The Balti (बाल्टी) people belong to the subcaste kargil/kirgil (करगिल/किरगिल) of the Kamboja tribe, which is the ancient Iranian inhabitants. The great historian of India, Jiyalal, in his book Instant Kamboja People, mentions that Tibet (तिब्बत) is the Kamboja country and the Tibetan (तिब्बती) language is the Kamboja language. The Ladakhi (लद्दाखी) race and the Purig race are also of the same race. Most of the population of Balti people are settled in Pakistan's semi-province of Gilgit-Baltistan (गिलगित-बाल्टिस्तान), while a small group is settled in the Ladakh (लद्दाख) region of Indian-administered Kashmir (कश्मीर). The Balti people speak the Balti language and their religion is Islam. In addition to Gilgit-Baltistan, small groups of Balti people are settled in major cities of Pakistan (such as Karachi (कराची), Rawalpindi (रावलपिंडी), Lahore (लाहौर) and Islamabad (इस्लामाबाद), etc.).
The origin
The origin of the name Balti is not known. The first written mention of the Balti people was made in the 2nd century BC by the Alexandrian astronomer and geographer Ptolemy, who called the region Biltai. The Balti people themselves refer to their native land as Baltiyul (बाल्टीयुल) (translation – 'land of the Baltis'). The modern name of Baltistan (बाल्टिस्तान) is a Persian translation of this name.
Language
The Balti language belongs to the Tibetan language family. Reid (1934) considers it to be a dialect of Ladakhi, while Nicholas Tornandre (2005) considers it to be the sister language of Ladakhi.
Religion
Bon and Tibetan Buddhism were the dominant religions practiced by the Balti people until the advent of Islam in Baltistan until the 14th century, especially through Sufi missionaries such as Mir Sayyid Ali Hamdani. The Nur bakhshiyya Sufi sect further propagated the Islamic faith in the region, and by the end of the 17th century, most of the Balti people had converted to Islam. Over time, a significant number of Baltis converted to Shia Islam, while some converted to Sunni Islam.
Buckets still retain many of the cultural features of pre-Islamic Bon and Tibetan Buddhist rituals in their society, giving them a unique demographic status in Pakistan. The Balti language is very ancient and conservative, closer to classical Tibetan than other Tibetan languages.
Balti see gatherings in mosques and Sufi monasteries as an important religious ritual. Monasteries are training schools that were introduced by early Sufi saints who came to the region. Students attain spiritual purity through training (meditation and contemplation) that have already achieved a certain degree of spirituality.
Mosques in Baltistan are built primarily in Tibetan style, though many mosques have wooden finishing and Mughal-style decorations, which are also seen across the Line of Control in Kargil (करगिल) district of Indian-administered Ladakh.
Today, about 60% of The Balti Are Shia Muslims, while some 30% of The Nur Bakhshiyya adhere to Sufi Islam and 10% are Sunni Muslims.
In India, 97% of The Balti are Muslims and 3% are Balti Buddhists.