Hindki
Encyclopedia
Hindki is the name given to an ethnic group who inhabit Afghanistan
and parts of Pakistan
. They are of the Khatri
, Arora
, and Brahmin
caste
, and are found all over the country. H. W. Bellew, in his Races of Afghanistan, estimated their number at about 300,000. The name Hindki is also loosely used by Pathans on the upper Indus, in Dir and Bajour, to denote the speakers of Punjabi
or any of its dialects. It is 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
.
However, another explanation has little to do with Hinduism, as the British believed. That is, Hindko is likely derived from the Persian words for most mountainous regions along the Indus
and Kabul rivers
, as they tumble down towards the plains of Punjab and Sindh. In fact, other groups which have accepted Islam in the region, are now called only Nuristanis (people from the Land of Light), as opposed to Kafirstanis (infidel peoples) - suggesting that the Muslim community of Northern Pakistan does not use terminology suggestive of previous religious affiliations to describe any Muslim group in a mainstream manner. Some Pashtuns, in particular, do refer to Punjabis as Hindus as an insult to their perceived lax interpretation of Islam, but such terminology is not widespread, and the slur is not used to refer to Punjabis outside of an insulting context in general. Furthermore, such insults are used almost exclusively in reference to Punjabis, and not other ethnic groups such as Sindhis and Kashmiris, who are also descendants of converts to Islam, and in many ways maintain stronger Hindu influences than Punjabis.
has historically had a significant population of Hindkowans. James Douis records the population of Peshawar in 1916 :
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and parts of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. They are of the Khatri
Khatri
Khatri is a caste from the northern Indian subcontinent. Khatris in India are mostly from Punjab, region but later they migrated to regions like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu, Uttarkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber...
, Arora
Arora
Arora is an Indo-Aryan community of the Punjab region. Commentators differ in their opinions regarding the relationship between the Arora and the Khatri community....
, and Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
caste
Caste system in India
The Indian caste system is a system of social stratification and social restriction in India in which communities are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups called Jātis....
, and are found all over the country. H. W. Bellew, in his Races of Afghanistan, estimated their number at about 300,000. The name Hindki is also loosely used by Pathans on the upper Indus, in Dir and Bajour, to denote the speakers of Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
or any of its dialects. It is sometimes applied in a historical sense to the Buddhist inhabitants of the Peshawar Valley
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
north of the Kabul River
Kabul River
Kabul River , the classical Cophes , is a 700 km long river that starts in the Sanglakh Range of the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan and ends in the Indus River near Attock, Pakistan. It is the main river in eastern Afghanistan and is separated from the watershed of the Helmand by the Unai Pass...
, who were driven thence about the 5th or 6th century C.E. and settled in the neighbourhood of Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
.
Origins
British anthropologist HA Rose suggests:However, another explanation has little to do with Hinduism, as the British believed. That is, Hindko is likely derived from the Persian words for most mountainous regions along the Indus
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
and Kabul rivers
Kabul River
Kabul River , the classical Cophes , is a 700 km long river that starts in the Sanglakh Range of the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan and ends in the Indus River near Attock, Pakistan. It is the main river in eastern Afghanistan and is separated from the watershed of the Helmand by the Unai Pass...
, as they tumble down towards the plains of Punjab and Sindh. In fact, other groups which have accepted Islam in the region, are now called only Nuristanis (people from the Land of Light), as opposed to Kafirstanis (infidel peoples) - suggesting that the Muslim community of Northern Pakistan does not use terminology suggestive of previous religious affiliations to describe any Muslim group in a mainstream manner. Some Pashtuns, in particular, do refer to Punjabis as Hindus as an insult to their perceived lax interpretation of Islam, but such terminology is not widespread, and the slur is not used to refer to Punjabis outside of an insulting context in general. Furthermore, such insults are used almost exclusively in reference to Punjabis, and not other ethnic groups such as Sindhis and Kashmiris, who are also descendants of converts to Islam, and in many ways maintain stronger Hindu influences than Punjabis.
Hindkowans in Peshawar
PeshawarPeshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
has historically had a significant population of Hindkowans. James Douis records the population of Peshawar in 1916 :
See also
- Hindko languageHindko languageHindko , also Hindku, or Hinko, is the sixth main regional language of Pakistan. It forms a subgroup of Indo-Aryan languages spoken by Hindkowans in Pakistan and northern India, some Pashtun tribes in Pakistan, as well as by the Hindki people of Afghanistan...
- Hinduism in AfghanistanHinduism in AfghanistanHinduism in Afghanistan has existed for almost as long as Hinduism itself. The religion was widespread in the region until the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan...
- Buddhism in AfghanistanBuddhism in AfghanistanBuddhism in Afghanistan was one of the major religions during pre-Islamic era. The religion was wide spread south of the Hindu Kush mountains. Buddhism first arrived to Afghanistan in 305 BCE when the Seleucid Empire made an alliance with the Indian Maurya Empire...
- AwanAwan (Pakistan)Awan , is a South Asian Zamindar tribe, putatively of Arab origin, living predominantly in northern, central, and western parts of Punjab, Pakistan...
External links
- Afghan Hindus and Sikhs
- Afghan Hindu Association
- Joshua Project: Distribution Map of Brahmans in South Asia
- Districts of Afghanistan#Faryab Province Andkoi, the real place of Migration from Afghanistan.
- http://sitara.com/afghanistan/distances.html, Travel & tour information of Afghanistan .
