The Pulwama district is an administrative district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.<ref name=tertiary-kashmir>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) (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 betw een 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) (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) 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) 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) Quote:"Some politicised terms also are used to describe parts of J&K. These terms include the words 'occupied' and 'held'." It is located to the south of Srinagar. Its district headquarters are situated in the city of Pulwama. It is located in the central part of the Kashmir Valley.

Administration

In 1979 Anantnag district split in two, with one part remaining as Anantnag district, and the other part becoming Pulwama district. When created, Pulwama district had 550 villages, grouped in five subdistricts (tehsils): Shopian, Awantipora, Pampore, Pulwama, and Tral. After Shopian district was created in 2007, Pulwama district had 331 villages and four subdistricts. According to the district administration, the area of the district is 1090 km2. Pulwama district currently has eight subdistricts, with 327 villages (eight of which are uninhabited):

Tehsils

The Pulwama district contains eight tehsils: This district consists of five development blocks: Tral, Keller, Pampore, Pulwama and Kakapora. Each block consists of a number of panchayats.

District Development Council

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Pulwama district has a population of 560,440, roughly equal to the nation of Solomon Islands or the US state of Wyoming. This gives it a ranking of 537th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 598 PD/sqkm. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 29.18%. Pulwama has a sex ratio of 912 females for every 1000 males (though this varies with religion), and is lower than the national average of 940, and a literacy rate of 64.3%. At the time of the 2011 census, 91.30% of the population spoke Kashmiri, 3.96% Gojri, 1.38% Punjabi and 1.25% Hindi as their first language.

Healthcare

District has got one of the best health care system in The State/Union Territory. District has 1 DNB Deemed District Hospital Pulwama, 3 Sub-District Hospitals and numerous other health institutions. One tertiary Healthcare institute is under construction in Awantipora Tehsil of the district. It will be the largest hospital in Kashmir province/division.

Pencil District

The district is widely recognized as the leading producer of slates in the country. Approximately 70 percent of the slate production in India originates from this district and is subsequently supplied to various pencil manufacturing companies. This distinctive characteristic has earned Pulwama the reputation of being the primary hub for slate production, making a significant contribution to the pencil industry. The village of Oukhoo in Pulwama district has been bestowed with the title of 'Pencil Village' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his "Mann ki Baat" address.

Transport

District Pulwama is well connected with various transport modes. National Highway 44 and National Highway 444 pass through Pulwama District. There are 4 railways stations and 1 halt station located in the district. The district railway Headquarter is located at Awantipora Railway Station.

Educational institutions

Some of the notable educational institutions of Pulwama district:

Kashmir's First Synthetic hockey turf

Pulwama district in the southern Kashmir valley has achieved a significant milestone with the installation of the first synthetic hockey turf in the entire valley. This state-of-the-art stadium has been constructed to meet the growing demand for hockey facilities in the Kashmir division. The stadium has been constructed at Government Boys Higher Secondary School Pulwama, with an investment of Rs 5 crore, as part of the sports facilities enhancement plan by the government of Jammu and Kashmir. This initiative aims to improve the sporting infrastructure in the region and provide better opportunities for athletes to excel in their respective disciplines.

Anand of Kashmir

The district stands out in milk production, and is the top milk producing district in Jammu and Kashmir, which has earned it the nickname "Anand of Kashmir". According to official data, Pulwama recorded milk production of 31 crore litres in 2020, which was distributed throughout Jammu and Kashmir. In the year 2017-18, Pulwama produced 28.04 crore litres of milk. On a daily basis, Pulwama currently produces 8.5 lakh litres of milk.

Land use

The "reporting area" is the area for which data on land use classification are available. When Pulwama district was created in 1979 it had a "reporting area" of 98,000 ha. After the creation of Shopian district in 2007, the "reporting area" of Pulwama district was reduced to 61,000 ha.