The population of afghanistan includes many different ethnic groups. The afghan pushtun heartland roughly covers a large crescentshaped belt following the afghanpakistani border on the east, southward from nuristan, across the south, and northward. Bangladesh history, capital, map, flag, population. As you would expect, there is a diverse range of ethnic groups within the country. What is a short summary of the kite runner by khaled. Nov 05, 2017 as stated in the description, all ethnic groups of afghanistan with the exclusion of a few very minor groups with no photographs or much information available. Afghanistan population 2020 demographics, maps, graphs. The united states and the rest of the international community feared that afghanistans rival ethnic groups would use their regional power bases. The middle east includes many ethnic groups including arabs, kurds, persi.
While researching his book in afghanistan, dalrymple discovered a deep font of. Everyone has ethnicoriented objectives in afghanistan. One, there is no such thing as being ethnically middle eastern. Culture of afghanistan history, people, clothing, women. How bandeamir national park became afghanistans oasis. Afghanistan is a giant mix of a many of ethnic groups.
Agfaf has helped build several other libraries in my region of kabul so i decided to try to expand and provide books to other areas. The afghanistan culture is so radically different than ours and so steeped in the importance of honour, i have difficulty in foreseeing any changes, particularly for women. Minorsky and others, the name afghan appears in the 982 ce hududalalam geography book. Of the 31 million or so afghan residents, 42% are pashtun, 27% tajik, 9% hazara, 9% uzbek, 4% aimak, 3% turkmen, 2% baloch and 4% fall into an unspecified other group. Field listing ethnic groups central intelligence agency. Apr 25, 20 first western war in afghanistan was an imperial disaster. This rickety shop at one of kabuls busiest intersections is one of the richest repositories of books in afghanistan.
May 08, 20 afghans confront sensitive issue of ethnicity afghanistan is set to issue new national ids that will have a persons ethnicity embedded in it electronically but not printed on it. Have you ever wondered what to call someone from a different country. The study and understudy of afghanistans ethnic groups. Turkic, indoiranian, and mongolic peoples comprise its general ethnicities. This study is also important in terms of how external forces and internal conflicts combined to have disastrous consequences for the hazara community in afghanistansas humayun sarabi. In the late eighteenth century, kabul was established as afghanistans capital. The pashtuns pushtuns, who make up more then half the population, have traditionally been the dominant ethnic group. Iran is a country at the juncture of western asia and the middle east. Thus we are privileged to see the landscape, the people, and rulers, the events through different eyes. Afghan ethnicities presentation notes flashcards quizlet. Drew university student builds library for girls in kabul.
This article contrasts afghanistans golden age, the period between 1963 and 1973, with the state of the country in the years that followeda period that was the most destructive and tragic in the nations history. The military is more diverse racially and ethnically than in previous generations and more women are serving. Race refers to a persons physical characteristics, such as bone structure and skin, hair, or eye color. Use the nationality adjective ending in ese or ish with a. How bandeamir national park became afghanistans oasis of. Afghanistan ethnic origins and languages afghanistans web site. The mongols devastated afghanistan, killing the population of major city centers. This is an excellent description of how sectarian politics in afghanistan offered foreign.
Iran borders seven other countries, including afghanistan, armenia, azerbaijan, iraq, pakistan, turkey, and turkey. In this falsecolor satellite image vegetation appears fluorescent green, urban areas range in. Ethnicity concentrated in the mountainous highlands of afghanistan called hazarajathazarajat is an undeveloped rural areadrawn out of valleys, due to persecution in occupied areasmongolian ancestry central asiaoriginated from descendents of traveling mongol soldiers and traders of the silk routereligion. The tool used to assess the availability of studies on afghanistans ethnic groups is the most recent edition of the afghanistan analyst bibliography, which covers sources from the late 1950s to the present. Use the nationality adjective ending in ese or ish with a plural verb, to refer to all people of that nationality. Sep 22, 2016 in afghanistan, where heavy battles are ongoing in at least 15 of the 34 provinces, four afghan peace volunteers from different ethnicities cooked, bought and brought their specialty cuisines. In afghanistan, where heavy battles are ongoing in at least 15 of the 34 provinces, four afghan peace volunteers from different ethnicities cooked, bought and brought their specialty cuisines. Turkic, indoiranian, and mongolic peoples comprise its general ethnicities the main religions of central asia are. Oct 14, 2014 the modern nationstate of afghanistan has formed as a result of two main factors.
