Samba district

Samba district is an administrative district in the Jammu division of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.[1] It was formed in 2006.[3] Before its formation, this area was part of Jammu district and Kathua district.

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Samba, Jammu and Kashmir.

Samba district
District of Jammu and Kashmir administered by India
Village in Samba district
Village in Samba district
Interactive map of Samba district
Samba district is in the Jammu division (shown with neon blue boundary) of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (shaded in tan in the disputed Kashmir region
Samba district is in the Jammu division (shown with neon blue boundary) of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (shaded in tan in the disputed Kashmir region[1]
Coordinates (Samba, Jammu and Kashmir): 32°34′N 75°7′E
Administering countryIndia
Union TerritoryJammu and Kashmir
DivisionJammu Division
HeadquartersSamba, Jammu and Kashmir
TehsilsSamba
Government
 • District MagistrateAnuradha Gupta (KAS)
Area
[2]
 • Total914 km2 (353 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total318,898
 • Density350/km2 (900/sq mi)
 • Urban
16.8%
Demographics
 • Literacy81.41%
 • Sex ratio886
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
Vehicle registrationJK-21
Websitehttp://samba.nic.in/

Geography

The district covers Samba town and adjoining tehsils: Bari Brahmana, Vijay Pur and Ghagwal. The district is separated at some point from the Jammu district by "Purmandal Bridge". Samba is situated on the bank of Basantar River. At one side samba has its boundary with Pakistan.

Samba district consists of Eight blocks: Samba, Vijay Pur, Purmandal, Bari Brahmana, Nud, Rajpura, Sumb and Ghagwal.[4] Each block consists of GREF panchayats. The biggest village is Rajpura.


History

Samba was reportedly established in 1400 AD.[5] It came under the suzerainty of Jammu in 1816 A.D., while it was annexed by Raja Gulab Singh in 1846 A.D. Historically Samba consisted of 22 towns (also known as Mandi), each headed by a separate family. Prior to 1947, Samba was a tehsil.[6] Samba became a district in 2006.

Politics

Samba District has three assembly constituencies: Samba , Vijaypur and Ramgarh(newly created constituency by delimitation commission).[7] Both are part of Jammu (Lok Sabha constituency).[8]

Demographics
Historical populations
YearPop.±%
1901 61,553—    
1911 59,322−3.6%
1921 60,600+2.2%
1931 66,474+9.7%
1941 75,836+14.1%
1951 83,351+9.9%
1961 90,865+9.0%
1971 130,243+43.3%
1981 181,005+39.0%
1991 223,075+23.2%
2001 272,539+22.2%
2011 318,898+17.0%
source:[9]
† 1951 and 1991 populations are estimated

According to the 2011 census, Samba District had a population of 318,898,[10] roughly equal to The Bahamas.[11] It is the 568th largest in India (of 640). The district has a population density of 318 inhabitants per square kilometre (820/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade of 2001 to 2011 was 16.9%. Samba has a sex ratio of 886 females for every 1,000 males, and a literacy rate of 81.4%.[12] The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes account for 28.8% and 5.6% of the population of the district.[12]

Religion
Religion in Samba district (2011)[13]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 86.33%
Islam
 
 7.20%
Sikhism
 
 5.63%
Other or not stated
 
 0.84%

Samba district has an overwhelming Hindu majority, spread among Muslims, Sikhs, and others are the minority in the Samba district.

Sex Ratio in Samba District in 2011 Census.[10]
(no. females per 1,000 males)
Religion (and population) Sex Ratio
Hindu (pop 275,311)
 
 887
Muslim (pop 22,950)
 
 865
Christian (pop 2,306)
 
 608
Sikh (pop 17,961)
 
 941
Other (pop 370)
 
 869
Total (pop 318,898)
 
 886

Languages of Samba district (2011)[14]

  Dogri (84.53%)
  Punjabi (4.95%)
  Gojri (4.32%)
  Hindi (2.72%)
  Others (3.48%)
Samba district: religion, gender ratio, and % urban of population, according to the 2011 Census.[10]
Hindu Muslim Christian Sikh Buddhist Jain Other Not stated Total
Total 275,31122,9502,30617,96148166300318,898
86.33%7.20%0.72%5.63%0.02%0.01%0.00%0.09%100.00%
Male 145,93012,3081,4349,2542985156169,124
Female 129,38110,6428728,7071981144149,774
Gender ratio (% female) 47.0%46.4%37.8%48.5%39.6%50.0%16.7%48.0%47.0%
Sex ratio
(no. of females per 1,000 males)		 887865608941––––886
Urban 47,4112,6691,2182,20520109153,615
Rural 227,90020,2811,08815,75628156209265,283
 % Urban 17.2%11.6%52.8%12.3%41.7%6.3%0.0%30.3%16.8%

Languages

At the time of the 2011 census, 84.53% of the population spoke Dogri, 4.95% Punjabi, 4.32% Gojri and 2.72% Hindi as their first language.

