Tach Sharakat Kalash (born Taj Kalas) belongs to an endangered

Indigenous culture Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

and language community

Kalasha A kalasha, also spelled kalash or kalasa, also called ghat or ghot ( sa, कलश , Telugu: కలశము Kannada: ಕಳಶ literally "pitcher, pot"), is a metal (brass, copper, silver or gold) pot with a large base and small mouth, large eno ...

(an

Indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

group) living in the wilderness of

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Provinc ...

Mountains in the Chitral district of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Kalasha are the last remaining

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

tribe numbering 4000 people speaking the ancient Indo-Aryan language Kalasha-mondr. They practice a

polytheistic Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the ...

ancestral belief system and Pre-Islamic culture dating back to 3000 B.C. Tach is one of the first literates among Kalasha People to have received a BA in Political science & Law at

Edwardes College Edwardes College Peshawar is a semi-government degree The college's undergraduate and graduate degree programs lead to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), 4 year BS Programme in English and Computer Science, Master of Bus ...

Peshawar Pakistan, a 2nd BA in English Literature & Linguistics at

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

and MA Human Rights from

Central European University Central European University (CEU) is a private research university accredited in Austria, Hungary, and the United States, with campuses in Vienna and Budapest. The university is known for its highly intensive programs in the social sciences and ...

Budapest, Hungary. Tach has made first Kalasha indigenous documentary film Kalasha about his people as part of anthropological documentation and advocacy for Kalasha people's linguistic rights in education and cultural autonomy. He is also writer of first hand report on "Kalasha Mythology, herbs & Shamanic practices". Tach has been a spokesman for Kalasha with his exceptional linguistic skills speaking four Asiatic and three European languages besides his mother tongue. Working in close collaboration with various international researchers and linguists Taj organized first Kalasha Orthography Conference 2000 in Islamabad, Pakistan. In 2004 he was able to raise funds to publish first alphabet book of Kalasha language based on Roman script designed by an Australian linguist Gregory R. Cooper. Tach's struggles for survival & development of Kalasha language are featured in a recent documentary film called The Alphabet Bookhttp://www.patternfilms.com/alphabet/home produced b
Pattern films
He is currently working on developing Kalasha Literacy Project that involves documentation of Kalash language and Oral historical data by compilation of textbooks and literacy materials in Kalasha language.

References

External links

* http://www.athensnews.gr/old_issue/13006/9564 * http://sprogmuseet.dk/enkeltsprog/kalasha-i-danmark/ Living people Kalash people Linguists from Pakistan Pakistani human rights activists People from Chitral District Edwardes College alumni Aristotle University of Thessaloniki alumni Central European University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{pakistan-linguist-stub

See also

References

External links