The book begins with an introduction, an overview chapter on the afghans, and separate chapters on the history of the afghans, british relations with. Pashtun make up the largest ethnic group in afghanistan, followed by tajiks, hazara, uzbek, aimaks, baloch, and others. United by shared class exploitation, workers of different ethnicities at times maintained solidarity, such as by going on strike together. Thomas barfields book on afghanistan is likely to become the first source that. The way the hazaran look is much different than the american people as the picture to the left shows. The only place where students of different ethnicities come across each other is the school toilet. Afghanistan history, map, flag, capital, population. The troubled central asian country needs to develop a political system based on a panafghan vision. The army is made up of soldiers from all over the world with different genders, religions, ethnicities and races, the book reads. The main religions of central asia are islam turkicindoiranian peoples and buddhism mongolia. As indicated by joseph logan of reuters, on the 18th day of december 2011, except for a skeletal crew left in the green zone, the last convoy of united states ground forces crossed the southern iraq border into kuwait, via. Afghanistans 2004 constitution recognizes 14 ethnic groups. With agfafs help, i went home last summer to find a good high school for this library. Alarmingly, there are many parallels between what is happening currently in the country and earlier efforts of amanullah khan, who was in power from 1919 through 1929 when he fled the country due to uprisings.
Conrad schetter, ethnicity and the political reconstruction of afghanistan, center for development studies zef university of bonn, germany, working paper 3, 2004. Different ethnicities in afghanistan and position of hazaras among them 17 i. A great read covering afghanistans ancient history through its modern day issues through 2002, when the book was published. First western war in afghanistan was an imperial disaster 07. It can vary between countries and even within the cities of one country. Such a consensus, however, is starkly missing in pakistan something that has not just precluded unanimity regarding national identity but has also. And as we will see this week, once conflict breaks out, these ethnicities become the natural ordering system for populations that are now under stress and are fearing for their physical.
These ethnic groups have bold differences, besides the fact that they all have been going off of each other for hundreds of years. The republic of afghanistan 197378 civil war, communist phase 197892 civil war, mujahideentaliban phase 19922001 struggle for democracy. Main ethnic differences between pashtun and hazara. Iran is a multiethnic nation with different ethnic groups that includes persians, kurds, lurs. Likewise, immigrants of different ethnicities were linked by their hope in the american nation. Depending on which side of the border you find yourself, you may have a different impression of your neighbour. Sep 10, 2019 afghanistans beautiful architecture is seen in their mosques and homes. The total number of tajiks in afghanistan was around 4. As a child, amir grows up in kabul, where he and his father, baba, enjoy the privilege of being pashtun, which is the majority ethnic group of afghanistan. This same location introduced the tribes in afghanistan to tea early on, as china sent traders out to get other goods in return for silk and tea.
America is the big cousin, first gaining independence in 1776 from our shared ancestor, the uk. Although afghanistans various ethnic factions disagreed. Ethnicity, however, refers to cultural factors, including nationality, regional culture, ancestry, and language an example of race is brown, white, or black skin all from. As thomas barfield points out in his book, afghanistan. Their homeland lies south of the hindu kush, but pashtun groups live in all parts of the country. Afghanistan is not coherent or cohered in the way that those of us living in longsettled western countries assume when thinking about countries. Find the ethnic and racial composition of every country in the world, listed alphabetically. Kazakhstan, kyrgyzstan, tajikistan, uzbekistan and turkmenistan. The crossborder linkages between the two countries are reinforced by the fact that the pashtun ethnic group resides on both sides of the border. I went to 10 schools in different areas made up of different ethnicities. Nationalities forming nationality adjectives and nouns from country names is not always simple in english. Albiruni referred to a group of afghans in the 11th century as various tribes living on the western. Afghanistan is a multiethnic and mostlytribal society.
This same location introduced the tribes in afghanistan to tea early on, as china sent. Its quite important that we familiarize ourselves with the differences of each, and this post aims to give you a brief overview. It serves as one of the most notable places in afghanistan where people from different parts of the country, different ethnicities, and different religious denominations can have family fun in an. Topping the list of all these ethnic groups are the pashtuns, tajiks, uzbeks and the hazaras. Jul 18, 2019 iran is a multiethnic nation with different ethnic groups that includes persians, kurds, lurs, arabs, baluchs, turkmen and turkic tribes.
The colonial rivalry between russia and the british in central asia, and internal subjugation of different nations and ethnicities by the rulers of afghanistan. September 2, 1953 september 9, 2001 was an afghan politician and military commander. May 28, 2015 while the formal census of afghanistan people does not include ethnic orientation, the 2004 constitution lists 14 different ethnicities central intelligence agency, 2015. Why accepting different identity groups within pakistan. The middle east is a region that was invented by europe and the u.
While there are regions with different ethnicities or dominant tribes, it doesnt even break down into simple tribal areas or regions divided by religion. What is most remarkable in the study of afghanistans ethnic groups is the disparity in who gets studied and who does not. The many languages spoken in iran have similarities to european and asian languages. Canada is the younger cousin, gaining independence in 1867, and as. He also points out that a consensus among elites representing different ethnicities, religious groups and political entities is the key to forging a common vision of the nation state. Although this book tells the triumphant story of how zakia and ali defied their families and escaped an honour killing, i found the book depressing.
