Handwara is a sub-district and a town in Kupwara district of Kashmir. It was known as Uttar Machipora until the division of

Baramulla district Baramulla district or Varmul (in Kashmiri) is one of the 20 districts in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Baramulla town is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district covered an area of in 2001, but it wa ...

in the 1980s resulting in the formation of two new districts:

Kupwara Kupwara is a town and a municipal council in Kupwara district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Municipal council Kupwara is an Urban Local Body with 13 elected members (also in Delimitation in progress for wards), which adm ...

and

Bandipora Bandipore () or Bandipora is the headquarters of district of Bandipore in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located on the northern banks of Wullar Lake—the second-largest freshwater lake in Asia. Bandipora has a terra ...

. It is located on Baramulla-Handwara National Highway NH-701 and is governed by a municipal committee.

Geography

Handwara is located at at an average elevation of 1,582 metres (5,190 feet) above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

Demographics

According to 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 in ...

, Handwara has a population of 13,600. Males constitute 54.26% of the population and females 45.74%. Handwara has an average literacy rate of 64.39%. The dominant religion in the town is Islam.

Literacy

The Census of 2011 showed the literacy rate of Handwara at 64.39%, lower than the national average of 67.16%. There is a gender difference in literacy, with a male literacy rate of 75.62% and a much lower female literacy rate of 51.88%.

Educational Institutions

Government Degree College, Handwara The ''Government Degree College Handwara'' (Urdu;) also known as GDC Handwara is University Grants Commission co-educational autonomous degree college, in Handwara town, Kupwara district, in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It ...

* Shaheen Public Secondary School, Handwara

Politics

Handwara is in a politically volatile area of Handwara. It was the home constituency of the late separatist leader Abdul Ghani Lone and of Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzaan. The former MLA for Handwara was

Sajjad Gani Lone Sajad Gani Lone (born 1966) is an Indian politician, and former Member of the Legislative Assembly elected from the Handwara constituency. He is the chairman of Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference. Early and personal life Sajjad Lone was bor ...

of the

Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference The Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference is a political party in Jammu and Kashmir, India, founded by Abdul Ghani Lone and Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari in 1978. It is currently led by Sajjad Lone. It won two seats in the Jammu and Kashmir ...

, who defeated Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzaan of the

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in the Indian union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Founded as the ''All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference'' by Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam A ...

by more than 5000 votes in the 2014 assembly elections. The current MLA seat of Handwara is vacant due to the dissolving of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in 2018. Municipal Committee Handwara is an

Urban Local Body Municipal or local governance refers to the third tier of governance in India, at the level of the municipality or urban local body. History Municipal governance in India in its current form has existed since the year 1664. In 1664, Fort Ko ...

with 13 elected members, which administers the town.

Transportation

Air

The nearest airport is

Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport also known as Srinagar Airport and Budgam Airbase, is an international airport serving Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is owned by the Indian Air Force, and the Airports Author ...

in Srinagar located 78.8 kilometres from Handwara. There are plans to construct an airport in Panzgam near Kupwara.

Rail

Handwara is not yet connected to railways. The nearest railway station is Baramulla railway station located 30 kilometres from Handwara.

Road

Handwara is well-connected with roads and highways. The NH 701 passes through Handwara alongside other intra-town roads.

Notable people

* Ali Mohammad Shahbaz (Poet) *

Abdul Gani Lone Abdul Ghani Lone ( ; 6 May 1932 – 21 May 2002) was a Kashmiri lawyer, politician and a separatist leader. Life Lone was born in Dard Harie, Kralpora in the Kupwara District of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu in British India into a ...

(Politician) * Sajad Lone (Politician) * Engineer Rashid (Politician) * Noor Mohammad (Singer)

References

External links

* {{Kashmir Valley Handwara Handwara