Thought to be the third largest ethnic group in afghanistan estimates suggest they make up 1520% of afghanistan s population, which is thought to be about 30 million at least 600,000. Thus we are privileged to see the landscape, the people, and rulers, the events through different eyes. There is no true written history of the pashtun in their own land. They claim to be descendants of alexander the great. By the mid1990s many of the refugees returned restoring the pashtuns to their status of the largest ethnic group in afghanistan constituting about 45% of the population. Pashtun, tajik, hazara, uzbek, other includes smaller numbers of baloch. List of books and articles about afghan history online. Afghanistan has no reliable population data, but hazaras are considered the countrys third largest ethnic group and the only one that is predominantly shiite. Largely shia by religion and farsispeaking, the hazaras traditionally inhabited central afghanistan although because of the war they are now scattered in large numbers across the country and in neighbouring countries as well. Pashtuns they are also known as afghans and the name afghanistan translates to land of the afghans, equally meaning land of the pashtuns. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in afghanistan. In 2017 afghanistan s growth rate was only marginally above that of the 20142016 average. At least two major ethnic groups the pashtuns and the baluchslive on both sides of the durand line. Despite its small size, there are 19 monographs books and doctoral.
The pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in afghanistan. The hazaras are the third largest ethnic group, then the uzbeks, aimak, turkmen, baluch, nuristani and other small groups. Hazara afghans are persian speaking and live mainly in central afghanistan and comprise the third largest ethnic group of the country. Largely shiia by religion and farsispeaking, the hazaras traditionally inhabited central afghanistan. In the eastern and south central portions afghans or pashtuns, who make up the countrys largest ethnic group, are dominant, and baluchis live in the extreme south.
Afghanistan adds a third element, the nomad, representing up to 30% of the total population. Mar 28, 2012 pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in afghanistan, accounting for about 42 percent of the population, with tajiks 27%, hazaras 9%, uzbeks 9%, aimaqs 4%, turkmen people 3%, baluch 2%, and other groups 4% making up the remainder. Apr 12, 2016 the tajik resistance fighters were very influential in the socalled northern alliance that cooperated with us and coalition forces to oust the taliban. Reading guide from the honey thief penguin random house. Ethnic identity and genealogies program for culture and. They are mostly shiite muslims and comprise the third largest ethnic group of afghanistan, forming about 18% according to other sources up to 25% of the total population. Chinas capital is beijing, its current president is. Report from afghanistan a continuing series of firstperson. May 21, 20 life as one of the most persecuted ethnic groups on the planet. To secure justice for minority or majority groups suffering. Afghanistan s ethnic diversity does not mean that the members of the different ethnic groups do not interact. There are several other smaller ethnic groups scattered around the country, such as the nuristanis, who live in the remote mountains northeast of kabul along the pakistan border. The pashtuns are the largest ethnic group of afghanistan constituting between 40% to 50% of the total population of the country.
After suffering under the taliban, an afghan minority. Descended from the third son of qais, the father of all pashtuns, the ghilzai. The stories of afghanistans people, culture and history that comprise the honey thief are masterfully. Pashtun peoples are the largest ethnic group in the south of the country, while tajiks and uzbeks are concentrated along the norther borders, and the hazara in the central highlands. After centuries of discrimination, abuse, and even ethnic cleansing, the countrys third largest ethnic group has at last managed to find peace and even prosperity in the new afghanistan. Many more live now in western pakistan due to the imposition, in 1893, by the british, of an artificial frontier between the two countries the durrani. The third largest ethnic group, the turkmen, are dispersed throughout the country, especially in the major city centers of. The tajik form the second largest ethnic group in afghanistan. Pashtun introduction, location, language, folklore. Afghanistan is bordered by iran on the west, by pakistan on the east and south, and by turkmenistan, uzbekistan, and tajikistan on the north. This is a study of the second largest but least wellknown ethnic group in afghanistan. Traditionally, the word afghan has been used to describe an ethnic group, also known as the pashtuns, yet the country is multicultural. According to 2010 data from the us department of state, the largest ethnic group in afghanistan is the pashtun including kuchis, comprising 42% of afghans. A third group, large and more educated, lives in kabul where they have enjoyed economic success and political influence.
