Shopian or Shupiyan (), known as Shupyan () in

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

, is an administrative division of the

Shopian district Shopian district (), known as Shupyan () in Kashmiri, is a hill district with its administrative division in Shopian town, located in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, since it is situated on the historical road commonly known ...

, located in southern part of

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...

, of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Shopian is called the ''Apple town of Kashmir'' as majority of the population engages in apple growing practices which also provides employment to more than 60% of the population. It is 2nd richest district in Kashmir region after Srinagar.

General

The geologist

Frederic Drew Frederick Drew FGS, FRGS (11 August 1836 – 28 October 1891), was an English geologist, who is noted for his geographical study of Kashmir. He worked as a geologist for over a decade in Maharaja Ranbir Singh's government and also served as the ...

stated that Shopian derived its name from a distortion of the word ''shah-payan'', i.e. "royal stay". However, many people including historians across the

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

believe that the word "Shopian" is derived from two words, "''Shii-wan",'' or "''shia-wan"'' meaning "the forest of

Shias Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...

" as the place was mostly populated by Shia residents which were persecuted, killed or forcefully converted by the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. There are many evidences to this as some Shia graveyards and Taaziyas (a small copy of the dome of shrine of Hussain ibn e Ali) are still present in some mosques. Shopian is an ancient town of Kashmir and had importance due to it being situated on the ancient imperial route, commonly known as Mughal Road, which connects Lahore and Srinagar. Shopian was one out of six Wazarat Headquarters in Kashmir from 1872 to 1892 A.D.

Geography

Shupiyan is located at . It has an average elevation of . It is from

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, Shopian Municipal Committee had a population of 16,360. There were 9,319 males (57%) and 7,041 females (43%). Of the population, 2,063 (12.6%) were age 0-6: 1,146 males (56%) and 917 females (44%). The literacy rate for the people over six was 78.6% (males 86.7%, females 67.8%). The average population of the town was 6 persons each house.

Education

In 1988, The Government of Jammu and Kashmir established a college namely

Government Degree College, Shopian Government Degree College Shopian (Urdu;) also known as GDC Shopian, is an autonomous degree college affiliated with University of Kashmir, located on a 67 kanal () campus in Shopian in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The coll ...

which provides higher education infrastructure to the people of Shopian district. The Government Polytechnic college was established recently in the Shopian town, which provides technical engineering diploma level education.

Tourism

People from all around the globe visit the tourist places like

Peer Ki Gali The Pir Panjal Pass, also called Peer Ki Gali (or ''Peer Gali''), is a mountain pass and a tourist destination located in the Pir Panjal Range in Jammu and Kashmir. It connects the Kashmir Valley to the Rajouri and Poonch districts via the Mug ...

which is on a mountain top of Mughal road. Mughal Sarai - this palace is situated on the bank of river which flows on the side of Mughal road. This palace was used by Mughal rulers as their resting place during their travels. Dabjan forests - this place is another tourist place of Shopian, where a spring is present in the middle of Dabjan forest. Famous national park

Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary or Heerpora Wildlife Sanctuary is located, Hirpora in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir. It lies 12 km from Shopian town, south of Srinagar. It spreads over an area of . It is bounded to the north by Lake Gums ...

is situated in the district. The Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary is an abode to many species of animals including the Himalayan

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

, Himalayan

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

musk deer Musk deer can refer to any one, or all seven, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family Moschidae. Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, but rather their fa ...

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

Tibetan wolf The Himalayan wolf (''Canis lupus chanco'') is a canine of debated taxonomy. It is distinguished by its genetic markers, with mitochondrial DNA indicating that it is genetically basal to the Holarctic gray wolf, genetically the same wolf as the ...

, Himalayan

palm civet ''Paradoxurus'' is a genus of three palm civets within the viverrid family that was denominated and first described by Frédéric Cuvier in 1822. The ''Paradoxurus'' species have a broad head, a narrow muzzle with a large rhinarium that is de ...

and also critically endangered Pir Panjal

markhor The markhor (''Capra falconeri'') is a large ''Capra'' species native to Central Asia, the Karakoram, and the Himalayas. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened since 2015. The markhor is the national animal of Pakistan, where it ...

. Besides, 130 species of birds including the spotted forktail, western tragopan, rock bunting, rufous-breasted accentor, Himalayan woodpecker, blue rock thrush, white-capped redstart, Himalayan griffon, common stonechat and grey wagtail are found in the Sanctuary.

General

Geography

Demographics

Education

Tourism

Economy

See also

References

External links