The Burusho, or Brusho, also known as the Botraj, are an ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Yasin, Hunza, Nagar, and other valleys of Gilgit–Baltistan in northern Pakistan, as well as in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Their language, Burushaski, has been classified as a language isolate. Although their origins are unknown, it is claimed that the Burusho people "were indigenous to northwestern India and were pushed higher into the mountains by the movements of the Indo-Aryans, who traveled southward sometime around 1800 B.C." History Prior to the modern era, the area in which most Burusho now live was part of the independent state of Gilgit. The state was a hereditary monarchy, controlled by the Tarkhan dynasty of probably Turkic descent, and headed by a ra (derived from raja, a title usually translated as king). Later this territory became subjugated to British Raj. Now it is part of Pakistan. The construction of the Karakoram Highway during the 1970s brought more extensive contact with the outside world. Many traders, preachers, tourists, and others had new access to the Burusho's homeland, and this subsequently altered the culture and local economy of the area. The Burusho are known for their love of music and dance, along with their progressive views towards education and women. Hunza Clark and Lorimer reported frequent violence and starvation in Hunza. Upper Hunza, locally called Gojal, is inhabited by people whose ancestors moved up from proper Hunza to irrigate and defend the borders with China and Afghanistan. They speak a dialect called Wakhi, which is influenced by Burushahski and Pamiri languages due to the closeness and contact with these mountain communities. The Shina-speaking people live in the southern Hunza. They have come from Chilas, Gilgit, and other Shina-speaking areas of Pakistan. Longevity myth A widely repeated claim of remarkable longevity of the Hunza people has been refuted as a longevity myth, citing a life expectancy of 53 years for men and 52 for women, although with a high standard deviation. There is no evidence that Hunza life expectancy is significantly above the average of poor, isolated regions of Pakistan. Claims of health and long life were almost always based solely on the statements by the local mir (king). An author who had significant and sustained contact with Burusho people, John Clark, reported that they were overall unhealthy. Jammu and Kashmir A group of 350 Burusho people also reside in the Indian