129. The Disputed States I : Jammu & Kashmir (Demographics 1941)

At the time of independence in 1947, British India had almost 565 princely states, constituting 23% of the total population and covering nearly 40% of its area. These states varied greatly in size and population. The biggest in population was Hyderabad with a population of over 16 million, while Jammu & Kashmir was the largest in area at 218,685 km², slightly bigger than Hyderabad but with a far smaller population of 4 million. The smallest 200 states had an area of less than 25 km² each.

These states were autonomous in many respects but not fully sovereign states and were part of British India under a subsidiary alliance. According to the Indian Independence Act, the princely rulers were given the choice to either accede to India or Pakistan, but were expected to take into consideration the geography of the state and ascertain the wishes of its people. All of them joined India or Pakistan more or less without much trouble, except three states, which were Jammu and Kashmir, Hyderabad, and Junagadh.

The subject of this post is Jammu and Kashmir, the state that caused most of the trouble and laid the foundations of a conflict that is still raging among three countries with full force. It all started due to some ambiguities in the principle of the accession of states and also in the unclear policies of India and Pakistan related to princely states. I am sure had they decided the future of states in clear terms, this conflict could have been avoided. Both the Muslim League and the All India Congress should have agreed to a clear and well-defined formula about the accession of states to either of the two countries. Perhaps this ambiguity was deliberate on both sides, as both were trying to draw maximum advantage out of the situation.

The Maharaja of J&K, Hari Singh, failed to make up his mind and take a clear decision about the future of his state. This delay created a lot of tensions within and outside the state. Rising communal tensions in Punjab were affecting the environment inside the state as well. The Muslims in the western districts were agitating against the government, and Poonch was in open rebellion by August 1947. Major disturbances broke out in the Jammu area when the RSS and Akalis organized a mass attack on the Muslims, and a very large number of people were killed, variously estimated between 20,000 and 100,000. The die was now cast, and soon, on 24 October, people in Poonch declared independence and formed the Azad Kashmir Government. Meanwhile, Pakistan, a country in transition, with armed forces in the process of reorganization and short of all kinds of arms, ammunition, and equipment, used tribal lashkars to tilt the situation to its own advantage. The lashkars started pouring into J&K on 22 October and quickly captured large areas. By 26 October, they had reached Baramulla, just 30 km from Srinagar, the key to the Kashmir Valley. At this point, Hari Singh finally decided to join India, and the next day India started airlifting its troops to Srinagar airfield and other spots in the state. A large part of the state was liberated, but fighting continued throughout 1948, and India regained large areas, including important towns like Rajouri, Nowshera, and Kargil. The rest, as they say, is history.

The purpose of this post is to familiarize my readers with the distribution of religious communities prevailing in 1947. That will help them understand the situation in 1947 and the subsequent history. As you will see in the map given below, it shows the location of Muslim princely states. It is interesting to note that of these three dozen Muslim states, only two, Kashmir and Kapurthala, though they had a majority Muslim population, were ruled by a Hindu and a Sikh ruler, respectively. 

The Princely States of India in 1947.

Jammu and Kashmir was a big state and divided into three main administrative regions, all having overwhelming or clear Muslim majority, as the tables and maps would explain. 

State Of Jammu & Kashmir
	Area	Population	Muslims	%	Hindus	%	Sikhs	%
Total	218,685	4,021,616	3,101,247	77.11	809,165	20.12	63,137	1.57

Jammu & Kashmir: Muslim Population (Provinces)


Jammu & Kashmir: Hindu Population (Provinces)

The tables and maps given below provide the details of the population in the districts of Jammu and Kashmir provinces. 

