JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Jammu and Kashmir is an union territory in the northern part of the country administered by the government of India. It is separated from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and the Gilgit-Baltistan region by the Line of Control and shares a border with the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Until 2019, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir had also encompassed the neighbouring union territory of Ladakh.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act was passed in both houses of Parliament in August 2019, reconstituting the state into two separate UTs. Around the same time, a resolution was also passed to repeal Article 370 which had given special status to the former state - J&K had had its own constitution, flag and administrative autonomy.

The state is currently administered under the provisions of Article 239 of the Indian Constitution. The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir - currently Manoj Sinha - is the head of the Union territory. The primarily hilly state has two capital cities - Jammu in winter and Srinagar in summer. It comprises of two administrative divisions - Jammu and Kashmir and is further subdivided into 20 districts. While the Kashmir Division has a predominantly Muslim community, the Jammu division is predominantly Hindu with a significant Muslim population. The most widely spoken language in the region is Kashmiri, followed by Dogri.

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