Kathua district

Kathua district is one of 20 administrative districts that comprise the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is surrounded by Jammu to the northwest, the Doda and Udhampur districts to the north, the state of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Punjab to the south, and Pakistan's working boundary to the west. Its terrain is diverse, consisting of rich agricultural areas along the Punjab/Kashmir border, plains sweeping eastward to the foothills of the Himalaya, and the mountainous Pahari region in the east.

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Kathua.

Kathua district
District of Jammu and Kashmir
Location of Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir
Coordinates (Kathua): 32°35′N 75°30′E
Country	India
Union territory	Jammu and Kashmir
Division	Jammu Division
Headquarters	Kathua
Tehsils	Bani, Basholi, Billawar, Hiranagar, Kathua, Nagri-Parole, Marheen, Dinga Amb, Mahanpur, Lohai Malhar, Ramkote.
Government
• District Magistrate	OP Bhagat
• Lok Sabha constituencies	Doda-Udhampur-Kathua
• Vidhan Sabha constituencies	Kathua Urban, Basoli, Billawar, Bani, Hiranagar.
Area
• Total	2,651 km^2 (1,024 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	616,435
• Density	230/km^2 (600/sq mi)
• Urban	14.6%
Demographics
• Literacy	73.09%
• Sex ratio	890
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration	JK-08
Major highways	NH 44(Pathankot-Jammu), Bhaderwah-Basoli Highway, Border Road(Kathua-Bishnah).
Average annual precipitation	921cm ( Annual-Billawar) mm
Website	https://kathua.nic.in/

Kathua district is divided into 8 blocks: Bani, Barnoti, Basholi, Billawar, Duggan, Ghagwal, Hiranagar, Kathua and Lohai Malhar. It has approximately 512 villages.

The traditional language of Kathua is Dogri. Pahari languages are prevalent in the mountainous area of the east. The principal media of education are English, Hindi, and Urdu.

A relatively safe regional pocket, Kathua was spared the decade-long insurrection sparked by the Khalistan separatist movement in Punjab State on the Indian side of Punjab region that ended in the early 1990s, just to its south, and the ongoing insurgency in Kashmir Valley further to the north, beginning in the 1980s.

History

Jodh Singh of the Andotra clan(shares ancestry with Tomar and Som Rajputs) is believed to have migrated from Hastinapur to [Kathua] nearly 2,000 years ago.

His three sons established the three Hamlets of Taraf Tajwal, Taraf Manjali and Taraf Bhajwal. Their descendants are now called as Tajwalia, Bhajwalia and Khanwalia Rajputs of ANDOTRA sub-caste. Prior to 1921, the Kathua district was known as the Jasrota district. Between 1921–1931, the headquarters of the district was shifted to Kathua without any alteration in the area of governance.[1][2]

Greek historians, who provide an insight into the ancient history of Jammu hills, prominently record the existence in this area of two powerful empires - Abhisara (present day Poonch) and Kathaioi - at the time of invasion of India by Alexander. Strabo describes Kathaioi as a mighty republic of that era, located in the foothills along the Ravi River. The topography of Kathaioi corresponds with the present day Kathua. Strabo describes the people of this republic as the epitome of bravery and courage, and records that they gave a tough fight to invading army of Alexander.

There are many places which commemorate a visit to Kathua by Pandavas. Lord Krishna is also said to have come to this area, in order to get back from Jamawant the Syamantaka Mani.

Because of its close proximity to the Pakistan border, Kathua District has had a significant Indian Army presence since independence. The Army units were camped at Kathua during militancy in the state when the ultras (extremists) carried out attacks against government installations. Some of these ultras were Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and infiltration across the border from Pakistan was a major concern.[3] There were many attacks in the region beginning in the late 1980s. Among them, in 2002, in March ten people were killed in an attack in Kathua at a temple, in May thirty-two people were killed in an attack on a bus and Army residential complex, in July twenty-nine people were killed in an attack near Qasim Nagar, in September twelve people were killed when ultras attacked a bus at Hiranagar Morh.[4] In 2005, three terrorists attacked on army camp in front of District Hospital in Kathua killing two people. By 2008 the attacks had ceased.[5] But in 2013, ultras attacked a police station, killing four policemen and a civilian, stole a truck and then attacked an army camp in the neighboring Samba District.[5][5][6]

Basohli Paintings

Basohli, a town of Kathua district, is widely known for its paintings. Immortalised by their artistic eminences and their connoisseur patrons, Basohli today is a metaphor for a vigorous, bold and imaginative artistic style, rich, stylish and unconventional.

A style of painting characterized by vigorous use of primary colours and a peculiar facial formula prevailed in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries in the foothills of the Western Himalayas in the Jammu and Punjab States.

The earliest paintings in this style originated in Basohli from where the style spread to the Hill States of Mankot, Nurpur, Kulu, Mandi, Suket, Bilaspur, Nalagarh, Chamba, Guler and Kangra. The first mention of Basohli painting is in the annual report of the Archaeological Survey of India published in 1921.

