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{{Short description|Region in South Asia}}
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{{Other uses|Kashmir (disambiguation)|Kasmir (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Kashmar}}{{Coord|34.5|N|76.5|E|scale:3000000|display=title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2020}}
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'''Kashmir''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|æ|ʃ|m|ɪər}} {{respell|KASH|meer}} or {{IPAc-en|k|æ|ʃ|ˈ|m|ɪər}} {{respell|kash|MEER}}) is the [[Northwestern Indian subcontinent|northernmost geographical region]] of the [[Indian subcontinent]]. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the [[Kashmir Valley]] between the [[Great Himalayas]] and the [[Pir Panjal Range]]. The term has since come to encompass a larger area that includes the India-administered territories of [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] and [[Ladakh]], the Pakistan-administered territories of [[Azad Kashmir]] and [[Gilgit-Baltistan]], and the Chinese-administered territories of [[Aksai Chin]] and the [[Trans-Karakoram Tract]].<ref name="britannica-intro">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Kashmir: region, Indian subcontinent|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=16 July 2016|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent|archive-date=13 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813203817/https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent|url-status=live}} Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent. It is bounded by the Uygur Autonomous Region of 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 to the south, by Pakistan to the west, and by Afghanistan to the northwest. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, ... The southern and southeastern portions constitute the Indian state of 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 became active in the eastern area of Kashmir in the 1950s and since 1962 has controlled the northeastern part of Ladakh (the easternmost portion of the region)."</ref><ref name="bbc-intro">{{cite news|title=Kashmir territories profile|work=BBC News |date=4 January 2012 |access-date=16 July 2016|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11693674|archive-date=16 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716152335/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11693674|url-status=live}} Quote: "The Himalayan region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan for over six decades. Since India's partition and the creation of 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 administers parts of the territory."</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Kashmir profile—timeline|work=BBC News|date=5 January 2012 |access-date=16 July 2016|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-16069078|quote=<br/>'''1950s'''—China gradually occupies eastern Kashmir (Aksai Chin).<br/>'''1962'''—China defeats India in a short war for control of Aksai Chin.<br/>'''1963'''—Pakistan cedes the Trans-Karakoram Tract of Kashmir to China.|archive-date=22 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722065125/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-16069078|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Kashmir region. LOC 2003626427 - showing sub-regions administered by different countries.jpg|thumb|300px|Political map of the Kashmir region, showing the [[Pir Panjal Range]] and the [[Kashmir Valley]] or Vale of Kashmir]]
[[File:Pahalgam Valley.jpg|thumb|[[Pahalgam|Pahalgam Valley]], Kashmir]]
[[File:Nanga parbat, Pakistan by gul791.jpg|thumb|[[Nanga Parbat]] in Kashmir, the ninth-highest mountain on Earth, is the western anchor of the Himalayas]]

In 1820, the [[Sikh Empire]], under [[Ranjit Singh]], annexed Kashmir.<ref name=imp-gazet-history/> In 1846, after the Sikh defeat in the [[First Anglo-Sikh War]], and upon the purchase of the region from the [[British Empire|British]] under the [[Treaty of Amritsar (1846)|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<ref name=sneddon-paramountcy-tutelage>{{citation|last=Sneddon|first=Christopher|title=Independent Kashmir: An incomplete aspiration|year=2021|publisher=Manchester University Press|pages=12&ndash;13|quote=Paramountcy was the ‘vague and undefined’ feudatory system whereby the British, as the suzerain power, dominated and controlled India’s princely rulers. ... These ‘loyal collaborators of the Raj’ were ‘afforded [British] protection in exchange for helpful behavior in a relationship of tutelage, called paramountcy’.}}</ref><ref name=ganguly-hagerty-2005-paramountcy>{{citation|last1=Ganguly|first1=Sumit|last2=Hagerty|first2=Devin T.| title=Fearful Symmetry: India-Pakistan Crises in the Shadow of Nuclear Weapons|isbn=0-295-98525-9|year=2005|location=Seattle and New Delhi|publisher=University of Washington Press, and Oxford University Press|page=22|quote=... the problem of the 'princely states'. These states had accepted the tutelage of the British Crown under the terms of the doctrine of 'paramountcy' under which they acknowledged the Crown as the 'paramount' authority in the subcontinent.}}</ref>) of the [[The Crown|British Crown]], lasted until the [[Partition of India]] in 1947, when the former [[princely state]] of the [[British Raj|British Indian Empire]] became a [[Kashmir Dispute|disputed territory]], now administered by three countries: [[China]], [[India]], and [[Pakistan]].<ref name=britannica-intro/><ref name=americana>{{citation|chapter=Kashmir|title=Encyclopedia Americana|publisher=Scholastic Library Publishing|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l_cWAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA328|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7172-0139-6|page=328|access-date=18 December 2021|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117135716/https://books.google.com/books?id=l_cWAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA328|url-status=live}} C. E Bosworth, University of Manchester Quote: "KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered partlv by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947";</ref><ref name="Osmanczyk2003">{{citation|last1=Osmańczyk|first1=Edmund Jan|title=Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: G to M |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fSIMXHMdfkkC&pg=PA1191|year=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-93922-5 |pages=1191–|access-date=18 December 2021|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140437/https://books.google.com/books?id=fSIMXHMdfkkC&pg=PA1191|url-status=live}} Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China."</ref><ref name=bbc-intro/>

== Etymology ==
The word ''Kashmir'' is thought to have been derived from [[Sanskrit]] and was referred to as ''{{IAST|káśmīra}}''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:2152.soas |title=A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages |publisher=Dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu |access-date=29 May 2015 |archive-date=5 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205161051/http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:2152.soas |url-status=dead }}</ref>  A popular local etymology of ''Kashmira'' is that it is land desiccated from water.<ref name="Snedden2015">{{citation|last=Snedden|first=Christopher|title=Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s5KMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA22|year=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-1-84904-342-7|pages=22–|access-date=11 October 2016|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140437/https://books.google.com/books?id=s5KMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA22|url-status=live}}</ref> 

An alternative etymology derives the name from the name of the [[Vedic age|Vedic]] sage [[Kashyapa]] who is believed to have settled people in this land. Accordingly, ''Kashmir'' would be derived from either ''kashyapa-mir'' (Kashyapa's Lake) or ''kashyapa-meru'' (Kashyapa's Mountain).<ref name="Snedden2015"/>

The word has been referenced to in a Hindu scripture mantra worshipping the [[Hindu]] goddess [[Saraswati|Sharada]] and is mentioned to have resided in the land of ''kashmira'', or which might have been a reference to the [[Sharada Peeth]].

