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Thehistory ofKashmir is intertwined with the history of the broaderIndian subcontinent inSouth Asia with influences from the surrounding regions ofCentral, andEast Asia. Historically, Kashmir referred to only theKashmir Valley of the westernHimalayas.[1] Today, it denotes a larger area that includes the Indian-administered union territories ofJammu and Kashmir (which consists ofJammu and the Kashmir Valley),Ladakh, the Pakistan-administered territories ofAzad Kashmir andGilgit-Baltistan, and the Chinese-administered regions ofAksai Chin and theTrans-Karakoram Tract.
In the first half of the 1st millennium, the Kashmir region became an important centre ofHinduism and later—under theMauryas andKushanas—ofBuddhism. Later in the ninth century, during the rule of theKarkota Dynasty, a native tradition ofShaivism arose. It flourished in the seven centuries of Hindu rule, continuing under theUtpala and theLohara dynasties, ending in mid-14th century.
Thespread of Islam in Kashmir began during the 13th century, accelerated under Muslim rule during the 14th and 15th centuries, and led to the eventual decline of Kashmiri Shaivism in the region.
In 1339,Shah Mir became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir, inaugurating theShah Mir dynasty. For the next five centuries, Muslim monarchs ruled Kashmir, including theMughal Empire, who ruled from 1586 until 1751, and the AfghanDurrani Empire, which ruled from 1747 until 1819. That year, theSikhs, underRanjit Singh, annexed Kashmir. In 1846, after the Sikh defeat in theFirst Anglo-Sikh War, theTreaty of Lahore was signed and upon the purchase of the region from theBritish under theTreaty of Amritsar, the Raja ofJammu,Gulab Singh, became the new ruler of Kashmir. The rule of his descendants, under the paramountcy (or tutelage) of the British Crown, lasted until 1947, when the formerprincely state became a disputed territory, now administered by three countries: India, Pakistan, and the People's Republic of China.
According tofolk etymology, the name "Kashmir" means "desiccated land" (from theSanskrit:ka = water andshimīra = desiccate).[2] In theRajatarangini, a history of Kashmir written byKalhana in the mid-12th century, it is stated that the valley of Kashmir was formerly a lake. According toHindu mythology, the lake was drained by the greatrishi or sage,Kashyapa, son of Marichi, son ofBrahma, by cutting the gap in the hills atBaramulla (Varaha-mula). When Kashmir had been drained, Kashyapa askedBrahmins to settle there. This is still the local tradition, and in the existing physical condition of the country, there is some ground for the story which has taken this form. The name of Kashyapa is by history and tradition connected with the draining of the lake, and the chief town or collection of dwellings in the valley was calledKashyapa-pura, which has been identified withKaspapyros ofHecataeus (apudStephanus of Byzantium) andKaspatyros ofHerodotus (3.102, 4.44).[3][4] Kashmir is also believed to be the country meant byPtolemy'sKaspeiria.[5] Cashmere is an archaic spelling of Kashmir, and in some countries it is still spelled this way.[citation needed]
Nilamata Purana (complied c. 500–600 CE)[6] contains accounts of Kashmir's early history. However, being a Puranic source, it has been argued that it suffers from a degree of inconsistency and unreliability.[7][a]Kalhana'sRajatarangini (River of Kings), all the 8000 Sanskrit verses of which were completed by 1150 CE, chronicles the history of Kashmir's dynasties from earlier times to the 12th century.[8][9] It relies upon traditional sources likeNilmata Purana, inscriptions, coins, monuments, and Kalhana's personal observations borne out of political experiences of his family.[10][8] Towards the end of the work mythical explanations give way to rational and critical analyses of dramatic events between 11th and 12th centuries, for which Kalhana is often credited as "India's first historian".[7][8]
