Kashmir [key], region and former princely state, 85,714 sq mi (222,236 sq km), NW India, NE Pakistan, and SW China. Kashmir is bordered on the west by Pakistan, on the south by India, and on the north and east by China. The region is now divided into the Indian union territories of Jammu and Kashmir (2011 pop. 12,258,433), 16,309 sq mi (42,241 sq km), with its summer capital at Srinagar and its winter capital at Jammu, and Ladakh (2011 pop. 290,492), 22,836 sq mi (59,146 sq km), with its administrative headquarters at Leh; the Pakistani-controlled areas (1981 est. pop. 1,980,000) Azad Kashmir, 2,169 sq mi (5,619 sq km), with its capital at Muzaffarabad, and Gilgit-Baltistan, formerly the Northern Areas, 27,991 sq mi (72,496 sq km), with its capital at Gilgit; and the largely uninhabited Chinese-controlled areas, 16,481 sq mi (42,685 sq km), within Xinjiang and Tibet.
Sections in this article:
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Indian Political Geography