Pashtun make up the largest ethnic group in afghanistan, followed by tajiks, hazara, uzbek, aimaks, baloch, and others. Chinas economy retreats, with pandemic causing biggest gdp drop in decades. Life as one of the most persecuted ethnic groups on the. In a land of many ethnic groups, the pashtuns are more equal than the rest. By country listing of the values for the ethnic groups field. The taliban and now the neotaliban are successful in mobilising sunni muslim pashtun because they themselves are largely a. An ethnic group is defined as a social group that is set apart and bound together by common ties of race, language, nationality, customs, beliefs, or culture, within a larger population.
Veronica was a little girl when we were political exiles in london. Even with this help, government of afghanistan still faces number of challenges, including low revenue collection, anemic job creation, high levels of corruption, weak government capacity, and poor public infrastructure. Report hazaras and afghan insurgent groups landinfo. Pashtun culture pashtuns are the most common out of all the different ethnic groups in afghanistan 42% total population of afghanistan. Afghan demographics ethnic advertising strategies diversity. That ethnic group accounts for between 40 percent and 50 percent of.
The tool used to assess the availability of studies on afghanistan s ethnic groups is the most recent edition of the afghanistan analyst bibliography, which covers sources from the late 1950s to the present. Taliban massacre based on ethnicity the washington post. In afghanistan, there are several ethnic and linguistic groups and also there are several islamic sects who live in this country and they are organized in a. China has the largest population of any country in the world. Afghan ethnic tensions rise in media and politics the. The pashtun are the largest minority, making up some 38 percent of the population, but like the tajik 25 percent, hazara 19 percent and uzbek 6 percent they are part of a group whose majority lives in another country. Angloafghan war occurred at the beginning of his reign during may. Ethnicity, space, and politics in afghanistan scholarlycommons. They speak the hazaragi variant of persian, one of the two official languages of afghanistan. Smaller concentrations of tajiks live in herat province on the western border with iran. The third largest ethnic group, the turkmen, are dispersed throughout the. They speak a variant of the dari language known as the hazaragi.
Dari, also called farsi afghan persian, pashto afghan, and various turkic tongues mainly uzbek and turkmen are the countrys principal languages. A third point on which the 1947 state department memorandums analysis. Other minority ethnic groups in afghanistan afghan network. The number of people in the iranian ethnic group is believed to be between 160,000,000 and 190,000,000. The most well known ethnic groups that make up the people of afghanistan. Ethnic issues appear to loom largest with older people who witnessed the civil war firsthand, while younger peoples attitudes are more. The majority of afghanistan s population consists of two ethnic groups. According to 2010 data from the us department of state, the largest ethnic group in afghanistan is the pashtun. They reside mainly in the hazarajat region in central afghanistan.
State university and author of several books on afghan literature. Ethnic supremacy seeing revival in afghanistan asia times. Afghan ethnicities presentation notes flashcards quizlet. Persianspeaking group who make up the third largest ethnic group in afghanistan cia us intelligence agency who funded the isi and mujahideen training camps and. Available also through the library of congress web site as a raster image. They are the third largest ethnic group in afghanistan, also making up a significant minority group in the neighboring pakistan, with a population of between 650,000 and 900,000, largely living in the region of quetta. The pashtunistan issue and politics in afghanistan, 19471952 jstor.
There is a substantial amount of intermarriage between the ethnic groups. Afghan ethnic tensions rise in media and politics the new. Although the taliban fought its way to dominance under a unifying banner of islam, in ethnic terms its rule represents a return to the precommunist days of rule by pashtuns, afghanistan s largest. The hazaras have recently come into a more influential position within the countrys. The study and understudy of afghanistans ethnic groups. First, as abdulkader sinno explains, the control of afghanistan is predicated upon support from the pashtun, the largest ethnic group in afghanistan, and one that only the taliban have been successful in mobilising since 1978. Ethnic groups of afghanistan colonel by secondary school. The punjabi diaspora numbers around 10 million, mainly concentrated in. To secure justice for minority or majority groups suffering discrimination, by. Afghanistan is a large country in south asia and is home to many different ethnic groups. Pashtuns, afghanistans largest ethnic group and a sizeable minority group in.