The [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greeks]] called the region ''Kasperia'',  which has been identified with ''Kaspapyros'' of [[Hecataeus of Miletus]] ([[:wikt:apud|apud]] [[Stephanus of Byzantium]]) and ''Kaspatyros'' of [[Herodotus]] (3.102, 4.44). Kashmir is also believed to be the country meant by [[Ptolemy]]'s ''Kaspeiria''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KScrDwAAQBAJ&q=kashmir+Ptolemy%27s+Kaspeiria.&pg=PT284|title=Who Killed Kasheer?|last=Khan|first=Ruhail|date=6 July 2017|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=9781947283107|language=en|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140437/https://books.google.com/books?id=KScrDwAAQBAJ&q=kashmir+Ptolemy%27s+Kaspeiria.&pg=PT284|url-status=live}}</ref> The earliest text which directly mentions the name ''Kashmir'' is in ''[[Ashtadhyayi]]'' written by the Sanskrit grammarian [[Pāṇini]] during the 5th century BC. Pāṇini called the people of Kashmir ''Kashmirikas''.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-lJI9avHstYC&pg=PA64 |title=India and Central Asia: Classical to Contemporary Periods |last=Kumāra |first=Braja Bihārī |date=2007 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=9788180694578 |page=64 |language=en |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140438/https://books.google.com/books?id=-lJI9avHstYC&pg=PA64 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Kashur">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bb-QBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |title=Kashur The Kashmiri Speaking People |last=Raina |first=Mohini Qasba |date=13 November 2014 |publisher=Partridge Publishing Singapore |isbn=9781482899450 |page=11 |language=en |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140438/https://books.google.com/books?id=Bb-QBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QpjKpK7ywPIC&pg=PA59 |title=Kashmir and Its People: Studies in the Evolution of Kashmiri Society |last=Kaw |first=M. K. |date=2004 |publisher=APH Publishing |isbn=9788176485371 |language=en |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140438/https://books.google.com/books?id=QpjKpK7ywPIC&pg=PA59 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some other early references to Kashmir can also be found in [[Mahabharata]] in [[Sabha Parva]] and in puranas like [[Matsya Purana]], [[Vayu Purana]], [[Padma Purana]] and [[Vishnu Purana]] and [[Vishnudharmottara Purana]].<ref name="Patanjali">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GfF1pTv0PgkC&pg=PA2 |title=Cultural Heritage of Kashmiri Pandits |last1=Toshakhānī |first1=Śaśiśekhara |last2=Warikoo |first2=Kulbhushan |date=2009 |publisher=Pentagon Press |isbn=9788182743984 |pages=2–3 |language=en |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140439/https://books.google.com/books?id=GfF1pTv0PgkC&pg=PA2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Xuanzang|Huientsang]], the Buddhist scholar and Chinese traveller, called Kashmir ''kia-shi-milo'', while some other Chinese accounts referred to Kashmir as ''ki-pin'' (or Chipin or Jipin) and ''ache-pin''.<ref name="Kashur"/>

''Cashmeer'' is an archaic spelling of modern Kashmir, and in some countries{{which|date=August 2019}} it is still spelled this way. Kashmir is called ''Cachemire'' in French, ''Cachemira'' in Spanish, ''Caxemira'' in Portuguese, ''Caixmir'' in Catalan, ''Casmiria'' in Latin, ''Cașmir'' in Romanian, and ''Cashmir'' in [[Occitan language|Occitan]].

In the [[Kashmiri language]], Kashmir itself is known as ''Kasheer''.<ref>P. iv 'Kashmir Today' by Government, 1998</ref>

===Terminology===

The Government of India and Indian sources refer to the territory under Pakistan control as "Pakistan-occupied Kashmir" ("POK").<ref name="Snedden 2013 p.2-3">{{cite book |first=Christopher |last=Snedden |author-link=Christopher Snedden |title=Kashmir: The Unwritten History |publisher=HarperCollins India |year=2013 |isbn=978-9350298985 |pages=2–3}}</ref><ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/the-enigma-of-terminology/article5621801.ece The enigma of terminology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016082903/http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/the-enigma-of-terminology/article5621801.ece |date=16 October 2015 }}, The Hindu, 27 January 2014.</ref> The Government of Pakistan and Pakistani sources refer to the portion of Kashmir administered by India as "Indian-occupied Kashmir" ("IOK") or "Indian-held Kashmir" (IHK);<ref>{{cite web |first= Ali |last= Zain |url= http://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/pakistani-flag-hoisted-pro-freedom-slogans-chanted-in-indian-occupied-kashmir-567/ |title= Pakistani flag hoisted, pro-freedom slogans chanted in Indian Occupied Kashmir – Daily Pakistan Global |publisher= En.dailypakistan.com.pk |date= 13 September 2015 |access-date= 17 November 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151118114311/http://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/pakistani-flag-hoisted-pro-freedom-slogans-chanted-in-indian-occupied-kashmir-567/ |archive-date= 18 November 2015 |url-status= dead |df= dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://dunyanews.tv/index.php/en/World/298421-Pakistani-flag-hoisted-once-again-in-Indian-Occupi |title= Pakistani flag hoisted once again in Indian Occupied Kashmir |website=Dunya News |date= 11 September 2015 |access-date=17 November 2015}}</ref> The terms "Pakistan-administered Kashmir" and "India-administered Kashmir" are often used by neutral sources for the parts of the Kashmir region controlled by each country.<ref>South Asia: fourth report of session 2006–07 by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee page 37</ref>

== History ==
{{For|a history of the region including the pre-19th century period|History of Kashmir|History of Gilgit-Baltistan|History of Ladakh}}
In the first half of the first millennium, the Kashmir region became an important centre of [[Hinduism]] and later of [[Buddhism]]. During the 7th-14th centuries, the region was ruled by a series of Hindu dynasties,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Kashmir: region, Indian subcontinent|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2022-05-09|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent|archive-date=13 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813203817/https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent|url-status=live}} Quote: "A succession of Hindu dynasties ruled Kashmir until 1346, when it came under Muslim rule."</ref> and [[Kashmir Shaivism]] arose.<ref>Basham, A. L. (2005) ''The wonder that was India'', Picador. Pp. 572. {{ISBN|0-330-43909-X}}, p. 110.</ref> In 1320, [[Rinchan|Rinchan Shah]] became the first [[Muslims|Muslim]] ruler of Kashmir, inaugurating the [[Kashmir Sultanate]].<ref name=imp-gazet-history>''Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume 15''. 1908. Oxford University Press, Oxford and London. pp. 93–95.</ref> The region was part of the [[Mughal Empire]] from 1586 to 1751,<ref name=":1">{{citation|last=Puri|first=Balraj|title=5000 Years of Kashmir|date=June 2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5EWo7eszcbgC&q=end+of+muslim+rule+in+kashmir&pg=PA45|number=6|quote=It was emperor Akbar who brought an end to indigenous Kashmiri Muslim rule that had lasted 250 years. The watershed in Kashmiri history is not the beginning of the Muslim rule as is regarded in the rest of the subcontinent but the changeover from Kashmiri rule to a non-Kashmiri rule.|author-link=Balraj Puri|newspaper=Epilogue|volume=3|access-date=31 December 2016|pages=43–45|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140439/https://books.google.com/books?id=5EWo7eszcbgC&q=end+of+muslim+rule+in+kashmir&pg=PA45|url-status=live}}</ref> and thereafter, until 1820, of the Afghan [[Durrani Empire]].<ref name=imp-gazet-history/> 
=== Sikh rule ===
In 1819, the [[Kashmir Valley]] passed from the control of the [[Durrani Empire]] of [[Afghanistan]] to the conquering armies of the [[Sikh Empire|Sikhs]] under [[Ranjit Singh]] of the [[Punjab region|Punjab]],<ref name="imperialgazet-gulabsingh">''Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume 15''. 1908. "Kashmir: History". pp. 94–95.</ref> thus ending four centuries of [[Muslim]] rule under the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]] and the [[Durrani Empire|Afghan]] regime. As the Kashmiris had suffered under the Afghans, they initially welcomed the new Sikh rulers.<ref name=schofield_p5-6>{{Harvnb|Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict|2003|pp=5–6}}</ref> However, the Sikh governors turned out to be hard taskmasters, and Sikh rule was generally considered oppressive,<ref name=madan2008-p15>{{Harvnb|Madan, Kashmir, Kashmiris, Kashimiriyat|2008|p=15}}</ref> protected perhaps by the remoteness of Kashmir from the capital of the Sikh Empire in Lahore.<ref name=zutshi_p39-41>{{Harvnb|Zutshi, Languages of Belonging|2004|pp=39–41}}</ref> The Sikhs enacted a number of anti-Muslim laws,<ref name=zutshi_p39-41/> which included handing out death sentences for cow slaughter,<ref name=schofield_p5-6/> closing down the [[Jamia Masjid, Srinagar|Jamia Masjid]] in Srinagar,<ref name=zutshi_p39-41/> and banning the [[Adhan|a''dhan'']], the public Muslim call to prayer.<ref name=zutshi_p39-41/> Kashmir had also now begun to attract European visitors, several of whom wrote of the abject poverty of the vast Muslim peasantry and of the exorbitant taxes under the Sikhs.<ref name=schofield_p5-6/><ref name=":3">{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0433 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620003316/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0433 |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 June 2018 |title=Kashmir|last1=Amin|first1=Tahir|last2=Schofield |first2=Victoria|encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World |quote=During both Sikh and Dogra rule, heavy taxation, forced work without wages (begār), discriminatory laws, and rural indebtedness were widespread among the largely illiterate Muslim population.}}</ref> 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.<ref name=schofield_p5-6/> Many Kashmiri peasants migrated to the plains of the Punjab.<ref>{{Harvnb|Zutshi, Languages of Belonging|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dlBjzE-1ML8C&q=kashmir+muslims+famine+punjab&pg=PA40 40]}}: "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 reached high proportions. Several European travelers' accounts from the period testify to and provide evidence for such assertions."</ref> 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;<ref name=zutshi_p39-41/> Kashmir became the second highest revenue earner for the Sikh Empire.<ref name=zutshi_p39-41/> During this time [[Kashmir shawl]]s became known worldwide, attracting many buyers, especially in the West.<ref name=zutshi_p39-41/>

