The nation is composed of a multiethnic and multilingual society, reflecting. The economist explains the roots of afghanistans tribal tensions. The history of afghanistan is a history of war and conflict even up to present day. Magazine article geographical a people forged in war. Thomas barfield introduces readers to the bewildering diversity of tribal and ethnic groups in afghanistan, explaining. Final afghan election results show hazara minority trumped. Mar 16, 2011 the dominant ethnic group there is the pashtuns, who have experienced a long series of wars and other major disruptions since the 1970s. What is most remarkable in the study of afghanistans ethnic groups is the disparity in who gets studied and who does not.
Afghanistan ethnic origins and languages afghanistans web site. Thus, the dominant language in the cities is a persian dialect known as dari. Based in kandahar in southwestern afghanistan, the taliban gained crucial early support from. Pashto is the native tongue of the pashtuns, the dominant ethnic group in afghanistan. They live mainly in the south and the east of the country. Islamabad militants in pakistans most populous province are said to be training for what they expect will be an ethnicbased civil war in neighboring afghanistan after foreign forces. He has spent the past decade researching and writing about security, political, humanitarian and cultural issues in pakistan, afghanistan, and the pashtun heartland along the border region where he was born. Though their exact numbers are uncertain and as with other communities are contested, previous estimates have suggested that they make up around 42 per cent of the population. 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. The ethnic groups have adapted to mountains, deserts, grasslands, and forests, while on the coasts of asia, resident ethnic groups have adopted various methods of harvest and transport. In central asia, russians are found primarily in northern. Afghanistan is home not only to several religious sects but also to a host of different ethnic, linguistic, and tribal groups. Apr 12, 2016 an approximate distribution of the ethnic groups is shown in the chart below.
Pashtun make up the largest ethnic group in afghanistan, followed by tajiks, hazara, uzbek, aimaks, baloch, and others. On this map, both the baloch and pashtun ethnolinguistic groups straddle the 2640kilometer 1640mile border between afghanistan and pakistan, known as the durand line. Ethnic groups and national unity in afghanistan by emadi. That ethnic group accounts for between 40 percent and 50 percent of. The population of the country is divided into the following ethnolinguistic groups. 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. Other major tribes include the wardak, jaji, tani, jadran, mangal, khugiani, safi, mohmand and shinwari. Tribally organized, the pathan are concentrated in the east and the south.
Measuring perceptions about the pashtun people center. Afghans confront sensitive issue of ethnicity afghanistan is set to issue new national ids that will have a persons ethnicity embedded in it. Pir roshan is believed to have written a number of pashto books while fighting with the mughals. Here youll find current best sellers in books, new releases in books, deals in books, kindle ebooks, audible audiobooks, and so much more. Pushtuns are the dominant ethnic group making up about 38 per cent of the population, followed by tajiks 25 per cent, hazaras 19 per cent, uzbeks 6 per cent and many other ethnic communities such as turkman, baluch, aimaq, qirghiz, nuristami, arab, hindu and others. Ethnic composition of afghanistan afghanistan is a multiethnic country with an. The country contains about a dozen ethnic groups, whose. Pashtun the pashtun are the dominant ethnic group in afghanistan and account for over half of the population.
If we talk about ethnic groups in haiti we wont find that many ethnicities there. Pashtuns they are also known as afghans and the name afghanistan translates to land of the afghans, equally meaning land of the pashtuns. 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. The professor said that a large number of uzbek people also live there. Afghanistans urban gardens are changing womens lives asia. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our favorite reads. More recently, the pashtuns gained global attention during the 1980s soviet war in afghanistan and with the rise of the taliban, since they are the main ethnic contingent in the movement. What is most remarkable in the study of afghanistan s ethnic groups is the disparity in who gets studied and who does not. Afghanistan is a large country in south asia and is home to many different ethnic groups. First columbus and other discoverers made original haitians extinct in less than a century.
