All afghanistan knows that 99% of the taliban are pashtun. In an isolated region in the countrys central ranges, known as hazarajat, is the second darispeaking group, the hazaras. The book said a lot of things i didnt know, things my teachers hadnt mentionedit also said some things i did know, like that people called hazaras miceeating, flatnosed, loadcarrying donkeys. This is a great accomplishment for our hazara people. For years, that was all i knew about the hazaras, that they were mogul descendants, and that they. Hazaras connecting to the kite runner continued they called him flatnosed because of ali and hassans characteristic hazara mongoloid features. Hazara speak farsi and are mostly shii muslims, yet there are also some sunni muslim hazaras. The hazaras have for centuries faced persecution from afghanistans majority. They form afghanistan s largest shiite minority, who have long been branded outsiders within the dominant sunni muslim population. The hazaras have recently come into a more influential position within the countrys. Hazara, people possibly of mongol descent who at the beginning of the 21st century dwelled primarily in the mountains of central afghanistan.
The modern nation emerged during the eighteenth century by pashtun tribes in reaction to the decline of the persian and indian empires. Estimates of the hazara population range from about 1. The hazara are a people in central afghanistan who may be the descendants of ghengis khan. Hazara people speak dari, or a variant called hazaragi, that is. The author in this book goes into depth about the fascism and racism from other writers, afghan and nonafghans regarding hazaras. Hazaras are the most discriminated ethnic groups in afghanistan and somehow around the world. It said the hazaras had tried to rise against the pashtuns in the nineteenth century, but the. May 17, 2016 the hazaras are an ethnic minority in afghanistan who have long complained of discrimination.
They speak the hazaragi variant of persian, one of the two official languages of afghanistan they are the thirdlargest ethnic group in afghanistan, also making up a significant minority group in the neighboring pakistan, with a population of. On july 23, 2016, several hundred hazaras were protesting the development of a power line, disagreeing with the route that had been chosen by the government. Ahmed rashids fantastic theory of the hazaras origin quoted in this book is ridiculous since the hazaras do not have even the slightest features or characteristics of the tajiks. Afghanistan culture smart the essential guide to customs. The hazaras of afghanistan have borne the brunt of many of the destructive forces unleashed by the establishment of the afghan monarchy in 1747. The hazaras is book on the history of hazara people and afghanistan by the writer hassan poladi. Jul 26, 2016 isil killed at least 80 from afghanistans hazara community and wounded more than 230 during a peaceful protest on saturday. Honor, a centerpiece of afghan culture, evidently guides the decisions of all the afghan characters in the kite runner. Hazaras were long excluded from government jobs and education and once were mostly concentrated in the remote mountains of central afghanistan, in an area known as hazarajat.
Starting from the war of state construction and establishing a centralized authority between 18801901. In this novel, i find that culture and religion greatly influence a persons life, actions, and personal emotions. The history of their relationship with the afghan state has been punctuated by frequent episodes of ethnic cleansing, mass dispossession, forced displacement, enslavement and social and economic exclusion. The inquiry into the history of the hazara mongols of afghanistan by e.
Hazaras are the most economically deprived group in afghan culture and have much less status than other afghan ethnic groups. The hazaras are depicted in the news as the persecuted ethnic minority, which is true in that particular regard. Discrimination against hazara people by the pashtuns causes difficulties for ali and hassan. Hazara people are shia muslims, with a small percentage being part of the ismaili sect. The hazaras dialect is part of the persian branch of the indoeuropean linguistic family. Apr 08, 2020 the hazaras afghanistans largest ethnic minorities, who are primarily shia muslims insult us, they dont accept caliph umar and bibi aisha figures important in sunni islam and tell awful things about them. The hazaras are an ethnic minority in afghanistan who have long complained of discrimination. A recent study by kantor and pain emphasises the centrality of relationships to livelihoods in rural afghanistan, and the points they make apply equally to urban areas paula kantor and adam pain, securing life and livelihoods in afghanistan. Hazaras comprise about 10% of afghanistans population, making them the third most populous ethnic group in the country. They may be remnants of the troops that carried out the siege of bamiyan in 1221. There are also communities of hazara diaspora spread across the west, numbering from 400, 000 to 500,000 persons.
The hazaras afghanistans largest ethnic minorities, who are primarily shia muslims insult us, they dont accept caliph umar and bibi aisha figures important in sunni islam and tell awful things about them. Largely shia by religion and farsispeaking, the hazaras traditionally inhabited central afghanistan although. The hazaras and the afghan state niamatullah ibrahimi. But when it comes to terrorist ethnic labelling, it is the hazara who are specifically named by. Western and eastern hazara speak different dialects of persian and differ in faith. Largely shiia by religion and farsispeaking, the hazaras traditionally inhabited central afghanistan.
Apr 23, 2015 hazaras were long excluded from government jobs and education and once were mostly concentrated in the remote mountains of central afghanistan, in an area known as hazarajat. An historical, cultural, economic and political study. Pashtuns and hazaras in the kite runner 823 words bartleby. Hazaras have 50 representatives in a 245house, he said. The 15 killed were separated by the armed men after their national id cards were checked, provincial governor sayed anwar rahmati told tolonews. Hazaras are victims of the blame game in afghanistan kamran. After the formation of the modern nationstate between 18801929, afghanistan has witnessed at least seven major conflicts. Persecuted for their religious beliefs and ethnic features, the hazara are featured in the book and movie. There is also a hazara population in baluchistan, pakistan. The persecution of hazara people refers to discrimination against the hazaras, who are primarily from the central highland region of hazarajat in afghanistan. Hazaras are victims of the blame game in afghanistan. The hazaras have recently come into a more influential position largely shiia by religion and farsispeaking, the hazaras traditionally inhabited central afghanistan. According to askar mousavis book hazaras of afghanistan page 66, now the hazarajat area is reduced to 100,000 150,000 sq km. Consequently hazaras formed part of the northern alliance forces that opposed the taliban and took power after the taliban fell in 2001.
Pashtuns versus hazaras the kite runner by khaled hosseini, although fiction, engages and allows the reader to have an inside view on the afghani religion and culture. Hazaras are a large ethnic minority in afghanistan, and they are said to be descendants of the mongol genghis khan. The history of the hazaras therefore offers a unique perspective into the deep. Isil killed at least 80 from afghanistans hazara community and wounded more than 230 during a peaceful protest on saturday. Because of the war they are now scattered across the country and in neighboring countries in large numbers as well. The physical features of the hazaras resemble those of mongols so much that it is extremely difficult to tell a hazara from a mongol. Especially those that enjoy targeting afghanistan in order to disrupt its ethnic diversity refering to readers from dubai, etc. Hazaras settled in other areas of afghanistan as early as the th century and were forced into their current location by pashtun and sunni expansionism in the 18th and 19th century.
He spent much of his life in exile in iran, pakistan. The secret sky by atia abawi two teens from different ethnic groups in presentday afghanistan must fight their culture, tradition, families, and the taliban to stay together as they and another village boy relate the story of their forbidden love. This book deserves appreciation for its minute accounts of the happenings in afghanistan under the taliban. Amir is reflecting on the history of afghanistan and how information was presented to him as a young student. Persistant rumors hold that they are descended from genghis khans army, members of which mixed with the local persian and turkic people. The hazara are an afghan ethnic minority group of mixed persian, mongolian, and turkic ancestry. In it, i read that my people, the pashtuns, had persecuted and oppressed the hazaras. By the end of the day, the protest had been devastated by violence and the minority hazara community in afghanistan had been shaken. Pashtun are made up of about sixty tribes of varying sizes.
