Later rulers used force, law, and manipulation to keep the hazaras confined, physically and psychologically, to those highlands. The shia hazaras and sunni pashtuns muslims originally split over a conflict concerning who would be the caliph ruler after mohammed, the founder of islam, died in 632. History comes to know them as the people who never allowed themselves to be ruled by any great power until the last quarter of the 20th century after which they came at the receiving end of the ravages of the cold war which devoured afghanistan completely once the soviets invaded it in 1979. For some analysts, the 2001 regime change, hit the pashtun power all over the country. Pashtuns are the ethnic group residing mostly in afghanistan and pakistan. The hazaras are not from the same part of asia as the pashtuns, not afghani. The hazaras form a minority group of afghanistan, and thus are persecuted by the majority groups. When amir showed the history book on the hazaras to his teacher, he reacted with disgust. Pashtun as the majority race and ethnic in afghanistan is sunni moslem while hazara is shia. The history between hazaras and pashtuns has been very rough. Even a delegation of elderly hazaras who tried to intercede was killed.
They are distinct ethnic groups and, as said before, the hazara are a minority group in afghanistan. The pashtuns will be told the action of genghis khan and the actions of hazara majority groups during the civil war and the massacres that they did and the hazaras will be told of the action of the taliban and other pashtun dominated groups. The history of the hazaras therefore offers a unique perspective into the deep. The term is an arabic word and was used to describe only pashtuns back in the day, but now its a nationality that includes tajiks, hazaras, uzbeks, and baloch who live in afghanistan as well as afghan pashtuns. The hazaras are shiite muslims, and the pashtuns are sunni muslims. Last year i gave a british account of 1880 in which british traveler reported that hazaras took advantage of pashtun preoccupation with british, that they attacked and burnt pashtun villages in ghazni, killed and raped pashtun women and children, abducted and enslaved pashtun women and went to the extreme of digging up graves of pashtuns and desecrating dead bodies. Boek maken downloaden als pdf printvriendelijke versie. Hassan pouladi in his book about hazaras of afghanistan mentions that the theory of. A legacy of sufi activity may be found in some pashtun regions, especially in the khyber pakhtunkhwa area, as evident in songs and dances. The book said a lot of things i didnt know, things my teachers hadnt mentioned. The hazara, outside of hazarajat, have adopted the cultures of the cities where they dwell, resembling customs and traditions of the afghan tajiks and pashtuns.
After doing research, i was shocked as to how could not have heard of it with so many atrocities committed by the taliban. Pashtun, hazara, and aimaqs the 2 main races in the kite runner were hazaras and pashtuns. From the first section of the book, it is clear that the pashtuns have a distinct advantage over the hazaras, and that the hazaras are persecuted heavily. Why are the taliban attacking hazaras in afghanistan. Similar bloodbaths quickly spread to other parts of afghanistan. Amir is reflecting on the history of afghanistan and how information was presented to him as a young student. Seventy hazara women and children sought refuge inside a mosque, later destroyed with two rockets. Hazaras are considered as persian speaking people and they mainly inhabit central afghanistan. Ethnic groups share a ychromosomal heritage structured by historical events.
The history of the hazaras is not even taught in school solely because of their beliefs. Hazara lands in kandahar, helmand, ghazni, urozgan, zabul and maydan invaded by pashtun tribes. They are one of the few larger ethnic groups in afghanistan. The conflict between pashtuns and hazaras i chose the topic of the conflict between the pashtuns and the hazaras because it is a new topic for me to study. 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. Curtius was not accepted by any anthropologist and historians of 19th and. Throngs of hazaras were driven from lowland farms up into the central highlands. Can you think of any culture in the world without a history of oppression. It also said some things i did know, like that people called hazaras miceeating.
The conflict between two groups has gone on for centuries, and it began shortly after the founding of afghanistan in 1747. At this point in history, pashtuns are the dominant sociopolitical force. They constitute the majority of the population of afghanistan and bore the exclusive name of afghan before that name. While my focus will be on them, dont forget that there are many other races that will appear on this website. The hazaras is book on the history of hazara people and afghanistan by the writer hassan poladi.
Some of the ethnic groups of the afghanistan are pashtun, tajik, hazara, uzbek, aimak, turkmen, baloch, pashai and many more. The hazara people are nomads that were forced to live in the kazarasjat mountains by the government. The existence of racial discrimination portrayed by the hazaras in the kite runner makes it interesting to be analyzed. In august 1998, the taliban killed more than ten thousand hazaras in the northern city of mazarisharif. Most hazaras are illiterate and have never been educated. Here is where you will find the background information. The pashtuns pushed the hazara out of uruzgan and reoccupied it. Many hazaras were enlisted in the british indian army during the first angloafghan war 18381840. Accounts of the hazaras dark history have been passed down through generations, a. Traditionally, the hazaras were placed as the lower class while. The ethnically mixed karzai administration has a history of.
Report hazaras and afghan insurgent groups refworld. This is a great accomplishment for our hazara people. Abdur rahman khan favored the pashtun people and despised the hazara people. The pashtuns have been dominant in afghanistan and believe that they should be the only ones to reside in afghanistan.
