why do people say indians and pakistanis are the same people

[Corporate_Demolisher]

From what I've seen, Pakis seem to be significantly more Afghan-shifted than Indians, even North Indians.

[Chocolate_Hound]

Pakistan is literally Muslim India divided by a religious border. Punjab is a transnational region that has more land in Pakistan than in India. Pakistani Punjabis and Sindhis are 100% South Asian culturally and linguistically. There is some Pashtun influence in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkwa but that's about it.

[Borealis]

Pakistan is literally Muslim India divided by a religious border. Punjab is a transnational region that has more land in Pakistan than in India. Pakistani Punjabis and Sindhis are 100% South Asian culturally and linguistically. There is some Pashtun influence in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkwa but that's about it.

Borders are usually arbitrary as fuck. It does not preclude the people from looking different to each other.

[Chocolate_Hound]

differences in South Asia how much minuscale they are , I can assure you will be more visible to casual unbaised observer than MENA , but in South Asia there are just two major nations while in MENA there are countless languages/ethnicites/natioans and they are also always fighting with each other.

Also, a lot of MENA are white, unlike South Asians.

[turbosat]

Pakistan is literally Muslim India divided by a religious border. Punjab is a transnational region that has more land in Pakistan than in India. Pakistani Punjabis and Sindhis are 100% South Asian culturally and linguistically. There is some Pashtun influence in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkwa but that's about it.

By far the largest population in Khyber Pakhtunkwa is Pashtun. I believe they are also about 50% of the population Balochistan. Therefore it is not "some Pashtun influence" but high Pashtun influence in those areas.

Besides that there are countless millions of Pashtuns and Afghan refugees living in Karachi, Lahore and most other large cities of Pakistan Punjab. Pashtuns are Afghan people in origin, but most Europeans don't know this. They think Pashtuns are "Pakis" who are "Afghan shifted".

[turbosat]

From what I've seen, Pakis seem to be significantly more Afghan-shifted than Indians, even North Indians.

Not really. You must be confused by Pashtun (Afghan people) from KPK area or some others like Kashmiri origin people.
Most normal Pakistanis are not more Afghan shifted.

e.g. see following. I dont think most of them are "Afghan shifted".

zoom into this.

[punkx]

But kashmiris aren't more "afghan-shifted" than other NW Indians

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[turbosat]

But kashmiris aren't more "afghan-shifted" than other NW Indians

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A section of Kashmiris certainly are more "afghan shifted" or "west shifted" or whatever we want to call it. I have visited Srinagar and some other places in Kashmir, so I know this. Many Kashmiris can blend in with darker Afghans, and a smaller section of Kashmiris are quite light skinned. There are a lot of Kashmiri origin (or claimed to be Kashmiri origin) people in Pakistan Punjab.

"NW Indians" or "north Indian" etc are just labels based on where people live. It does not mean most of the population in those areas have a narrow range in appearance or complexion. There are lots of NW Indians and North Indians who look not hugely different to Indians anywhere else and are also often dark skinned as well.

eg This lady is "north Indian" but could be from just about anywhere in India except Kashmir.

[wvwvw]

Indians and Pakistanis are not one people, but then again neither Pakistanis are one people.

Over 80 languages are spoken in Pakistan

India has 22 separate official languages out of the 121 languages that are spoken and 270 different mother tongues.

[Pro.crasti.nation]

India is a bodge. It has no legitimacy beyond the British Raj, imo.

Pakistan is also more of a political creation than a true nation, but it has a huge Punjabi base and that holds most of it together. India doesn't have a largely dominant group, just "Hindu" identity and the endless caste politics that ensue from it.

Worse still, the Bengalis who are the inheritors of a great and highly sophisticated literary culture, act and think like Western middle class "liberals". So they go about further deconstructing India, while the Gujarati lot try and foist a fake victimhood history, so as to build a sense of common purpose to India.

Most Punjabis look like other Punjabis. Not many look like Kerelans. Same with other northern populations. There's more homogeneity across the North, than across India, imo.