Thread by @Bharathgyan

Lying spread across Afghanistan & #Pakistan is a region called #Kalash. The part of Kalash inside Pakistan is called Chitral.
This region has been populated from over 5000 years by people whose beliefs & customs are similar to those of the #Veda.
#BreakingTheMyths #AboutIdentity

With Indra as their chief deity, called Indr & with idol, temple & Nature form of worship, these ppl live a Vedic way of life.
They r therefore, commonly dubbed as infidels or Kafirs by the Islamic community & #Kalash has also been derogatorily called Kafirstan, land of infidels.

However the people there, still refer to themselves as #Kalash and in recent times, given the tourism potential in their region, their practices, their art and their affable nature, they and their region have started gaining significance as Kalash.

The #Kalash people are very distinct from the rest of Pakistan right from their attire which is a riot of colours on a black dress as well as the fact that they do not wear a veil or burka/purdah. They also wear a dot on their forehead, a bindi.

90% of the #Kalash, living in Afghanistan, were converted to Islam by Afghanistan and their land has come to be called Nuristan. The 10% of those in Pakistan still live as Kalash.

Given that in 326 BCE itself, Alexander was surprised to see these people with plenty of physical & cultural similarities with the Greek as well, indicates that these would have been trader communities from the Indian subcontinent who would have traded & intermingled with Greece.

And for this to have happened in 326 BCE, these people should have been living there continuously much before his visit 2300 years ago.
#Kalash