Kashmir division

Administrative division in Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Kashmir division is a revenue and administrative division of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.^[1] It comprises the Kashmir Valley, bordering the Jammu Division to the south and Ladakh to the east. The Line of Control forms its boundary with the Pakistani-administered territories of Gilgit−Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to the north and west and west, respectively.

Administering countryIndia

CapitalSrinagar

Elevation

1,620^[4] m (5,310 ft)

Demonym(s)Kashmiris, Koshur

Quick facts Administering country, Union territory ...

Kashmir division
Region administered by India as an Administrative division
A map of the Kashmir division (neon blue) of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (shaded tan) in the disputed Kashmir region.^[1]
Interactive map of Kashmir division
Coordinates: 34°14′N 74°40′E
Administering country	India
Union territory	Jammu and Kashmir
Districts	Anantnag, Baramulla, Budgam, Bandipore, Ganderbal, Kupwara, Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian and Srinagar
Capital	Srinagar
Regions & Historical divisions	List Kamraz (North Kashmir)^[2] Yamraz (Central Kashmir)^[2] Maraz (South Kashmir)^[2]
Government
• Type	Division
• Divisional Commissioner	Anshul Garg^[3]
Area
• Total	15,948 km² (6,158 sq mi)
Dimensions
• Length	135^[4] km (84 mi)
• Width	32^[4] km (20 mi)
Elevation	1,620^[4] m (5,310 ft)
Population (2011^[5])
• Total	6,888,475^[5]
• Density	431.93/km² (1,118.7/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Kashmiris, Koshur
Ethnicity and language
• Languages	Kashmiri, Gujari, Pahari, Urdu, Hindi,^[6] English,^[7] Shina^[8]
• Ethnic groups	Kashmiri, Gujjar, Pahari, Shina
• Religion (2011^[9])	96.41% Islam, 2.45% Hinduism, 0.81% Sikhism, 0.17% Christianity, 0.16% Others
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration	JK
Highest peak	Machoi Peak (5458 metres)
Largest lake	Wular lake (260 km² (100 sq mi))^[10]
Longest river	Jhelum River (725 kilometres)^[11]
Website	http://kashmirdivision.nic.in/

Its main city is Srinagar. Other important cities include Anantnag, Baramulla, Sopore, Bandipora, Sumbal and Kulgam.

Districts

The Indian administrative districts for the Kashmir Valley were reorganised in 1968,^[12] and 2006,^[13] each time subdividing existing districts. Kashmir Division currently consists of the following ten districts:

More information Name of district, HQ ...

Name of district	HQ	Area					Population^[14]
Name of district	HQ	Total (km²)	Total (sq mile)	Rural (km²)	Urban (km²)		2001 census	2011 census
Anantnag	Anantnag	3,574	1,380	3,475.8	98.2	^[15]	778,408	1,078,692
Kulgam	Kulgam	410	158	360.2	49.8	^[16]	394,026	424,483
Pulwama	Pulwama	1,086	419	1,047.5	38.6	^[17]	441,275	560,440
Shopian	Shopian	312	120	306.6	5.4	^[18]	211,332	266,215
Budgam	Budgam	1,361	525	1,312.0	49.1	^[19]	607,181	753,745
Srinagar	Srinagar	1,979	764	1,684.4	294.5	^[20]	1,027,670	1,236,829
Ganderbal	Ganderbal	259	100	233.6	25.4	^[21]	217,907	297,446
Bandipore	Bandipore	345	133	295.4	49.6	^[22]	304,886	392,232
Baramulla	Baramulla	4,243	1,638	4,179.4	63.6	^[23]	843,892	1,008,039
Kupwara	Kupwara	2,379	919	2,331.7	47.3	^[24]	650,393	870,354
Total		15,948	6,158	15,226.4	721.5		5,476,970	6,888,475

Demographics

Religion

Religions in Kashmir Division (2011)^[25]

Islam 97.16 (95.4%)
Hinduism 2.45 (2.41%)
Sikhism 0.81 (0.80%)
Christianity 0.17 (0.17%)
0.16 (0.16%)
0 (0.00%)
Others 0.9 (0.88%)
Not Stated 0.2 (0.20%)

