Kulgam district

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Kulgam district
Kolgom
District of Jammu and Kashmir
Location in Jammu and Kashmir, India
Location in Jammu and Kashmir, India
Coordinates: 33°38′24″N 75°01′12″E / 33.64000°N 75.02000°E / 33.64000; 75.02000Coordinates: 33°38′24″N 75°01′12″E / 33.64000°N 75.02000°E / 33.64000; 75.02000
CountryIndia
Union TerritoryJammu and Kashmir
HeadquartersKulgam
Government
 • BodyMunicipal Committee
Area
 • Total1,067 km2 (412 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total424,483
 • Density400/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialKashmiri, Urdu, Hindi, Dogri, English[1][2]
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
192231
Vehicle registrationJK18
Websitekulgam.nic.in

Kulgam district is a district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.[3] It is located at a distance of 18 km towards south-west of Anantnag. The district comprises block, tehsil and town of Kulgam.

Location[edit]

Kulgam is situated near the Pir Panjal Ranges, overlooking the left bank of Veshaw River, along a rough, hilly road from Larow. Nallah Veshav, which drains most of the northern face of Pir Panjal, is the main left-bank tributary of the Jhelum River and traverses through District Kulgam. The Veshev is broken into a number of channels to provide drinking water and irrigation for huge tracts of the district's land.

Town Kulgam is situated about 68 km (42 mi) from Srinagar and about 17 km (11 mi) from Anantnag. Roads connect to the neighbouring districts of Shopian, Pulwama, Anantnag, and Banihal.

History[edit]

Tazkira Sadat-i-Simanania, compiled by 13th-century scholar and poet Swaleh Reshi, gives the name of place as "Shampora". Syed Hussain Simnani later renamed it "Kulgam" (kul for 'clan' and gram for 'village' in Sanskrit). Simnani is said to have invited Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani to Kashmir,[citation needed] with poets including Nund Rishi (Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani (RA)) and Lalleshwari.[citation needed] These poets and their disciples manifested the composite culture or Kashmiriyat, promoting and encouraging religious and cultural harmony even when viewed as heretics by other Asiatic countries.

The form of administration from Sher Shah Suri's reign led to creation of a Tehsil during Mughal Rule, through the aegis of Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom. This had jurisdiction encompassing Doru, Banihal, Gulabgarh, and Shopian. After time, constituent units including Pulwama, Shopian, and Reasi attained the status of district.

The area had been a hunting place for Mughal emperors and Dogra rulers, especially for Shahanshah Shah Jehan, who laid the "Chinar Bagh"[4] and Maharaja Hari Singh, who discovered the virgin potential of sanctuary[clarification needed] at Kutbal.[where?] The District is the birthplace of Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani, the founder of the Rishi order, and of the forefathers of Allama Iqbal and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Rebel groups[edit]

Main article: Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir

There has been insurgency in Kashmir since 1989. Beginning in the 1990s there is an upsurge of Rebel groups in the district, particularly the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.[5][6] the rebels encourage the populace to boycott elections.[7][8]

Demographics[edit]

According to the 2011 census, Kulgam district has a population of 424,483.[9] This gives it a ranking of 554th in India (out of 640).[9] The district has a population density of 925 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,400/sq mi).[9] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 7.3%.[9] Kulgam has a sex ratio of 951 females for every 1000 males[9] (this varies with religion), and a literacy rate of 60.3 percent. According to officials demographics is improving at a good rate.The density of population of the district is 1051 persons per km2 as compared to 124 persons for the state according to the Census figures of 2011.

Religion in Kulgam district (2011)[10]
Religion Percent
Islam
 
 98.49%
Hinduism
 
 1.01%
Other or not stated
 
 0.5%

Languages of Kulgam district (2011)[11]

  Kashmiri (91.91%)
  Gojri (6.32%)
  Others (1.77%)
Sex Ratio in Kulgam District in 2011 Census.[12]
(no. females per 1,000 males)
Religion (and population) Sex Ratio
Muslim (pop 418,076)
 
 962
Hindu (pop 4,267)
 
 284
Other (pop 2,140)
 
 744
Total (pop 424,483)
 
 951
Kulgam district: religion, gender ratio, and % urban of population, according to the 2011 Census.[12]
Hindu Muslim Christian Sikh Buddhist Jain Other Not stated Total
Total 4,267 418,076 460 1,035 27 25 9 584 424,483
1.01% 98.49% 0.11% 0.24% 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% 0.14% 100.00%
Male 3,324 213,069 264 581 19 12 5 346 217,620
Female 943 205,007 196 454 8 13 4 238 206,863
Gender ratio (% female) 22.1% 49.0% 42.6% 43.9% 29.6% 52.0% 44.4% 40.8% 48.7%
Sex ratio
(no. of females per 1,000 males) 		284 962 – 781 – – – 688 951
Urban 2,141 78,219 116 85 6 3 0 43 80,613
Rural 2,126 339,857 344 950 21 22 9 541 343,870
% Urban 50.2% 18.7% 25.2% 8.2% 22.2% 12.0% 0.0% 7.4% 19.0%

At the time of the 2011 census, 91.91% of the population spoke Kashmiri and 6.32% Gojri as their first language.[11]

Administration[edit]

District Kulgam was separated from district Anantnag, along with several other new districts, and made administratively separate from 2 April 2007.

