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KASHMIR, or CASHMERE
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See also:KASHMIR, or CASHMERE , a native See also:state of See also:India, including much of the Himalayan See also:mountain See also:system to the See also:north of the See also:Punjab. It has been fabled in See also:song for its beauty (e.g. in See also:Moore's Lalla Rookh), and is the See also:chief See also:health resort for Europeans in India, while politically it is important as guarding one of the approaches to India on the north-See also:west frontier. The proper name of the state is See also:Jammu and Kashmir, and it comprises in all an estimated See also:area of 80,900 sq. m., with a See also:population (1901) of 2,905,578, showing an increase of 14.21% in the See also:decade. It is bounded on the north by some See also:petty hills chiefships and by the Karakoram mountains; on the See also:east by See also:Tibet; and on the See also:south and west by the Punjab and North-West Frontier provinces. The state is in See also:direct See also:political subordination to the See also:Government of India, which is represented by a See also:resident. Its territories comprise the provinces of Jammu (including the jagir of See also:Punch), Kashmir, Ladakh, Baltistan and See also:Gilgit; the Shin states of Yaghistan, of which the most important are See also:Chilas, Darel and Tangir, are nominally subordinate to it, and the two former pay a See also:tribute of See also:gold dust. The following are the See also:statistics for the See also:main divisions of the state: Area in sq. m. Pop. in 1901. Jammu 5,223 1,521,307 Kashmir 7,922 1,157,394 Frontier Districts 443 226,877 The See also:remainder of the state consists of uninhabited mountains, and its only really important possessions are the districts of Jammu and Kashmir. See also:Physical Conformation.—The greater portion of the See also:country is mountainous, and with the exception of a See also:strip of See also:plain on the south-west, which is continuous with the See also:great level of the Punjab, may be conveniently divided into the following regions: (1) The See also:outer hills and the central mountains of Jammu See also:district. (2) The valley of Kashmir. (3) The far See also:side of the great central range, including Ladakh, Baltistan and Gilgit. The hills in the outer region of Jammu, adjoining the Punjab plains, begin with a height of too to 200 ft., followed by a See also:tract of rugged country, including various ridges See also:running nearly parallel, with See also:long narrow valleys between. The See also:average height of these ridges is from 3000 to 4000 ft. The central mountains are commonly 8000 to 1o,000 ft., covered with pasture or else with See also:forest. Then follow the more lofty mountain ranges, including the region of perpetual See also:snow. A great See also:chain of snowy mountains branching off south-east and north-west divides the drainage of the See also:Chenab and the See also:Jhelum See also:rivers from that of the higher branches of the See also:Indus. It is within spurs from this chain that the valley of Kashmir is enclosed amid hills which rise from 14,000 t0 15,000 ft., while the valley itself forms a See also:cup-like See also:basin at an See also:elevation of 5000 to 6000 ft. All beyond that great range is a wide tract of mountainous country, bordering the north-western See also:part of Tibet and embracing Ladakh, Baltistan and Gilgit. The length of the Kashmir valley, including the inner slopes of its surrounding hills, is about 120 M. from north-west to south-east with a maximum width of about 75 M. The See also:low and comparatively level See also:floor of the basin is 84 m. long and 20 to 24 M. broad. The hills forming the See also:northern See also:half-See also:circuit of the Kashmir valley, and running beyond, include many lofty mountain masses and peaks, the most conspicuous of which, a little outside the confines of Kashmir, is See also:Nanga Parbat, the See also:fourth highest mountain in the See also:world, 26,656 ft. above the See also:sea, with an extensivearea of See also:glacier on its eastern See also:face. The great See also:ridge which is thrown off to the south-west by Nanga Parbat rises, at a distance of 12 m., to another See also:summit 20,740 ft. in height, from which run south-west, and south-east the ridges which are the northern See also:watershed boundary of Kashmir. The former range, after running 70 M. south-west, between the valleys of the Kishenganga and the Kunhar or Nainsukh, turns southward, closely pressing the See also:river Jhelum, after it has received the Kishenganga, with a break a few See also:miles farther south which admits the Kunhar. This range presents several prominent summits, the highest two 16,487 and 15,544 ft. above the sea. The range which runs south-east from the junction peakabove mentioned divides the valley of the Kishenganga from that of the See also:Astor and other tributaries of the Indus. The highest point on this range, where it skirts Kashmir, is 17,202 ft. above the sea. For more than 50 M. from Nanga Parbat there are no glaciers on