*The population figures are only for the number of speakers of the Kashmiri language. May not include ethnic Kashmiris who no longer speak the Kashmiri language. †The population figures are for those who self-identify as ethnic Kashmiris, with almost none speaking the language anymore.
In 1339,Shah Mir became the ruler of Kashmir, establishing theShah Mir dynasty. During the rule of the Shah Mir dynasty, Islam spread in Kashmir. From 1586 to 1751, theMughal Empire ruled Kashmir. The AfghanDurrani Empire ruled from 1747 until 1819. TheSikhs, underRanjit Singh, annexed Kashmir in 1819. In 1846, after theFirst Anglo-Sikh War, theTreaty of Lahore was signed and upon the purchase of the region from theBritish under theTreaty of Amritsar, the Raja ofJammu,Gulab Singh, became ruler of Kashmir. The rule of theDogra dynasty under the British Crown lasted until 1947, when the princely state ofJammu and Kashmir became part of India. It is now a disputed territory, administered by three countries: India, Pakistan, and the People's Republic of China.
There are about 6.8 million speakers of Kashmiri and related dialects in Jammu and Kashmir and amongst theKashmiri diaspora in other states of India.[17] Most Kashmiris are located in theKashmir Valley and other areas of Jammu and Kashmir.[18] In the Kashmir valley, they form a majority.
Kashmiri is spoken by roughly five per cent ofAzad Kashmir's population.[19] According to the1998 Pakistan Census, there were 132,450 Kashmiri speakers in Azad Kashmir.[20] Native speakers of the language were dispersed in "pockets" throughout Azad Kashmir,[21][22] particularly in the districts ofMuzaffarabad (15%),Neelam (20%) andHattian (15%), with very small minorities inHaveli (5%) andBagh (2%).[20] The Kashmiri spoken in Muzaffarabad is distinct from, although stillintelligible with, the Kashmiri of the Neelam Valley to the north.[22] In Neelam Valley, Kashmiri is the second most widely spoken language and the majority language in at least a dozen or so villages, where in about half of these, it is the sole mother tongue.[22] The Kashmiri dialect of Neelum is closer to the variety spoken in northern Kashmir Valley, particularlyKupwara.[22] At the2017 Census of Pakistan, as many as 350,000 people declared their first language to be Kashmiri.[23][24]
A process oflanguage shift is observable among Kashmiri-speakers in Azad Kashmir according to linguistTariq Rahman, as they gradually adopt local dialects such asPahari-Pothwari,Hindko or move towards thelingua francaUrdu.[25][21][26][22] This has resulted in these languages gaining ground at the expense of Kashmiri.[27][28] There have been calls for the promotion of Kashmiri at an official level; in 1983, a Kashmiri Language Committee was set up by the government to patronise Kashmiri and impart it in school-level education. However, the limited attempts at introducing the language have not been successful, and it is Urdu, rather than Kashmiri, that Kashmiri Muslims have seen as their identity symbol.[29] Rahman notes that efforts to organise a Kashmiri language movement have been challenged by the scattered nature of the Kashmiri-speaking community in Azad Kashmir.[29]
Language
TheKashmiri language is one of the22 scheduled languages ofIndia.[30] It was a part of theeighth Schedule in the former Constitution of the Jammu and Kashmir. Along with other regional languages mentioned in theSixth Schedule, as well as Hindi and Urdu, the Kashmiri language was to be developed in the state.[31]
An example of earlySharada script in the Bakhshali manuscript (left); Stone Slab inVerinag in Perso-Arabic script (right)
Persian began to be used as the court language in Kashmir during the 14th century, under the influence of Islam. It was replaced by Urdu in 1889 during theDogra rule.[32][33] In 2020, Kashmiri became an official language in the Union Territory ofJammu and Kashmir for the first time.[34][35][36]
Kashmiri is closely related toPoguli andKishtwari, which are spoken in the mountains to the south of the Kashmir Valley and have sometimes been counted as dialects of Kashmiri.
