Dardic people
The Dards are a group of Indo-Aryan peoples found predominantly in northern Pakistan, northwestern India and eastern Afghanistan. They speak Dardic languages, which belong to the Indo-Aryan family of Indo-European languages. The largest populations of Dards are in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and in the Kashmir Valley and Chenab Valley in India. There are smaller populations in Ladakh in India and in eastern Afghanistan. The Kashmiri people are the largest Dardic group, with a population of over 5.5 million.History
identifies "Proto-Dardic" with "Proto-Rigvedic", suggesting that the Dards are the linguistic descendants of the bearers of proto-Vedic culture ca. 1700 BC, pointing to features in certain Dardic dialects that continue peculiarities of Vedic Sanskrit, such as the gerund in -tvī. According to Gerard Fussman, the word Dard is only used in the field of linguistics, not as a country or ethnicity.Religion
The vast majority of Dardic peoples are Muslim. Kashmiris, Pashayis, Kohistanis, Brokpas and Kho are majority Sunni. The Shia are majority Ismaili and Twelver. Some in Gilgit-Baltistan follow Noorbakshia Islam.
A significant minority of ethnic Kashmiris are Shaivite Hindus, known locally as Kashmiri Pandits.
The Kalash people of Chitral follow a form ancient Hinduism infused with local pagan/animist accretions.
In the Ladakhi villages of Da and Hanoo, some follow animistic traditions.Social status
, the Brokpa were classified as a Scheduled Tribe under the Indian government's reservation program of affirmative action.
