Area Study Centre (Russia, China & Central Asia) University of Peshawar, Pakistan June 2017

AFGHAN ETHNIC AND SOCIAL POLITICS DEPICTED IN ‘THE KITE RUNNER’

BY IRFAN ALI SHAH

AREA STUDY CENTRE (RUSSIA, CHINA & CENTRAL ASIA) UNIVERSITY OF PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN JUNE 2017 AFGHAN ETHNIC AND SOCIAL POLITICS DEPICTED IN ‘THE KITE RUNNER’

A dissertation submitted to the University of Peshawar, Pakistan in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

AREA STUDY CENTRE (RUSSIA, CHINA & CENTRAL ASIA) UNIVERSITY OF PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN JUNE 2017

Author’s Declaration

I hereby state that my Ph.D., thesis titled ―Afghan Ethnic and Social Politics Depicted in The Kite Runner” is my own work and has not been submitted previously by me for taking any degree from the University of Peshawar or anywhere else in the country/world. At any time, if my statement is found incorrect, even after my Graduation, the University has the right to withdraw my Ph.D., degree.

Irfan Ali Shah June, 2017

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Plagiarism Undertaking

I solemnly declare that the research work presented in the thesis titled “Afghan Ethnic and Social Politics Depicted in The Kite Runner” is solely my research work with no significant contribution from any other person. Small contribution/help wherever taken has been duly acknowledged and that complete thesis has been written by me. I understand the zero-tolerance policy of the HEC and University of Peshawar towards plagiarism. Therefore, I, as author of above titled thesis declare that no portion of my thesis has been plagiarized and any material used as reference is properly referred/cited. I undertake that if I am found guilty of any formal plagiarism in the above titled thesis even after award of Ph.D., degree, the University reserves the right to withdraw/revoke my Ph.D., degree and that HEC and the University has the right to publish my name on the HEC/University website on which names of students are placed who submitted plagiarized thesis.

Student/Author Signature______

Name: Irfan Ali Shah

Certificate of Approval

This is to certify that the research work presented in this thesis, titled “Afghan Ethnic and Social Politics Depicted in ‘The Kite Runner’” was conducted by Mr. Irfan Ali Shah under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Sarfraz Khan. No part of this thesis has been submitted anywhere else for any other degree. This thesis is submitted to the Area Study Centre (Central Asia) in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English, Department of Area Study Centre (Central Asia), University of Peshawar.

Student Name: Irfan Ali Shah Signature______Examination Committee: External Examiner 1:

Dr Richard C. Taylor Associate Professor Department of English East Carolina University Greenville, NC 27858, USA External Examiner 2: Dr Richard Lee Professor of English Interim Dean of Arts and Humanities State University of New York (SUNY) Oneonta, NY USA Internal Examiner:

Dr. Nukhbah Taj Langah Signature______Dean of Humanities Associate Professor of English Foreman Christian College University (FCCU) Lahore, Pakistan Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Sarfraz Khan Signature______

Dean/Director: Prof. Dr. Shabbir Ahmad Khan Signature______

Dedication

To my family

Acknowledgments

This research work owes to many individuals. I may not be able to appropriately acknowledge their help in the completion of this work. However, first of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Sarfraz Khan, Director, Area Study Centre (Central Asia), University of Peshawar, for his continuous support, patience, motivation, and immense knowledge that he extended to me during this research work. His intellectual and academic guidance helped me enormously during my research and put me on the track. He is truly my mentor.

I am indebted to the Faculty and Staff of Area Study Centre, University of Peshawar, particularly, Late Dr. Muhammad Anwar Khan, former Vice Chancellor, Dr. Khalil ur Rehman, Assistant Professor, Mr. Sahar Gul, Librarian, and Mr. Roohul Amin, Academic Assistant. I am also grateful to Dr. Ayaz Ahmad, Senior Lecturer, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, for his guidance and immense knowledge: we had a mutual discussion on various aspects of this work. Besides, I acknowledge the contribution of Dr. Noor Muhammad Danish Bittani, Assistant Professor, Pashto Academy, University of Peshawar, and Dr Noor ul Amin, Senior lecturer, Islamia College University, Peshawar.

This research work would not have been possible without the financial support of Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. I express my gratitude to the HEC for providing me grant for M.Phil. leading to PhD, under the scheme ―PhD Fellowship for 5000 Scholars

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(Indigenous) Scheme, Batch-V, 2008‖ which enabled me to complete this work.

I am equally indebted to my employers, Postmaster General, Dr. Aziz Ullah Khan, the Deputies, Mr. Sami Ullah Khan, and Mr. Rashid Ullah Khan Kundi, for helping me in their own way and facilitating this work.

My special thanks go to my dear parents whose prayers kept me steadfast towards my goal. Particularly my Baba jee (father), who encouraged me throughout my research work. I am sure they would be very happy on the achievement of my work.

Last, but not the least, thanks to my wife, whose support gave me the strength to pursue my research. To my little stars: Jawad, Urooj, and Mahnoor whose shining faces and glaring eyes rejuvenated me, time and again, when I felt tired during my research work. Despite all ups and downs during my research work, I feel happy on the completion of my work.

Irfan Ali Shah

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Abstract

This work attempts to examine the depiction of ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara in the novel, The Kite Runner. It argues that the ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara exists in the novel. It also argues that an internal orientalist discourse is embedded in the text of the novel. The Kite Runner is the first novel in English written by Khaled Hossenei, an Afghan-American (and Hazara), in the United States, in 2003. It portrays the ethno-political culture of Afghanistan from the end of monarchy (1973) till the fall of Taliban regime (2001). The story revolves around two characters: Amir, an ethnic Pashtun, Sunni, and wealthy, and Hassan, servant of Amir‘s father, an ethnic Hazara, Shia. Novel writing/reading began, in Afghanistan, in the early 20th century, while, ethnicity became salient in last three decades of the century. Afghanistan is a multi-ethnic state, comprising more than 50 ethnic groups, though, the Afghan Constitution, 2004, recognizes only 14 ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, Baluch, Pashai, Nuristani, Aimaq, Arab, Kirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujar, and Brahui. The Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, and Uzbek are the major ethnic groups, in the order respectively, whose co- ethnics reside in the neighbouring states of Afghanistan such as, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Iran, and Uzbekistan. The ethnic Pashtun ruled the country throughout its history since 1747, barring two brief spans (1929 and 1992-94) when ethnic Tajik ruled. This work employs internal orientalism as its theoretical framework and applies analytical and interpretive methods. To explore discourse of ethnic disparity in The Kite Runner, Michel Foucault‘s method of discourse analysis has been applied in chapter 5. Hence, Hossenei‘s relevant statements

ix regarding ethnic: divisions, disparity; polarity; especially, between the Pashtun and Hazara, have been analyzed and interpreted.

Chapter 1 attempts to develop a conceptual base and theoretical framework. It provides an overview of the geography, charting various Afghan ethnic groups and estimates major ethnic groups on the basis of available surveys and sources in Afghanistan: Pashtun 44%; Tajik 29%; Hazara 9%; Uzbek 7% and other smaller ethnic groups constitute around 11% of the Afghan population. It also describes instances of forced displacement of tribes and ethnic cleansing in Afghanistan, besides introducing the novel, The Kite Runner, its author, Khaled Hossenei. It states research questions, hypotheses, theoretical framework and methodology too.

Chapter 2 argues that qaum, a flexible term, referring to (kin, clan, village, tribe, ethnic/vocational/confessional group, profession, and/or nation) and ethnicity became salient in Afghanistan during the last three decades of the 20th century. It examines how the promulgation of 1964 Constitution in Afghanistan stirred political struggle between various ethnic groups, the Pashtun and non-Pashtun, for power, and, how, the Soviet invasion, in 1979, stimulated and politicised ethnicity. It further describes how, conversely, the Mujahideen (1992-96) and the Taliban (1996-2001), though Islamists, ethnicised politics that resulted into ethnic: violence; cleansing; and/or conflict. Ethnicity became further salient during the post-Taliban periods due to power sharing arrangements on ethnic basis.

The review of existing literature on the topic in Chapter 3 points out that ethnic division, polarity, and conflict as core issues have been strengthened in Afghanistan during the last three decades of the 20th

x century. Sectarianism and ethnic: mobilization; cleansing also increased. During this period, foreign interference and warlordism increased ethnic and sectarian polarization, however, it did not spread to the masses. The neighbouring states of Afghanistan: Pakistan; Tajikistan; Iran; Uzbekistan; comprising a population of same ethnicity, have a natural advantage to meddle into the political affairs of Afghanistan.

Chapter 4 discusses the origin and evolution of novel in Afghanistan in the 20th century. It establishes that dastan (romances) existed prior to the advent of novel in the early 20th century. It further establishes that French novel was imported into Afghanistan, in form of translation, through Sirajul Akhbar, from Turkish sources. Novel introduced Afghans to, non-existent in dastan, realism in story, character development, and plot. Imported Tajik/Soviet/Kirghiz/ Persian/Russian, and American novels have impacted the Afghan novel. The important Tajik and Kirghiz novels included: Margi Sudkur, Yatim, Gulomon, Jalladon-e Bokhara; of Sadriddin Ayni; Jamila: of Chingez Aitmatov. American novels included: White Fang of Jack London and The Grapes of Wrath of John Ernst Steinbeck. Earlier indigenous Afghan novels such as, Paighla (1950) of Sahibzada Muhammad Idrees, Be-Tarbiata Zoi (1939-40) of Noor Muhammad Taraki in Pashto, and Jihad-e Akbar (1919) of Molvi Muhammad Hussain Panjabi, Begum (1930) of Suleman Ali Jaghori in Dari, written in the 20th century, reflected societal realities.

Chapter 5 establishes on the basis of interpretation and analysis of Hossenei‘s statements of ethnic politics in The Kite Runner that Pashtun is superior but treacherous; unimaginative, brutal, and

xi aberrant, while Hazara, inferior but loyal; imaginative, humane, and protector. There exists a binary of Us (Hazara) and Them (Pashtun) in the novel. The treachery of Pashtun character, and the portrayal of Taliban confining as ethnic Pashtun is vilifying in the novel. Besides, Hossenei has eulogized the USA; therefore, the novel may also be considered an apology for the War on Terror in Afghanistan.

Chapter 6 concludes that Hossenei‘s depiction of ethnic disparity in the novel seems exaggerated. He created a schism between Pashtun and Hazara with the help of orientalist knowledge and power. The division of Us (Hazara) and Them (Pashtun) in the novel is exaggerated, misleading and biased.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS AUTHOR’S DECLARATION III PLAGIARISM UNDERTAKING IV CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL V DEDICATION VI ACKNOWLEDGMENTS VII ABSTRACT IX GLOSSARY XVI INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER 1: 12 1. THEORITICAL FRAMEWROK AND CONCEPTUAL BASE 12 1.1 GEOGRAPHY OF AFGHANISTAN 13 1.2 WHAT IS ETHNICITY? 19 1.3 ETHNIC GROUPS IN AFGHANISTAN 21 1.4 THE PASHTUN 26 1.4.1 THE TAJIK 32 1.4.2 THE HAZARA 35 1.4.3 THE UZBEK 41 1.5 SMALLER GROUPS 42 1.6 ETHNIC MAKE UP 46 1.7 FORCED DISPLACEMENT AND ETHNIC CLEANSING 53 1.8 KHALED HOSSENEI 56 1.8.1 THE KITE RUNNER IN BRIEF 58 1.8.2 POINT OF VIEW (NARRATIVE) 60 1.8.3 CHARACTERIZATION 61 1.8.4 OBJECTIVES 63 1.8.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 63 1.8.6 HYPOTHESES 64 1.8.7 PROBLEM STATEMENT/JUSTIFICATION 64 1.9 THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK 65 1.9.1 METHODOLOGY 72 1.9.2 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY 74 1.9.3 LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONS 75 1.9.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 76 1.10 CONCLUSION 77

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CHAPTER 2: 79 2. SALIENCE OF QAUM, ETHNICITY, IN AFGHANISTAN: AN OVERVIEW 79 2.1 INTRODUCTION 79 2.1.1 QAUM IN AFGHANISTAN 80 2.1.2 ASCENDENCY OF ETHNICITY IN AFGHANISTAN 82 2.1.3 IMPACT OF WAR (1979-89) ON ETHNICITY 89 2.1.4 SUNNI RESISTANCE 91 2.1.5 SHIA RESISTANCE 93 2.1.6 MILITARIZATION OF ETHNICITY 96 2.1.7 EFFORTS TO RECONCILE ETHNICIZATION 98 2.1.8 THE MUJAHIDEEN AND ETHNICITY (1992-1994) 100 2.1.9 NEIGHBOURING STATES AND ETHNICITY IN AFGHANISTAN 104 2.1.10 THE TALIBAN AND ETHNICITY (1996-2001) 108 2.1.11 POST 9/11 AFGHAN ETHNICITIES 112 2.2 CONCLUSION 116

CHAPTER 3: 118 LITERATURE REVIEW 118 3. INTRODUCTION 118 3.1 LITERATURE REVIEW 118 3.2 CONCLUSION 145

CHAPTER 4: 146 4. THE AFGHAN NOVEL IN THE 20TH CENTURY 146 4.1 INTRODUCTION 146 4.1.1 DASTAN 147 4.1.2 MEHMUD BEG TARZI 151 4.2 IMPACT OF ENGLISH NOVEL 157 4.3 IMPACT OF PERSIAN NOVEL 161 4.4 IMPACT OF SOVIET/RUSSIAN /TAJIK / KIRGHIZ NOVEL 164 4.5 IMPACT OF AMERICAN NOVEL 173 4.6 AFGHAN NOVEL IN DARI 174 4.7 AFGHAN NOVEL IN PASHTO 180 4.8 CONCLUSION 187

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CHAPTER 5: 189 5. ETHNIC POLITICS IN THE KITE RUNNER 189 5.1 INTRODUCTION 189 5.1.1 HOSSENEI, AS AN OUTSIDER 191 5.1.2 THE IDEA OF AMERICA IN THE KITE RUNNER 195 5.1.3 DISPARITY IN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND CULTURE 199 5.1.4 DISPARITY IN EDUCATION 204 5.1.5 THE NOTION OF TREACHERY 206 5.1.6 THE PASHTUN 207 5.1.7 THE TALIBAN 218 5.1.8 THE HAZARA 228 5.1.9 REDEMPTION 238 5.2 CONCLUSION 244

CHAPTER 6: 248 CONCLUSIONS 248 BIBLIOGRAPHY 255

Glossary

Awroussi: The wedding ceremony.

Balay: Yes

Bakhshida: Forgiveness

Burqa: Shuttlecock Burqa, Women's outer garment that fully covers them.

Buzkashi: Killing of goat. A National game of Afghanistan played on horseback similar to Polo

Chapan: Traditional, long overcoat worn by Afghan men.

Chapandaz: A master horseman in Buzkashi competition.

Farsi: The language used in Iran and western

Afghanistan.

Hazara: A minority ethnic group from the Hazarajat region in central Afghanistan who speak Hazargi, a dialect of Dari

Hazargi: Language spoken by Hazara

Hizb-e-Wahdat: The political party of Hazara formed in late 1980s.

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Ismailism A branch of Shia Islam different from Twelvers

Jirga: An institution of conflict resolution used in Afghanistan

Jan: A word of endearment.

Kaka: Uncle.

Kasseef: Filthy.

Khalqis: Literally, a Pashto term, meaning ‗masses‘. It was a faction of the People Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA).

Khan: A Turkic word meaning property owner or sovereign

Khastagari: Official proposal to marriage

Kunni: Gay

Loya Jirga: Great council.

Madar: Persian term, meaning, mother

Mareez: Patient

Masnawi: Six-volume mystical poem by the poet Rumi.

Mujahedin: Literally mujahid (Arabic word) means ‗struggler‘, or ‗striver‘. Muhajideen is the plural of mujahid which means strugglers. Specifically, mujahideen are those fighters who fought the

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Soviets during the 1980s in the war in Afghanistan.

Mullah: A Muslim who lead prayers in the mosque

daily.

Namaz: Prayers, specifically those required by sacred law of Muslims to be repeated five times daily.

Namoos: Reputation; pride.

Nang: Honor

Naswar: Snuff, or Tobacco particularly used by Pashtun

Padar: Persian term, meaning father

Parchami: A member of Parcham faction of the PDPA

(People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan)

Pashtun: A majority ethnic group residing in the south

and south-west of Afghanistan

Pashtunwali: A Code of life of Pashtuns

Rustam and Sohrab: The two heroic Persian characters in Shahnama

Qawm It is a fluid term, refers to family, clan, tribe, ethnic groups, vocational group.

Quwat: Courage

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Saadi: Medieval Persian poet.

Shah: King or sovereign.

Shahnama A Persian Epic of 11th century

Ulus: A Turko-Mongol origin, and Hazargi word means an institution of conflict resolution in Hazara

Watan: Native country

Yateem: Orphan

Yelda: The longest night of the year.

Zendagi: Life

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MAP OF PROVINCES IN AFGHANISTAN

MAP OF ETHNIC GROUPS IN

AFGHANISTAN

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MAP OF LANGUAGES IN AFGHANISTAN

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INTRODUCTION

There reside more than fifty ethnic groups in Afghanistan. The major ethnicities include: Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara. Pashtun are the largest plurality followed by Tajik, Hazara, and Uzbek. Monarchy flourished in Afghanistan during the period 1747-1978. The Durrani-Pashtun dynasty founded and ruled Afghanistan throughout its history, barring two brief spans (1929 and 1992-94) when Tajiks ruled Afghanistan. The Soviet invasion and subsequent occupation of Afghanistan (1979), have not only made qaum1 and ethnicity salient, but, ethnic conflicts, also ensued between the major ethnic groups in Afghanistan, in the 1990s. Historically, co-existence has been between various ethnic groups in Afghanistan, however, unequal opportunities and conflict have also occurred.2 Amir Abdur Rehman (r.1880-1901), the Pashtun ruler, created centralized state with bounded frontiers with coercive force. He deported and suppressed various ethnic groups that led to ethnic polarization. He unified and mobilized the Pashtuns to suppress non-Pashtun particularly Hazara and Nuristani. Displacement and deportation of Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara, and resettling of Pashtun have been tantamount to ethnic cleansing, at times, for strengthening state building in Afghanistan. It led to ethnic animosity, hatred, and alienation broadening ethnic cleavages. During the period 1929-73,

1 Qawm is a flexible term that refers to kin, clan, village, tribe, ethnic/vocational/confessional group, profession, and/or nation in Afghanistan. 2Wafayezaa, Q, M., Ethnic Politics, Ethnic Politicl Parties, and the Future of Democratic Peacebuilding in Afghanistan. 2012. Retrieved from http://dspace.lib.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2297/32790/1/AA12162559-24- 65-91.pdf pp 69-70.

1 little efforts were made to alleviate ethnic and social tensions.3

Cracks began to appear in the socio-political and ethnic hierarchy in the wake of promulgation of Constitution (1964)4 in Afghanistan. The Constitution provided freedom of press, allowed formation of political parties, and opened a window of opportunity for Afghan ethnic groups to express themselves in politics. The Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara participated in the multi-ethnic political parties such as Jamiat-e Islami, the PDPA, Sitm-e Milli, and Shula-e Javid. Daud Khan (r.1973-78) ended monarchy in 1973, became president, and declared Afghanistan as republic. His Pashtun- dominated political party, National Revolutionary Party gathered support for his Republican regime. His party polarized the ethnicities more between the Pashtuns and non-Pashtuns, and stirred political competition. The historical events; The Saur Revolution (1978); and the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan (1979-89) stimulated ethnic divisions further in the wake of penetration of massive foreign arms and cash into the country. Sect appeared as supplementary force along ethnicity in the form of Hizb-e Wahdat. The fueling of ethnicity and sectarianism by Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia further intensified ethnic polarization. This led to

3 Mousavi, A, S., The Hazara of Afghanistan: An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study, Surrey: Curzon Press, 1998, p 122. 4The 1964 Constitution was the constitution of Afghanistan from 1964 to 1977. It was drafted by a committee of foreign-educated Afghans appointed for the task by Mohammed Zahir Shah. The primary goals of the Constitution were to prepare the government and the people for gradual movement toward democracy and socio- economic modernization. A Loya Jirgah (grand council of notables) had debated, modified and approved its innovations, which included a bill of rights for all Afghans, explicitly including women. After public review the constitution was put into effect in October 1964.

2 emergence of various ethnic based alliances, mainly non-Pashtun, to gain political power, in the 1990s. Presently, all four major ethnic groups are struggling hard to attain/maintain political power, and influence the state and society. These political turmoils have been depicted in indigenous literary fictions in Afghanistan.

