List of districts of Jammu and Kashmir explained

The Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir consists of two divisions: Jammu Division and Kashmir Division, and is further divided into 20 districts:^[1]

History

Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir

See main article: Jammu and Kashmir (princely state). Prior to 1947, Kashmir was a princely state under the paramountcy of the British Indian Empire. The central part of the princely state was administratively divided into the provinces Jammu and Kashmir. In addition there were frontier districts and semi-autonomous jagirs (principalities). They were subdivided as follows:

• Kashmir province: Districts of Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla and Muzaffarabad. (Muzzafarabad later became part of Azad Kashmir.)
• Internal jagirs: Poonch (half of it later became part of Azad Kashmir), Chenani and Bhaderwah
• Jammu province: Districts of Jammu, Udhampur and Mirpur (later became part of Azad Kashmir)
• Frontier districts:

• Ladakh district with three sub-districts: Leh, Kargil and Skardu (Skardu later became part of Gilgit-Baltistan.)

• Gilgit district with two sub-districts: Gilgit and Astore. (Both later became part of Gilgit-Baltistan.)

• Frontier ilaqas comprising Punial, Ishkoman, Yasin, Kuh Ghizar, Hunza, Nagar and Chilas. (All of these regions later became part of Gilgit-Baltistan.)

The Gilgit district and the frontier ilaqas were administered by the British administration as the Gilgit Agency, which were returned to the princely state prior to the Partition of India.

Partition

See main article: Kashmir conflict. After the partition of India and subsequent independence of India and Pakistan, in October 1947, following a rebellion coupled with a tribal invasion from newly independent Pakistan, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India in return for armed assistance. India and Pakistan fought the First Kashmir War that lasted through 1948, at the end of which large parts of the three western districts of Mirpur, Poonch and Muzaffarabad, the whole of the Gilgit Agency and the Skardu sub-district of Ladakh came under Pakistani control. The remainder of the princely state had been organised as a state of India under the name Jammu Kashmir.

Inside India

See main article: Jammu and Kashmir (state). The territory under Indian control include:

• Jammu Division

districts of Jammu, Kathua, Vijaypur, Bari Brahmana, Chak Dayala, Samba, Katra, Batote, Birpur, Doda, Batote, Lakhanpur, Udhampur, Reasi; the jagirs of Chenani and Bhaderwah; 11 per cent of the Mirpur district and 40 per cent of the Poonch jagir.

• Kashmir Division: Kashmir South (Anantnag) and Kashmir North (Baramulla); 13 per cent of the Muzaffarabad district.
• Ladakh Division: Kargil and Leh districts. (Became the union territory of Ladakh on 31 October 2019.)

The districts were reorganised by 1968, breaking up some of the larger districts. In 2006, eight new districts were created: Kishtwar, Ramban, Reasi, Samba, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Kulgam and Shopian.^[2]

In August 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act was passed by both houses of the Indian Parliament. The provisions contained in the bill reorganised the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories; Jammu and Kashmir (union territory) and Ladakh with effect from 31 October 2019.

Administration

The Deputy Commissioner (DC) is the head of the district administration. They are responsible for overall administration and development activities in the district. The DC functions as District Magistrate (DM) for maintenance of law and order and as Collector for revenue administration. In the capacity of Collector, the DC oversees revenue administration, managing tasks such as revenue collection, land records maintenance, and implementation of government fiscal policies. The DC is usually an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. The Deputy commissioner is assisted by Additional Deputy Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners and Sub-divisional magistrates. The districts are further divided into sub-districts and tehsils.^[3]

Districts

Name	Region claimed by India	Headquarters	Before 2007	After 2007			Population 2011 Census	Population 2011 Census^[4]
	Area (km^2)	Area (km^2)	class=unsortable	Area (sq miles)	class=unsortable
				2502km2	^[5]
				2342km2	^[6]
Samba district			new district	904km2	^[7]
				2367km2	^[8]
			new district	1719km2	^[9]
				2630km2	^[10]
				1674km2	^[11]
				2625km2	^[12]
			new district	1329km2	^[13]
			new district	7737km2	^[14]
				26293km2

Name	Headquarters	Before 2007	After 2007			Population 2011 Census	Population 2011 Census
	Area (km^2)	Area (km^2)	class=unsortable	Area (sq miles)	class=unsortable
			3574km2	^[15]
		new district	410km2	^[16]
			1086km2	^[17]
		new district	312km2	^[18]
			1361km2	^[19]
			1978.95km2	^[20]
		new district	1059km2	^[21]
		new district	345km2	^[22]
			4243km2	^[23]
			2379km2	^[24]
			15948km2

