Editing Kashmir (section)

=== Colonial era ===
In the 1901 Census of the British [[British Raj|Indian Empire]], the population of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu was 2,905,578. Of these, 2,154,695 (74.16%) were Muslims, 689,073 (23.72%) Hindus, 25,828 (0.89%) Sikhs, and 35,047 (1.21%) Buddhists (implying 935 (0.032%) others).

The Hindus were found mainly in Jammu, where they constituted a little less than 60% of the population.<ref name=imperialgazetteerkashmir>''Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume 15''. 1908. Oxford University Press, Oxford and London. pp. 99–102.</ref> In the Kashmir Valley, the Hindus represented "524 in every 10,000 of the population (''i.e.'' 5.24%), and in the frontier ''wazarats'' of Ladhakh and Gilgit only 94 out of every 10,000 persons (0.94%)."<ref name=imperialgazetteerkashmir/> In the same Census of 1901, in the Kashmir Valley, the total population was recorded to be 1,157,394, of which the Muslim population was 1,083,766, or 93.6% and the Hindu population 60,641.<ref name=imperialgazetteerkashmir/> Among the Hindus of Jammu province, who numbered 626,177 (or 90.87% of the Hindu population of the princely state), the most important castes recorded in the census were "[[Brahmin|Brahmans]] (186,000), the [[Rajput]]s (167,000), the [[Khatri|Khattris]] (48,000) and the Thakkars (93,000)."<ref name=imperialgazetteerkashmir/>

In the 1911 Census of the British Indian Empire, the total population of Kashmir and Jammu had increased to 3,158,126. Of these, 2,398,320 (75.94%) were Muslims, 696,830 (22.06%) Hindus, 31,658 (1%) Sikhs, and 36,512 (1.16%) Buddhists. In the last census of British India in 1941, the total population of Kashmir and Jammu (which as a result of the Second World War, was estimated from the 1931 census) was 3,945,000. Of these, the total Muslim population was 2,997,000 (75.97%), the Hindu population was 808,000 (20.48%), and the Sikh 55,000 (1.39%).<ref name=brush>{{cite journal |last1=Brush |first1=J. E. |year=1949 |title=The Distribution of Religious Communities in India |journal=Annals of the Association of American Geographers |volume=39 |issue=2| pages=81–98 |doi=10.1080/00045604909351998 |issn = 0004-5608 }}</ref>

