Rondu District (), also spelled Roundu District, is a district of Pakistan-administered

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

in the

disputed Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an oppo ...

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of

and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary sources (a) through (e), reflecting due weight in the coverage. Although "controlled" and "held" are also applied neutrally to the names of the disputants or to the regions administered by them, as evidenced in sources (h) through (i) below, "held" is also considered politicized usage, as is the term "occupied," (see (j) below).
(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent ... has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, the last two being part of a territory called the Northern Areas. Administered by India are the southern and southeastern portions, which constitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir but are slated to be split into two union territories.";
(b) (subscription required) Quote: "Aksai Chin, Chinese (Pinyin) Aksayqin, portion of the Kashmir region, at the northernmost extent of the Indian subcontinent in south-central Asia. It constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India to be part of the Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir state.";
(c) C. E Bosworth, University of Manchester Quote: "KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered partlv by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947";
(d) Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China."
(e) Quote: "We move from a disputed international border to a dotted line on the map that represents a military border not recognized in international law. The line of control separates the Indian and Pakistani administered areas of the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir.";
(f)
(g)
(h) Quote: "J&K: Jammu and Kashmir. The former princely state that is the subject of the Kashmir dispute. Besides IJK (Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir. The larger and more populous part of the former princely state. It has a population of slightly over 10 million, and comprises three regions: Kashmir Valley, Jammu, and Ladakh.) and AJK ('Azad" (Free) Jammu and Kashmir. The more populous part of Pakistani-controlled J&K, with a population of approximately 2.5 million.), it includes the sparsely populated "Northern Areas" of Gilgit and Baltistan, remote mountainous regions which are directly administered, unlike AJK, by the Pakistani central authorities, and some high-altitude uninhabitable tracts under Chinese control."
(i) Quote: "Kashmir’s identity remains hotly disputed with a UN-supervised “Line of Control” still separating Pakistani-held Azad (“Free”) Kashmir from Indian-held Kashmir.";
(j) Quote:"Some politicised terms also are used to describe parts of J&K. These terms include the words 'occupied' and 'held'." It is one of 14 districts of Gilgit-Baltistan. The district encompasses the entire Roundu Valley, which is the fourth-largest valley in Gilgit-Baltistan, after the

Skardu Skardu (, Tibetan script: སྐར་མདོ, ) is a city located in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kas ...

Khaplu Khaplu (Urdu: , pronounced: əpluː Balti: ཁཔ་ལུ།), also spelt Khapalu, is a city that serves as the administrative capital of the Ghanche District in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan, within the disputed Kashmir region. Lo ...

, and

Shigar Shigar () is the headquarter of its namesake district and tehsil in the Baltistan division of Gilgit-Baltistan region in northern Pakistan. It is located on the bank of the Shigar River in the most remote part of the region. It is a popular si ...

valleys. The Roundu valley lies in the western part of the

Baltistan Division Baltistan Division () is a first-order administrative division of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir di ...

and forms the main trade and travel route between the Baltistan Division and the

Gilgit Division Gilgit Division is an administrative division of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is support ...

. The Rondu District was carved out of

Skardu District The Skardu District () is a district of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the te ...

in 2019.

Gilgit-Baltistan map with tehsils labelled

Demographics

The people of the Rondu Valley are predominantly

Balti people The Baltis are a Tibetic ethnic group who are native to the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilgit−Baltistan and the Indian-administered territory of Ladakh, predominantly in the Kargil district with smaller concentrations present in ...

, who speak the

Balti language Balti (Perso-Arabic script: , Tibetan script: སྦལ་ཏི།, ) is a Tibetic language natively spoken by the ethnic Balti people in the Baltistan region of Gilgit-Baltistan, Nubra Valley of the Leh district and in the Kargil distric ...

, but there are a significant number of Shina speaking people, as well. People of the Roundu valley belong to

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

sect of Islam. The district headquarters is the town of Thowar, which is about 65–70 km from

. Although the population of

Dambudas Dambudas () is the capital city of Roundu District in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. History According to local legend, the city was named by Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (; ; 1290 – 20 March 1351), or Muhammad II, al ...

is less than that of the Stak, Thorchay, and Tormik valleys, Dambudas is located in the middle of the Rondu Valley, so it currently serves as the district headquarters. The literacy rate of the district is approximately 90%. About 70% of the residents speak Balti, and around 30% speak Shina, but most Shina people are bilingual, due to having living with Balti people for a long time. The Rondu District has very scenic and lush green valleys, such as Bilamik, Talubruq, Tormik, and Ganji (Gunji), and has four union councils: Mindi, Stak, Tormik, and Ganji.

References

Baltistan Valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan Districts of Gilgit-Baltistan Long stubs with short prose {{Pakistan-geo-stub

Demographics

See also

References