The estimated population of afghanistan is 30 million. The following is a list of massacres that have occurred against hazara people, who are overwhelmingly twelver shia muslims and make up the third largest ethnic group in afghanistan. The population of afghanistan is around 37,5,635 in 2019, which includes the roughly 3 million afghan citizens living as refugees in both pakistan and iran. Dec 16, 2019 this includes the kalasha, polytheists who offer animal sacrifices in seasonal celebrations, secluded along the afghanistanpakistan border. Afghans to alter the government the new york times. Because of the war they are now scattered across the country and in neighboring countries in large numbers as well. Afghanistan race, ethnicity and tribes by tessa friman on.
The hazaras are twelver shia muslims and are the third largest ethnic group in afghanistan and a significant majority group in pakistan. Afghanistan is home not only to several religious sects but also to a host of different ethnic, linguistic, and tribal groups. Books contact us students faculty staff alumni nps. The kurds, the secondlargest ethnic group at approximately 20 percent of iraqs population, are mostly sunnis. Pashtuns comprise the largest ethnic group in afghanistan and have dominated the government for centuries. He has written several books and articles published in various academic journals on the. They are overwhelmingly shia muslims and comprise the third largest ethnic group of afghanistan, forming ca.
Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in afghanistan, contributing to over twofifths of the entire population. The nation is composed of a multi ethnic and multilingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between central asia, southern asia, and western asia. Report from afghanistan a continuing series of firstperson accounts. They are native to the hazaristan area in central afghanistan. Top 10 largest ethnic groups in the world omg top tens list. The countrys other groups include the uzbek, aimaq, turkmen, nuristani, baloch, pashayi and a few others. Throughout the 20th century, successive pashtunled regimes in afghanistan targeted the hazaras, the countrys third largest ethnic group, making up about 20 percent of the population. A particular ethnic group is trying to remain dominant, said asar hakimi, an adviser to the station. An approximate distribution of the ethnic groups is shown in the chart below. The countrys largest national ethnic group completely disappeared from its culture. The hazaras, making up the third largest ethnic group in afghanistan, speak a variety of persian by the name of hazaragi, which is more precisely a part of the dari dialect continuum.
They are the thirdlargest ethnic group in afghanistan, also making up a. Pakistan and afghanistan institute for the study of war. Punjabis are one of the largest ethnic groups in both the pakistani and indian diasporas. With an area of 3,705,407 square miles, it is either the third largest after russia and canada or fourth largest after russia, canada, and the united states country in the world depending on how it is counted. Hazara, the third largest ethnic group of afghanistan, after the pashtuns and the tajiks, who represent nearly a fifth of the total population. Hazaras are shia muslims and make up the third largest ethnic group in afghanistan. The majority of afghanistans population consists of two ethnic groups. 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.
The soviet invasion of december 1979 has been the major determining factor in afghanistans ethnic relations since that point in time. What will happen to afghanistans national languages. Persianspeaking group who make up the third largest ethnic group in afghanistan cia us intelligence agency who funded the isi and mujahideen training camps and sent weapons mk60s, tanks, etc to the soldiers there. Ahmad shah masoud, afghanistan s revered taliban resistance leader who was assassinated in 2001, was a native son of this valley. Over half a million hazaras live in neighboring pakistan especially in the city of quetta and a similar number in iran. 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. Feb 19, 2014 afghan ethnic tensions rise in media and politics.
Islam is the religion of more than 99% of afghanistans citizens. Ethnic groups in afghanistan ethnic group 20042014 estimate pashtun 42% tajik 27% of this 1% are qizilbash hazara 8% uzbek 9% aimaq 4% turkmen 3% baloch 2% others pashayi, nuristani, arab, brahui, pamiri, gurjar, etc. A cultural and political history by thomas barfield is a learned, detailed, well written book by an anthropologist, not a historian. Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in afghanistan, comprising 42 percent of the population or. A third exception is the attack on hazaras in kabul in july 2016 referred to above. Tribalism is not a feature of every ethnic group in afghanistan. Hazara the hazara people are a persianspeaking people.