The genre of novel originated in the West in the 18th century; however, diffused to a non-literate society5 like Afghanistan in translated form, in the early 20th century. Sirajaul Akhbar (1911-1918) became the medium to introduce Afghans with the novel. Before that, Afghan writers wrote dastan (romances). The first Afghan novel in Persian, appeared in Afghanistan, in 1919. While, the first Afghan novel in Pashto and English appeared in 1939 and 2003 respectively. The Kite Runner, published in 2003, is the first English novel written by Khaled Hossenei, an Afghan-American novelist. Since its publication, the novel got worldwide fame. It has been published in 38 countries, translated into 62 languages6 including, Chinese, French, German etc.,7 and sold worldwide into 12 million copies.8

5Louis Dupree, in his book, Afghanistan, published in 1980, has articulated that Afghanistan has a literate culture and non-literate society. In non-literate society, most of the individuals do not have access to the great literature of their culture. 6 In response to my e-mail dated 04-06-2017 addressed to Sandra Hossenei, Khaled Hossenei‘s wife, Executive Director of The Khaled Hossenei Foundation, in which I asked about the number of languages in which The Kite Runner has been published, she responded that the novel has been published into 62 languages. Again, I asked in a separate email that has the novel been published into Pashto? If not, why? She told me that the Foundation has not yet published it into Pashto and that they do not intend to license it officially into Pashto. According to her, this is because the countries where it is an official language, namely Afghanistan and Pakistan, are not members of the Berne Copyright Convention, an International treaty protecting author‘s rights. 7 According to Chandler Crawford, Publication In charge of Khaled Hossenei Foundation, the novel, The Kite Runner is not available either in Pashto or Dari/Persian. It was because Afghanistan and Iran are the observer states in Berne

Khaled Hossenei, an Afghan-American novelist, physician, and ethnic-Hazara, was born in Kabul in 1965. He spent eight years of his childhood in Afghanistan. When the political chaos began in Afghanistan in the 1980s, The Hosseneis sought and granted political asylum in the United States. After earning his M.D., in 1993, from the University of California, he completed residency in 1996. He showed interest in story writing and story-telling at the young age of 9-10; because he was influenced by the tradition of oral story-telling and the classical Persian literature. In the US, he read John Steinbeck‘s (1902- 1968) novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939), which impressed him and revived his love of literature. Hossenei began writing The Kite Runner in 2001 and published it in 2003. He has been a Goodwill Envoy to UNHCR9 since 2006, and provides humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan through the ‗Khaled Hossenei Foundation‘.

The plot of The Kite Runner is divided into three historic periods: Kabul before Soviet invasion (1973-79); the immigrant experience in the USA in the 1980s; and the Taliban‘s regime (1996- 2001). The story revolves around the two major characters: Amir (an ethnic-Pashtun) and Hassan (an ethnic-Hazara). Amir is privileged, literate, dominant, while Hasan is poor, illiterate, and subordinate. The novel unfolds in 2001, flashes back to the past (1970s), and proceeds till 2001, against the backdrop of the political history. The major event

Copyright Convention. So, it is neither available in Pashto (Afghanistan or Pakistan) nor in Dari/Persian (either in Afghanistan or Iran). 8 Daily Dawn: January 8, 2012. 9 The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also known as the UN Refugee Agency, is a United Nations programme mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is a member of the United Nations Development Group.

4 of the novel is the molestation of Hassan by three Pashtun boys during a Kite-fighting tournament10 in Kabul in 1975. Amir, (half-brother & close friend of Hassan) betrayed Hassan, when he did not intervene and stood by him. Amir was dominant like a master in his relationship with Hassan. The Soviets invade Afghanistan in 1979, Amir flees to the USA, while Hassan stays in the Hazarajat11 (homeland). The guilt or betrayal of Amir follows him throughout. Rahim Khan falls sick in Peshawar and calls Amir to see him before he dies. He reminds Amir about his past guilt, and tries to persuade him to redeem himself by saving Sohrab from the barbarity of Taliban in Afghanistan. Thus, he sacrifices himself, saves the child, and takes him to the USA. The sacrifice gives Amir a feeling of redemption.

Besides, in 2007, Marc Forster has directed The Kite Runner, an adaptation of this. Having dialogues in Dari and English, with a duration of 128 minutes, Dream works and Paramount Vantage distributed the US movie worldwide. Though, the setting of the novel is Afghanistan, parts of the film have been shot in Kashghar and China (Xianjiang) due to the danger of fueling ethnic tensions in Afghanistan. Amir, the protagonist,12 narrates the story of the novel from

10 Every winter, kite-fighting is used to be the public hobby in Afghanistan where people fly their kites and try to cut the other kites in the sky. 11 The Hazarajat is a regional name for the territory inhabited by the Hazara people, which lies in the central highlands of Afghanistan, among the Koh-i-Baba mountains and the western extremities of the Hindu Kush. The name Hazarajat first appears in the 16th century Baburnama, written by Mughal Emperor Babur. 12A protagonist (from Ancient Greek protagonistes, meaning 'player of the first part, chief actor) is the main character in any story, such as a literary work or drama. The protagonist is at the center of the story, typically makes the key decisions, and experiences the consequences of those decisions. The protagonist usually affects the main characters' circumstances as well, as they are often the primary actor propelling the story forward. If a story contains a subplot, or is a narrative made up of several stories, then there may be a character who is interpreted as the protagonist of each subplot or individual story. Besides, according to The Pinguin Dictionary of Literary

5 first person narrative. This technique unfolds opinions, thoughts, and feelings of the narrator. It seems that the characters and the readers are thinking with the narrator. The story is told from his perspective. Besides, the novel contains twenty five chapters: twenty four are narrated by Amir, while, the sole chapter, sixteen, is narrated by Rahim Khan. Amir, Hassan, Assif, Baba, Sohrab, Ali, Farid are the main characters in the novel. Including Afghan, there are Russian, American, Indian, and Pakistani characters. The story revolves around Amir and Hassan, the Afghan characters. Some Afghan writers and diaspora,13 influenced by the West, have been easy prey to Western Orientalism. According to Jannete Edwards,14 The Kite Runner is a fictional story, having no connection

terms and Literary Theory, published by Pinguin Group, first published in England in 1977, reprinted in 1999, written by J, A, Goodson, protagonist is the the first actor in a play or the principal actor or character. In Greek tragedy, the playwright was limited to the protagonist. The protagonist has come to be the equivalent of the hero. 13 The term is derived from the Greek verb diaspeiro, "I scatter", "I spread about" and that from dia, "between, through, across" + the verb speiro, "I sow, I scatter". A diaspora is a scattered population whose origin lies within a smaller geographic locale. Diaspora can also refer to the movement of the population from its original homeland. Diaspora has come to refer particularly to historical mass dispersions of an involuntary nature, such as the expulsion of Jews from Judea and the fleeing of Greeks after the fall of Constantinople. Other examples are the African Trans- Atlantic slave trade, the southern Chinese or Hindus of South Asia during the coolie trade, the Irish during and after the Irish Famine, the Palestinian diaspora, and the Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries in the 20th century, the exile and deportation of Circassians, and the emigration of Anglo-Saxon warriors and their families after the Norman Conquest of England, many of whom found employment in Constantinople and bolstered the elite bodyguard of the emperor, the Varangian Guard. Recently, scholars have distinguished between different kinds of diaspora, based on its causes such as imperialism, trade or labor migrations, or by the kind of social coherence within the diaspora community and its ties to the ancestral lands. Some diaspora communities maintain strong political ties with their homeland. Other qualities that may be typical of many diasporas are thoughts of return, relationships with other communities in the diaspora, and lack of full integration into the host country. 14 She serves as Associate Professor in the faculty Development Program at the United States Department of Defense.

6 with reality,15 Hossenei‘s voice is unauthentic and motives suspect.16 Khaled Hossenei, having a perception of an internal orientalist,17 has created a difference between familiar subaltern; Us (Hazara) and a strange dominant; Them (Pashtun), in the novel, to highlight ethnic disparity, divisions, and discrimination, in Afghanistan. For him, Pashtun is superior but treacherous, unimaginative, brutal, and aberrant, while Hazara, inferior but loyal, imaginative, humane, and protector. Here, it deviates from Said‘s Orientalism, for whom, the superior was rational and humane, while the inferior; irrational and aberrant. Retaining the critical force of Said's original formulation in Orientalism, and taking into account the Othering18 practices, internal

15 Janette, E., Expatriate Literature and the Problem of Contested Representation: The Case of Khaled Hosseini‟s The Kite Runner. Inter-Disciplinary.net. 2008. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/irfan/Downloads/Expatriate_Literature_and_the_Problem_of_Contest ed.pdf on 10-02-2015 16 Ibid., p 5. 17 The term internal orientalist has been adopted from Louisa Schein‘s article ‗Gender and Internal Orientalism in China‘ published by Sage Publications in 1997 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/189464). According to Louisa, ‗Internal Orientalism‘ is a set of practices that occur within China, and that, in this case, refers to the fascination of more cosmopolitan Chinese with "exotic" minority cultures in an array of polychromatic and titillating forms. These encounters were most commonly structured by a class/gender asymmetry in which minorities were represented chiefly by rural women, while Han observers appeared characteristically as male urban sophisticates. This article has explored the ramifications of such uneven configurations as a means of gaining insight into China's post-Mao social order. In this thesis, the term internal orientalist refers to Hossenei‘s manipulation of theme of ethnic disparity, projecting Pashtun; superior but treacherous; unimaginative, brutal, and aberrant, while Hazara, inferior but loyal; imaginative, humane, and protector. Internal orientalism is the theory adopted to explain orientalist perspective in the The Kite Runner. 18 Othering is the process by which a person or a group is placed outside of the norm, into the margins. It is a system of discrimination whereby the characteristics of a group are used to distinguish them as separate from the norm. Othering plays a fundamental role in the history and continuance of racism and other forms of discrimination. For example, by objectifying culture as something different, exotic or underdeveloped is to generalise that it is not the same as ‗normal‘ society. Europe‘s colonial attitude towards the Orient exemplifies through the attitude that the East was the opposite of the West; feminine where the West was masculine, weak where the West was strong and traditional where the West was progressive. By making these

7 orientalism as theoretical framework describes a discourse of power relations, coupled with ethnic disparity, between the Pashtun and Hazara ethnic groups in Afghanistan, as developed in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hossenei. The work is analytical and interpretive. It uses Foucauldian discourse analysis as Qualitative research method on The Kite Runner in chapter 5. The relevant statements related to ethnic disparity, polarity, and divisions between the Pashtun and Hazara in the novel, are interpreted in the light of primary and secondary sources to explore the philosophical discourse of ethnic disparity.

To drive this research work, it is found that ethnicity and ethnic politics have gained great importance in the present socio-political milieu of Afghanistan. Thus, this work attempts to examine the discourse of ethnic disparity between Pashtun and Hazara in The Kite Runner. It argues that the discourse of ethnic disparity and tensions between the two ethnic groups exists in the novel. It further argues that an orientalist perspective is embedded in the text of the novel.

Chapter 1 of the thesis attempts to describe briefly the geography, the concepts of ethnicity, ethnic make-up and ethnic cleansing in Afghanistan. It further attempts to introduce briefly The Kite Runner, and the author, Khaled Hossenei. The rest of the chapter deals with the objectives of the work, research questions, hypotheses, justification, theoretical framework, methodology, rationale for the study, limitation & delimitation, and significance of the study.

Chapter 2 argues that qaum and ethnicity became salient in Afghanistan during the last three decades of the 20th century. It

generalizations and othering the East, Europe was simultaneously defining herself as the no.rm, further entrenching the perceived gap.

8 examines how the promulgation of 1964 Constitution in Afghanistan stirred political struggle between various ethnic groups, the Pashtun and non-Pashtun, for power, and, how, the Soviet invasion, in 1979, stimulated and politicised ethnicity. It further describes how, conversely, the Mujahideen (1992-96) and the Taliban (1996-2001), though Islamists, ethnicised politics that led to severe infighting between major ethnic groups and resulted into ethnic: violence; cleansing; and/or conflict. Ethnicity became further salient during the post-Taliban periods due to power sharing arrangements on ethnic basis.

The existing literature on the topic in Chapter 3 points out that ethnic: division; polarity; conflict; as core issues, have been strengthened in Afghanistan during the last three decades of the 20th century. Sectarianism and ethnic: mobilization; cleansing also increased. During this period, foreign interference and warlordism increased ethnic and sectarian polarization, however, it did not spread to the masses. The neighbouring states of Afghanistan: Pakistan; Tajikistan; Iran; Uzbekistan; comprising a population of same ethnicity, have a natural advantage to meddle into the political affairs of Afghanistan.

Chapter 4 discusses the origin and development of novel in Afghanistan in the 20th century. It establishes that dastan (romances) existed prior to the advent of novel in the early 20th century. It further establishes that French novel was imported into Afghanistan in the form of translation from Turkish sources through Sirajul Akhbar. The genre of novel introduced Afghans to, non-existent in dastan, realism in story, character development, and plot. Imported

Tajik/Soviet/Kirghiz/ Persian/Russian, and American novels have impacted the Afghan novel. The important Tajik and Kirghiz novels included: Margi Sudkur, Yatim, Gulomon, Jalladon-e Bokhara; of Sadriddin Ayni; Jamila: of Chingez Aitmatov. American novels included: White Fang of Jack London and The Grapes of Wrath of John Ernst Steinbeck. Earlier indigenous Afghan novels such as, Paighla (1950) of Sahibzada Muhammad Idrees, Be-Tarbiata Zoi (1939-40) of Noor Muhammad Taraki in Pashto, and Jihad-e Akbar (1919) of Molvi Muhammad Hussain Panjabi, Begum (1930) of Suleman Ali Jaghori in Dari, written in the 20th century, reflected societal realities.

Chapter 5 argues that the discourse of ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara in Afghanistan exists in The Kite Runner. It further argues that an internal orientalist perspective is embedded in the text of the novel. Amir (Pashtun), the protagonist, is the narrator of the novel. Hossenei depicts Pashtun: superior but treacherous; unimaginative, brutal, and aberrant, while Hazara, inferior but loyal; imaginative, humane, and protector. There exists a strong binary of Us (Hazara) and Them (Pashtun) in the novel. Though, Hossenei claims to have a deeper understanding of history and culture of Afghanistan, however, one finds him wanting in knowledge of indigenous cultural history of Afghanistan. He is a story-teller, who presents his internal orientalist views in a fictional art form. The treachery of Pashtun character, and the portrayal of Taliban confining as ethnic Pashtun is vilifying in the novel. Besides, Hossenei has eulogized the USA; therefore, the novel may also be considered as an apology for the War on Terror in Afghanistan.

Chapter 6 concludes that Hosseini has made a schism between the Pashtun and Hazara in the novel with the help of orientalist knowledge and power. The depiction of ethnic disparity, and division of Us (Hazara) and Them (Pashtun), in The Kite Runner, seems exaggerated, misleading and biased.

CHAPTER 1: 1. THEORITICAL FRAMEWROK AND CONCEPTUAL BASE

Afghanistan is a multi-ethnic state, comprising around fifty ethnic groups. It has witnessed political turmoils and upheavals for the last three decades of the 20th century. That, not only, resulted into the ascendency of qawm and ethnicity, but also, ethnic conflicts between the major ethnic groups in Afghanistan. Since the fall of Taliban in 2001, there has been a surge of ethnic politics in Afghanistan, which has been affecting the social-political order. Particularly, the non- Pashtuns (Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara) in Afghanistan are, not only, challenging the dominant role of Pashtun in the state and society, but also, effecting socio-political order.19 Khaled Hossenei, an Afghan- American, has presented in The Kite Runner, fictional portrayal of the relationship between Pashtun and the Hazara ethnic groups in Afghanistan at the backdrop of political history (1973-2001). This work explores ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara in The Kite Runner. It further explores that an internal orientalist perspective is embedded in The Kite Runner. Before embarking upon that exploration in the work, it is necessary to find the conceptual base and theoretical framework to the work. Thus, this chapter attempts to describe briefly the geography, the concepts of ethnicity, Afghan ethnic: groups; make-up; and cleansing in Afghanistan. It further attempts to introduce briefly the novel, The Kite Runner, and the

19Saleh, A., The Crisis and Politics of Ethnicity in Afghanistan. June, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/06/201262013830446913.html on 20-04-2015

12 writer, Khaled Hossenei. The rest of the chapter deals with the objectives, research questions, hypotheses, justification, theoretical framework, methodology, rationale for the study, limitation & delimitation, significance of the study, and chapterization.

1.1 GEOGRAPHY OF AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan lies in Central Asia, between 29 and 38 degrees North Latitudes, and 61 and 72 degrees East Longitude, with a strip in the north-east, the Wakhan corridor, that reaches to the 75th degree East Longitude. Completely landlocked, it has an estimated area of 245,000 square miles, less than the size of Texas. Its extreme length from west to east is 770 miles, its greatest width from north to south is over 350 miles,20 it is bounded by China to the north-east, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in the north, Iran to the west, and Pakistan to the south and south-east.21

Humlum, the Danish geographer has divided Afghanistan into ten natural provinces (zones). His zones include: East, South, Central, West, Northwest, North, Nuristan, Badakhshan, Wakhan, and Monsoonal Afghanistan.22 Louis Dupree has divided Afghanistan into eleven geographic zones: the first six zones (the Wakhan Corridor- Pamir Knot, Badakhshan, Central Mountains, Eastern Mountains, Northern Mountains and Foothills, Southern Mountains and Foothills) relate to the Hindukush mountain system, young rugged ranges (like

20 Wilber, N, Donald., Afghanistan: Its People, its Society, its Culture. HRAF Press, New Heaven 1962, p 24. 21 Emadi, Hafizullah., Dynamics of Political Development in Afghanistan: The British, Russian, and American Invasions. Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2010, p 1. 22 Johannes Humlum, La geographie de I‟ Afghanistan : etude d‟un pays aride, Ferdinand. Copenhague, Gyldendal: Avec des chapters de M. Koie B K., 1959.

13 the Rocky Mountains) with sharp peaks, deep valleys, and many almost impenetrable barriers. The remaining five zones include: Turkistan Plains, Herat-Farah Lowlands, Sistan Basin-Hilmand Valley, Western Stony Deserts, South-western Sandy Deserts. They embrace the deserts and plains surrounding the mountains in the North, West, and Southwest23. Besides, Asia Foundation has been conducting annual surveys in Afghanistan (since 2004-16), this organization divides Afghanistan into eight regions for empirical research such as, Central/Kabul, East, South East, South West, North East, Central/Hazarajat, and North West,24 though, presently, Afghanistan constitutes 34 provinces.25 Thomas Barfield has divided Afghanistan into four basic regional building blocks. They are easily identified by their ancient urban centers. These include; Herat in the West, Kandahar in the South, Balkh (Mazar-i-Sharif) in the North, and Kabul in the East; they all have fluctuating frontiers due to their adjacent mountain, steppe, and desert hinterland they controlled. Each has survived and reemerged as a distinct region, despite changes in political organization, arrivals of new populations or religions, or attempts to impose larger and more uniform identities on them.26 Herat is the third largest city of Afghanistan.27 It is linked to Kandahar and Mazar Sharif, and serves as the capital of Herat province, situated in the fertile valley of the Hari Rud river. It is linked

23 Dupree, L., Afghanistan. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 1980, pp 5-31. 24Asia Foundation Survey of Afghanistan 2013. Retrieved from https://asiafoundation.org/resources/pdfs/Afghanistanin2015.pdf, Accessed 12-05- 2015 25 Ibid., p 5. 26 Barfield, T., Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History. Oxfordshire: Princeton University Press, New Jersey 2010, pp 48-9. 27 Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herat Accessed 15-05-2015

14 with Kandahar and Mazar Sharif, the two major cities of Afghanistan, and Mashhad in Iran.28 The Pashtun constitute the majority.29 The other ethnic groups in numerical order are the Tajiks, Hazara, Uzbek and Turkemen.30 Dari is the ligua franca, while Pashto is the second language that many understand. Its population composed of a mixture of Sunni and Shia brands of Islam. Culturally and politically, Herat has long been tied into the Iranian world as one of the major cities of Khorasan. It owed its importance to its agricultural productivity and its advantageous location for international trade. It was a junction city that linked the Iranian plateau to China via the Central Asian silk route. Herat was also a key city in Indian trade. During Timurid Empire, Herat was a center of art and literature, particularly renowned for its production of Persian miniature paintings and poetry.31 Besides, Herat has been a strategically and politically vital place in the rivalry between the Russian and British empires in later half of the 19th century.32 Kandahar, the second largest city,33 is southern Afghanistan‘s dominant city and has been its regional political center for more than five centuries. It lies in Afghanistan‘s southern desert, but has thrived as a rich agricultural zone. Kandahar is the center of the Durrani (Abdali) Pashtun tribal confederation population, which extends from there to Herat. Pashtun constituted the majority of the urban population, and Pashto is the dominant language. The Pashtun identity

28 Ibid 29 Ibid 30 Ibid 31 Barfield, 2010, p 49. 32 Khan, A, M., England, Russia and Central Asia: A Study in Diplomacy (1857- 1878). University Book Agency, Khyber Bazaar, Peshawar N. Y, p 1-29. 33 Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandahar#Demography_and_culture , Accessed on -16-05-2015

15 became politically significant when Ahmad Shah Durrani established the Durrani (Pashtun) dynasty in 1747. This dynasty ruled Afghanistan from 1747 until 1978. The dynastic capital was replaced at the founder death34 when Taimur, the favourite son of Ahmad Shah, moved it from Kandahar to Kabul.35 The Pashtun make up the overwhelming majority population of the city, however, Tajiks, Hazara, Baluch and Uzbek follow in smaller number.36 Pashto serves as the main language of the city. Balkh, the ―mother of cities‖ as the Arabs called it, is one of the oldest urban centers in the world. The capital of ancient Bactria, it was reputed to be the home of Zoroaster and the richest of all the provinces in the Persian Empire.37 Today, Balkh is just an impressive set of ruins, having been displaced by nearby Mazar-i-Sharif in the 19th century as the region‘s major city. But Mazar still plays the same dominant role in the north as did Balkh, and the site of Afghanistan‘s major Islamic shrine, attracts a large number of pilgrims. Balkh‘s location north of Hindu Kush put it outside the normal South Asian political sphere. It took a high degree of military and political power to control the northern plains from capitals based south of the Hindu Kush, so when that power weakened for any reason the north was the first region to be lost.38 By contrast, it was far easier to dominate the region from nearby Bukhara and Samarkand in Central Asia, a connection that was later reinforced by the shared Turkish ethnicity among rulers there. Over the

34 Barfield, 2010, pp 50-51. 35Rasanayagum, A., Afghanistan: A Modern History; Monarchy, Despotism or Democracy? The problems of Governance in Muslim Tradition. I.B.Taurus & Co, Ltd, London, New York 2005, p xiv. 36 Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandahar#Demography_and_culture , accessed on 16--05-2015 37 Barfield, 2010, p 51. 38 Ibid., p 52.

