Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir was a region formerly administered by India as a state from 1947 to 2019, constituting the southern and south-eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pakistan and China since the mid-20th century. The underlying region of this state were parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, whose western districts, now known as Azad Kashmir, and northern territories, now known as Gilgit-Baltistan, are administered by Pakistan. The Aksai Chin region in the east, bordering Tibet, has been under Chinese control since 1962.

After the Government of India repealed the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian constitution in 2019, the Parliament of India passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, which contained provisions to split the state into two union territories – Ladakh in the east and the residuary Jammu and Kashmir in the west, with effect from 31 October 2019. Jammu and Kashmir was the only state in India with a Muslim-majority population.