During the reign of Muslim kings in Kashmir, three supplements toRajatarangini were written byJonaraja (1411–1463 CE), Srivara, and Prajyabhatta and Suka, which end withAkbar's conquest of Kashmir in 1586 CE.[11] The text was translated intoPersian by Muslim scholars such asNizam Uddin,Farishta, andAbul Fazl.[12]Baharistan-i-Shahi and Haidar Mailk'sTarikh-i-Kashmir (completed in 1621 CE) are the most important texts on the history of Kashmir during the Sultanate period. Both the texts were written in Persian and used Rajatarangini and Persian histories as their sources.[13]
At the Lower-MiddlePalaeolithic Galander site nearPampore in the Kashmir Valley, remains of the extinct elephant speciesPalaeoloxodon turkmenicus have been found associated with knapped stone tools produced byarchaic humans, with the bones of the elephant suggested to display deliberate fracturing, perhaps produced during the act of butchery.[14] The stone tools exhibit production techniques reminiscent of theLevallois type, and the site is suggested to date to theMiddle Pleistocene, around 400-300,000 years ago.[15]
The earliestNeolithic sites in the flood plains of Kashmir Valley are dated to c. 3000 BCE. Most important of these sites are the settlements atBurzahom, which had two Neolithic and oneMegalithic phases. First phase (c. 2920 BCE) at Burzahom is marked by mud plastered pit dwellings, coarse pottery and stone tools. In the second phase, which lasted until c. 1700 BCE, houses were constructed on ground level and the dead were buried, sometimes with domesticated and wild animals. Hunting and fishing were the primary modes ofsubsistence though evidence of cultivation of wheat, barley, and lentils has also been found in both the phases.[16][17] In the megalithic phase, massive circles were constructed and grey or black burnish replaced coarse red ware in pottery.[18] During the laterVedic period, as kingdoms of theVedic tribes expanded, theUttara–Kurus settled in Kashmir.[19][20]
In 326 BCE,Porus askedAbisares, the king of Kashmir,[b] to aid him againstAlexander the Great in theBattle of Hydaspes. After Porus lost the battle, Abhisares submitted to Alexander by sending him treasure and elephants.[22][23]
During the reign ofAshoka (304–232 BCE), Kashmir became a part of theMaurya Empire andBuddhism was introduced in Kashmir. During this period, manystupas, some shrines dedicated toShiva, and the city of Srinagari (Srinagar) were built.[24]Kanishka (127–151 CE), an emperor of theKushan dynasty, conquered Kashmir and established the new city of Kanishkapur.[25] Buddhist tradition holds that Kanishka held theFourth Buddhist council in Kashmir, in which celebrated scholars such asAshvagosha,Nagarjuna andVasumitra took part.[26] By the fourth century, Kashmir became a seat of learning for both Buddhism and Hinduism. Kashmiri Buddhist missionaries helped spread Buddhism to Tibet and China and from the fifth century CE, pilgrims from these countries started visiting Kashmir.[27]Kumārajīva (343–413 CE) was among the renowned Kashmiri scholars who traveled to China. He influenced the Chinese emperorYao Xing and spearheaded translation of many Sanskrit works into Chinese at theChang'an monastery.[28]
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TheAlchon Huns underToramana crossed over theHindu Kush mountains and conquered large parts of western India including Kashmir.[29] His sonMihirakula (c. 502–530 CE) led a military campaign to conquer all ofNorth India. He was opposed byBaladitya inMagadha and eventually defeated byYasodharman inMalwa. After the defeat, Mihirakula returned to Kashmir where he led a coup on the king. He then conquered ofGandhara where he committed many atrocities on Buddhists and destroyed their shrines. Influence of the Huns faded after Mihirakula's death.[30][31]
In 659,Sogdia,Ferghana,Tashkent,Bukhara,Samarkand,Balkh,Herat,Kashmir, thePamirs,Tokharistan, andKabul all submitted to theprotectorate underEmperor Gaozong of Tang.[32][33][34][35][36]
A succession of Hindu dynasties ruled over the region from the 7th-14th centuries.[37] After the seventh century, significant developments took place in Kashmiri Hinduism. In the centuries that followed, Kashmir produced many poets, philosophers, and artists who contributed to Sanskrit literature and Hindu religion.[38] Among notable scholars of this period wasVasugupta (c. 875–925 CE) who wrote theShiva Sutras which laid the foundation for amonistic Shaiva system calledKashmir Shaivism. Dualistic interpretation of Shaiva scripture was defeated byAbhinavagupta (c. 975–1025 CE) who wrote many philosophical works on Kashmir Shaivism.[39] Kashmir Shaivism was adopted by the common masses of Kashmir and strongly influenced Shaivism inSouthern India.[40]
