Demographics
[edit]
Population[edit]
The population of Azad Kashmir, according to the preliminary results of 2023 Pakistani census, is 4.33 million. The website of the AJK government reports the literacy rate to be 74%, with the enrolment rate in primary school being 98% and 90% for boys and girls respectively.
The population of Azad Kashmir is almost entirely Muslim. The people of this region culturally differ from the Kashmiris living in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir and are closer to the culture of Pir Panjal Region. Mirpur, Kotli, and Bhimber are all old towns of the Jammu region.
Religion[edit]
Azad Jammu and Kashmir has an almost entirely Muslim population. According to data maintained by Christian community organisations, there are around 4,500 Christian residents in the region. Bhimber is home to most of them, followed by Mirpur and Muzaffarabad. A few dozen families also live in Kotli, Poonch, and Bagh. However, the Christian community has been struggling to get residential status and property rights in AJK.
There is no official data on the total number of Baháʼí Faith adherents in AJK. Only six Baháʼí families are known to be living in Muzaffarabad with others living in rural areas.
The followers of the Ahmadi faith are estimated to be somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000, and most of them live in Kotli, Mirpur, Bhimber, and Muzaffarabad.
Religious groups in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Jammu & Kashmir Princely State era)
Religiousgroup
1891
1901
1911
1921
1931
1941
Pop.
%
Pop.
%
Pop.
%
Pop.
%
Pop.
%
Pop.
%
Islam
659,265
86.87%
747,426
85.62%
749,945
87.76%
780,607
88.02%
850,135
87.68%
939,460
87.54%
Hinduism
92,639
12.21%
108,331
12.41%
84,130
9.85%
81,733
9.22%
87,554
9.03%
93,559
8.72%
Sikhism
6,918
0.91%
17,132
1.96%
20,391
2.39%
24,491
2.76%
31,709
3.27%
39,910
3.72%
Jainism
64
0.01%
0
0%
8
0%
6
0%
11
0%
0
0%
Christianity
21
0%
18
0%
55
0.01%
24
0%
168
0.02%
136
0.01%
Buddhism
0
0%
0
0%
2
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
Zoroastrianism
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
1
0%
0
0%
Tribal
0
0%
—N/a
—N/a
—N/a
—N/a
—N/a
—N/a
0
0%
0
0%
Judaism
—N/a
—N/a
—N/a
—N/a
—N/a
—N/a
—N/a
—N/a
—N/a
—N/a
0
0%
Others
0
0%
8
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
89
0.01%
Total population
758,907
100%
872,915
100%
854,531
100%
886,861
100%
969,578
100%
1,073,154
100%
Note1: 1891 & 1901 figures taken from census data by combining the total population of two districts (Bhimber and Muzaffarabad) and one Jagir (Poonch) in the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir that ultimately would be administered by Pakistan, in the contemporary self-administrative territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.Note2: 1911–1941 figures taken from census data by combining the total population of two districts (Mirpur and Muzaffarabad) and one Jagir (Poonch) in the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir that ultimately would be administered by Pakistan, in the contemporary self-administrative territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Ethnic groups[edit]
See also: Azad Kashmiri diaspora
Christopher Snedden writes that most of the native residents of Azad Kashmir are not of Kashmiri ethnicity; rather, they could be called "Jammuites" due to their historical and cultural links with that region, which is coterminous with neighbouring Punjab and Hazara. Because their region was formerly a part of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and is named after it, many Azad Kashmiris have adopted the "Kashmiri" identity, whereas in an ethnolinguistic context, the term "Kashmiri" would ordinarily refer to natives of the Kashmir Valley region. The population of Azad Kashmir has strong historical, cultural and linguistic affinities with the neighbouring populations of upper Punjab and Potohar region of Pakistan, whereas the Sudhans have the oral tradition of Pashtuns.
The main communities living in this region are:
Gujjars – They are an agricultural tribe and are estimated to be the largest community living in the ten districts of Azad Kashmir. They are estimated to number around 800,000.
Sudhans – (also known as Sadozai, Sardar) are the second largest tribe, inhabiting mainly the districts of Poonch, Sudhanoti, Bagh, and Kotli in Azad Kashmir. They allegedly originated from Pashtun areas. Their population numbers over 500,000, and together with the Rajputs they are the source of most of Azad Kashmir's political class.
