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the extent of their Persianization can be discussed in the text of the article, however for the lead it is important that they are a Turco-Mongol people and not just a Mongol people.
Hazara898 (talk | contribs)
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we are not Turks. we are a mixed people and culturally we are Persianized. we are not Mongol either. best term for us is Mongoloid (resembling Mongols).
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The '''Hazāra''' are a [[Turkic peoples|Turco]]&#45;[[Mongoloid race|Mongoloid]] people who reside mainly in the central region of [[Afghanistan]], known as [[Hazarajat]]. They speak the [[Hazaragi language|Hazaragi]] variety of [[Persian language|Persian ]] and are predominantly [[Shia Islam|Shia]] [[Muslim]]s.<ref name="EncBrit">[[:wikisource:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Hazara (Race)|1911 Encyclopædia Britannica - Hazara (Race)]]</ref> They are the third largest [[ethnic group]] in Afghanistan and can also be found in large numbers in neighboring [[Iran]] and [[Pakistan]] and as [[diaspora]] around the world.
The '''Hazāra''' are a [[Persianization|Persianized]] [[Mongoloid race|Mongoloid]] people who reside mainly in the central region of [[Afghanistan]], known as [[Hazarajat]]. They speak the [[Hazaragi language|Hazaragi]] [[dialect]] of the [[Persian language]] and are predominantly [[Shia Islam|Shia]] [[Muslim]]s.<ref name="EncBrit">[[:wikisource:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Hazara (Race)|1911 Encyclopædia Britannica - Hazara (Race)]]</ref> They are the third largest [[ethnic group]] in Afghanistan and can also be found in large numbers in neighboring [[Iran]] and [[Pakistan]] and as [[diaspora]] around the world.


== Etymology ==
== Etymology ==

Revision as of 17:54, 24 January 2008

Hazaras
A Hazara boy in Mazar-e Sharif
Total population
ca. 3.5 to 4 million
Regions with significant populations
 Afghanistan2,870,000
(est. 9% of total)[1]
 Iran283,000
(not including recent war refugees)[2]
 Pakistan197,000
[2][3]
 Canada7,200
[4]
Languages
Persian
(Hazaragi and Dari dialects)
Religion
Islam (predominantly Shi'a)

The Hazāra are a Persianized Mongoloid people who reside mainly in the central region of Afghanistan, known as Hazarajat. They speak the Hazaragi dialect of the Persian language and are predominantly Shia Muslims.[5] They are the third largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and can also be found in large numbers in neighboring Iran and Pakistan and as diaspora around the world.

Etymology

The name of the Hazara people derives from the Persian word hazār, which means "thousand". The term originally was used to refer to the Mongol military unit of 1,000 but was later applied to a distinct group of people.[6]

Origins

There are several theories on the origins of the Hazaras. There are three main theories that are widely accepted by scholars and by Hazaras themselves: the Mongolian descent theory, the Hazaras as natives to the region theory, and the mixed origin theory.[7]

At least partial Mongol descent is difficult to reject since the Hazaras' physical attributes and parts of their culture and language resembles that of the Mongolians. Thus, it is widely accepted that Hazaras do have at least partial Mongolian ancestry. A Mongol element in the ancestry of the Hazara is supported by studies in genetic genealogy which have identified a particular lineage of the Y-chromosome characteristic of people of Mongolian descent ("the Y-chromosome of Genghis Khan"). This chromosome is virtually absent outside the limits of the Mongol Empire except among the Hazara people, where it reaches its highest frequency anywhere. About two thirds of the sample Hazara males carry a Y chromosome from this lineage.[8][9] The theories of Mongol descent or partial Mongol descent, are further strengthened given that the Il-Khanate Mongol rulers, beginning with Oljeitu, embraced Shia Islam. Today, almost all Hazaras adhere to Shiism, whereas Afghanistan's other ethnic groups are mostly Sunni.

