Afghans in India
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This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2012) |
| Total population |
|---|
| 10,000 |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Delhi |
| Languages |
| Religion |
| Related ethnic groups |
Afghans in India are a large community numbering up to 10,000.[1] Most are recent Hindu and Sikh refugees who fled the Taliban regime and political instability back in Afghanistan; they are concentrated in and around Delhi. Muslim families account for only 10% of Afghan nationals in India, although recent migration has seen a boost in numbers.
Apart from citizens and expatriates, there are hundreds of Muslim communities in India which trace their ancestries back to Afghan Pashtun forefathers. Before the founding of the modern state of Afghanistan, Afghan used to be synonymous with Pashtuns, and there's been much history of Pashtun people that have been in India, and Indian Muslims that claim to be of Pashtun descent (however some have moved to Pakistan).
Tribal divisions among Pashtuns maybe important, for example the Pashtun rulers that were the Khilji,Lodi,Suri dynasty were Ghilzais as opposed to many Indian Muslim communities that call themselves Yusufzai, a Pashtun tribal branch distinct from the Ghilzais.
Currently, there are no or very few Ethnic Afghans (excluding modern Afghanistani nationalities) that retained their culture in India, except for a few in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region that India has claims over. NWFP was incorporated into India by the British empire's campaigns against Afghanistan, where Frontier province Pashtuns were known as Afghans of India, however it is now part of Pakistan. Kader Khan is a notable example of a Pashtun who was born on the British side of the Durand line and moved to Mumbai post partition, thus being an Indian only national with Pashtun culture, as he is still knowledgeable of Pashto.
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History [edit]
Ancient Era [edit]
The Aryan invasion says likely that the origin of Aryans likely came from Afghanistan, then moved into India. Another source states that Aryans were heavily concentrated as many tribes in Nurestan. Interestingly is also clues the origin of Sanskrit, and the idea of Indo-Iranians, where Zoroaster is likely thought to be of such an ethnic group based on the convergence between Sanskrit and Avestan, and the divergence between Nuristani languages and the typical Indo-Aryan languages such as Hindi and Urdu.
There have been a connection between Afghanistan and India. Known kingdoms during the Mahajanapadas were Kambojas which constitutes Nuristan and Gandhara which constitutes Peshawar.
Pashtun [edit]
The history of Afghans in India is ambiguous since in the medieval era, Afghan and Pashtun were synonymous, meaning that the other ethnic groups in Afghanistan such as Tajiks and Hazaras were not considered Afghan in the past[Citation Required]. So in general, this means that in the past, any mentioning of Afghan means Pashtun, and not as a nationality since no such state of "Afghanistan" existed however the region constituting Afghanistan has been connected with India, since the start of the Mauryan dynasty to the end of the Mughal empire, where Afghanistan was connected with India. So really, Afghanistan in the past meant the land directly south of Kabul, denoting Pashtun territories, excluding non-Pashtuns for being Afghan. The rise the Durrani Empire is what caused the adoption of the term Afghan by non-Pashtuns, which is what led to the change of such a demonym.
Georgraphic region of present day Afghanistan [edit]
Apart from Pashtuns, when considering the Afghan geographic region itself apart from the synonym with Pashtun, dynasties that was controlled part of the Indian subcontinent are as fallows: Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids up until the Delhi Sultanate, all have which centered in a city that falls in present day Afghanistan, and not necessarily ethnic Pashtun dynasties.
Indians of Ethnic Afghan descent (old definition) [edit]
Also note that many Pashtun Indian Muslims have moved to Pakistan after the partition of India and then became citizens of Pakistan.
See: Rohillas, Pathans of Uttar Pradesh, Pathans of Bihar, Pathans of Punjab, Pathans of Rajasthan, Pathans of Gujarat
Indians of National Afghan descent (new definition) [edit]
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (November 2012) |
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References [edit]
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