Kargil district
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The town of Kargil was a part of Gilgit-Baltistan before 1947, but is now administratively part of Ladakh in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Kargil lies on the line of control facing Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
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Geography
Kargil is nestled in the Himalaya, giving it a cool, temperate climate. Summers are cool with frigid nights, while winters are long and cold with temperatures, often dropping to -40 °C. The Zanskar plateau is even colder, thus making it an near-uninhabitable place for humans to stay, except for the hardy Khampas.
A national highway connecting Srinagar to Leh, cuts through Kargil. There is an unpaved road leading from Kargil south to Zanskar, which is only open from June to September each year.
Demographics
Kargil is the only Muslim majority district in the Ladakh subdivision, consisting about 78% of the district population (most of these following Shia Islam). Most of the district's Muslims are found in Kargil itself and the lower Suru valley. The remainder 19% are followers of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, mostly found in Zanskar with small populations in the upper Suru valley (Rangdum) and around Shergol. Another 3% of the population follow Hinduism.
Much of Kargil population is inhabited by the Burig and Balti people of Tibetan origin (converting from Buddhism to Islam in the 16th Century), although the majorty have intermingled with the Dard and other Aryan people. The mainly Muslim Dards inhabit in the town of Drass, although a small number of Buddhist Dard, known as Brokpa, inhabit the Dah-Hanu region near the Lamayuru monastery. Of late, immigrants from Kashmir and Hindu Jammu have came to settle in Kargil.
History
Kargil War
Main article: Kargil War
In late May 1999, there was a major international incident in the heights above Kargil, called the Kargil War, in which the Indian Army fought against Pakistani forces and/or militant fighters holding the high ground, who eventually withdrew. The conflict was ultimately resolved as the Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif agreed to a deal with US president Bill Clinton and ordered a retreat of all Pakistani forces from Kargil.
External links
- http://kargil.nic.in/
- Pakistan's Northern Areas dilemma (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1491179.stm) (BBC)
- Northern Areas Development Gateway (http://www.northernareas.org.pk)
- Pakistan's Northern Areas (http://paknews.com/articles.php?id=1&date1=2003-04-17)
- Northern Pakistan's Karakoram & Hindukush Mountains (http://www.monitor.net/~jmko/karakoram/about-kh.htm)
- The Mountain Areas Conservancy Project (http://www.macp-pk.org/home.asp)
- Gilgit Map (http://www.geocities.com/johnmap2001/kkh/maps/gilgit.html)
- http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/south/07/04/kashmir.timeline/
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/387702.stm