Location
Jammu & Kashmir is bounded by Ladakh from the east, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab from the south, Pakistan by the southwest, and AJ&K by the northwest. Its total area is 101,387 square kilometres (sq.km.)
Old Name
The Ancient Greeks called this region as Kasperia, of Miletus, and Kaspatyros, of Herodotus. Kashmir is also believed to be the country meant by Ptolemy’s Kasperia.
Buddhism
About 300 BC, Buddhism arrived in Kashmir. Before that, Hinduism is said to be of some form that had been the predominant religion here.
Last Hindu Ruler
The last Hindu ruler of Kashmir was Udyan Dev. His queen Kota Rani was the de facto ruler. Her rule came to an end in 1339.
Islam in Kashmir
In 1339, the Kashmir throne was captured by Sultan Shahmir who founded Shahmiri dynasty in the valley. It is said that 10,000 Kashmiri Hindus got converted to Islam, hence the seeds of new faith were sown. Muslim rule was established under Sultan Shamsuddin whose dynasty ruled the Valley for 222 years. Kashmir also remained under the Afghan rule for 66 years.
Akbar of Kashmir
Zain-ul-Abidin is called the “Akbar of Kashmir”. He ruled there for about 50 years, and followed a liberal religious policy. He promoted literature, art and architecture.
Ranjit Singh
Punjab’s powerful Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh attacked Kashmir three times – in 1813, 1814 and 1819 respectively, and finally captured. The first Sikh Governor of Kashmir was General Hari Singh Nalwa.
Contemporary Kashmir
The Kashmir region in its contemporary form dates back from 1846, when, under the treaties of Lahore and Amritsar at the conclusion of First Sikh War, Raja Ghulab Singh, the Dogra ruler of Jammu, was made maharaja. After Mughals, this region was ruled by Afghans (1753-1819), Sikhs (1819-1846) and Dogras (1846-1947).
Srinagar & Jammu
Srinagar is a word composed of ‘Sri’ which means ‘the Sun’ and ‘nagar’ means ‘the city’. Srinagar (in summers) and Jammu (in winters) are the capital cities of IIOJK state. Srinagar consists of 222,236 sq.km, with 67.16% literacy rate. Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Hindi and English are the spoken languages here. Srinagar is situated at the height of 1585 meters.
What is the Dispute?
The dispute between Pakistan and India started at the Partition. Both Pakistan and India claim the entirety of the state. Here is the chronology of important events:
Princely State
Under the terms of Treaty of Amritsar that followed in March 1846, the British government sold Kashmir for a sum of Rs 7.5 million to Ghulab Singh. His son Hari Singh (23 September 1925-17 November 1952) ruled under the tutelage of British Crown.
1947
On 14 August 1947, Kashmir signed the Standstill Agreement with Pakistan. On 30 September, Nehru proposed using plebiscite as a means of settling disputes regarding princely states. From 14 October, RSS and Akalis mounted attacks on Jammu villages, killing Muslims and setting their houses on fire. On 21-22 October, RSS disarmed Muslim members of state police in Jammu city, ordered them to leave and go to Pakistan. On 24 October, a provisional government of Azad Kashmir was established under Sardar Ibrahim’s leadership. On 27 October, Indian army entered the state. On 3 November, India sent two more battalions from Pathankot to Srinagar. 5 November: Indian forces attacked Muslim refugees going to west Punjab, and killed them all. 24 December: India reinforced Kashmir by an additional brigade. 31 December: India referred Kashmir to UNSC.
1948
1 January: UN Security Council recognized Kashmir as disputed. 17 January: UNSC passed Resolution 38 which called upon India and Pakistan to refrain from aggravating the situation, and requested that they inform the Council of any "material changes" in the situation. 20 January: UNSC passed Resolution 39 which announced a 3-member commission to investigate the Kashmir dispute. 21 March: UNSC passed Resolution 47 which clearly called India for holding plebiscite, giving Kashmiris the right to self-determination.
1951
In June, 1951 India moved troops to Pakistan border. A military stand-off ensued. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan displayed a clenched fist. On 30 March, UNSC passed Resolution 91 to the effect that the September-October rigged elections in which Sheikh Abdullah's National Conference won all 75 seats, do not substitute a plebiscite.
1953
16 August: Bilateral talks were held between Pakistan and India in Delhi. The two agreed to appoint a Plebiscite Administrator within six months. A plebiscite was to be held in all regions and the state partitioned on the basis of the results.
1957
24 January 1957: UNSC passed Resolution 122 which stated that the state constitution was not a final legal disposition of the State.
1963-1969
27 December 1963-4 January 1964: Protests started across IIOJK when the holy relic was found missing from Hazratbal shrine. August 1965-23 September 1965: A full war broke out until a ceasefire was made.
1990
20 January: Over 100 people were killed when a large group of unarmed protesters was fired upon by Indian troops at the Gawkadal bridge. 1 March: An estimated one million took to the streets and more than 40 people were killed in police firing.
2008
22 August: Hundreds of thousands of Muslims marched on Srinagar for freedom. This was the largest protest against the Indian rule in over a decade.
2016
8 July: Following the killing of Burhan Muzaffar Wani on 8 July 2016, violent protests broke out in IIOJK. Indian forces imposed curfew that continued for more than 50 days. Over 90 people were killed by brute Indian forces.
2019
India imposed curfew and blackout after revocation of the special status of IIOJK by scrapping Article 370 and Article 35A of the Indian Constitution. Hundreds have been killed and thousands arrested, so far, amidst frequent curfews and lockdowns.
2021
The passing away of Syed Ali Shah Geelani on September 1, 2021 further infused in the Kashmiri youth a spirit and resolve to continue his legacy and mission until the achievement of freedom.
2023
Indian Supreme Court on 11 December upheld Modi government’s 2019 decision of revoking the special status of IIJOK, which gave Jammu & Kashmir a degree of autonomy status. Pakistan rejected Indian SC’s decision, calling it violation of UNSC Resolutions as well as the UN Charter.
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