Dardistan was a country of Dards comprising the whole of Chitral, Gilgit, Hunza, Nagar, Punyal, Yasin, Koh, Gazar, Ashkoman, Chilas, Astor, Askardu, Gurais (Pureg), and Dras (Kargil). Including the Indus Valley from Bunji to Batera, the Kohistan-Malazai, i.e. the upper reaches of the Panjkora River, and the Kohistan of Swat. Herodotus has mentioned about Dards. Ancient Greek and Roman writers recorded their Chronicles, when Dards were at the zenith of their power and influence that extended from northern Afghanistan to central Tibet. Dard Shin or Dard tribe once had their homeland spread across the valleys, tucked inside the great Himalayas at the edge of north Kashmir from Chitral and Yasin, across the Indus regions of Gilgit, Chilas and Bunji to Gurez valley. Studying Kalhana’s Rajtarangni (river of kings) _ Kashmir’s 12th century chronicle_ British historian Sir Aurel Stein remarked that the seat of Dards has not changed since the time of Herodotus.

1. Gilgiti: (1) spoken in Gilgit Subdivision, in eastern Baltistan & in Southern Nagar. (2) Punyali.
2. Astori: (1) Astori Valley of Astore from Burzil to Bunji. (2) Gurezi. (3) Drasi
3. Chilasi: (1) Kohistani Darel tangir. (2) Chilasi-Chilas & Gor.
4. Brokpa: spoken by Buddhist Dards in Dah nu.

Dard people have their own culture and traditions. This is quite different from Kashmiris and Dogras of Jammu. However people of Gurez are mostly influenced by Kashmiris and there are language islands in Dawar and Baghtor areas of Gurez. Here people speak Kashmiri, and are also good in speaking Shina.

The Sharada temple is the most famous and sacred of all Kashmiri pandit pilgrimage centers. It is located in Neelam valley (part of Gurais) in Pakistan occupied Kashmir near the Line of Control. In all probability Sharda temple was constructed somewhere in mid 12th Century, during the reign of Jaisimha by an Aryan Saraswat Brahmin warlord of Kishanganga Valley. According to Al-Biruni, the famous historian of India, Sharada was an important site of pilgrimage. The native script for Kashmiri (Sharada) was derived from Brahmi. The earliest records in Sharada have been dated to 800 A.D and were found all over northwest India. Also, Gurmukhi, the Punjabi script was based on Sharada script. By origin Kashmiri language is the most southern member of the Dard group of the Pisaca languages. The Pisaca languages are Aryan, but are neither Iranian nor Indo-Aryan. According to George A. Grierson, The speakers of Picasa languages appear to have left the main Aryan body after the great fission which resulted in the Indo-Aryan migration, but before all the typical peculiarities of Iranian speech had fully developed. The immigrants into Kashmir must have been Shins, speaking a language closely allied to the ancestor of the modern Shina. They appear to have dispossessed and absorbed an older nonAryan people, whom local tradition now classes as Nagas, or Snake-gods, and, at Alb, Early_English_period, to have come themselves under the influence of Indo-Aryan immigrants from the south, who entered the valley along the course of the river Jhelum. The language has therefore lost most of its original Pisaca character, and is now a mixed one. Sanskrit has been actively studied for many centuries, and the Kashmiri vocabulary, and even its grammar, are now largely Indian. So much is this the case that, for convenience' sake, it is now frequently classed as belonging to the north-western group of Indo-Aryan languages, instead of as belonging to the Pisaca family as its origin demands. It cannot be said that either classification is wrong. The vocabulary of Kashmiri is, as has been explained, mixed. At its basis it has a large number of words which are also found in the neighbouring Shina, and these are such as connote the most familiar ideas and such as are in most frequent use. Thus, the personal pronouns, the earlier numerals, the words for " father," " mother," " fire," "the sun," are all closely connected with corresponding Shina words. Languages spoken in the Vale of Kashmir and the surrounding hills by origin are Dardic, but Kashmiri has become predominantly Indo-Aryan in character. Reflecting the history of the area, the Kashmiri vocabulary is mixed, containing Dardic, Sanskrit-language, Punjabi, and Persian-language elements.

Common words and phrases

• Khiri beyi: sit down
• Weyi pi: drink water
• Tiki kha: eat your food
• Mas tutt khush thamus(M)/thamees(F): I love you
• Jaik hal han: How are you.
• Konat bujno: Where are you going?
• Sadpara kon hin: Where is sadpara?
• Muzzu in wa: Muzzu come here.
• Loko: quick
• Mah buja mus: I want to go
• Buba: father
• Ajeae: mother
• Saah: sister
• Kaáko{Zaah'}: brother
• Hunthay: pick up
• Angai:sky
• Birdii:Land
• Attaay: bring
• Chhal bal: children
• Mishti dish kon hin: What is the best place around>
• Phaepi: anti
• Tu konet bujaon: where are you going?
• Bilaen:Medicines
• Daaddo: grand father
• Daddi: grand mother
• Mamou: uncle
• Bado: big
• Chonu: small
• Thulo: fat
• Ashato: weak
• Dango: tall
• Khuto: short
• Mulai: girl
• Jeak haal ha'n: How are you?{(YOUK HAAL HEEAN,astori dialect)}
• Kon te bujaon: Where are you going?
• Ach bala jaekk Thanow?: What are you doing now in these days?
• May nom Peter han: my name is Peter.
• Tus jek they noo?: what are you doing?