this range; thence eastward they increase; one, near the Zoji-la pass, is only 10,850 ft. above the sea. The mountains at the east end of the valley, running nearly north and south, drain inwards to the Jhelum, and on the other side to the Wardwan, a tributary of the Chenab. The highest part of this eastern boundary is 14,700 ft. There no are glaciers. The highest point on the Panjal range, which forms the south and south-west boundary, is 15,523 ft. above the sea. The river Jhelum (q.v.) or Behat (See also:Sanskrit (Vitasta)-the Hydaspesof See also:Greek historians and geographers—flows north-westward through the See also:middle of the valley. After a slow and winding course it expands about 25 M. below See also:Srinagar,•over a slight depression in the plain, and forms the Wular See also:lake and See also:marsh, which is about 122 M. by 5 M. in extent, and surrounded by the lofty mountains which See also:tower over the north and north-east of the valley. Leaving the lake on the south-west side, near the See also:town of Sopur, the river pursues its sluggish course south-westward, about 18 m. to the See also:gorge at Baramulla. From this point the stream is more rapid through the narrow valley which conducts it westward 75 M. to Muzaffarabad, where it turns sharply south, joined by the Kishenganga. At See also:Islamabad, about 40 M. above Srinagar, the river is 5400 ft. above sea-level, and at Srinagar 5235 ft. It has thus a fall of about 4 ft. per mile in this part of its course. For the next 24 M. to the Wular lake, and thence to Baramulla, its fall is only about 21 ft. in the mile. On the 8o m. of the river in the See also:flat valley between Islamabad and Baramulla, there is much See also:boat See also:traffic; but none below Baramulla, till the river comes out into the plains. On the north-east side of this low narrow plain of the Jhelum is a broad hilly tract between which and the higher boundary range runs the Kishenganga River. Near the east end of this interior hilly tract, and connected with the higher range, is one summit 17,839 ft. Around this See also:peak and between the ridges which run from it are many small glaciers. These heights look down on one side into the beautiful valley of the See also:Sind River, and on another into the valley of the Lidar, which join the Jhelum. Among the hills north of Srinagar rises one conspicuous mountain See also:mass, 16,903 ft. in height, from which on its north side descend tributaries of the Kishenganga, and on the south the Wangat River, which flows into the Sind. By these rivers and their numerous affluents the wholevalley of Kashmir is watered abundantly. Around the See also:foot of many spurs of the hills which run down on the Kashmir plain are pieces of low table-See also:land, called karewa. These terraces vary in height at different parts of the valley from too to 300 ft. above the alluvial plain. Those which are near each other are mostly about the same level, and separated by deep ravines. The level plain in the middle of the Kashmir valley consists of See also:fine See also:clay and See also:sand, with See also:water-worn pebbles. The karewas consist of See also:horizontal beds of clay and sand, the lacustrine nature of which is shown by the shells which they contain. Two passes See also:lead northward from the Kashmir valley, the Burzil (13,500 ft.) and the Kamri (14,050). The Burzil is the main pass between Srinagar and Gilgit via Astor. It is usually practicable only between the middle of See also:July and the middle of See also:September. The road from Srinagar to Lehin Ladakh follows the Sind valley to the Zoji-la-pass (11,300 ft.) Only a See also:short piece of the road, where snow accumulates, prevents this pass being used all the See also:year. At the south-east end of the valley are three passes, the Margan (11,500 ft.), the Hoksar (13,315) and the Marbal (11,5oo), leading to the valleys of the Chenab and the See also:Ravi. South of Islamabad, on the direct route to Jammu and See also:Sialkot, is the Banihal pass (9236 ft.). Further west on the Panjal range is the Pir Panjal or Panchal pass (11,400 ft.), with a second pass, the Rattan Pir (8200 ft.), across a second ridge about 15 M. south-west of it. Between the two passes is the beautifully situated fort of Baramgali. This See also:place is in the domain of the See also:raja of Punch, See also:cousin and tributary of the maharaja of Kashmir. At Rajaori, south of these passes, the road divides: one See also:line leads to Bhimber and See also:Gujrat, the other to Jammu and Sialkot by Aknur. South-west of Baramulla is the Haji Pir pass (8500 ft.), which indicates the road to Punch. From Punch one road leads down to the plains at the town of Jhelum, another eastward through the hills to the Rattan Pir pass and Rajaori. Lastly, there is the river pass of the Jhelum, which is the easy route from the valley west-See also: The Mesozoic deposits belong chiefly to the Trias and See also:Jura, but Cretaceous beds have been found near the See also:head of the Tsarap valley. The Tertiary system includes representatives of all the See also:principal divisions recognized in other parts of the Himalayas.
