Skardu
Town, 1846–1947
اسکردوسکردو
Today Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Same place, same name.
Key facts
- Historical name
- Skardu
- Type
- Town
- Coordinates
- 35.3000° N, 75.6167° E(seed dataset)
- Governance
- Princely state
- Record confidence
- Low confidence
- Identifiers
- Q976955
A princely state under a subsidiary alliance with the British Crown. Ruled by an Indian monarch and not part of British India in the statutory sense, though part of the wider Indian Empire.
Location
Pin placed at the coordinates recorded for this place. Colonial-era boundaries are not drawn.
Description
Chief town of Baltistan on the Indus, within the Ladakh wazarat of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Historical notes
Conquered for the Dogras by Zorawar Singh in 1840 and administered from Kashmir; the town was the staging point for Karakoram expeditions. Under Pakistani administration since 1948; territory disputed.
Administrative history
Administrative parenthood changed over time. Each row states the years it is recorded for, and the source it comes from.
| Years | Relation | Unit | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| from 1901 | Part of | Jammu and KashmirPrincely state · Princely stateSnapshot from the 1901 census and the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31). End of the relationship not established; recorded as open rather than inferred. | Low confidencesource |
| from 1901 | Part of | Ladakh (Baltistan)District · Princely stateSnapshot from the 1901 census and the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31). End of the relationship not established; recorded as open rather than inferred. | Low confidencesource |
Recorded names
Every documented spelling and transliteration held for this place. The historical name is canonical; modern names redirect to it.
| Name | Script | Type | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skardu | Latin | Historical English | — |
| Askardo | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| Eskerdou | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| Iskardu | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| اسکردو | Arabic | Indigenous | — |
| سکردو | Arabic | Indigenous | — |
Records and references
- Imperial Gazetteer of India
- Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31), Vol. XXIII (23)
- Census of India
- Census of India, 1901, Vol. XXIII (23): Kashmir
Sources
- Encyclopedia· generalCC BY-SA
Wikipedia: Skardu, Wikimedia Foundation
Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Gazetteer· administrativeLicence unverified
Digital South Asia Library, University of Chicago — the 1908–31 text is public domain, but DSAL's digital presentation states no licence; link-out only
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Database· identityCC0
Wikidata (Q976955), Wikimedia Foundation
Wikidata, CC0 1.0
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Archive· descriptionPublic domain
Internet Archive scan: in.ernet.dli.2015.449222, Internet Archive
Scanned volume of a pre-1929 publication (Imperial Gazetteer of India 1908–31 / Census of India 1901); public domain. Digitisation courtesy of the Internet Archive.
Retrieved 2026-08-29
Sources tagged “Licence unverified” are linked to rather than reproduced. Scans and images are only displayed inline where the licence is confirmed permissive.