History of Jammu & Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the unique state of India. If you are searching to know about the history of it, then you are at the right place. Jammu and Kashmir is the only state in India with majority of population as Muslims. In 1947, British people separated the single country into two as India and Pakistan.
There were many territories ruled by many kings. During this partition, the kings raised their question on to which country their territory belonged. Without any seriousness British simply said that it was based on their preferences. So, people selected their places as per their wish either to India or Pakistan.
When this issue came to Jammu and Kashmir, it was a bit difficult. It was ruled by the King Hari Singh who is Hindu but the people of the country were mostly Muslims. So, Pakistan wanted Jammu and Kashmir to patch up with them, while India too wanted the same. But Jammu and Kashmir stayed alone.
This is when the cold war started between Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan army made their tribal people to attack Jammu and Kashmir. Slowly Pakistan started to disturb Jammu and Kashmir in all the ways they can do like theft, harassment. At a point Jammu and Kashmir could not tolerate all these treatments. There was no king now to rule them or protect them. The state was left alone which paved a comfortable way for Pakistan to attack Jammu and Kashmir.
When Jammu and Kashmir decided that they could not stand alone in this war, they decided that they needed help. That is when Jammu and Kashmir as requested India for their protection. But how can India blindly help them? So India had a constrain that if Jammu and Kashmir agrees to join with India, then they can be helped.
Privileged state of Jammu & Kashmir
Unlike other states, Jammu and Kashmir have their own privilege to rules passed by central government of India. Like if any new rule is passed by central government of India, it must be first accepted by the state legislative assembly of Jammu and Kashmir.
Only if the rule is accepted by state legislative assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, the rule or act can be followed by the state. Like this Article 370 is created for the welfare of the state, while Article 35A is for the people of the state.
Article 35A explains many rules like, people from other state of India can’t buy properties in Jammu and Kashmir, people from other state of India can’t get government jobs in Jammu and Kashmir while people from Jammu and Kashmir can get job or buy properties from other states of India. Like this article 35A explains the rights of the people of the state while 370 explains the rights of the state. But now, both these articles are not active.
Parted State of Jammu & Kashmir
But now, the central government of India decided to divide Jammu and Kashmir into two and this is where the state rights of Jammu and Kashmir has been broken. Now we can see Jammu and Kashmir into three as:
- Jammu – The place which high number of Hindus population
- Kashmir – The place with high number of Muslims population
- Ladakh - The place with very less number of population where we can see some Buddhist
As per the people’s request, Ladakh has been divided as Union Territory, which doesn’t have the law council.
State And central Government of Jammu & Kashmir
For Jammu and Kashmir, it can be easily understood by taking Pondicherry as an example. In these states, the hands of state government will be raised with the help of Deputy Governor where people can select their own representatives. But for Ladakh, there will be their own Deputy Governor, but they can’t select their own representatives. For Ladakh, Diu and Daman can be taken as an example.
As the status of a state has been broken, now the hands of Deputy Governor, Jammu and Kashmir will be raised while for Ladakh, the hands of Federal Government representative will be raised. So as per these changes the central government of India will have more rights over Jammu and Kashmir now.
So after this change, India has 28 states and 9 union territories. Due to this separation of Jammu and Kashmir to two individual territories, they lost their own set of privileges. So this is the current status of Jammu and Kashmir with almost all the changes that have happened right from 1947 till 2019.
About The Land and Nature of Jammu & Kashmir
Every one of us will be interested either to travel or to know about Jammu and Kashmir. Unlike other states of India Jammu and Kashmir had two different capitals, like Srinagar is its capital during summer and Jammu in the winter. Its official language is Urdu but there are also many mainly spoken languages like Kashmiri, Dogri, Gujri, Punjabi, Balti, Dadri, Pahari and Ladaki.
If we discuss about the state symbols of Jammu and Kashmir, here we go with the interesting note that as like India had Lotus as its national flower, Jammu and Kashmir also has Lotus as the state flower. Another unique feature of Jammu and Kashmir is that it had its own state flag, while other states of India don’t have this privilege.
Geography of Jammu and Kashmir
While discussing about the geography of Jammu and Kashmir, first we must accept the non-deniable fact that it has best climate as like Switzerland. It can also be called as India’s Switzerland. The mountain views, snow, weather condition and so everything will make us to feel so.
Leh
When we come to the land area, here comes Leh which is one of the Districts in Jammu and Kashmir that had a very big area. Big, yes seriously it is so big with 45110 Sq km. Most of the lands are used for agricultural purpose. You can get most of the rich foods like Cashew, Apple, Saffron flower and so, from this beautiful heaven only because of the wealthy soil and suitable climate. Like this there are many things to add up the uniqueness of this place.
Mount K2
Mount K2 also known as Godwin Austen stands up to the proud of Jammu and Kashmir. Mount K2 is the world’s second highest peak after Mount Everest with the height of 8611 m while Mount Everest has the height of 8648 m.
Mughal garden
The Mughal garden ‘Chasme Shahi’ located in Kashmir is nick named as ‘The Mughal Architect’ as it was gifted by Shah Jahan in 1632. This place is known for its medicinal properties during the spring season.
Gulmarg
Tourist spot, Gulmarg adds up a lot to the beauty of Jammu and Kashmir. Gulmarg, the name itself describes how beautiful the space is. If you wonder what is there in this name, then it has a meaning as "the meadow of flowers". As like the name describes, it’s an awesome place to visit. There are many tourist spots like Maharani Temple which was built by the Hindu ruler Mahraja Hair Singh for his wife Maharani Mohini Bai Sisodia.
Gulmarg also has this ‘Victorian architectural wonder’, the ST Mary’s Church which was built in 1942 by the British to their own style with grey bricks, green roofs and wooden interior walls that lifts up the beauty of the church.
Dal Lake
Dal Lake adds crown to the beauty of the Srinagar City. During winter you can see the gorgeous, frozen Dal Lake.
Economical Facts Of Jammu & Kashmir
Beauty and wealth of Jammu and Kashmir add a lot to the economy of the state/union territory. In simple agriculture and tourism plays a vital role in improving the economy. Jammu and Kashmir is popular for their agricultural products like Saffron, Apple, Cherries, Almonds and Walnuts.
Industries like Handicraft, wood carving, shawl making are more popular. As said Jammu and Kashmir is a wealthy space, you must visit there to know what are the nature’s gifts hidden and explore the same within you. Mica, fire clay, Limestone, Kaolin, Bauxite are the rich resources of Jammu and Kashmir.
Some Facts About Jammu & Kashmir
- Jammu and Kashmir has 8 glaciers
- Kashmir is built with Muslims
- Jammu is built with Hindus
- Ladakh has its population with Buddhists
- This place with cool climate also raises up to 4o degree centigrade during the summer
- When compare to other places of India, Jammu and Kashmir has the less number of slums which is a big thumbs up
- Jammu and Kashmir also involves in the production of cricket bats.
Cool! What a place? Want to know more about this place? Just take a trip to this place and enjoy.
