The district of Kargil was a part of Baltistan District before 1947, but is now administratively part of Ladakh in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Kargil lies on the line of control facing Pakistan controlled Kashmir.

Geography

Kargil district is nestled in the Himalayas, giving it a cool, temperate climate. Summers are warm with cool nights, while winters are long and cold with temperatures often dropping to −40 °C with recorded temperatures of −60°C in Drass, especially in the tiny town of Drass which is situated 56 km from the Kargil town. The Zanskar plateau is even colder, thus making it a near-uninhabitable place for humans to stay, except for the hardy Khampas. The entire Kargil district is spread over 14,086 km².

A national highway that includes the Zojila pass connecting Srinagar to Leh, cuts through Kargil. This highway is open for traffic

Demographics

With a population of 140,000 Kargil is the only Muslim majority district in the Ladakh subdivision, consisting about 88% of the district population, of which 73% follow Shia Islam. Most of the district's Muslims are found in Kargil town, Drass, Wakha and the lower Suru valley. The remainder 11% are followers of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, mostly found in Zanskar with small populations in the upper Suru valley (Rangdum) and around Shergol and Mulbekh. Another 1% of the population follow Hinduism and Sikhism.

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

History

The name Kargil is said to be derived from the words Khar and rKil. Khar means castle and rKil means center thus a place between castles as the place lay between many kingdoms. The competing theory is that Kargil has been derived from the words "Gar" and "Khil". Gar in local language mean ‘Any where’ and Khil means a central place where people could stay.

Kargil remained relatively obscure right until the Partition of India when the issue of Kashmir became the focal point and resulted in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. There were pitched battles fought around Kargil which saw the entire area initially coming under Pakistan control before most of it being reclaimed by Indian troops and remained with India after the ceasefire. It again saw some action in the Second Kashmir War with India managing to wrest back the reminder of the Kargil area twice. The first capture was on May 17, 1965, when skirmishes broke out in Rann of Kutch, but had to be returned as per UNMOGIP treatise. On August 15, the same year Kargil fell to Indian forces, though it was once again returned as part of the Tashkent Agreement. However in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 the entire Kargil region including key posts was captured for good by Indian troops. After Pakistan forces lost the war and agreed to the Shimla Agreement, Kargil and other strategic areas nearby had to be given up to India. Kargil became a separate district in the Ladakh region during the year 1979 when it was bifurcated from the earstwhile Leh ditrict.

Kargil War

Main article: Kargil War

To avenge the loss, Pakistan decided to recapture the area through covert operations. In late May 1999, there was a major international conflict in the heights above Kargil, called the Kargil War, in which the Indian Army fought against Pakistani forces and militant fighters, finally evicting the infiltrators.

Referenes

• - Hosted on Indian Express

Further reading

• Ghulam Mohiuddin Dar. Kargil: Its social, culture, and economic history.
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