Pahari people (Kashmir)

The Pahari–Pothwari is intermediate between Punjabi and Lahnda varieties like Hindko.[12] It is the most widely spoken language of the Pakistani territory of Azad Kashmir, where it is predominant in all districts except the northernmost Neelam Valley.[13]

In Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, Pahari, also known under various local names such as Poonchi or Chibhali, is spoken by approximately 1 million people[14] concentrated in the region between the Jhelum and Chenab rivers: most significantly in the districts of Poonch and Rajouri, to a lesser extent in neighbouring Baramulla and Kupwara, and also – as a result of the influx of refugees during the Partition of 1947 – scattered throughout the rest of Jammu and Kashmir.[15][16][17]

The other Pahari varieties spoken in the mountainous parts of the Jammu region include Bhadarwahi, Sarazi, Bhalesi, Padri and Gaddi practice distinct Pahari Culture and are more closely related to the Pahari languages spoken in Himachal Pradesh.[18]

A Western Pahari Corridor from majorly Shimla to Murree has also been proposed under the Aman ki Asha initiative to link the similar Western Pahari language-based areas of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Azad Kashmir and Pothohar Plateau.[19][20]

Pahari is among the regional languages listed in the sixth schedule of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir,[21] and it is one of the languages being promoted since 1978 by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages.[22]

Close to 747,000 people in the United Kingdom also associate themselves with the Pahari ethno-linguistic identity and also speak the Mirpuri dialect of the Western Pahari langauge. Mirpuri Pahari is also infact the second most spoken mother tongue in the UK behind English. The community popularly calls themselves Mirpuri Paharis and is a diaspora community which migrated from Mirpur, Azad Kashmir in the 1960s after the creation of the Mangla Dam which caused the displacement of close to 110,000 people during that time. [23]

Since the 1970s there has been a movement promoting the recognition of a Pahari identity and advocating for the adoption of affirmative action policies towards this group.[24]

The Paharis have received some institutional support – for example, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir's State Advisory Board for the development of Pahari Speaking People has supported Pahari people's education since 1989.[25][26] Nevertheless, core demands – like that for a Scheduled Tribe status and the associated affirmative action benefits – were not met. In 1989,  the Government of Jammu and Kashmir recommended to the Union Government of India that the Paharis of Kashmir should be granted such status,[27][28] and this recommendation was reiterated in 1994 by the governor of Jammu and Kashmir and the chief ministers of the state.[29][30][31][32]

Gurjars who are already enjoying  Scheduled Tribes status in Jammu and Kashmir since 1991 have opposed the grant of similar benefits to the Paharis with the argument that such a step will dilute the entire Scheduled Tribe status.[33][34]

In April 2020, the government of Jammu and Kashmir granted to "Pahari-speaking people" four percent reservation for direct recruitment and admission and distribution of seats in professional institutions.[35] This has sparked disagreements between representavies of the two unrelated "Pahari" communities – those of eastern Kashmir and those of mountains of western Jammu – as to which group of the two constitutes the "genuine Paharis" with a more disadvantaged status, and therefore stronger claim to receiving the benefits of the reservation policy.[36][37]

• Map of Western Pahari languages from Grierson's early 20th-century Linguistic Survey of India

• Western Pahari
• Western Punjabi (disambiguation)
• Hindkowans
• Punjabis