ABSTRACT
Although Pakistan was asked to shoulder responsibility for Kashmir's communications during partition, India outdid much of the original advantages of its neighbour on account of the rivers and the 16-mile railroad between Jammu and Sialkot by constructing newall-weather roads and tunnels based on detailed plans for improving the internal communication system. While the Jhelum River had traditionally served as the main artery of transport of Kashmir's timber, the post-partition markets for major exports such as cottage industries, fruits and vegetables are now mainly in India.22 Pakistan's earlier promises ofland reforms in those Kashmiri areas under its control have not materialized. Popular support on the basis of religion may, at times, prove to be very scanty as the Bangladesh case expensively demonstrated. In respect to the distribution of population, one may emphasize that the overwhelming Muslim majority resides almost totally in the Valley of Kashmir which is about a tenth of the whole territory, and that various non-Muslim communities, although they constitute small minorities, live on vast patches of lands. The make-up of the people of Kashmir constitutes the theme of the next section.
