Jammu and Kashmir

About Jammu & Kashmir

Jammu & Kashmir is one of the most beautiful Indian State which is often referred as “Heaven on Earth”. This place is situated in Northern India and is one of India’s most favorite tourist destinations. Jammu and Kashmir is divided into three divisions -Jammu, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh. It has two capitals – Jammu is the winter capital and Srinagar is the summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir. This mountainous state has vast stretches of valleys and beautiful mountain lakes. This is the only Muslim majority state of India has special autonomy under Article 370 of the Constitution of India. Jammu & Kashmir was formed in 26 October 1947 and it consists of 22 districts. The peoples of Jammu & Kashmir are called Kashmiris and they speak Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Dogri, Kashmiri, Balti, Ladakhi, Purig, Gurji, Dadri languages.

Established 26 October 1947
Capital Srinagar (Summer), Jammu (Winter)
Largest City Srinagar
Area 222,236 km2
Density 100/km2
Total Population (2011) 12,541,302
Districts 22
High Court Jammu and Kashmir High Court
Rivers Jhelum River, Indus River, Chenab River, Ravi River, Tawi River, Suru River, Zanskar River, Neelum River, Dras River, tsarap, Doda River and Lidder River etc.
National Parks Dachigam National Park, Hemis National Park, Kishtwar National Park, Salim Ali National Park, Kazinag National Park
Languages Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Dogri, Kashmiri, Balti, Ladakhi, Purig, Gurji, Dadri
State Animal Kashmir stag
State Bird Black-necked crane
State Tree Chinar tree
State Flower Lotus
Literacy Rate (2011) 68.74
Females per 1000 males 883
Lok Sabha constituencies 6
Assembly constituency 89 (87 elected; 2 nominated)
Official Website jk.gov.in
Time zone IST (UTC+05:30)

History

Many historians and locals believe that Jammu was founded by Raja Jamboolochan in 14th century BCE. During one of his hunting campaigns near the Tawi River he saw a goat and a lion drinking water at the same place. The king was overwhelmed and decided to set up a town after his name, Jamboo. With the passing of time the name was distorted and became “Jammu”. According to folktales the name “Kashmir” denotes “desiccated land” (from the Sanskrit: Ka = water and shimeera = desiccate). According to Hindu mythology, the sage Kashyapa exhausted a lake to produce the land which is now known as Kashmir. The full history of Kashmir can be obtained from Kalhana’s Rajatarangini which was composed around 12th century. This state was inhabited since the pre-historic times and it was independent but sometimes it was conquered by the invaders from Bactria, Tartary, Tibet and other mountainous regions to the North, and from the Indus valley and the Ganges valley to the South. The history of Kashmir saw many kings: Gonanda I (first king of Kashmir and a relative of Jarasandha from Magadha, Mauryans, Kushanas, Gonandiyas, Hunas, Karkotas, Kutumbi, Divira, Damars, Sikhs, Mughals, etc. In modern times, Maharaja Hari Singh became the King of Kashmir in 1925 and ruled till 1947 till Kashmir came under the authority of the Government of India.

Geography

Jammu and Kashmir is surrounded by beautiful valleys of Kashmir, Tawi, Chenab, Poonch, Sind, Lidder. The Himalayas separate the Kashmir valley from Ladakh even as the Pir Panjal ranges which surrounds the valley from the west and the south separates it from the Great Plains of northern India. Along the northeastern side of the Valley runs the main range of the Himalayas. The bio-geography of Jammu and Kashmir is diverse due to its various types of elevations. It is filled with North-western thorn scrub forests, Himalayan sub-tropical pine forests, Western Himalayan broadleaf forests, Western Himalayan sub alpine conifer forests, North- western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows and Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe. Higher elevations hardly have any vegetation and are filled with rocks and ice. The Jhelum River is the only main Himalayan River which flows through the Kashmir valley. The Indus, Tawi, Ravi and Chenab are the major rivers flowing through the state. Jammu and Kashmir is also home to several Himalayan glaciers and Siachen Glacier (76 Km) is the longest Himalayan glacier.

Demographics

According to the Census of India 2011, the population of Jammu and Kashmir is 1, 25, 41,302 with maximum Muslim population. It is the only Indian State with highest Muslim population and Muslim-Hindu proportion is 70:30. The overall sex-ratio is 883 females per 1000 males. The literacy rate of Jammu is 68.79 % and Kashmir is 63.29 %.

