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Kashmir (Balti: ; Dogri: , Gojri: ; Poonchi/Chibhali: ; Kashmiri: the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range. Today Kashmir denotes a larger area that includes the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (the Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh), the Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan and the Azad Kashmir provinces, and the Chinese-administered regions of Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract.

In the first half of the first millennium, the Kashmir region became an important center of Hinduism and later of Buddhism; later still, in the ninth century, Kashmir Shaivism arose.[1] In 1349, Shah Mir became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir and inaugurated the Salatin-i-Kashmir or Swati dynasty.[2] For the next five centuries, Muslim monarchs ruled Kashmir, including the Mughals, who ruled from 1526 until 1751, then the Afghan Durrani Empire that ruled from 1747 until 1820.[2] That year, the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh, annexed Kashmir.[2] In 1846, uponthe purchase of the region from the British under the Treaty of Amritsar, the Dograsunder Gulab Singhbecame the new rulers. Dogra Rule, under the paramountcy (ortutelage) of the British Crown, lasted until 1947, when the former princely state became a disputed territory, now administered by three countries: India, Pakistan, and the People's Republic of China.

Contents [hide]1 Etymology2 History2.1 Buddhism and Hinduism in Kashmir2.2 Muslim rule2.3 First Muslim Ruler, Shah Mir Swati2.4 Sikh rule and Princely State2.5 Year 1947 and 19483 Current status and political divisions4 Demographics5 Culture and cuisine6 Economy7 History of Tourism in Kashmir

8 See also9 References10 Further reading11 External linksEtymology

General view of Temple and Enclosure of Marttand (the Sun), at Bhawan, ca. 490555; the colonnade ca. 693729. Surya Mandir at Martand, Jammu & Kashmir, India, photographed by John Burke, 1868.According to the "Nilmat Puran," the oldest book on Kashmir, in the Satisar, a f

ormer lake in the Kashmir Valley meaning "lake of the Goddess Sati,"[3] lived ademon called Jalodbhava (meaning "born of water"), who tortured and devoured thepeople, who lived near mountain slopes.[4] Hearing the suffering of the people,Kashyap, an Indian rishi, came to the rescue of the people that lived there.[4]After performing penance for a long time, the saint was blessed, and thereforeLord Vishnu assumed the form of a boar and struck the mountain at Varahamula, boring an opening in it for the water to flow out into the plains below.[5] The lake was drained, the land appeared, and the demon was killed.[4] The saint encouraged people from India to settle in the valley.[4] As a result of the hero's actions, the people named the valley as "Kashyap-Mar", meaning abode of Kashyap, and "Kashyap-Pura", meaning city of Kashyap, in Sanskrit.[4] The name "Kashmir," in Sanskrit, implies land desiccated from water: "ka" (the water) and shimeera (to desiccate).[4] The ancient Greeks began referring to the region as "Kasperia"

and the Chinese pilgrim Hien-Tsang who visited the valley around 631 AD. calledit "KaShi-Mi-Lo".[4] In modern times the people of Kashmir have shortened the full Sanskrit name into "Kasheer," which is the colloquial Koshur name of the vall

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ey, as noted in Aurel Stein's introduction to the Rajatarangini metrical chronicle.[4]The "Rajatarangini," a history of Kashmir written by Kalhana in the 12th century, concurs with Nilmat Puran, stating that the valley of Kashmir was formerly a lake. This lake was drained by the great rishi or sage, Kashyapa, son of Marichi,son of Brahma, by cutting the gap in the hills at Baramulla (Varaha-mula). Cashmere is a variant spelling of Kashmir, especially within the English language.[6

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