ABSTRACT
"Kashmiri Identity," which is popularly known as Kashmiriyat, is composed of varied elements, and has developed its particularism and identity over a long period of time, stretching back to centuries in the past. The traditions followed by Kashmiri Muslims, the indigenous methods of practicing their faith, and following the customs, sometimes to the extent of modifying the rules of Islamic Jurisprudence makes them distinct from their co-religionists elsewhere. The lineage of Kashmiri people had given them distinctive looks; the fusion and assimilation of varied faiths and cultures had resulted in their particular and specific ethnicity. In September 1951, the election to the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir State was held to determine the future shape and affiliations of the Jammu and Kashmir State with the Union of India. Kashmir was crucial for the survival of the political forces who wanted to build the edifice of India's sociopolitical system on the basis of secularism.
