The Dards are various ethnic groups living in Afghanistan, India-occupied Kashmir, and Pakistan. The term Dard is due to Herodotus who described a land of the Dardikae in the Hindu Kush. Kashmir (or Cashmere) may refer to: Kashmir region, the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent India, Kashmir conflict, the territorial dispute between India, Pakistan, and the China over the Kashmir region. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Hindu Kush or Hindukush (هندوکش in Persian) is a mountain range in Afghanistan as well as in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. ...

Geographic distrbution

To the north of the Valley of Kashmir, people living in Baltistan and Gilgit are called DARD. In ancient history these areas were called DARD-I-STAN or Boloristan. In the opinion of the experts these people are of the Aryan origin and it is said that while migrating from central Asia to the south, a branch of Aryan tribe separated from the mainstream and then came to Gilgit and Baltistan and settled there. The whole population of dardestan comprises of different sects of Muslims including Shia, Sunni, Noorbakhshi and Ismaeli. Before embracing Islam these people belonged to Hindu and Buddhist religions of the Ancient Pakistan region that was India or Hindustan and not the present-day Bharat; socially these people are divided into four classes or castes. Srinagar (Hindi: श्रीनगर, Urdu: سرینگر, Kashmiri: سِرېنَگَر सिरीनगर) , is the summer capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India, and is situated in the valley of Kashmir. ... Baltistan (Urdu: بلتستان) , also known as Baltiyul in the Balti language, is a region to the north of Kashmir, bordering the Chinese region of Xinjiang. ... Gilgit Valle,By Rakaposhi Hiking Club Nawabshah Budhas Picture at Kargah,By Rakaposhi Hiking Club Nawabshah Gilgit (Urdu: گلگت) is the capital city of Northern Areas, Pakistan. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... Gilgit Valle,By Rakaposhi Hiking Club Nawabshah Budhas Picture at Kargah,By Rakaposhi Hiking Club Nawabshah Gilgit (Urdu: گلگت) is the capital city of Northern Areas, Pakistan. ... Baltistan (Urdu: بلتستان) , also known as Baltiyul in the Balti language, is a region to the north of Kashmir, bordering the Chinese region of Xinjiang. ... Shiʻa Islam (Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite) makes up the second largest sect of believers in Islam, constituting about 30%–35% of all Muslim. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Motto: Iman, Ittehad, Nazm (English: Faith, Unity, Discipline) Anthem: Qaumi Tarana (National Anthem)[1][2] Capital Islamabad Largest city Karachi Official language(s) Urdu, English Government Federal Republic  - President Pervez Musharraf  - Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Independence From United Kingdom   - Declared 1947-08-14   - Republic 1956-03-23  Area    - Total 803... Hindustan (Hindi: हिन्दुस्तान [Hindustān], Urdu: [Hindostān], from the (Sanskrit) HindÅ« + -stān, archaic Hindoostan) and the adjective Hindustani may relate to various aspects of four geographic areas: Hindustan: Land of the Hindus. ... ...

1. Rono – the ruling class.

2. Sheen – the religious leaders.

3. Yashkan – Cultivators.

4. Doom – Lower Class.

The languages spoken in these areas are Shina, Balti, Boroshiski and Khor. Shina can refer to: Shina (word), a Japanese term for China that is considered offensive by the Chinese. ... Balti can refer to: Bălţi - a city and county in Moldavia Balti dynasty - a branch of the ancient Visigoths Balti language - a language spoken in Baltistan in Kashmir Balti - Muslims of Tibetan origin from Baltistan Balti - a style of food devised in Birmingham in England Balti - an eating...

Shina language is spoken, apart from Gilgit, in Punial, Darail, Tangair, Astore and Drass. It has many dialects including Gilgiti Shina, Astori Shine, Ponyali Shina and Chilasi Shina. The pronunciation of this language is very different. It is very important to make changes in the script of this language to make is easy. This language is spoken in the western border areas Yasin, Gupis, Koh-o-gazar and Ashkoman. Gilgit Valle,By Rakaposhi Hiking Club Nawabshah Budhas Picture at Kargah,By Rakaposhi Hiking Club Nawabshah Gilgit (Urdu: گلگت) is the capital city of Northern Areas, Pakistan. ...

Broshiski is spoken in the extreme northwestern areas of Hunza and Nagar. This language is very easy to learn and sweet to speak. Linguistic experts have declared all these regions including Kashmiri language of valley also called Kausher as Dard group of languages. Sanskrit and Persian languages have cast tremendous effects with the passage of time, on these languages. This page is about the town of Hunza in northern areas of Pakistan. ... The ancient pre-Akkadian and Akkadian city of Nagar on the Khabur River in northeastern Syria, is now represented by the mound named Tell Brak, 40m high, one of the tallest archaeological mounds in the Middle East, and about a kilometer long, the remains of one of the largest urban... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is an old Indo-Aryan language from the Indian Subcontinent, the classical literary language of the Hindus of India[1], a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Look up Persian in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Dards in Afghanistan

There are also Dardic groups in Afghanistan such as the Pashai and the Kohistanis. The Nuristanis were previously considered to be Dards but are today classified as a distinct group. Minority Afghan group living throughout Afghanistan but mostly in Nooristan, Kabul, Badakhshan, Konar and Laghman. ... The Nuristani are a religious/ethnic group in the Nurestan Province of Afghanistan. ...