See also:Climate.—The valley of Kashmir, sheltered from the south-west See also:monsoon by the Panjal range, has not the periodical rains of India. Its rainfall is irregular, greatest in the See also:spring months. Occasional
storms in the monsoon pass over the crests of the Panjal and give heavy See also:rain on the elevated plateaus on the Kashmir side. And again clouds pass over the valley and are arrested by the higher hills on the north-east side. Snow falls on the surrounding hills at intervals from See also:October to See also: Formerly only 200 passes a year were issued by the government, but now no restriction is placed on visitors, and their number increases annually. European sportsmen and travellers, in addition to residents of India, resort there freely. The railway to Rawalpindi, and a See also:driving road thence to Srinagar make the valley easy of See also:access. When the temperature in Srinagar rises at the beginning of See also:June, there is a general See also:exodus to Gulmarg, which has become a fashionable hill-station. This great influx of visitors has resulted in a corresponding diminution of See also:game. See also:Special game preservation rules have been introduced, and nullahs are let out for stated periods with a restriction on the number of head to be shot. The See also:wild animals of the country include See also:ibex, See also:markhor, oorial, the Kashmir See also:stag, and See also:black and See also: Superstition has made the See also:Kashmiri timid; tyranny has made him a liar; while physical disasters have made him selfish and pessimistic. Up to recent times the See also:cultivator lived under a system of begar, which entitled an See also:official to take either labour or commodities See also:free of See also:payment from the villages. Having no See also:security of See also:property, the people had no incentive to effort, and with no security for See also:life they lost the See also:independence of free men. But the land See also:settlement of 1889 swept all these abuses away. Restrictive monopolies, under which bricks, See also:lime, See also:paper and certain other manufactures were closed to private enterprise, were abolished. The results of the settlement are thus enumerated by See also:Sir See also:Walter See also:Lawrence: " Little by little, confidence has sprung up. Land which had no value in 1889 is now eagerly sought after by all classes. Cultivation has extended and improved. Houses have been rebuilt and repaired, See also:fields fenced in, orchards planted, See also:vegetable gardens well stocked and new See also:mills constructed. See also:Women no longer are seen toiling in the fields, for their husbands are now at See also:home to do the See also:work, and the long journeys to Gilgit are a thing of the past. When the See also:harvest is ripe the See also:peasant reaps it at his own See also:good See also:time, and not a soldier ever enters the villages." In consequence of this improvement in their conditions of life and of the influx of See also:wealth into the country brought by visitors, the Kashmiri grows every year in material prosperity and independence of See also:character. The Kashmir women have a reputation for beauty which is not altogether deserved, but the See also:children are always See also:pretty. The See also:language spoken in Kashmir is akin to that of the Punjab, though marked by many peculiarities. It possesses an ancient literature, which is written in a special character (see KASHMIR1). Natural Calamities.—The effect of physical calamities partly incidental to the climate of Kashmir, upon the character of its in-habitants has been referred to. The See also:list includes fires, floods, See also:earth-quakes, famines and See also:cholera. The ravages of See also:fire are chiefly See also:felt in Srinagar, where the See also:wood houses and their thatched See also:roofs fall an easy See also:prey to the flames. The See also:national See also:habit of carrying a kangar, or small See also:brazier, underneath the clothes for the purpose of warming the See also:body, is a fruitful cause of fires. Srinagar is said to have been burnt down eighteen times. Many disastrous floods are recorded, the greatest being the terrible inundation which followed the slipping of the Khadanyar mountain below Baramula in A.D. 879. The channel of the Jhelum river was blocked and a large part of thevalley submerged. In 1841 a serious See also:flood caused great damage to life and property; there was another in 1893, when six out of the seven See also:bridges in Srinagar were washed away, 25,426 acres under crops were submerged and 2225 houses were wrecked; another flood occurred in July 1903, when the bund between the Dal Lake and the See also:canal gave way, and the lake See also:rose 10 ft. in half an See also:hour. Between two and three thousand houses in and around Srinagar collapsed, while over 4o miles of the See also:tonga road were submerged. Since the 15th See also:century eleven great earthquakes have occurred, all of long duration and accompanied by great loss of life. During the 19th century there were four severe earthquakes, the last two occurring in 1864 and 1885, when some 3500 people were killed. Native historians See also:record nineteen great famines, the last two occurring in 1831 and 1877. In 1878 it was reported that only two-fifths of the total population of the valley survived. During the 19th century also there were ten epidemics of cholera, all more or less disastrous, while the worst (in 1892) was probably the last. During that year 5781 persons died in Srinagar and 5931 in the villages. The centre of infection is generally supposed to be the squalid See also:capital of Srinagar, and some efforts to improve its sanitation have been made of recent years. Crops.—The See also:staple See also:crop of the valley is See also:rice, which forms the chief See also:food of the people. See also:Indian See also:corn comes next; See also:wheat, See also:barley and oats are also grown. Every See also:kind of See also:English vegetable thrives well, especially See also:asparagus, See also:artichoke, seakale, broad beans, See also:scarlet-runners, beetroot, cauliflower and See also:cabbage. See also:Fruit trees are met with all over the valley, wild but bearing fruit, and the cultivated orchards yield See also:pears, apples, peaches, cherries, &c., equal to the best European produce. The chief trees are deodar, firs and pines, chenar or See also:plane, See also:maple, See also:birch and See also:walnut. There are state departments of viticulture, hops, See also:horticulture and sericulture- A See also:complete list of the See also:flora and See also:fauna of the valley will be found in Sir Walter Lawrence's See also:book on Kashmir.
