History of Kashmir

The history of Kashmir is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent in South Asia with influences from the surrounding regions of Central, and East Asia. Historically, Kashmir referred to only the Kashmir Valley of the western Himalayas. Today, it denotes a larger area that includes the Indian-administered union territories of Jammu and Kashmir (which consists of Jammu and the Kashmir Valley), Ladakh, the Pakistan-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Chinese-administered regions of Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract.

Archaeological evidence of human presence in the Kashmir Valley dates to the palaeolithic period, and evidence suggests settled human life during the neolithic period. During the Vedic period, Indo-Aryan tribes migrated into Kasmira—the Kashmir Valley as known to the Vedic people. Mauryan rule introduced Buddhism into Kashmir by the third century BC. Kashmir became an important centre of Buddhism and Sanskrit learning under the Kushana Empire in the first half of the first millennium CE.

Between the seventh and ninth century CE, the Karkota dynasty ruled over the region. Under them, the region saw a period of economic prosperity and emerged as a centre of Hindu culture and Sanskrit scholarship. A native tradition of non-dualistic Shaivism arose in the region during this period, flourishing during the following rule of the Utpalas in the 9th and 10th centuries. The Lohara dynasty was established in the early 11th century. Social decline and political turmoil in the 13th and early 14th centuries paved way for the establishment of the Shah Mir dynasty in mid-14th century. Under the Shah Miris, during the 14th and 15th centuries, Islam spread in the region.

Internal conflict in the region in the late 16th century facilitated its annexation into the expanding Mughal Empire, which ruled the region until the mid-18th century. From 1753 until 1819, the region was ruled by the Afghan Durranis, from whom it was annexed by the Sikhs. In 1846, the region became part of the Dogra-ruled princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, under the paramountcy (or tutelage) of the British Crown. Dogra rule lasted until 1947, when the former princely state became a disputed territory, now administered by three countries: India, Pakistan, and the People's Republic of China.