In the eighth century, theKarkota Empire established themselves as rulers of Kashmir.[41] Kashmir grew as an imperial power under the Karkotas. Chandrapida of this dynasty was recognized by an imperial order of the Chinese emperor as the king of Kashmir. His successorLalitaditya Muktapida lead a successful military campaign against the Tibetans. He then defeatedYashovarman ofKanyakubja and subsequently conquered eastern kingdoms of Magadha,Kamarupa,Gauda, andKalinga. Lalitaditya extended his influence of Malwa andGujarat and defeatedArabs atSindh.[42][43] After his demise, Kashmir's influence over other kingdoms declined and the dynasty ended in c. 855–856 CE.[41]
The Utpala dynasty founded byAvantivarman followed the Karkotas. His successor Shankaravarman (885–902 CE) led a successful military campaign againstGurjaras inPunjab.[44][41] Political instability in the 10th century made the royal body guards (Tantrins) very powerful in Kashmir. Under the Tantrins, civil administration collapsed and chaos reigned in Kashmir until they were defeated by Chakravarman.[45]Queen Didda, who descended from theHindu Shahis ofUdabhandapura on her mother's side, took over as the ruler in second half of the 10th century.[41] After her death in 1003 CE, the throne passed to theLohara dynasty.[46] Suhadeva, last king of the Lohara dynasty, fled Kashmir after Zulju (Dulacha), aTurkic–Mongol chief, led a savage raid on Kashmir in about 1320.[47][48] His wife, QueenKota Rani ruled until 1339. She is often credited for the construction of a canal, named "Kutte Kol" after her, diverting the waters of the Jhelum to prevent frequent flooding in Srinagar.[49]
During the 11th century,Mahmud of Ghazni made two attempts to conquer Kashmir. However, both his campaigns failed because he could not take by siege the fortress at Lohkot.[50]
HistorianMohibbul Hasan states that the oppressive taxation, corruption, internecine fights and rise of feudal lords (Damaras) during the unpopular rule of theLohara dynasty (1003–1320 CE) paved the way for foreign invasions of Kashmir.[51] Rinchana was aTibetan Buddhist refugee in Kashmir, who had established himself as the ruler after Zulju.[52][47] Rinchana's conversion to Islam is a subject of Kashmiri folklore. He was persuaded to accept Islam by his ministerShah Mir, probably for political reasons. Islam had penetrated into countries outside Kashmir and in absence of the support from Hindus, who were in a majority,[53] Rinchana needed the support of the Kashmiri Muslims.[52] Shah Mir's coup on Rinchana's successor secured Muslim rule and the rule ofhis dynasty in Kashmir.[53]
In the 14th century,Islam gradually became the dominant religion in Kashmir.[54] With the fall of Kashmir, a premier center of Sanskrit literary creativity, Sanskrit literature there disappeared.[55][56]: 397–398 Islamic preacher Sheikh Nooruddin Noorani, who is traditionally revered by Hindus asNund Rishi, combined elements of Kashmir Shaivism with Sufi mysticism in his discourses.[57] The Sultans between 1354 and 1470 CE were tolerant of other religions with the exception ofSultan Sikandar (1389–1413 CE). Sultan Sikandar imposed taxes on non–Muslims, forced conversions to Islam, and earned the titleBut–Shikan for destroying idols.[47] SultanZain-ul-Abidin (c. 1420–1470 CE) invited artists and craftsmen fromCentral Asia andPersia to train local artists in Kashmir. Under his rule the arts of wood carving,papier-mâché, shawls and carpets weaving prospered.[58] For a brief period in the 1470s, states ofJammu,Poonch andRajauri which paid tributes to Kashmir revolted against the Sultan Hajji Khan. However, they were subjugated by his son Hasan Khan who took over as ruler in 1472 CE.[58] By the mid 16th century, Hindu influence in the courts and role of theHindu priests had declined as Muslim missionaries immigrated into Kashmir from Central Asia and Persia, andPersian replaced Sanskrit as the official language. Around the same period, the nobility ofChaks had become powerful enough to unseat the Shah Mir dynasty.[58]