The Kashmir division is largely Muslim (97.16%) with a very small Hindu (2.45%) and Sikh (0.81%) population.^[25]^[26] The Muslim population consists of both Shias and Sunnis. The majority of the Muslim population is made up of ethnic Kashmiris, with a significant minority of Pahari-Pothwari and Gujjar-Bakarwal people mainly living at the border area adjoining Pakistani administered Kashmir. The valley had a small but visible minority of Kashmiri Hindus prior to the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus in the 1990s. It is estimated that during the peak of the insurgency, 60,000 - 100,000 were forced to leave the valley.^[27]

Language

Kashmir division: mother-tongue of population, according to the 2011 Census.^[28]

Kashmiri (85.3%)
Gojri (6.27%)
Pahari-Pothwari (4.18%)
Hindi (1.26%)
Others (3.01%)

The majority of the population speaks Kashmiri (85.28%), while the remainder speaks either Gujari, Pahari-Pothwari or Hindi.^[14]

Urdu is also widely understood as a literary language in Kashmir due to it being a medium of instruction in schools.^[12]^[14]

References

[1]
The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary sources (a) through (d), reflecting due weight in the coverage. Although "controlled" and "held" are also applied neutrally to the names of the disputants or to the regions administered by them, as evidenced in sources (f) through (h) below, "held" is also considered politicized usage, as is the term "occupied," (see (i) below).

