Kashmiri diaspora
Encyclopedia
The Kashmiri diaspora refers to Kashmiri people
who have migrated out of the Kashmir
region, consisting of Pakistan-administered Kashmir
(Azad Kashmir
and Gilgit-Baltistan), the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir
as well as the Chinese administered territory of Aksai Chin
, into other areas and countries and their descendants.
and India
, Kashmiris have migrated towards many provinces and states.
has been historic, given that both regions border each other.
The northern portions of the Pakistani province of Punjab including Rawalpindi District
have large populations of Kashmiri origin, many of whom have assimilated into Punjabi culture
and have adopted the Punjabi language
over the course of generations. Some ethnic clans in Punjab which draw Kashmiri ancestral roots include Minhas
, Butt
and the Raja
; simultaneously, many Hindu Kashmiris (Kashmiri Pandits) are found throughout different parts of India (including Indian Punjab) following their expulsion from Kashmir.
Notable Punjabis in Pakistan who have Kashmiri ancestry include the Sharif brothers (Nawaz Sharif
and Shahbaz Sharif
); the renowned poet Allama Iqbal was also a Punjabi of Kashmiri origin.
is home to one of the largest Kashmiri diasporic populations. The overwhelming number of Kashmiris in the UK are from the city of Mirpur in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. According to various estimates, nearly half of the total one-million British Pakistani population is of Kashmiri origin; they settled in the UK following the completion of the Mangla Dam
in Mirpur in the late 1950s which led to the destruction of hundreds of villages. Up to 5,000 people from Mirpur (five per cent of the displaced) left for Britain, the displaced Kashmiris being given legal and financial assistance by the British contractor which had built the dam. Over time, the Kashmiri diaspora in Britain grew rapidly.
. Notable Kashmiri Australians include Hanifa Deen
and Peter Qasim
.
Kashmiri people
The Kashmiri people are a Dardic linguistic group living in Kashmir Valley in Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and parts of the Pakistani territory of Azad Kashmir who speak the Kashmiri language...
who have migrated out of the Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
region, consisting of Pakistan-administered Kashmir
Pakistan-administered Kashmir
Azad Kashmir borders the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the north west, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of People's Republic of China to the north and the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir, to the east.A...
(Azad Kashmir
Azad Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir or Azad Kashmir for short, is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
and Gilgit-Baltistan), the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
as well as the Chinese administered territory of Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin is one of the two main disputed border areas between China and India, and the other is South Tibet, which comprises most of India's Arunachal Pradesh. It is administered by China as part of Hotan County in the Hotan Prefecture of Xinjiang Autonomous Region, but is also claimed by India...
, into other areas and countries and their descendants.
Pakistan and India
Within PakistanPakistan
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...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Kashmiris have migrated towards many provinces and states.
Punjab
Migration from Kashmir to the Punjab regionPunjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
has been historic, given that both regions border each other.
The northern portions of the Pakistani province of Punjab including Rawalpindi District
Rawalpindi District
Rawalpindi is a district of Pakistan in the north of the Punjab province which contains the city of Rawalpindi. The district has an area of . It was part of Rawalpindi Division, until the year 2000 when the division was abolished...
have large populations of Kashmiri origin, many of whom have assimilated into Punjabi culture
Punjabi Culture
Punjabi Culture is the culture of the Punjab region. It is one of the oldest in world history, dating from ancient antiquity to the modern era. The Punjabi culture is the culture of the Punjabi people who are now distributed throughout the world. The scope, history, sophistication and complexity of...
and have adopted the Punjabi language
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...
over the course of generations. Some ethnic clans in Punjab which draw Kashmiri ancestral roots include Minhas
Minhas
Minhas or Manhas or Minhas-Dogra is a Suryavanshi Rajput clan from the Punjab region and Jammu & Kashmir in India and Pakistan. It is an off-shoot of Jamwal-Dogra Rajputs, the founders of the city and state of Jammu and its rulers from ancient times to 1948 CE...
, Butt
Butt
Butt may refer to:* Butt , a unit of wine* Butt , a target for practicing archery* Butt , a joint between planks of wood on a ship* Butt * Bhat , Kashmiri surname sometimes spelled "Butt"* Butt...
and the Raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
; simultaneously, many Hindu Kashmiris (Kashmiri Pandits) are found throughout different parts of India (including Indian Punjab) following their expulsion from Kashmir.
Notable Punjabis in Pakistan who have Kashmiri ancestry include the Sharif brothers (Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
and Shahbaz Sharif
Shahbaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif is a well-known conservative Pakistani politician and currently President of Pakistan Muslim League . He is the brother of Nawaz Sharif, former Prime Minister of Pakistan. He is the chief minister of Pakistan's most populous province Punjab since 2008...
); the renowned poet Allama Iqbal was also a Punjabi of Kashmiri origin.
United Kingdom
The United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
is home to one of the largest Kashmiri diasporic populations. The overwhelming number of Kashmiris in the UK are from the city of Mirpur in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. According to various estimates, nearly half of the total one-million British Pakistani population is of Kashmiri origin; they settled in the UK following the completion of the Mangla Dam
Mangla Dam
The Mangla Dam is located on the Jhelum River in the Mirpur District of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is the sixteenth largest dam in the world. It was built from 1961 to 1967 with funding from the World Bank. The project was designed and supervised by Binnie & Partners of London, and it was built...
in Mirpur in the late 1950s which led to the destruction of hundreds of villages. Up to 5,000 people from Mirpur (five per cent of the displaced) left for Britain, the displaced Kashmiris being given legal and financial assistance by the British contractor which had built the dam. Over time, the Kashmiri diaspora in Britain grew rapidly.
Australia
There is a Kashmir Council of Australia set up by Kashmiri expatriates in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Notable Kashmiri Australians include Hanifa Deen
Hanifa Deen
Hanifa Deen is an award-winning third generation Australian writer, originally of Pakistani ancestry.. She has described how one of her grandfathers was a Kashmiri who jumped ship in Melbourne, while the other was a Punjabi small business man who came in the wake of the Afghan camel drivers, who...
and Peter Qasim
Peter Qasim
Peter Qasim was the longest-serving detainee within the Australian immigration detention system, having resided there for over seven years . He had not been deported because he was stateless. He had applied to over 80 countries for asylum, but had not been accepted.His case has been publicised by...
.