The [[Kashmiri Pandit]]s, the only Hindus of the Kashmir valley, who had stably constituted approximately 4 to 5% of the population of the valley during Dogra rule (1846–1947), and 20% of whom had left the Kashmir valley to other parts of India in the 1950s,{{sfn|Zutshi, Languages of Belonging|2004|p=318|ps=: Since a majority of the landlords were Hindu, the (land) reforms (of 1950) led to a mass exodus of Hindus from the state. ... The unsettled nature of Kashmir's accession to India, coupled with the threat of economic and social decline in the face of the land reforms, led to increasing insecurity among the Hindus in Jammu, and among Kashmiri Pandits, 20 per cent of whom had emigrated from the Valley by 1950.}} underwent a complete [[Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus|exodus]] in the 1990s due to the [[Kashmir insurgency]]. According to a number of authors, approximately 100,000 of the total Kashmiri Pandit population of 140,000 left the valley during that decade.{{sfn|Bose, The Challenge in Kashmir|1997|p=71}}{{sfn|Rai, Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects|2004|p=286}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p=274|ps=: The Hindu Pandits, a small but influential elite community who had secured a favourable position, first under the maharajas, and then under the successive Congress regimes, and proponents of a distinctive Kashmiri culture that linked them to India, felt under siege as the uprising gathered force. Of a population of some 140,000, perhaps 100,000 Pandits fled the state after 1990; their cause was quickly taken up by the Hindu right.}} Other authors have suggested a higher figure for the exodus, ranging from the entire population of over 150 thousand,{{sfn|Malik, Kashmir: Ethnic Conflict, International Dispute|2005|p=318}} to 190 thousand of a total Pandit population of 200 thousand (200,000),{{sfn|Madan, Kashmir, Kashmiris, Kashimiriyat|2008|p=25}} to a number as high as 300 thousand (300,000).<ref>{{Cite web|title=South Asia :: India — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency|website=www.cia.gov|date=14 February 2022|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/india/|access-date=24 January 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=18 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318202107/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/india}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Population of Jammu & Kashmir Princely State by Province (1901–1941)
! rowspan="2" |[[Census in British India|Census Year]]
! colspan="2" |Jammu Province
! colspan="2" |Kashmir Province
! colspan="2" |Frontier Regions
! colspan="2" |Jammu & Kashmir Princely State
|-
![[Population|{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}]]
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
|-
! 1901<ref name="Census1901"/>
| 1,521,307
| {{Percentage | 1521307 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 1,157,394
| {{Percentage | 1157394 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 226,877
| {{Percentage | 226877 | 2905578 | 2 }}
! 2,905,578
! {{Percentage | 2905578 | 2905578 | 2 }}
|-
! 1911<ref name="Census1911"/>
| 1,597,865
| {{Percentage | 1597865 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 1,295,201
| {{Percentage | 1295201 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 265,060
| {{Percentage | 265060 | 3158126 | 2 }}
! 3,158,126
! {{Percentage | 3158126 | 3158126 | 2 }}
|-
! 1921<ref name="Census1921"/>
| 1,640,259
| {{Percentage | 1640259 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 1,407,086
| {{Percentage | 1407086 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 273,173
| {{Percentage | 273173 | 3320518 | 2 }}
! 3,320,518
! {{Percentage | 3320518 | 3320518 | 2 }}
|-
! 1931<ref name="Census1931"/>
| 1,788,441
| {{Percentage | 1788441 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 1,569,218
| {{Percentage | 1569218 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 288,584
| {{Percentage | 288584 | 3646243 | 2 }}
! 3,646,243
! {{Percentage | 3646243 | 3646243 | 2 }}
|-
! 1941<ref name="Census1941"/>
| 1,981,433
| {{Percentage | 1981433 | 4021616 | 2 }}
| 1,728,705
| {{Percentage | 1728705 | 4021616 | 2 }}
| 311,478
| {{Percentage | 311478 | 4021616 | 2 }}
! 4,021,616
! {{Percentage | 4021616 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Religious groups in Jammu & Kashmir Princely State ([[British Raj|British India]] era)
! rowspan="2" |[[Religion in India|Religious]]<br>group
! colspan="2" |1901<ref name="Census1901">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25366883 |jstor=saoa.crl.25366883 |access-date=3 November 2024 |title=Census of India 1901. Vol. 23A, Kashmir. Pt. 2, Tables. |year=1901 |pages=20}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1911<ref name="Census1911">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25394111 |jstor=saoa.crl.25394111 |access-date=3 November 2024 |title=Census of India 1911. Vol. 20, Kashmir. Pt. 2, Tables. |year=1911 |pages=17}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1921<ref name="Census1921">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25430177 |jstor=saoa.crl.25430177 |access-date=3 November 2024 |title=Census of India 1921. Vol. 22, Kashmir. Pt. 2, Tables. |year=1921 |pages=15}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1931<ref name="Census1931">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25797120 |jstor=saoa.crl.25797120 |access-date=3 November 2024 |title=Census of India 1931. Vol. 24, Jammu & Kashmir State. Pt. 2, Imperial & state tables. |year=1931 |pages=267}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1941<ref name="Census1941">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.28215644 |jstor=saoa.crl.28215644 |access-date=3 November 2024 |title=Census of India, 1941. Vol. 22, Jammu & Kashmir |year=1941 |pages=337–352 |author1=India Census Commissioner |volume=22 }}</ref>
|-
![[Population|{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}]]
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
|-
! [[Islam]] [[File:Star and Crescent.svg|15px]]
| 2,154,695
| {{Percentage | 2154695 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 2,398,320
| {{Percentage | 2398320 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 2,548,514
| {{Percentage | 2548514 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 2,817,636
| {{Percentage | 2817636 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 3,101,247
| {{Percentage | 3101247 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Hinduism]] [[File:Om.svg|15px]]
| 689,073
| {{Percentage | 689073 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 690,390
| {{Percentage | 690390 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 692,641
| {{Percentage | 692641 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 736,222
| {{Percentage | 736222 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 809,165
| {{Percentage | 809165 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Buddhism]] [[File:Dharma_Wheel_(2).svg|15px]]
| 35,047
| {{Percentage | 35047 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 36,512
| {{Percentage | 36512 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 37,685
| {{Percentage | 37685 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 38,724
| {{Percentage | 38724 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 40,696
| {{Percentage | 40696 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Sikhism]] [[File:Khanda.svg|15px]]
| 25,828
| {{Percentage | 25828 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 31,553
| {{Percentage | 31553 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 39,507
| {{Percentage | 39507 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 50,662
| {{Percentage | 50662 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 65,903
| {{Percentage | 65903 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Jainism]] [[File:Jain_Prateek_Chihna.svg|15px]]
| 442
| {{Percentage | 442 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 345
| {{Percentage | 345 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 529
| {{Percentage | 529 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 597
| {{Percentage | 597 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 910
| {{Percentage | 910 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Christianity]] [[File:Christian cross.svg|15px]]
| 422
| {{Percentage | 422 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 975
| {{Percentage | 975 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 1,634
| {{Percentage | 1634 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 2,263
| {{Percentage | 2263 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 3,509
| {{Percentage | 3509 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Zoroastrianism]] [[File:Faravahar.svg|15px]]
| 11
| {{Percentage | 11 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 31
| {{Percentage | 31 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 7
| {{Percentage | 7 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 5
| {{Percentage | 5 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 29
| {{Percentage | 29 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Tribal religions in India|Tribal]]
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| 134
| {{Percentage | 134 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 51
| {{Percentage | 51 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! [[Judaism]] [[File:Star_of_David.svg|15px]]
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| {{N/a}}
| 10
| {{Percentage | 10 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! Others
| 60
| {{Percentage | 60 | 2905578 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 3158126 | 2 }}
| 1
| {{Percentage | 1 | 3320518 | 2 }}
| 0
| {{Percentage | 0 | 3646243 | 2 }}
| 95
| {{Percentage | 95 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|-
! Total population
! 2,905,578
! {{Percentage | 2905578 | 2905578 | 2 }}
! 3,158,126
! {{Percentage | 3158126 | 3158126 | 2 }}
! 3,320,518
! {{Percentage | 3320518 | 3320518 | 2 }}
! 3,646,243
! {{Percentage | 3646243 | 3646243 | 2 }}
! 4,021,616
! {{Percentage | 4021616 | 4021616 | 2 }}
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="11" | {{small|Note: The Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir includes the contemporary administrative divisions of [[Jammu division|Jammu]], [[Kashmir division|Kashmir]], [[Ladakh]], [[Azad Kashmir]], and [[Gilgit-Baltistan]].}}
|}