Swatis ( Urdu: سواتی) are people inhabiting the

Hazara Hazara may refer to: Ethnic groups * The Hazaras, a Persian-speaking people of Afghanistan and Pakistan * Aimaq Hazara, Aimaq's subtribe of Hazara origin * Hazarawals, a Hindko-speaking people of the Hazara region of northern Pakistan * Hazar ...

division in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Of Dardic origins, today Swatis usually speak Pashto or

Hindko Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pun ...

as their primary language. They ruled over the Sultanate of Swat between 1190 and 1520, before being defeated by the Yousafzai Pashtuns. Swatis originally spoke Dardic languages such as Gibri and Yadri language and were native inhabitants of Swat valley who got Pashtunized after Yousafzai occupation. Swatis are sometimes called Tajiks, a common ethnonym used by Pashtuns to describe their Dardic neighbours. Hemphil (2009) rejects Ibbetson's (1916:95-6) assertion of Swatis as a "race of Hindu origin" from peninsular India, suggesting, instead, that Swatis show a higher affinity to their neighbours in the northwest and with people in the

Indus valley The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

, to the south.Hemphill, Brian E. (January 2009)
"The Swatis of Northern Pakistan—Emigrants from Central Asia or Colonists from Peninsular India?: A Dental Morphometric Approach"- ''American Journal of Physical Anthropology'', 138.
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''. Retrieved 1 August 2023. Please note: Although ''ResearchGate'' is considered "Generally unreliable" (see WP:RSP), this paper was uploaded by its author.

References

{{Reflist Social groups of Pakistan Pakistani names Ethnic groups in Afghanistan Mansehra District Battagram District