Bibliography

• • • • Larson, Gerald James. "India's Agony Over Religion", 1995, page 245

External links

• Jammu and Kashmir district portal

Notes and References

1. Web site: Department of Jammu & Kashmir Affairs . Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs . https://web.archive.org/web/20081208212815/http://mha.nic.in/uniquepage.asp?Id_Pk=306 . 8 December 2008 . dead .
2. http://www.jammu-kashmir.com/archives/archives2006/kashmir20060706a.html Jammu and Kashmir to have eight new districts
3. Web site: Department Of Revenue . 2024-08-06 . jkrevenue.nic.in.
4. Census of India 2011, Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 : Jammu & Kashmir . Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.
   Annexure V, Ranking of Districts by Population Size, 2001 - 2011.
5. District Census Handbook Kathua . 8 . Census of India 2011, Part A . 18 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
6. District Census Handbook Jammu, Part A . 13, 51, 116 . Census of India 2011 . 18 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
   District Census Handbook Jammu, Part B . 13, 24 . Census of India 2011 . 16 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
7. District Census Handbook Samba, Part A . 9, 34, 36, 100 . Census of India 2011 . 18 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
   District Census Handbook Samba, Part B . 10, 12, 22 . Census of India 2011 . 16 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
8. District Census Handbook Udhampur . 12, 22 . Census of India 2011 . 16 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
9. District Census Handbook Reasi, Part A . 9, 37, 88 . Census of India 2011 . 18 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
   District Census Handbook Reasi, Part B . 9, 13, 24 . Census of India 2011 . 16 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
10. District Census Handbook Rajouri, Part A . 11, 107 . Census of India 2011 . 18 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Rajouri, Part B . 9, 10, 12, 22 . Census of India 2011 . 16 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
11. District Census Handbook Punch, Part A . 9, 99 . Census of India 2011 . 18 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Punch, Part B . 11, 13, 24 . Census of India 2011 . 16 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
12. District Census Handbook Doda, Part B . 9, 12, 99 . Census of India 2011 . 18 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
13. District Census Handbook Ramban, Part B . 10, 12 . Census of India 2011 . 18 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
14. District Census Handbook Kishtwar, Part B . 9, 10, 22 . Census of India 2011 . 18 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
15. District Census Handbook Anantnag, Part A . 9 . Census of India 2011 . July 2016 . 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Anantnag, Part B . 12, 22 . Census of India 2011 . July 2016 . 21 November 2020.
16. District Census Handbook Kulgam, Part A . 10 . Census of India 2011 . July 2016 . 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Kulgam, Part B . 12, 22 . Census of India 2011 . 16 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
    Part B page 12 says the area of the district is 404 sq km, but page 22 says 410 sq km.
17. District Census Handbook Pulwama, Part B . 12, 22 . Census of India 2011 . 16 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
18. District Census Handbook Shupiyan, Part A . 10 . Census of India 2011 . 16 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Shupiyan, Part B . 12, 22 . Census of India 2011 . 16 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
    Part B pages 12 and 22 say the district area is 312.00 sq km, but Part A page 10 says 307.42 sq km.
19. District Census Handbook Badgam, Part A . 10, 46 . Census of India 2011 . July 2016 . 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Badgam, Part B . 11, 12, 22 . Census of India 2011 . 16 June 2014. 21 November 2020.
    Part A says the district area is 1371 sq km, Part B says 1371 sq km (page 11) and 1361 sq km (page 12s and 22).
20. District Census Handbook Srinagar, Part A . 11, 48 . Census of India 2011 . July 2016 . 21 November 2020.
    Part A page 48 says the district area was 2228.0 sq km in 2001 and 1978.95 sq km in 2011.
21. Web site: Ganderbal District Development Plan . Jammu and Kashmir Directorate of Information and Public Relations . 2024-03-23.
22. District Census Handbook Bandipora, Part A . 10, 47 . Census of India 2011 . July 2016 . 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Bandipora, Part B . 11, 20 . Census of India 2011 . 16 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
23. District Census Handbook Baramulla, Part A . 11 . Census of India 2011 . July 2016 . 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Baramulla, Part B . 22 . Census of India 2011 . 16 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.
24. District Census Handbook Kupwara, Part A . 7 . Census of India 2011 . July 2016 . 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Kupwara, Part B . 11, 12 . Census of India 2011 . 16 June 2014 . 21 November 2020.