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Kashmiri diaspora |
Kashmiris in Azad Kashmir are the ethnic Kashmiri people who reside in Azad Kashmir, a territory which constitutes part of Pakistani-administered Kashmir since the end of the First Kashmir War. Their demographic includes up to 40,000 registered Kashmiri refugees who have fled the Kashmir Valley, located in Indian-administered Kashmir, to Pakistan since the late 1980s due to conflict in the region. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] As of 2010, only around 60 percent of Kashmiri refugees had acquired Pakistani citizenship. [10]
Christopher Snedden writes that most of the native residents of Azad Kashmir are not of Kashmiri ethnicity; rather, they could be called "Jammuites" due to their historical and cultural links with that region, which is coterminous with neighbouring Punjab and Hazara. [11] Because the region was formerly a part of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and is named after it, many Azad Kashmiris have adopted the "Kashmiri" identity, whereas in an ethnolinguistic context, the term "Kashmiri" would ordinarily refer to natives of the Kashmir Valley region. [11]
The Neelam and Leepa Valleys in northern Azad Kashmir are home to a significant Kashmiri Muslim population, as these areas border the Kashmir Valley. [11] Many Kashmiris who support their state's accession to Pakistan or had ties to pro Pakistani separatist parties left their homes out of fear of persecution, settling on the Pakistani side of the border. Some of them came from places as distant as Srinagar, and intermarried with locals in Azad Kashmir. [12]
Kashmiri is spoken by roughly five percent of Azad Kashmir's population. [13] According to the 1998 Pakistan Census, there were 132,450 Kashmiri speakers in Azad Kashmir. [14] Native speakers of the language were dispersed in "pockets" throughout Azad Kashmir, [15] [16] particularly in the districts of Muzaffarabad (15%), Neelam (20%) and Hattian (15%), with very small minorities in Haveli (5%) and Bagh (2%). [14] The Kashmiri language spoken in Muzaffarabad is distinct from, although still intelligible with, the Kashmiri of the Neelam Valley to the north. [16] In Neelam Valley, Kashmiri is the second most widely spoken language and the majority language in at least a dozen or so villages, where in about half of these, it is the sole mother tongue. [16] The Kashmiri dialect of Neelum is closer to the variety spoken in northern Kashmir Valley, particularly Kupwara. [16]
A process of language shift is observable among Kashmiri-speakers in Azad Kashmir according to linguist Tariq Rahman, as they gradually adopt local dialects such as Pahari-Pothwari, Hindko or move towards the lingua franca Urdu. [15] [16] This has resulted in these languages gaining ground at the expense of Kashmiri. [17] [18] There have been calls for the promotion of Kashmiri at an official level; in 1983, a Kashmiri Language Committee was set up by the government to patronise Kashmiri and impart it in school-level education. However, the limited attempts at introducing the language have not been successful, and it is Urdu, rather than Kashmiri, that Kashmiri Muslims have seen as their identity symbol. [19] Rahman notes that efforts to organise a Kashmiri language movement have been challenged by the scattered nature of the Kashmiri-speaking community in Azad Kashmir. [19]
This section's factual accuracy is disputed .(October 2020) |
There are also Kashmiri populations spread out across the districts of Muzaffarabad [20] The first wave of Kashmiri refugees arrived in 1947–48 against the backdrop of the partition of British India. More refugees poured in during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, followed by a third wave in the 1990s as a result of the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir. [20] These refugees included people from the Kupwara and Baramulla districts of Kashmir. [12] Farooq Haider Khan, Azad Kashmir's prime minister, claimed that as many as 2.2 million people from Jammu and Kashmir sought refuge in Azad Kashmir between 1947 and 1989. [21]
Once refugees become registered, they are eligible to buy land, own businesses and vote in Azad Kashmir elections. [22]
In the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, there are twelve seats reserved for the Jammu and Kashmiri immigrant community across Pakistan. [23] Six of these seats are reserved for immigrants from the Kashmir Valley, and the other six for Jammu Province. [12]
The refugees from Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir have been historically overrepresented in the Azad Kashmir legislatures, despite their residence outside Azad Kashmir. In 1961, there were 10,000 refugees of Kashmiri origin in Pakistan, who had voting rights in elections of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. They were given an equal amount of representation in the election as the 109,000 Jammu refugees. [24] [25]
