In the 1901 Census of the British Indian Empire, the population of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu was 2,905,578. Of these, 2,154,695 (74.16%) were Muslims, 689,073 (23.72%) Hindus, 25,828 (0.89%) Sikhs, and 35,047 (1.21%) Buddhists (implying 935 (0.032%) others).
Among the Muslims of the Kashmir provincewithin the princely state, four divisions were recorded: “Shaikhs, Saiyids, Mughals, and Pathans. The Shaikhs, who are by far the most numerous, are the descendants of Hindus, but have retained none of the caste rules of their forefathers. They have clan names known as krams …”[74] These kramnames included “Tantre”, “Shaikh”, “Bat”, “Mantu”, “Ganai”, “Dar”, “Damar”, “Lon”, etc. The Saiyids “could be divided into those who follow the profession of religion and those who have taken to agriculture and other pursuits. Their kram name is ‘Mir.’ While a Saiyid retains his saintly profession Mir is a prefix; if he has taken to agriculture, Mir is an affix to his name.”[74] The Mughals who were not numerous had kram names like “Mir” (a corruption of “Mirza”), “Beg”, “Bandi”, “Bach” and “Ashaye”. Finally, it was recorded that the Pathans “who are more numerous than the Mughals, … are found chiefly in the south-west of the valley, where Pathan colonies have from time to time been founded. The most interesting of these colonies is that of Kuki-Khel Afridis at Dranghaihama, who retain all the old customs and speak Pashto.”[74] Among the main tribes of Muslims in the princely state are the Butts, Dar, Lone, Jat, Gujjar, Rajput, Sudhan and Khatri. A small number of Butts, Dar and Lone use the title Khawaja. The Khatri use the title Shaikh and the Gujjar use the title Chaudhary. All these tribes are indigenous to the princely state which converted to Islam from Hinduism during its arrival in the region.
The Hindus were found mainly in Jammu, where they constituted a little less than 60% of the population.[74] In the Kashmir Valley, the Hindus represented “524 in every 10,000 of the population (i.e. 5.24%), and in the frontier wazarats of Ladhakh and Gilgit only 94 out of every 10,000 persons (0.94%).”[74] In the same Census of 1901, in the Kashmir Valley, the total population was recorded to be 1,157,394, of which the Muslim population was 1,083,766, or 93.6% and the Hindu population 60,641.[74] Among the Hindus of Jammuprovince, who numbered 626,177 (or 90.87% of the Hindu population of the princely state), the most important castes recorded in the census were “Brahmans (186,000), the Rajputs (167,000), the Khattris (48,000) and the Thakkars (93,000).”[74]
In the 1911 Census of the British Indian Empire, the total population of Kashmir and Jammu had increased to 3,158,126. Of these, 2,398,320 (75.94%) were Muslims, 696,830 (22.06%) Hindus, 31,658 (1%) Sikhs, and 36,512 (1.16%) Buddhists. In the last census of British India in 1941, the total population of Kashmir and Jammu (which as a result of the second world war, was estimated from the 1931 census) was 3,945,000. Of these, the total Muslim population was 2,997,000 (75.97%), the Hindu population was 808,000 (20.48%), and the Sikh 55,000 (1.39%).[75]
The Kashmiri Pandits, the only Hindus of the Kashmir valley, who had stably constituted approximately 4 to 5% of the population of the valley during Dogra rule (1846–1947), and 20% of whom had left the Kashmir valley by 1950,[76] began to leave in much greater numbers in the 1990s. According to a number of authors, approximately 100,000 of the total Kashmiri Pandit population of 140,000 left the valley during that decade.[77] Other authors have suggested a higher figure for the exodus, ranging from the entire population of over 150[78] to 190 thousand (1.5 to 190,000) of a total Pandit population of 200 thousand (200,000)[79] to a number as high as 300 thousand[80] (300,000).
People in Jammu speak Hindi, Punjabi and Dogri, the Vale of Kashmir speaks Kashmiri and the sparsely inhabited Ladakh region speaks Tibetan and Balti.[81]
The total population of India’s division of Jammu and Kashmir is 12,541,302[82] and Pakistan’s division of Kashmir is 2,580,000 and Gilgit-Baltistan is 870,347.[83]
| Administered by | Area | Population | % Muslim | % Hindu | % Buddhist | % Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 India |
Kashmir Valley | ~4 million (4 million) | 95% | 4%* | – | – |
| Jammu | ~3 million (3 million) | 30% | 66% | – | 4% | |
| Ladakh | ~0.25 million (250,000) | 46% | – | 50% | 3% | |
 Pakistan |
Azad Kashmir | ~2.6 million (2.6 million) | 100% | – | – | – |
| Gilgit–Baltistan | ~1 million (1 million) | 99% | – | – | – | |
 China |
Aksai Chin | – | – | – | – | – |
| Trans-Karakoram | – | – | – | – | – | |
KASHEER:"THE LAND OF GOLDEN VALLEYS " 