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Srinagar (English:) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natural environment, gardens, waterfronts and houseboats. It is known for traditional Kashmiri handicrafts like the Kashmir shawl (made of pashmina and cashmere wool), and also dried fruits. It is the 32nd-most populous city in India, the northernmost city in India to have over one million people,[1] and the second-largest metropolitan area in the Himalayas (after Kathmandu, Nepal). [edit] History
In 1989, Srinagar became the focus of the Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir. The area continues to be a highly politicised hotbed of separatist activity with frequent spontaneous protests and strikes ("bandhs" in local parlance). The city saw increased violence against minorities, particularly the Kashmiri Hindus, starting from mid-1980s and resulting in their ultimate exodus. Posters were pasted to walls of houses of Hindus, telling them to leave or die, temples were destroyed and houses burnt; but a very small minority of Hindus still remains in the city. Kashmiri Hindus constituted 21.9% of Srinagar's population as per 1891 census and 2.75% as per 2011 census. On 19 January 1990, the Gawakadal massacre of at least 50 unarmed protestors by Indian forces, and up to 280 by some estimates from eyewitness accounts, set the stage for bomb blasts, shootouts, and curfews that characterised Srinagar throughout the early and mid-1990s. As a result, bunkers and checkpoints are found throughout the city, although their numbers have come down in the past few years as militancy has declined. However, frequent protests still occur against Indian rule, such as the 22 August 2008 rally in which hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri civilians protested against Indian rule in Srinagar. Similar protests took place every summer for the next 4 years. In 2010 alone 120 protesters, many of whom were stone pelters and arsonists, were killed by police and CRPF. Large scale protests were seen following the execution of Afzal Guru in February 2013. In 2016, after the death of militant leader Burhan Wani, there were mass protests in the valley and about 87 protesters were killed by Indian Army, CRPF and police in the 2016 Kashmir unrest. After revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and the subsequent devolution of the state into a union territory in August 2019, a lockdown was imposed in Kashmir, including in Srinagar. This lockdown continued for more than 15 months till 5 February 2021. Thousands, including three former chief ministers - Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti - were detained for an extended period. The Union Government announced the restoration of 4G mobile internet in Kashmir, including Srinagar, on 15 February 2021. [edit] Research Tips
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