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Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmīr,
territory in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. Commonly known as
Kashmīr, the territory covers an area of 222,236 sq km (85,805 sq mi).
Both India and Pakistan claim all of Kashmīr, but the territory has been
partitioned since 1947. India controls most of the region, which it has
organized as the state of Jammu and Kashmīr, and Pakistan administers the
northwestern portion. China occupies land in the northeast. The population of
Indian-controlled Kashmīr is 7,718,700 (1991 estimate). The population of
Pakistani-controlled Kashmīr is 2,800,000 (1985 estimate). The capital of
the Indian portion is Srīnagar; the administrative center of the Pakistani
portion is Muzaffarābād.
Kashmīr is almost entirely mountainous, including the great mountains of
the Karakorum Range in the north. The Indus River flows through the region. Most
of the population is engaged in agriculture; the principal crops are rice, corn,
wheat, and oilseeds. Silk weaving and carpet weaving are major industries. The
majority of the population is Muslim, and there are Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist
minorities.
Kashmīr was originally a stronghold of Hinduism. Beginning in the mid-14th
century AD, Muslim sultans controlled the area for two centuries. Mughal emperor
Akbar conquered Kashmīr between 1586 and 1592. It later was controlled by
Afghans, Sikhs, and the British. Following the 1947 partition of India into
Pakistan and the Republic of India. Predominantly Muslim population of
Kashmīr demanded accession to Pakistan. India invaded the area, and
Pakistan dispatched troops to Kashmīr. A cease-fire agreement between the
two nations was concluded in 1949. Fighting broke out in 1965 and 1971. The
separatist movement reemerged in 1989, and violence has broken out several
times. In 1996 the Indian government insisted that elections be held in Jammu
and Kashmīr state for the first time since 1989. Separatist groups
boycotted the elections, which were marred by violence.
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