Forgotten World (143): Kashmir
Kashmir is the north-western region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term “Kashmir” referred only to the valley lying between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range. Since then, however, it has been used for a larger area that today includes the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir consisting of the Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh (population 7 million); the Pakistani-administered provinces of the Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir (population 3.5 million); and the Chinese-administered region of Aksai Chin. Two-thirds of the population of Jammu (2M out of 3M) is Hindu, while the other parts of Kashmir are largely Muslim.
Though these regions are in practice administered by their respective claimants, neither India nor Pakistan has formally recognised the accession of the areas claimed by each other. India claims those areas, including the area “ceded” to China by Pakistan in the Trans-Karakoram Tract in 1963, are a part of its territory, while Pakistan claims the entire region, excluding Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract. Indian and Pakistan have fought several declared wars over the territory, notably in 1947 and 1965. There have been renewed clashes and deaths as recently as this summer.