To this date, pashtuns comprise the largest ethnic in afghanistan, while the hazara is about 20 percent of the population and have faced constant persecution from the pashtuns. An historical, cultural, economic and political study 9780312173869. As a matter of fact, pashtuns are the immigrants in afghanistan as the land belonged to hazaras and the biggest proofs were the buddhas of bamyan which were destroyed by talibans. Were you surprised to learn about the racial tension. They have mongolian ancestry and are primarily shia muslims. The pashtuns strongly believe that the hazaras are outsiders because they are distinguished by. Hazara hazara are persian speaking people who mainly live in central afghanistan and pakistan. They are thriving after years of persecution but fear a. Mousavi also goes into depth about the detailed massacre, murder, killings, rape, butchering, etc. Pashtuns and hazaras in the kite runner 823 words bartleby. Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in afghanistan, comprising nearly half of the countrys estimated 30 million people, while hazaras make up some 10 percent of the population and have been persecuted historically.
During the reign of amir abdullah rahman 18801901, who is considered the founder of modern afghanistan, a thousand hazaras were massacred, enslaved and banished. Its also often used as a derogatory term against pashtuns. The conflict between pashtuns and hazaras the bailey blog. Many pashtuns are prominent ulema, islamic scholars, such as muhammad muhsin khan who has helped translate the noble quran, sahih albukhari and many other books to the english language. The fighting is tinged by ethnic tensions as many taliban leaders and cadres are ethnic pashtuns. Get an answer for define shia and sunni muslim, hazara, pashtun and farsi from the kite runner. The conflict between the hazara and the pashtun started when abdur rahman khan became the ruler of afghanistan. The book said that my people had killed the hazaras, driven them from their lands, burned their homes, and sold their women. The hazaras of afghanistan have borne the brunt of many of the destructive forces unleashed by the establishment of the afghan monarchy in 1747. Ethnic composition of afghanistan afghanistan is a multiethnic country with an estimated population of about 30 million world fact book, 2012. To be absolutely honest, i hadnt heard of the hazara massacre before reading the kite runner. The pashtuns are of the sunni religion whereas the hazaras are the shia, however both groups are considered muslims. But what are hazara and pashtun, and what is their history. For example, abdur rahman, as an emir, wanted to bring hazaras under his control.
Israelite origin of the pashtuns and pathans pashtuns history. Current numbers suggest that roughly 42 per cent of afghans consider themselves pashtun, whereas the rest of the population is constituted of tajik sunni persianspeakers 27 per cent, the shiite hazara also persianspeakers, but of another. Amirs best friend, hassan, is a hazara, whereas amir is pashtun which seems to be a point made throughout the book. The hazaras have a long history of being targeted by pashtun tribes, beginning at least since the xvi century. What exactly is the difference between the two sects. This is a very important event the book but how did impact the world outside of the kite runners pages. Before this investigation i was unaware of what these ethnic groups represented.
Pashtuns are sunni muslims and hazaras are shia muslims so religion and ethnicity are major ideas that conflict. The unresolved key to the future of pakistan and afghanistan siddique, abubakar on. The history of hazara people in pakistan dates back to the 1840s, when hazara tribesmen from hazarajat began migration to colonial india because of persecution by pashtuns and tajiks. The graves of those killed in a double suicide bombing in 2016 at a hazara protest rally in kabul, afghanistan. What are some of the reasons behind the hazara pashtun. Pashtuns and hazaras differ in terms of religious beliefs, cultural practices, social status, and physical appearances. The author in this book goes into depth about the fascism and racism from other writers, afghan and nonafghans regarding hazaras.
National geographic magazine hazaras afghanistans outsiders. Hazaras sided with british invaders during the two anglo. 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. What are the differences between the pashtuns and the. Why do pashtuns dislike nonpashtuns in afghanistan. The book said part of the reason pashtuns had oppressed the hazaras was that pashtuns were sunni muslims, while hazaras were shia. Traditionally the hazara are highland farmers and although sedentary, in the hazarajat, they have retained many of their own customs and traditions, some of which are more closely related to those of central asia than to those of the afghan tajiks.
Amir and hassan have grown up together yet in two different social class. Pashtuns pashtoon pashtuns are commonly found in southeastern afghanistan and northwestern pakistan. Afghan ethnic tensions rise in media and politics the. The unresolved key to the future of pakistan and afghanistan. Pashtun, pashtospeaking people residing primarily in the region that lies between the hindu kush in northeastern afghanistan and the northern stretch of the indus river in pakistan. Conflicts driving off traditional niche class have lit a spark between these two groups. The 2 main races in the kite runner were hazaras and pashtuns. The pashtuns have been dominant in afghanistan and believe.
The pashtun element in afghan society openedition books. Get an answer for were you surprised to learn about the racial tension between the pashtuns and hazaras in afghanistan. An historical, cultural, economic and political study. Afghanistan has always had warring cultural factions. The difference, however, is that pathan is a term imposed on pashtuns by outsidersinvaders, and many pashtuns argue that its not their original name and is therefore not authentic. The battle of uruzgan was between the pashtun and the hazara people. The hazaras have been persecuted because of of sunni dominance, and have been persecuted by the pashtuns, and throughout history, many examples of persecution led to revolution, but failed, and made life worse for the already bad lifestyles of the hazaras. Difference between hazara and pashtun hazara vs pashtun. In the history book, amir reads that a confrontation between the hazaras and the pashtuns occurred in the 19th century. The sunni and shia muslims have had a history of conflict. Other reason why the hazaras have been discriminated by pashtun is their appearance that look like chinese people.
1149 1324 85 151 1062 1223 1487 1183 914 572 120 358 401 211 684 705 576 626 1228 1456 193 1005 497 1209 993 184 514 1501 887 594 213 1372 1356 982 920 468 1193 223 556 1483 214 910