See also:Industries.—The chief See also:industry of Srinagar was formerly the See also:weaving of the celebrated Kashmir See also:shawl, which See also:dates back to the days of the See also:emperor See also:Baber. These shawls first became fashionable in See also:Europe in the reign of See also:Napoleon, when they fetched from £io to £too; but the industry received a See also:blow at the time of the Franco-See also:German See also:War, and the See also:famine of 1877 scattered the weavers. The place of the Kashmir shawl has to some extent been taken by the Kashmir See also:carpet, but the most thriving industry now is that of See also:silk-weaving. Srinagar is also celebrated for its See also:silver-work, See also:papier mach6 and wood-See also:carving. The minerals and metals of the Jammu district are promising, and a See also:company has been formed to work them. See also:Coal of See also:fair quality has been found, but the difficulties of transport interfere with its working.
See also:History.—The metrical See also:chronicle of the See also:kings of Kashmir, called Rajatarangini, was pronounced by See also:Professor H. H. See also: The Rajatarangini, the first of a See also:series of four Sanskrit histories, was written about the middle of the 12th century by P. Kalhana. His work, in six books, makes use of earlier writings now lost. Commencing with traditional history of very See also:early times, it comes down to the reign of Sangrama See also:Deva, soo6; the second work, by Jonaraja, takes up the history in continuation of Kalhana's, and, entering the See also:Mahommedan See also:period, gives an See also:account of the reigns down to that of Zain-ul-ab-ad-din, 1412. P. Srivara carried on the record to the See also:accession of Fah Shah, 1486. And the fourth work, called Rajavalipataka, by Prajnia Bhatta, completes the history to the time of the See also:incorporation of Kashmir in the dominions of the See also:Mogul emperor Akbar, 1588. In the Rajatarangini it is stated that the valley of Kashmir was formerly a lake, and that it was drained by the great rishi or See also:sage, Kasyapa, son of Marichi, son of Brahma, by cutting the See also:gap in the hills at Baramulla (Varaha-See also:mula). When Kashmir had been drained, he brought in the Brahmans to occupy it. This is still the See also:local tradition, and in the existing physical See also:condition of the country we may see some ground for the See also:story which has taken this See also:form. The name of Kasyapa is by history and tradition connected with the draining of the lake, and the chief town or collection of dwellings in the valley was called Kasyapa-pur—a name which has been plausibly identified with the Kavaairvpos of Hecataeus (Steph. Byz., s.v.) and Kaosrarupos of See also:Herodotus (iii. 102, iv. 44). Kashmir is the country meant also by See also:Ptolemy's Kavailpta. The ancient name Kasyapa-pur was applied to the See also:kingdom of Kashmir when it comprehended great part of the Punjab and extended beyond the Indus. In the 7th century Kashmir is said by the See also:Chinese traveller Hsuan Tsang to have included See also:Kabul and the Punjab, and the hill region of Gandhara, the country of the Gandarae of classical See also:geography. At an early date the Sanskrit name of the country became Kasmir. The earliest inhabitants, according to the Rajatarangini, were the people called Naga, a word which signifies " snake." The history shows the prevalence in early times of See also:tree and See also:serpent See also:worship, of which some sculptured stones found in Kashmir still retain the memorials. The town of Islamabad is called also by its ancient name Anant-nag (" eternal snake"). The source of the Jhelum is at Vir-nag (the powerful snake), &c. The other races mentioned as inhabiting this country and the neighbouring hills are Gandhari, Khasa and Daradae. The Khasa people are supposed to have given the name Kasmir. In the Mahabharata the Kasmira and Daradae are named together among the See also:Kshattriya races of northern India. The question whether, in the See also:immigration of the See also:Aryans into India, Kashmir was taken on the way, or entered afterwards by that people after they had reached the Punjab from the north-west, appears to require an See also:answer in favour of the latter view (see vol. ii. of Dr J. See also:Muir's Sanskrit Texts). The See also:Aryan races of Kashmir and surrounding hills, which have at the See also:present time See also:separate See also:geographical See also:distribution, are given by Mr See also:Drew as Kashmiri (mostly Mahommedan), in the Kashmir basin and a few scattered places outside; Dard (mostly Mahommedan) in Gilgit and hills north of Kashmir; See also:Dogra (See also:Hindu) in Jamma; Dogra (Mahommedan, called Chibali) in Punch and hill country west of Kashmir; See also:Pahari or mountaineers (Hindu) in Kishtwar, east of Kashmir, and hills about the valley of the Chenab.