In 1990, there were 400,000 refugee voters, compared to 1.2 million Azad Kashmir residents. The refugees continued to receive higher representation in the legislatures compared to the residents, Kashmiris being favoured more. This was justified on the grounds of showing "solidary with the Kashmiris in the Indian-administered Kashmir". Snedden remarks that the higher representation given to refugees endows opportunities to the central government of Pakistan to influence the election results. [25] Previously, the government of Azad Kashmir had allocated a quota system of 25 percent in government jobs for Kashmiri settlers; however, following the refugee influx of the 1990s, that quota reportedly dropped to six percent. [6]
In Jammu and Kashmiri politics, the phrase Muzaffarabad chalo ("Let's go to Muzaffarabad") has been used as a call for public protest in response to restrictive state policies, where marchers attempt to symbolically "break the LoC" and cross to the Pakistani side of Kashmir. [26] [27] [28]
The Sharada Peeth temple located in Neelam Valley is one of the three holiest sites for Kashmiri Pandits. [29] [30] It lends its name to the Sharada script, which was extensively used in the region to record medieval Kashmiri literature. [31] As of 2019, the Pakistani government had approved a plan to establish a cross-border corridor allowing Hindu pilgrims access to the site. [32] Altaf Mir is a Kashmiri settler and singer from Muzaffarabad whose rendition of the classical Kashmiri poem, Ha Gulo, on Coke Studio Explorer remains widely popular and was the first Kashmiri song featured on the show. [33] [34] The city of Muzaffarabad is known for its Kashmiri shawls, which are an iconic product of Kashmir. [35]
Azad Jammu and Kashmir abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity and constituting the western portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947. Azad Kashmir also shares borders with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the south and west, respectively. On its eastern side, Azad Kashmir is separated from the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir by the Line of Control (LoC), which serves as the de facto border between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir. Geographically, it covers a total area of 13,297 km2 (5,134 sq mi) and has a total population of 4,045,366 as per the 2017 national census.
Kashmiri or Koshur is a Dardic Indo-Aryan language spoken by around 7 million Kashmiris of the Kashmir region, primarily in the Kashmir Valley of the Indian-administrated union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, over half the population of that territory. Kashmiri has split ergativity and the unusual verb-second word order.
The Srinagar District is an administrative district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Situated in the centre of the Kashmir Valley, it is the second-most populous district of the union territory after Jammu District as per the 2011 national census, and is home to the summer capital city of Srinagar. Likewise, the city of Srinagar also serves as the Srinagar District's headquarters.
Muzaffarabad is a city in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is the largest city and the capital of Azad Kashmir, which is a Pakistani-administered administrative territory.
Anantnag district is an administrative district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of ten districts which make up the Kashmir Valley. The district headquarters is Anantnag city. As of 2011, it was the third most populous district of Jammu and Kashmir, after Jammu and Srinagar.
Bagh District is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the ten districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Previously part of Poonch District, Bagh was established as a separate district in 1988.
The Muzaffarabad District is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the 10 districts of this dependent territory. The district is located on the banks of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers and is very hilly. The total area of the Muzaffarabad District is 1,642 square kilometres (634 sq mi). The district is part of the Muzaffarabad Division, and the city of Muzaffarabad serves as the capital of Azad Kashmir. The district is bounded on the north-east by the Neelum District and the Kupwara District of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir region, on the south-east by the Hattian Bala District, on the south by the Bagh District, and on the west by the Mansehra and Abbottabad districts of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
Poonch District is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the 10 districts of this Pakistan-administered territory. It is bounded on the north by Bagh District, on the north-east by Haveli District, on the south-east by the Poonch District of Indian-administered Kashmir, on the south by Azad Kashmir's Sudhanoti and Kotli districts, and on the west by Rawalpindi District of Pakistan's Punjab Province. The Poonch District is part of the greater Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. The district headquarters is the city of Rawalakot. It is the third most populous district of Azad Kashmir.