16 course of the past thousand years so many waves of Turkish-speaking nomads arrived in the region that it became known as Turkistan.39 Yet these immigrants (who became the Uzbek and Turkmen of today) did not so much displace the older Persian population as merge with it. Persian remained the language of the cities and the valley populations, reinforced by Tajik and Hazara migrants from the mountains.40 The ethnicities residing in the city include; Tajiks in the majority, followed by Hazara, Pashtun, Turkemen and Uzbek. The dominant language in the city is Dari, followed by Uzbeki and Pashto. 41 Eastern Afghanistan with Kabul at its center, is the heart of the Afghan state. The eastern region encompasses the drainage basin for the Kabul River and its tributaries as well as the area around Gardez and Ghazni to the south. From ancient times, the area has been the strategic link to the passes through the Hindu Kush to its north and the passes to India to its east. It was the region‘s location rather than its intrinsic wealth that made it a center of political power. Afghan state first rotated its administrative capital between Kabul and Peshawar. When Peshawar lost to the Sikhs in the early nineteenth century, Jalalabad became the winter capital.42 Eastern Afghanistan has historically had both the highest regional population densities in the country, four times that found in the south and, twice that found in the northern plains, and the largest percentage of its country‘s population as 30 percent. Kabul has closer connections with the higher mountain villages bordering the agricultural valleys than does Kandahar, Herat, or Balkh, since they lie so much closer. In modern times, Kabul has

39 Ibid., p 52. 40 Ibid., p 52. 41 Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazar-i-Sharif#Demography accessed on 17-05-2015 42 Barfield, Afghanistan, 52.

17 been Afghanistan‘s leading city, with two and a half to three times the population of any other city in the country.43 Various ethnic groups reside in Kabul including Sikhs and Hindus44, but Tajiks, Pashtun, Hazara and Uzbek are the major ethnic groups residing in the city.45 Dari and Pashto are widely used in the region, however; Dari is the lingua franca.46 Kabul and the east are also the most ethnically diverse parts of the country because they sit on an ethnic fracture zone. The plains north of Kabul and the city itself are home to the Tajiks; the lands south and east are home to the Ghilzais Pashtuns. Hazara inhabit many sections of the city in substantial numbers, since their mountain homeland lies directly to the west. Kabul also has minority populations such as the Qizilbash and Nuristanis. It is presently the most important urban center in the country. Being largest Afghanistan‘s Pashtun group, the Ghilzais reside throughout the east,47 the tribes include; Hotaki, Tokhi, Kharoti, Nasiri, Taraki, Sulaiman Khel, and Ahmadzai.48

43 Ibid., pp 52-53. 44 Matinuddin, K., Power Struggle in the Hindukush: Afghanistan (1978-1991). Wajid Alis (Pvt) Limited, Lahore 1991, p 3. 45 Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kabul Accessed 17-05-2015 46 Ibid. 47 Barfield, 2010, p 53. 48 Tapper, R (Edited) The Conflict of Tribe and State in Iran and Afghanistan, (New York: CROOM HELM. London & Canberra. ST. MARTINS PRESS, 1983, 125. (hereafter cited as Tapper, Tribe and State)

1.2 WHAT IS ETHNICITY?

The widely agreed upon, but not uncontroversial, the basic social anthropological model of ethnicity49 outlined by Richard Jenkins, can be summarized as under;

I. Ethnicity involves cultural differentiation and identification; it contains a dialectical relationship between similarity and difference. II. Ethnicity reflects shared meanings or culture. It is also produced and reproduced during interaction. III. Ethnicity is not fixed rather constructivist. IV. Ethnicity is biologically replicating. V. Ethnicity is identification, collective and individual. It is categorization of others, identification of the self.50

For Nathan Glazer and Daniel Moynihan, ethnicity appeared as a new term, in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1972.51 David Riesman, the American sociologist, used it for the first time in 1953.52 Derived from the Greek ethnos (itself derived from the word ethnikos)53, the word ‗ethnic‟ is, however, much older, and originally meant heathen or pagan. In English, it began to use in this sense from mid-14th- mid-19th centuries.54 This turned gradually to refer to racial

49 Jenkins, R., Rethinking Ethnicity. SAGE Publications, London, California, New Delhi, Singapore, 2008, p 42. 50 Ibid., p 14. 51Burchfied, W, R., Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary Volume 1, Oxford: Oxford University Press, Reprint edition, 1972. 52Erikson, 2008, p 3. 53Ibid., p 4. 54Ibid., p 4.

characteristics.55 In its earliest record form, ethnos indicated a large, identical number of animals or humans. In the Illiad,56 Homer has used ethnos for a variety of ‗bunches‘: hosts of men, flocks of animals, and swarms of insects. During the World War II, ‗ethnics‘ was used as a polite term in the USA for Jews, Italian, Irish and people considered inferior to the dominant White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASP group).57 Except Max Weber (1864-1920), none of the founding members of sociology and anthropology, has granted ethnicity much attention.58 Fredrik Barth‘s (1928-2016)59 work, Ethnic Groups and Boundaries has proposed originally the notion of ethnicity as the social organization of culture difference;60 this seminal work has stemmed much current anthropological conventional wisdom about ethnicity. Barth, in ‗Introduction‘ to that collection has outlined the model of ethnicity, which is intended as a corrective to the structural-functionalist understanding of the human world, dominant within anthropology as a system of more or less

55Ibid., p 4. 56Homer., The Iliad: The Story of Achilles, Translated by W.H.D. Rouse. First Published by Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, N.P. 1938, pp 309. 57Erikson, 2008, p 4. 58Weber, M., Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretative Sociology, ed. Guenther, Roth and Claus, Wittich, Berkeley. University of California Press, Los Angeles, London., 1978, pp 385-398. 59 Fredrik Barth, a Norwegian social anthropologist published several ethnographic works with a clear formalist view. He was well-known among anthropologists for his transactional analysis of political processes in the Swat Valley of northern Pakistan, and his study of micro-economic processes and entrepreneurship in the area of Darfur in Sudan. Barth edited Ethnic Groups and Boundaries (1969), and outlines an approach to the study of ethnicity that focuses on the ongoing negotiations of boundaries between groups of people. According to him, such groups are not discontinuous cultural isolates, or logical a priories to which people naturally belong. 60 Barth, F., (ed). Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Cultural Difference. Published in Norway by Universitetsforlaget, Bergen, Oslo, In United States of America by Little Brown and Company, Boston, In United Kingdom by George Allen & Unwin, London, 1969.

unproblematic, more or less firmly bounded societies and social groups. Although it has clear predecessors in the Chicago School, in Leach‘s work, the Copperbelt studies and in less known contributions by Soviet scholars.61 Barth‘s essay was remarkable for its clarity and conciseness and played a pivotal part in delineating the field of enquiry in the anthropological study of ethnicity.62 For practical purposes, he discarded culture from the concept of ethnicity and for him, ethnic boundaries were psychological boundaries. Boundaries are established in ethnic groups as result of group relations through mutual perceptions and not by means of any objectively distinct culture.63 Common culture is regarded as an implication than a primary and definitional characteristic.64 However, Barth (1994) emphasized later that the cultural stuff did matter.65 In Afghanistan, qaum, a flexible term, referring to (kin, clan, village, tribe, ethnic/vocational/confessional group, profession, and/or nation, and ethnicity) has been found constructivist. Religion may be the banner of unity for all Afghan ethnic groups. Besides, disparity, according to The Oxford Dictionary, is the quality or state of being unequal rank, condition, circumstances, etc.

1.3 ETHNIC GROUPS IN AFGHANISTAN

For Fredrik Barth, ethnic groups include four criteria: they are biologically replicating, share fundamental cultural values, constitute a

61 Bromley, Y., (Edited). Soviet Ethnology and Anthropology Today. Monton &Co. N.V., Publishers. The Hague. 1974. 62Erikson, 2008, pp 43-44. 63 Isajiw, 1993, pp 407-27. 64Erikson, 2008, p 11. 65 Barth, F., Enduring and Emerging Issues in the Analysis of Ethnicity‘ in ‗The Anthropology of Ethnicity Beyond Ethnic Groups and Boundaries‘, ed. Hans, Vermeulen & Cora, Govers, Amsterdam: HET SPINHUIS, 1994.

21 field of communication and interaction, and are defined through self- definition and definition by others‖.66 The focus of Barth was the ethnic boundary not cultural content.67 To Eller, an American anthropologist, ethnicity produces ethnic groups. It is related to the process of attachment, identity, cohesion, solidarity, and belonging, or it is ―consciousness of difference‖ and ―mobilization around difference.‖68 Beginning in the United States, the notion of ethnicity had no appearance in widespread anthropological use until the 1960s,69 Thomas Hylland confirms that view.70 The terms such as, ethnicity, ethnic, and ethnic group, steadily emerging from late 1960s until 1990s, have widely been used since then, for two reasons, first, owing to the changes in the world, second, variations in dominant thoughts in anthropology.71 Therefore, ethnicity is a flexible aspect of relationship between the social groups, having cultural identification and categorization (Us and Them).

Ethnicity has been found constructivist in Afghanistan. For Nazif Shahrani, an Afghan-American anthropologist, ethnicity is ―a means of adaptation for individuals and collectivities within the changing socio-ecological conditions of their environment, it is a dynamic phenomenon, subject to temporal redefinition and reorganization with potential for defining structural integrity,

66 Barth, Ethnic Groups and Boundaries, 1969, pp 10-11. 67 Ibid., p 15. 68Eller, J, D., From Culture to Ethnicity to Conflict: An Anthropological Perspective on International Ethnic Conflict. Ann Arbor, The University of Michigan Press, 2002, pp 8-9. 69Ibid., p 18. 70Erikson, H, T., Ethnicity and Nationalsim: Anthropological Perspectives. Pluto Press, New York 2010, p 1. 71 Ibid., pp 11-12.

22 distinctiveness and effectiveness for people so organized‖.72 According to Thomas Barfield, though, ethnic groups in Afghanistan assert that ethnicity is primordial, however, in practice, it has been found flexible rather constructivist.73 A tribal group may change a significant ancestor in an oral genealogy to reflect social distance. Even, groups in conflict cut back ties to make their lineages appear more distant and less worthy of cooperation. To promote cooperation, Pashtun may incorporate a neighboring group by grafting their genealogy onto one‘s own at a higher level.74 Discussing ethnic composition of Afghanistan, Erwin Orywal and collaborators have listed 55 ethnic groups.75 For him, these groups and identities as local categories are relative, varied, and dynamic.76 His ethnic groups include: ―Arab (Arabic speakers), Arab (Persian speakers), Aimaq, Baluch, Baluch (Jat Baluch), Brahui, Eshkashimi, Farsiwan, Firuzkuhi, Gavarbati, Gharbat, Gujar, Hazara, Hazara-Sunni, Hindu, Jalali, Jamshedi, Jat, Jogi, Kirghiz, Kutana, Maliki, Mawri, Mishmast, Moghol, Mountain-Tajik, Munjani, Nuristani, Ormuri, Parachi, Pashai, Pashtun, Pikraj, Qarliq, Qazak, Qipchak, Qizilbash, Rushani, Sanglichi, Shadibaz, Sheghrani, SheykhMuhammadi, Sikh, Taheri, Tajik, Tatar, Taymani, Taymuri, Tirahi, Turkmen, Uzbek,

72 Shahrani, Nazif., Ethnic Relations and Access to Resources in Northeast Badakhshan. In Ethnic Processes and Intergroup Relations in Contemporary Afghanistan: Papers presented at the Eleventh Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association at New York City, Nov, 10, 1977. P 15. Accessed from, http://www.afghandata.org.8080/xmluilbitstream/haret_ds354_5_a53_1928_w.pdf?S equence+1&isAlowed=y 73 Barfield, 2010, p 21. 74 Ibid., pp 21-22. 75Orywal, E., 1986, (Hg.) DieethnischenGruppenAfghanistans.FallstudienzuGruppenidentitätund Intergruppenbeziehungen.BeiheftezumTübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients (TAVO), Reihe B, Nr. 70, Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. 76 Ibid., pp 9-18.

Wakhi, Wangawala, Yahudi, and Zuri‖.77 It is evident that he has taken into account kin, clan, village, tribe, ethnic/vocational/confessional group, profession and nationality. H. B. Bellow has mentioned six ethnic groups in his Races of Afghanistan, viz. the Afghans (Pashtun), Tajik, Hazara, Aimaq, Uzbek and Kafir.78 Louis Dupree cited twenty one such groups, including: Pashtun, Tajik, Farsiwan, Qizilbash, Hazara, Aimaq, Moghol, Uzbek, Turkmen, Kirghiz, Pamiri, Baluch, Brahui, Nuristani, Kohistani, Gujar, Jat Guji (called Gujar in North), Arab, Hindu, Sikh and Jew.79 Abdul Ghani mentioned eleven ethnic groups and divided them into Afghans (Pashtun) and non-Afghans (Tajik, Turk, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, Hindki, Arab, Qizilbash, Hindu and Jew.80 Thomas Barfield has described seventeen ethnic groups including: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, Aimaq, Nuristani, Pashai, Qizilbash, Baluch, Arab, Pamiris, Jugis, Jats, Kirghiz, Hindu, Sikh.81 The Constitution of Afghanistan, 2004 has recognised fourteen ethnic groups including: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, Baluch, Pashai, Nuristani, Aimaq, Arab, Kirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujar, and Brahui.82 The four major ethnic groups, Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara constituting 90% of the Afghan population,83 are considered to be prominent players in the

77 Ibid., pp 18-19. 78 Bellow, B, H., Races of Afghanistan. Thacker, Spink And Co, Calcutta 1880, p 13. 79 Dupree, 1980, pp 55-65. 80 Ghani, A., A Brief Political History of Afghanistan. ed. Abdul Jaleel Najfi. Najaf Publishers, Lahore N.Y, p 31. 81 Barfield, 2010, pp 24-31. 82 Article 4, The Constitution of Afghanistan, 2004. 83 Wafayezada, Q, M., Ethnic Politics, Ethnic Political Parties and the Future of Democratic Peacebuilding in Afghanistan, p- 69. Retrieved from http://hdl.hsndle.net/2297/32790, Accessed on 25-05-2015, and Riphenburg, J, K. Electoral Systems in a Divided Society: The Case of Afghanistan. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20455479 on 25-05-2015.

24 socio-political milieu of Afghanistan. The above discussion constitutes Afghanistan as a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural state. All major ethnic groups of Afghanistan except the Hazara, have overlapping international borders into neighbouring countries. In the south-east, Pashtun overlap with Pashtun in Pakistan; specifically, with Tribal Areas (FATA), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa84 and Baluchistan85. The Baluch residing in the south and southeast of Afghanistan (Nimroz, Helmand, Kandahar), overlap with Baluch in Baluchistan (Pakistan) and Iran (Siestan) in the southeast.86 In the north, Tajik, Uzbek and Turkmen have their own co-ethnics residing in independent states of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan respectively. The Hazara, though Mongols, have Shia confessional ties with Iran. In the west, Herat, mainly Pashtun and Tajik dominated, have cultural ties with Iran. In the north-east, Wakhi overlap into Pakistan (Wakhan, Kalash) and Chinese Uighur (Sinkiang), while Brahui overlap into the southeast with Baluchistan, Pakistan. The neighbouring states of Afghanistan have in-built mechanism and incentives to meddle into its internal affairs (see Chapter 4).87 Situations had been further complicated when the regional (Russia, Saudi Arabia, India, China) and extra-regional (West, NATO) states interfered into by fueling or undermining ethnicity. Following are the brief descriptions of the four major ethnic groups including the smaller ones.

84 Dupree, 1980, pp 55-65. 85 Goodson, 2001, p 14. 86 Dupree, 1980, p 57. 87 Goodson, 2001, p 17.

1.4 THE PASHTUN

Scholars tend to agree that Pashtun comprise the largest plurality in Afghanistan followed by Tajiks, Hazara and Uzbek.88 The Pashtun, politically dominant since 1747, have ruled the country throughout its most history. Historically, the word ―Afghan‖ has been synonymous with ―Pashtun‖. In that sense, Afghanistan could be equated with the ―land of the Pashtuns‖.89 However, presently, ―Afghan‖ stands for the national character, and the outside world view them regardless of ethnic origin.90 Yet, the ethnic groups other than Pashtun contest it, they prefer ―Afghani‖ or ―Afghanistani.‖ For them, Afghan implies Pashtun.91

The origin of Pashtuns is shrouded in mystery. We have no appearance of the word ‗Pashtun‘ in historical records prior to 17th century A.D. except the word paktuk, which appears in Herodotus‘s (484-430 B.C.) 92 work while composing the Greek strides in around the northwestern borders of ancient India. Pactyica is mentioned as the land of Pashtun in this work.93 When the Aryan tribes came to Bakhdi and Bakhtar, and Balkh (their central place), a tribe named pakht (Pakhtun) remained from Bakhtari Aryans, which spread to Indian and Iranian lands crossing Indus. Veda, the Aryan‘s holy book written around 1400 B.C. describes mostly about present Pashtun lands,

88 Maley, W., The Afghanistan Wars. Macmillan: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002, p 20. 89Barfield, 2010, p 24. 90Ibid., p 24. 91 Ibid., p 24. 92 Khan, A, M., Peoples of Central Asia. Biannual Research Journal No.48 (Summar 2001) ‗Central Asia‘. Area Study Centre (Russia, China & Central Asia), University of Peshawar, pp 22-24. 93 Habibi, H, A., Da Pakhto Adbiyato Tarikh, Volume-1. Government Printing Press, Kabul, Pashto Academy, 1946, p 30.

26 mountains and rivers.94 Avesta, another book of the region, written around 1000 B.C., though does not mention the word Pakht or Pakhtun, but shows description of Bakhdi-Balkh culture.95 Pakht of Veda and Pakti or Paktis of Herododus seem same leading to the word order such as, bakhd-bakht-pakht-pakt-pakht.96 For Varaha Mihira (505-587 A.D.), the Indian astrologer, the first mention of Afghan dates back to the 6th century. The Afghans, living within the territory of eastern Afghanistan, were referred to as ―Avagana‖ (presumably Afghan) in his book, Brhat Samhita. During his visit of India in the 7th Century (629-645 A.D.), the Chinese pilgrim Hsuan Tsang mentions ―A-pokien‖, a people suggestive of Afghans. They lived more precisely in the area of the Suleiman Range.97 Besides, in Muslim sources, there may be found an earliest mention of Afghan, particularly in the work of the Arab chronicler Ibn‘l Athir (976), and in Hudud al-Alam (982).98 The latter work is an anonymous Persian geography. The Persian works mentions Afghan a small population inhabiting the Suleiman Range. Al-Utbi, the secretary of the King Mahmud of Ghzni, reports in his 11th century work, Tarikh-I Yamini that Afghan formed a contingent in the Ghaznavide monarch‘s army. Alberuni, later, identified various Afghan tribes located along the frontier of Western-India. Ibn Battuta had passed through Kabul in 1333. He claimed that he had met ―a tribe of Persians called Afghans‖ who were mostly highwaymen living in the Suleiman Range, and

94 Ibid., p 26. 95 Ibid., p 29. 96 Ibid., p 30. 97Gregorian, V., The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan: Politics of Reform and Modernization (1880-1946), Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1969, p 29. 98Ibid., p 29.