However, the Mongol origin theory is somewhat 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 the Mongols themselves described as having physical features like the themselves.[citation needed] This suggests that people with Mongoloid features inhabited central Afghanistan long before Genghis Khan's invasion and probably arrived there in much earlier waves of migration.[citation needed] It is possible that Hazaras are descendants of the Kushans[10], the ancient dwellers of Afghanistan famous for constructing the Buddhas of Bamyan[11]; proponents of this view hold the geography of Hazara homeland and the similarity in the facial features of the Hazaras and those on the frescoes and Buddha's statues in Bamiyan.However, this belief is vitiated by historical records which mention that in a particularly bloody battle around Bamiyan, Genghis Khan's grandson Motochin was killed, and he ordered Bamiyan burnt to the ground in retribution, renaming it Ma-Obaliq ("Uninhabitable Abode") while replacing the local population with his armies and settlers.

The third theory also refutes the pure Mongol descent theory and maintains that Hazaras are a mixed race. According to this theory, Nikudari Mongols settled in eastern Persia and mixed with the native populations that spoke various Iranian languages.[7] Another version of this theory suggests that Chaghatai Mongols first came from Central Asia and followed by other Mongols, Turko-Mongols, Ilkhanates (that were driven out of Persia), and Timurids that settled in Hazarajat and mixed with the local Persian population forming a distinct group.[7]

Emergence of the Hazara nation

In the late 1500s, the first mention of Hazaras are made by the court historians of Shah Abbas of the Safavid dynasty and by Babur (Emperor of the Mughal Empire) in his Baburnama, referring to the people living from west of Kabul to Ghor, and south to Ghazni.[7] This when the national identity of the Hazaras apparently began.

Modern history

In their modern history, Hazaras have faced several wars and forced displacements. Since the beginnings of modern Afghanistan in the mid 18th century, Hazaras have faced persecution from the Pashtuns and have been forced to flee from many parts of today's Afghanistan to Hazarajat.[7] In the mid 18th century they were forced out of Helmand and the Arghandab basin of Kandahar.[7] In Dost Mohammad Khan's rule, Hazaras in Bamiyan and the Hazarajat area were heavily taxed. However, for the most part they still managed to keep their regional autonomy in Hazarajat.[7] This would soon change as the new Emir, Abdur Rahman Khan, was brought to power.

Subjugation by Abdur Rahman Khan

As the new Emir, Abdur Rahman set out a goal to bring Hazarajat under his control. After facing resistance from the Hazaras, he launched several campaigns in Hazarajat with many atrocities and ethnic polarization.[7] The southern part of Hazarajat was spared as they accepted Abdur Rahman's rule while the other parts of Hazarajat rejected Abdur Rahman and were supporting his uncle Sher Ali Khan and as a result had a war waged against them.[7]

The first Hazara uprising was in 1888. Abur Rahman's cousin, Mohammad Eshaq, revolted against him and the Hazaras joined the revolt. The revolt was short lived and crushed as the Emir extended his control over large parts of Hazarajat. Heavy taxes were imposed and Pashtun administrators were sent to Hazarajat where they subjugated the people with many abuses.[7] The people were disarmed, villages were looted, local tribal chiefs were imprisoned or executed, and the best lands were confiscated and given to Pashtun nomads (Kuchis).[7]

Another uprising occurred in 1892. The cause of the uprising was the rape of the wife of a Hazara chief by 33 Afghan soldiers. The soldiers had entered their house under the pretext of searching for weapons and raped the chief's wife in front of him.[12] The families of the Hazara chief and his wife retaliated against the humiliation and killed the soldiers and attacked the local garrison where they took back their weapons. Several other tribal chiefs who supported Abdur Rahman now turned against him and joined the rebellion which rapidly spread through the entire Hazarajat. In response to the rebellion, the Emir declared a "Jihad" against the Shiites and raised an army of 40,000 soldiers, 10,000 mounted troops, and 100,000 armed civilians (most of which where Pashtun nomads).[12] He also brought in British military advisers to assist his army.[12]

The large army defeated the rebellion at its center, in Oruzgan, by 1892 and the local population was severely massacred. According to S. A. Mousavi,

thousands of Hazara men, women, and children were sold as slaves in the markets of Kabul and Qandahar, while numerous towers of human heads were made from the defeated rebels as a warning to others who might challenge the rule of the Amir

File:Hazaraslave.jpg
An enslaved Hazara man in Abdur Rahman's court, pleading for mercy.