Economy

The current GDP of 2016-2017 is estimated at Rs. 1.32 lakh crore. This has been contributed by various sectors: agriculture- 64 %, Industry – 11 % and services- 25 %. Jammu and Kashmir is predominantly dependent on agriculture and allied activities. Kashmir valley is known for its sericulture, cold-water fisheries, woods from Kashmir are used for making high quality cricket bats popularly known as “Kashmir Willows”. Kashmiri saffron also brings the state a great deal of foreign exchange. Jammu and Kashmir also exports agricultural produces like apples, barley, cherries, corn, millet, oranges, rice, peaches, pears, saffron, sorghum, vegetables, and wheat, while manufactured exports include handicrafts, rugs, and shawls. Minerals also boost the economy of this State with highest deposits of Sapphire at Doda. Jammu has the industries belonging to manufacturing and service sectors. Many industrial parks are set up the Indian Government here. The Jammu & Kashmir Bank which hails from this State is listed among the 500 fortune companies. It reported a net profit of ₹598 million (US$9.4 million) in 2008.

Tourism

Before insurgency (terrorism) occurred in 1989 tourism was an integral part of Kashmir economy. But now it is worst hit. However, the holy shrines of Jammu and the Buddhist monasteries of Ladakh retained to remain popular pilgrimage and tourism destinations. Every year, thousands of Hindu pilgrims visit holy shrines of Vaishno Devi and Amarnath. Foreign tourists are fewer in Jammu and Kashmir since governments of foreign countries like Britain and Canada advises against visiting this Indian State. However millions of domestic tourists visit Jammu and Kashmir annually. Some of the best tourist spots of this State are: Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Leh, Patnitop, Ladakh, Jammu, Srinagar,etc. Jammu is known as the city of temples, some of the famous temples situated here Vaishno Devi, Raghunath Temple, Bave Wali Mata, Ranbireshwar Temple and Panchbakhtar Temple. The summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir- Srinagar is famous for its Dal Lake and Mughal Gardens.

Sports

Jammu and Kashmir is famous for its adventure sports like golf, Skiing, trekking, mountain biking, fishing, river rafting, aero-sports, etc. Some of the famous sports personalities who hails from Jammu and Kashmir are: Ishfaq ahmed (Indian Football team), Mithun Manhas (IPL player), Suresh Raina (Indian Cricket Team),etc.

Transportation

Jammu and Kashmir can be accessed from air, rail and road. The Srinagar airport connects the state to other important Indian cities. Some airlines that operate here include Air India, IndiGo, Jet Airways and GoAir. The Jammu Tawi Station is the most important railway station in the state. The state has a good road connectivity which connects it to other Indian cities such as Delhi, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Ambala, Amritsar and many others. The Srinagar Jammu National Highway (NH-44) connects Srinagar and Jammu.

Culture

Jammu and Kashmir has a rich cultural heritage. The locales spoke Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Dogri, Kashmiri, Balti, Ladakhi, Purig, Gurji, Dadri. The peoples of Jammu and Kashmir with great pomp and show celebrate festivals like Tihar, Navroz, Eid, Urs, Shab-e-Miraj, etc. The folk culture of this region is filled with colorful folk dances like Kudd, Dogri/Pahari music, Hafixa, Bacha/Nagma, etc. Apart from its rich culture, it is famous for its art & craft and it has some of the best handicrafts in the country. Carpets, shawls, paper mache and walnut wood craft to name a few. Kashmiri shawls and Pashmina shawls are world famous here.

Education

Some reputed institutions in the state are the Indian Institute of Technology (Jammu), Indian Institute of Management (Jammu), National Institute of Technology (Srinagar), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Jammu), Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (Srinagar), Government College of Engineering and Technology (Jammu), Government Medical College (Srinagar), Central University of Jammu (Samba) and many other reputed educational institutes and colleges.

Hospitals and Health Care

Jammu and Kashmir has great health care facilities with some of the best hospitals in operations like Maharishi Dayanand Hospital & Medical Research Centre (Jammu), Medicare Nursing Home (Jammu), Dr, Manzoor Eye Care Centre (Srinagar), Modern Hospital (Srinagar), Mubarak Hospital (Srinagar), New City Hospital (Srinagar) and many more reputed hospitals around this State.