Kashmir

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The Kashmir region is show outlined in red. Click to see more details.

Kashmir (Hindi: कश्मीर, Urdu: کشمیر, Kashmiri: کٔشِیر कॅशीर), also known as Cashmere, is a region in Asia. The term Kashmir historically was described as the valley just to the south of the western end of the Himalayan mountain range. Today, Kashmir refers to a much larger area that includes the regions of Kashmir Valley, Jammu region and Ladakh. The main "Valley of Kashmir" is a low fertile area surrounded by mountains and fed by many rivers. People like it for its natural beauty and simple lifestyle. Kashmir is also a disputed territory. Pakistan, India and China hold parts of this region.

1 Economy
- 1.1 Agriculture
- 1.2 Tourism
2 The Kashmir conflict
3 See also

[change] Economy

[change] Agriculture

The economy of the region is focused on agriculture. People grow rice there. In the Indian part they also grow corn, such as wheat and barley. Its climate is different from that of most of the Indian subcontinent: It is milder. Therefore, crops like artichoke, cauliflower, cabbage and certain kinds of beans are also grown.

Cashmere wool is well-known almost anywhere in the world. Cashmere wool is wool from Cashmere goats. Because of conflicts over the territory however, most Cashmere wool no longer comes from Kashmir.

Kashmir is home to the finest saffron in the world.^{[needs proving]}

[change] Tourism

Nanga Parbat, the 9th highest peak in the world and one of the most dangerous for climbers, is in the Northern Areas of the Kashmir Region, in Pakistan.

Tourism has been important in Kashmir for many years. Many people call the region Paradise on Earth. Since most of the people who live there are Muslims, many tourists come from the Arab World, like Saudi Arabia.

[change] The Kashmir conflict

A map of Kashmir showing the lines of control in more detail. Indian-controlled territory is yellow/light brown; Pakistan-controlled territory is green; China-controled territzory is farker brown. The triangle in White/Green/Yellow is the Siachen glacier, occupied by India.

What is known as the Kashmir conflict has existed since India and Pakistan became independent states. The problem was that the ruler of the region at the time joined India. The population in the region were mostly Muslim. They wanted to join Pakistan. India and Pakistan have fought three wars over the Kashmir question, in 1948, 1965 and 1971. At the moment there are UN troops in Kashmir. They guard the lines of control.

Today Kashmir is split, as follows:

Jammu and Kashmir is controlled by India. It is made of the Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh.
The territories known as Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir are controlled by Pakistan.
The region called Aksai Chin is controlled by China. China also controls a territory it received from Pakstan, called Trans-Karakoram Tract. The legality of this swap is disputed by India.
The Siachen glacier is curently occupied as a disputed terrtory, India controls the glacier, Pakistan the valley below.