Kashmiri diaspora

The Kashmiri diaspora refers to people who have migrated out of the Kashmir region, consisting of Azad Kashmir, as well as Jammu and Kashmir, into other areas and countries, and their descendants.

Pakistan

Within Pakistan, Kashmiris have migrated towards many provinces outside of Azad Kashmir and from Indian Jammu and Kashmir.

Punjab

Migration from Kashmir to the Punjab has been historic, given that both regions border each other. For centuries, Kashmiri traders would migrate to Punjab during the winter months to trade goods. Regions of northern Punjab including Rawalpindi District and particularly central Punjab have large population of Kashmiris, and have adopted the Punjabi language over the course of generations. The major migration from Kashmir valley towards neighboring Punjab was during the 1800s when major earthquakes and severe famines hit Kashmir Valley. The worst hit communities were Muslim rural Kashmiris who in large numbers moved to central Punjab in areas such as Gujrat, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, Amritsar and Ludhiana, after 1947 all the Kashmiri Muslims living in Amritsar and Ludhiana migrated again towards western parts of Punjab mainly in Lahore and Faisalabad areas. Some ethnic clans in Punjab which draw Kashmiri ancestral roots include Butt, Mir, Dar, and Lone. The vast majority Kashmiris in Punjab have roots from rural/village areas of Kashmir valley which helped them integrate in central Punjabi social life which had similar rural values.

Azad Kashmir

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Urdu: آزاد جموں و کشمیر‎ Azad Jammu o Kashmir), abbreviated as AJK or Azad Kashmir ("free Kashmir"), is a self-governing administrative division of Pakistan. The territory lies west of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir, and was previously part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which ceased to exist as a result of the first Kashmir war fought between India and Pakistan in 1947.

Azad Kashmir is part of the greater Kashmir region, which is the subject of a long-running conflict between India and Pakistan. The territory shares a border with Gilgit–Baltistan, together with which it is referred to by the United Nations and other international organisations as "Pakistan-administered Kashmir". The territory also borders Pakistan's Punjab province to the south and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to the west. To the east, Azad Kashmir is separated from the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir by the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan. Azad Kashmir has a total area of 13,297 square kilometres (5,134 sq mi), with an estimated population of around 4.6 million people.

Diaspora

A diaspora (from Greek διασπορά, "scattering, dispersion") is a scattered population whose origin lies within a smaller geographic locale. Diaspora can also refer to the movement of the population from its original homeland. Diaspora has come to refer particularly to historical mass dispersions of an involuntary nature, such as the expulsion of Jews from Judea, the fleeing of Greeks after the fall of Constantinople, the African Trans-Atlantic slave trade, the southern Chinese or Hindus of South Asia during the coolie trade, the deportation of Palestinians in the 20th century and the exile and deportation of Circassians.

Recently, scholars have distinguished between different kinds of diaspora, based on its causes such as imperialism, trade or labor migrations, or by the kind of social coherence within the diaspora community and its ties to the ancestral lands. Some diaspora communities maintain strong political ties with their homeland. Other qualities that may be typical of many diasporas are thoughts of return, relationships with other communities in the diaspora, and lack of full integration into the host country.

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern United States and is the United States' 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border in the Atlantic Ocean with Rhode Island, east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the north and Ontario to the west and north. The state of New York, with an estimated 19.8 million residents in 2015, is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City, the state's most populous city and its economic hub.

With an estimated population of nearly 8.5 million in 2014, New York City is the most populous city in the United States and the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. The New York City Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City is a global city, exerting a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, its fast pace defining the term New York minute. The home of the United Nations Headquarters, New York City is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural and financial capital of the world, as well as the world's most economically powerful city. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State. Two-thirds of the state's population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% live on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th century Duke of York, future King James II of England. The next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany.