Introduction to Dardistan

By Artem Zurabovich & Sviatoslav Kaverin (The writers are young Russian researchers who take keen interest in the history, languages, music and handicrafts of highlanders in the Pamir-Hindukush area.) Dards are a group of peoples who speak languages that belong to Dardic branch of Indo-Iranian languages. They live in a territory between Kabul, Ladakh, Chitral and Southern Kashmir – within borders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The term “Dard” was brought from Sanskrit texts and from “History” by Herodotus. British…