In response to the harsh repression, the Hazaras revolted again by early 1893. This revolt had taken the government forces by surprise and the Hazaras managed to take most of Hazarajat back. However even after months of fighting, they were eventually defeated due to a shortage of food. Small pockets of resistance continued to the end of the year as government troops committed atrocities against civilians and deported entire villages.[12]

Abdur Rahman's subjugation of the Hazaras during this period gave birth to strong hatred between the Pashtuns and Hazaras for years to come.[12] Massive forced displacements, especially in Oruzgan and Daychopan, continued as lands were confiscated and populations were expelled or fled.[12] Some 15,000 families fled to northern Afghanistan, Mashhad (Iran), Quetta (in today's Pakistan, then British India), and even as far as Central Asia. It is estimated that over half the Hazara population was massacred or displaced during Abdur Rahman's campaign against them. Hazara farmers were often forced to give up their property to Pashtuns and as a result many Hazara families had to leave seasonally to the major cities in Afghanistan, Iran, or Pakistan in order to find jobs and a source of income.[12]

Hazaras in the 20th century

In 1901, Habibullah Khan, Abdur Rahman's successor, granted amnesty to all people who were exiled by his predecessor. However, the division between the Afghan government and the Hazara people was already made too deep under Abdur Rahman and as a result Hazaras continued to face severe social, economic and political discrimination through most of the 20th century.[7]

Mistrust of the central government continued by the Hazaras and local uprisings also continued. In particular, in the 1940s, during Zahir Shah's rule, a revolt took place against new taxes that were exclusively imposed on the Hazaras.[7] The Pashtun nomads meanwhile not only were exempted from taxes, but also received allowances from the Afghan government.[7] The angry rebels began capturing and killing government officials. In response, the central government sent a force to subdue the region and later removed the taxes.

Soviet invasion to the Taliban era

During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the Hazarajat region did not see as much heavy fighting like other regions of Afghanistan. However, rival Hazara political factions had internal conflicts during this period. The division was across the Tanzáim-e nasl-e naw-e Hazara, a party based in Quetta of Hazara nationalists and secular intellectuals, and the pro-Khomeini Islamist parties back by the new Islamic Republic of Iran.[7] By 1979, the Iran backed Islamist groups liberated Hazarajat from the central Soviet-backed Afghan government and later these Islamist groups took entire control of Hazarajat away from the secularist groups. By 1984, after severe fighting, the secularist groups lost all their power to the Islamist groups. Later as the Soviets withdrew in 1989, the Islamist groups felt the need to broaden their political appeal and turned their focus to Hazara ethnic nationalism.[7] This led to establishment of the Hezb-e Wahdat, an alliance of all the Hazara resistance groups (except the Harakat-e Islami). In 1992, with the fall of Kabul, the Harakat-e Islami took sides with Burhanuddin Rabbani's government while the Hezb-e Wahdat took sides with the opposition. The Hezb-e Wahdat was eventually forced out of Kabul by 1995 as the Pashtun Taliban movement treacherously captured and killed their leader Abdul Ali Mazari.

