Burusho people
Burusho people
The Burusho are an ethnolinguistic group living in Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan, in valleys such as Yasin, Hunza, and Nagar. A small group also lives in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Their native language is Burushaski, a language isolate, and they also use Urdu as a national language. They are mostly Muslim, with communities of Ismaili and Twelver Shia Muslims.
They are also known as Brusho, Botraj, or Hunzas. The traditional region they inhabit is called Brushal. The origins of the Burusho are not known for sure; some theories say they were indigenous to the area and were moved into the mountains by Indo-Aryans around 1800 BCE. In the past, much of their land was part of the Hunza and Nagar princely states under British rule; today it is part of Pakistan.
The Burusho are famous for their music and dance and are known for progressive views on education and women’s rights. There have been popular claims that people in the Hunza Valley live exceptionally long lives, but these claims are not well supported by reliable data. Some studies suggest average lifespans were in the 50s, and there is no solid proof of large numbers of centenarians.
In India, about 350 Burusho live in Jammu and Kashmir, mainly in Batamalu and Botraj Mohalla near Hari Parbat. They descend from former Hunza and Nagar princes who moved there in the 19th century. They are called Botraj by others and practice Shiite Islam. Arranged marriages are common, and since 1947 they have had little contact with the Pakistani Burusho.
The Indian Burusho speak Burushaski, also known as Khajuna, with a Jammu and Kashmir dialect (JKB) that differs from Pakistani Burushaski. Many Burusho in India are multilingual, speaking Kashmiri and Hindustani as well as Balti and Shina to lesser extents.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 04:08 (CET).