The [[Jammu district|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.{{sfn|Panikkar|1930|p=10–11,&nbsp;14–34}}  Along with his able general [[Zorawar Singh Kahluria]], he conquered and subdued [[Rajouri district|Rajouri]] (1821), [[Kishtwar district|Kishtwar]] (1821), Suru valley and [[Kargil district|Kargil]] (1835), [[Leh district|Ladakh]] (1834–1840), and [[Baltistan]] (1840), thereby surrounding the [[Kashmir Valley]]. He became a wealthy and influential noble in the Sikh court.{{sfn|Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict|2003|pp=6–7}}

==Kashmir dispute==
=== Princely state ===
{{Main|Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)}}
[[File:Maharajah Gulab Singh (1792-1857) seated holding a sword against a bolster on a terrace.webp|thumb|[[Gulab Singh]], The first [[Dogra dynasty|Maharaja]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], which was founded in 1846.]]
[[File:NWFP-Kashmir1909-a.jpg|thumb|1909 Map of the Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu. The names of regions, important cities, rivers, and mountains are underlined in red.]]

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

<blockquote>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 [[Henry Lawrence (Indian Army officer)|Sir Henry Lawrence]]. Two treaties were concluded. By the first the [[History of Lahore|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 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.<ref name=imperialgazet-gulabsingh/></blockquote>

Drafted by a treaty and a bill of sale, and constituted between 1820 and 1858, the Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu (as it was first called) combined disparate regions, religions, and ethnicities:<ref name=bowers>Bowers, Paul. 2004. [http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2004/rp04-028.pdf "Kashmir." Research Paper 4/28] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326182755/http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2004/rp04-028.pdf |date=26 March 2009 }}, International Affairs and Defence, House of Commons Library, United Kingdom.</ref> to the east, Ladakh was ethnically and culturally [[Tibetan people|Tibetan]] and its inhabitants practised [[Tibetan Buddhism|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 [[Kashmiri Muslims|Muslim]]—mostly [[Sunni Muslim|Sunni]], however, there was also a small but influential Hindu minority, the [[brahmin]] [[Kashmiri Pandits]]. To the northeast, sparsely populated [[Baltistan]] had a population ethnically related to that of Ladakh, but which practised [[Shia Islam]]. To the north, also sparsely populated, [[Gilgit Agency]] was an area of diverse, mostly ''Shia'' groups, and, to the west, [[History of Poonch District|Punch]] was populated mostly by Muslims of a different ethnicity than that of the Kashmir valley.<ref name=bowers/> After the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], in which Kashmir sided with the British, and the subsequent assumption of [[British Raj|direct rule]] by Great Britain, the [[princely state]] of Kashmir came under the [[suzerainty]] of the [[The Crown|British Crown]].

In the British census of India of 1941, Kashmir registered a Muslim majority population of 77%, a Hindu population of 20% and a sparse population of Buddhists and Sikhs comprising the remaining 3%.<ref name=bose-sumantra-2005-p15-17>{{Harvnb|Bose, Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace|2003|pp=15–17}}</ref> That same year, [[Prem Nath Bazaz]], a [[Kashmiri Pandit]] journalist wrote: "The poverty of the 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."<ref>Quoted in {{Harvnb|Bose, Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace|2003|pp=15–17}}</ref> Under  Hindu rule, Muslims faced hefty taxation and discrimination in the legal system, and were forced into labor without any wages.<ref>{{citation |last1=Amin |first1=Tahir |last2=Schofield |first2=Victoria |chapter=Kashmir |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World |year=2009 |chapter-url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0433 |access-date=19 June 2018 |archive-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620003316/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0433 |url-status=live }}</ref> Conditions in the princely state caused a significant migration of people from the Kashmir Valley to the Punjab of British India.<ref name="Bose2013">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=reiwAAAAQBAJ |title=Transforming India |date=2013 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-72820-2 |pages=211 |author=Sumantra Bose |access-date=19 June 2018 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140440/https://books.google.com/books?id=reiwAAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> For almost a century, until the census, a small Hindu elite had ruled over a vast and impoverished Muslim peasantry.<ref name=bose-sumantra-2005-p15-17/><ref name=talbot-singh-p54>{{Harvnb|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=54}}</ref> Driven into docility by chronic indebtedness to landlords and moneylenders, having no education besides, nor awareness of rights,<ref name=bose-sumantra-2005-p15-17/> the Muslim peasants had no political representation until the 1930s.<ref name=talbot-singh-p54/>

===1947 and 1948===
{{Further|Kashmir conflict|Timeline of the Kashmir conflict|1947 Poonch Rebellion|Indo-Pakistani War of 1947|1947 Jammu massacres|1947 Mirpur massacre}}
[[File:Brit IndianEmpireReligions3.jpg|thumb|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 in 1925, was the reigning monarch in 1947 at the conclusion of British rule of the subcontinent and the subsequent [[Partition of India|partition]] of the British [[British India|Indian Empire]] into the newly independent [[Dominion of India]] and the [[Dominion of Pakistan]]. According to [[Burton Stein]]'s ''History of India'', <blockquote>Kashmir was neither as large nor as old an independent state as [[Hyderabad State|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 through a district of the Punjab, but its 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 guerrilla onslaught meant to frighten its ruler into submission. Instead the Maharaja appealed to [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Mountbatten]]<ref>Viscount Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of British India, stayed on in independent India from 1947 to 1948, serving as the first Governor-General of the Union of India.</ref> for assistance, and the [[Governor-General of India|governor-general]] agreed on the condition that the ruler accede to India. Indian soldiers entered 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 must be ascertained, while India insisted that no referendum could occur until all of the state had been cleared of irregulars.<ref name=stein>Stein, Burton. 2010. ''A History of India''. Oxford University Press. 432 pages. {{ISBN|978-1-4051-9509-6}}. Page 358.</ref></blockquote>

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,<ref name=stein/> and eventually led to two more wars over Kashmir in [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|1965]] and [[Kargil War|1999]].