27 possessed considerable strength.99 According to Schurmann, during Babur‘s time, the term, ―Afghanistan‖ used in a restricted sense, referred to south of Ghazni, inhabited by Afghans. However, from the end of the 13th century on, Afghans are mentioned in the Kirman- Yazd-Fars regions of Persia, fighting as mercenaries of the Kurt rulers of Herat, and plundering caravans going between Persia and India. During 11-18th centuries, the Afghan expansion from the Suleiman Range and their nature of early Afghan society, remains unstudied.100 The word Pashto appears for the first time in a historical text called Madan-e-Ikhbaar-e-Ahmadi by Ahmad Bin Bahbal Bin Jamal Kamgaar written in 1611.101 The treatise on theology Khairul Bayan102 by Bayazid Ansari (1522-84 A.D.), written in 1572 in four languages such as Pashto, Persian, Arabic and Punjabi 103 is another report on the existence of Pashto language.104 Besides, Tazkeratul Aoliya, a fragmentary Pashto work of which we have 4-6 pages extant in original, was written in 1215 A.D. by Sulaiman Makoo.105 In Makhzan-e-Afghani or Tarikh-e- Khan Jehani106 written by Khwaja Nematullah Harwi in early 17th century, in Deccan, India, attributes semitic origin to the Afghans, that Qais Abdur Rashid, the putative common ancestor of Pashtuns, converted to Islam, and his grandson

99Ibid., p 29. 100Ibid., pp 29-30. 101 Khan, A, M., 2001, p 24. 102 Roshan, B., Khairul Bayan. Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Kabul University 1975. 103 Habibi, H, A., Pakhto Nasar Ta Karkatanai. Academy of Sciences, Kabul 1981, p 5. 104 Khan, A, M., 2001, pp 22-24. 105 Hewadmal, Z., Da Pakhto Nasar Ata Sawa Kala. Millat Printers, Lahore 1996, pp 132-147, and Habibi, H, A., , 1981, p 5. Lahore: 106 Ibid., Habibi, p 5.

28 was named Afghaniah.107 However, this fact is not supported by the writings and histories of the 10th century Utbi (Kitabul Tamini), Alberuni (Kitabul Hind), Ibnul Asir (Taarikh-e-Kamil) and Fakhri Mudabir (Adabul Harb Val Shujaa) all 10th, 11th and onward centuries works mention the region in general and Afghans in particular, who were non-Muslims, converted to the new faith with the Ghaznavide and Ghoride occupations of this area.108 The Afghan writers Abdul Hai Habibi, Ahmad Ali Kohzad and Mir Ghulam Muhammad Ghubar, mostly reach somewhat close to the issue, are lost at the end.109 Russian writer and translator of Makhzan in 1820, Bernhard Dorn, the Norwegian linguist G. Morgenstierne, and the two British writers G. P. Tate and Olaf Caroe reject Nematullah‘s theory and consider Pashtuns an indigenous product of the ethnic cosmopolity.110 Besides, H. B. Bellow assumes Afghans (Pashtun) from Bani Israel.111 According to Gregorian, both Afghan and western writers ascribed Jewish origin to the Pashtun, however, western writers after substantiating this theory, found no convincing evidence to consider the theory of the Jewish origin of the Pashtuns.112 Modern scholars trace that Afghans belong to the Irano-Afghan branch of the Indo-European or Aryan peoples. According to them, Pashtuns have some admixture of Turkic, Mongol, and other groups.113

107 Harwi, N, K., Tarikh-e-Khan Jehani wa Makhzan-e-Afghani (compiled). Markazi Urdu Board Gulberg, Lahore 1978. 108 Ibid., p 25. 109 Ibid., p 25. 110 Ibid., p 25. 111 Bellow, B, H., The Races of Afghanistan: Being a Brief Account of the Principal Nations inhabiting that Country. Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, Chinnai, 2004, pp 15-16. 112 Gregorian,1969, p 27. 113 Ibid., pp 28-29.

Qais Abdur Rashid, the putative father of all Pashtuns, had three sons; Sarban, Bitan and Ghorghast, from whose lines multiple subtribes of the Pashtuns sprang, placed in the Central Asian surroundings, in and around Afghanistan.114 Pashtun descent groups are composed of lineages. United into larger clans, they are grouped in four maximal descent groups: Durranis, Ghilzais, Gurghusht, and Karlanri.115 The Durranis comprise the descendants of Qais‘s first son that reside in the south and southwest of Afghanistan. Their major tribal components are divided between the Zirak (Popalzai, Alikozai, Barakzai, and Achakzai) and the Panjpao (Nurzai, Alizai, and Isaqzai). The Pashtun tribes in Peshawar: Yusafzai, Shinwari, and Mohmand claim descent through this line.116 Qais second son‘s descendants are, the Ghilzais, but they are considered through his daughter. Being largest Afghanistan‘s Pashtun tribal group, Ghilzais reside throughout the east, the tribes include; Hotaki, Tokhi, Kharoti, Nasiri, Taraki, Sulaiman Khel, and Ahmadzai.117 Qais third son‘s descendants are the Ghurghusht, the tribe include; Kakar, and Musa Khel (bordering the Baluch) and the Safi (in the Kunar region). Besides, the Karlanri (often labeled Pathans by the British), asserted to be descendants of an adopted child of uncertain origin, straddling the Afghan-Pakistan border. Bulk of its populations reside in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the tribes include; Wardak, Orakzai, Afridi, Wazir, Jaji, Tani, Khattak,

114Khan, 2001, pp 24-25. 115Barfield, 2010, pp 24-25. 116 Ibid., p 25. 117 Tapper, R., N.Y., p 125.

Zadran, Mangal, Mahsud, Khugiani118, Marwat, Banuchis, Dawar, Bangash, Turi, Hani, Utman khel, Dilazak, and Zazi.119 The emergence of Pashtun to prominence in Afghanistan (since 1747) brought their tribal code Pashtunwali as a legal system in the settling of disputes. Pashtunwali is a way of life, its primary features include: melmastia (hospitality); nanawati (asylum); badal (blood revenge); torah (bravery); meranah (manhood); isteqamat (persistence); sabat (steadfastness); imandari (righteousness); ghyrat (defense of the property and honour); and namus (defense of the honour of women). Pashtunwali is a code of behavior, while, jirga is an institution of conflict resolution in Afghan society.120 According to Frederik Barth, melmastia (hospitality), jirga (council) and purdah (seclusion) are the three central institutions providing organizational mechanisms to realize core Pashtun values fairly successfully.121 Pashtuns ideals demands adherence to Pashtunwali and the ability to speak Pashto.122 Though, the ability to speak Pashto is not enough. The person who does Pashto, not speaking Pashto, is considered Pashtun, and ‗doing‟ Pashto in this sense means living by a rather exacting code, Pashtunwali in terms of which some Pashto speakers consistently fall short.123 The Pashtun tribal organization is based on the principals of patrilineality, honour, and obligation as realized for political and judicial purposes through the mechanism of the council (jirga). Its

118 Barfield, 2010, p 25. 119 Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pashtun_tribes#karlani. Accessed 28- 06-2015 120 Goodson, 2001, p 16. 121 Barth, 1969, pp 120-123. 122 Barfield, 2010, pp 24-25. 123Barth, F., Features of Person and Society in Swat Collected Essays on Pathans, Volume-II.( ed). Adam, Kuper. Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, London 1981, p 105.

31 model of whole system is the group of brothers. It includes independent men with separable interests. They keep peace by common blood. Their unification is based on equality and as corporate body through joint decision making.124 The tribal political structures of Pashtun are essentially acephalous: they constitute by lineage councils (jirgas) arranged in a hierarchy of inclusiveness. Within councils of every level the interest, and in the long run, survival, of individuals and segments can only be secured through debate, requiring the skilled use of idiom. Besides, Baluch tribes have a centralized form: socially stratified. Their structure is composed of channels of communication through echelons of leaders.125 Thus, Pashtun as a majority ethnic group in Afghanistan, have a long history, established socio-cultural system, with a political culture.

1.4.1 THE TAJIK The term, Tajik has derived from Taiy; (its original form, Tazik/Tezik), the Arabic tribal name. It was used for ‗Arab‘ in Central Asia. Later, it came to be used for the Iranian subjects of the Arabs in contrast to the Turks.126 H.B. Bellow supports this theory,127 however, the owner of rich culture and pomp society, the Tajiks are by most accounts considered an Aryan stock living since recorded history in Turkistan, Afghanistan, the Pamir region, in parts of Sinkiang, Iran and even moved with the passage of time on to the Indo-Pak sub- continent.128 For Gregorian, they constitute the aboriginal inhabitants

124 Ibid., pp 95-99. 125 Ibid., pp 93-94. 126 Akiner, S., Islamic Peoples of the Soviet Union. p-303 127 Bellow, 2004, pp 109-110. 128 Khan, 2001, p 21.

32 of the country.129 The western writers such as, T. Noldeke and W. W. Barthold hold the emphasis on the theory of Bano Tay, which was the nearest bordering Arab tribe on the north-east of desert An-Nefud towards Persia. Every Arab entering the west from Basra to Persia was Tay or Tay Chik (belonging to Tay). Tay developed to Tazi, which in Persian means Arab. Thus, Arab travelers and/or traders were called Tazi in Persian, the word, later on, moved to Central Asia. Every person entering from Persian side, irrespective of his ethnicity, was called Tazi, and the people thus called Tajiki.130 To an Iranian, Tajik is a non-Turk, non-Arab and a descendent of the Arab settled in Ajam (Persia). They are considered Persian by the Turkic population of Central Asia. To an Afghan, they are migrant from the north-west. Tajik for themselves use the term Parsigoay. A large number of Tajik sub-tribes, known after the residence, include; Badzhus, Bartangi, Khik or Vakhi, Khufis, Ghugnan, Rushan, Shikomshi or Ishkasji and Yazgulmish.131 The Tajiks, usually defined as non-tribal Persian-speaking Sunni Muslims, having the least internal coherence,132 do not make a genealogical claim of association between its members.133 However, they maintain common identity distinguished primarily by residence.134 They reside chiefly around Kohistan and Kabul, and in the valleys of the Panjshir River and the Upper Oxus.135 They make up the

129 Gregorian, 1969, p 32. 130 Ibid., pp 21-22. 131 Ibid., p 21. 132 Barfield, 2010, p 26. 133 Ghittard, C, A., (Unpublished Senior Thesis). Qawm: Tribe-State Relations in Afghanistan from Darius to Karzai. The College of Arts and Sciences, Boston. 2011, Retrieved from https://dlib.bc.edu/islandora/object/bc- ir:102201/datastream/PDF/view Accessed on 05-06-2015 134 Barfield, 2010, p 22. 135Gregorian, 1969, p 33.

33 majority urban residence in Kabul, Herat and Mazar. Tajiks respond with their regional affiliation (Badakhshi, Panjsheri, Shmali, Salangi etc) or city residence (Kabuli or Herati) when asked about their identity. Tajiks of rural areas practice subsistence farming, but those in urban areas, overwhelmingly associated with business community, bureaucracy, and the educated clergy. Dari is the lingua franca in Afghanistan as well as the language of government administration. Literacy in Persian provide Tajik a great edge in Afghanistan. It gives them powerful role no matter who rules the country. A tendency exists, according to which, some Dari speaker groups classify any Dari speaker as a Tajik. Some categorize any detribalized urban resident as Tajik. This inclination may be found particularly in Kabul. Co-ethnic Tajiks reside across the border in Tajikistan.136 According to Bellow, Tajik, during the second half of 19th century, occupied a subordinate, and to some extent, a servile position amongst the inhabitants of Afghanistan, and had no voice in the government or politics.137 Besides, enjoying high reputation for their intelligence, fidelity and industry, they were engaged in high skillful jobs in the cities such as, accountants, secretaries and overseers in public and private establishments, and worked as farmers and gardeners in rural areas138. Throughout history, Afghanistan witnessed two Tajik rule in the 20th century; in 1929 (for a period of 9 months)139 and another during 1992-94.140 Presently, the Tajiks are much established in the socio-economic and political fields.

136Gladstone, C., Afghanistan Revisited. Nova Publishers, 2001, p 128. 137 Bellow, 2004, pp 111-112. 138 Ibid., p 112. 139 Rasanayagam, 2005, p 22. 140 Barfield, 2010, p 250.

Some of the finest Asiatic writers, poet and thinkers emerged from Tajiks such as, Bu Ali Sina (Avicena), Alberuni, Farabi, Jami, Behzad and Roomi. The Soviets included Saadi, Khyyam and Firdousi amongst them, though they were Persian.141

1.4.2 THE HAZARA

The Hazara reside in the central range of the Hindu Kush, in Afghanistan, a region known as Hazarajat. They are Shia Muslims, engaged in alpine subsistence agriculture and livestock breeding,142 however, Ismailism is widespread among the Shaikh Ali Hazara, though, the Aimak and Taimani Hazara are Sunni Muslims.143 Some Tajiki-speaking Sunni Hazara are found in the upper reaches of central valleys of Badakhshan.144 The Hazara converted to Twelver (Imami) shiism in the 1500s when Iran converted to the same belief by the Safavids.145 This made Pashtun and Uzbek their enemy in the neighbourhood.146

The Hazara, descended from the Mongol armies (13th century),147 speak Hazargi, a dialect of Dari. There seems difficult to establish direct linguistic connections between Hazara and Mongols. A large Mongolian element exists in the Hazara dialect. It suggests fundamental cultural contact with the Mongols in history.148 According to Mousavi, their ancestors can be traced back to the Turkic inhabitants

141 Khan, 2001, p 22. 142 Barfield, 2010, p 27. 143 Gregorian, 1969, p 34. 144 Shahrani, Nazif., 1977, p 15. 145 Williums, G, B., Afghanistan.Retrieved from http://www. brianglynwilliums.com/pdfs/20120301114407597.pdf 146 Ibid., p 183. 147Barfield, 2010, p 27, and Williums, G, B., Afghanistan, p183. 148Gregorian,1969, pp 33-34.

35 of Central and Eastern Asia, who had migrated to the Hazarajat from Southern and Northern Hindu Kush more than 2300 years ago.149 They came to spread Buddhism from the south and to conquer India from the north. A probability is based on the artifacts found in Bamiyan valley that the Buddhist monks who brought Buddhism into the region were from Nepal, Tibet and southern China.150 According to Bellow, the interior of Hazara country was unknown to Europeans until the second half of 19th century.151 Besides, the Hazara had a reputation of brave and hardy race, though, among the Afghans (Pashtun) were considered faithful, industrious and intelligent as servants.152 Hazarajat contains three principal groups- the Dai-Kindi, Dai-Zengi and Bahsud. In addition to the Hazarajat, six other groups of Hazara are; the Koh-i-Baba, Sheikh Ali, Badakhshan, Aimak, and Taimani.153 Hazara formed agriculture and animal husbandry until the second half of 19th century, however, money economy had been unknown to them.154 Mousavi has presented three theories about the origin of Hazara. The first theory, proposed by French scholar J. P. Ferrier in the 19th century, states that Hazara are inhabitants of Afghanistan since the time of Alexander the Great155 and are Indo-Aryan.156 Abdul Hai Habibi supports this theory, and according to him, the word Hazar originated from an ancient Aryan word meaning ‗pure-hearted‘ and „generous‟, it does not mean thousand, the Farsi translation of the

149Mousavi, 1998, p 43. 150Ibid., p 43. 151Bellow, 2004, p 113. 152Ibid., p 116. 153Gregorian, 1969, p 34. 154Ibid., p 34. 155 Mousavi, 1998, pp 21-22. 156 Ibid., p 22.

Mogholi ming.157 The proponents of the second theory are Armenius Vambery, Mount Stuart Elphinstone, H. W. Bellow and Alexander Burns, according to which, the Hazara descended from Moghol soldiers who came to Afghanistan with Chingez Khan‘s army.158 They imbued in the language and culture of Tajiks.159 Other supporters of this theory believe Hazara as descendants of Turko-Mongol origin. They consider Hazara as descendants of both Moghol and Turkic soldiers, who came with Chingez Khan and Amir Timur respectively, and settled. The third theory assume that Hazara are the descendants of mixture of various peoples such as Turks, Moghols, Tajiks, Afghan etc.160 This theory was put forward by H. F. Schurmann in 1962, and supported by M.H. Kakar. According to Schurmann, Hazara was not an ethnic group, but a social name, which referred to nomads inhabiting south-eastern Iran and south-western Afghanistan in 14th century, which included other ethnic groups such as the Nikudaris, Nauruzis, Jurmais, and even Afghans. They migrated to the east, Hazarajat, and Kabul, and, resultantly, during the reign of Babur, the Hazara people were formed.161 Kakar assumes Hazara as the descendants of Moghol soldiers, mainly Chaghatain, who entered Afghanistan in between 1229 and 1447, married the aboriginal Barbar (Tajik) women of central and neighbouring regions of Afghanistan, and formed the people Hazara in the 16th century.162 Resultantly, we can conclude Hazara as descendants of Chingez Khan‘s army who invaded this region in the 13th century.

157 Ibid., p 23. 158 Bellow, 2004, p 114. 159 Mousavi, 1998, p 24. 160 Ibid., p 29. 161 Ibid., pp 29-30. 162 Ibid., p 30.

Prior to the suppression by Amir Abdur Rehman during the period 1890-1893 in Afghanistan, the Hazara remained independent and autonomous in Hazarajat. However, the Amir subjugated the Hazarajat by then.163 The Hazara were suppressed, sold as slaves in Kabul, and their pasture lands were given to Pashtun. They were forced to leave Hazarajat; numerous population migrated outside Afghanistan, while a lot of population displaced internally. Population transfer made their number third in Kabul by size in the 1970s. 164 Hazara are shia by sect and Mongol by race. Due to these, they were victim of prejudice on religious and racial grounds. This made their social mobility difficult in Afghanistan. They were considered at bottom in Afghanistan‘s ethnic hierarchy. Systematically, the Pashtun- dominated governments excluded them from almost all government positions and educational opportunities.165 Hazara are traditionally treated as non-conformist, hostile, and heretical. Religion was often used as a pretext for subjugating them. In the early 19th century, the Sunni Uzbek fought the Shia Hazara more than once in the name of religious unity and purity. Slavery officially abolished in 1895 in Afghanistan, however, the Hazara continued to have little economic or social status.166 Until the 1960s, they were generally denied access to higher education or the higher ranks of military or bureaucracy.167 The Hazara reacted sharply against the dominance of Pashtun among the Khalqi officials, who enforced Taraki‘s government reforms. By autums 1978, the Hazara fighters and the Kabul regime forces battled in Bamiyan, The Hazara viewed Khalqi-communist

163Gregorian,1969, p 35. 164 Barfield, 2010, p 27. 165Ibid., p 27. 166Gregorian,1969, pp 34-35. 167Rasayanagum, 2005, p 131.

38 reforms as the ‗rebirth of Pashtun power‘, and resisted it with tooth and nail. Later by 1981, the Soviet-Afghan forces ceased attacking Hazarajat provinces, leaving the control of the area exclusively in local hands.168 During the PDPA‘s government (Parcham rule) the Hazara situations changed somewhat; a Hazara became prime minister and another a deputy minister of Afghanistan, as well as they got minor government posts. 169 Sultan Ali Keshtmand, a Hazara, appointed prime minister by Babrak Karmal,170 and the Hazara were engaged in lucrative transport activities. In early 1990s, the government in Kabul armed them against the Mujahideen.171 Before 1987, the Pashtun had been allowed to form a Jirga. After that, Hazara were able to form the first Jirga-ye-Sarasari-e- Milliyat-e- Hazara (the Central Council of the Hazara People).172 The PDPA government treated minorities justly because of the constitutional rejection of classification such as tribe, language and religion.173 It considered all ethnic groups equal and entitled to equal legal rights according to the law.174 The languages of Uzbek, Turkemen, Baluchi and Nuristani were elevated to the status of national languages like Dari and Pashto.175 The Soviets viewed nationalities policy as a source of weakening the religious opposition to the state, and of establishing

168 Alam, T, M., The Betrayal of Afghanistan: An Analysis of the Afghan Resistance Against Soviet Union. (Ed), M.Y. Effendi, Area Study Centre (Russia, China & Central Asia), University of Peshawar, 2005. 169 Mousavi, 1998, p 176. 170 Rasayanagum, 2005, p 132. 171 Ibid., p 132. 172 Ibid., pp 176-177. 173 Ibid., p 176. 174 The Constitution of Afghanistan, Clause 36, 1987:11) 175 Ibid., p 99.

39 political ties between the various ethnic groups in Afghanistan and their co-ethnics in Iran and Pakistan.176 Gharjistan, the first independent publication by Hazara, not only criticized openly the government, but for the first time, discussed the inhuman discrimination they suffered at the hands of ruling Pashtun.177 During the national resistance movement (1978-92), the Hazara played active and unique role, however, little recognized. The active presence of Hazara in the war (1980s) made them socially, politically and culturally aware (in 1990s). The political awareness provided them sense of ethnic identity, self-determination and social justice.178 The Taliban made them particular targets during their rule.179 When they were united and politically aware, the Constitution, 2004, provided them equal rights in the country along with other major ethnic groups. It is very difficult for Hazara to trace their ancestors back more than seven or eight generations.180 Tol, Tolwar, or Tolwara are the larger units made up by several Hazara families. Every family is genealogically related to a Tol, Tayefa and Qaum. The Tol consists of a Malik, while several Tols make up a Tayefa. A complex unit than the Tol, Tayefa consists of a network of social and economic relations. Tayafa has Arbab or Khan as head. It is linked to the families through the Maliks. They refer any problems to the Arbab or Khan. The highest unit in the social hierarchy of the Hazara is the Qawm, made up of a collection of many Tayefas. Qawm is more complex network of

176 Banuazizi, A., & Weiner, M (Ed). The State, Religion and Ethnic Politics: Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. Syracuse University Press, USA., p 15. 177 Ibid., p 176. 178Mousavi, 1998, pp 175-190. 179Rasanayagum, 2005, p, 157. 180 Mousavi, 1998, p 51.

