Jammu and Kashmir (state)

This article details only the area administered by India. For the full region see Kashmir

Template:India state infobox Jammu and Kashmir (Kashmiri: جۄم تٕہ کٔشِیر ज्वम त॒ कॅशीर, Urdu:جموں و کشمیر, Hindi:जम्मू और कश्मीर) (often abbreviated as Kashmir), is the northern-most state of Republic of India, lying mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with Himachal Pradesh to the south, Pakistan to the west and People's Republic of China to the north and the east. Srinagar is the capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir consists of three divisions: Jammu, the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh. Srinagar is its summer capital, and Jammu its winter capital. Kashmir is known for its pristine natural beauty and rich cuisine. The state is India's only Muslim majority state. Minority religions in the state include Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.

Jammu and Kashmir lies at the heart of a bitter territorial dispute between India, Pakistan and the People's Republic of China. India considers the entire state as its sovereign territory, but has control of only half the area. The territory under its control is administered as the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and it enjoys special provisions under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. India's claim to the entire state is disputed by Pakistan, which controls a third of Kashmir. Aksai Chin, an arid region in the east, is claimed by India but administered by China.

Since the 1990s, the state has long been hit by sepratists and Indian military suppression, which has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people. The Indian army maintains a significant deployment of troops to maintain total control in the state.

Government

India has granted Jammu and Kashmir a special autonomy status; however Kashmiri political parties demand for a greater autonomy and sovereignty. Jammu and Kashmir has two main political parties : People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Conference. Presently, PDP and its ally the Indian National Congress hold the maximum number of seats in the Jammu and Kashmir state assembly.

After Mufti Sayeed completed his three term, as per the power sharing agreement between the ragtag PDP-Congress alliance reached in late 2002, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has replaced Mufti on November 2005.

Geography and climate

The region of Kashmir and Jammu includes dry climates in the southwest, a strip of humid temperate climate through the center of the region, and humid cold climate in the north.

Economy

Jammu and Kashmir's gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $8 billion in current prices.

Jammu and Kashmir's economy is mostly dependent on farming and animal husbandry. Though small, the manufacturing and services sector is growing rapidly. In recent years, several consumer goods companies have opened manufacturing units in the region. Before insurgency intensified in 1989, tourism formed an important part of the Kashmiri economy. The tourism economy in the Kashmir Valley was worst hit. However, Jammu and Ladakh continue to remain as popular tourist destinations.

Culture

Demographics

Religious groups in Kashmir Valley
Muslims	95%
Hindus	4%
Religious groups in Jammu
Muslims	28%
Hindus	66%
Sikhs	4%
Religious groups in Ladakh
Muslims	44%
Buddhists	50%
Hindus	5%

File:Vaishno.JPG

Hindus form the majority of the population in Jammu. Shown here is the Vaishno Devi shrine

While Jammu is a Hindu majority area, the Kashmir Valley is predominantly Muslim and Ladakh has a Buddhist-majority population. It is this complex demography of the region which has been disrupted by the ongoing Kashmir dispute.

With the onset of terrorism, many families, particularly those belonging to the Hindu community (numbering nearly 20,000) were forced into leaving their traditional homes during the '80s. This caused a major upheaval in the socio-economic fabric of the peaceful Kashmiri communities, which till then had been a model for inter-community harmony. This resulted in near destruction of most of the area's economic activities as progress stalled for nearly a decade. Many of the uprooted Hindu and Muslim families were strong community leaders, and this nearly destroyed the fabric of Kashmir.

But recent events in the area, such as cross-border Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) have restored some of the faith of people in the governments' ability to heal the fractures.

The Kashmir dispute

Jammu and Kashmir was a princely state with a Muslim majority ruled by a Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh until 1947. In 1947, when the Indian subcontinent achieved independence from United Kingdom, Hari Singh decided to join India over Pakistan. Soon after the independence, Pathan tribesman from Pakistan's North Western Frontier backed by the Pakistani Army, invaded the state to liberate the population because that the Hindu Maharaja was going to cede a Muslim Kashmir to the Union of India. The Maharaja was asked India for military assistance and India's then Governor-General, Lord Mountbatten, favored the state's accession to the Republic of India, to which the Maharaja agreed. After the Instrument of Accession was signed, the National Conference's Shiekh Abdullah became the head of the Kashmir State government. By January 1948, Indian troops landed in the region and claimed the territory as a part of the Union of India. Pakistan, immediately contested the accession and invaded Kashmir. After months of intense fighting, both the nations agreed on a cease-fire, separating the region into two: Indian-administered Kashmir and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. In 1962, China invaded India and occupied the north-eastern region of the country known as Aksai Chin, which India continues to claim as its part.

Ever since, a bitter enmity has been developed between India and Pakistan. The two countries have been to war twice over Kashmir (1947-1949, 1965), and clashed there again during the Kargil Conflict of 1999. The region remains one of the most heavily militarised zones in the world. The de facto situation, as of 2005, is that Pakistan controls just under half, China a small portion, and India just under half the state.

See Also: Indo-Pakistani Wars, Kashmir

External links

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