Kathua District, Jammu and Kashmir :

Kathua District is located in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and constitutes 1.9 percent of the total area of the State.Kathua District is situated in the  state of Jammu and Kashmir. The district has an area of 2651 Sq Kms. The District has a population of over 5, 44,206 comprising 2, 85,308 Males and 2, 58,898 females as per 2001 census. The density of population of the district has gone up to 205 persons per Square Km. Sex ratio is 907 females per 1000 male. Literacy Rate in Kathua district is 65.29 percent. There are five Assembly Constituencies, four Tehsils and nine Blocks in Kathua District. As regards the main ethnic groups, Hindus constitutes 91 percent of the district while Muslims form 7 percent and Sikhs 2 percent.

History :

There is no detailed or documented history of Kathua district but it is believed that Jodh Singh a famous Rajput of Andotra clan migrated from Hastinapur to Kathua nearly 2000 years ago and settled here. The three Hamlets of Taraf Tajwal, Taraf Manjali and Taraf Bhajwal were set up by his three sons Viz. Teju, Kindal and Bhaju. The accumulation of these three hamlets was loosely called "Kathai" in earlier times which with the course of time came to be called as Kathua.

Jodh Singh of the Andotra clan is believed to have migrated from Hastinapur to [Kathua] nearly 2,000 years ago.His three sons established the three Hamlets of Taraf Tajwal, Taraf Manjali and Taraf Bhajwal. Their descendants are now called as Tajwalia, Bhajwalia and Khanwalia Rajputs of ANDOTRA sub-caste. Prior to 1921, the Kathua district was known as the Jasrota district. Between 1921–1931, the headquarters of the district was shifted to Kathua without any alteration in the area of governance.

Geography :

Geographical location of Kathua district is 320 17 degree to 320 55 degree North Latitude and 750 70 degree to 760 16 degree East longitude. The District is enclosed by Punjab in the south east, Himachal Pradesh in north east, Doda and Udhampur in North and North West, Jammu in the West and Pakistan in the south west. The annual rainfall here is approx.1672 mm. Kathua District experiences rainfall during winter and early summer primarily from western disturbances and monsoon rains from second week of July onwards. The hilly areas receive more rains than the plains. The district can be divided into three different Agro-climatic regions. The areas falling in Kathua district experiences wide range of climate from sub-tropical to temperate area and even alpine in higher regions of Bani and Lohai-Malhar blocks. The summer temperature rises as high as 48 degree Celsius in the plains and winter temperature in the upper hilly areas touches sub-zero.

Culture :

The culture of Kathua District is Pahari which bears a resemblance to the culture of Himachal Paradesh. The other part of the district has Dogra Culture. Dogri is the main language spoken by the people of the district. The district is culturally an integrated part of Jammu region and all important religious fairs like Lohri, Holi, Ramnavami, Baisakhi, Basantpanchami, Shivaratri, Mahanavami, Dussehra, Id-ul-Fitr, Raksha Bandhan, Diwali, Janmashtami, Id-ul-zuha, and Mahatama Gandhi's birthday are celebrated. Ram Lilas are organised in every town as well as in every village of the district. 

Basohli Paintings :

Basohli, a town of Kathua district, is widely known for its paintings. Immortalised by their artistic eminences and their connoisseur patrons, Basohli today is a metaphor for a vigorous, bold and imaginative artistic style, rich, stylish and unconventional. A style of painting characterized by vigorous use of primary colours and a peculiar facial formula prevailed in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries in the foothills of the Western Himalayas in the Jammu and Punjab States.The earliest paintings in this style originated in Basohli from where the style spread to the Hill States of Mankot, Nurpur, Kulu, Mandi, Suket, Bilaspur, Nalagarh, Chamba, Guler and Kangra. The first mention of Basohli painting is in the annual report of the Archaeological Survey of India published in 1921.

Tourism :

Kathua District has a lot to offer when it comes to tourism. Bani, is a small glaciated valley located at a height of 4200 ft in the lap of lofty mountains. It is well-known as Mini Kashmir of Kathua district. It is also base camp of trekkers for bhaderwah, chamba etc. Bani, is marked by waterfalls, thick forest patches, gushing streams and meadows. Banjal is a colourful area with lot of flowers blooming also known as 'Garden Of Natural Flowers'. Sarthal is a beautiful meadow situated at a height of 7000 ft which remains covered with snow for six months. The virgin beauty of the area casts a fascinating spell to any visitor. The area is bounded by snow clad mountains. There are also many places in the district which are well known pilgrimage centres. Jodia Di Mata is a religious centre which is visited by hundreds of pilgrims during Navaratris. A large number of pilgrims come to Dhoula Wali Mata and offer their prayers, especially during Navaratris.