Jammu and Kashmir - People
Religion returns in Indian census provide a wonderful kaleidoscope of the country s rich social composition, as many religions have originated in the country and few religions of foreign origin have also flourished here. India has the distinction of being the land from where important religions namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism have originated at the same time the country is home to several indigenous faiths tribal religions which have survived the influence of major religions for centuries and are holding the ground firmly Regional con-existence of diverse religious groups in the country makes it really unique and the epithet unity in diversity is brought out clearly in the Indian Census.
Jammu and Kashmir has a Muslim majority population. Though Islam is practiced by about 67% of the population of the state and by 97% of the population of the Kashmir valley, the state has large communities of Buddhists, Hindus (inclusive of Megh Bhagats) and Sikhs.
In Jammu, Hindus constitute 65% of the population, Muslims 31% and Sikhs, 4%; In Ladakh, Buddhists constitute about 46% of the population, the remaining being Muslims. The people of Ladakh are of Indo-Tibetan origin, while the southern area of Jammu includes many communities tracing their ancestry to the nearby Indian states of Haryana and Punjab, as well as the city of Delhi. In totality, the Muslims constitute 67% of the population, the Hindus about 30%, the Buddhists 1%, and the Sikhs 2% of the population.
According to political scientist Alexander Evans, approximately 95% of the total population of 160,000–170,000 of Kashmiri Brahmins, also called Kashmiri Pandits, (i.e. approximately 150,000 to 160,000) left the Kashmir Valley in 1990 as militancy engulfed the state. According to an estimate by the Central Intelligence Agency, about 300,000 Kashmiri Pandits from the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir have been internally displaced due to the ongoing violence.
An official Census 2011 detail of Jammu, a district of Jammu and Kashmir has been released by Directorate of Census Operations in Jammu and Kashmir. Enumeration of key persons was also done by census officials in Jammu District of Jammu and Kashmir. In 2011, Jammu had population of 1,529,958 of which male and female were 813,821 and 716,137 respectively. In 2001 census, Jammu had a population of 1,357,077 of which males were 727,738 and remaining 629,339 were females. Jammu District population constituted 12.20 percent of total Maharashtra population. In 2001 census, this figure for Jammu District was at 13.38 percent of Maharashtra population. There was change of 12.74 percent in the population compared to population as per 2001. In the previous census of India 2001, Jammu District recorded increase of 29.01 percent to its population compared to 1991.
The literacy rate of J&K is 55.52% with male literacy of 67% and female literacy of 43% (census 2001) and as per BPL survey 2008 the literacy rate of J&K is 64.18 with male literacy of 72.32% and female literacy of 55.35%. Sex ratio of 889 females per thousand males, places J&K at 29th rank in the country. Sex ratio of the country is 943 females per thousand males as per 2011 census. The low sex ratio of females to males is alarming and requires attention of all the sections of the society to give heed to "Beti Bachao" slogan pioneered by the Hon‘ble Prime Minister. The trend of decline in the Child Sex Ratio (CSR), defined as number of girls per 1000 of boys between 0-6 years of age, has been unabated since 1961.
On the tenth day of the bright fortnight Assuj is celebrated as the day of victory of Rama over Rawana. Shivratri festival is also celebrated in Jammu and Kashmir. Four Muslim festivals celebrated in the State are Id-ul-Fitr, Idul-Zuha, Id-Milad-un-Nabi and Meraj Alam. Muharram is also observed. The Hemis Gumpa festival of Ladakh takes place in the month of June. A special feature of the Hemis festival is its mask dance. In Spituk monastery in Leh, enormous statues of Goddess Kali are exhibited once in the year on the occasion of the annual festival which falls in January. Other festivals celebrated are Lohri marking a climax of winter. Sinh Sankranti observed in Ramban and adjoining villages. Mela Pat observed in Bhadarwah in the month of August.
The Augsut 2019 nullification of Article 370 and Article 35-A of the Indian Constitution and the introduction of residency law ensured that people from outside can buy property, apply for jobs and even get voting rights in the region, if they meet certain criteria. The law has led to the apprehension that with the influx of non-Kashmiris by virtue of the Domicile Act, it may lead to a complete assimilation of Kashmir and a drastic political demographic change. According to the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, around 370,000 domicile certificate had been granted out of which over 290,000 were in Jammu and over 79,000 in the Kashmir Valley.
Since the government has activated the process of issuing domiciles to outsiders to J&K, political observers say the influx will be continous and facilitated by the government to add more non-Kashmiris to the region. In the event of a plebiscite, a demand that Kashmir has been fighting for since India and Pakistan became independent in 1947, the additional population of non-Kashmiris will have a game-changing impact on the results. But that is a distant idea. The immediate consequences of the Domicile Act will lead to a demographic change, militarised settlements, dispossession and alienation of land in Kashmir.
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