Mirpur District is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the 10 districts of Pakistan's territory of Azad Kashmir. The Mirpur District is bounded on the north by the Kotli District, on the east by the Bhimber District, on the south by the Gujrat District of Punjab, Pakistan, on the south-west by the Jhelum District of Punjab, Pakistan, and on the west by its Rawalpindi District. The district is named after its main city, Mirpur. The Mirpur District has a population of 456,200 and covers an area of 1,010 km2 (390 sq mi). The district is mainly mountainous with some plains. The Mirpur District has a humid subtropical climate which closely resembles that of the Gujrat District and the Jhelum District, the adjoining districts of Pakistan's Punjab Province.
Jammudistrict is an administrative district of the Jammu division of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is the most populous district in the Jammu division.
Kashmiris are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language and originating from the Kashmir Valley, which is today located in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
The Neelum River, or Kishanganga River, is a river in the Kashmir region of Pakistan and India. It originates in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir in India, flows through the Neelam Valley in Pakistan's Azad Kashmir, where parts of its course fall along the Line of Control, before merging with the Jhelum River near the city of Muzaffarabad.
Kupwara district is an administrative district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the 10 districts located in the Kashmir Valley Division of Indian administered Kashmir. The Pohru River and Mawar river are two main rivers in the district. Both of them meet Jhelum river in Baramulla district.
Sharada Peeth is a ruined Hindu temple and ancient centre of learning located in the Neelum Valley of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. Between the 6th and 12th centuries CE, it was among the most prominent temple universities in the Indian subcontinent. Known in particular for its library, stories recount scholars travelling long distances to access its texts. It played a key role in the development and popularisation of the Sharada script in North India, causing the script to be named after it, and Kashmir to acquire the moniker "Sharada Desh", meaning "country of Sharada".
Neelum is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is the northernmost of 10 districts located within the Pakistani-administered territory of Azad Kashmir. Taking up the larger part of the Neelum Valley, the district had a population of around 191,000 people. It was among the worst-hit areas of Pakistan during the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.
Athmuqam or Athmakam is a tehsil of Neelum District in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is situated about 73 kilometres (45 mi) from Muzaffarabad. Athmuqam is the headquarters of Neelum District. Its population was 7,922 in 2017.
Hattian Bala District is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. The town of Hattian Bala is where the district headquarters are located. The Hattian Bala District was a part of the Muzaffarabad District until 2009 when it was made a separate district.
The Kashmiri diaspora refers to Kashmiris who have migrated out of the Kashmir into other areas and countries, and their descendants.
The history of Azad Kashmir, a disputed part of the Kashmir region currently administered by Pakistan, is related to the history of the Kashmir region during the Dogra rule. Azad Kashmir borders the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the south and west respectively, Gilgit–Baltistan to the north, and the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the east. The region is claimed by India and has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947.
The Kashmir division is a revenue and administrative division of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It comprises the Kashmir Valley, bordering the Jammu Division to the south and Ladakh to the east. The Line of Control forms its boundary with the Pakistani-administered territories of Gilgit−Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to the north and west and west, respectively.
Many of these refugees spoke the Kashmiri language, had close ties with pro-Pakistan political parties, and were advocates of Kashmir's accession to Pakistan. Identified as pro-Pakistan activists, they left their homes to escape persecution.
Additionally, Kashmiri speakers are better able to understand the variety of Srinagar than the one spoken in Muzaffarabad.
He said Kundal Shahi and Kashmiri languages, which were spoken in the Neelum Valley, were on the verge of dying.
Dr Khawaja Abdul Rehman, who spoke on Pahari and Kashmiri, said pluralistic and tolerance-promoting Kashmiri literature was fast dying, as its older generation had failed to transfer the language to its youth. He said that after a few decades, not a single Kashmiri-speaking person will be found in Muzaffarabad...