Hazaragi, as it is called, is a dialect of dari, one of afghanistan s two largest languages, and the two are mutually intelligible. Significant communities of hazara people also live in quetta, pakistan and mashad, iran as part of the hazara and afghan diasporas. The conflict between the pashtuns and hazaras in the kite runner directly reflects the real life issues in afghanistan starting in the late 70s and continuing on past 2001. This is a study of the second largest but least wellknown ethn.
Significant communities of hazara people also live in quetta, pakistan and mashad, iran as part of the hazara and afghan diasporas the persecution of the hazara people dates back to the 16th century, to the reign of babur who was from. Taliban are said to target hazaras to try to match isis. Until 1978, afghanistan avoided fragmentation through a shared religion and the relative autonomy of local communities even though the government favored pashtun culture and folklore. In the kite runner, the main character, amir, is a pashtun and his best friend hassan, who is also one of his familys servants, is a hazara. Its a great book and i recommend this to anyone, anyone that wants to learn more about hazaras, one of the first settlers of afghanistan. In recent history, afghanistan has been the focus of international attention since the soviet invasion and occupation of 19791989, the brutal civil war that ensued, and the subsequent u. The war in afghanistan should be studied in relation to political culture, political economy and broader national and regional history. And his unfearful description of the intensive involvement of pakistans army and isi in afghanistan is reflective of a true journalistic spirit. The hazaras are reported to have nuclear families with the husband considered the head of the family except in the case of husbands death, when the woman becomes the head.
It was a base of action for many rulers of india, notably the mughals. During the nineteenth century, afghanistan struggled. Afghanistan research and evaluation unit, december 2010. Over 80 members were killed and another 230 were injured in the kabul attack, with the afghanistan. Invading tribes and armies passed through ancient afghanistan and left their imprint on the culture, customs, and way of life there.
Culture and customs of afghanistan cultures and customs of. The hazaras are one of afghanistan s largest ethnic minorities. Sayed askar mousavi this is a study of the second largest but least wellknown ethnic group in afghanistan. Those living in iran are to be mostly found in the eastern province of khorasan.
Bisateshatranj a new book in dari, written by hassan raza changezi and qais. A campaign of kidnappings against the hazara ethnic group intensified on saturday as gunmen stopped a number of buses along afghanistans. Hazaras form a majority of the population in the central highland region of afghanistan known as hazarajat, and are a significant minority in the cities of kabul and mazari sharif. Culture of afghanistan history, people, clothing, women. On the return of hazaras to afghanistan hazara people. Culture, history and unending miseries of hazara people. It may be noted that after the genocide of hazaras in 1893 see more 1, and 2, afghan ruler adopted a policy to plant pushtun nomads in fertile hazara lands. Lol, to bring a different and perhaps a more accurate perspective other than what yama and obaidullah have said, i would have to say that we hazaras have always been at the short end of things in afghanistan. The hazaras and pashtuns in afghanistan english at jhss. Pashtun have lived for centuries between khurasan and the indian subcontinent, at the crossroads of great civilizations. Afghan kidnappers prey on hazaras the new york times. This is a study of the second largest but least wellknown ethnic group in afghanistan. The protests are also shining a light on the hazaras longrunning grievances.
Most hazara people live in hazarajat, in the center of the country. Culture and customs of afghanistan cultures and customs. However, through my encounters with rural and urban hazaras in my recent travel to the country, it became clear that the hazaras are more than that, they are a growing force from inside that is integral to afghanistans development. They form afghanistans largest shiite minority, who have long been branded outsiders within the dominant sunni muslim population. Most inhabitants felt they belonged primarily to a local community and secondarily to the supranational islamic community. The hazaras have recently come into a more influential position within the countrys social fabric because its tribally based pyramidal structure has been disrupted. An historical, cultural, economic and political study is a book about the origins and history of the hazara people of afghanistan by. This is the main reason why the islamic state iskp is killing the hazaras, sharif said. In pakistan, pashtun predominate north of the town of quetta and between. The exact number of hazaras is not known because there has never been a complete national census taken in afghanistan. The discrimination and violence against the hazaras in. Hazaras live in the following provinces in hazarajat.
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