The Kashmiri a dardic speaking people residing in the northern part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India, commonly known as the Kashmir valley. Their closest ethnic and cultural links are with the people of the Gilgit district.[1] They are predominantly muslim. The Kashmiris speak as their mother tongue the Kashmiri language, a Dardic language known as Koshur, hence are considered of dardic or part dardic origins. Image File history File links Flag_of_India. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Kashmiri (कॉशुर, کٲشُر Koshur) is a Dardic language spoken primarily in the valley of Kashmir, a region situated in the Jammu and Kashmir state of India. ... -1... Urdu ( , , trans. ... Indian English comprises several dialects or varieties of English spoken primarily in India, and/or by first generation Indian diaspora elsewhere in the world. ... A second language (L2) is any language learned after the first language or mother tongue (L1). ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... Hinduism is a religious tradition[1] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... Sikhism (IPA: or ; Punjabi: , , IPA: ), founded on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev and nine successive gurus in fifteenth century Northern India, is the fifth-largest religion in the world. ... The Dards are various ethnic groups living in Afghanistan, Pakistan and a few scattered villages in a remote region of Ladakh district, itself a remote region of Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir (Dah Hanu). ... Kashmiri can refer to: The Kashmiri people living in the Kashmir region of the Indian subcontinent. ... The Dards are an Indo-Aryan (the issue as to whether the Dardics are a subgroup of the Indo-Aryans or a separte Indo-European family is not yet settled) ethnic group living in Afghanistan, Pakistan and a few scattered villages in a remote region of Ladakh district, itself a... This article is about the area administered by India. ... For other uses, see Gilgit (disambiguation). ... Kashmiri (कॉशुर, کٲشُر Koshur) is a Dardic language spoken primarily in the valley of Kashmir, a region situated in the Jammu and Kashmir state of India. ... The Dards are an Indo-Aryan (the issue as to whether the Dardics are a subgroup of the Indo-Aryans or a separte Indo-European family is not yet settled) ethnic group living in Afghanistan, Pakistan and a few scattered villages in a remote region of Ladakh district, itself a...

History

Originally, the Kashmiris were mostly Buddhist and Hindu. Islam was introduced by Sufi saints from Central Asia, Saint Bulbul Shah of Turkey 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. 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... This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... 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 region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to... , Ladakh (Tibetan script: ལ་དྭགས་; Wylie: la-dwags, 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 Kuen Lun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people... The Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus) are the original inhabitants of the Valley of Kashmir. ...

Ethnic variation as shown by linguistics

Linguistic variation of Kashmir showing the ethnic variation of Kashmir as Dardic, Indic and Sino-Tibetan

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". Image File history File links Size of this preview: 759 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1654 × 1306 pixel, file size: 260 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Ethnic Composition of Kashmir shown by lingustic distribution. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 759 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1654 × 1306 pixel, file size: 260 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Ethnic Composition of Kashmir shown by lingustic distribution. ... 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. ... The Dards are an Indo-Aryan (the issue as to whether the Dardics are a subgroup of the Indo-Aryans or a separte Indo-European family is not yet settled) ethnic group living in Afghanistan, Pakistan and a few scattered villages in a remote region of Ladakh district, itself a... The Indo-Aryan languages form a subgroup of the Indo-Iranian languages, thus belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. ... Sino-Tibetan languages form a language family of about 250 languages of East Asia, in number of speakers worldwide second only to Indo-European. ... Kashmiriyat (Kashmiri-ness) is the ethno-national and social consciousness and cultural values of the Kashmiri people. ...

The people living in Jammu that profess Hindu and Muslim faiths are ethnically different from those living in the Valley in terms of ethnicity, language and culture. The people living in Azad Kashmir, share common religion with their counterparts along the line of control, but are not ethnically and culturally similar to the people living in the Valley who are Dardic. The predominant language of Azad Kashmir is Pahari and the people of Azad Kashmir are ethnic Punjabis. Kashmiri is only spoken in a few border areas of Neelum District. ^[5]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. Jammu   (Hindi: जम्मू, Urdu: جموں) is one of the three regions comprising the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir. ... This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... This article is about the area administered by Pakistan. ... Selected ethnic groups of Nepal; Bhotia, Sherpa, Thakali Gurung Kiranti, Rai, Limbu Newari Pahari Tamang Pahari (or Pahaari) is a general terms for a range of dialects spoken across the Himalayan range, not limited to a single country in the subcontinent. ... For other uses, see Kashmiri (disambiguation) Kashmiri is a Dardic language spoken primarily in Kashmir, an Asian region now split between India, Pakistan and China. ... Neelum District is located in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. ... , Ladakh (Tibetan script: ལ་དྭགས་; Wylie: la-dwags, 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 Kuen Lun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people... Shia may refer to a denomination of Islam, or related items, such as: Shia Islam, the second largest denomination of Islam, after Sunni Islam. ...

References

2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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

See also

• Kashmiri Pandits
• List of Kashmiris