Hazara

The Hazara are an ethnic group who reside mainly in the central Afghanistan mountain region, called Hazarajat or Hazaristan. Because of a lack of accurate census data, as well as a history of centuries of discrimination, estimates of the size of the Hazara population vary greatly and are highly politicized. Estimates range from as low as 9-15% (CIA Sourcebook) to as high as 19-25% (BBC) of Afghanistan's population, but the lack of an accurate census for decades means that there is little verifiable information at present. Significant populations of Hazaras also exist in Pakistan and Iran.

History and origins

One theory states that the Hazara seem to have mainly Mongolian origins with some Caucasoid admixture, as evidenced by physical attributes and parts of their culture and language. It is commonly believed that the Hazara are descendants of the army of Genghis Khan, which marched into the area in the 12th century, but there are also beliefs holding Hazaras as descendents of the Koshanis, the ancient dwellers of Afghanistan famous for constructing the Buddhas of Bamiyan; or Hazaras as people of Turkic origin. Proponents of the Mongol view hold that many of the Mongol soldiers and their families settled in the area and remained there after the Mongol Empire dissolved in the 13th century, converting to Islam and adopting local customs (cultural diffusion).

However, the main Mongolian mixing theory is contested on the basis of historical events surrounding Genghis Khan's invasion of what today constitutes central Afghanistan. The invading Mongol armies encountered fierce resistance from the locals around Bamiyan, who had Asian features like the invading Mongols. This suggests that people with Mongolian features inhabited central Afghanistan, possibly of Uyghur Turkic origin, long before Genghis Khan's invasion and probably arrived there in much earlier waves of migration out of Central Asia.

Historical records also mention that in a particularly bloody battle around Bamiyan, Genghis Khan's grandson Motochin was killed. He ordered Bamiyan burnt to the ground in retribution, renaming it Ma-Obaliq ("Uninhabitable Abode").

After the fall of the Il-Khan empire in Persia, the Safavid Shah Abbas drove out the Mongols from Persia to Khorasan (present-day Afghanistan). Some sources say he drove out the Uzbeks but the distinction is unclear. Around 1550, the first mention of Hazaras are made by the court historians of Shah Abbas, as well as in the Baburnama distinguishing Hazaras from the Chughtai Uzbeks. This is when the national identity of Hazaras apparently began.

The Global Gene Project reported over a quarter of their sample Hazara males in Pakistan have the Y chromosome of Genghis Khan. ^*^*

Language

The Hazaragi language is a unique dialect of the Persian language, with some Mongolian and Turkish vocabulary. Hazaragi is categorized in the Indo-European language family, and 16% to 20% of Afghans speak it. Many of the urban Hazaras in the larger cities of Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif speak Dari, while Hazaras from the Dai Kundi and Dai Zangi regions have the many admixture of the Mongolian in their language. Hazaras in Pakistan date back to around 1890, and use more Urdu and English words.

Religion

Hazaras are predominantly Shiite Muslims, although there are significant populations of Sunni and Ismaili Hazaras in north and northwestern Afghanistan. Often Sunni Hazaras can blur the lines with the Tajiks and Pashtuns.

Political

Since the early 1990s, most Hazaras are members of the Hizb-e-Wahdat political party. The most influential member, prior to his capture and execution by the Taliban, was Abdul Ali Mazari. His death made him the symbolic leader of many of the Hazara people.

Migration

Besides the major populations of Hazaras in Quetta, Pakistan and Iran, there are signifiant communities in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US, the UK and particularly the Northern European countries such as Sweden and Denmark. Many Hazara youth have migrated in particular to Australia, legally through education or work visas, or as refugees without visas. The most notorious case was the MV Tampa incident ^* in which a shipload of refugees, mostly Hazaras, were rescued by the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa and subsequently sent to Nauru, where many refugee claims were rejected by Australia, and to New Zealand, where all claims but one were approved. Refugees in Quetta have set up a remittance economy which has led to the opening of foreign money exchange places to handle the currency coming in.

A recent anthropological book, War and migration : social networks and economic strategies of the Hazaras of Afghanistan by Alessandro Monsutti argues that migration is in fact the traditional way of life of the Hazara people, referring to the seasonal and historical migrations which have never ceased and do not seem to be dictated only by emergency situations such as war.

External links

Ethnic groups in Afghanistan | Ethnic groups in Asia | Ethnic groups in Iran | Ethnic groups in Pakistan | Iranian peoples

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