They reside in the uplands of the northeast of the country. Afghanistan is set to issue new national ids that will have a persons ethnicity. Tajiks are the second largest ethnic group, making up about onefifth of the population. In the 1990s, the taliban government repressed the hazaraexcluding them politically, isolating them economically, and killing more than 1,000during the civil war that erupted after the 1989 soviet withdrawal. 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. Multilingualism is common throughout the country, especially in the major cities. Angloafghan war occurred at the beginning of his reign during may 1919 and. Identity and nation in iraq lynne rienner publishers. They are the third largest ethnic group in the country. This, accordingly, lowered the percentage of pashtuns inside afghanistan temporarily and raised the percentages of the countrys other ethnic groups. The third largest ethnic group in afghanistan is the uzbeks, a turkic ethnic. They are predominantly shiite muslims, rather than the majority. The hazaras are the third largest ethnic group in afghanistan.
Afghanistan simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This entry provides an ordered listing of ethnic groups starting with the largest and normally includes the percent of total population. Linguistically the hazara speak a dialect of daripersian, known as hazaragi, and sometimes their variant is interspersed with some turkic and mongolic words. Ethnic cleansing is the attempt to get rid ofthrough deportation, displacement or even mass killingmembers of an unwanted ethnic group in order to establish an ethnically homogenous. What is most remarkable in the study of afghanistan s ethnic groups is the disparity in who gets studied and who does not. The kharoti clan are the second largest ghilzai pashtun tribal group. Afghan tajik live mainly in the panjsher valley north of kabul and in the northern and northeastern provinces of parwan, takhar, badakhshan, and also baghlan and samangan. They mostly live in the south and east of afghanistant. Persians are the worlds largest ethnic group that adheres to shiite islam ethnic diversity in afghanistan pashtun, tajik, and hazara are ethnic groups. These people live in the parts of the countries such as iran, afghanistan, tajikistan, iraq, pakistan, turkey iraq and caucasus. Their name most probably derives from the persian word hazar, which means thousand, and may be the translation of the mongol word ming or minggan, a tribalmilitary unit of soldiers of the mongol army at the time of genghis khan bacon. For decades, tehran has supported the hazara, a shia minority and the third largest ethnic group in afghanistan. But what is actually known about these ethnic groups in terms of their culture. Ethnic identity and genealogies program for culture and conflict.
In the present study, eight ethnic groups were examined, with a focus on the largest four groups. These ehtnic groups have obvious dissimilarity, despite collectively residing in the region for hundreds of years. Ethnicization of politics in afghanistan by hamidullah. Pashtun also spelled pushtun, pakhtun, pashtoon, pathan are a people who live in southeastern afghanistan and the northwestern province of pakistan. The hazaras are an ethnic group that lives mainly in central afghanistan. They constitute the ethnic majority in afghanistan. The kurds, the second largest ethnic group at approximately 20 percent of iraqs population, are mostly sunnis. What is most remarkable in the study of afghanistans ethnic groups is. French and german and does not take into consideration books and. Iran and afghanistans long, complicated history united.
Afghanistan is a loosily knit conglomeration of number of ethnic groups, chief of whom are pashtuns, tajiks, uzbeks and hazaras. Though they are the third largest ethnic group in afghanistan, hazara are also historically among the most discriminated againstin particular, the majority shiite hazara. The punjabi diaspora refers to the descendants of ethnic punjabis who emigrated out of the punjab region in the northern part of the indian subcontinent to the rest of the world. The iranian people are on the seventh spot in our list of the top ten largest ethnic groups in the world. Three girls from the hazara ethnic group sit in a cave in bamiyan, afghanistan on december 15, 2001. Aug 06, 2007 after centuries of discrimination, abuse, and even ethnic cleansing, the countrys third largest ethnic group has at last managed to find peace and even prosperity in the new afghanistan. The dari and pashto are the official languages of afghanistan. Demographics top at least two major ethnic groupsthe pashtuns and the baluchslive on both sides of the durand line. More than twothirds of the population is under the age of 30. These ethnic groups of afghanistan have their own way of living, defined by unwritten code. Jun 22, 2018 afghanistan it is estimated that hazaras are the third largest ethnic group in afghanistan, although no official census has ever been taken to produce a correct figure.
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