In the time of See also:Asoka, about 245 B.C., one of the Indian Buddhist See also:missions was sent to Kashmir and Gandhara. After his See also:death See also:Brahmanism revived. Then in the time of the three Kushan princes, Huvishka, Jushka and See also:Kanishka, who ruled over Kashmir about the beginning of the See also:Christian era, See also:Buddhism was to a great extent restored, though for several centuries the two religions existed together in Kashmir, See also:Hinduism pre-dominating. Yet Kashmir, when Buddhism was gradually losing its hold, continued to send Buddhist teachers to other lands. In this Hindu-Buddhist period, and chiefly between the 5th and loth centuries of the Christian era, were erected the Hindu temples in Kashmir. In the 6th and 7th centuries Kashmir was visited by some of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrims to India. The country is called Shie-mi in the narrative of To Yeng and Sung Yun (578). One of the Chinese travellers of the next century was for a time an See also:elephant-tamer to the See also: He entered by Baramula and See also:left by the Pir Panjal pass. He describes the hill-girt valley, and the abundance of See also:flowers and fruits, and he mentions the tradition about the lake. He found in Kashmir many Buddhists as well as Hindus. In the following century the kings of Kashmir appear to have paid See also:homage and tribute to See also:China, though this is not alluded to in the Kashmir chronicle. Hindu kings continued to reign till about 1294, when Udiana Deva was put to death by his Mahommedan See also:vizier, See also:Amir Shah, who ascended the See also:throne under the name of Shams-ud-din. Of the Mahommedan rulers mentioned in the Sanskrit See also:chronicles, one, who reigned about the See also:close of the 14th century, has made his name prominent by his active opposition to the Hindu See also:religion, and his destruction of temples. This was Sikandar, known as But-shikan, or the " idol-breaker." It was in his time that India was invaded by Timur, to whom Sikandar made sub-See also:mission and paid tribute. The country See also:fell into the hands of the Moguls in 1588. In the time of Alamgir it passed to Ahmad Shah See also:Durani, on his third invasion of India (1756); and from that time it remained in the hands of Afghans till it was wrested from them by Ranjit Singh, the See also:Sikh monarch of the Punjab, in 1819. Eight Hindu and Sikh See also:governors under Ranjit Singh and his successors were followed by two Mahommedans similarlyappointed, the second of whom, Shekh See also:Imam-ud-din, was in See also:charge when the battles of the first Sikh war 1846 brought about new relations between the British Government and the Sikhs. Gulab Singh, a Dogra See also:Rajput, had from a humble position been raised to high See also:office by Ranjit Singh, who conferred on him the small principality of Jammu. On the final defeat of the Sikhs at See also:Sobraon (February 1846), Gulab Singh was called to take a leading part in arranging conditions of See also:peace. The treaty of See also:Lahore (March 9, 1846) sets forth that, the British Government having demanded, in addition to a certain See also:assignment of territory, a payment of a See also:crore and a half of rupees (12 millions See also:sterling), and the Sikh government being unable to pay the whole, the maharaja (Dhulip Singh) cedes, as See also:equivalent for one crore, the hill country belonging to the Punjab between the See also:Beas and the Indus, including Kashmir and Hazara. The See also:governor-general, Sir See also: See Drew, Jammu and Kashmir (18i5); M. A. See also:Stein, Kalhana's Rajatarangini (1900) ; W.R. Lawrence, The Valley of Kashmir (1895) See also:Colonel A. See also:Durand, The Making of a Frontier (1899) ; R. Lydekker, "The Geology of the Kashmir and See also:Chamba Territories," Records of the See also:Geological Survey of India, vol. xxii. (1883) ; J. See also:Duke, Kashmir Handbook (1903). (T. H. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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