{{anchor|Current status and political divisions}}

===Current status and political divisions===
India has control of about half the area of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which comprises [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] and [[Ladakh]], while Pakistan controls a third of the region, divided into two provinces, [[Azad Kashmir]] and [[Gilgit-Baltistan]]. [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] and [[Ladakh]] are administered by [[India]] as [[union territory|union territories]]. They formed a single state until 5 August 2019, when the state was bifurcated and its [[Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir|limited autonomy]] was revoked.<ref>{{cite news|title=Article 370: What happened with Kashmir and why it matters|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49234708|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=6 August 2019|access-date=2020-11-30|archive-date=29 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029201641/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49234708|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'':

<blockquote>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 sparsely populated, relatively inaccessible, and economically underdeveloped. The largest Muslim group, situated in the Valley of Kashmir and estimated to number more than half the population of the entire region, lay in India-administered territory, with its former outlets via the [[Jhelum Valley (Kashmir)|Jhelum valley]] route blocked.<ref name="britannica-kashmir" /><ref name=britannica-intro/></blockquote>

The eastern region of the former princely state of 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 and Russia over the northern borders of Kashmir, China never accepted these agreements, and China's official position has not changed following the [[Chinese Communist Revolution|communist revolution of 1949]] that established the People's Republic of China. By the mid-1950s the [[People's Liberation Army|Chinese army]] had entered the north-east portion of Ladakh.<ref name="britannica-kashmir">Kashmir. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 27 March 2007, from [https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-214222 Encyclopædia Britannica Online]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113042440/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-214222 |date=13 January 2008 }}</ref>

<blockquote>By 1956–57 they had completed a military road through the [[Aksai Chin]] area to provide better communication between [[Xinjiang]] and western [[Tibet Autonomous Region|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.<ref name="britannica-kashmir" /></blockquote>
[[File:Border_of_Azad_Kashmir_And_Indian_state_of_Jammu_and_Kashmir.jpg|thumb|A white border painted on a suspended bridge delineates [[Azad Kashmir]] from [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]]]
The region is divided amongst three countries in a [[Kashmir conflict|territorial dispute]]: Pakistan controls the northwest portion (Northern Areas and Kashmir), India controls the central and southern portion (Jammu and Kashmir) and Ladakh, and the People's Republic of [[China]] controls the northeastern portion (Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract). India controls the majority of the [[Siachen Glacier]] area, including the [[Saltoro Mountains|Saltoro Ridge]] passes, whilst Pakistan controls the lower territory just southwest of the Saltoro Ridge. India controls {{cvt|101338|km2|sqmi}} of the disputed territory, Pakistan controls {{cvt|85846|km2|sqmi}}, and the People's Republic of China controls the remaining {{cvt|37555|km2|sqmi|0}}.

Jammu and Azad Kashmir lie south and west of the [[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 Mountains|Pamir]], and the [[Hindu Kush]] ranges. With its administrative centre in the town of [[Gilgit]], the Northern Areas cover an area of {{convert|72,971|km2}} and have an estimated population approaching 1&nbsp;million (10 [[lakh]]s).

Ladakh is between the [[Kunlun Mountains|Kunlun]] mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south.<ref name="Ladakh">{{Citation |title=Ladakh: The Land and the People |last=Jina |first=Prem Singh |year=1996 |publisher=Indus Publishing |isbn=978-81-7387-057-6 }}</ref> Capital towns of the region are [[Leh]] and [[Kargil]]. It is under Indian administration and was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir until 2019. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in the area and is mainly inhabited by people of [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]] and Tibetan descent.<ref name="Ladakh" /> Aksai Chin is a vast high-altitude [[desert]] of salt that reaches altitudes up to {{convert|5000|m|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 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 Tract]] 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 1947]] 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 1965]] resulted in a stalemate and a UN-negotiated ceasefire.

==Geography==
[[File:Kashmir top.jpg|thumb|[[Topographic map]] of Kashmir]]
[[File:Approaching_K2_Base_Camp.jpg|thumb|[[K2]], a peak in the [[Karakoram]] range, is the [[List of highest mountains on Earth|second highest mountain in the world]]]]
The Kashmir region lies between latitudes [[32nd parallel north|32°]] and [[36th parallel north|36° N]], and longitudes [[74th meridian east|74°]] and [[80th meridian east|80° E]]. It has an area of {{cvt|68000|mi2|km2}}.<ref name=drew>{{Cite book|last=[[Frederick Drew|Drew Frederic]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_fVlAAAAcAAJ|title=Jummoo and Kashmir Territories |date=1875 |publisher=Stanford|pages=3–6|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140440/https://books.google.com/books?id=_fVlAAAAcAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> It is bordered to the north and east by China (Xinjiang and Tibet), to the northwest by [[Afghanistan]] (Wakhan Corridor), to the west by [[Pakistan]] (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab) and to the south by [[India]] (Himachal Pradesh and Punjab).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tamang|first=Jyoti Prakash |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EimHj9veADgC&pg=PA2|title=Himalayan Fermented Foods: Microbiology, Nutrition, and Ethnic Values |date=2009-08-17|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4200-9325-4|access-date=28 December 2022|archive-date=28 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228103212/https://books.google.com/books?id=EimHj9veADgC&pg=PA2|url-status=live}}</ref>

The topography of Kashmir is mostly mountainous. It is traversed mainly by the [[Western Himalaya]]s. The Himalayas terminate in the western boundary of Kashmir at [[Nanga Parbat]]. Kashmir is traversed by three rivers namely [[Indus River|Indus]], [[Jhelum River|Jhelum]] and [[Chenab River|Chenab]]. These river basins divide the region into three valleys separated by high mountain ranges. The Indus valley forms the north and north-eastern portion of the region which include bare and desolate areas of [[Baltistan]] and Ladakh. The upper portion of the Jhelum valley forms the proper Vale of Kashmir surrounded by high mountain ranges. The [[Chenab valley]] forms the southern portion of the Kashmir region with its denuded hills towards the south. It includes almost all of the [[Jammu Division|Jammu region]]. High altitude lakes are frequent at high elevations. Lower down in the Vale of Kashmir there are many freshwater lakes and large areas of swamplands which include [[Wular Lake]], [[Dal Lake]] and [[Hokersar]] near [[Srinagar]].<ref name=flowers>{{Cite book|last=B. O. Coventry|title=Wild flowers of Kashmir |publisher=Raithby, Lawrence & Co.|place=London|year=1923 |url=http://archive.org/details/WildFlowersOfKashmir}}</ref>

[[File:Kashmir map (UN).png|center|thumb|300px|Simplified [[UN]] map of Kashmir and its surrounding area and rivers]]
To the north and northeast, beyond the Great Himalayas, the region is traversed by the [[Karakoram]] mountains. To the northwest lies the Hindu Kush mountain range. The upper Indus River separates the Himalayas from the Karakoram.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Western Himalayas {{!}} mountains, Asia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/western-Himalayas |access-date=2020-10-29 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |archive-date=28 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228233852/https://www.britannica.com/place/western-Himalayas|url-status=live}}</ref> The Karakoram is the most heavily glaciated part of the world outside the polar regions. The [[Siachen Glacier]] at {{cvt|76|km|mi}} and the [[Biafo Glacier]] at {{cvt|63|km|mi}} rank as the world's second and third longest glaciers outside the polar regions. Karakoram has four [[eight-thousander]] mountain peaks with [[K2]], the second highest peak in the world at {{cvt|8611|m|ft}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-longest-non-polar-glaciers-in-the-world.html|title=Longest non polar glaciers in the world|website=Worldatlas|date=25 April 2017|access-date=2020-10-27|archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031015000/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-longest-non-polar-glaciers-in-the-world.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-12-17|title=The Eight-Thousanders |url=https://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/8000MeterPeaks|access-date=2020-10-27|url-status=live |website=www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov |archive-date=3 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170503184334/https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/8000MeterPeaks/}}</ref>

[[File:Indus river basin without boundaries of disputed regions.png|thumb|The Indus River system]]
The Indus River system forms the [[drainage basin]] of the Kashmir region. The river enters the region in Ladakh at its southeastern corner from the [[Tibetan Plateau]], and flows northwest to run a course through the entire Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan. Almost all the rivers originating in these region are part of the Indus river system.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Indus River {{!}} Definition, Length, Map, History, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Indus-River|access-date=2020-10-27|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|archive-date=7 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507163743/https://www.britannica.com/place/Indus-River|url-status=live}}</ref> After reaching the end of the Great Himalayan range, the Indus turns a corner and flows southwest into the Punjab plains. The Jhelum and Chenab rivers also follow a course roughly parallel to this, and join the Indus river in southern Punjab plains in Pakistan.