Mughal generalHaidar Dughlat, a member of ruling family inKashgar, invaded Kashmir in c. 1540 CE on behalf of emperorHumayun.[47][59] Persecution ofShias,Shafi'is andSufis and instigation bySuri kings led to a revolt which overthrew Dughlat's rule in Kashmir.[60][59]
Kashmir did not witness direct Mughal rule until the reign of Mughal emperorAkbar the Great, who took control of Kashmir and added it to hisKabul Subah in 1586.Shah Jahan carved it out as a separatesubah (imperial top-level province), with seat at Srinagar. During successive Mughal emperors many celebrated gardens, mosques and palaces were constructed. Religious intolerance and discriminatory taxation reappeared when Mughal emperorAurangzeb ascended to the throne in 1658 CE. After his death, the influence of the Mughal Empire declined.[47][59]
In 1700 CE, a servant of a wealthy Kashmir merchant broughtMo-i Muqqadas (the hair of the Prophet), a relic ofMuhammad, to the valley. The relic was housed in theHazratbal Shrine on the banks ofDal Lake.[61]Nadir Shah's invasion of India in 1738 CE further weakened Mughal control over Kashmir.[61]
Taking advantage of the declining Mughal Empire, the Afghan Durrani Empire underAhmad Shah Durrani took control of Kashmir in 1752.[62] In the mid-1750s the Afghan-appointed governor of Kashmir,[63]Sukh Jiwan Mal, rebelled against the Durrani Empire before being defeated in 1762.[63][64] After Mal's defeat, the Durrani engaged in the oppression of the remaining Hindu population through forced conversions, killings, and forced labor.[64] Repression by the Durrani extended to all classes, regardless of religion, and a heavy tax burden was levied on the Kashmiri populace.[65] According to the historianVictoria Schofield: "The names of the Afghan governors who ruled Kashmir are all but forgotten but not their cruelty, which was directed mainly towards the Hindus".[66] Extortion was common and many Kashmiris were sold as slaves to Afghanistan, adds Schofield.[66]
A number of Afghan governors administered the region on behalf of the Durrani Empire. During the Durrani rule in Kashmir, income from the region constituted a large part of the Durrani Empire's revenue.[67] The empire controlled Kashmir until 1819, after which the region was annexed by theSikh Empire.[68]
After four centuries of Muslim rule, Kashmir fell to the conquering armies of the Sikhs underRanjit Singh ofPunjab after theBattle of Shopian in 1819.[69] As the Kashmiris had suffered under the Afghans, they initially welcomed the new Sikh rulers.[70] However, the Sikh governors turned out to be hard taskmasters, and Sikh rule was generally considered oppressive,[71] protected perhaps by the remoteness of Kashmir from the capital of the Sikh Empire in Lahore.[72] The Sikhs enacted a number of anti-Muslim laws,[72] which included handing out death sentences for cow slaughter,[70] closing down theJamia Masjid in Srinagar, and banning theazaan, the public Muslim call to prayer;[72] these laws were however later repealed by the governorMuhyuddin during the last decade of Sikh rule. 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. 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.[70] 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; Kashmir became the second highest revenue earner for the Sikh empire. During this timeKashmiri shawls became known worldwide, attracting many buyers especially in the west.[72]
Earlier, in 1780, after the death of Ranjit Deo, the kingdom of Jammu (to the south of the Kashmir valley) was also captured by the Sikhs and made a tributary.[69] Ranjit Deo's grandnephew,Gulab Singh, subsequently sought service at the court of Ranjit Singh, distinguished himself in later campaigns and got appointed as the Raja of Jammu in 1820. With the help of his officer,Zorawar Singh, Gulab Singh soon captured for the Sikhs the lands ofLadakh andBaltistan.[69] The notable governors appointed to Kashmir by the Sikh kingdom includeMoti Ram,Hari Singh,Kirpa Ram,Mihan Singh and Muhyuddin.
