Kishtwar is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

, municipality and administrative headquarter of the Kishtwar District in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The district was carved out of the

Doda district Doda is a district in the eastern part of Jammu Division in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The district consists of 18 tehsils viz. Thathri, Bhaderwah, Doda, Mohalla, Bhagwa, Assar, Bhalla, Gundna, Marmat, Kahara, Ga ...

in 2007. It is located in the

Jammu division The Jammu division (; ) is a revenue and administrative division within Jammu and Kashmir, a union territory of India. It consists of the districts of Jammu, Doda, Kathua, Ramban, Reasi, Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur and Samba. Mos ...

. The town of Kishtwar is situated at a distance of from the winter capital of

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

. A large ground locally called as Chowgan is located in the heart of the town. Kishtwar is bordered by the

Anantnag Anantnag (/ə'nʌntna:g/ or /-nɑːg/ ), also called Islamabad, is the administrative headquarters of the Anantnag district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of 53 kilometres (33 miles) from the un ...

and Doda districts in the west and northwest, by the

Chamba district Chamba is the northwestern district of Himachal Pradesh, in India, with its headquarters in Chamba town. The towns of Dalhousie, Khajjhiar and Churah Valley are popular hill stations and vacation spots for the people from the plains of nort ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several pea ...

in the south and the Kargil district of

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu a ...

in the east and northeast. In 2013 the municipality was the location the Kishtwar Riots, which claimed three lives and injured 80 more, and was a conflict between

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

communities that occurred in the aftermath of the

Eid Eid as a name may refer to: Islamic holidays An Eid is a Muslim religious festival: * ''Eid Milad un Nabi'', alternate name for Mawlid (, "Birth of the Prophet"), the date of observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad * Eid al-F ...

festival on 9 August 2013 at Kishtwar,

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

Demographics

As of the 2011 Indian

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, Kishtwar had a population of 14,865. Males constitute 63% of the population and females 37%. Kishtwar has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the Indian national average: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 42%. In Kishtwar, 11% of the population is under six years of age. The main language spoken here by Muslims is

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

, while the Hindus of Kishtwar speak a Western Pahari language called

Kishtwari Kishtwari or Kashtwari is a northern Indo-Aryan language closely related to the Kashmiri language, with strong influences from neighboring Western Pahari varieties, spoken in Kishtwar district in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Kishtwari has historica ...

. The dominant religion in Kishtwar is

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

, at 70.41% of the population, with

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

being the second-largest religion, at 29.59%.

Transport

Air

Kishtwar does not have its own airport as of now, though, there is a helipad in Kishtwar which is located just 3 kilometres north of the city of Kishtwar. The government had started a project in which Kishtwar is to get its own airstrip of 1200–1300 meters long in upcoming years. The government is upgrading it into a full-fledged

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

. The nearest airports to Kishtwar is

Jammu Airport Jammu Airport, officially known as Jammu Civil Enclave, is a domestic airport serving Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is situated 14 km (8.7 miles) from the India–Pakistan border. Infrastructure Terminal 1 The terminal can only ...

located 215km from kishtwar

Rail

There is no rail-connectivity to Kishtwar yet. The nearest railway station is

Udhampur railway station Udhampur railway station is situated in municipal committee of Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The average elevation of the station is above mean sea level. The rail distance between UHP and JAT is . History The Uttar Sampark Kranti Expr ...

, located at a distance of 150 kilometres.

Road

Kishtwar is well-connected by roads to other places in Jammu and Kashmir and rest of India as several highways and roads pass through Kishtwar including NH 244.

References

{{Municipalities of Jammu and Kashmir Kishtwar district Cities and towns in Kishtwar district