Dardistan refers to a region where Dardic languages are spoken. The terms "Dardic" and "Dardistan" are not indigenous to the region, and were coined by Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner. The legitimacy of the term has been called into question. [1] The region also includes a number of non-Dardic peoples and languages. [2]
The initial efforts by the British grouped almost all the people and languages of the upper Indus River, between Kashmir and Kabul, into a single category. This led to the creation of distinct identities for all other groups in the region, giving rise to terms such as Dard, Dardistan, and Dardic. [3]
None of the inhabitants in the region identify themselves as Dards, their homeland as Dardistan, or their language as Dardic. [4] The term Dard is not recognized in any of the local languages, with the exception of Khowar, where it translates to 'way of the language' or 'dialect'. The broad application of this term have been criticised by many scholars. [5] The languages and peoples are often referred to as "Kohistani", mostly by the Pashtuns. [6] In academic linguistic contexts, however, Kohistani refers to one subgroup of Dardic languages which is mainly spoken in Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkwa.
In a historic context, Herodotus (4th century B.C.), in one of his stories, mentioned a war-like people by the name of Dadikai on the frontier of India. [7] Subsequently, Strabo and Pliny made references to the warlike tribe known as Dardae. [8] Alexander, whose journeys contribute significantly to the classical geography of the subcontinent, did not encounter any Dard people. However, he did visit a location named Daedala, where he reportedly engaged in combat with a group known as the Assakenoi . [9]
Herodotus Dadikai appears to be the Persian name derived from the Daradas given in the Puranic sources. [10] Instead of identifying a specific group, the term was used to describe a fierce population living in the northwest, beyond the confines of established society. In Rajatarangini , Kalhana refers to the Darads as inhabitants of the area north of Kashmir, known for their frequent attempts to invade and plunder Kashmir. [11]
The term eventually gained acceptance through frequent use. The labels 'Dard' and 'Dardistan' were introduced by G.W. Leitner, despite the fact that no local population identified as 'Dard'. [12] [13] John Biddulph, who resided in Gilgit for an extended period, also noted that none of the tribes typically referred to as 'Dard' recognized the term. [14] Biddulph acknowledged that Leitner's label 'Dardistan' was based on a misunderstanding, but he accepted it as a useful term for referring to the complex, diverse, and largely unexplored Karakoram region between Kashmir and the Hindukush Range. [15] Interestingly, this usage mirrors the Sanskrit interpretation, where it refers to unspecified fierce outsiders residing in the mountainous regions beyond the area's borders.
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The Dardic languages, or Hindu-Kush Indo-Aryan languages, are a group of several Indo-Aryan languages spoken in northern Pakistan, northwestern India and parts of northeastern Afghanistan. This region has sometimes been referred to as Dardistan.
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Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, also known as Gottlieb William Leitner, was a British orientalist.
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Gawri (ګاوری), also known as Kalami (کالامي), or Bashkarik, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Swat Kohistan region in the upper Swat District and in the upper Panjkora river valley of Upper Dir District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
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The terms Dardic or Dardestān are not, however, in common use in the region; rather, they were adopted by Western scholars after G. W. Leitner used them in his books in the late 19th century (1877, 1887, 1893, 1894, 1895).
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) . The Pathans call them, and all other Muhammadans of Indian descent in the Hindu Kush valleys, Kohistanis.Different ancient sources vaguely place the Dards (the Dadikai of Herodotus; the Daradas of the Puranic lists; the Daedalae of Curtius Rufus; the Derbikes of Ctesia) in the north of modern-day Pakistan. Today, the term Dardic survives in linguistic science as an extended geographic reference that embraces all the Indo-Arian languages spoken in this region. However, the ancient land of the Dards has not yet acquired any defined historical, geographical and cultural characterisation.
The name "Dard" itself was not claimed by any of the race that I met . If asked whether they were "Dards" they said "certainly", thinking I mispronounced the word "dáde" of the Hill Panjabi...
The name "Dard" is not acknowledged by any section of the tribes to whom it has been so sweepingly applied.
His scanty opportunities, however, have caused him to fall into the error of believing that the tribes which he has classed under the name of Dard are all of the same race, and he has applied the term of Dardistan, a name founded on a misconception, to a tract of country inhabited by several races, speaking distinct languages, who differ considerably amongst themselves. As, however, there is no one name which will properly apply to the peoples and countries in question, it will be perhaps convenient to retain the names of Dard and Dardistan when speaking collectively of the tribes in question and the countries they inhabit.