Kathua
| Area | 2651 km² |
| Population | 544,206 (2001) |
| Population density | 205/km2 (2001) |
| Literacy | 65.3% (2001) |
A gateway to the northernmost
Indian state of
Jammu and Kashmir,
Kathua lies just 88 kilometers south of the state's winter capital of
Jammu. Kathua is the name of both a city and one of the fourteen administrative districts that comprise Jammu and Kashmir.
The Kathua district is surrounded by Jammu to the northwest, the
Doda and
Udhampur districts to the north, the state of
Himachal Pradesh to the east,
Punjab to the south, and
Pakistan to the west. Its terrain is diverse, consisting of rich agricultural areas along the Pakistani border, plains sweeping eastward to the foothills of the
Himalaya, and a mountainous
Pahari region in the east.
Kathua district is divided into 8 blocks:Bani, Barnoti, Basholi, Billawar, Duggan, Ghagwal, Hiranagar, Kathua and Lohai Malhar. It has approximately 587 villages.
The traditional language of Kathua is
Dogri, although
Punjabi is also widely spoken in the district. The Pahari language is prevalent in the mountainous area of the east. The principal media of education are
English,
Hindi, and
Urdu, which is also an official language of Jammu and Kashmir.
In a
Muslim majority state, Kathua, like the Jammu region, is overwhelmingly
Hindu, the
religion practiced by 91% of its district population. Another 7% is Muslim, and 2%
Sikh.
A relatively safe regional pocket, Kathua was spared the decade-long insurrection sparked by the
Khalistan separatist movement in Punjab, just to its south, and the ongoing
terrorism in Kashmir Valley further to the north, beginning in the 1980's.
Though there is no detailed and fully documented history of Kathua district. It is believed that One Jodh Singh a famous Rajput of Andotra clan migrated from Hastinapur to Kathua nearly 2000 years ago and settled here. The three Hamlets of Taraf Tajwal, Taraf Manjali and Taraf Bhajwal were established by his three sons Viz. Teju, Kindal and Bhaju. Their descendant are now called as Tajwalia, Bhajwalia and Khanwalia Rajputs of Andotra sub-caste. The conglomeration of these three hamlets was loosely called "KATHAI" in earlier times which with the passage of time came to be called as Kathua.
Greek historians, who provide an insight into the ancient history of Jammu hills prominently record the existence of two powerful empires of Abhisara (present day Poonch) and Kathaioi at the time of invasion of India by Alexandera, Strabo describes Kathaioi as a mighty republic of that era located in the foot hills along river
Ravi. The topography of Kathaioi corresponds with the present day Kathua. Starbo describes the people of the republic as epitone of bravery and courage and records that they gave a tough fight to invading army of Alexandra.
Kathua has its own Governemt Degree College (for men and women) and one Women college. A large number of government and private schools are there in this district. Students from these school and colleges figure out prominently in the various examinations conducted by state board and universities.
Starting 2000, kathua has seen a large number of B Ed. Colleges starting up to provide the Bachelor of Education degrees to the people from neighbouring states particularly Punjab. These colleges have mushroomed in other parts of Jammu as well.
Basohli, a town of Kathua, is widely known for its paintings called Basohli Paintings. Immortalised by their artistic eminences and their connoisseur patrons, Basohli today is a metaphor for a vigorous, bold and imaginative artistic style, rich, stylish and unconventional. A style of painting characterized by vigorous use of primary colours and a peculiar facial formula prevailed in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries in the foothills of the Western Himalayas in the Jammu and Punjab States. The earliest paintings in this style originated in Basohli from where the style spread to the Hill States of Mankot, Nurpur, Kulu, Mandi, Suket, Bilaspur, Nalagarh, Chamba, Guler and Kangra. The first mention of Basohli painting is in the annual report of the Archaeological Survey of India for the year 1918-19 published in 1921. Referring to the acquisitions of the Archaelogical Section of the Central Museum, Lahore, the report states that "a series of old paintings of the Basohli School were purchased, and the Curator concludes that the Basohli Schools is possibly of pre-Moghul origin, and so called Tibeti pictures are nothing but late productions of this school".
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History of Kathua*
Official Website of District Kathua (J&K)*
Basohli Paintings
