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The Kashmiri people (Kashmiri: कश्मीरी کشمیری) are a Dardic ethnic group who ancestrally belong to the Kashmir region, divided between the countries of India and Pakistan. However, an indeterminate number have left the region and now live in other parts of the Indian subcontinent. The Kashmiris speak the Kashmiri language known as koshur.

Originally, the Kashmiris were Buddhist and Hindu, however, after the conquest of Kashmir and much of India by Central Asian invaders, the majority of Kashmiri people became Muslim. While there are Sikhs who live in the Kashmir region, they are not Kashmiri but usually Dogri or Punjabi instead.

Ethnic Kashmiris look very different compared to the normal populous of India. They have light skin, hair color ranges from red to light brown and have eye colors ranging from blue to brown. Gujjars and Dogri found towards the south in Jammu are of darker skin tone and resemble their Punjabi neighbors whilst the Ladakhis of the North East resemble their Tibetan neighbors.

Diaspora

Most of the Kashmiris who emigrated from Kashmir, moved to the United Kingdom. There are around 500,000 who mostly live in the West Midlands. Birmingham is the biggest Kashmiri city outside of Kashmir, there are around 150,000 Kashmiris. In Bradford and Manchester each around 100,000.

The Lost Tribes of Israel

Some consider the Kashmiri people descendants of one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. According to Rabbi Marvin Tokayer, the Kashmiri people have many Jewish cultural traits, including feasts, appearance, business practices, and other customs. He also asserts that a significant number of Kashmiri names and words derive from Hebrew. Furthermore, sidelocks, although never worn by Muslims, are very commonly worn by the Kashmiris.

The Ahmadiyya movements also support an Israelite origin for Kashmiri people.

References

1. BBC: Safety fears for Kashmir's Sikhs
2. Joshu Project: People Clusters - Kashmiri
3. Mystery of the Ten Lost Tribes Kashmir
4. Inhabitants of the Trans-Euphrates Provinces - Kashmiris

Further reading

• Kashmir Return of Democracy By Yodhishter Kahul, Yudhistar ed Kahol
• The Crisis in Kashmir: Portents of War, Hopes of Peace By Šumit Ganguly

See also

• Kashmiri Pandits
• List of Kashmiris

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