Saturday, November 10, 2012

Present day Hindu at Hindu Kush

The area of Hindu Kush - Khyber pass is presently the war zone of Taliban. Here is some information about a minority group in the area numbering just 3000!
Rumour has it the blue-eyed, fair-skinned "Kalasha" are the descendants of the armies of Alexander the Great. They are the Pakistan's smallest minority group - called KALASH.

The Kalash is a minority ethnic group in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The main ethnic group, the Khow, speak Khowar, one of the Dardic languages (similar as Kashmiri), which is also spoken in parts of Yasin, Gilgit, Ghizer and Swat.

Kalash culture is one that pays heavy emphasis on poetry, song and dance. Kalash people also have a great respect of law and order. This in contrast to the generally lawless traditions of almost all of the neighboring regions. Much of this can be attributed to the Kalash being a stable kingdom for most of its history, where the rule of law and the will of the ruler came before tribal concepts such as revenge and isolationism.


In years gone by the Kalasha were threatened with forcible conversion to Islam.
They have braved all that . . . and those 3000 have survived . . . 
Left to get on with living life to the brim, the Kalasha do just that, with compelling devotion.