Kashmiri Hindus areSaraswat Brahmins and are known by the exonymPandit.[37] The Muslims living inKashmir are of the same stock as theKashmiri Pandit community and are designated asKashmiri Muslims.[38] Kashmiri Muslims are descended fromKashmiri Hindus whoconverted toIslam, and Kashmiri Pandits are the predecessors of the Kashmiri Muslims,[39] who now form the majority population in the Kashmir Valley[40][41] Both the Kashmiri Hindus and Muslim society reckons descent patrilineally. Certain property and titles may be inherited through the male line, but certain inheritances may accrue through the female line. AfterKashmiri Hindus converted to Islam they largely retained their family names (kram) which indicated their original profession, locality or community.[37] These include:
Wazwan is a multi-course meal in Kashmir prepared by skilled chefs calledWazas.
Kashmir is also known for its baking traditions.Sheermal,Bakarkhani (puff pastry),Lavas (unleavened bread),Tsochwor (hard, bagel-shaped bread) andKulche are popular baked goods.[61]
^Khanday, A., Aabid M, Sheikh,(2018) Urdu Language in Kashmir: A Tool of Assimilation or Means towards Segregation?, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH CULTURE SOCIETY, vol 2,no 12. "Urdu being an alien language for all regions of the state does not have too many people considering it as theirmother tongue in the state. This is despite the fact that most people understand and speak the language in Jammu andKashmir."
^"Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues - 2011"(PDF). Retrieved2 July 2018. The precise figures from the 2011 census are 6,554,36 for Kashmiri as a "mother tongue" and 6,797,587 for Kashmiri as a "language" (which includes closely related smaller dialects/languages).
^abcdeAkhtar, Raja Nasim; Rehman, Khawaja A. (2007). "The Languages of the Neelam Valley".Kashmir Journal of Language Research.10 (1):65–84.ISSN1028-6640.Additionally, Kashmiri speakers are better able to understand the variety of Srinagar than the one spoken in Muzaffarabad.
^Kaw, M. K. (2004).Kashmir and It's [sic] People: Studies in the Evolution of Kashmiri Society. APH Publishing. pp. 328–329.ISBN978-81-7648-537-1.In parts of Pakistan, as a Pakistani scholar, Rahman observes (1996:225-226), "there are pockets of Kashmiri-speaking people in Azad Kashmir [Pakistan-occupied Kashmir] and elsewhere ..." Rahman adds that the process of language shift is in progress among Kashmiri speakers in Pakistan too, as: most of the them [Kashmiris] are gradually shifting to other languages such as the local Pahari and Mirpuri which are dialects of Punjabi...Most literate people use Urdu since, in both Azad and Indian-held Kashmir, Urdu rather than Kashmiri is the official language of government.
^"Up north: Call for exploration of archaeological sites".The Express Tribune. 4 June 2015. Retrieved24 October 2020.He said Kundal Shahi and Kashmiri languages, which were spoken in the Neelum Valley, were on the verge of dying.
^Khan, Zafar Ali (20 February 2016)."Lack of preservation causing regional languages to die a slow death".The Express Tribune. Retrieved25 October 2020.Dr Khawaja Abdul Rehman, who spoke on Pahari and Kashmiri, said pluralistic and tolerance-promoting Kashmiri literature was fast dying, as its older generation had failed to transfer the language to its youth. He said that after a few decades, not a single Kashmiri-speaking person will be found in Muzaffarabad...
^abcBrower, Barbara; Johnston, Barbara Rose (2016).Disappearing Peoples?: Indigenous Groups and Ethnic Minorities in South and Central Asia. Routledge.ISBN9781315430393.Kashmiri Hindus are all Saraswat brahmins, known by the exonym Pandit (the endonym being Batta), a term first reserved for emigrant Kashmiri brahmins in Mughal service. Their surnames (kram) designate their original professions or their ancestors' nicknames (e.g., Hakim, Kaul, Dhar, Raina, Teng).