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In 1845, theFirst Anglo-Sikh War broke out, and Gulab Singh "contrived to hold himself aloof until thebattle of Sobraon (1846), when he appeared as a useful mediator and the trusted advisor of SirHenry Lawrence. Two treaties were concluded. By the first the State of Lahore (i.e. West Punjab) handed over to the British, as equivalent for (rupees) ten million of indemnity, the hill countries betweenBeas andIndus; by the second[73] the British made over to Gulab Singh for (Rupees) 7.5 million all the hilly or mountainous country situated to the east ofIndus and west ofRavi" (i.e. the Vale of Kashmir).[69] TheTreaty of Amritsar freed Gulab Singh from obligations towards the Sikhs and made him the Maharajah of Jammu and Kashmir.[74] The Dogras' loyalty came in handy to the British during therevolt of 1857 which challengedBritish rule in India. Dogras refused to provide sanctuary to mutineers, allowed English women and children to seek asylum in Kashmir and sent Kashmiri troops to fight on behalf of the British. British in return rewarded them by securing the succession of Dogra rule in Kashmir.[75] Soon after Gulab Singh's death in 1857,[74] his son,Ranbir Singh, added the emirates ofHunza,Gilgit andNagar to the kingdom.[76]
ThePrincely State of Kashmir and Jammu (as it was then called) was constituted between 1820 and 1858 and was "somewhat artificial in composition and it did not develop a fully coherent identity, partly as a result of its disparate origins and partly as a result of the autocratic rule which it experienced on the fringes of Empire."[77] It combined disparate regions, religions, and ethnicities: to the east, Ladakh was ethnically and culturally Tibetan and its inhabitants practised Buddhism; to the south, Jammu had a mixed population of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs; in the heavily populated central Kashmir valley, the population was overwhelminglySunni Muslim, however, there was also a small but influential Hindu minority, the Kashmiribrahmins orpandits; to the northeast, sparsely populatedBaltistan had a population ethnically related to Ladakh, but which practisedShi'a Islam; to the north, also sparsely populated,Gilgit Agency, was an area of diverse, mostlyShi'a groups; and, to the west,Punch was Muslim, but of different ethnicity than the Kashmir valley.[77]
Despite being in a majority the Muslims were made to suffer severe oppression under Hindu rule in the form of high taxes, unpaid forced labor and discriminatory laws.[78] Many Kashmiri Muslims migrated from the Valley to Punjab due to famine and policies of Dogra rulers.[79] The Muslim peasantry was vast, impoverished and ruled by a Hindu elite.[80][81] The Muslim peasants lacked education, awareness of rights and were chronically in debt to landlords and moneylenders,[80] and did not organize politically until the 1930s.[81]
Ranbir Singh's grandsonHari 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 subsequentpartition of the British Indian Empire into the newly independentDominion of India andDominion of Pakistan. Aninternal revolt began in the Poonch region against oppressive taxation by the Maharaja.[82] In August, Maharaja's forces fired upon demonstrations in favour of Kashmir joining Pakistan, burned whole villages and massacred innocent people.[83] The Poonch rebels declared an independent government of "Azad" Kashmir on 24 October.[84] Rulers of Princely States were encouraged to accede their States to either Dominion – India or Pakistan, taking into account factors such as geographical contiguity and the wishes of their people. In 1947, Jammu and Kashmir's population was "77% Muslim and 20% Hindu".[85] To postpone making a hurried decision, the Maharaja signed astandstill agreement with Pakistan, which ensured continuity of trade, travel, communication, and similar services between the two. Such an agreement was pending with India.[86] Followinghuge riots in Jammu, in October 1947,Pashtuns from Pakistan'sNorth-West Frontier Province recruited by the Poonch rebels, invadedKashmir, along with the Poonch rebels, allegedly incensed by the atrocities against fellow Muslims in Poonch and Jammu. The tribesmen engaged in looting and killing along the way.[87][88] The ostensible aim of the guerilla campaign was to frighten Hari Singh into submission. Instead the Maharaja appealed to the Government of India for assistance, and theGovernor-GeneralLord Mountbatten[c] agreed on the condition that the ruler accede to India.[85] Once the Maharaja signed theInstrument of Accession, Indian soldiers entered Kashmir and drove the Pakistani-sponsored irregulars from all but a small section of the state. India accepted the accession, regarding it provisional[89] until such time as the will of the people can be ascertained. Kashmir leaderSheikh Abdullah endorsed the accession as ad hoc which would be ultimately decided by the people of the State. He was appointed the head of the emergency administration by the Maharaja.[90] The Pakistani government immediately contested the accession, suggesting that it was fraudulent, that the Maharaja acted under duress and that he had no right to sign an agreement with India when the standstill agreement with Pakistan was still in force.