Kulgam district currently consists of eleven blocks: Kulgam, D.H Pora, Devsar, Pahloo, Qaimoh, Kund, Manzgam, Frisal, Pombay, Behibagh, and D.K. Marg.[13] This has not always been the case, in the 2008 reorganisation the district consisted of five blocks.[14] Each block consists of a number of panchayats (English: 'assembly rule', a traditional system of local government).

The district has seven administrative units (Tehsils): Kulgam, Damhal Hanji Pora, Devsar, Frisal, Pahloo, Yaripora, and Qaimoh. Kulgam district has Five important towns: Frisal, Yaripora, Kulgam, Devsar, and Damhal Hanji Pora. Four of these have received municipality status; Damhal Hanji Pora has yet to be recognized as a municipality.

There are five police stations in the district at: Kulgam, Damhal Hanji Pora, Qazigund, Yaripora and Devsar, and six police posts at: Qaimoh, Frisal, Mir Bazar, Behibagh, Kund and Jawahir Tunnel.[15]

Kulgam has two sub-divisions: Kulgam and Damhal Hanji Pora.

Politics[edit]

Kulgam district has 4 assembly constituencies: Noorabad, Kulgam, Homshailibugh, and Devsar.[16] The parties of the current members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) are: Indian National Congress (INC) for Devsar, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) for Homshailibugh, Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Noorabad, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) for Kulgam.

Homshallibugh J&K is 39th assembly segment has three municipal towns – Yaripora, Frisal and Qaimoh – which are also tehsil headquarters. Yaripora is an education and health block, while Qaimoh is agriculture as well as education and health blocks. Frisal is a community development block.[17]

Road facility[edit]

Kulgam has following roads connecting it to various assembly segments and with NH1A (major district roads):

Health facilities[edit]

Habitation and environment[edit]

The main source of livelihood in the district is agriculture and horticulture. The low-lying areas of Kulgam are very fertile for rice cultivation, and are considered as the 'Rice Bowl of Kashmir'. The higher elevations are known for production of apples. Livestock and sheep-rearing is a subsidiary occupation among the rural population, particularly in the higher elevations.[18]

Kulgam District is covered by the Pir Panjal mountain range on the southwest side, acting as a massive topographical protection. The area is significantly covered in forestation.

Tourism[edit]

Town Kulgam is situated about 68 km (42 mi) from Srinagar and about 17 km (11 mi) from Anantnag. Aside from places of spiritual interest, the district has tourist spots like Aharbal water fall on Veshev Nallah which is a place of sight-seeing in the extreme south-west. High pastures and meadows are also places of tourist attraction in the area from Kund to Ladigasan (ahead of Aherbal clefts). The District also has an abundance of natural water from springs such as Kausar Nag, Waseknag, Khee Nag, etc.

Photo Gallery[edit]

  • Aharbal Fall

    Aharbal Fall

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  2. ↑ "Parliament passes JK Official Languages Bill, 2020". Rising Kashmir. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  3. ↑ "History | District Kulgam". kulgam.nic.in. Government of Jammu and Kashmir. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  4. ↑ "Chinar Bagh srinagar". google.co.in/maps. Google maps.
  5. ↑ "Top Lashkar-e-Taiba militant killed". NDTV. 16 September 2007. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007.
  6. ↑ "Gunbattle on between militants, security forces in south Kashmir". The Times of india. 25 May 2014. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014.
  7. ↑ Pandit, M. Saleem (24 April 2014). "Low voter turnout in Kashmir due to militants' poll boycott call". The Times of india.
  8. ↑ Shuja-ul-Haq (28 May 2021). "J&K cops arrest newly recruited militant in south Kashmir's Kulgam district". India Today. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "Kulgam district Population". Census India. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 C-16 Population By Mother Tongue – Jammu & Kashmir (Report). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 C-1 Population By Religious Community – Jammu & Kashmir (Report). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  13. ↑ "Subdivision & Blocks", District Administration Kulgam, retrieved 5 July 2021
  14. ↑ Statement showing the number of blocks in respect of 22 Districts of Jammu and Kashmir State including newly Created Districts, as on 31-03-2008 (PDF), 13 March 2008, archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2008
  15. ↑ "About District/ Administrative Setup/ Police", District Kulgam, District Administration Kulgam, retrieved 5 October 2020
  16. ↑ "ERO's and AERO's". Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  17. ↑ "Jammu Kashmir at a Glance". jkdfp.org. Democratic Freedom Party: JK.
  18. ↑ "Kulgam District Profile". diragrikmr.nic.in. Department of Agriculture Kashmir.
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