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The Kashmiri people (Urdu: کشمیری) are a Dardic ethnic group living in the central valley of Kashmir in India. However, an indeterminate number have left the region and now live in other parts of the Indian subcontinent. The Kashmiris speak the Kashmiri language, a Dardic language^[2] known as Koshur.

Originally, the Kashmiris were mostly Buddhist and Hindu. Islam was introduced by Sufi saints from Central Asia, Saint Bulbul Shah of Turkey being the most prominent of them. Prince Rinchin of Ladakh, a Buddhist who was living in Kashmir at the time came under the influence of Saint Bulbul Shah and converted to Islam. Later on after the defeat of the Hindu ruler Suhadeva by Dulchu, Suhadeva fled Kashmir, and Rinchin became King of Kashmir and adopted the name Malik Saduruddin. Eventually the majority of Kashmiris adopted Islam and became Muslim, although there are still small communities of Hindus and Sikhs living in the Kashmir Valley.

The predominant language of Pakistani Kashmir is Pahari. Kashmiri is spoken in the northern part of Muzaffarabad District. People in Mirpur District have cultural and linguistic similarities with those living in the neighbouring Pothohar region of Pakistan.^[3]

Linguistic variation of Kashmir showing the ethnic variation of Kashmir as Dardic, Indic and Sino-Tibetan

The population living in the Valley of Kashmir is primarily homogeneous, despite the religious divide between Muslims (92%), Hindus (6%), and Sikhs (2%). The people of the Valley, share common culture, language, and customs, which is no doubt the basis of "Kashmiriyat".

The people living in Jammu that profess Hindu and Muslim faiths are ethnically different from those living in the Valley in terms of ethnicity, language and culture. The people living in Pakistani Kashmir, share common religion with their counterparts along the line of control, but are not ethnically and culturally similar to the people living in the Valley. The people living in Ladakh are primarily Buddhist. The Muslim minority in Ladakh belongs to the Shia sect. The Kashmir Valley is ethnically homogenous with ethnic Kashmiris of all religions residing mainly in the Kashmir Valley, with Srinagar as its capital.

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ John Mock, Phd.D.. Dards, Dardistan, and Dardic: An Ethnographic, Geographic, and Linguistic Conundrum (English). www.mockandoneil.com. Retrieved on August 20, 2007.
3. ^ HRW Culture and Ethnicity-Kashmir

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

• Kashmiri Pandits
• List of Kashmiris