Cashmere is the familiar and time-honoured form of the name now usually spelt by Indian authorities KASHMIR. The native state of Cashmere embraces an irregular-shaped mountainous region, part of the Himalayan system, between 32° 30' and 36° N. lat., and 73° 30' to 76° E. long. Within its borders are included the valleys of many snow-fed streams, but chief among them is the valley of the Upper Jhelum at Srinagar—'the Vale of Kashmir'—celebrated in literature and history for the beauty of its scenery and the charm of its climate. It extends for about 120 miles from NW. to SE., with a mean breadth of 75 miles, at a distance of about 130 miles by road from Rawal Pindi, in the Punjab. The flat part of the valley is not more than 80 miles long by 20 wide, with a variable elevation above sea-level of from 5000 to 7000 feet. In it are situated two lakes, the Dul, a little to the north of the winding course of the river at Srinagar, and the Wulur, through which the river flows ere changing its course to the westward and passing through the mountains to the Punjab plain. The two best-known routes to Srinagar are from Rawal Pindi, via Murree and the narrow valley of the Jhelum, which is now an open and well-made road, but occasionally very hot; and the route from Bhimbar (north of Gujrát) across the lofty range of the Pir Panjal, rising to 11,000 feet above sea-level. The former is the more convenient, whilst the latter passes through mountain scenery of singular beauty, and possesses the advantage of being cool as well as beautiful. Nothing can well exceed the fertile beauty of the Cashmere valley. It is almost surrounded by snow-capped mountains, the lower spurs of which descend gently in terraced slopes to the level of the valley. These terraces are abundantly irrigated for the purpose of rice cultivation, rice being the staple crop throughout Cashmere. On the margins of the lakes, and scattered through the whole extent of the valley, are magnificent groves of chinar or plane-trees, here and there laid out with great regularity and taste to form gardens and country-seats which used to be the favourite resorts of the Mogul emperors two centuries ago. Avenues of poplars line the banks of the river and the canals, and lend to the scenery a peculiar grace which is quite distinctive of Cashmere. On the surface of the lakes are floating-gardens composed of masses of vegetation from two to three feet thick—intertwined blocks of aquatic plants. Srinagar is a quaint and picturesque old town, built almost entirely of wood, said to have been founded at the beginning of the 6th century. It occupies both banks of the river, which is spanned by seven log-built bridges, and like all eastern towns is most unclean. The industries of Srinagar are chiefly shawl-weaving and lacquer-work, but Cashmere silver and copper work is rapidly acquiring a distinctive character and rising in importance amongst oriental arts. The peculiar design which marks all Cashmere art is said to be derived from the graceful curves of the river as viewed from the summit of the Takht-i-Suliman, a well-known hill overlooking the city of Srinagar. The restrictions formerly placed on the residence of Europeans in Cashmere territory have latterly been considerably modified, and Cashmere is now visited by thousands of Europeans who settle there for the hot months of the year, and have already established a well-known summer station at Gulmerg, which is higher and cooler than Srinagar. The country was not long ago celebrated as a field for sportsmen, but like many of the best known hunting-fields in India, it has latterly been too much shot over, and sportsmen now in search for big game must travel far and reach the field early in the season in order to secure good results.
The natural productiveness of the country is remarkable. Fruit of almost every description is found nearly wild in the lower valleys, and it is now largely cultivated for the manufacture of wine, for which purpose a great variety is utilised. Notwithstanding this fertility and the general cheapness of food-supply, Cashmere is occasionally subject to the scourge of famine. The famine of 1878, together with earthquakes, and the draining of the country by emigration, have reduced the population of the valley by a half. Much has been written about the fine physique of the Cashmere men and the beauty of Cashmere women, but it must be admitted that with many external advantages they are a corrupt race—unclean in their habits, morally degraded and utterly untrustworthy.
Cashmere was conquered by Akbar in 1586, and became part of the Mogul empire. It was overrun by the Sikhs in 1819. Ghulab Singh, the feudatory of the Sikhs, made a treaty with Britain in 1846, by which he was confirmed in possession of Cashmere, and recognised British supremacy. In 1889 the Maharaja was deprived of authority for continued misgovernment, and power transferred to a native council. Pop. (1891) of Cashmere and dependencies, 2,543,952. Of these, 949,041 were in Cashmere proper, 1,439,543 in the district of Jammu, the rest in the districts of Ladhak, Gilgit, Dardistan, Baltistan, &c. Of the total, 1,800,000 were Mohammedans, 691,000 Hindus, 30,000 Buddhists. Thirteen dialects are spoken, Hindustani and Punjabi included; the Kashmiri is very closely related to Sanskrit.
See works by Bellew (1875), Drew (1875), Wakefield (1879), Knowles (on Folk-tales, &c., 1885-88), E. F. Knight (1893), and W. B. Laurence, The Valley of Kashmir (1895).