Kho people facts for kids
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 229,200 (2011) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Chitral District, Jammu and Kashmir | |
 Pakistan |
214,500 |
 India |
19,200 |
| Languages | |
| Khowar | |
| Religion | |
| Hanafi Sunni Islam, Ismaili Islam |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Kalasha people | |
The Kho are an Indo-Aryan group associated with the Dardistan region. They speak Khowar, which is a member of the Dardic subgroup of the Indo-Aryan language family. Many Kho people live in the Chitral District of Pakistan, while others live in Jammu and Kashmir India.
The Kho people are likely descendents of those who arrived in the region during the Indo-Aryan migration. The Kho people formerly observed a form of ancient Hinduism and Buddhism. During the Mongol invasion of India in the 1200s, many of the northern Kho converted to Islam.
Many of the Kho people live in the Chitral District of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In addition, a sizeable community of Kho people are found in Jammu and Kashmir, India. They are also found in few numbers in northern Afghanistan, where the majority of them live in the northern provinces of Badakhshan.
Kho culture places heavy emphasis on poetry, song and dance. Kho people also have a great respect of law and order. Much of this can be attributed to Chitral being a stable kingdom for most of its history, where the rule of law and the will of the ruler came before tribal concepts such as revenge and isolationism.