40 relations than the Tol or Tayefa. It covers political social, economic, military and cultural relations.181 Ulus182, a Turko-Mongol origin and Hazargi word, not Pashto, is the institution of conflict resolution in the Hazara. Ulus was used for decision making from personal and tribal matters to military and national affairs, is still exist and more effective than the state‘s apparatus.183

1.4.3 THE UZBEK

The word, Uzbek, originated in the 15th century, is a combination of two Turkic words Uz (himself or his) and Beg (master) or it is a changed form of the Oguz Turkic tribe.184 The Uzbek trace back their genealogy to the Mongol house of Chingez Khan.185 Living mingled with the Tajik all across the northern plains of Afghanistan, they extend from Faryab province to Faizabad, capital of Badakhshan province (or in the important cities of Mazar-i-Sharif, Maimana, Khanabad, Kunduz and Kataghan).186 There may be found many mixed Uzbek and Tajik villages. Each live in separate residential quarters. Uzbek also reside across the Afghan border, in the north, in their own state of Uzbekistan.187 The Uzbeks of Afghanistan are an extension of the Uzbeks in Uzbekistan.

The Uzbek, sunni Turkic-speaking people, descended from nomadic tribal confederations, live mainly in the northern part of Afghanistan. Until the end of 19th century, they formed ten semi-

181 Ibid., p 46. 182Ibid., p 50. 183Ibid., p 50. 184Khan, 2001, p 6. 185Ibid., p 7. 186Gregorian, 1969, p 35. 187Gladstone, C, Afghanistan Revisited‘.2001, p 129.

41 independent petty khanates and were predominantly nomadic. Today the majority have settled near the major towns of northern Afghanistan such as, Mazar-i-Sharif, Maimana, Khanabad, and Kunduz, and in the provinces of Qataghan and Badakhshan.188 Most of Uzbek are sedentary farmers, merchants and craftsmen, some breed horses and karakul sheep, a source of Afghan valuable export.189 Occupying an important geopolitical landscape between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya, their language and culture is closer to people in Uzbekistan than mainstream Afghanistan. Majority of them speak Dari as a second language.190 Several Uzbek are identified by their old tribal names. Some refer to their towns of origin in Central Asia. Uzbek follow a strict patriarchal social structure. Begs, arbab or khans are bestowed considerable authoritative powers. Hazara cherish marital endogamy.191

1.5 SMALLER GROUPS

The smaller ethnic groups in Afghanistan constitute around 13 percent or less of the total population. Some groups are politically important and have attained historical significance beyond their numbers. The Pashtun rulers have frequently followed an old strategy: to appoint members of small ethnic groups to high positions in the government and military. The objective behind was to make them more loyal. The non-existence of any political base of these groups within the larger population, made them unlikely to betray their

188Gregorian, 1969, p 35. 189Ibid., p 35. 190 Rais, B, R., Recovering the Frontier State: War, Ethnicity, and State in Afghanistan. Lexington Press, UK 2008, p 45. 191Gladstone, C., Afghanistan Revisited, p 130.

42 masters.192 The smaller ethnic groups include; the Turkmen, Parsiwan, Aimaks, Kirghiz, Pamiri, Baluch, Brahui, Nuristani, Pashai, Qizilbash, Kohistani, Gujar, Arabs, Hindus, Sikhs and Jews.193

The Turkmen, another substantial Turkic group within the country, reside in the towns of Bala Murghab, Daulatabad, and Aktcha. Predominantly nomadic or semi-nomadic, they moved freely across the Persian and Russian borders. They constitute two main tribes; the Salor and the Ersari; in 1880, the Ersaris furnished substantial military help to Amir Abdur Rehman (r.1880-1901)194 in his effort to assume full power, many Turkmen, later, were recruited into his cavalry.195 Farsiwan (or Parsiban) are Imami Shia and mainly agriculturist. They reside in Herat, Kandahar, Ghazni and other southern and western Afghan towns. Mistakenly, they are often referred to Tajik in literature.196 The Aymaq, Dari speaking semi-nomadic social group, straddling between Herat and Hazarajat,197are sunni Muslims. Mongoliod in physical features, they are incorrectly referred to as ―Chahar‖ (Dari ―four‖) Aymaq (Turkic ―tribe‖). They never use ―Chahar‖ unless and until prompted by interrogator. Rather, they refer to their tribal designations198 such as, Jamshedis, Firuzkuhis, Taimanis,

192 Barfield, 2010, p 28. 193 Dupree, 1980, pp 59-64. 194 He was the third son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan. Abdur Rahman Khan re-established the writ of the Afghan government after the disarray that followed the second Anglo-Afghan war. He became known as The Iron Amir after defeating a number of rebellions by various tribes who were led by his relatives. He ruled Afghanistan from 1880 till 1901. 195Gregorian, 1969, pp 35-36. 196 Ibid., p 59. 197Rais, 2008, p 33. 198Ibid., p 60.

Timuris, and Hazara-i-Qala-I Nau.199 They all have distinctive cultural traits, and speaking variants of the Dari language closer to Herati accent. Their relations with the Pashtuns have been peaceful and cooperative.200 Their language resembles modern Persian due to the mixture of Turkic, Mongol, and Tajik elements although.201 Aymaq reside in Iran too. There, they are called ‗Barbari‖ or ‗Berberi‘.202 The Nuri, or Kafirs, one of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the Hindu Kush, are an ethnic group, whose history is obscure.203 Some consider them descendants of the aborigines of central Afghanistan; other believe them to be of Greek origin. They had been divided into two groups, the Siapush (clothed in black) and the Sefidpush (clothed in white). The first group consisted of five tribes, while, the second, comprised three.204 Nuris converted to Islam in 1890s. It was once considered the only major pagan group inside Afghanistan. They professed a polytheistic religion. It combined elements of animism, fire worship, and ancestor worship.205 Because of a distinct outlook and culture of the area, they remained a people apart.206In 1895-96, Amir Abdur Rehman making inroads into their lands, converted them forcibly to Islam; their Islamization completed during the rule of Amir Habibullah Khan, naming their land as Nuristan instead of Kafiristan.207 They have always opposed the hegemony of the neighboring Pashtun tribes.208 Later on, the descendants of Nuri

199Gregorian, 1969, p 36. 200Rais, 2008. P 33. 201Gregorian, 1969, p 36. 202Duprre, 1980, p 60. 203Gregorian, 1969, p 37. 204Ibid., p 37. 205Ibid., p 37. 206Alam, 2005, p 156. 207Gregorian, 1969, p 37. 208Alam, 2005, p 156.

44 migrated to Kabul, and became an important element of government and military.209 During Sardar Daud‘s rule (r.1973-1978), many Nuristanis achieved significant positions in army and police. However, the Khaliqis executed many of the Nuristani officers in order to win over the support of Pashtuns living in the neighborhood of Nuristan. This led to a revolt in the Kunar valley in 1978; by March 1979, most of the upper Kunar valley was in the hands of Nuristani rebels, who had declared an Azad (free) Nuristan.210 Their language is different from any others in Afghanistan. Internal division exists in tribes of Nuristani. They reside in isolated valleys and speak different languages.211 Besides, the Pashais have culturally similarity to their immediate neighbours; Nuristanis. They keep their separate identity intact.212 The Baluchis, speaking Baluchi, an Iranian tongue, live along the southern and southwestern frontiers of Afghanistan. There is a belief that Baluchis migrated from Central Asis to this part of Afghanistan in the early centuries of Christian era as the last of the Indo-European migrations.213 Being largely pastural nomads, they lived, until recently, an isolated life. In 19th century, their tribal elements disrupted commercial relations between Iran and Afghanistan, constantly raiding the province of Siestan.214 Qizilbash, the Turkic people, professed Shia Islam. They settled in Kabul as garrison troops in the early 18th century. They remained an important fighting force in the Afghan civil wars during

209Barfield, 2010, pp 28-29. 210Alam, 2005, p 156. 211 Ibid., p 29 212 Ibid., p 29. 213 Gregorian, 1969, p 37. 214 Ibid., 38.

18-19th centuries. Later on, they drifted into trades and crafts, as well as in the armed forces and government services. Some of them migrated to Punjab in 1842.215 Besides, Hindu and Sikh reside mainly in urban centers. They work as merchants, traders and money lenders. Both groups can speak Pashto and Dari. They are the smallest group of the country.216 Besides, the major ethnic groups in Afghanistan play a vital role in the socio-political milieu. They constitute around ninty percent of the total population. Therefore, it is necessary to find out the ethnic makeup of these ethnic groups.

1.6 ETHNIC MAKE UP

Afghanistan lacks official, scientific population census, though contested and disputed surveys and estimations are available. In1979, Afghan government (the Khalqis)217 tried to conduct the first ever official scientific census, but the task remained incomplete: the mounting resistance in the countryside obliged them to count 56

215 Ibid., 36. 216 Dupree, 1980, pp 63-64. 217 Khalq ("Masses" or "People" in Pashto) was a faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Its historical leaders were Presidents Nur Muhammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin. It was also the name of the leftist newspaper produced by the same movement. Supported by the USSR and formed in 1965 when the PDPA was born, The Khalqi wing of the party was made up primarily of Pashtuns from non- elite classes. However, their Marxism was often a vehicle for tribal resentments. Bitter resentment between the Khalq and Parcham factions of the PDPA eventually led to the failure of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan that was formed as a result of the Saur Revolution. It was also responsible for the radical reforms that encouraged the rebellion of the religious segments present in the Afghan society, which led to the creation of the Mujahideen and, eventually, to the Soviet military intervention in December 1979.

46 percent of the population218 that estimated the total Afghan population as 14.6 million.219 Organizations, such as, Wak Foundation, Asia Foundation, CIA World Fact Book and some broad casting companies have been conducting private surveys to determine ethnic composition in Afghanistan with varying results. In Afghanistan, it is a politically sensitive issue to ask about population figures by region, let alone by ethnic group. Census conductors have generally been forbidden to ask questions about group membership.220 On the basis of available surveys and estimations, the four major ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara constitute around 90% of the total population of Afghanistan.

Louis Dupree,221 an Afghanologist, estimated the population of Afghanistan as 13.82 million,222 in 1980, Goodson as 22 million,223 in 2001 and Afghanistan Statistical Yearbook surveyed 25.5 million

218 Retrieved from http://countrystudies.us/afghanistan/36.htm. Accessed on 20-06- 2015. 219 Afghanistan Statistical Yearbook 2009-2010, Retrieved from http://cso.gov.af/Content/files/0-1.pdf 220 Ibid., pp 23-24. 221 Professor Louis Dupree (1925-1989) was an American archaeologist, anthropologist, and scholar of Afghan culture and history. He was the husband of Nancy Hatch Dupree, who is the Board Director of the Afghanistan Center at Kabul University in Afghanistan and author of five books about Afghanistan. The husband and wife team from the United States worked together for 15 years in Kabul, collecting as many works written about Afghanistan as they could. They travelled across the country from 1962 until the April 1978 Saur Revolution, conducting archaeological excavations. Dupree had served in World War II (1939–1945) where he joined the United States Merchant Marine and was stationed in the Philippines. At the end of the war he decided to transfer to the 11th Airborne Division of the United States Army. When World War II ended, he began Asian archeology and ethnology studies at Harvard University. He has worked with the Mujahideen forces who were fighting the Soviet-backed government of Afghanistan. He spent time in Peshawar, Pakistan, along with his wife, assisting Afghan refugees. 222 Dupree, L., Afghanistan. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 1980, pp 58-65. 223 Goodson, P, L., Afghanistan‟ Endless War: State failure, Regional Politics and the Rise of the Taliban. University of Washington Press, Seattle, London 2001, p14.

(25,493500),224 in 2009-2010. The population of Afghanistan, in 2015, was estimated around 26 million (26700277).225 Comparing ratio of residents and registered voters, in Iran and Turkey, and applying it to Afghanistan, may be another way to determine the estimated population of Afghanistan. In 2015, the population and registered voters in Iran have been 77.45 million and 50.48 million,226 in Turkey 76.6 million and 52.89 million,227 respectively. The average registered voters in both countries have been 67 % of the population. In 2015, registered voters in Afghanistan had been 17.16 million228, applying formula devised in case of Turkey and Iran, of 67 % on Afghanistan; total Afghan population may be estimated, 25.61 million, though there might be under registration of women votes in Afghanistan. Still, the estimated population of Afghanistan between 25-26 million seems more plausible. Though regarding total population, some guesstimates can be offered. However, qawm, ethnicity, is a fluid term, in Afghanistan, therefore, determining size of an ethnic group, in Afghanistan, becomes almost an impossible and gigantic task. The Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, and Uzbek are considered the four major and important ethnic groups in Afghanistan‘s socio-political milieu. They constitute around 90% of the Afghan population. Louis Dupree has given his own estimations about these major ethnic groups from the data gathered during 1949-1968. By converting his

224 Afghanistan Statistical Yearbook, 2009-2010. 225 http;//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces of Afghanistan 226 http://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook 227 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Turkey 228Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan. Retrieved from i.ec.org.af/2012-05-31-16-45-49/voter-registration. Accessed on 12-07-2015.

48 estimations into percentage, we get the following approximate figures; 229 Ethnicity Figures in Million Percentage Pashtun 6.5 47 Tajik 3.5 25 Hazara 0.87 6 Uzbek 01 7

Vartan Gregorian230 (b.1934-) conducted his research during 1960-62 in different countries including Afghanistan, and estimated the major Afghan ethnic groups: Pashtun in between 50-55 %; Tajik 30 %; Hazara in between 400,000 and one million; Uzbek in between 1- 1.5 million.231

Asia Foundation232 has been conducting annual surveys233 of

229 Dupree, 1980, pp, 58-65. 230 Vartan Gregorian is an Iranian-born Armenian-American academic, serving as the president of Carnegie Corporation of New York. He received his PhD in history and humanities from Stanford in 1964, writing a dissertation entitled "Traditionalism and Modernism in Islam." The topic of his dissertation was related to an ongoing research project that he began in 1961, after receiving a Ford Foundation Foreign Area Training Fellowship, which took him to England, France, Lebanon, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. These experiences and his related research refocused his thesis on Afghanistan and formed the basis for his first book, The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan: Politics of Reform and Modernization, 1840–1946 (1969, 2013, Stanford University Press). 231 Gregorian, 1969, pp 25-35. 232 The Asia Foundation is a non-profit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Established in 1954, having six decades of experience and deep local expertise, its work across the region addresses five overarching goals, strengthen governance, empower women, expand economic opportunity, increase environmental resilience, and promote regional cooperation. Headquartered in San Francisco, The Asia Foundation works through a network of offices in 18 Asian countries and in Washington, DC. Working with public and private partners, the Foundation receives funding from a diverse group of bilateral and multilateral development agencies, foundations, corporations, and individuals. In 2016, we provided $87.8 million in direct program support and distributed textbooks and other educational materials valued at $9.5 million.

Afghanistan since 2004. In the table below, the data percentages of each respondent ethnic group are surveyed, while, the average percentage, will highlight some view of the major ethnic groups in Afghanistan234. The data for the years, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2014 is non-existent. The reason may perhaps be the political unrest in the country. Evidences of state‘s involvement in this case have not been found.

Ethnicity 2004 2006 2007 2010 2011 2013 2015 2016 Average Percentage

Pashtun 46 40.9 40.1 42 41 43 40 38 41

Tajik 39 37.1 35.1 31 32 32 34 36 34

Hazara 06 9.2 10 10 11 10 11 9 9.5

Uzbek 06 9.2 8.1 9 9 7 8 12 8.5

233 Surveys are a method of gathering information from individuals. Surveys have a variety of purposes, and can be conducted in many ways. It may be conducted to gather information through a printed questionnaire, over the telephone, by mail, in person, by diskette, or on the web. This information is collected through use of standardized procedures so that every participant is asked the same questions in the same way. It involves asking people for information in some structured format. Depending on what is being analyzed, the participants being surveyed may be representing themselves, their employer, or some organization to which they belong. Survey may refer to: survey (Human research) including opion polls, and survey methodology, a method for collecting quantitity information about items in population. 234 Afghanistan in 2010- A survey of Afghan People (pdf). Kabul, Afghanistan. The Asia Foundation 2010. Retrieved from asiafoundation.org/resources/pdfs/Afghanistanin2010survey.pdf. Accessed on 15- 08-2015.

Rober L. Canfield, an American socio-cultural anthropologist, estimated the following figures about the major ethnic groups in 1986.235 The approximate percentage of each is given in the table below;

Ethnicity Figures in Million Approximate Percentage

Pashtun 6.5 47

Tajik 4.1 28

Hazara 01 7

Uzbek 01 7

Thomas Barfield (b.1950-) estimates the Pashtun 40%, Tajik 30%, Hazara 15% and Uzbek 5% of the Afghan population.236 He even makes up the Aymaq (5%) as half the size of Uzbek and Turkmen (which collectively makes up 10 %),237 but, Larry Goodson considers Aymaq as 10 %.238 For him, the smaller groups constitute 3 % of the total population of Afghanistan.239 Besides, the broadcasting companies (NBC, BBC and ARD)240

235 Emadi, H., State, Revolution and Superpower in Afghanistan. Praeger Publishers, New York 1990, pp 12-13. 236 Barfield, 2010, pp 24-28. 237 Ibid., pp 27-28. 238 Goodson, 2001, p 16. 239 Ibid., p 28. 240 Founded in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), NBC is the oldest major broadcast network in the United States. The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English language commercial broadcast television network that is a flagship property of NBC Universal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The network is headquartered in the Comcast Building (formerly known as the GE Building) at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Besides, The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered

51 have conducted surveys in 2004 and 2009 in Afghanistan, the percentage of which are presented in the table below:241

Ethnicity Percentage Pashtun 36-46 Tajik 37-39 Hazara 6-13 Uzbek 5-7

The figures on the official website of Afghanistan are much different from the various surveys. The percentage of Pashtun is more than double the Tajiks, and the number of Baloch are more than Uzbek242.

at Broadcasting House in London. The BBC is the world's oldest national broadcasting organization and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. The BBC is established under a Royal Charter and operates under its Agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee which is charged to all British households, companies, and organizations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts and 'iPlayer' catch-up since 1 September 2016. The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament, and used to fund the BBC's radio, TV, and online services covering the nations and regions of the UK. ARD is a joint organisation of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters. It was founded in 1950 in West Germany to represent the common interests of the new, decentralised, post-war broadcasting services – in particular the introduction of a joint television network. The ARD is the world's largest public broadcaster, with a budget of €6.9 billion and 22,655 employees. The budget comes primarily from the licence fees every household, every company and even every public institution like city governments are required to pay. 241 ABC news/BBC/ARD POLL-AFGHANISYTAN: WHERE THINGS STAND, Feb. 9th, 2009. Retrived from http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/afghanistan-iraq- polls-things-stand/story?id=6627152 Accessed on 04-04-2015. 242 Retrieved from http://www.afghanistans.com/Information/defaulf.htm

ETHNICITY PERCENTAGE Pashtun 52 Tajik 21 Hazara 9 Baloch 7 Uzbek 6

However, for World Fact Book243, the Pashtuns constitute 42%, Tajiks 27%, Hazara 09%, Uzbek 09%, Aymaq 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2% and others 4% 244 of the Afghan population. By analyzing the above various six sources of surveys and estimation and taking into account the average % age of major ethnic groups in around figures, the Pashtun are guessed as 44%, Tajiks 29%, Hazara 9% and Uzbek 7%.

