Kashmiri Muslims are ethnic Muslims from the Kashmir Valley currently living in the Valley or those originally with Kashmiri kinship and descent living outside of Kashmir (mainly in Pakistani Punjab). This article does not include ethnic Punjabi/Pothwari/Pahari, Gilgiti, Balti or Ladakhi Muslims who have their own distinct cultures but are sometimes mistakenly lumped together with Kashmiris due to geographical proximity albeit separated by high mountain ranges from Kashmir Valley. Kashmiri Muslim culture has been deeply influenced by Central Asian Muslim traders on the ancient Silk Route of which Kashmir Valley was a tributary. Kashmiri language, or Koshur, belongs to the Dardic group and is the only Dardic language which has ancient script and is widely spoken.

History

Up to about the beginning of the 14th century, the population of the Kashmir Valley had been predominantly of various indic (such as Hindus of various castes) dardic (indigenous) and iranic (indigenous) races. In the 13th century, Muslims formed a significant proportion, and by the end of the 14th century, Islam became the dominant religion in Kashmir as most Kashmir indigenous population embraced Islam. Contrary to claims of certain sections, the pandits or Hindu Brahmins made less than 10% of the total population of Kashmir in Hindu or Buddhist times, and it remains so even to this day, where they make about 1–2% population of Kashmir. The current Muslim population of Kashmiri Muslims is an amalgamation of many of later arriving races froma Afghanistan and Iran that assimilated among the indigenous Muslim populations of Kashmir. Apart from higher castes, the menial and lower castes also exist in Kashmir and form considerable portion of Kashmiri Muslim population. The caste structure in Kashmiri Muslims in Kashmir Valley is the most similar to the one found in Pakistani Punjab, i.e. a combination of various higher, middle and lower castes are found in every village, town and city of Kashmir Valley.

Kashmiri clans or krams

Most dark-skinned Kashmiri Muslims are descendants of Kashmiri Pandits (Kashmiri Brahmins). But most fair-skinned Kashmiris are descendents of indigenous dardic populations (gilghit shina people like) and settlers from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakhtunkhwa and Central Asia as Kashmir Valley is a tributary of the ancient Silk Route. For example, the Badakhshi family is from Badakhshan province in Afghanistan. The Draboo family is from Darab in Iran. This is a common surname amongst the Kashmiri Pandits as well as they have married with Zoroastrians from Iran (the same applies to the "Sapru" clan). The Andrabi family came from Baghlan province of Afghanistan.

Dar

Dar is exclusively indigenous Kashmiri Muslim caste of land cultivating sections of the villages of Kashmir, they are by far the largest indigenous tribe of Kashmiri Muslims and may be descendants of original non-Hindu ancient dardic population of Kashmir, in modern times they are also found in the urban areas of Kashmir due to increased mobility and declining prospects from agrarian economy. In recent times some lower and menial castes have also taken up Dar surname in Kashmir Valley which is very annoying for the real Dar community.

Lone

Lone is the indigenous Kashmiri dardic tribe that migrated from chilas to kupwara and baramula district in Kashmir in ancient times where they are now a major tribe in those districts. Due to increased mobility in modern times, many lones are also found in various other cities of Kashmir Valley. Some sections of lone tribe still continue to speak their ancestral shina language (which is closely related to Kashmiri language) in regions bordering shina speaking areas such as Gurez valley.

Butt/Batt

Butt is a very common surname used in Kashmir, but their origin is uncertain, some point out that they may be the descendants of earliest Hindu Brahmins who embraced Islam in the 13th century as at that time Brahmins in Kashmir did not have any surnames and Bhatt/Bhutt was used as a respectful title for the Brahmins and meant a "Learned scholar", after embracing Islam most of these Brahmins used that Bhatt title as their caste/tribe name or surname, Butt/Batt is merely a Kashmiri local pronunciation of sanskritic "Bhatt" title, this is because Kashmiri is a dardic language and lacks "Bh" sound of indic languages and replaces it with simple "B" sound. The earliest Brahmins of Kashmir Valley were closely related to Brahmins of Gandhara kingdom centred in peshawar valley, many regions involving Batt/Butt are still found in modern KPK such as Battkhela in swat and Battgram district, the Batt in the name of these cities signify that those regions were once predominantly inhabited by Gandhara/Kashmiri Brahmins. Over the time some lower menial caste people in Kashmir have also assumed this surname which means that not everyone using Butt surname descends from ancient indigenous Brahmins of Kashmir Valley.

Khawaja

Khawaja is a title that was awarded by mughal emperors to people of various tribes of Kashmir such as Butt, dar, lone and wani etc. who were working in their courts and offices. Majority of them are however Kashmiri Wani engaged in trade and commerce. Khawaja is however merely a title and not a caste. Some Kashmiris of Butt, dar and lone caste/tribe still use it as their vorname, an example of which would be names like khawaja Akram Butt, Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone, khawaja Abdul Majeed Dar. A very small number of Kashmiri khawaja may be Iranian/central Asian traders settled during mughal times.

Kashmiri Sheikh

Kashmiri sheiks may be more recent converts from Brahmin and khatri sections residing in Kashmir Valley.

Kashmiri Mir

Kashmiri Mir have various origins ranging from Afghanistan, Iran to central Asia, they appeared in Kashmir only after the introduction of Islam so they are principally an amalgamation of various afghan/Iranian/central Asian Muslim saints, traders, craftsmen and soldiers employed by Shahmiri sultans and later on by Mughal emperors. Mir is the quite numerous clan of kashmiri Muslims both in rural and urban areas of Kashmir Valley and Kashmiri origin Muslims in Punjab Pakistan.

Malik

The Malik tribe are mostly descendants of the small [[Rajput]] section of Kashmir, all of whom have long since converted.