Administration

Kathua is divided into four subdivisions: Bani, Basohli, Billawar/Badnota, and Hiranagar. These sub-divisions are further divided into 11 tehsils:[7]

• Kathua
• Hiranagar
• Billawar
• Basohli
• Bani
• Nagri
• Marheen
• Dinga Amb
• Mahanpur
• Lohai Malhar
• Ramkote

Politics

Kathua District has five assembly constituencies: Bani, Basohli, Kathua, Billawar and Hiranagar (S.C).[8]

Demographics

Historical populations  Census Population %± 1901 144,722 — 1911 142,404 −1.6% 1921 144,675 1.6% 1931 151,394 4.6% 1941 166,940 10.3% 1951 180,968 8.4% 1961 194,997 7.8% 1971 256,755 31.7% 1981 340,494 32.6% 1991 419,120 23.1% 2001 511,455 22.0% 2011 616,435 20.5% source:[9] † 1951 and 1991 populations are estimated	Religion in Kathua district (2011)[10]   Hinduism (87.61%)   Islam (10.42%)   Sikhism (1.55%)   Other (0.42%)	Sex Ratio in Kathua District in 2011 Census.[11] (no. females per 1,000 males) Religion (and population) Sex Ratio Hindu (pop 540,063)   890 Muslim (pop 64,234)   904 Sikh (pop 9,551)   809 Other (pop 2,587)   873 Total (pop 616,435)   890	Kathua district: mother-tongue of population, according to the 2011 Census.[12]   Dogri (81.92%)   Gojri (3.50%)   Hindi (1.03%)   Pahari (6.94%)   Kashmiri (2.01%)   Punjabi (1.86%)   Others (2.74%)

According to the 2011 census Kathua district has a population of 616,435, roughly equal to the nation of Solomon Islands[13] or the US state of Vermont.[14] This gives it a ranking of 521st in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 246 inhabitants per square kilometre (640/sq mi) .[13] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 20.53%. Kathua has a sex ratio of 890 females for every 1000 males,[13] and a literacy rate of 73.09%.[13]

Kathua district: religion, gender ratio, and % urban of population, according to the 2011 Census.[11]
	Hindu	Muslim	Christian	Sikh	Buddhist	Jain	Other	Not stated	Total
Total	540,063	64,234	1,828	9,551	24	16	2	717	616,435
	87.61%	10.42%	0.30%	1.55%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.12%	100.00%
Male	285,720	33,728	941	5,280	12	9	1	418	326,109
Female	254,343	30,506	887	4,271	12	7	1	299	290,326
Gender ratio (% female)	47.1%	47.5%	48.5%	44.7%	50.0%	43.8%	50.0%	41.7%	47.1%
Sex ratio (no. of females per 1,000 males)	890	904	943	809	–	–	–	715	890
Urban	82,162	3,272	1,111	3,015	13	6	1	133	89,713
Rural	457,901	60,962	717	6,536	11	10	1	584	526,722
% Urban	15.2%	5.1%	60.8%	31.6%	54.2%	37.5%	50.0%	18.5%	14.6%

Kathua district: mother-tongue of population, according to the 2011 Census.[12]
Mother tongue code	Mother tongue	People	Percentage
001002	Assamese	75	0.01%
002007	Bengali	407	0.07%
004001	Dogri	505,013	81.92%
005018	Gujarati	154	0.02%
005054	Ponchi	978	0.16%
006086	Bhadrawahi	494	0.08%
006096	Bharmauri/Gaddi	2,063	0.33%
006102	Bhojpuri	725	0.12%
006142	Chhattisgarhi	805	0.13%
006207	Gojri/Gujjari/Gujar	21,599	3.50%
006235	Haryanvi	41	0.01%
006240	Hindi	6,344	1.03%
006400	Marwari	43	0.01%
006439	Pahari	42,776	6.94%
006489	Rajasthani	106	0.02%
007016	Kannada	122	0.02%
008005	Kashmiri	12,399	2.01%
008018	Siraji	89	0.01%
008019	Dardi	839	0.14%
010008	Maithili	56	0.01%
011016	Malayalam	199	0.03%
013071	Marathi	300	0.05%
014011	Nepali	191	0.03%
015043	Odia	284	0.05%
016038	Punjabi	11,469	1.86%
020027	Tamil	206	0.03%
021046	Telugu	175	0.03%
022015	Urdu	224	0.04%
053005	Gujari	395	0.06%
–	Others	7,864	1.28%
Total		616,435	100.00%

References

1. Agrarian Legislation in India, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, 1973, p. 232
2. Office of the Registrar General, Census of India, 1961: Jammu and Kashmir, Manager of Publications, p. 142
3. Kak. M. L. (29 August 2001). "Kathua next target of ultras ISI shifts officer to Sialkot Sector". The Tribune. Chandigarh, India. Archived from the original on 18 January 2002.
4. Sharma, S. P. (1 October 2002). "Attack shows chinks in police set-up". The Tribune. Chandigarh, India. Archived from the original on 21 December 2002.
5. Singh, Ajit Kumar (2013). "J&K: Escalating Failures". South Asia Intelligence Review: Weekly Assessments & Briefings. 12 (13). Archived from the original on 8 January 2014.
6. Hassan, Ishfaq ul (26 September 2013). "All three ultras in J&K terror attack killed, search operations over". DNA (Diligent Media Corporation). Archived from the original on 8 January 2014.
7. "Kathua - Official Site". kathua.nic.in. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
8. "ERO's and AERO's". Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
9. "A-2 Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901". Censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
10. http://www.census2011.co.in
11. C-1 Population By Religious Community – Jammu & Kashmir (Report). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
12. C-16 Population By Mother Tongue – Jammu & Kashmir (Report). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
13. "Kathua District Population Census 2011, Jammu and Kashmir literacy sex ratio and density". www.census2011.co.in. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
14. "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 1 January 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011. Vermont 625,741

External links

• Kathua district, Official website
• Kathua district on OpenStreetMap
• Gallery for Basohli paintings