Jammu Province – Districts
No	District	Area K2	Population	Muslims	%	Hindus	%	Sikhs	%
1	Jammu	2,969	431,362	170,789	39.59	248,173	57.53	9,151	2.12
2	Kathua	2,648	177,672	45,214	25.45	131,823	74.19	431	0.24
3	Udhampur	13,125	294,217	128,327	43.62	164,820	56.02	445	0.15
4	Reasi	4,631	257,903	175,539	68.06	80,725	31.30	1,541	0.60
5	Mirpur	4,212	386,655	310,880	80.40	63,576	16.44	12,111	3.13
6	Chenani Jagir	246	11,796	2,205	18.69	9,581	81.22	10	0.08
7	Poonch Jagir	4,212	421,828	382,722	90.73	24,137	5.72	12,111	2.87
Total		32,044	1,981,433	1,215,676	61.35	722,835	36.48	35,800	1.81

Kashmir Province – Districts
No	District	Area K2	Population	Muslims	%	Hindus	%	Sikhs	%
1	Baramulla	8,587	612,428	590,936	96.49	12,919	2.11	8,458	1.38
2	Anantnag	7,585	851,606	778,684	91.44	66,815	7.85	5,654	0.66
3	Muzaffarabad	6,234	264,671	245,858	92.89	5,846	2.21	12,922	4.88
Total		22,106	1,728,705	1,615,478	93.45	85,580	4.95	27,034	1.56

Frontier Districts
No	District	Area K2	Population	Muslims	%	Hindus	%	Budh.	%
1	Ladakh	118,472	195,431	154,492	79.05	455	0.23	40,164	20.55
2	Astore	4,225	17,026	16,878	99.13	113	0.66	30	0.18
3	Gilgit (Leased )	3,832	22,495	22,296	99.12	108	0.48	70	0.31
4	Gilgit Agency	38,005	76,526	76,427	99.87	74	0.10	21	0.03
Total		164,534	311,478	270,093	86.71	750	0.24	303	0.10

Jammu & Kashmir: Muslim Population (Districts)

Jammu & Kashmir: Hindu Population (Districts)

Jammu & Kashmir: Simple Majorities (Districts)

To provide more detailed picture tables and maps are given below to show the population distribution in tehsils. Due to the unavailability of the map of Kashmir showing the boundaries of tehsils, I could make a map of  Jammu Province only. This map is based on the Census Atlas of 1971. The Kashmir region has gone under more drastic changes, so I could not make a tehsil map of Kashmir Province. Anyway, Jammu with a more diverse population is more important to our study. Kashmir in all districts and tehsils is overwhelmingly Muslim. 

Jammu Province
No	District	Area	Population	Muslims	%	Hindus	%	Sikhs	%
1	Jammu	2,969	431,362	170,789	39.59	248,173	57.53	9,151	2.12
	Jammu	896	155,541	56,344	36.22	94,094	60.49	2,974	1.91
	Samba	847	90,464	35,883	39.67	52,479	58.01	1,966	2.17
	Ranbirsinghpura	406	96,958	45,949	47.39	46,725	48.19	3,478	3.59
	Akhnur	821	88,821	32,613	36.72	55,325	62.29	733	0.83
2	Kathua	2,648	177,672	45,214	25.45	131,823	74.19	431	0.24
	Kathua	580	47,378	17,038	35.96	30,131	63.60	70	0.15
	Jasmergarh	479	58,376	16,122	27.62	41,887	71.75	347	0.59
	Basohli	1,615	70,624	12,054	17.07	58,511	82.85	14	0.02
3	Udhampur	13,126	382,577	216,825	56.67	164,790	43.07	445	0.12
	Udhampur	992	53,028	11,178	21.08	41,549	78.35	166	0.31
	Kishtwar	7,821	60,484	35,320	58.40	24,931	41.22	123	0.20
	Ramban	1,522	75,802	53,670	70.80	22,018	29.05	47	0.06
	Ramnagar	1,359	60,074	7,750	12.90	52,260	86.99	32	0.05
	Bhadarwah	1,432	133,189	108,907	81.77	24,032	18.04	77	0.06
4	Reasi	4,632	257,903	175,539	68.06	80,725	31.30	1,541	0.60
	Reasi	2,545	117,059	64,144	54.80	52,501	44.85	316	0.27
	Rajouri	2,087	140,844	111,395	79.09	28,224	20.04	1,225	0.87
5	Mirpur	4,212	386,655	310,880	80.40	63,576	16.44	12,111	3.13
	Kotli	1,486	111,047	101,239	91.17	8,391	7.56	1,417	1.28
	Mirpur	919	113,203	104,361	92.19	6,529	5.77	2,225	1.97
	Bhimbar	1,807	162,415	105,280	64.82	48,666	29.96	8,469	5.21
6	Chenani Jagir	246	11,796	2,205	18.69	9,581	81.22	10	0.08
7	Poonch Jagir	4,212	421,828	382,722	90.73	24,137	5.72	14,877	3.53
	Bagh	831	101,091	91,892	90.90	1,148	1.14	8,051	7.96
	Sadhnuti	901	108,226	90,125	83.27	13,800	12.75	4,301	3.97
	Haveli	1,240	110,733	103,198	93.20	5,198	4.69	2,334	2.11
	Mendhar	1,240	101,689	97,507	95.89	3,991	3.92	191	0.19
Total		32,045	1,981,433	1,215,676	61.35	722,835	36.48	35,800	1.81

