Thesaurus
Ancient state and region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent, comprising circa 85,800 square miles, bounded to the northeast by the modern Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang and to the east by the Tibet Autonomous Region (both parts of China), to the south by the modern Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, to the west by modern Pakistan, and to the northwest by modern Afghanistan. The region was part of the Mogul Empire in 1586; under Afghan rule from 1786; under Gulab Singh from 1846. It is has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. Fighting between Pakistani and Indian forces in 1949 left two-thirds of the state under the control of India, comprising Ladakh, Jammu and the Valley of Kashmir. One-third remained under the control of Pakistan, comprising "Azad" (free) Kashmir and the Northern Areas (Gilgit, and Baltistan). The Indian state and Pakistani-administered portions are divided by a 'line of control' agreed to in 1972. In addition, China became active in the eastern area of Kashmir in the 1950s and since 1962 has controlled the northeastern part of Ladakh (the easternmost portion of the region).