Jammu and Kashmir was the only state in India which had special autonomy under Article 370 of the Constitution of India, according to which no law enacted by the Parliament of India, except for those in the field of defence, communication, and foreign policy, would be extendable in Jammu and Kashmir unless it was ratified by the state legislature of Jammu and Kashmir.

The state was able to define the permanent residents of the state who alone had the privilege to vote in state elections, the right to seek government jobs, and the ability to own land or property in the state.

After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was divided between India (which controlled the regions of Jammu, Kashmir Valley, and Ladakh) and Pakistan (which controlled Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir). The Indian-administered territories elected a constituent assembly in 1951, which ratified the accession of the state to India in 1954.

In 1956–57, China constructed a road through the disputed Aksai Chin area of Ladakh. India’s belated discovery of this road culminated in the Sino-Indian War of 1962. China has since administered Aksai Chin. Following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, India and Pakistan signed the Simla Agreement, recognizing a Line of Control in Kashmir, and committing to a peaceful resolution of the dispute through bilateral negotiations.

The vast majority of the state’s territory is mountainous, and the physiography is divided into seven zones that are closely associated with the structural components of the western Himalayas. From southwest to northeast those zones consist of the plains, the foothills, the Pir Panjal Range, the Vale of Kashmir, the Great Himalayas zone, the upper Indus River valley, and the Karakoram Range.

The climate varies from alpine in the northeast to subtropical in the southwest. In the alpine area, average annual precipitation is about 3 inches (75 mm), but in the subtropical zone (around Jammu) rainfall amounts to about 45 inches (1,150 mm) per year. The entire region is prone to violent seismic activity, and light to moderate tremors are common. A strong earthquake centred in neighbouring Pakistani-administered Kashmir killed hundreds in Jammu and Kashmir state in 2005.

In August 2019, both houses of the Parliament of India passed resolutions to amend Article 370 and extend the Constitution of India in its entirety to the state, which was implemented as a constitutional order by the President of India. At the same time, the parliament also passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which contained provisions that dissolved the state of Jammu and Kashmir and established two new union territories: the eponymous union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and that of Ladakh.

The reorganization act was assented to by the President of India and came into effect on 31 October 2019. Prior to these measures, the union government locked down the Kashmir Valley, increased security forces, imposed Section 144 that prevented assembly, and placed political leaders such as former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti under house arrest. Internet and phone services were also blocked.

Jammu and Kashmir has many lakes, rivers, and glaciers. Significant rivers of Jammu & Kashmir that flow through Jammu & Kashmir from the Himalayas are Jhelum, Chenab, Sutlej, Ravi, and Indus. These river basins are located at a higher elevation facilitating huge hydropower potential. Major lakes include Manasbal Lake, Dal Lake, Wular Lake, Nageen Lake, Pangong, Tso Moriri, Tso Kar, Spanggur Tso. There are around 1230 water bodies in Jammu & Kashmir.

• Capital: Jammu (Winter), Kashmir (Summer)

• Principal Languages: Kashmiri, Dogri & Urdu

• Population [2011-Census]: 12,541,302 persons

• Geographical Area [2011]: 222,236 km

• District: 20

• Tehsils: 217