Jats – They are one of the larger communities of AJK and primarily inhabit the districts of Mirpur, Bhimber, and Kotli. A large Mirpuri population lives in the U.K. and it is estimated that more people of Mirpuri origins are now residing in the U.K. than in the Mirpur district, which retains strong ties with the U.K. Mirpuri Jats number approximately 300,000.
Rajputs – They are spread across the territory, and they number a little under 500,000. Together with the Sudhans, they are the source of most of Azad Kashmir's political class.
Mughals – Largely located in the Bagh and Muzaffarabad districts.
Awans – A clan with significant numbers in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, living mainly in the Bagh, Poonch, Hattian Bala, and Muzaffarabad. Awans also reside in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in large numbers.
Dhund – They are a large clan in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and live mostly in the Bagh, Hattian Bala, and Muzaffarabad districts. They also inhabit Abbottabad and upper Potohar Punjab in large numbers.
Kashmiris – Ethnic Kashmiri populations are found in the Neelam Valley and the Leepa Valley (see Kashmiris in Azad Kashmir).
Languages[edit]
Languages by approximate number of speakers
Pahari-Pothwari (68.0%)
Gojri (19.0%)
Kashmiri (5.00%)
Others (8.00%)
The official language of Azad Kashmir is Urdu, while English is used in higher domains. The majority of the population, however, are native speakers of other languages. The foremost among these is Pahari–Pothwari (a dialect of Punjabi) with its various dialects. There are also sizeable communities speaking Kashmiri (mostly in the north), Gujari (throughout the territory), and Dogri (in the south), as well as pockets of speakers of Kundal Shahi, Shina and Pashto. With the exception of Pashto and English, those languages belong to the Indo-Aryan language family.
The dialects of the Pahari-Pothwari (a Punjabic dialect in of itself) language complex cover most of the territory of Azad Kashmir. Those are also spoken across the Line of Control in the neighbouring areas of Indian Jammu and Kashmir and are closely related both to Majhi Punjabi to the south, other Lahnda Punjabi dialects and Hindko to the northwest. The language variety in the southern districts of Azad Kashmir is known by a variety of names – including Mirpuri, Pothwari and Pahari – and is closely related to the Pothwari dialect proper spoken to the east in the Pothohar region of Punjab. The dialects of the central districts of Azad Kashmir are occasionally referred to in the literature as Chibhali or Punchi, but the speakers themselves usually call them Pahari, an ambiguous name that is also used for several unrelated languages of the lower Himalayas. Going north, the speech forms gradually change into Hindko. Today, in the Muzaffarabad District the preferred local name for the language is Hindko, although it is still apparently more closely related to the core dialects of Pahari. Further north in the Neelam Valley the dialect, locally also known as Parmi, can more unambiguously be subsumed under Hindko.
Another major language of Azad Kashmir is Gujari. It is spoken by several hundred thousand people among the traditionally nomadic Gujars, many of whom are nowadays settled. Not all ethnic Gujars speak Gujari, the proportion of those who have shifted to other languages is probably higher in southern Azad Kashmir. Gujari is most closely related to the Rajasthani languages (particularly Mewati), although it also shares features with Punjabi. It is dispersed over large areas in northern Pakistan and India. Within Pakistan, the Gujari dialects of Azad Kashmir are more similar, in terms of shared basic vocabulary and mutual intelligibility, to the Gujar varieties of the neighbouring Hazara region than to the dialects spoken further to the northwest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and north in Gilgit.
There are scattered communities of Kashmiri speakers, notably in the Neelam Valley, where they form the second-largest language group after speakers of Hindko. There have been calls for the teaching of Kashmiri (particularly in order to counter India's claim of promoting the culture of Kashmir), but the limited attempts at introducing the language at the secondary school level have not been successful, and it is Urdu, rather than Kashmiri, that Kashmiri Muslims have seen as their identity symbol. There is an ongoing process of gradual shift to larger local languages, but at least in the Neelam Valley there still exist communities for whom Kashmiri is the sole mother tongue.
There are speakers of Dogri in the southernmost district of Bhimber, where they are estimated to represent almost a third of the district's population. In the northernmost district of Neelam, there are small communities of speakers of several other languages. Shina, which like Kashmiri belongs to the broad Dardic group, is present in two distinct varieties spoken altogether in three villages. Pashto, of the Iranian subgroup and the majority language in the neighbouring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is spoken in two villages, both situated on the Line of Control. The endangered Kundal Shahi is native to the eponymous village and it is the only language not found outside Azad Kashmir.
