Behrain Tehsil
Behrain, also known as Upper Swat Valley and Swat Kohistan, is a tehsil located in Upper Swat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The population is 270,620, according to the 2023 census. Behrain has an area of, comprising more than half of total area of the district, and is part of the larger Kohistan region.
Behrain is known for alpine valleys such as Kalam and is home to a number of Indigenous Indo-Aryan peoples, including Gujjar, Torwali and Gawri people.Demographics
Ethnic groups
Major ethnic groups in Behrain tehsil are the Gujjars, and Kohistanis. They are found in almost all eight union counsils of the tehsil.Languages
According to the 2023 Census, the share of Pashto and Kohistani languages in Behrain was 35.81% and 11.88%, respectively. Some 141,119, mainly Torwalis and Gawris, chose "Other", amounting to a little more than 52%. However, these figures have been disputed by the activists based in Behrain, such as Zubair Torwali. According to Torwali the usage of the name 'Kohistani' complicates recording of the accurate linguistic demographics since both Torwali and Gawri languages are sometimes termed as such, along with Indus Kohistani and Shina Kohistani. He estimates the Torwali, Gawri and Gujari-speaking population of the tehsil to be around 100,000, 60,000 and 40,000, respectively.Union councils
Behrain consists of 8 Union Councils: Utror, Bahrain, Mankyal, Kalam, Beshigram, Madyan, Tirat and Balakot.