Mahmud Kashgari’ Contribution: Turkic Tribes and Races in Indus Valley

Abstract

In 1077 AD, Mahmud Kashgari completed 3 volumes of ‘Diwan Lughat at-Turk’ (The Compendium of the Turkic Dialects) in Arabic. It was translated into Turkic Language in 1925, by Rifat, and into English in1982 by Robert Dankoff and James Kelly. Kashgari’s work covers various aspects, including history and races, of Turkic people. Applying socio-linguistic criteria, he classified, both monolingual and bilingual Turkic communities.  Kashgari acquired higher education from Bukhara and contributed in the fields of history, diction, geography, mathematics, physical and natural sciences. Mahmud, a Turk nationalist, tried to develop Turkic language and culture, hence, compiled the Diwan Lughat-ul-Turk on the pattern of Abu Ibrahim Ishaq Ibn Ibrahim al-Farabi’s (d. 961AD), Diwan Lughat Arabia, the first Arabic dictionary based on the rhyme order. This paper attempts to identify people of Turkic origin, descendants of tribes, mentioned in Diwan Lughat at-Turk, in Indus Valley. Personal interviews have been conducted, in 2020-21, to look into genealogy of individuals, claimants of having Turkic origin.