Hindkowans

Hindkowans
Total population
3,940,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Peshawar, Kohat, Hazara Division, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pothohar Plateau, Punjab, Azad Kashmir
Languages
Hindko
Religion
Islam (predominantly Sunni),[2] Christian, Hindu, Sikh and Folk religion minority of indeterminate size
Related ethnic groups
Other Punjabi subgroups

Hindkowans (Punjabi: هِندکوان) are an ethno-linguistic group native to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pothohar Plateau and Azad Kashmir regions of Pakistan. Hindkowans have mixed origins and almost all speak various Hindko dialects. They were originally settled in the northern regions of Pakistan primarily concentrated near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. At present, Hindkowans mainly inhabit Peshawar, Nowshera, Swabi, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur and Attock.[3] Those who live in Afghanistan are known as Hindkis. Most of the Tribes residing in Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa such as; Tareen, Tanoli, Jadoon, Tahirkheli, Dilazak, Mashwani, Swatis and Utmanzais, speak Hindko and constitute an integral part of Hindkowans. Those who resides in urban centers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan such as: Peshawar, Kohat, Nowshera and Swabi are alternatively termed as "Kharian/Kharay" or city-dweller. Some Hindkowans have left the region and now live in other parts of South Asia,[4] such as; Indian-controlled Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistani-controlled Azad Kashmir.

Origin

The NWFP Imperial Gazetteer of India (1905) regularly refers to their language as Hindko, which refers to the "Hindu Kush mountain range."[5] According to the publication Hindko and Gujari:

"More than one interpretation has been offered for the term Hindko. Some associate it with India, others with Hindu people, and still others with the Indus."[6]

In Afghanistan, a group of Hindus still continue to speak Hindko and are referred to as Hindki,[7] which according to Grierson is a variant of the term Hindko.[8][9] The Hindkis are also sometimes applied in a historical sense to the Buddhist inhabitants of the Peshawar Valley north of the Kabul River, who were driven thence about the 5th or 6th century C.E. and settled in the neighbourhood of Kandahar.[7] However, in Pakistan the term is considered slightly pejorative and hence Hindkowan or Hindkun is preferred on par with the term Pashtun (the 2nd largest ethnic group after hindkowans in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province).[8]

Religion

Hindkohwans are predominantly Sunni Muslims. However, some Hindu Hindkowans converted to Islam, mostly settled in Pothohar Plateau, due to missionary Sufi saints whose dargahs dot the landscape.[2] There are a number of Hindu Hindkowans.[10][11] Some of these Hindu Hindkowans are traders and over time, have settled in areas as far as Kalat, Balochistan.[12][13] Other Hindu Hindkowans migrated to India after the independence in 1947.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Hindko, Northern". Ethnologue.
  2. 1 2 "Hindko, Southern". SIL International. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  3. ↑ Qadeer, Mohammad A. (2006). Pakistan: Social and Cultural Transformations in a Muslim Nation. Taylor & Francis. p. 40. ISBN 978-0415375665.
  4. 1 2 "Peshawarites still remember the Kapoor family". Daily Times. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  5. ↑ C. Shackle (1980). "Hindko in Kohat and Peshawar". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 43 (3): 482–510. doi:10.1017/s0041977x00137401. JSTOR 615737.
  6. ↑ Hindko and Gujari: Volume 3 of Sociolinguistic survey of northern Pakistan. National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  7. 1 2 Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). "Hindki". Encyclopedia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  8. 1 2 Shackle, C. (1980). "Hindko in Kohat and Peshawar". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 43 (3): 482–510. doi:10.1017/s0041977x00137401. JSTOR 615737.
  9. ↑ "Ethnologue Report for Hindko". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  10. ↑ Journal of Asian history, Volumes 35–36. O. Harrassowitz. Retrieved 2008-08-17. The real opposition to Pashto came, however, from the speakers of Hindko. A large number of Sikhs and Hindus, all speaking Hindko, lived in the cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and had a voice in the legislative assembly, this was often perceived as the non-Muslim opposition to Pashto.
  11. ↑ Language, ideology and power: language learning among the Muslims of Pakistan and North India. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2008-08-17. The real opposition to Pashto came, however, from the speakers of Hindko. A large number of Sikhs and Hindus, all speaking Hindko, lived in the cities of N.W.F.P. and had a voice in the legislative assembly, this was often perceived as the non-Muslim opposition to Pashto.
  12. ↑ The social organization of the Marri Baluch. Indus Publications. Retrieved 2008-08-17. ...is in the hands of a small caste of Hindu merchants. These Hindus are Hindko-speaking and regard Kalat as their homeland, where they generally keep their families and go for some months every year to visit and to obtain supplies. While in the Marri area, they must be under the protection of a local Marri chief or the sardar himself.
  13. ↑ Viking fund publications in anthropology, Issue 43. Viking Fund. Retrieved 2008-08-17. ...is in the hands of a small caste of Hindu merchants. These Hindus are Hindko-speaking and regard Kalat as their homeland, where they generally keep their families and go for some months every year to visit and to obtain supplies. While in the Marri area, they must be under the protection of a local Marri chief or the sardar himself.
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