^Census of India, 1941. Vol. 22. p. 9. Retrieved30 December 2016.The Muslims living in the southern part of the Kashmir Province are of the same stock as the Kashmiri Pandit community and are usually designated Kashmiri Muslims; those of the Muzaffarabad District are partly Kashmiri Muslims, partly Gujjar and the rest are of the same stock as the tribes of the neighbouring Punjab and North West Frontier Province districts.
^Kashmiri Pandits: Looking to the Future. APH Publishing. 2001.ISBN9788176482363.The Kashmiri Pandits are theprecursors of Kashmiri Muslims who now form a majority in the valley of Kashmir...Whereas Kashmiri Pandits are of the same ethnic stock as the Kashmiri Muslims, both sharing their habitat, language, dress, food and other habits, Kashmiri Pandits form a constituent part of the Hindu society of India on the religious plane.
^Bhasin, M.K.; Nag, Shampa (2002)."A Demographic Profile of the People of Jammu and Kashmir"(PDF).Journal of Human Ecology. Kamla-Raj Enterprises: 15. Retrieved1 January 2017.Thus the two population groups, Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims though at the time constituted ethnically homogenous population, came to differ from each other in faith and customs.
^Bhasin, M.K.; Nag, Shampa (2002)."A Demographic Profile of the People of Jammu and Kashmir"(PDF).Journal of Human Ecology: 16. Retrieved1 January 2017.The Sheikhs are considered to be the descendants of Hindus and the pure Kashmiri Muslims, professing Sunni faith, the major part of the population of Srinagar district and the Kashmir state.
^abcBrower, Barbara; Johnston, Barbara Rose (2016).Disappearing Peoples?: Indigenous Groups and Ethnic Minorities in South and Central Asia.Routledge.ISBN9781315430393. Retrieved14 July 2023.Sheikh: local converts, subdivided into numerous subgroups. Most largely retain their family names, or patronyms (kram), indicating their original profession, locality or community-such as Khar (carpenter), Pampori (a place), Butt and Pandit (Brahmin), Dar (kshatriya)-but with increasing Islamization, some have dropped these.
^abcdefghijProceedings - Indian History Congress, Volume 63. Indian History Congress. 2003. p. 867. Retrieved30 December 2016....the Muslims also retained their Hindu caste-names known as Krams e.g. Tantre, Nayak, Magre, Rather, Lone, Bat, Dar, Parray, Mantu, Yatoo.....
^abcdefghiAhmad, Khalid Bashir (23 June 2017).Kashmir: Exposing the Myth Behind the Narrative.SAGE Publishing.ISBN9789386062819. Retrieved5 April 2023.One would come across among Muslims of Kashmir any number of surnames that are equally common among the Pandits. Among these are Bhat, Raina, Nath, Langoo, Malla, Bazaz, Saraf, Munshi, Watal, Wali, Khar, Shangloo, Nehru, Gagar, Kharoo, Aga, Jalali, Peer, Pandit, Parimoo and Mattoo.
^abcdefgClements, William M.; Green, Thomas A. (2006).The Greenwood Encyclopedia of World Folklore and Folklife: Southeast Asia and India, Central and East Asia, Middle East.Greenwood Press. p. 60.ISBN978-0-313-32849-7.A variety of Hindu surnames such as Dar, Bhatt, Handoo, Kachru, Kichlu, Matoo and Pandit persist in Muslim families.
^abcAnwar, Tarique; Bhat, Rajesh (23 February 2008)."Kashmiryat in Kashmiri surnames".Two Circles.Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved9 July 2023.Similarly, Mirza, Dhar or Dar, Bhat, Kaul, Akhoon, Chakoo, Durrani, Kachroo, Draboo, Kaloo, Kanna, Kaw, Khar, Khuda, Kitchloo, Munshi, Machama, Mirza, Padar, Parimoo and Raina are a few typical surnames that are used by both Hindus, and Muslims of Kashmir!