Kashmir Province
No	District	Area	Population	Muslims	%	Hindus	%	Sikhs	%
1	Baramulla	5,587	612,428	590,936	96.49	12,919	2.11	8,458	1.38
	Handwara	2,796	274,582	265,594	96.73	5,497	2.00	3,473	1.26
	Baramulla	1,527	162,902	155,135	95.23	5,051	3.10	2,630	1.61
	Badgam	1,263	174,581	169,847	97.29	2,371	1.36	2,355	1.35
2	Anantnag	7,285	851,606	778,684	91.44	6,6815	7.85	5,654	0.66
	Khas Tehsil	1,923	333,828	285,185	85.43	46,432	13.91	1,819	0.54
	Pulwama	1,162	156,528	149,752	95.67	4,287	2.74	2,487	1.59
	Kulgam	1,522	157,374	150,637	95.72	6,450	4.10	283	0.18
	Anantnag	3,677	203,821	193,110	94.74	9,646	4.73	1,065	0.52
3	Muzaffarabad	6,234	264,671	245,858	92.89	5,846	2.21	12,922	4.88
	Muzaffarabad	1,413	125,585	112,768	89.79	3,963	3.16	8,810	7.02
	Uri	1,346	80,223	75,111	93.63	1,494	1.86	3,617	4.51
	Karnah	3,474	34,463	33,579	97.43	389	1.13	495	1.44
Total		19,106	1,728,705	1,615,478	93.40	85,580	2.49	27,034	1.58

Jammu Province: Muslim Population (Tehsils)

Jammu Province: Hindu Population (Tehsils)

Jammu Province: Simple Majorities (Tehsils)

Kashmir: Current Political Divisions

It was very difficult for Congress, its followers, and the Hindu masses at large to accept the decision of partition. However, they accepted the decision to divide Mother India and lose almost one-fourth of its landmass to Pakistan, and did not resist it beyond a certain point, obviously in the larger interest of the whole region. But as far as the issue of Kashmir is concerned, they are using all means in their power to keep this region and its hapless population under their control. That is indeed a little puzzling. As I mentioned earlier, both parties should have agreed to a clear formula regarding the accession of the princely states before independence to avoid this tragic mess.

I would have advocated the same formula that was applied in the neighboring Punjab. That would have given the two Hindu-majority districts of Jammu and Kathua to India, as well as two tehsils of Udhampur district (Udhampur and Ramnagar) and the Chenani jagir as well. Even some areas in the southeast of Ladakh, adjoining Himachal Pradesh, could have been given to India. That should have satisfied both parties and saved 1.5 billion people from a very dangerous and extremely damaging conflict. But that was not to be, and now we can look to the future without much optimism.

You are most welcome to add any more information or point out any mistakes in the data or maps. 

Tariq Amir

Doha - Qatar
June 20, 2020.

For related posts, visit:

035. Partition Of Punjab in 1947

036. Muslim Population Of India: According To The Censuses Of 1941 and 2001

037. Partitions Of Bengal in 1905 and 1947

038. Demographics Of Jammu & Kashmir

054. Muslim Population Of India: According To The Census of 2011

127. Demographics of Sindh Province According to the Census of 1941

128 - Demographics of North West Frontier Province According to the Census of 1941

130 - The Disputed States II: Hyderabad State (Demographics 1941)