Especially those that enjoy targeting afghanistan in order to disrupt its ethnic diversity refering to readers from dubai, etc. The arabs introduced islam in the 7th century and the turks briefly made afghanistan the center of islamic power and civilization at the beginning of the 11th century. Sunni muslim 84%, shia muslim 15%, other hindu, jewish, christians 1%. Islam is the religion of more than 99% of afghanistans citizens. Pashtun, tajik, hazara, uzbek, aymaq, turkmen, baloch, pashai, nuristani, gujjar, arab, brahui, pamiri and a few others. The study and understudy of afghanistans ethnic groups. As they gained control over the rest of the country in the 19th century, however, many of them settled in other areas too. Aug 14, 2011 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. 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. Afghanistans 2004 constitution recognizes 14 ethnic groups. Their unity soon made them the dominant ethnic group in the region. The book, titled the second water bearer, compares ahmad shah masud. For over 300 years, they reigned as the dominant ethnic group in afghanistan with nearly all rulers being pashtun.
Jan 18, 2020 back when ustad nadir was probably mapping his future life in mid20thcentury afghanistan, becoming a military officer was for pashtuns only, who held a monopoly on social privilege as the politically dominant ethnic group. Perceiving them as a formidable ethnic group, the pakistani establishment has. The baltis are an ethnic group of tibetan descent with some dardic admixture in gilgitbaltistan, pakistan and ladakh. The books homepage helps you explore earths biggest bookstore without ever leaving the comfort of your couch. Hindkowans is a general term applied to the inhabitants of the hazara division of khyber pakhtunkhwa province of pakistan. Their homeland lies south of the hindu kush, but pashtun groups live in all parts of the country. The pashtuns founded the kingdom of afghanistan in 1747, and have been the dominant ethnic group in the country ever since. The pashtun element in afghan society openedition books. Is power in afghanistan returning to ethnic fault lines. Life as one of the most persecuted ethnic groups on the. Even though afghanistan had signed the 1946 universal declaration for human rights, the liberty, dignity and equality. Afghanistan is set to issue new national ids that will have a persons.
But the culture of pashtuns, the dominant ethnic group in eastern afghanistan, imposes so many restrictions on women, far more than islam, he says. Final afghan election results show hazara minority trumped dominant pashtuns. What little academic research has been undertaken about pashtuns during this period is sorely outdated. Ethnic groups of pakistan simple english wikipedia, the. They were the taino people, indigenous folks that had no way to defend.
The pashtuns pushtuns, who make up more then half the population, have traditionally been the dominant ethnic group. The crisis and politics of ethnicity in afghanistan. The population of afghanistan includes many different ethnic groups. This particular table was made by historian rimantas zizas, translated by true lithuania. Due to afghanistans multiethnic character, multilingualism is a common phenomenon. Afghanistan and pakistan ethnic groups national geographic. As the largest ethnic group in afghanistan anywhere between 42 and 60 percent of the population, pashtuns have been the. They are the worlds largest tribal culture and the dominant ethnic group in afghanistan, but they have a reputation in the west as fearsome warriors from whom the taliban emerged. The vicepresident and cofounder of the afghanistan relief committee, and a professor of anthropology at indiana university, both stated that persons of the turkoman ethnic group live in the town of aqcha 16 feb.
More recently, the pashtuns gained global attention during the 1980s soviet war in afghanistan and with the rise of the taliban, since they are the main ethnic contingent in. Both karzai and the taliban are pashtun, afghanistans dominant ethnic group, which makes up about 45 percent of the countrys population, writes galbraith, a former diplomat. Ethnic groups of afghanistan colonel by secondary school. Just south of the aral sea, the dominant ethnic group is the. Ethnicity, space, and politics in afghanistan scholarlycommons. 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.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Available also through the library of congress web site as a raster image. But what is actually known about these ethnic groups in terms of their culture. Pashtuns distinguish between two main groups of elders. Pakistan militants may be training for war in afghanistan. Formerly mixed areas of the afghan capital are becoming segregated as fears of civil war loom. 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. Dari, the language of the elite in afghanistan, is a dialect of modern persian. Ethnic supremacy seeing revival in afghanistan asia times.