The geographical features of the Kashmir region differ considerably from one part to another. The lowest part of the region consists of the plains of Jammu at the southwestern corner, which continue into the plains of Punjab at an elevation of below 1000 feet. Mountains begin at 2000 feet, then raising to 3000–4000 feet in the "Outer Hills", a rugged country with ridges and long narrow valleys. Next within the tract lie the Middle Mountains which are 8000–10,000 feet in height with ramifying valleys. Adjacent to these hills are the lofty [[Great Himalayas|Great Himalayan]] ranges (14000–15000 feet) which divide the drainage of the [[Chenab River|Chenab]] and [[Jehlum River|Jehlum]] from that of the Indus. Beyond this range lies a wide tract of mountainous country of 17000–22000 feet in Ladakh and [[Baltistan]].<ref name=drew/>{{Clarify|reason=It is unclear how all these ranges relate to the geography; where is the Kashmir Valley in this system?|date=April 2021}}

===Climate===
{{climate chart
| Srinagar
| −2 | 7 | 48
| −0.7 | 8.2 | 68
| 3.4 | 14.1 | 121
| 7.9 | 20.5 | 85
| 10.8 | 24.5 | 68
| 14.9 | 29.6 | 39
| 18.1 | 30.1 | 62
| 17.5 | 29.6 | 76
| 12.1 | 27.4 | 28
| 5.8 | 22.4 | 33
| 0.9 | 15.1 | 28
| −1.5 | 8.2 | 54
| float = left
| source = HKO <ref name = HKO>{{cite web
| url = http://www.hko.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/asia/india/srinagar_e.htm
| title = Climatological Information for Srinagar, India
| publisher = [[Hong Kong Observatory]]
| access-date = 2012-06-09
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120406095303/http://www.hko.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/asia/india/srinagar_e.htm
| archive-date = 6 April 2012
| url-status = live
}}</ref> }}
Kashmir has a different climate for every region owing to the great variation in altitude. The temperatures ranges from the tropical heat of the Punjab summer to the intensity of the cold which keeps the perpetual snow on the mountains. Jammu Division, excluding the upper parts of the Chenab Valley, features a humid subtropical climate. The Vale of Kashmir has a moderate climate. The [[Astore Valley]] and some parts of [[Gilgit-Baltistan]] features a semi-Tibetan climate. While as the other parts of Gilgit-Baltistan and Ladakh have Tibetan climate which is considered as almost rainless climate.<ref name=drew/><ref>{{Cite book|last=[[Aurel Stein|Stein M. A.]]|url=http://archive.org/details/anceintgeographyofkashmirsteinm.a._667_j|title=Ancient Geography Of Kashmir|date=1899|publisher=Kamala Dara|pages=257–269}}</ref>

The southwestern Kashmir which includes much of the Jammu province and Muzaffarabad falls within the reach of Indian monsoon. The Pir Panjal Range acts as an effective barrier and blocks these monsoon tracts from reaching the main Kashmir Valley and the Himalayan slopes. These areas of the region receive much of their precipitation from the wind currents of the Arabian Sea. The Himalayan slope and the Pir Panjal witness greatest snow melting from March until June. These variations in snow melt and rainfall have led to destructive inundations of the main valley. One instance of such Kashmir flood of a larger proportion is recorded in the 12th-century book ''[[Rajatarangini]]''. A single cloudburst in July 1935 caused the upper Jehlum river level to rise 11 feet.<ref>{{Cite book|author2=[[T. T. Paterson]]|author=[[Helmut de Terra]]|url=http://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.3233|title=Studies on the ice age in India and associated human cultures|publisher=Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1939}}</ref> The [[2014 India–Pakistan floods|2014 Kashmir floods]] inundated the Kashmir city of Srinagar and submerged hundreds of other villages.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2014-09-07|title=India Pakistan floods: Kashmir city of Srinagar inundated|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29100226|access-date=2020-11-01|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111183926/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29100226|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Flora and fauna==
{{multiple image|align=right|direction=horizontal|total_width=450|image1=Mount_Harmukh.JPG|caption1=Alpine flowers at [[Gangabal Lake]] below [[Harmukh|Mount Harmukh]] in the northwestern [[Himalaya Range|Himalayan range]]|image2=Zaniskari_Horse_in_Ladhak,_Jammu_and_kashmir.jpg|caption2=The [[Zaniskari]] is a breed of horse in  [[Ladakh]], well adapted to the [[Hypoxia (environmental)|hypoxic]] Kashmiri environment}}
{{multiple image|align=right|direction=vertical|total-length=450|image1=8. Deosai Plains.jpg|caption1=Shepherding in the [[Deosai Plains]]|image2=Snow Leopard in Naltar Valley.jpg |caption2=A female snow leopard which was rescued in 2012 from a partly frozen river stream in the Wadkhun area of [[Sust]] in the [[Karakoram mountain range]], now in the [[Naltar Wildlife Sanctuary]]}}