"Kashmir, region Indian subcontinent", Encyclopædia Britannica, archived from the original on 13 August 2019, retrieved 15 August 2019, Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent ... has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, the last two being part of a territory called the Northern Areas. Administered by India are the southern and southeastern portions, which constitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir but are slated to be split into two union territories. ... China became active in the eastern area of Kashmir in the 1950s and has controlled the northeastern part of Ladakh (the easternmost portion of the region) since 1962.
Pletcher, Kenneth, "Aksai Chin, Plateau Region, Asia", Encyclopædia Britannica, archived from the original on 2 April 2019, retrieved 16 August 2019, Aksai Chin, Chinese (Pinyin) Aksayqin, portion of the Kashmir region, at the northernmost extent of the Indian subcontinent in south-central Asia. It constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India to be part of the Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir state.
Bosworth, C. E. (2006), "Kashmir", Encyclopedia Americana, Scholastic Library Publishing, p. 328, ISBN 978-0-7172-0139-6, 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
Osmańczyk, Edmund Jan (2003), Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: G to M, Taylor & Francis, pp. 1191–, ISBN 978-0-415-93922-5, archived from the original on 2024-12-29, retrieved 2023-06-10, Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China.
Talbot, Ian (2016), A History of Modern South Asia: Politics, States, Diasporas, Yale University Press, pp. 28–29, ISBN 978-0-300-19694-8, archived from the original on 2024-04-08, retrieved 2023-06-11, We move from a disputed international border to a dotted line on the map that represents a military border not recognized in international law. The line of control separates the Indian and Pakistani administered areas of the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Bose, Sumantra (2009), Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace, Harvard University Press, pp. 294, 291, 293, ISBN 978-0-674-02855-5, archived from the original on 2024-04-08, retrieved 2023-06-11, J&K: Jammu and Kashmir. The former princely state that is the subject of the Kashmir dispute. Besides IJK (Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir. The larger and more populous part of the former princely state. It has a population of slightly over 10 million, and comprises three regions: Kashmir Valley, Jammu, and Ladakh.) and AJK ('Azad' (Free) Jammu and Kashmir. The more populous part of Pakistani-controlled J&K, with a population of approximately 2.5 million. AJK has six districts: Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Bagh, Kodi, Rawalakot, and Poonch. Its capital is the town of Muzaffarabad. AJK has its own institutions, but its political life is heavily controlled by Pakistani authorities, especially the military), it includes the sparsely populated 'Northern Areas' of Gilgit and Baltistan, remote mountainous regions which are directly administered, unlike AJK, by the Pakistani central authorities, and some high-altitude uninhabitable tracts under Chinese control.
Fisher, Michael H. (2018), An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century, Cambridge University Press, p. 166, ISBN 978-1-107-11162-2, archived from the original on 2024-04-08, retrieved 2023-06-11, Kashmir's identity remains hotly disputed with a UN-supervised 'Line of Control' still separating Pakistani-held Azad ('Free') Kashmir from Indian-held Kashmir.
Snedden, Christopher (2015), Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris, Oxford University Press, p. 10, ISBN 978-1-84904-621-3, archived from the original on 2024-04-08, retrieved 2023-06-11, Some politicised terms also are used to describe parts of J&K. These terms include the words 'occupied' and 'held'.
[2]
"Spoken Kashmiri: A Language Course". Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
[3]
"Key Officers in the Divisional Commissioner's Office". Retrieved 1 September 2025.
[4]
"Vale of Kashmir | valley, India". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
[5]
"Demography of Jammu and Kashmir State". J&K; Envis Centre, Department of Ecology Environment and Remote Sensing J&K. Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
This used the Digest of Statistics, 2011-12 for its data source.
[6]
"The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020" (PDF). The Gazette of India. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
[7]
"Parliament passes JK Official Languages Bill, 2020". Rising Kashmir. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
[8]
"Shina, bolbosh". Archived from the original on 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
[9]
"Religion Data of Census 2011: XV Jammu and Kashmir", Centre for Policy Studies, India, Chennai and Delhi, 29 February 2016, retrieved 6 March 2021{{citation}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
[10]
"Wular Lake | lake, India". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
[11]
"Jhelum River | river, Asia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
[12]
Behera, Navnita Chadha (2006). Demystifying Kashmir. Pearson Education India. p. 28. ISBN 978-8131708460.
[13]
"Jammu and Kashmir to have eight new districts". Indo-Asian News Service. 6 July 2006. Archived from the original on 15 September 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
[14]
Census of India 2011, Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 : Jammu & Kashmir. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (Report). Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
Annexure V, Ranking of Districts by Population Size, 2001 - 2011 (Report). Archived from the original on 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
[15]
District Census Handbook Anantnag, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
District Census Handbook Anantnag, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. pp. 12, 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
[16]
District Census Handbook Kulgam, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
District Census Handbook Kulgam, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. pp. 12, 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
Part B page 12 says the area of the district is 404 km², but page 22 says 410 km².
[17]
District Census Handbook Pulwama, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. pp. 12, 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
[18]
District Census Handbook Shupiyan, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
District Census Handbook Shupiyan, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. pp. 12, 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
Part B pages 12 and 22 say the district area is 312.00 km², but Part A page 10 says 307.42 km².
[19]
District Census Handbook Badgam, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. pp. 10, 46. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
District Census Handbook Badgam, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. pp. 11, 12, 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
Part A says the district area is 1371 km², Part B says 1371 km² (page 11) and 1361 km² (page 12s and 22).
[20]
District Census Handbook Srinagar, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. pp. 11, 48. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
Part A page 48 says the district area was 2228.0 km² in 2001 and 1978.95 km² in 2011.
[21]
District Census Handbook Ganderbal, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. pp. 11, 12 and 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
Part B page 11 says the district area is 393.04 km², but pages 12 and 22 say 259.00 km².
[22]
District Census Handbook Bandipora, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. pp. 10, 47. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
District Census Handbook Bandipora, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. pp. 11, 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
[23]
District Census Handbook Baramulla, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. p. 11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
District Census Handbook Baramulla, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. p. 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
[24]
District Census Handbook Kupwara, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
District Census Handbook Kupwara, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. pp. 11, 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
[25]
"Population by religion community – 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015.
[26]
"Religions in Kashmir". Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation. 2017. Archived from the original on 2024-09-13. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
[27]
"The Plight of Kashmiri Pandits". Praxis - The Fletcher Journal of Human Security. 18 June 2023. Archived from the original on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
[28]
C-16 Population By Mother Tongue – Jammu & Kashmir (Report). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.