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 dominant ethnic group there is the pashtuns, who have experienced a long series of wars and other major disruptions since the 1970s. The types of diversity in asia are cultural, religious, economic and historical. Despite a plethora of books about afghanistan in the last few years, a good book on the. Loosely associated persian tribes became a more cohesive political unit under the achaemenian dynasty. The ethnic groups have adapted to mountains, deserts, grasslands, and forests. The area falls in between the proper pashtun districts of the province, the northern punjab and kashmir. Here youll find current best sellers in books, new releases in books, deals in books, kindle. This was a major shift in the balance of power in afghanistan wherein. The pashtuns are a significant minority group in pakistan, where they constitute the secondlargest ethnic group or about 15% of the population.
French and german and does not take into consideration books and. Such ethnic composition, with russians and jews the two dominant ethnicities, was common in most of lithuanias genuinely prosoviet institutions and organizations of the early 1940s. Afghanistans ethnic divides abubakar siddique senior correspondent covering afghanistan and pakistan for rferls. In terms of asian people, there is an abundance of ethnic groups in asia, with adaptations to the climate zones of the continent, which include arctic, subarctic, temperate, subtropical or tropical, as well as extensive desert regions in central and western asia. Pashtun, tajik, hazara, uzbek, baloch, turkmen, nuristani, pamiri, arab, gujar. In 1747, the pashtun, the dominant ethnic group in afghanistan, established their dynasty. The kharoti clan are the second largest ghilzai pashtun tribal group. Back when ustad nadir was probably mapping his future life in mid20thcentury afghanistan, becoming a military officer was for pashtuns only, who held a monopoly on social privilege as the politically dominant ethnic group. Afghanistan traces the historic struggles and the changing nature of political authority in. The fragmented state of the more than 35 million pashtuns in pakistan and afghanistan is a key factor in this crisis. Afghanistan ethnic origins and languages afghanistans. 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 border was established in 1893 via an agreement between abdur rahman khan, the emir or ruler of afghanistan, and sir mortimer durand, foreign secretary of the british raj.
The pashtuns ethnic afghans make up the largest ethnic group in afghanistan, comprising between 38% and 42% of the countrys population. In afghanistan, everything is divided according to population size of the ethnicities, he says. An approximate distribution of the ethnic groups is shown in the chart below. A recent pashtun diaspora has also developed in the arab states of the persian gulf, primarily in the united arab emirates. Which equatorial african country has no dominant ethnic groups. The dominant group in afghanistans polyethnic system is the pashtu speaking, which constitute up to 40% of the countrys total population liberman, 1980. They are divided into tribal and subtribal groups to which they remain loyal. Afghanistans urban gardens are changing womens lives. The persianspeaking ethnic groups, as well as the turkic minorities, live in. The taliban forced tens of thousands of shiite muslims to flee into the mountains during their. All told, 14 recognised ethnic groups live in afghanistan today.
Their main territory, sometimes called pashtunistan, by whom. The pathan pashtun people form the dominant ethnic and linguistic community, accounting for just over half the population. The most important ethnic group in afghanistan is the. Thus, it is a transitional area where the hindko dialect, or language, is mostly spoken, with a little pashto and other languages. Pashtuns also called pushtan, paktun or pathan are the largest ethnic group in afghanistan. 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.
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. Dec 31, 2009 is power in afghanistan returning to ethnic fault lines. Measuring perceptions about the pashtun people center for. Afghan afghanistan dar masiiri ahmad amanullah amir arab areas army authority azerbaijanis bahais baluch baluchistan bhutto british bureaucratic canfield central century clergy clerical conflict constitution cultural daoud dominant economic elite establishment ethnic groups forces foreign ghilzai ghubar habibullah hazaras identity ideology. The races of afghanistan was written towards the end of, and shortly after, the second. Bahais baluch baluchistan bhutto british bureaucratic canfield central century clergy clerical conflict constitution cultural daoud dominant economic elite establishment ethnic groups forces foreign ghilzai ghubar habibullah. In pakistan they mainly live in major urban centres of lahore, karachi and islamabadrawalpindi. Parallels eleven candidates are trying to replace hamid karzai in the april 5 election. Tribalism is not a feature of every ethnic group in afghanistan. The pashtuns also pukhtuns or pushtuns, historically known as ethnic afghans or pathans, are. Afghanistan is a multiethnic and mostlytribal society. The great majority of pashtuns live in the countryside, while the afghan cities are more influenced by persian civilisation and culture.
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