With the Taliban's capture of Kabul in 1996, all the Hazara groups united with the new Northern Alliance against the common new enemy. However, it was too late and despite the fierce resistance Hazarajat fell to the Taliban by 1998. The Taliban had Hazarajat totally isolated from the rest of the world going as far as not allowing the United Nations to deliver food to the provinces of Bamiyan, Ghor, Wardak, and Ghazni.[13] During the years that followed, Hazaras suffered severe oppression and many large ethnic massacres and rapes were carried out by the predominately ethnic Pashtun Taliban and are documented by such groups as the Human Rights Watch.[14] These human rights abuses not only occurred in Hazarajat, but across all areas controlled by the Taliban. Particularly after their capture of Mazar-e Sharif in 1998, where after a massive killing of some 8000 civilians, the Taliban openly declared that the Hazaras would be targeted. Mullah Niazi, the commander of the attack and governor of Mazar after the attack, similar to Abdur Rahman Khan over 100 years ago, declared the Shia Hazara as infidels:

Hazaras are not Muslim, they are Shi’a. They are kofr [infidels]. The Hazaras killed our force here, and now we have to kill Hazaras... If you do not show your loyalty, we will burn your houses, and we will kill you. You either accept to be Muslims or leave Afghanistan... wherever you go we will catch you. If you go up, we will pull you down by your feet; if you hide below, we will pull you up by your hair.[15]

Hazaras in post-Taliban Afghanistan

Dr. Sima Samar, an ethnic Hazara, Chairperson of Independent Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, an international coalition intervened in Afghanistan and removed the Taliban from power and effectively saved the Hazaras from ethnic cleansing at the hands of the Taliban. Since then, the situation for Hazaras in Afghanistan has changed drastically and has much improved in a very short time. Today, due to the NATO involvement, Hazaras enjoy much more freedom and equality than ever before. Hazaras can now pursue higher education, enroll in the army, and have top government positions.[16] For example, Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, a Hazara from the Hezb-e Wahdat party, was able to run in the 2004 presidential election in Afghanistan. However, discrimination still lingers.[16]

Diaspora

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.[17]

Besides the major populations of Hazaras in Quetta (western Pakistan) and Iran, there are significant communities in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and particularly the Northern European countries such as Sweden and Denmark. Many young Hazara are studying in developed countries such as Australia, legally through education or work visas. There are many Afghan Hazara who have migrated to developed countries especially in Australia as refugees. The famous case was the MV Tampa incident in which a shipload of refugees, mostly Hazaras, was rescued by the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa and subsequently sent to Nauru.[18] Many refugee claims were rejected by Australia and forwarded to New Zealand, where all claims but one were approved.

Hazaras in Pakistan

Hazara refugees from Afghanistan in Quetta and Peshawar Pakistan, along with their Pakistani Hazara brethren, have set up a remittance economy which has led to the opening of foreign money exchange places to handle the currency coming in. In Pakistan most of the Hazaras live in and around the city of Quetta and hold high positions in the government of Balochistan. In Pakistan, Hazaras are mostly in business and have high education levels. Hazaras are also politically active in Quetta and have a political party known as the Hazara Democratic Party.[19] The current Minister of Sports in Balochistan is a Hazara. The most famous Hazara in Pakistan was General Musa Khan, who served as Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Army between 1958 to 1966.

Language

Hazaras often speak Hazaragi which is a distinctive dialect of the Persian language. This dialect is very close to Dari Persian dialects (e.g. Kabuli Persian).[20] The differences are minor with some Mongolian and Turkic vocabulary.[20] In particular, Hazaragi in the Dai Kundi and Dai Zangi regions has a significant admixture of Mongolian influence in the language. Many of the urban Hazaras in the larger cities of Kabul and Mazari Sharif speak in the Dari variety and in western region of Herat speak in the Khorasani dialect. Hazaras in Quetta, Pakistan, have Urdu and English words as part of their language, which they adopted since 1890 when they served in the British Indian Army.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Religion

Hazaras are predominantly Shi'a Muslims, mostly of the Twelver sect. Most of Afghanistan are not of the Twelver Shi'a denomination and this fact has probably contributed to the discrimination against the Hazaras.[6] Hazaras are also Shi'as of the Ismaili denomination. Hazaras probably converted from Sunnism to Shi'aism between the end of the 16th century and beginning of the 17th century.[7] Thus, although most Hazaras are Shia, today there is also a small number of Sunni Hazaras.[6]