Kashmir has a recorded forest area of {{convert|20230|km2|mi2}} along with some [[Deosai National Park|national parks]] and [[Hemis National Park|reserves]]. The forests vary according to the climatic conditions and the altitude. Kashmir forests range from the [[Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests|tropical deciduous forests]] in the foothills of Jammu and [[Muzafarabad]], to the [[temperate forests]] throughout the Vale of Kashmir and to the [[Alpine tundra|alpine grasslands]] and high altitude meadows in Gilgit-Baltistan and Ladakh.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Dar|first1=Ghulam Hassan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DyPTDwAAQBAJ|title=Biodiversity of the Himalaya: Jammu and Kashmir State|last2=Khuroo|first2=Anzar A.|date=2020-02-26|publisher=Springer Nature|isbn=978-981-329-174-4|pages=193–200|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140440/https://books.google.com/books?id=DyPTDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bari Naik|first=Abdul|title=Tourism Potential in Ecological Zones and Future Prospects of Tourism: in Kashmir Valley |date=22 April 2016|publisher=LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing (April 22, 2016)|isbn=978-3659878626|pages=48}}</ref>
The Kashmir region has four well defined zones of vegetation in the tree growth, due to the difference in elevation. The tropical forests up to 1500 m, are known as the Phulai (''Acacia modesta'') and Olive (Olea cuspid ata) Zone. There occur semi-deciduous species of ''[[Shorea robusta]]'', ''[[Acacia catechu]]'', ''[[Dalbergia sissoo]]'', ''[[Albizia lebbeck]]'', ''[[Garuga pinnata]]'', ''[[Terminalia bellirica]]'' and ''[[Tilia tomentosa|T. tomentosa]]'' and ''[[Pinus roxburghii]]'' are found at higher elevations. The temperate zone between (1,500–3,500 m) is referred as the Chir Pine (Finns longifolia). This zone is dominated by [[oak]]s (''Quercus'' spp.) and ''[[Rhododendron]]'' spp. The Blue Pine (Finns excelsa) Zone with ''[[Cedrus deodara]]'', ''[[Abies pindrow]]'' and ''[[Picea smithiana]]'' occur at elevations between 2,800 and 3,500 m. The Birch (Betula utilis) Zone has Herbaceous genera of [[Anemone]], [[Geranium]], [[Iris (plant)|Iris]], [[Lloydia]], [[Potentilla]] and [[Primula]] interspersed with dry dwarf alpine scrubs of [[Berberis]], [[Cotoneaster]], [[Juniperus]] and [[Rhododendron]] are prevalent in alpine grasslands at 3,500 m and above.<ref name=flowers/><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Manish|first1=Kumar|last2=Pandit |first2=Maharaj K. |date=2018-11-07|title=Geophysical upheavals and evolutionary diversification of plant species in the Himalaya|journal=PeerJ |volume=6|pages=e5919 |doi=10.7717/peerj.5919|issn=2167-8359|pmc=6228543 |pmid=30425898|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Kashmir is referred as a beauty spot of the medicinal and herbaceous flora in the Himalayas.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaul|first=S. N. |url=http://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.509480 |title=Forest Products Of Jumma and Kashmir|date=1928 |publisher=Kashmir Pratap Stream Press,srinagar|pages=vii}}</ref> There are hundreds of different species of wild flowers recorded in the alpine meadows of the region.<ref name=flowers/> The [[Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Botanical Garden|botanical garden]] and the [[Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden|tulip garden]]s of Srinagar built in the [[Zabarwan]]s grow 300 breeds of flora and 60 varieties of tulips respectively. The later is considered as the largest Tulip Garden of Asia.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Experts |first=Arihant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NhrzDwAAQBAJ&q=300+flora|title=Know Your State Jammu and Kashmir|date=2019-06-04 |publisher=Arihant Publications India limited|isbn=978-93-131-6916-1|language=en|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140440/https://books.google.com/books?id=NhrzDwAAQBAJ&q=300+flora|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Around the world, tulips turn hillsides into colorful patchwork quilts |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/04/18/around-the-world-tulips-turn-hillsides-into-colorful-patchwork-quilts/|access-date=2020-10-29|archive-date=2 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102031353/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/04/18/around-the-world-tulips-turn-hillsides-into-colorful-patchwork-quilts/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Kashmir region is home to rare species of animals, many of which are protected by sanctuaries and reserves. The [[Dachigam National Park]] in the Valley holds the last viable population of [[Kashmir stag]] ''(Hangul)'' and the largest population of [[Asian black bear|black bear]] in Asia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jkwildlife.com/pdf/pub/final_management_plan_DNP_06082011.pdf |title=MANAGEMENT PLAN (2011-2016) DACHIGAM NATIONAL PARK|publisher=jkwildlife.com|access-date=2020-10-30|archive-date=22 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122030329/http://www.jkwildlife.com/pdf/pub/final_management_plan_DNP_06082011.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In Gilgit-Baltistan the [[Deosai National Park]] is designated to protect the largest population of [[Himalayan brown bear]]s in the western Himalayas.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Nawaz|first1=Muhammad Ali|last2=Swenson|first2=Jon E. |last3=Zakaria|first3=Vaqar|date=2008-09-01|title=Pragmatic management increases a flagship species, the Himalayan brown bears, in Pakistan's Deosai National Park|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320708002206|journal=Biological Conservation|language=en|volume=141|issue=9|pages=2230–2241|doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2008.06.012|bibcode=2008BCons.141.2230N |issn=0006-3207}}</ref> [[Snow leopard]]s are found in high density In the [[Hemis National Park]] in Ladakh.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cCTPP2xUUpkC&q=hemis+national+park+snow+leopards&pg=PA4|title=Making a Difference: Dossier on Community Engagement on Nature Based Tourism in India|publisher=EQUATIONS|language=en|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140441/https://books.google.com/books?id=cCTPP2xUUpkC&q=hemis+national+park+snow+leopards&pg=PA4|url-status=live}}</ref> The region is home to [[musk deer]], [[markhor]], [[leopard cat]], [[jungle cat]], [[red fox]], [[jackal]], [[Himalayan wolf]], [[serow]], [[marten|Himalayan yellow-throated marten]], [[marmot|long-tailed marmot]], [[Indian porcupine]], [[Himalayan mouse-hare]], [[langur]] and [[Siberian weasel|Himalayan weasel]]. At least 711 bird species are recorded in the valley alone with 31 classified as globally threatened species.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jammu and Kashmir bird checklist - Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World|url=https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=INwhjk&list=howardmoore|access-date=2020-10-20|website=avibase.bsc-eoc.org|archive-date=22 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022004158/https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=INwhjk&list=howardmoore|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lawrence|first=Walter R. (Walter Roper) |url=http://archive.org/details/valleyofkashmir00lawr|title=The valley of Kashmír|date=1895|place=London|publisher=H. Frowde |pages=106–160}}</ref>

==Demographics==
=== Colonial era ===
In the 1901 Census of the British [[British Raj|Indian Empire]], the population of the princely state of Kashmir and 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).

The Hindus were found mainly in Jammu, where they constituted a little less than 60% of the population.<ref name=imperialgazetteerkashmir>''Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume 15''. 1908. Oxford University Press, Oxford and London. pp. 99–102.</ref> 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%)."<ref name=imperialgazetteerkashmir/> 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 Hindu population 60,641.<ref name=imperialgazetteerkashmir/> 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 "[[Brahmin|Brahmans]] (186,000), the [[Rajput]]s (167,000), the [[Khatri|Khattris]] (48,000) and the Thakkars (93,000)."<ref name=imperialgazetteerkashmir/>

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%).<ref name=brush>{{cite journal |last1=Brush |first1=J. E. |year=1949 |title=The Distribution of Religious Communities in India |journal=Annals of the Association of American Geographers |volume=39 |issue=2| pages=81–98 |doi=10.1080/00045604909351998 |issn = 0004-5608 }}</ref>