In early 1948, India sought a resolution of theKashmir conflict at theUnited Nations. Following the set-up of theUnited Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP), the UN Security Council passedResolution 47 on 21 April 1948. The UN mission insisted that the opinion of people of J&K must be ascertained. The then Indian Prime Minister is reported to have himself urged U.N. to poll Kashmir and on the basis of results Kashmir's accession will be decided.[91] However, India insisted that no referendum could occur until all of the state had been cleared of irregulars.[85]
On 5 January 1949, UNCIP (United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan) resolution stated that the question of the accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India or Pakistan will be decided through a free and impartial plebiscite.[92] As per the 1948[93] and 1949 UNCIP Resolutions, both countries accepted the principle, that Pakistan secures the withdrawal of Pakistani intruders followed by withdrawal of Pakistani and Indian forces, as a basis for the formulation of a Truce agreement whose details are to be arrived in future, followed by a plebiscite; However, both countries failed to arrive at a Truce agreement due to differences in interpretation of the procedure for and extent of demilitarisation one of them being whether the Azad Kashmiri army of Pakistan is to be disbanded during the truce stage or the plebiscite stage.[94]
In the last days of 1948, a ceasefire was agreed under UN auspices; however, since theplebiscite demanded by the UN was never conducted, relations between India and Pakistan soured,[85] and eventually led to three more wars over Kashmir in1965, 1971 and1999. India has control of about half the area of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir; Pakistan controls a third of the region, governing it asGilgit–Baltistan andAzad Kashmir. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, "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 thinly 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 Indian-administered territory, with its former outlets via the Jhelum valley route blocked."[95]
The UN Security Council on 20 January 1948 passed Resolution 39 establishing a special commission to investigate the conflict. Subsequent to the commission's recommendation the Security Council, ordered in its Resolution 47, passed on 21 April 1948 that the invading Pakistani army retreat from Jammu & Kashmir and that the accession of Kashmir to either India or Pakistan be determined in accordance with a plebiscite to be supervised by the UN. In a string of subsequent resolutions the Security Council took notice of the continuing failure by India to hold the plebiscite. However, no punitive action against India could be taken by the Security Council because its resolution, requiring India to hold a Plebiscite, was non-binding. Moreover, the Pakistani army never left the part of the Kashmir, they managed to keep occupied at the end of the 1947 war. They were required by the Security Council resolution 47 to remove all armed personnels from the Azad Kashmir before holding the plebiscite.[96]
The eastern region of the erstwhile princely state of Kashmir has also been beset with a boundary dispute. In the late 19th- and early 20th centuries, although some boundary agreements were signed between Great Britain, Afghanistan and Russia over the northern borders of Kashmir, China never accepted these agreements, and the official Chinese position did not change with thecommunist revolution in 1949. By the mid-1950s the Chinese army had entered the north-east portion of Ladakh.:[95] "By 1956–57 they had completed a military road through theAksai Chin area to provide better communication betweenXinjiang and westernTibet. 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."[95] China has occupied Aksai Chin since 1962 and, in addition, an adjoining region, theTrans-Karakoram Tract was ceded by Pakistan to China in 1965.
In 1949, the Indian government obliged Hari Singh to leave Jammu and Kashmir and yield the government toSheikh Abdullah, the leader of a popular political party, theNational Conference Party.[86] Since then, a bitter enmity has been developed between India and Pakistan and three wars have taken place between them over Kashmir. The growing dispute over Kashmir and the consistent failure of democracy[97] also led to the rise of Kashmir nationalism and militancy in the state.