Festivals & Fairs of Samba

Rath Kharda Mela

An eight day fair is organised in Narsingh and Annapurna Temple in Ghagwal of Samba district of Jammu division. This fair involves taking out procession of deity on a chariot. Hence named Rath Kharda Mela. Thousands of devotees are drawn from neighbouring states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and also other parts of Jammu region. People from hilly areas of Jammu like: Basohli, Doda, Kishtwar, Bani, Dudu Basantgarh put stalls in this fair and sell the handicrafts and woolen items like Pattus, blankets & shawls.[15]

During this fair, the temple is decorated with flowers and lights. Devotees visit the temple and pay obeisance to the main deity, Bhagwan Narsimha. A Bhandara is also organised for the devotees. Local farmers sow their fields in the name of Bhagwan Narsimha and while harvesting their crops offer a part of it to the temple during this fair.[16]

Besides Ghagwal, Rath Kharda Mela is also held at other places of Jammu division like: Ramgarh tehsil of Udhampur district, Parnala village in Billawar tehsil and Hatli village in Kathua.[17]

Famous People
  • Alla Rakha Indian Classical Musician and tabla player
  • Raja Suchet Singh to whom the District also owes the famous Samba fort. In 1846 A.D it was annexed to J&K by Maharaja Gulab Singh making it an integral part of the state.

Villages

References
  1. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary sources (a) through (d), 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 (f) through (h) below, "held" is also considered politicized usage, as is the term "occupied," (see (i) below).
    (a) Kashmir, region Indian subcontinent, Encyclopaedia Britannica, retrieved 15 August 2019 (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) Pletcher, Kenneth, Aksai Chin, Plateau Region, Asia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, retrieved 16 August 2019 (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) "Kashmir", Encyclopedia Americana, Scholastic Library Publishing, 2006, p. 328, ISBN 978-0-7172-0139-6 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) Osmańczyk, Edmund Jan (2003), Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: G to M, Taylor & Francis, pp. 1191–, ISBN 978-0-415-93922-5 Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute betw een India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China."
    (e) Talbot, Ian (2016), A History of Modern South Asia: Politics, States, Diasporas, Yale University Press, pp. 28–29, ISBN 978-0-300-19694-8 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) Kashmir, region Indian subcontinent, Encyclopaedia Britannica, retrieved 15 August 2019 (subscription required) Quote: "... China became active in the eastern area of Kashmir in the 1950s and has controlled the northeastern part of Ladakh (the easternmost portion of the region) since 1962.";
    (g) Bose, Sumantra (2009), Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace, Harvard University Press, pp. 294, 291, 293, ISBN 978-0-674-02855-5 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. AJK has six districts: Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Bagh, Kodi, Rawalakot, and Poonch. Its capital is the town of Muzaffarabad. AJK has its own institutions, but its political life is heavily controlled by Pakistani authorities, especially the military), 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."
    (h) Fisher, Michael H. (2018), An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century, Cambridge University Press, p. 166, ISBN 978-1-107-11162-2 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.";
    (i) Snedden, Christopher (2015), Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris, Oxford University Press, p. 10, ISBN 978-1-84904-621-3 Quote:"Some politicised terms also are used to describe parts of J&K. These terms include the words 'occupied' and 'held'."
  2. "Geographical Details of District Samba | District Samba, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir | India".
  3. "History". District Samba (Jammu and Kashmir), Government of Jammu and Kashmir. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  4. Statement showing the number of blocks in respect of 22 Districts of Jammu and Kashmir State including newly Created Districts Archived 10 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine dated 2008-03-13, accessed 2008-08-30
  5. "District Samba". Government of Jammu and Kashmir. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  6. Snedden, Christopher (2015), Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris, Oxford University Press, p. xxi, ISBN 978-1-84904-342-7
  7. "ERO's and AERO's". Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  8. "Assembly Constituencies – Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir". Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
  9. "A-2 Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901". Censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  10. C-1 Population By Religious Community – Jammu & Kashmir (Report). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  11. US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2011. Bahamas, The 313,312
  12. "Population | District Samba, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir | India". Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  13. "C-1 Population By Religious Community". Census. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  14. C-16 Population By Mother Tongue – Jammu & Kashmir (Report). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  15. "Rath Kardha Mela commences". State Times. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  16. Excelsior, Daily (28 December 2019). "8-day Rath Kardha Mela begins at Narsingh Dass temple Ghagwal". Jammu Kashmir Latest News | Tourism | Breaking News J&K. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  17. "Rath Khardha Mela commences at Ghagwal – Early Times Newspaper Jammu Kashmir". www.earlytimes.in. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
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