Wain or Wani

Wain and Wani are actually the same name and they have the same source. Those who came to be known as Wani in the beginning, their offspring are now known as Wani; similarly those were known as Wain from the start, their offspring are known as Wain (pronounced like "wine" except with a nasal "n", without touching the palette with the tongue). Whether Wani came from Wain, or Wain came from Wani ... It is difficult to accurately say anything about this issue. But the popular theory is that Wain is the original name, and Wani is a distorted form of it.^[1] Taareekh Hassan and official reports by the census department from 1891 have mentioned Wains as belonging to the upper class of the Shaikh caste of Kashmir; they came from Persian Gulf for trade and business, they brought handicrafts and many other technical skills to Kashmir Valley. Wains are well respected and have one of the top pedigrees among tribes.^[1]

Wain or Wani are extracts from some Hindu tribe. There are many different traditions about which tribe they come from, but all historians agree that before accepting Islam they were part of the Hindu caste known as Waish. In fact, some people think that the word Wain comes from Waish. Waish is the merchant caste among Hindus. Even after accepting Islam, Wains and Wanis have kept trade and commerce as the source of their livelihood. These people can get involved with the largest to the smallest trade. Perhaps it is for this reason that the census report of 1891, on page 167, says about them, "Wains and Wanis are the merchants of Kashmir and Laddakh".^[1]

The Wain tribe is divided into many castes, such as the Tal-Wain (those who sell oil), Pui-Wain, Baand-Wain, Bas-Wain, Tarangar-Wain, Kakar-Wain, and Par-Wain. Due to the adoption of different trades by different clans, various branches of the tribe have come into existence.^[1]

In the census of 1911 the total population of this tribe (listed under the name Wani) in both provinces of the state of Kashmir, are reported to be 59,487. In the census of 1931 the population of this tribe is written (this time under the name Wain) as totaling 72,113 persons. Those Wain who live in villages are agriculturalists.^[1]

People from this tribe who have moved to Punjab (most of whom call themselves Khawaja) have achieved great prosperity.^[1]

Lower Dalit Castes

Apart from upper castes, there are significant population of lower dalit castes such as Batal/Watal feces cleaners, masalli, sansi, dom gypsy etc. Many people belonging to these lower out castes have assumed fake identities of higher castes of Kashmir over the period of time. The main difference between higher and lower castes in Kashmir is that lower castes are predominantly darker in skin color whereas higher-caste Kashmiris are all fair-skinned. Many Kashmiri immigrants in other parts of south Asia may contain these lower castes of Kashmir with fake identities such as Butt etc. as higher-caste Kashmiri Butt were all fair-skinned and if a Kashmiri claims Butt surname but is dark-skinned then he surely belongs to some dalit castes of Kashmir who have taken up fake identities especially when they settle out of Kashmir Valley in other regions.

Islamic schools of thought

Whilst Kashmiris have traditionally followed Sufi Islam brought to them by traders along the Silk route from Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakhtunkhwa, there are also other minorities. The Altashi people are the Shia minority and it is thought that the mother of Ayatollah Khomeini was of Kashmiri Altashi descent. Many youth of Kashmir have recently turned to the Ahl-e Hadith group which is a group advocating a return to the basic and simple version of Islam followed by the earliest Muslims. It is not uncommon to find families with both Sufi and Ahl-e Hadith adherents. Although Kashmir is overwhelmingly a deeply religious and conservative society, there are also pockets of secular Muslims - mainly the "wealthy elite" and "neuveau riche" - but these people are generally unrepresentative of Kashmiri society.

Rather

Rather is a Kashmiri tribe that traces its origins to Srinagar, Kashmir. Many have migrated to various parts of South Asia. It is held that Rathers originated from Rathore- the descendents of Rathore rajputs Jai chand Rathore etc. Rathore who dwell in Kashmir are called Rathers while those outside Kashmir are Rathores, whether Mulsims or Hindus . There is enough population of Rathores in Kashmir.

= Descendants of saints

Some Muslims of Kashmir are direct descendants of Sufi saints, mainly from the Middle East.

Shah — sheikh descendants of Syed Sharafuddin Bulbul Shah of Persia, the first Sufi saint to arrive in Kashmir.^[2]

Mir- Descendants from an Sufi linage named Mir syed ali hamadan. He was the first Iranian saint traveled to Jammu Kashmir to preach Islam. Mir's have settled in Punjab province, e.g. Lahore, Gujranwala and Gujrat.

Naqshbandi — descendants of Hazrat Khwaja Moin-Ud-Din Naqshbandi of Bukhara, of the Nashbandi Sufi Order.^[3]

Makhdoomi — descendants of Sultan-Ul-Arifeen Hazrat Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom of Kangra.^[4]

Bukhari — descendants of Hazrat Baha-ud-din Naqsband Bukhari of Bukhara, of the Naqshbandi Sufi order.^[2]

Kakaus - descendants of Village head kakaus . This tribe has descended from a small village near Jammu. Later this tribe migrated to Indian Punjab and Iran. This caste name is shared among Kashmiri Hindus, Kashmiri Muslims and some Persians.

Reshi — descendants of Sheikh-nur-ud-din Noorani of Kaimuh, of the Reshi Sufi order, commonly called Nund Reshi.^[5]

Chisti — descendants of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti of Persia.^[6]

Qadri and Jilani — descendants of Hazrat Syed Moh-ud-din Abdul Qadir Jilani of Iraq, Ghaus-e-Azam, Peer-e-Peeran, Shah-e-Jilan known as Dastgeer Sahib in Kashmir.

Lanker - Russian origin, consider as KHANDANI in Kashmir region.

Andrabi - Tajik origin, Afghan province of Afghanistan.

References