Kashmiri people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Sheikh Abdullah, Mahjoor | ||||||
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| 5,600,000 | ||||||
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Kashmiri |
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Other Dardic peoples |
The Kashmiri people (Kashmiri: कॉशुर, کٲشُر Koshur) are a Dardic ethnic group living in the region of Kashmir who speak the Kashmiri language. Kashmiri is "a Northwestern Dardic language of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-Iranian subfamily of the Indo-European language family."[6] which is also known as Koshur and hence are classified as a Dardic people.
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[edit] History
Originally, the Kashmiris were mostly Buddhist, Hindu, and Pagan. Islam was introduced by Sufi saints from Central Asia, Hazrat Bulbul Shah of Anatolia being the most prominent of them. Prince Rinchin of Ladakh, a Buddhist who was living in Jammu & Kashmir at the time came under the influence of Saint Bulbul Shah and converted to Islam. Later on after the defeat of the Hindu ruler Suhadeva by Dulchu, Suhadeva fled Kashmir, and Rinchin became King of Jammu & Kashmir and adopted the name Malik Saduruddin. Eventually the majority of Kashmiris adopted Islam and became Muslim, although there are still small communities of Hindus and Sikhs living in the Kashmir Valley, the former being known as Kashmiri Pandits.[citation needed]. Due to the large Kashmiri diaspora during The 1947 War, atleast 6% of Pakistanis claim Kashmiri ancestry.
[edit] Ethnic variation as shown by linguistics
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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2008) |
The population living in the Valley of Kashmir is primarily homogeneous, despite the religious divide between Muslims (94%), Hindus (4%), and Sikhs (2%). The people of the Valley, share common ethnicity, culture, language and customs, which is no doubt the basis of "Kashmiriyat". The people living in Ladakh are primarily Buddhist and are of Tibetan origins. The Muslim minority in Ladakh belongs to the Shia sect. The Kashmir Valley is ethnically homogeneous with ethnic Kashmiris of all religions residing mainly in the Kashmir Valley, with Srinagar as its capital.
[edit] References
- ^ Abstract of speakers’ strength of languages and mother tongues – 2001, Census of India (retrieved 14 May 2008)
- ^ Kashmiri: A language of India, Ethnologue (retrieved 14 May 2008)
- ^ a b c "Kashmiri: A language of India". Ethnologue. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kas. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ http://www.jammu-kashmir.com/insights/insight20010101a.html
- ^ BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Safety fears for Kashmir's Sikhs
- ^ UCLA Languages Project: Kashmirihttp://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=198&menu=004
[edit] Further reading
- Kashmir Return of Democracy By Yodhishter Kahul, Yudhistar ed Kahol
- The Crisis in Kashmir: Portents of War, Hopes of Peace By Šumit Ganguly