The [[Kashmiri Pandit]]s, the only Hindus of the Kashmir valley, who had stably constituted approximately 4 to 5% of the population of the valley during Dogra rule (1846–1947), and 20% of whom had left the Kashmir valley to other parts of India in the 1950s,{{sfn|Zutshi, Languages of Belonging|2004|p=318|ps=: 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.}} underwent a complete [[Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus|exodus]] in the 1990s due to the [[Kashmir insurgency]]. According to a number of authors, approximately 100,000 of the total Kashmiri Pandit population of 140,000 left the valley during that decade.{{sfn|Bose, The Challenge in Kashmir|1997|p=71}}{{sfn|Rai, Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects|2004|p=286}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p=274|ps=: The 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 right.}} Other authors have suggested a higher figure for the exodus, ranging from the entire population of over 150 thousand,{{sfn|Malik, Kashmir: Ethnic Conflict, International Dispute|2005|p=318}} to 190 thousand of a total Pandit population of 200 thousand (200,000),{{sfn|Madan, Kashmir, Kashmiris, Kashimiriyat|2008|p=25}} to a number as high as 300 thousand (300,000).<ref>{{Cite web|title=South Asia :: India — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency|website=www.cia.gov|date=14 February 2022|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/india/|access-date=24 January 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=18 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318202107/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/india}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Population of Jammu & Kashmir Princely State by Province (1901–1941)
! rowspan="2" |[[Census in British India|Census Year]]
! colspan="2" |Jammu Province
! colspan="2" |Kashmir Province
! colspan="2" |Frontier Regions
! colspan="2" |Jammu & Kashmir Princely State
|-
![[Population|{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}]]
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
|-
! 1901<ref name="Census1901"/>
| 1,521,307
| {{Percentage | 1521307 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 1,157,394
| {{Percentage | 1157394 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 226,877
| {{Percentage | 226877 | 2905578 | 2 }}
! 2,905,578
! {{Percentage | 2905578 | 2905578 | 2 }}
|-
! 1911<ref name="Census1911"/>
| 1,597,865
| {{Percentage | 1597865 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 1,295,201
| {{Percentage | 1295201 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 265,060
| {{Percentage | 265060 | 3158126 | 2 }}
! 3,158,126
! {{Percentage | 3158126 | 3158126 | 2 }}
|-
! 1921<ref name="Census1921"/>
| 1,640,259
| {{Percentage | 1640259 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 1,407,086
| {{Percentage | 1407086 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 273,173
| {{Percentage | 273173 | 3320518 | 2 }}
! 3,320,518
! {{Percentage | 3320518 | 3320518 | 2 }}
|-
! 1931<ref name="Census1931"/>
| 1,788,441
| {{Percentage | 1788441 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 1,569,218
| {{Percentage | 1569218 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 288,584
| {{Percentage | 288584 | 3646243 | 2 }}
! 3,646,243
! {{Percentage | 3646243 | 3646243 | 2 }}
|-
! 1941<ref name="Census1941"/>
| 1,981,433
| {{Percentage | 1981433 | 4021616 | 2 }}
| 1,728,705
| {{Percentage | 1728705 | 4021616 | 2 }}
| 311,478
| {{Percentage | 311478 | 4021616 | 2 }}
! 4,021,616
! {{Percentage | 4021616 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Religious groups in Jammu & Kashmir Princely State ([[British Raj|British India]] era)
! rowspan="2" |[[Religion in India|Religious]]<br>group
! colspan="2" |1901<ref name="Census1901">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25366883 |jstor=saoa.crl.25366883 |access-date=3 November 2024 |title=Census of India 1901. Vol. 23A, Kashmir. Pt. 2, Tables. |year=1901 |pages=20}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1911<ref name="Census1911">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25394111 |jstor=saoa.crl.25394111 |access-date=3 November 2024 |title=Census of India 1911. Vol. 20, Kashmir. Pt. 2, Tables. |year=1911 |pages=17}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1921<ref name="Census1921">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25430177 |jstor=saoa.crl.25430177 |access-date=3 November 2024 |title=Census of India 1921. Vol. 22, Kashmir. Pt. 2, Tables. |year=1921 |pages=15}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1931<ref name="Census1931">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25797120 |jstor=saoa.crl.25797120 |access-date=3 November 2024 |title=Census of India 1931. Vol. 24, Jammu & Kashmir State. Pt. 2, Imperial & state tables. |year=1931 |pages=267}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1941<ref name="Census1941">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.28215644 |jstor=saoa.crl.28215644 |access-date=3 November 2024 |title=Census of India, 1941. Vol. 22, Jammu & Kashmir |year=1941 |pages=337–352}}</ref>
|-
![[Population|{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}]]
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
|-
! [[Islam]] [[File:Star and Crescent.svg|15px]]
| 2,154,695
| {{Percentage | 2154695 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 2,398,320
| {{Percentage | 2398320 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 2,548,514
| {{Percentage | 2548514 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 2,817,636
| {{Percentage | 2817636 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 3,101,247
| {{Percentage | 3101247 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Hinduism]] [[File:Om.svg|15px]]
| 689,073
| {{Percentage | 689073 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 690,390
| {{Percentage | 690390 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 692,641
| {{Percentage | 692641 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 736,222
| {{Percentage | 736222 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 809,165
| {{Percentage | 809165 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Buddhism]] [[File:Dharma_Wheel_(2).svg|15px]]
| 35,047
| {{Percentage | 35047 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 36,512
| {{Percentage | 36512 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 37,685
| {{Percentage | 37685 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 38,724
| {{Percentage | 38724 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 40,696
| {{Percentage | 40696 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Sikhism]] [[File:Khanda.svg|15px]]
| 25,828
| {{Percentage | 25828 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 31,553
| {{Percentage | 31553 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 39,507
| {{Percentage | 39507 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 50,662
| {{Percentage | 50662 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 65,903
| {{Percentage | 65903 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Jainism]] [[File:Jain_Prateek_Chihna.svg|15px]]
| 442
| {{Percentage | 442 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 345
| {{Percentage | 345 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 529
| {{Percentage | 529 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 597
| {{Percentage | 597 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 910
| {{Percentage | 910 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Christianity]] [[File:Christian cross.svg|15px]]
| 422
| {{Percentage | 422 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 975
| {{Percentage | 975 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 1,634
| {{Percentage | 1634 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 2,263
| {{Percentage | 2263 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 3,509
| {{Percentage | 3509 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Zoroastrianism]] [[File:Faravahar.svg|15px]]
| 11
| {{Percentage | 11 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 31
| {{Percentage | 31 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 7
| {{Percentage | 7 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 5
| {{Percentage | 5 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 29
| {{Percentage | 29 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Tribal religions in India|Tribal]]
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| 134
| {{Percentage | 134 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 51
| {{Percentage | 51 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Judaism]] [[File:Star_of_David.svg|15px]]
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| 10
| {{Percentage | 10 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! Others
| 60
| {{Percentage | 60 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 1
| {{Percentage | 1 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 95
| {{Percentage | 95 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! Total population
! 2,905,578
! {{Percentage | 2905578 | 2905578 | 2 }}
! 3,158,126
! {{Percentage | 3158126 | 3158126 | 2 }}
! 3,320,518
! {{Percentage | 3320518 | 3320518 | 2 }}
! 3,646,243
! {{Percentage | 3646243 | 3646243 | 2 }}
! 4,021,616
! {{Percentage | 4021616 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="11" | {{small|Note: The Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir includes the contemporary administrative divisions of [[Jammu division|Jammu]], [[Kashmir division|Kashmir]], [[Ladakh]], [[Azad Kashmir]], and [[Gilgit-Baltistan]].}}
|}

=== Modern era ===
People in Jammu speak Hindi, Punjabi and Dogri, the Kashmir Valley people speak Kashmiri, and people in the sparsely inhabited Ladakh speak Tibetan and Balti.<ref name=britannica-intro/>

The population of India-administered union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh combined is 12,541,302;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geohive.com/cntry/in-01.aspx |title=India, Jammu and Kashmir population statistics |publisher=GeoHive |access-date=29 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419221846/http://www.geohive.com/cntry/in-01.aspx |archive-date=19 April 2015  }}</ref> that of Pakistan-administered territory of Azad Kashmir is 4,045,366; and that of Gilgit-Baltistan is 1,492,924.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-08-26 |title=Census 2017: AJK population rises to over 4m |url=https://nation.com.pk/27-Aug-2017/census-2017-ajk-population-rises-to-over-4m |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=The Nation |language=en |archive-date=12 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140054/https://nation.com.pk/27-Aug-2017/census-2017-ajk-population-rises-to-over-4m |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gilgit-Baltistan: Districts & Places - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/pakistan/cities/gilgitbaltistan/ |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=www.citypopulation.de |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920172116/https://www.citypopulation.de/en/pakistan/cities/gilgitbaltistan/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Administered by !! Area !! Population !! % [[Muslim]] !! % [[Hinduism|Hindu]] !! % [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] !! % other
|-
| rowspan="3"| {{IND}}
|[[Kashmir Valley]]
|~4&nbsp;million (4&nbsp;million)
|95%
|4%
|–
|–
|-
|[[Jammu Division|Jammu]]
|~3&nbsp;million (3&nbsp;million)
|30%
|66%
|–
|4%
|-
|[[Ladakh]]
|~0.25&nbsp;million (250,000)
|46%
|12%
|40%
|2%
|-
| rowspan="2"| {{PAK}}
|[[Azad Kashmir]]
|~4&nbsp;million (4&nbsp;million)
|100%
|–
|–
|–
|-
|[[Gilgit-Baltistan]]
|~2&nbsp;million (2&nbsp;million)
|99%
|–
|–
|–
|-
| rowspan="2"| {{CHN}}
|[[Aksai Chin]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|-
|[[Trans-Karakoram Tract|Trans-Karakoram]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|-
| colspan ="7" |
*Statistics from the [[BBC]] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/south_asia/03/kashmir_future/html/default.stm In Depth] report.
|}