Dards in Indian Occupied Kashmir

Dards also inhabit India, the disputed territory namely the state of Kashmir. A Dardic group known as the Dah Hanu reside in a few scattered villages in the Ladakh district, a remote region of Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir. The Kashmiris of the Kashmir valley are also considered Dards. Kashmiris of the valley are not only considered dard but most of them are actually of dardic origin.Only tiny community of hindu brahmans is against this identity whereas the muslims of kashmir valley are pretty sure of their ancient dardic roots reflected in their language and their culture. Kashmir (or Cashmere) may refer to: Kashmir region, the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent India, Kashmir conflict, the territorial dispute between India, Pakistan, and the China over the Kashmir region. ... Dah Hanu is the main village of the Dards. ... Ladakh (Tibetan script: ལ་དྭགས་, Ladakhi IPA: , Hindi: लद्दाख़, Hindi IPA: , Urdu: لدّاخ; land of high passes) is a region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in Northern India sandwiched between the Karakoram mountain range to the north and the Himalayas to the south. ... Jammu and Kashmir   (IPA: , Kashmiri:ज्वम त॒ कॅशीर جۄم تٕہ کٔشِیر, Urdu:جموں Ùˆ کشمیر) (often abbreviated as Kashmir), is the northern-most state of India, lying mostly in the Himalayan mountains. ... The Kashmiri people (Kashmiri: कश्मीरी کشمیری) are a Dardic ethnic group who ancestrally belong to the Kashmir region, divided between the countries of India and Pakistan. ...

Dards in North Pakistan

The people of Northernmost Pakistan are mostly Dards, including the people of Chitral, Gilgit, Kohistan and upper Swat. Chitral Valley and Tirich Mir, 7,708 m (25,289 ft) Chitral, or Chitrāl (Urdu: چترال), is the name of a town , valley, river, district, and former princely state in the former Malakand Division of the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan. ... Gilgit Valle,By Rakaposhi Hiking Club Nawabshah Budhas Picture at Kargah,By Rakaposhi Hiking Club Nawabshah Gilgit (Urdu: گلگت) is the capital city of Northern Areas, Pakistan. ... The word Kohistan in Persian literally means Country of the Hills. ... PTDC Motel at Malam Jabba Ski Resort, Swat, NWFP, Pakistan. ...

Religion

The vast majority of Dardic peoples are Muslims (Sunni, Shia and Ismaili) though some practice Buddhism. For example, The Dards of Dah Hanu are nominally Buddhist but also worship their own Pantheon of gods. They have an Indo-European appearance in contrast to the predominantly Tibeto-Burman inhabitants of most of Ladakh. They live in very primitive conditions even when judged by the standards of Ladakh. Others have retained their ancient polytheistic religions, such as the Kalash. Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... Shiʻa Islam (Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite) makes up the second largest sect of believers in Islam, constituting about 30%–35% of all Muslim. ... The IsmāʿīlÄ« (Urdu: اسماعیلی IsmāʿīlÄ«, Arabic: الإسماعيليون al-IsmāʿīliyyÅ«n; Persian: اسماعیلیان Esmāʿīliyān) branch of Islam is the second largest part of the ShÄ«a community, after the Twelvers (Ithnāʿashariyya). ... Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion and a philosophy. ... Dah Hanu is the main village of the Dards. ... Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion and a philosophy. ... For the language group see Indo-European languages; for other uses see Indo-European (disambiguation) Indo-Europeans are speakers of Indo-European languages. ... The Tibeto-Burman family of languages (often considered a sub-group of the Sino-Tibetan language family) is spoken in various central and south Asian countries, including Myanmar (Burma), northern Thailand, and parts of Western China (Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai (Amdo), Gansu, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan), Nepal, Bhutan, India (Himachal... Ladakh (Tibetan script: ལ་དྭགས་, Ladakhi IPA: , Hindi: लद्दाख़, Hindi IPA: , Urdu: لدّاخ; land of high passes) is a region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in Northern India sandwiched between the Karakoram mountain range to the north and the Himalayas to the south. ... Ladakh (Tibetan script: ལ་དྭགས་, Ladakhi IPA: , Hindi: लद्दाख़, Hindi IPA: , Urdu: لدّاخ; land of high passes) is a region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in Northern India sandwiched between the Karakoram mountain range to the north and the Himalayas to the south. ... The Kalash (Greek: Καλάς, Nuristani: Kasivo) or Kalasha, are an ethnic group that lives in the Hindu Kush region of Pakistan. ...

Origin

Parpola (1999) identifies "Proto-Dardic" with "Proto-Rigvedic", suggesting that the Dards are the direct descendants of the bearers of early Rigvedic culture ca. 1700 B.C., pointing to features in certain Dardic dialects that continue peculiarities of Rigvedic Sanskrit, such as the gerund in -tvī (p. 189). The Rigveda (Sanskrit: , a tatpurusha compound of praise, verse and knowledge) is a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the gods. ... (Redirected from 1700 B.C.) ... Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, which are the earliest sacred texts of India,. The Vedas were first passed down orally and therefore have no known date. ...

See also

• Indo-Iranian peoples

• Indo-Aryans
• Iranian people
• Nuristani people

Map of the Sintashta-Petrovka culture (red), its expansion into the Andronovo culture during the 2nd millennium BC, showing the overlap with the BMAC in the south. ... The Indo-Aryans who make up around 74% of Indias population (Hindustani: इन्दो-आर्यन, اِندو آریایی) are a wide collection of peoples united by their common status as the ethno-linguistic descendents of the Indic branch of the ancient Indo-Iranians (also known as Aryans). ... Iranian peoples are peoples who speak an Iranian language and/or belong to the Iranian stock. ... A smiling Nuristani girl. ...

References

• Dards, Dardistan, and Dardic: an Ethnographic, Geographic, and Linguistic Conundrum
• Asko Parpola, 'The formation of the Aryan branch of Indo-European', in Blench and Spriggs (eds), Archaeology and Language III, London and New York (1999).

External links

• Dah Hanu: Land of the Dard Survivors in India