In 1986, theAnantnag riots broke out after the CM Gul Shah ordered the construction of a mosque at the site of a Hindu Temple in Jammu and Gul Shah made an incendiary speech.[98] Hindu-Muslim riots (a reaction to the opening ofBabri Masjid to Hindu worshippers) were a national event, taking place in seven other states as well.[99] Following the1987 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election that were widely perceived to have been rigged, disgruntled Kashmiri youth such as the so-called 'HAJY group' – Abdul Hamid Shaikh, Ashfaq Majid Wani, Javed Ahmed Mir and MohammedYasin Malik – joined theJammu and Kashmir Liberation Front(JKLF) as an alternative to the ineffective democratic setup that was prevalent in Kashmir. This led to gain in the momentum of the popular insurgency in the Kashmir Valley.[100][101] The year 1989 saw the intensification of conflict in Jammu and Kashmir asMujahadeens from Afghanistan slowly infiltrated the region following the end of theSoviet–Afghan War the same year.[102] Pakistan provided arms and training to both indigenous and foreign militants in Kashmir, thus adding fuel to the smouldering fire of discontent in the valley.[103][104][105]
In August 2019, the Government of India repealed the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir underArticle 370 of the Indian constitution in 2019, and the Parliament of India passed theJammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, which contained provisions to dissolve the state and reorganise it into twounion territories –Jammu and Kashmir in the west andLadakh in the east.[106] These changes came into effect from 31 October 2019.
In the 1901 Census of the British Indian Empire, the population of the princely state of Kashmir was 2,905,578. Of these 2,154,695 were Muslims, 689,073 Hindus, 25,828 Sikhs, and 35,047 Buddhists. The Hindus were found mainly in Jammu, where they constituted a little less than 50% of the population.[107] In the Kashmir Valley, the Hindus represented "only 524 in every 10,000 of the population (i.e. 5.24%), and in the frontierwazarats of Ladhakh and Gilgit only 94 out of every 10,000 persons (0.94%)."[107] 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% of the population.[107] These percentages have remained fairly stable for the last 100 years.[108] In the 1941 Census of British India, Muslims accounted for 93.6% of the population of the Kashmir Valley and the Hindus constituted 4%.[108] In 2003, the percentage of Muslims in the Kashmir Valley was 95%[109] and those of Hindus 4%; the same year, in Jammu, the percentage of Hindus was 67% and those of Muslims 27%.[109]
Among the Muslims of theKashmir province within the princely state, four divisions were recorded: "Shaikhs, Saiyids, Mughals, and Pathans. The Shaikhs, who are by far the most numerous, are the descendants of Hindus, but have retained none of the caste rules of their forefathers. They have clan names known askrams ..."[110] It was recorded that thesekram names included "Tantre", "Shaikh", "Bat", "Mantu", "Ganai", "Dar", "Damar", "Lon", etc. TheSaiyids, it was recorded, "could be divided into those who follow the profession of religion and those who have taken to agriculture and other pursuits. Theirkram name is 'Mir.' While a Saiyid retains his saintly profession Mir is a prefix; if he has taken to agriculture, Mir is an affix to his name."[110] TheMughals who were not numerous were recorded to havekram names like "Mir" (a corruption of "Mirza"), "Beg", "Bandi", "Bach" and "Ashaye". Finally, it was recorded that the Pathans "who are more numerous than the Mughals, ... are found chiefly in the south-west of the valley, wherePathan colonies have from time to time been founded. The most interesting of these colonies is that of Kuki-Khel Afridis at Dranghaihama, who retain all the old customs and speakPashtu."[110] Among the main tribes of Muslims in the princely state are the Butts, Dar, Lone, Jat, Gujjar, Rajput, Sudhan and Khatri. A small number of Butts, Dar and Lone use the title Khawaja and the Khatri use the title Shaikh the Gujjar use the title of Chaudhary. All these tribes are indigenous of the princely state which converted to Islam from Hinduism during its arrival in region.
Among the Hindus ofJammu 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 "Brahmins (186,000), theRajputs (167,000), theKhatris (48,000) and theThakkars (93,000)."[107]
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Holdich, Thomas Hungerford (1911). "Kashmir". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 688.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link){{citation}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Primary sources
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