The modern nation emerged during the eighteenth century by pashtun tribes in reaction to the decline of the persian and indian empires. Ethnicity vs race difference and comparison diffen. List of books and articles about afghan history online. It also borders the gulf of oman, the caspian sea, and the persian gulf. That is the place where they come for a secret cigarette. They look different and practise a different school of islam in a country that is prone to. There are very many different beliefs in the human race. The truth is, many nationality labels are formed by simply combining the full or partial name of a country with the suffix an, ean, ian, or ese. Central asia, in its most common definition, is deemed to consist of five former soviet socialist republics. History and conflict between ethnic groups in afghanistan. Afghanistan is bordered by iran on the west, by pakistan on the east and south, and by turkmenistan, uzbekistan, and tajikistan on the north. The modern nationstate of afghanistan has formed as a result of two main factors. The crisis and politics of ethnicity in afghanistan.
First western war in afghanistan was an imperial disaster. He was a powerful guerilla commander during the resistance against the soviet occupation between 1979 and 1989. While researching his book in afghanistan, dalrymple discovered a deep font of primary sources, allowing him to delve into the wars. In the 1990s he led the governments military wing against rival militias and, after the taliban takeover, was the leading. Jun 09, 2015 although this book tells the triumphant story of how zakia and ali defied their families and escaped an honour killing, i found the book depressing.
Afghanistan is a warzone, filled with treachery and hatred spewing from different ethnic groups. For more than 3,000 years, kabul has occupied a strategic location along central and southern asian trade routes. There also needed to be economic development and more participation by the afghan security forces. The traditional definition of race and ethnicity is related to biological and sociological factors respectively.
Tajiks are the major ethnic group in neighboring tajikistan, a country that was created north of afghanistan in 1991. This is an excellent description of how sectarian politics in afghanistan offered foreign powers an opportunity to intervene in afghanistans politics. Ethnicity, nationality, race, heritage, culture, identity. Colorado childrens book author aims to bust myths of army. Afghanistan is a large country in south asia and is home to many different ethnic groups.
Like a number of other afghan ethnic groups, the pushtun extend beyond afghanistan into pakistan where they constitute a major ethnic group of about 14 million. Afghanistan s 2004 constitution recognizes 14 ethnic groups. While the formal census of afghanistan people does not include ethnic orientation, the 2004 constitution lists 14 different ethnicities central intelligence agency, 2015. Struggling together as workers could make people forget ethnic differences. They practice subsistence farming and also keep livestock. Despite having a diverse political culture at the national level and being a multinational country. Pashtun, tajik, hazara, uzbek, baloch, turkmen, nuristani, pamiri, arab, gujar, brahui, qizilbash, aimaq, and pashai. Sep 10, 2014 the tool used to assess the availability of studies on afghanistans ethnic groups is the most recent edition of the afghanistan analyst bibliography, which covers sources from the late 1950s to the present. The modern state, wars, and ethnic politics in afghanistan. Ethnicity race, ethnicity, and tribes in afghanistan. In a wider view, xinjiang of western china, mongolia, afghanistan, and northern pakistan are included. A cultural and political history princeton studies in. The country enjoys a mix of cultures borrowed from far and wide. Available also through the library of congress web site as a raster image.
It was a base of action for many rulers of india, notably the mughals. Bangladesh, country of south asia, located in the delta of the padma ganges and jamuna brahmaputra rivers in the northeastern part of the indian subcontinent. The hamid karzai presidency, nato takeover, and taliban resurgence. Usecase example, in their driving licenses, it may say caucasian. Afghanistanpashtun 42%, tajik 27%, hazara 9%, uzbek 9%, aimaks 4%, turkmen 3%, baloch 2%, others 4%albaniaalbanian 95%, greeks 3%, other 2%. The key to leaving a somewhat stable afghanistan in a reasonable time frame was improving governance and the rule of law, in order to reduce corruption. Although soviet union occupation plays a role in the disaster, afghanistan has many different ethnic groups, resulting in the major struggles between them, which leads towards violence, and hatred. Pashtuns make up an estimated 42% of the population of contemporary afghanistan. A cultural and political history by thomas barfield is a learned, detailed, well written book by an anthropologist, not a historian. Afghanistan and pakistan ethnic groups national geographic.
From up north, i like to think of the two countries as close cousins. Jul 29, 2010 the southwest asian landmass consisting of afghanistan and pakistan entails a complex geodemographic configuration. It is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, and its people are predominantly muslim. Route clearance rc operations for operation enduring freedom in afghanistan are much different from rc operations for operation iraqi freedom in terms of the terrain, seasonal weather, level of infrastructure, volume of insurgent threats, sources of. During the nineteenth century, afghanistan struggled.
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