Hazara tribes

Main article: List of Hazara tribes

The Hazara people have been organized by various tribes. However more recently and since the inclusion of the Hazaras into the "Afghan state", the tribal affiliations have been disappearing and former tribal names (e.g. Besudh, Daykundi, or Jaghori) today more commonly refer to territorial designations.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Afghanistan". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. December 13, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/.
  3. ^ Census of Afghans in Pakistan, UNHCR Statistical Summary Report (retrieved December 27, 2007)
  4. ^ The population of people with descent from Afghanistan in Canada is 80,000 according the former Minister of Foreign Affairs Bill Graham (2003). Hazaras make up an estimated 9% of the population of Afghanistan. The Hazara population in Canada is estimated form these two figures. Canadian FM arrives in Afghanistan to discuss security.
  5. ^ 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica - Hazara (Race)
  6. ^ a b c Ehsan Yarshater (ed.). "HAZĀRA". Encyclopædia Iranica (Online Edition ed.). United States: Columbia University. Retrieved 2007-12-23. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Monsutti, Alessandro. "HAZĀRA: ii. HISTORY". In Ehsan Yarshater (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica (Online Edition ed.). United States: Columbia University. Retrieved 2007-12-26. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  8. ^ "The Genetic Legacy of the Mongols". The American Journal of Human Genetics. 72 (3): 717–721. 2003. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ McKie, Robin (Sunday March 2, 2003). "We owe it all to superstud Genghis". The Observer. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ A Profile On Bamyan Civilization.
  11. ^ Bamiyan: Wonder of the ancient world - BBC News
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Mousavi, Sayed Askar (1998) [1997]. The Hazaras of Afghanistan: An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study. Richmond, New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-17386-5. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
  13. ^ Rashid, Ahmed (1). Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia (Paperback ed.). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300089028. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  14. ^ Human Rights Watch (2001). "AFGHANISTAN: MASSACRES OF HAZARAS IN AFGHANISTAN". hrw.org. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  15. ^ Human Rights Watch (1998). "INCITEMENT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST HAZARAS BY GOVERNOR NIAZI". AFGHANISTAN: THE MASSACRE IN MAZAR-I SHARIF. hrw.org. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  16. ^ a b Sappenfield, Mark (August 6, 2007). "Afghanistan's success story: The liberated Hazara minority". The Christian Science Monitor. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ Monsutti, Alessandro (2005). War and migration: Social networks and economic strategies of the Hazaras of Afghanistan (in English and translated by Patrick Camiller). Routledge, New York. ISBN 0-415-97508-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  18. ^ Australia ships out Afghan refugees - BBC News
  19. ^ List of Political parties
  20. ^ a b Farhadi, A. G. Ravan (1955). Le persan parle‚ en Afghanistan: Grammaire du kâboli accompagne‚e d'un recuil de quatrains populaires de re‚gion de Kâbol. Paris.
  21. ^ Monsutti, Alessandro. "HAZĀRA: iii. ETHNOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION". In Ehsan Yarshater (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica. United States: Columbia University. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |Edition= ignored (|edition= suggested) (help)

Further reading

  • Monsutti, Alessandro (2005). War and migration: Social networks and economic strategies of the Hazaras of Afghanistan (in English and translated by Patrick Camiller). Routledge, New York. ISBN 0-415-97508-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  • Mousavi, Sayed Askar (1998) [1997]. The Hazaras of Afghanistan: An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study. Richmond, New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-17386-5. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
  • Frederiksen, Birthe (1996). Caravans and trade in Afghanistan: The changing life of the nomadic Hazarbuz. Carlsberg Foundation's Nomad Research Project. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01687-9. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Poladi, Hassan (1989). The Hazāras. Stockton, California: Mughal Publishing Company. ISBN 0-929824-00-8. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |origdate= (help)
  • Kakar, M. Hasan (1973). The pacification of the Hazaras of Afghanistan. New York: Afghanistan Council, Asia Society. OCLC 1111643.

See also

External links

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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Hazara (Race)".
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hazaras&oldid=186628093"