^abcKaul, Upendra (4 September 2020)."My name is Khan, and I'm Kaul".Greater Kashmir.Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved9 July 2023.Similarly, Mirza, Dhar or Dar, Bhat, Akhoon, Chakoo, Durrani, Kachroo, Draboo, Kaloo, Kanna, Kaw, Khar, Khuda, Kitchloo, Munshi, Machama, Mirza, Padar, Parimoo and Raina are a few typical surnames that are used by both Hindus, and Muslims of Kashmir
^abcdefghijklmnLawrence, Sir Walter Roper (2005).The Valley of Kashmir. Asian Educational Services. p. 304.ISBN978-81-206-1630-1.Among the leading Krams may be mentioned the following names:— Tikku, Razdan, Kak, Munshi, Mathu, Kachru, Pandit, Sapru, Bhan, Zitshu, Raina, Dar, Fotadar, Madan, Thusu, Wangnu, Muju, Hokhu, and Dulu.
^abcdefgRaina, Mohini Qasba (13 November 2014).Kashur The Kashmiri Speaking People: Analytical Perspective. Partridge Singapore. p. 55.ISBN9781482899450. Retrieved5 April 2023.Among the leading Krams may be mentioned the following names: Tikku, Razdan, Kak, Munshi, Mathu, Kachru, Pandit, Sipru, Bhan, Zitshu, Raina, Dhar, Fotadar, Madan, Thusu, Wangnu, Muju, Hokhu, and Dulu. Of these the members of the Dhar family have probably been the most influential.
^abSchofield, Victoria (2003).Kashmir in conflict. I.B. Tauris & Co. p. 4.ISBN1860648983. Retrieved25 June 2012....looms rose to 24,000 by 1813. Despite the religious oppression that many Hindus were subjected, they were however, useful to the Afghans because of their administrative experience. Kashmiri Pandits were not prevented into entering into government service & there were some families whose names consistently appear in public service - the Dhars, Kauls, Tikkus & Saprus.
^abcdefghijklmnopqrAgrawal, Premendra (20 August 2014).Accursed & Jihadi Neighbour. Commercial Services. p. 86.ISBN9788193051207. Retrieved5 April 2023.Meaning of surnames found on the Kashmiri Pandit tree: Bakaya, Sapru, Bakshi, Munshi, Wazir, Chalkbast, Bhan, Langar or Langroo, Wattal, Bazaz, Taimini, Mattu, Chak, Zalpuri, Khar, Hazari, Zutshi, Razdan, Tikhu, Kathju, sopori, Thussoo, Haksar, Raina, Waloo or Wali, Wantu/Wanchu, Gamkhwar, Kakh, Mushran, Sharga, Handoo, Gurtu, Kitchlu, and Ganjoo.
^Hasan, Amir; Anthropological Survey of India, eds. (2005).Uttar Pradesh. Manohar: Anthropological Survey of India. p. 769.ISBN978-81-7304-114-3.The Kesarwani Bania, or simply the Kesarwani, as they are popularly referred to, are an important group of the Vaishya or business community. They were also referred to as Baniya, Bani and Bakkal in the British time. From Kashmir, they came to Kara- Manikpur at the end of the twelfth century.
^Wani, Muhammad Ashraf (2004).Islam in Kashmir: Fourteenth to Sixteenth Century (pages 35, 191). Oriental Publishing House. pp. 35, 191.ISBN9788190138505.
Ram, Anant; Raina, Hira Nand (1933). Census of India, 1931. Vol. XXIV: Jammu and Kashmir State. Part II: Imperial and State Tables.
Sir George Watt (1903).Indian Art at Delhi 1903: Being the Official Catalogue of the Delhi Exhibition 1902–1903. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.ISBN978-81-208-0278-0.
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