1.7 FORCED DISPLACEMENT AND ETHNIC

CLEANSING

Amir Abdur Rehman, (r.1880-1901) colonized the north of

243 The World Factbook also known as the CIA World Factbook) is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available from the National Technical Information Service and the Government Printing Office. Other companies such as, Skyhorse Publishing also print a paper edition. The Factbook is available in the form of a website that is partially updated every week. It is also available for download for use off-line. It provides a two- to three-page summary of the demographics, geography, communications, government, economy, and military of each of 267 international entities including U.S.-recognized countries, dependencies, and other areas in the world.The World Factbook is prepared by the CIA for the use of U.S. Government officials, and its style, format, coverage, and content are primarily designed to meet their requirements. However, it is frequently used as a resource for academic research papers and news articles. As a work of the U.S. Government, it is in the public domain in the United States. 244Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- factbook/.../af.html. Accessed on 20-08-2015

Afghanistan by forcibly displacing the Pashtun population to settle in areas dominated by the non-Pashtun ethnic groups. For the Amir, these forced resettlements carried political and economic objectives: securing and defending the northern frontiers against possible Russian incursions; and promoting nation‘s prosperity by ploughing unused but fertile land to procure crops and generate revenues for the state.245 Establishment of a settled trustworthy Pashtun population to defend the border regions246 carried an ethnic dimension since the Amir has been an ethnic Pashtun. The colonization occurred in two directions: First the Ghilzais (related to Hotaki, Tokhi),247 mostly farmers, were deported in large numbers to settle and farm. Secondly, several thousand families of Durrani tribe (Ishaqzai, Nurzai, Achakzai) from Kandahar and the southwest (Farah, Herat) were resettled in the northwest (Badghiz, Maimana, Sar-i Pul, Murghab) to guard the frontier. They were granted land rights at favoured spots and encouraged to settle and cultivate.248 In 1907, 11000 Durrani families: of which 1100 Alizai were settled in Maimana; of 9900 Ishaqzai, 2000, settled in Badghiz, 900, in Maimana and 7000, in Sar-I Pul. Of another 9200 Ghilzai families, 3400 settled in Maimana and Andkhoy regions and 5800, in the vicinity of Sar-iPul and Shiberghan. The first large-scale ethnic cleansing249 occurred in Afghanistan during 1891-93. The Hazara were forcibly suppressed by the Pashtun- dominated government,250 consequently, fled and scattered in three

245Tapper, 1983, p 233. 246 Ibid., p 240. 247 Ibid., p 233. 248 Ibid., p 235. 249Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic or religious groups from a given territory by a more powerful ethnic group, with the intent of making it ethnically homogeneous. The forces applied may be various forms of forced migration (deportation, population transfer), intimidation, as well as mass murder and genocidal rape. 250 Mousavi, 1998, p 131.

54 different directions: Czarist Russia251, Iran, and British Baluchistan (Quetta).252 After a century, Afghanistan faced ethnic cleansing during the 1990s. Control over the capital Kabul between the four major ethnic groups during 1992-1996, became the principal military and political objective of the warring ethnic factions.253 The Hazara evicted Pashtuns from 3rd and 4th districts of Kabul, the Uzbek militia too looted homes in the predominantly Pashtun districts of Kabul. More than 500,000 people of the major ethnicities fled Kabul to the neighbouring countries, leaving 19000 wounded,254 and 25000 killed.255 During the Taliban period (1996-2001), ethnic cleansing campaigns began in the north (Mazar Sharif, Hazarajat, Badghiz, Charikar) of Afghanistan.256 In 1996, in Badghiz, a population of 50,000 comprising both Pashtun and Uzbek ethnicities was displaced in the wake of war between the Taliban and Uzbek forces.257 The Taliban began an organized offensive in January 1997 against militias led by Masood (Tajik) and Dostam (Uzbek), captured Charikar, displacing some 50,000 people from Charikar to Kabul.258 On sectarian basis, ethnic cleansing occurred in Mazar Sharif, in 1997, and in the Hazarajat

251 The Russian Empire (also known as Russia) was an empire that existed from 1721 until it was overthrown by the short-lived February Revolution in 1917. 252 Ibid., p 137. 253Dorronsoro, G, Kabul at War (1992-96): State, Ethnicity and Social Clashes. Retrieved from http://samaj.revues.org.212 Accessed on 25-09-2015 254 Nojumi, N., The Rise of The Taliban in Afghanistan: Mass Mobilization, Civil War, and The Future of the Region. PALGRAVE, New York, 2002, p 114. 255 Dorronsoro, G, Kabul at War (1992-96): State, Ethnicity and Social Clashed. 256 Stanizai, Z., From Identity Crisis to Identity in Crisis in Afghanistan. The Middle East Institute Policy Brief, 2009. Retrieved from http://www.mei.edu/content/identity-crisis-identity-crisis-afghanistan Accessed on 30-09-2015 257 Nojumi, 2002, p 159. 258 Ibid., p 157.

55 between 1998 and 2001.259 The New York Times, in 1997, reported that some 100,000 refugees in the north fled Afghanistan to the northern border entering Tajikistan.260 In 2002, some 20,000 refugees, mainly Pashtun, fled the north as a result of harassment by their non-Pashtun neighbours.261 Suffice to say that deportation, displacement and ethnic cleansing of major ethnic groups have occurred in Afghanistan.

1.8 KHALED HOSSENEI

Khaled Hossenei, an Afghan-American novelist and physician, and ethnic-Hazara, was born in Kabul in 1965.262 Speaking Persian as mother tongue and son of Afghan civil servant and teacher of a girls high school in Kabul, spent eight years of his childhood in Afghanistan.263 In 1970, at the age of five or six, his father served in Tehran for two years. From 1973 to 1976, Hossenei attended the Istiqlal Lycee, a French-styled high school in Kabul.264 In 1976, the family moved to Paris following Hossenei‘s father posting there. In 1980, the family sought political asylum in the United States due to the political turmoil in Afghanistan, which was granted. In 1984, Hossenei

259 Riphenburg, J, K. Electoral Systems in a Divided Society: The Case of Afghanistan. 2007. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20455479 Acessed on 02-03-2015. 260The New York Times, May 4, 1997, p 13. 261 Ibid., p 256, & Riphenburg, J, C., Electoral Systems in a Divided Society: The Case of Afghanistan. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.34, No.1 (Apr., 2007), Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20455479, Accessed on 08-10- 2015. 262 Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaled_Hosseini. Accessed on 10- 10-2015 263 Ibid 264 Stuhr, R., Reading Khaled Hosseini. Greenwood Press, Santa Barbara, California. Denver, Colorado. Oxford, England 2009, p 1.

56 graduated from Independence High School265 in San Jose. After getting bachelor degree in biology, in 1988, from Santa Clara University and earning M.D., in 1993, from the University of California, he completed his residency in 1996. Hossenei practiced as a Physician for about ten years until a year and a half after the publication of The Kite Runner.266 Since then, he never returned to Medicine. Influenced much by the tradition of oral story-telling and the classical Persian literature,267 he showed interest in story-writing and story-telling at a young age of 9- 10.268 In Iran, he came into formal acquaintance with an illiterate Hazara servant, whom he taught to read and write. In the US, The Grapes of Wrath269 rekindled his love of literature.270 Hossenei began writing The Kite Runner in 2001 and published it in 2003. After spending 27 years abroad, Hossenei returned to Kabul for a brief visit in 2003. Since 2006, he has been a Goodwill Envoy to UNHCR271, and

265 Independence High School, also referred to as IHS and Inde, is a public high school located in the Berryessa district of Santa Clara County, California, United States. The school is operated by the East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD). Its namesake is the United States Declaration of Independence, which celebrated its bicentennial in the same year Independence High was established in 1976. 266 Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaled_Hosseini. Accessed 20-11- 2015 267Retrieved from http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Interview/Khaled- Hosseini/ba-p/754. Accessed 20-11-2015 268 Stuhr, R., 2009, p 2., And, Retrieved from http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Interview/Khaled-Hosseini/ba-p/754 269 The Grapes of Wrath is an American novel, published in 1939, set during The Great Depression and focusing on a tenant farmer family, driven from home by drought and economic hardships and changes. American school and college students frequently read it in literature classes due to its historical context and enduring legacy. 270Retrieved from http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/printmember/hos0bio-1. Accessed 20-11-2015 271 The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also known as the UN Refugee Agency, is a United Nations programme mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third

57 provides humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan through the „Khaled Hossenei Foundation‟.272 The Foundation, a non-profit organization, has been building shelters for refugee families; provides economic opportunities, education, and healthcare for women and children of Afghanistan.

1.8.1 THE KITE RUNNER IN BRIEF The Kite Runner, Hossenei‘s debut novel, reflects ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara in Afghanistan, and how the political turbulence (1973-2001) affected them and the country. The first novel, written in English, by an Afghan-American,273 focusses on three significant periods in Amir‘s life: the life in Kabul before Soviet invasion (1973-79), the immigrant life in the United States in the 1980s, and the Taliban‘s regime (1996-2001).274 The plot of the novel revolves around two characters: Amir (an ethnic-Pashtun) and Hassan (an ethnic-Hazara). Both boys grow up as good friends in the city of Kabul. The thread of ethnic: disparity; polarity; and division spreads throughout the novel. The story unfolds in 2001, flashes back to the past (1970s), and proceeds till 2001, against the backdrop of the political history. Molestation of Hassan by three Pashtun boys during a Kite-fighting tournament275 in Kabul in 1975, is the climax (main event) of the story, in which, Amir betrayed his friend, Hassan, when he did not intervene and/or stood by him. This event changes the whole country. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is a member of the United Nations Development Group. 272 Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaled_Hosseini 273Sadat, H, M., Afghan History: Kite Flying, Kite Running, and Kite Banning. 2004. Retrieved from http://studylib.net/doc/6863227/eng-4uthe-kite-runner-afghan- history--kite-flying--kite-r Accessed 02--01-2015. 274Bloom, H, (Ed). Khaled Hossenei‟s The Kite Runner. Bloom‘s Guides, Published by Chelsea House Pub, 2009. P 55. 275 Every winter, kite-fighting is used to be the public hobby in Afghanistan where people fly their kites and try to cut the other kites in the sky.

58 course of the story. Soviets invade Afghanistan in 1979, Amir flees to the USA, while, Hassan stays in the Hazarajat276(homeland). The guilt or betrayal follows Amir throughout. In 2001, Rahim Khan, falls sick in Peshawar and calls Amir to see him before he dies. He reminds Amir his past guilt, and urges him to redeem himself by saving Sohrab from the barbarity of Taliban. Amir follows his advice, and goes to Kabul to save Sohrab. During the fight with Taliban‘s leader, Amir gets severe wounds physically. He rescues Sohrab in the end from the clutches of Taliban and takes him to the USA. The sacrifice for Sohrab gives Amir a feeling of redemption.277 Besides, The Kite Runner has been published in 38 countries, translated into 62 languages278 including, Chinese, French, German etc.,279 and sold worldwide into 12 million copies.280

Besides, The Kite Runner has been adopted into a film of the same name, directed by Marc Forster, in 2007. A US movie of 128

276 The Hazarajat is a regional name for the territory inhabited by the Hazara people, which lies in the central highlands of Afghanistan, among the Koh-i-Baba mountains and the western extremities of the Hindu Kush. The name Hazarajat first appears in the 16th century Baburnama, written by Mughal Emperor Babur. 277 It is the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. Redemption always means the payment of a price to secure release. People who sin become slaves of sin (John 8:34): they cannot free themselves from that slavery. 278In response to my e-mail dated 04-06-2017 addressed to Sandra Hossenei, Executive Director of The Khaled Hossenei Foundation, in which I asked about the number of languages in which The Kite Runner has been published, she responded to me that the novel had been published into 62 languages. In response to my second question, that had the novel been published into Pashto? If not, why? She responded that the Foundation had not published it yet into Pashto and that they did not intend to license it officially into Pashto. The reason she put was, the countries where Pashto was an official language, namely Afghanistan and Pakistan were not members of the Berne Copyright Convention, an International treaty protecting author‘s rights. 279According to Chandler Crawford, Publication In-charge of Khaled Hossenei Foundation, the novel (The Kite Runner) was not available (in print) either in Pashto or Dari/Persian, because, Afghanistan and Iran were the observer states in Berne Copyright Convention. So, it is neither available (in print) in Pashto (Afghanistan or Pakistan) nor in Dari/Persian (either in Afghanistan or Iran). 280Daily Dawn: January 8, 2012.

59 minutes was distributed worldwide by the Dream works and Paramount Vantage. David Benioff prepared the screenplay of the film. Set in Afghanistan, mostly, the scenes of the film were shot in Kashghar,281 China, because, the risk of fueling ethnic tensions existed. The film contains dialogues in Dari and English.282 The Afghan government banned the film from movie theaters and DVD stores due to picturing of the rape scene between two ethnic groups, to incite ethnic tensions and class struggles.283 However, according to Latif Ahmadi,284 the novel had not been banned, since most Afghan could not read in English.285 Most of the characters cast in the film are taken from Iran, while, not a single Pashtun as character is included in the movie.286

1.8.2 POINT OF VIEW (NARRATIVE)

Point of view is the angle from which the story is told. In story- telling, there are used four point of views: First Person Point of View (one character narrates the story using first person pronoun), Third

281 The Muslim culture of Kashghar resembled the culture of Afghanistan. That is why the parts of film were directed/made there. It was chosen after careful search and research. 282The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini: Historical, Political and Cultural Contexts, Retrieved from http://arabicuniversitycollege.yolasite.com/resources/Faculty/NS/Dissertations/The% 20Kite%20Runner%20- %20Historical,%20Political%20&%20Cultural%20Contexts.pdf Accessed 1-02- 2015. 283Afghanistan banns The Kite Runner. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/jan/15/news1 Accessed 03-02-2015. 284 Director of the state-run company Afghan film, 285 Wafa, W, A., ‗The Kite Runner‘ Film Outlawed in Afghanistan. January, 16, 2008. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/world/asia/16kiterunner.html. Accessed on 02- 02-2015.

286Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419887/

Person Point of View (an unknown narrator focuses one character in the story), Omniscient Point of View (narrator is all-knowing about events and characters), and Objective Point of View (an impersonal and objective character narrates the story without commenting on any character or events). The Kite Runner has been written from first person point of view: Amir narrates the story using pronouns, I, me, my, we. This technique exposes the views, opinions, thoughts, and feelings only of the narrator. It seems that the characters and readers are thinking along the same lines. Amir has narrated 24 chapters of the novel, while chapter 16 is narrated by Rahim Khan. Hossenei has made Amir as his mouthpiece character in The Kite Runner to convey his message. The occurrence of the first-person pronoun found in the novel is, I (4184), Me (945), My (1031), and We (286).287

1.8.3 CHARACTERIZATION

The major characters in The Kite Runner include: Amir, Hassan, Baba, Assef, Sohrab, Ali and Farid. Including Afghan, there are Russian, American, Indian, and Pakistani characters. However, the story revolves around Amir and Hassan, the Afghan characters. Amir, is the ethnic-Pashtun, privileged, literate, dominant, while Hasan is ethnic-Hazara, poor, illiterate, and suppressed. The table below highlights the major characters thus;

287Malik, A, M, Shah, K, S, Rashid Mahmud, R., The Role of Linguistic Devices in Representing Ethnicity in The Kite Runner, Macrothink Institute, International Journal of Linguistics, 2013, Vol 5, No 1. Retrieved from http://www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/ijl/article/viewFile/3303/2777 , on 05- 01-2015

CHARACTER ETHNCITY SECT

Amir (Protagonist) Pashtun Sunni Hassan (Friend of Hazara Shia Amir) Assef Pashtun Sunni (Antagonist)288 Baba (Privileged) Pashtun Sunni Ali (Servant of Hazara Shia Baba, Father of Hassan) Sohrab (Son of Hazara Shia Hassan) Sanauber (Mother Hazara Shia of Hassan) General Tahiri (a Pashtun Sunni general) Farid ( driver) Tajik Sunni

288 The English word antagonist comes from the Greek antagonistēs, "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, rival," which is derived from anti-("against") and agonizesthai ("to contend for a prize"). An antagonist is a character, group of characters, institution or concept that stands in or represents opposition against which the protagonist(s) must contend. In other words, an antagonist is a person or a group of people who opposes a protagonist.

1.8.4 OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this research work are:

1. To examine The Kite Runner and how this represents fictional text, the ethnic disparity, and political turbulence in Afghanistan.

2. To explore the evolution of novel writing in Afghanistan as an expressive art form, reflective of social and political situations. 3. To deconstruct the internal orientalist narrative in The Kite Runner. 4. To critically evaluate ethnic biases in The Kite Runner.

1.8.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The major research questions raised in this study are:

1. Does The Kite Runner project ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara in Afghanistan?

2. Does The Kite Runner mirror socio-political situations of Afghanistan? 3. Is the narrative of The Kite Runner embedded in an internal orientalist perspective? 4. Does The Kite Runner suggest redemption to promote ethnic parity in Afghanistan?

1.8.6 HYPOTHESES

1. The Kite Runner successfully projects ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara in Afghanistan.

2. The novel faithfully mirrors socio-political situations of Afghanistan. 3. The text and context of The Kite Runner is rooted within the internal orientalist narrative. 4. The novel suggests redemption as a reconciling symbol to promote ethnic parity and cooperation in Afghanistan.

1.8.7 PROBLEM STATEMENT/JUSTIFICATION

Presently, ethnicity has gained much importance in the politics of Afghanistan. The Pashtun as dominant ethnic group and largest plurality have ruled Afghanistan since 1747. The Soviet invasion and subsequent occupation of Afghanistan provided environment for salience of ethnicity. Since 1979, till the fall of the Taliban regime, not only, the war in Afghanistan, ravaged the institutions, state, and society, but disturbed the ethnic relations and balance too. The penetration of arms and cash by foreign powers into Afghanistan, strengthened the marginalized ethnic groups. This resulted into the most vicious ethnic war in Afghanistan in the 1990s between the major ethnic groups. The marginalized ethnic groups, challenged the socio- political order in Afghanistan, fought the dominant Pashtun, and against each other. Since then, there is a continuous struggle for political power between the major ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik,

Hazara, and Uzbek, in Afghanistan. The marginalized289 (Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek) fight for their own rights; want political power in the state‘s apparatus. Published in 2003, The Kite Runner, highlights, in its backdrop, the turmoil during these decades, through the story of two boys: Amir and Hasan, and echoes ethnic disparity between them. Khaled Hossenei, the author, has lived outside Afghanistan (in the USA) during the turmoil period (1979-2001), and may be an outsider rather than an insider. The Kite Runner is a work of fiction, and Hossenei has attempted to depict ethnic disparity in the novel employing orientalist perspective. Thus, there is a need to explore the depiction of ethnic disparity in the novel.

1.9 THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

As indicated in earlier sections, more than fifty ethnic groups reside in Afghanistan. The major include; the Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara, while, Pashtun are the largest plurality, followed by Tajik, Hazara, and Uzbek. Historically, there existed co-existence amongst various ethnic groups in Afghanistan, however, unequal opportunities and conflict were also occurred.290 Amir Abdur Rehman used coercive force against various ethnicities in order to create a centralized state that led to ethnic polarization. After quelling the Pashtun rebellions in the periphery, the Amir then unified and mobilized them to suppress non-Pashtun particularly Hazara (1890-93)291 and Nuristani (1895). Displacement, deportation of Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara, and resettling Pashtun has been tantamount to almost ethnic cleansing, at times, in

289 A traditional community that, out of a need or desire to preserve its unique culture and identity from assimilation. 290 Wafayezaa, 2012, pp 69-70. 291 Mousavi, 1998, p 122.

65 order to strengthen state making in Afghanistan. It made a deep scar in the social memory of marginalized ethnic groups, leading to ethnic animosity, hatred, and alienation broadening ethnic cleavages. During the Musahiban292 dynasty (1929-73), little efforts were made to alleviate ethnic and social tensions over issues, such as official language (Pashto/Dari), religious exclusion of Shia, and discriminatory taxation. Tax collection had never been a just or orderly undertaking in Afghanistan.293

Cracks began to appear in the socio-political and ethnic hierarchy in the wake of promulgation of Constitution, 1964294 in Afghanistan. The Constitution provided freedom of press, and allowed formation of political parties. It opened a window of opportunity to the ethnic groups to express themselves in politics. The Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara participated in the multi-ethnic political parties such as Jamiat- e Islami, the PDPA, Sitm-e Milli, and Shula-e Javid. Daud Khan (r.1973-78) after ending monarchy in 1973, became president, and declared Afghanistan as republic. He formed National Revolutionary Party (Pashtun-dominated) in 1974 to garner support and grassroot

292The Musahiban is derived from a Persian term, Musahib which means courtier. Musahiban refers to a Pashtun family, belonging to Muhammazai clan, who founded an Afghan dynasty, ruled from 1929 to 1978. The Musahiban have historically been known for a step-by-step, culturally progressive and tribally sensitive, evolution for the modernization and opening up of Afghanistan versus the often more radically accelerated strategies promoted in the past. They were last Pashtun dynasty who were overthrown by the Communists. 293 Mousavi, 1998, p 122. 294 The 1964 Constitution was the constitution of Afghanistan from 1964 to 1977. It was drafted by a committee of foreign-educated Afghans appointed for the task by Mohammed Zahir Shah. The primary goals of the Constitution were to prepare the government and the people for gradual movement toward democracy and socio- economic modernization. A Loya Jirgah (grand council of notables) had debated, modified and approved its innovations, which included a bill of rights for all Afghans, explicitly including women. After public review, the constitution was put into effect in October 1964.[1]

66 backing for his Republican regime. His party polarized more the ethnicities, the Pashtun and non-Pashtun, and stirred political power struggle. The Saur Revolution (1978) and the war in Afghanistan (1979-89), stimulated ethnic divisions further in the wake of penetration of massive foreign arms and cash into the country. Sect appeared as supplementary force too along with ethnicity in the form of Hizb-e Wahdat. The fueling of ethnicity and sectarianism by Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia further aggravated ethnic polarization. Various alliances based on ethnicity, mainly non-Pashtun, to gain political power, in the 1990s emerged, and fought each other. Presently, all four major ethnic groups are struggling hard to attain/maintain political power and influence the state and society.

