Jammu and Kashmir

I

Introduction

Jammu and Kashmir, commonly known as Kashmir, territory in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent bounded on the north-west by Afghanistan, on the north-east by China, on the south by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, and on the west by the North-West Frontier and Punjab provinces of Pakistan. Kashmir has an area of about 222,236 sq km (85,806 sq mi).

Both India and Pakistan claim all of Kashmir, but the territory has been partitioned between them since 1947. India controls the southern half of Kashmir, which it has organized as the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Before India's defeat in the 1962 Sino-Indian War, the state of Jammu and Kashmir also included the north-eastern section of the territory, which India still claims as part of Jammu and Kashmir State, but which has since been occupied by China as Aksai Chin. Pakistan controls the northern and western portion of Kashmir which is organized into three main regions: Azad (Free) Kashmir, occupying the crescent of land on the western border of Kashmir, between the state of Jammu and Kashmir on the east and Pakistan on the west; and Gilgit and Baltistan (the Northern Areas) located in the Karakorum Range in the far north-west. Azad Kashmir has a government protected and financed by Pakistan; Gilgit and Baltistan are notionally autonomous, but in practice are administered by political agents of the Pakistani government. The area of Jammu and Kashmir State was about 138,200 sq km (53,448 sq mi), before the Sino-Indian War; excluding the area occupied by China it is now about 101,387 sq km (39,145 sq mi). The area controlled by Pakistan is about 84,100 sq km (32,494 sq mi), of which Azad Kashmir comprises about 1,680 sq km (650 sq mi).

II

Physical Geography

Kashmir is almost entirely mountainous. The Jammu plain in the extreme south-west is separated by the Lesser Himalaya from the large, fertile Vale of Kashmir, which has long been the economic and demographic heartland of Kashmir. The Vale is formed by the basin of the upper reaches of the River Jhelum, and contains the town of Srinagar. The north and west is dominated by the mountains of the western Himalaya, notably the peaks of the Karakorum Range, including K2 (8,611 m/28,251 ft), the world's second highest mountain (in Pakistani-controlled territory). Within this area is the plateau region known as Ladakh, which is cut by the valley of the River Indus. Kashmir generally possesses a more equable climate than that of southern and central India, and the beautiful Vale of Kashmir is a noted resort region. Kashmir is the habitat of numerous game animals, including the markhor and ibex (wild goat), stag, and bear.

III

Population

Jammu and Kashmir has a population of 10.1 million (2001). The population (1985 estimate) of the three Pakistani-controlled areas is about 2.8 million. Srinagar (population, 2001, 971,357) is the capital of the state. The administrative centre of Azad Kashmir is Muzaffarabad; Gilgit town and Skardu are respectively the capitals of Gilgit and Baltistan. Other important towns include Anantnag, Jammu (2001, 607,642), and Leh.

In the southern area of Kashmir, people are Muslims to the west of the city of Jammu, and Hindu and Sikh to the east; Hindi, Punjabi, and Dogri are their main languages. The people of the Vale of Kashmir, who comprise the majority of the population, are predominantly Muslim, and speak Urdu and Kashmiri. The sparsely inhabited northern and western region of Ladakh and beyond is home to Buddhist Mongoloid peoples speaking Balti and Ladakhi.

IV

Economy

Most of the population is engaged in agriculture; the principal crops are rice, maize, wheat, and oilseeds. Among livestock raised are buffalo, cattle, sheep, goat, and poultry. Silk weaving and carpet weaving are major industries. Tourism is of increasing economic importance.