<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Muslim-shawl-makers-kashmir1867.jpg|A Muslim shawl-making family shown in ''Cashmere shawl manufactory'', 1867, chromolithograph, William Simpson
File:KashmirPundit1895BritishLibrary.jpg|A group of Pandits, or Brahmin priests, in Kashmir, photographed by an unknown photographer in the 1890s
File:Kashmir Ladakh women in local costume.jpg|[[Brokpa]] women from [[Kargil town|Kargil]], northern [[Ladakh]], in local costumes 
</gallery>

==Economy==
{{Further|Azad Kashmir#Economy|Jammu and Kashmir (state)#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, [[peach]]es, and cherries. The chief trees are [[Cedrus deodara|deodar]], firs and [[pine]]s, [[Platanus orientalis|chenar]] or plane, maple, birch and [[walnut]], apple, cherry.

Historically, Kashmir became known worldwide when [[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 are well adept at [[knitting]] and making [[Pashmina]] [[shawl]]s, silk carpets, rugs, [[kurta]]s, and pottery. [[Saffron]], too, is grown in Kashmir. 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-administered territory of Azad Kashmir and around 1,500 deaths in the India-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

{{Wide image|Srinagar pano.jpg|800px|Srinagar, the largest city of Kashmir|center}}

===Transport===
Transport is predominantly by air or road vehicles in the region.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bharatonline.com/kashmir/travel-tips/local-transport.html |title=Local Transport in Kashmir – Means of Transportation Kashmir – Mode of Transportation Kashmir India |publisher=Bharatonline.com |access-date=3 August 2012 |url-status=live |archive-date=17 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517211236/http://www.bharatonline.com/kashmir/travel-tips/local-transport.html}}</ref> Kashmir has a {{cvt|135|km|0}} long modern [[Jammu–Baramulla line|railway]] line that started in October 2009, and was last extended in 2013 and connects Baramulla, in the western part of Kashmir, to Srinagar and [[Banihal]]. It is expected to link  Kashmir to the rest of India after the construction of the railway line from [[Katra, Jammu and Kashmir|Katra]] to Banihal is completed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.baapar.com/blog/how-to-reach-kashmir-by-train-air-bus/ |title=How to Reach Kashmir by Train, Air, Bus? |publisher=Baapar.com |access-date=22 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308230308/http://www.baapar.com/blog/how-to-reach-kashmir-by-train-air-bus/}}</ref>

==In culture==
{{see also|Kashmiri handicrafts}}
[[File:KASHMIR DURBAR CARPET NORTH INDIA.png|thumb|Large Kashmir Durbar Carpet (detail), 2021 photo. "Durbar", in this context, means [[Royal family|Royal]] or Chiefly.]]
Irish poet [[Thomas Moore]]'s 1817 romantic poem ''[[Lalla Rookh]]'' is credited with having made Kashmir (spelt ''Cashmere'' in the poem) "a household term in [[Anglophone]] societies", conveying the idea that it was a kind of [[paradise]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Arts and South Asia|via=Issuu|publisher=Harvard South Asia Institute|date=12 May 2017|page=45|chapter=At the threshold of paradise: Kashmir in Mughal Persian poetry|first=Sunil|last=Sharma|url=https://issuu.com/harvardsai/docs/sai_arts_final|access-date=30 January 2021|archive-date=10 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410050659/https://issuu.com/harvardsai/docs/sai_arts_final|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[1941 Census of Jammu and Kashmir]]
* [[Human rights abuses in Kashmir]]
* [[Kashmiris]]
* [[List of territorial disputes]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
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{{refend}}

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** {{citation |last=Khan |first=Mohammad Ishaq |chapter=Islam, State and Society in Medieval Kashmir: A Revaluation of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani's Historical Role |pages=97–198 |editor-last=Rao |editor-first=Aparna |title=The Valley of Kashmir: The Making and Unmaking of a Composite Culture? |year=2008 |ref={{sfnref|Khan, Islam, State and Society in Medieval Kashmir|2008}}}}
** {{citation |last=Madan |first=T. N. |author-link=Triloki Nath Madan |chapter=Kashmir, Kashmiris, Kashmiriyat: An Introductory Essay |pages=1–36 |editor-last=Rao |editor-first=Aparna |title=The Valley of Kashmir: The Making and Unmaking of a Composite Culture? |year=2008 |ref={{sfnref|Madan, Kashmir, Kashmiris, Kashimiriyat|2008}}}}
** {{citation |last=Reynolds |first=Nathalène |chapter=Revisiting Key Episodes in Modern Kashmir History |pages=563–604 |editor-last=Rao |editor-first=Aparna |title=The Valley of Kashmir: The Making and Unmaking of a Composite Culture? |year=2008 |ref={{sfnref|Reynolds, Revisiting Key Episodes in History|2008}}}}
** {{citation |last=Witzel |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Witzel |chapter=The Kashmiri Pandits: Their Early History |pages=37–96 |editor-last=Rao |editor-first=Aparna |title=The Valley of Kashmir: The Making and Unmaking of a Composite Culture? |year=2008 |ref={{sfnref|Witzel, Kashmiri Pandits Early History|2008}}}}
** {{citation |last=Zutshi |first=Chitraleka |chapter=Shrines, Political Authority, and Religious Identities in Late-Nineteenth and Early-Twentieth-century Kashmir |pages=235–258 |editor-last=Rao |editor-first=Aparna |title=The Valley of Kashmir: The Making and Unmaking of a Composite Culture? |year=2008 |ref={{sfnref|Zutshi, Shrines, Political Authority and Religious Identities|2008}}}}
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{{Refend}}

=== Historical sources ===
{{Refbegin}}
* Blank, Jonah. "Kashmir–Fundamentalism Takes Root", ''Foreign Affairs'', 78.6 (November/December 1999): 36–42.
* Drew, Federic. 1877. ''The Northern Barrier of India: a popular account of the Jammoo and Kashmir Territories with Illustrations''; 1st edition: Edward Stanford, London. Reprint: Light & Life Publishers, Jammu. 1971.
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* Stein, M. Aurel. 1900. ''Kalhaṇa's Rājataraṅgiṇī–A Chronicle of the Kings of Kaśmīr'', 2 vols. London, A. Constable & Co. Ltd. 1900. Reprint, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1979.
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* Muhammad Ayub. ''An Army; Its Role & Rule (A History of the Pakistan Army from Independence to Kargil 1947–1999)''. Pittsburgh: Rosedog Books, 2005. {{ISBN|0-8059-9594-3}}.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons category}}
{{wikivoyage|Kashmir}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080514065929/http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unmogip/ United Nations Military Observers Group in Kashmir]

{{Regions and administrative territories of Kashmir}}
{{Territorial disputes in East, South, and Southeast Asia}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kashmir| ]]
[[Category:Disputed territories in Asia]]
[[Category:Historical regions]]
[[Category:Kashmiri-speaking countries and territories]]
[[Category:Regions of Asia]]