Edward Said (1935-2003)295 expressed binary oppositions; West/East, Us/Them, Occident/Orient in his work ‗Orientalism‟.296 His

295 Edward Wadie Said was a professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies. A Palestinian American born in Mandatory Palestine, he was a citizen of the United States by way of his father, a U.S. Army veteran. As a cultural critic, Said is known for the book Orientalism (1978), a critique of the cultural representations that are the bases of Orientalism—how the Western world perceives the Orient. Said‘s model of textual analysis transformed the academic discourse of researchers in literary theory, literary criticism, and Middle-Eastern studies—how academics examine, describe, and define the cultures being studied. As a foundational text, Orientalism was controversial among the scholars of Oriental Studies, philosophy, and literature. As a public intellectual, Said was a controversial member of the Palestinian National Council, because he publicly criticized Israel and the Arab countries, especially the political and cultural policies of Muslim régimes who acted against the national interests of their peoples. The thesis of Orientalism proposes the existence of a "subtle and persistent Eurocentric prejudice against Arabo–Islamic peoples and their culture", which originates from Western culture's long tradition of false, romanticized images of Asia, in general, and the Middle East, in particular. That such cultural representations have served, and continue to serve, as implicit justifications for the colonial and imperial ambitions of the European powers and of the U.S. Said's friends and foes acknowledged the transformative influence of Orientalism upon scholarship in the humanities; critics said that the thesis is an intellectually limiting

67 academic discourse, describes a critical approach to representations of the ‗Orient‘ in the Eastern culture by the Western orientalists. For him, Orientalism existed, ultimately, as a political vision of reality that promoted the difference between familiar ‗Us‘ and strange ‗Them‟.297 ‗Orientalism‘ can be discussed, analyzed as the corporate institution, to deal with the Orient. It makes statements about it, authorizes views to it, describes it, teaches it, settles it, rules over it. In short, ‗Orientalism‘ is a Western style of dominating, restructuring, and exercising authority over the ‗Orient‘.298 The relationship between ‗Occident‘ and ‗Orient‘ is of power, of dominance, of a complex hegemony.299 ‗Orientalism‘ has been ethno-centrism, racism, imperialism, and colonialism, promoted ‗Otherness‘, assuming that the West is rational, developed, humane, superior, and the ‗Orient‘, irrational, undeveloped, aberrant, and inferior.300 It is easy to make, apply, and guard, systems of thought like Orientalism, discourse of power, and ideological fictions.301 ‗Oriental‘, is a derogatory term, used by the Western orientalists, signifying the colonized as an inferior.302

Besides, according to James Blaut303 (1927-2000), culture is one of the components and determinants of class304; and class struggle

influence upon scholars, whilst supporters said that the thesis is intellectually liberating. 296 Said, E., Orientalism. PINGUIIN BOOKS. First Published by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd 1978, Reprinted with a New Preface 2003. 297 Ibid., p 204. 298 Ibid., p 3. 299 Ibid., p 5. 300 Ibid., p 300. 301 Ibid., p 328. 302 Ibid., p 341. 303 James Morris Blaut was a professor of anthropology and geography at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His studies focused on the agricultural microgeography (geographical activity of villagers), cultural ecology, theory of nationalism, philosophy of science, historiography and the relations

68 is bound up with culture.305 In all class, and classless societies, the primary source of conflict is, of oppression, resistance, and ultimately change. For Blaut, national struggle existed as a class struggle for state power. It is not a Eurocentric diffusionism, a European idea of nation- state, diffused from Western Europe to rest of the world.306 He quotes Nairn307 to argue that Germanic doctrine of nationalism is associated with fascism,308 and furthers that ghettoes (Puerto Ricans309) are isolated/unassimilated minority communities that reside in the United States, and fight against the destruction of their communities, and cultures.310 In The Kite Runner, Hazara may be considered ghettoized311 minority communities, who fight for their own rights and state power, under the dominant Pashtun/Germanic doctrine of nationalism/fascism.

Some Afghan writers and diaspora,312 influenced by the West, have been easy prey to Western Orientalism. According to Jannete

between the First and the Third World. He is known as one of the most notable critics of Eurocentrism. 304Blaut, M, J., The National Question: Decolonising the Theory of Nationalism. Zed Books Ltd, UK, USA, 1987, p 160. 305Ibid., p 58. 306Ibid., p 172. 307Tom Nairn (b.1932) is a Scottish political theorist and academic. He is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University. He is known as an essayist and a scholar of nationalism. 308Ibid., p 36. 309 The population of Puerto Ricans and descendants is estimated to be between 8 and 10 million worldwide, with most living within the islands of Puerto Rico and in the United States mainland. Within the United States, Puerto Ricans are present in all states of the Union, and the states with the largest populations of Puerto Ricans relative to the national population of Puerto Ricans in the United States. 310Ibid., p 52. 311 A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live typically as a result of social, legal, or economic pressure. 312 The term is derived from the Greek verb diaspeiro, "I scatter", "I spread about" and that from dia, "between, through, across" + the verb speiro, "I sow, I scatter". A diaspora is a scattered population whose origin lies within a smaller

Edwards,313 The Kite Runner is a fictional story, having no connection with reality,314 Hossenei‘s voice is unauthentic and motives suspect.315 By this she means that Hossenei‘s philosophy and the text of the novel needs to be investigated. Hossenei, an Afghan-American diaspora writer, has spent eight years at most during childhood (1965-70 & 1973-76) in Afghanistan before finally migrating, in 1980, to the USA. He lived in the USA during the war and political turmoil in Afghanistan (1979-2001).

Syed Askar Mousvi,316 an ethnic-Hazara writer, argues that the Pashtun are the dominant, ethno-centric, oppressive ethnic group, while Hazara; the most suppressed and persecuted in Afghanistan.317 For him, Afghan nationalism is equivalent to domination of Pashtun over other ethnic groups, who have captured the state,318 and

geographic locale. Diaspora can also refer to the movement of the population from its original homeland. Diaspora has come to refer particularly to historical mass dispersions of an involuntary nature, such as the expulsion of Jews from Judea and the fleeing of Greeks after the fall of Constantinople. Recently, scholars have distinguished between different kinds of diaspora, based on its causes such as imperialism, trade or labor migrations, or by the kind of social coherence within the diaspora community and its ties to the ancestral lands. Some diaspora communities maintain strong political ties with their homeland. Other qualities that may be typical of many diasporas are thoughts of return, relationships with other communities in the diaspora, and lack of full integration into the host country. 313 She serves as Associate Professor in the faculty Development Program at the United States Department of Defense. 314 Janette, E., Expatriate Literature and the Problem of Contested Representation: The Case of Khaled Hosseini‟s The Kite Runner. Inter-Disciplinary.net. 2008. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/irfan/Downloads/Expatriate_Literature_and_the_Problem_of_Contest ed.pdf on 10-02-2015 315 Ibid., p 5. 316 Syed Askar Mousavi, born in 1956, is the author of The Hazara of Afghanistan: An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study published in 2009. He remained a prominent figure in the "cultural struggle" of the Afghan Mujahideen in Iran during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. He was the main writer and editor of a few publications, including Saaf, and Jawali. 317 Mousvi, 1998, pp 265. 318 Ibid., pp 5-6.

70 manipulated, deprived, suppressed other ethnic groups, particularly Hazara. It is hegemon-subordinate/subaltern relationship assuming superiority of Pashtun and inferiority of other ethnicities.

Thus, it is argued that Orientalism is rooted in the text of the The Kite Runner. Khaled Hossenei, an ethnic Hazara, having a perception of an internal orientalist,319 has created a difference between familiar subaltern; Us (Hazara) and a strange dominant; Them (Pashtun), in the novel, to highlight ethnic disparity, divisions, and discrimination, in Afghanistan. For him, Pashtun is superior320 but treacherous, unimaginative,321 brutal,322 and aberrant,323 while Hazara, inferior324 but loyal, imaginative,325 humane,326 and protector.327 Here, it deviates from Said‘s Orientalism, for whom, the superior was rational and humane, while the inferior; irrational and aberrant. Retaining the critical force of Said's original formulation, and taking

319 The term ‗internal orientalist‘ has been adopted in this work from the word ―internal orientalism‖ used by Louisa Schein in her article ‗Gender and Internal Orientalism in China‘ published by Sage Publications in 1997 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/189464). According to Louisa, ‗Internal Orientalism‘ is a set of practices that occur within China: it refers to the fascination of more cosmopolitan Chinese with "exotic" minority cultures in an array of polychromatic and titillating forms. These encounters were most commonly structured by a class/gender asymmetry in which minorities were represented chiefly by rural women, while Han observers appeared characteristically as male urban sophisticates. This article has explored the ramifications of such uneven configurations as a means of gaining insight into China's post-Mao social order. In this work, however, the term ‗internal orientalist‟ refers to Hossnei‘s manipulation of the theme of ethnic disparity by applying orientalist approach to The Kite Runner, while ‗internal orientalism‟ is his philosophy/theory to manipulate ethnic disparity in order to alienate ethnic relationships in Afghanistan. 320 Hossenei, 2004, p 35. 321 Ibid., p 15. 322 Ibid., pp 242-243. 323 Ibid., pp 224-225. 324 Ibid., p 249. 325 Ibid., p 29. 326 Ibid., p 60. 327 Hossenei, 2004, p 20.

71 into account the Othering328 practices, internal orientalism as theoretical framework describes a discourse of power relations, coupled with ethnic disparity, between the Pashtun and Hazara ethnic groups in Afghanistan, as developed in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hossenei.

1.9.1 METHODOLOGY

For Edward Said, discourses are not innocent explanations of the world. The strands of knowledge with which we engage in our attempt to describe and understand the world are produced in complex power relations, where different actors and institutions work to establish a dominant interpretation of ‗reality‘. The relationship between discourse, knowledge, and power is the core of Foucault‘s discourse theory. For Foucault,329 knowledge and power are interdependent; these philosophies provided Said to employ Foucault‘s theory of discourse analysis330 in order to examine binary relationships

328 Othering is the process by which a person or a group is placed outside of the norm, into the margins. It is a system of discrimination whereby the characteristics of a group are used to distinguish them as separate from the norm. Othering plays a fundamental role in the history and continuance of racism and other forms of discrimination. For example, by objectifying culture as something different, exotic or underdeveloped is to generalise that it is not the same as ‗normal‘ society. Europe‘s colonial attitude towards the Orient exemplifies through the attitude that the East was the opposite of the West; feminine where the West was masculine, weak where the West was strong and traditional where the West was progressive. By making these generalizations and othering the East, Europe was simultaneously defining herself as the norm, further entrenching the perceived gap. 329 Michel Foucault (1926–1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, social theorist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily addressed the relationship between power and knowledge, and how they are used as a form of social control through societal institutions. Though often cited as a post- structuralist and postmodernist, Foucault rejected these labels, preferring to present his thought as a critical history of modernity. His thought has influenced academics, especially those working in sociology, cultural studies, literary theory and critical theory. Activist groups have also found his theories compelling. 330 Foucault‘s theory of discourse analysis is a form of discourse analysis, focusing on power relationships in society as expressed through language and practices, and

72 of West/East, Us/Them, Occident/Orient in his work ‗Orientalism‘. Said admitted that Foucault‘s analysis on knowledge and power provided him with a set of concepts and categories; he developed his analysis out of Foucault's genealogical work, The Archeology of Knowledge.331 He found power linked to the formation of discourse within specific historical periods. Foucault theory of discourse analysis, focusses on the meaning of a given discourse. It stresses on power relationships, expressed through language and behavior, and the relationship between language and power. Rather, it focusses on power relationship in society through language and practices. For Foucault, discourse is a way of speaking while statement; a unit of discourse. Statement may be a phrase, proposition, or a speech act. Thus, the methodology is analytical and interpretive. Located ―beyond hermeneutics332 and structuralism,333‖ the work employs Foucaultian

based on the theories of Michel Foucault. Besides focusing on the meaning of a given discourse, the distinguishing characteristic of this approach is its stress on power relationships. These are expressed through language and behavior, and the relationship between language and power. This form of analysis developed out of Foucault's genealogical work, where power was linked to the formation of discourse within specific historical periods. 331Foucault, M., Archeology of Knowledge. Translated by A. M. Sheridan Smith. First Published in Routledge Classics. London & New York, 2002. 332 Hermeneutics is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Modern hermeneutics includes both verbal and non-verbal communication as well as semiotics, presuppositions, and pre-understandings. Hermeneutics has been broadly applied in the humanities, especially in law, history and theology. Hermeneutics was initially applied to the interpretation, or exegesis, of scripture, and has been later broadened to questions of general interpretation. The terms "hermeneutics" and "exegesis" are sometimes used interchangeably. Hermeneutics is a wider discipline which includes written, verbal, and non-verbal communication. Exegesis focuses primarily upon the word and grammar of texts. Hermeneutic, as a singular noun, refers to some particular method of interpretation. 333 In sociology, anthropology and linguistics, structuralism is the methodology that elements of human culture must be understood by way of their relationship to a larger, overarching system or structure. It works to uncover the structures that underlie all the things that humans do, think, perceive, and feel. Alternatively, as summarized by philosopher Simon Blackburn, structuralism is "the belief that

73 discourse analysis as interpretive method on The Kite Runner in chapter 5. The relevant statements related to ethnic: disparity; polarity; and divisions between the Pashtun and Hazara are analyzed and interpreted to explore the discourse related to ethnic disparity.

1.9.2 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY

Saliency of ethnicity in Afghanistan began in the wake of ethnic politics and political turmoil in the last three decades of the 20th century. Ethnicity or ethnic politics depicted in The Kite Runner has socio-political importance in today‘s Afghanistan. The publication of the novel has got worldwide political significance: it translated into various languages; and sold into millions of copies. An orientalist perspective is embedded in the text and context of the novel: America (West) has been eulogized, while Afghanistan (East) highlighted as brutal and uncivilized state under the Taliban (Pashtun) regime. Various researchers have explored The Kite Runner from different perspectives: linguistics representation of ethnicity; power relationships; psychological transformation of the protagonist; theme of guilt and redemption; and orientalist perspective. They have not taken into account the ethnic identity of the writer: the important element of his philosophy. This work attempts to employ internal orientalism as theoretical framework to explore ethnic disparity between Pashtun and Hazara in The Kite Runner. Internal orientalism describes that Hossenei, an ethnic-Hazara, living in the USA, has tried phenomena of human life are not intelligible except through their interrelations. These relations constitute a structure, and behind local variations in the surface phenomena there are constant laws of abstract culture". Structuralism in Europe developed in the early 1900s, in the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure and the subsequent Prague, Moscow and Copenhagen schools of linguistics.

74 to make a binary division of US (Hazara) and Them (Pashtun) in the novel. The work would, not only, develop a relationship between politics and literature, but also, help in understanding the ethnic politics in Afghanistan.

1.9.3 LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONS

Khaled Hossenei has written two more novels such as, A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007),334 and And The Mountains Echoed (2013),335 which depict Afghan historical and cultural issues. But, the domain of this research work is The Kite Runner: the focus is to examine the discourse of ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara. It excludes discussing other ethnic groups. The work employs Foucault‘s theory of discourse analysis as interpretive method. It does not employ other methods of enquiries: hermeneutics; sociolinguistics; textual analysis, concerned with linguistic aspects of the

334A Thousand Splendid Suns written in 2007, is the second novel by Khaled Hosseini, he regards the novel as a "mother-daughter story" in contrast to The Kite Runner, which he considers a "father-son story". It continues some of the themes used in his previous work, such as the familial aspects, but focuses primarily on female characters and their roles in Afghan society. The novel centers on two women, Mariam and Laila, how their lives become intertwined after a series of drastic events, and their subsequent friendship and support for each other in the backdrop of Kabul in the 20th and 21st century. It is split into four parts that focus on individual stories: Part one is about Mariam, part two is on Laila, part three is on the relationship between the two women, and Laila's life with Tariq is in part four. The last section also happens to be the only part written in the present tense. 335And The Mountains Echoed is the third novel by Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2013 by Riverhead Books, it deviates from Hosseini's style in his first two works through his choice to avoid focusing on any one character. Rather, the book is written similarly to a collection of short stories, with each of the nine chapters being told from the perspective of a different character. The book's foundation is built on the relationship between ten-year-old Abdullah and his three-year-old sister Pari and their father's decision to sell her to a childless couple in Kabul, an event that ties the various narratives together. Hosseini stated his intentions to make the characters more complex and morally ambiguous. Continuing the familial theme established in his previous novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, And the Mountains Echoed centers on the rapport between siblings.

75 text.

1.9.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Though, The Kite Runner has been researched upon from various aspects, but, this work, employs an ‗internal orientalist‘ approach to analyze the ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara. It analyzes how Hossenei, using his hybrid identity of Afghan- American, employs internal orientalist perspective in The Kite Runner to highlight ethnic disparity. It further analyzes how an Afghan diaspora writer (in the USA) as outsider, depicts the sensitive ethnic issue in Afghanistan. Following Edward Said‘s theory of ‗Orientalism‘, this work employs internal orientalism as theoretical framework to examine ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara, because, the discourse of ethnic disparity, of power and knowledge, is in consequent with orientalist‘s discourse of power and knowledge. It tries to explore the dominant-subaltern relationship in the novel.

1.10 CONCLUSION

This chapter has presented a conceptual base and theoretical framework to the work. It has introduced the geography of Afghanistan: the location of important regions and cities; ethnic groups, and the overview of various ethnic groups. There reside more than 50 ethnic groups in Afghanistan: the major includes, the Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara and Uzbek, constituting around 90% of the population. Afghanistan has no single scientific population census, however, on the basis of available surveys and sources, the Pashtun are guessed as 44%, Tajiks 29%, Hazara 9% and Uzbek 7%.

There has been ethnic: deportations; and cleansing in Afghanistan. The deported ethnic groups include, the Pashtun, Hazara, Uzbek. Besides, The Kite Runner is the first English novel written by Khaled Hossenei (an Afghan-American) published in America, in 2003. It was translated into forty two foreign languages including Chinese, French, German, and Persian but did not in Pashto. The Kite Runner as well as the movie based on the novel became famous in the Western circles. However, in Afghanistan, it was not hailed. The government in Afghanistan banned the movie due to expected penetration of ethnic tensions. The novel was not banned because, most Afghans could not read in English. Besides, research questions, hypotheses, theoretical framework, methodology, limitation, significance of the study, and problem statement developed in this chapter to give a blueprint to the work. Besides, it is important to describe the ascendency of qaum and ethnicity, role of neighbouring- regional states in fueling of ethnicity, and the ethnic conflicts in

Afghanistan. Thus, the next chapter shall make an overview of saliency of qaum and ethnicity in Afghanistan.

CHAPTER 2: 2. SALIENCE OF QAUM, ETHNICITY, IN AFGHANISTAN: AN OVERVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Ethnic politics is the major thrust of this work. The Kite Runner has depicted ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara in Afghanistan. The novel is a fictional portrayal of the ethno-political culture of Afghanistan. Before interpreting and examining the ethnic disparity in The Kite Runner, it is necessary to understand and evaluate in this chapter, the saliency (ascendency) of qaum and ethnicity in Afghanistan. It shall further highlight how ethnicity was fueled in Afghanistan in the 1980s that led to ethnic conflicts and wars in the 1990s, particularly between the major ethnic groups i.e. Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, and Uzbek. The chapter shall help in understanding the ethnic dynamics in Afghanistan.

It has been assumed that qaum, a flexible term, referring to (kin, clan, village, tribe, ethnic/vocational/confessional group, profession, and/or nation) used to be the primary identity in Afghanistan. However, after 1979, ethnicity and sect (confession) became the primary identities, as a consequence of war and funding by the West and neighboring/regional states. More than three decades of violence and instability in a multi-ethnic state, Afghanistan, not only destroyed political, social and economic infrastructure, but also inflamed ethnic, sectarian, and regional divisions. More than fifty ethnic groups reside Afghanistan including: four major groups; the Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, and the Hazara; constituting 90% of Afghan

79 population. The Pashtun, ruled the country throughout its history since 1747, barring two brief spans (1929 and 1992-94) when Tajiks ruled Afghanistan. The promulgation of 1964 Constitution in Afghanistan stirred political struggle between various ethnic groups, the Pashtun and non-Pashtun, for power. The Soviet invasion, in 1979, stimulated and further politicised ethnicity. Conversely, the Mujahideen (1992- 96) and the Taliban (1996-2001), ethnicised politics that led to severe infighting between major ethnic groups and resulted into ethnic violence, cleansing and/or conflict. Ethnicity became salient further during the post-Taliban periods due to power sharing arrangements on ethnic basis. This chapter argues that ethnicity was politicized following the Soviet intervention, however, Western and neighbouring states‘ support to particular ethnic groups, during Mujahideen and Taliban periods (Islamists), ethnicized politics. In turn that led to ethnic cleansing and conflict resulting into further salience of qawm, ethnicity, in Afghanistan.

