Kashmir is a mountainous region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, famous for its natural beauty, history and political status. Geographically, “Kashmir” in the narrow sense means the Kashmir Valley, a high valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range, but in modern political usage it often refers more broadly to the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which included Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh and some surrounding areas. The region lies at a strategic crossroads between South Asia, Central Asia and China, which helps explain why it has drawn the interest of successive empires and modern states.
Over the centuries it came under a succession of rulers: Hindu dynasties, then Muslim sultans from the 14th century, followed by incorporation into the Mughal Empire in the late 16th century, Afghan rule in the 18th century, and Sikh rule in the early 19th century. In 1846 the British facilitated the creation of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir under Maharaja Gulab Singh, with the Dogra dynasty ruling a religiously and ethnically diverse population.
For the people who live there, Kashmir is not only a geopolitical question but also a homeland with its own languages, cultures and memories. The Valley’s population is predominantly Muslim, while Jammu has large Hindu and Sikh communities and Ladakh has significant Buddhist and Muslim populations.
At the same time, Kashmir is renowned for its rich cultural life: Sufi shrines, temples and monasteries; poetry and music; handicrafts like carpets and shawls; and a long tradition of coexistence that many Kashmiris describe with the word “Kashmiriyat”, a local ethos of tolerance and shared identity. Today, to ask “what is Kashmir?” is to ask about a place that is at once a beautiful Himalayan landscape, and a layered historical civilisation.
The idea of “Kashmiriyat” refers to a long‑standing ethos of communal harmony, religious tolerance and cultural fusion, rooted in interactions among Hindu, Buddhist and later Islamic traditions.