Editing Kashmir (section)

===Current status and political divisions===
[[File:Kashmir map.svg|thumb|The disputed territory of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir: divided between [[Pakistan-administered Kashmir|Pakistan]] (green), [[India-administered Kashmir|India]] (blue) and [[China administered Kashmir|China]] (yellow)]]
India has control of about half the area of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which comprises [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] and [[Ladakh]], while Pakistan controls a third of the region, divided into two provinces, [[Azad Kashmir]] and [[Gilgit-Baltistan]]. [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] and [[Ladakh]] are administered by [[India]] as [[union territory|union territories]]. They formed a single state until 5 August 2019, when the state was bifurcated and its [[Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir|limited autonomy]] was revoked.<ref>{{cite news|title=Article 370: What happened with Kashmir and why it matters|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49234708|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=6 August 2019|access-date=2020-11-30|archive-date=29 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029201641/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49234708|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'':

<blockquote>Although there was a clear Muslim majority in Kashmir before the 1947 partition and its economic, cultural, and geographic contiguity with the Muslim-majority area of the Punjab (in Pakistan) could be convincingly demonstrated, the political developments during and after the partition resulted in a division of the region. Pakistan was left with territory that, although basically Muslim in character, was sparsely populated, relatively inaccessible, and economically underdeveloped. The largest Muslim group, situated in the Valley of Kashmir and estimated to number more than half the population of the entire region, lay in India-administered territory, with its former outlets via the [[Jhelum Valley (Kashmir)|Jhelum valley]] route blocked.<ref name="britannica-kashmir" /><ref name=britannica-intro/></blockquote>

The eastern region of the former princely state of Kashmir is also involved in a boundary dispute that began in the late 19th century and continues into the 21st. Although some boundary agreements were signed between Great Britain, Afghanistan and Russia over the northern borders of Kashmir, China never accepted these agreements, and China's official position has not changed following the [[Chinese Communist Revolution|communist revolution of 1949]] that established the People's Republic of China. By the mid-1950s the [[People's Liberation Army|Chinese army]] had entered the north-east portion of Ladakh.<ref name="britannica-kashmir">Kashmir. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 27 March 2007, from [https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-214222 Encyclopædia Britannica Online]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113042440/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-214222 |date=13 January 2008 }}</ref>

<blockquote>By 1956–57 they had completed a military road through the [[Aksai Chin]] area to provide better communication between [[Xinjiang]] and western [[Tibet Autonomous Region|Tibet]]. India's belated discovery of this road led to border clashes between the two countries that culminated in the [[Sino-Indian War]] of October 1962.<ref name="britannica-kashmir" /></blockquote>
[[File:Border_of_Azad_Kashmir_And_Indian_state_of_Jammu_and_Kashmir.jpg|thumb|A white border painted on a suspended bridge delineates [[Azad Kashmir]] from [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]]]
The region is divided amongst three countries in a [[Kashmir conflict|territorial dispute]]: Pakistan controls the northwest portion (Northern Areas and Azad Jammu Kashmir), India controls the central and southern portion (Jammu and Kashmir) and Ladakh, and the People's Republic of [[China]] controls the northeastern portion (Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract). India controls the majority of the [[Siachen Glacier]] area, including the [[Saltoro Mountains|Saltoro Ridge]] passes, whilst Pakistan controls the lower territory just southwest of the Saltoro Ridge. India controls {{cvt|101338|km2|sqmi}} of the disputed territory, Pakistan controls {{cvt|85846|km2|sqmi}}, and the People's Republic of China controls the remaining {{cvt|37555|km2|sqmi|0}}.

Jammu and Azad Kashmir lie south and west of the [[Pir Panjal range]], and are under Indian and Pakistani control respectively. These are populous regions. Gilgit-Baltistan, formerly known as the ''Northern Areas'', is a group of territories in the extreme north, bordered by the [[Karakoram]], the western [[Himalayas]], the [[Pamir Mountains|Pamir]], and the [[Hindu Kush]] ranges. With its administrative centre in the town of [[Gilgit]], the Northern Areas cover an area of {{convert|72,971|km2}} and have an estimated population approaching 1&nbsp;million (10 [[lakh]]s).

Ladakh is between the [[Kunlun Mountains|Kunlun]] mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south.<ref name="Ladakh">{{Citation |title=Ladakh: The Land and the People |last=Jina |first=Prem Singh |year=1996 |publisher=Indus Publishing |isbn=978-81-7387-057-6 }}</ref> Capital towns of the region are [[Leh]] and [[Kargil]]. It is under Indian administration and was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir until 2019. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in the area and is mainly inhabited by people of [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]] and Tibetan descent.<ref name="Ladakh" /> Aksai Chin is a vast high-altitude [[desert]] of salt that reaches altitudes up to {{convert|5000|m|ft}}. Geographically part of the [[Tibetan Plateau]], Aksai Chin is referred to as the Soda Plain. The region is almost uninhabited, and has no permanent settlements.

Though these regions are in practice administered by their respective claimants, neither India nor Pakistan has formally recognised the accession of the areas claimed by the other. India claims those areas, including the area "ceded" to China by Pakistan in the [[Trans-Karakoram Tract]] in 1963, are a part of its territory, while Pakistan claims the entire region excluding Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract. The two countries have fought several declared wars over the territory. The [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947]] established the rough boundaries of today, with Pakistan holding roughly one-third of Kashmir, and India one-half, with a dividing [[line of control]] established by the United Nations. The [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]] resulted in a stalemate and a UN-negotiated ceasefire.