways

Jammu– Baramulla
Baramulla line Bilaspur–Manali– Leh
Leh line Jammu– Poonch
Poonch line Srinagar–Kargil– Leh
Leh line Srinagar
Srinagar railway station Jammu
Jammu Tawi railway station Udhampur
Udhampur railway station Qazigund
Qazigund railway station Sadura railway station Anantnag
Anantnag railway station Budgam
Budgam railway station Baramulla
Baramulla railway station Pampore railway station Kakapora railway station Mazhom railway station Banihal
Banihal railway station Bijbehara
Bijbehara railway station Pattan
Pattan railway station Sopore
Sopore railway station Awantipora
Awantipora railway station Katra railway station Power stations

Roads

Mughal Road Leh–Manali Highway National Highway 1A Srinagar
Srinagar Jammu
Jammu National Highway 90 Feet Road Srinagar– Baramulla
Baramulla highway Udhampur– Jammu
Jammu highway

Legislative Assembly elections

2002 2008 2014

Sports

Sports in Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir cricket team Jammu
Jammu & Kashmir
Kashmir Football Association Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir football team Jammu
Jammu & Kashmir
Kashmir International Cricket Stadium Kashmir
Kashmir International Half Marathon Royal Springs Golf Course, Srinagar Ladakh
Ladakh Marathon