Anantnag district

Anantnag district is an administrative district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary sources (a) through (d), reflecting due weight in the coverage. Although "controlled" and "held" are also applied neutrally to the names of the disputants or to the regions administered by them, as evidenced in sources (f) through (h) below, "held" is also considered politicized usage, as is the term "occupied," (see (i) below). (a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent ... has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, the last two being part of a territory called the Northern Areas. Administered by India are the southern and southeastern portions, which constitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir but are slated to be split into two union territories."; (b)  (subscription required) Quote: "Aksai Chin, Chinese (Pinyin) Aksayqin, portion of the Kashmir region, at the northernmost extent of the Indian subcontinent in south-central Asia. It constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India to be part of the Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir state."; (c)  C. E Bosworth, University of Manchester Quote: "KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered partlv by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947"; (d) Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute betw een India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China." (e) Quote: "We move from a disputed international border to a dotted line on the map that represents a military border not recognized in international law. The line of control separates the Indian and Pakistani administered areas of the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir."; (f)  (subscription required) Quote: "... China became active in the eastern area of Kashmir in the 1950s and has controlled the northeastern part of Ladakh (the easternmost portion of the region) since 1962."; (g)  Quote: "J&K: Jammu and Kashmir. The former princely state that is the subject of the Kashmir dispute. Besides IJK (Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir. The larger and more populous part of the former princely state. It has a population of slightly over 10 million, and comprises three regions: Kashmir Valley, Jammu, and Ladakh.) and AJK ('Azad" (Free) Jammu and Kashmir. The more populous part of Pakistani-controlled J&K, with a population of approximately 2.5 million. AJK has six districts: Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Bagh, Kodi, Rawalakot, and Poonch. Its capital is the town of Muzaffarabad. AJK has its own institutions, but its political life is heavily controlled by Pakistani authorities, especially the military), it includes the sparsely populated "Northern Areas" of Gilgit and Baltistan, remote mountainous regions which are directly administered, unlike AJK, by the Pakistani central authorities, and some high-altitude uninhabitable tracts under Chinese control." (h) Quote: "Kashmir’s identity remains hotly disputed with a UN-supervised “Line of Control” still separating Pakistani-held Azad (“Free”) Kashmir from Indian-held Kashmir."; (i)  Quote:"Some politicised terms also are used to describe parts of J&K. These terms include the words 'occupied' and 'held'." It is one of ten districts which make up the Kashmir Valley. The district headquarters is Anantnag city. As of 2011, it was the third most populous district of Jammu and Kashmir (out of 22), after Jammu and Srinagar.

Administration
At the time of the 2011 census, Anantnag district comprised: Anantnag, Bijbehara, Dooru, Kokernag, Pahalgam, and Shangus tehsils. The district consisted of seven blocks: Breng, Shangus, Achabal, Dachnipora, Qazigund, Khoveripora and Shahabad.

Geography
Anantnag district has a total area of 3574 sqkm. The district is bordered by Kargil district and Kishtwar district in the east, Doda district and Ramban district to the south and Ganderbal district to the north and Kulgam, Srinagar, Pulwama and Shopian districts to the west.

Climate
Anantnag features a moderate climate (Köppen climate classification. Anantnag's climate is largely defined by its geographic location, with the towering Karakoram to its east and the Pirpanjal range to the south. It can be generally described as cool in the spring and autumn, mild in the summer, and cold in the winter. As a large city with significant differences in Geolocation among various districts, the weather is often cooler in the hilly areas of the east as compared to the flat northern part of Anantnag.

Summer is usually mild and with a little rain, but relative humidity is generally high and the nights are cool. The precipitation occurs throughout the year but no one month is particularly dry. The hottest month is July (mean minimum temperature 6 °C, mean maximum temperature 32 °C) and the coldest are December–January (mean minimum temperature -15 °C, mean maximum temperature 0 °C).

Weather conditions are unpredictable. The record high temperature is 33 °C and the record low is -18 °C. On 5–6 January 2012, after years of relatively little snow, a wave of heavy snow and low temperatures shocked the city covering it in a thick layer of snow and ice, forcing them to officially declare a state of emergency and calling the following two days (6 and 7 January) off for the whole valley.

Anantnag has seen an increase in relative humidity and annual precipitation in the last few years. This is most likely because of the commercial afforestation projects which also includes expanding parks and green cover. The suburb parts of Anantnag are lusher than the central part. Anantnag District possesses all the typical characteristics of the climate of Kashmir Valley as a whole. "In his introduction to the Rajtarangini Kulan or Kalhána, Pandit says about the climate of Valley: 'It is a country where the sun shines mildly, being the place created by Kashayapa as if for his glory. High school-houses, the saffron, iced water and grapes, which are rare even in heaven, are common here. Kailasa is the best place in the three worlds, Himalaya the best part of Kailásá, and Kashmir the best place in Himalaya.'"

"Sir Walter Lawrence writes in his book The Valley of Kashmir that in latitude Kashmir corresponds with Peshawar, Baghdad and Damascus in Asia: with Fez in Morocco: and South Carolina in America, but it presents none of the characteristics of those countries. People have linked the climate of Kashmir to that of Switzerland until the end of May, and of Southern France in July and August. But it is impossible to speak of Kashmir as possessing any one climate or group of characteristics. Every hundred feet of elevation brings some new phase of climate and of vegetation."

Politics
Anantnag district has 6 assembly constituencies: Anantnag, Dooru, Kokernag, Shangus, Bijbehara and Pahalgam. Anantnag district has one Lok Sabha constituency. The present MP of Anantnag-Rajouri is Hasnain Masoodi of the JKNC. The DDC chairperson of the district is Yousuf Gorsi of JKNC which is part of the PAGD.

Demographics
According to the 2011 census Anantnag district had a population of 1,078,692, roughly equal to the nation of Cyprus or the US state of Rhode Island. This gives it a ranking of 425th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 375 PD/sqkm. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 37.48%. Anantnag had a sex ratio of 927 females for every 1,000 males (this varies with religion) and a literacy rate of 64.32% in 2011.

Anantnag city with population of 108,505 was the largest city in the district. Anantnag Urban Agglomeration had a population of 158,785.

The predominant language of the district is Kashmiri which is spoken by 85.10% of the population. The second largest language is Gujari which is 11.46%, while Pahari is third with 1.21% of the population.

Air
The nearest airport is Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport in Srinagar located 60 kilometres from district headquarters Anantnag. There is a nearby airbase in Awantipora which is used by the Indian Air Force.

Rail
Anantnag district is very well-connected with railways. The Jammu–Baramulla line passes through the district. There are numerous railway stations throughout the district.

Road
The district is well-connected with roads and highways. The NH 44, NH 244 and NH 501 passes through Anantnag district alongside other intra-district roads.

Villages

 * Khiram

Gallery