Hindko and Dardic speaking inhabitants of the Hazara region of Northern Pakistan
This article is about the inhabitants of the Hazara region in Pakistan. For the Dari-speaking ethnic group of Afghanistan, see Hazaras.
Hazarewal or Hazarawals (Urdu: ہزارہ وال; Hazarewal pronunciation: [(h)əzaːɾeːʋaːl]; Standard pronunciation: [həzaːɾeːʋaːl]) refer to the multi-ethnic community inhabitants of the Hazara region in Northern Pakistan.[1] This region is known for its multi-ethnic population, comprising various ethnic groups with diverse origins.[2]
Jumlo/Peyraan dress worn by the Hazarewal community
Other minority languages include Pahari-Pothwari, spoken by sections of the Karlal and Abbasi tribes of the Galyat region of Abbottabad District (where the language is locally called Dhundi-Kairali) and Gojari spoken by Gujjars of the Kaghan Valley. [6][7][8] The Hazarewal,[a] are not to be confused with the ethnic Hazara people inhabiting parts of Balochistan province in Pakistan or areas of neighbouring Afghanistan. The Hazarewals have, over the last few years, found themselves increasingly in favour of separation and autonomy from the rest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on administrative basis.[9][10]
^ abRensch, Calvin Ross; O'Leary, Clare F.; Hallberg, Calinda E. (1992). Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan: Hindko and Gujari. National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University. pp. 10–11. Members of a variety of ethnic groups speak the language called Hindko. A large number of Hindko speakers in Hazara Division (Mansehra and Abbottabad Districts) are Pashtoons. Some of those speak Hindko as a second language; many others speak it as their mother tongue. These include the Tahir Kheli Pashtoons, who claim to have migrated to Hazara Division from Afghanistan during the eighteenth century. Many other mother- tongue speakers of Hindko are Swati Pathans, who are said to have formerly spoken Pashto while living in the lower Swat valley. After migrating across the Indus River into Hazara Division, which Ahmed dates around A.D. 1515, the Swatis adopted the Hindko language. There are also Pashtoons belonging to three other groups, the Yusufzai, the Jadun and the Tarin, who have replaced Pashto with Hindko. Many speakers of Hindko belong to groups other than the Pashtoons: Some of these are Saiyids, said to have come to the area in the early centuries of Islamic history, many of whom live in the Peshawar area. Large numbers of Hindko speakers are Avans, particularly in Attock District and Hazara Division. Still others belong to groups of Moughals, Bulghadris, Turks and Qureshis. In Jammun significant numbers of Gujars have adopted Hindko as their first language.