2.1.1 QAUM IN AFGHANISTAN

T['‖t]he term tribe may be used loosely for a localized group, having kinship as the dominant idiom of organization, whose members consider themselves distinct in terms of culture, customs, dialect and origin; tribes are usually politically unified, though not necessarily under a central leader.‖336 In Afghanistan, one of the outstanding social features of life is local tribal or ethnic divisions: peoples‘ primary loyalty is, respectively, to their own kin, village, tribe, or ethnic group,

336 Tapper, R., The Conflict of Tribe and State in Iran and Afghanistan. (Edited). CROOM HELM, London & Canberra, ST. MARTIN‘S PRESS, New York. 1983, p 9.

80 generally glossed as qaum.337 Essentially the qaum is a community of interests, local and traditional, cemented by kinship, tribal or other ties, or it is a solidarity group encompassing family lineages, clans, tribes or sectarian, linguistic or ethnic group.338 The population of Afghanistan is divided into a myriad of such groups at the local level. Therefore, the term, qaum may be considered flexible, expandable and contextual. It applies not only to these smallest units but by extension to the country‘s major ethnic groups, and Afghan nation too.

Tribalism is a desire to retain group identity and more important, sets of rights and obligations within the group339, or it is a system of identity and solidarity based on kinship and locality involving tribal institution, ideology, customs and common law.340 In Afghanistan, tribalism is a segmentary system organizing various levels of social groupings predominant only amongst Pashtun and some nomadic segments of non-Pashtun groups such as Turkmen, Uzbek, Baluch and the sedentary Nuristani. The Pashtun inhabit primarily east, south, and south-western parts of the country, though there exist colonies in parts of northern Afghanistan established during the last hundred years. For Nazif Shahrani, agnatic descent principles play a significant role in organizing socio-economic ties among the Tajik, Farsiban, Hazara, Uzbek, and Baluch and Turkmen sedentary; these groups are not tribally organized in the same way as the Pashtun. The existence of tribal ideology among the Pashai and Nuristani, and

337 Barfield, 2010, p18. 338 Rasanayagum, A., Afghanistan: A Modern History; Monarchy, Despotism or Democracy? The Problems of Governance in Muslim Tradition. I. B. Taurus & Co, Ltd, London, New York, 2005, p 201. 339 Dupree, 1980, p 659 340 Roy, O., Afghanistan: back to Tribalism or on to Lebanon? (Third World Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 4, Ethnicity in World Politics (Oct., 1989), p. 72. Retrieved from ( http://www.jstor.org/stable/3992331) Accessd 30-03-2016.

81 its role in the political processes is considerably different, even among the Pashtun, the role of tribe as a unit of military and political mobilization is often assumed than substantiated.341

2.1.2 ASCENDENCY OF ETHNICITY IN AFGHANISTAN

In Afghanistan, in the early 1960s, four clandestine left-wing ‗study circles‘ of committed intellectuals and activists emerged: one led by Noor Muhammad Taraki (a Ghilzai Pashtun); second led by Babrak Karmal (a Ghilzai Pashtun) and Mir Akbar Khyber included Tajik and Hazara members; third led by Karmal and Taher Badakhshi (Tajik) mostly comprised students from Badakhshan; fourth led by Ghulam Dastagir Panjsheri (Tajik) included Tajik and Uzbek recruits. It is evident, these small groups, divided along tribal and ethnic lines, remained inconsequential minority on the political scene of Afghanistan.342

The Constitution of Afghanistan, 1964 provided freedom of press and formation of political parties, however, the special legislation, required by the Constitution to legitimize the founding of political parties, was never passed.343 Two multi-ethnic political parties, Marxist, Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and Islamist, Jamiat-e-Islami (JI) appeared. Khalq (People) was organ of the former, PDPA that split in 1967 into two factions; the Khalq and the Parcham, due to more personal than ideological differences,

341 Shahrani, N, M., Canfield, L, Canfield., (Editors) Revolutions & Rebellions in Afghanistan: Anthropological Perspectives, Research Series No.57, (Berkeley: Institute of International Studies, University of California, 1984), p 7. 342 Rasanayagam, 2005, pp 47-48. 343 Ibid., pp 45-46.

82 reflecting different social origins and approaches to revolution.344 The rural Pashtun numbered the Khalq, while the educated urban Pashtun and the Persian speakers joined the Parcham.345 The latter began publishing an organ Parcham. Jamiat-e Islami too split into two factions in 1976-77: Jamiat-e Islami Afghanistan (JIA) and Hizb-e Islami Afghanistan (HIA). Burhanuddin Rabbani, leader of Jamiat-e Islami, a Tajik, and Gulbadin Hikmatyar, leader of Hizb-e Islami, was a Pashtun. The split occurred due to personal, not ideological reasons, too. Hikmatyar was radical advocated revolutionary changes in the government, while Rabbani was moderate and preferred evolutionary path. It is remarkable that in both cases, beneath the surface, lay ethnic connotations, as the major causes of the divisions. First significant non-Pashtun political party, Sazman-e Azad-e Bakhshi-e Zehmat Kashan-e Afghanistan (SAZA), a splinter of the PDPA, was renamed Sitm-i-Milli (The Oppressed Nation), in 1968. It was organized and led by Taher Badakhshi (Tajik), a former member of the Central Committee of the PDPA and the brother-in-law of Sultani Ali Keshtmand (Keshtmand‘s sister married to Badakhshi), the Prime Minister during Babrak Karmal and Najibullah regimes. Sitmi-i- Milli, had been Maoist Communist Party, supported the Chinese Communist line. During the division of the PDPA, many considered Tahir Badakhshi an opponent of Pashtuns.346 Badakhshi‘s anti-Pashtun party had rooted particularly in Qataghan and Badakhshan vilayats. The party propounded that Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, and Hazara oppressed nations and were deprived of national and civic rights by the

344 Rasanayagam, 2005, p 49. 345 Sufi, K, J., Faraib-e-Natamam: YadaiAurYadashtai.Pak Book Empire, Urdu Bazar, Lahore 2015, p 331. 346 Tanwir, M, H., Afghanistan: History, Diplomacy and Journalism, Volume 1. Published by Xlibris Corporation, 2013, p 186.

83 dominant Pashtun.347 These views were also expressed by Abdul Majid Kalkani, nephew of Bacha Saqao, in Parwan. Stressing ethnic oppression, Sitm-i-Milli openly pointed towards ascendency of ethnicity in Afghanistan. In 1989, the SAZA had provincial committees at Faizabad, Mazar Sharif, Shiberghan, Maimana, Herat, and Pul-e Khumri. The agreement of alliance between the PDPA and SAZA in October 1987 confirmed its name, and announced three Tajik members of SAZA (Sitm-i-Milli) as ministers: Mehboobullah Kashani was appointed Deputy Prime Minister; Muhammad Ishaq ‗Kawa‘ Minister of Mines and Industries and Muhammad Bashir Baghlani, Minister of Justice.348 Shula-e Javid, another Maoist Political Party, founded by Mehmudi Brothers, out of PDPA, in 1966, condemned the ‗social imperialism‘ of the Soviet Union and their native allies. It had a populist strategy349 and enlisted support amongst university students, professionals, and Shia Muslims, particularly the Shia Hazara. The party had a following in industrial workers in Kabul, mostly the Shiite Hazara, looked down upon by the rest of the population, a kind of underclass, a lumpen proletariat. The Mehmudis organized them on ethnic and religious basis, and led most of the workers‘ strikes in late sixties and early seventies of the previous century.350 The popularity of this party grew rapidly but was declared illegal by the government in 1969, since it criticized King Zahir Shah. Ahmad Shah Masood

347 Younas, Fida, S., Afghanistan‟s Minority Nationalities. Central Asia Journal No.40. Area Study Centre (Central Asia), University of Peshawar, 1997, p 183. 348 Younas, 1997, pp 183-186. 349 Populism is a political position which holds that the virtuous citizens are being mistreated by a small circle of elites, who can be overthrown if the people recognize the danger and work together. The elites are depicted as trampling in illegitimate fashion upon the rights, values, and voice of the legitimate people. Populist movements are found in many democratic nations. 350 Rasanayagam, 2005, p 49.

(Tajik) is believed to be the member of Shula-e Javid.351 The Centre of activities of this party had been Herat and Nimroz. Abdullah Rastakhez and Usman Landai acted as mobilisers and organizers of the communist forces, believing the combat would march from urban to rural areas. The party collaborated with Sitm-i- Milli and other Mujahideen groups against PDPA factions. More influencing groups even gained membership of Jamiat-e Islami led by Rabbani. Members of Shula-e Javid were considered reliable and remained loyal to Rabbani and Ahmad Shah Masood.352 Splinter groups of Sitm-i- Milli and Shula-e Javid, merged into the PDPA in late 1980s.353 It has to be kept in mind that apart from Maoism and enmity towards pro Soviet PDPA, significant gluing factor between them has been their affiliation to other than Pashtun ethnicity. Following the Promulgation of Constitution, 1964, the 216 members of Wolasi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament), included the representative; anti-royalist, supporter of King, Pashtun nationalists of both right and left of political spectrum, entrepreneurs-industrialists, political liberals, a small leftist group, and conservative Muslim leaders. The first open criticism of non-Pashtun ethnicities was heard during the proceedings of the 12th Term of Afghanistan Parliament.354 It is evident that non-Pashtun ethnic groups in 1960s carried grievances against dominant Pashtun and separated from the Pashtun political parties in the early stages of political development in Afghanistan. The Khalq and Parcham factions of the PDPA united in 1977 only to carry the so-called Saur Revolution out, in 1978, in

351 Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/shalleh-ye_Javiyed 352 Tanwir, 2013, p 188. 353 Younas, 1997, p 185-88 354 Ibid., p 183.

Afghanistan, though, for Juma Khan Sufi,355 it has been a revolution of the Pashtuns from the beginning till the end.356 The Soviets might have had no role in preparing the Saur Revolution. It seemed an indigenous reaction of the Afghan people to the exploitation and deprivations by the ruling elites. As J. Blaut357 ably elaborates in The National Question, arguing, all national struggles are class struggles, not Eurocentric diffusions.358 Moreover, rivalry between the leaders of Khalq and the Parcham factions re-emerged soon after the formation of Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA), in 1978. Prior to Najibullah‘s government, the thrust of Soviet‘s state building strategy was to transform Afghan society through Sovietization (export of Soviet institutions, political models, and ideology), however, when Najibullah became President, the Soviet realized to change its policy to increase the regime‘s social base.

355 Juma Khan Sufi is the famous Afghanologist, and first-hand observer of Afghan political affairs from 1967 till 1992. He went to Kabul in 1970s as a political exile, and worked in the closed circles of Afghan government. He worked with the Afghan presidents such as, Noor Muhammad Taraki, BabrakKarmal and Najibullah. Therefore, he saw the political events and changes in Afghanistan with his own eyes, and noted them in his diaries, which he published in 2015. He observed the important events such as the Saur Revolution, the affairs of the Parcham and Khalqis factions of PDPA, the presence of Soviets in Kabul and their involvement in Afghan‘s affairs etc. 356Sufi, K, J., Faraib-e-Natamam: YadaiAurYadashtai.Pak Book Empire, Urdu Bazar, Lahore 2015, p 337. 357 James Morris Blaut (1927-2000) was a professor of anthropology and geography at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His studies focused on the agricultural micro geography (geographical activity of villagers), cultural ecology, theory of nationalism, philosophy of science, historiography and the relations between the First and the Third World. He is known as one of the most notable critics of Eurocentrism. Blaut was one of the most widely read authors in the field of geography. 358 Blaut, M, J., The National Question: Decolonising the Theory of Nationalism. Zed Books Ltd, UK, USA, 1987, pp 172-211

Najibullah announced policy of National Reconciliation in 1987, to reduce military confrontation and negotiate a political compromise.359 The Soviets made use of ethnicity to enlist support for its intervention. They offered concessions to smaller ethnic groups and tribes in return for their support or neutrality in the war. Rights to smaller nations, ethnic and racial groups including language and cultural rights were essential part of Soviet ideology too. Additionally, they encouraged formation of rural militias to protect their areas from the opposing Mujahideen fighters. They used Juwzjani militia led by Rashid Dostam360 (Uzbek) comprising Uzbek in non-Uzbek areas that brutally attacked other ethnic groups where needed. Using strategy to fight ethnic groups and defeating the Mujahedin was not successful, however, partly, it remained successful in encouraging growth of ethnic-based regional armed factions that further strained relations amongst ethnic groups. 361

359 Minkov, A, Counterinsurgency and Ethnic/Sectarian Rivalry in Comparative Perspective: Soviet Afghanistan and Contemporary Iraq. Centre for Operational Research and Analysis, Defence Research and Development, Canada. Accessed from smallwarsjournal.com/documents/aminkov.pdf, on 03-5-2016 360 He is an Afghan politician who has served as Vice President of Afghanistan since 2014. He is an ethnic Uzbek, former warlord and general, previously part of the leadership council of the National Front of Afghanistan along with Amad Zia Massoud and Mohammad Mohaqiq, as well as chairman of his own political party, Junbish-e Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan (National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan). He also served in the past as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Afghan National Army, a role often viewed as ceremonial. During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Dostum was a general in the Afghan army. He later became an independent warlord and leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community. He participated in battles against the Mujahideen fighters in the 1980s as well as against the Taliban in the 1990s. After the fall of the Taliban, he mainly resided in Turkey before returning to the country. In 2013 he made a public apology for his role in the civil war. He subsequently entered parliament, and later joined Ashraf Ghani's presidential administration as a vice president. 361 Khalilzad, Z., Anarchy in Afghanistan. Source: Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 51, No. 1, South Asia: The Challenges of Statehood (Summer 1997), pp. 37-56, Published by: Journal of International Affairs Editorial Board Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24357465, Accessed: 15-06-2016

The PDPA government treated smaller ethnic groups judiciously, since the 1987 Constitution rejected all discriminations and classification on the basis of tribe, language and religion.362 During the PDPA‘s government, the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural character of Afghanistan was officially recognized. New avenues for cultural expression in the form of daily newspapers in vernacular, ethnic languages, the formation of folk songs, dance troupes were opened, and wider publicity to ethnic poets and their works was provided.363 The official recognition of the multi-ethnic character of the country was unprecedented in Afghanistan. One of the most widely publicized aspects of the Soviet nationality policy has been the emphasis on cultural autonomy; this ‗autonomy‘ consisted chiefly in the use of the national language in schools, government administration, and courts, and in the flood of books, magazines, pamphlets, and newspapers which began to flow from the printing houses.364 The PDPA‘s government promoted the nationality policy similar to the one in the Soviet Union: Radio Afghanistan began airing programs in Uzbeki and some other minority languages.365 Likewise, the Afghanistan‘s minorities‘ languages such as Uzbeki, Turkmen, Baluchi, and Nuristani were elevated to the status of national languages.366 Besides, during the PDPA‘s government of Parcham, the situation of Hazara changed significantly for the better; Sultan Ali

362 Rasanayagam, 2005, pp 176-177. 363 Rais, B, R., Recovering the Frontier State: War, Ethnicity, and State in Afghanistan. Lexington Press, UK 2008, pp 38-39. 364 Bacon, E., Soviet Policy in Turkistan. Middle East Journal, Vol.1, No.4 (Oct., 1947), pp: 386-400, Middle East Institute, retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4321918 , Accessed on 03-06-2016 365 Khalilzad, 1997, pp. 37-56. 366 Rasanayagam, 2005, p 99.

Keshtmand (Hazara) was appointed the Prime Minister, another Hazara, a Deputy Minister of Afghanistan. Hazara got minor government posts,367and engaged in lucrative transport business and the government in Kabul armed them against the Mujahideen.368 Before 1987, the Pashtun alone were allowed to form a national jirga, but the Hazara became able to form the first ever Jirga-ye-Sarasari-e- Milliyat-e- Hazara (the Central Council of the Hazara People) too in Afghanistan.

2.1.3 IMPACT OF WAR (1979-89) ON ETHNICITY

In the wake of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, in 1979, massive influx of arms and cash penetrated Afghanistan fueling and mobilizing ethnic polarization and sectarianism. The United States, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia matched a dollar for a dollar and bullet for a bullet to counter any development sponsored by the USSR. In order to keep it covert, the American CIA through Pakistan‘s ISI, initially, delivered weaponry, AK47, Klashinkov rifles, heavy machine guns (Dashaka), pistols (Makarov) manufactured in Warsaw Pact countries, to the Afghan Mujahideen.369 Later upon rising stakes, stinger missiles were also provided to the Mujahidden. By 1981-85, the biggest CIA covert operation began in Afghanistan: the annual US military aid to the Mujahideen channeled through ISI, allegedly, grew from $30 million to $280 million.370 Further $470 million were pledged in 1986, which increased to $630 in 1987, $600 million in 1989, and $280 million in 1990.371 Besides, the Saudi Arabia funneled more than half a

367 Mousavi, 1998, p 176. 368 Rasayanagum, 2005, p 132. 369 Ibid., p 105. 370 Ibid., p 105. 371 Ibid., pp 136-137.

89 billion dollars to CIA accounts in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. This was in addition to its direct contributions in cash and arms to its favorite Mujahedin parties. Kuwait and UAE also funded this war. The Soviets stationed around 85000 troops inside Afghanistan, comprising 60000 motorized force, 25000 made up of artillery, engineering, signals, borders and security units, and air force personnel. Thus, pumping of arms and cash in Afghanistan by the foreign states, sanctioned the rival feuding ethnic parties, to intensify further factional and fratricidal fighting.372

Prior to 1979, qawm, remained the primary identity in Afghanistan, however, following Soviet invasion and ensuing war of attrition, ethnicity became the primary identity, flourishing in the 1990s. During the war in Afghanistan (1979-89), sect also appeared as prominent identity when the Sunni and Shia party alliances appeared with dominant political pressures. This shift in identity was unprecedented in Afghanistan. The internal strife among various factions, organized along tribal, ethnic, religious, and ideological lines, demonstrated one of the most destructive dimensions of war in Afghanistan.373 Oliver Roy argues that the ethnic awareness in Afghanistan is not as pristine as often claimed; it is a consequence, of war, of strategic alignments, with foreign countries.374 The war made the various ethnic and social forces of Afghanistan more conscious of their separate identities.375 Shah M. Tarzi has argued that the politics of Afghan resistance, shaped by traditional ethno-linguistic and tribal

372 Ibid., p 136. 373 Rais, 2008, p 2. 374 Roy, O., Has Islamism A Future in Afghanistan? In Afghanistan and the Taliban, The Rebirth of Fundamentalism? (Ed) Willium, Maley.Penguin Books, 2001, p 205. 375 Rais, 2008, p 17.

90 cleavages internal to Afghan society, was added and abated further by differences in the ethnic composition of the resistance leadership.376

2.1.4 SUNNI RESISTANCE

Sect and ethnic based alliances were established, in Pakistan and Iran, during the war in Afghanistan (1979-89). Seven Sunni parties Alliance emerged in Peshawar, Pakistan, while eight Shia party Alliance established in Iran, to counter the former alliance, from gaining political leverage in Afghanistan. Though sect and ethnicity are two different social facts, Hazara was a sect as well as ethnicity in Afghanistan. Pashtun and Tajik have sects too but ethnic ties are more important for them: because, these two are the majority ethnic groups in Afghanistan; their ethnicity may be at risk in political terms but not the sect. Pakistan and Iran fueled sect and ethnicity in order to put a favourable client regime in Afghanistan. Besides, it is the salience of ethnicity over sect in the Hazara: ethnicity played active role in their unity, and emergence to political power.

The Seven Sunni parties‘ Alliance, based in Peshawar, emerged in early 1980s. Earlier the tribal insurrections in south-eastern provinces of Afghanistan in summer 1979, with the Kabul government counter-attacks and repressions, and the Soviet invasion, brought influx of refugees into Pakistan, initially 400,000 in 1980. The Pakistani authorities asked the exiled Afghan leaders in Peshawar to manage the situation. These exiled Afghan leaders had set up headquarter in Peshawar after failed uprising against Daud, in 1974.

376 Tarzi, M, S., Politics of the Afghan Resistance Movement: Cleavages, Disunity, and Fragmentation. Asian Survey, Volume.31, No.6 (Jun., 1991). Pp. 479-495. Retrieved from http//www.jstor.org/Stable/2645078, Accessed: 16-05-2016.

The refugees in Pakistan needed to be recommended by one of the parties in order to be eligible for food ration; that enabled these small unrepresentative parties become mass organizations. Pakistan encouraged, armed and directed the spread of insurrections in Afghanistan.377 Pakistan‘s ISI ensured that every commander in the field belongs to one of the Seven Party Alliance that included:

I. The Jamiat-e-Islami, headed by Burhanuddin Rabbani, an ethnic Tajik from Badakhshan. II. Hizbi-Islami Afghanistan (Hikmatyar), headed by Gulbadin Hikmatyar, an ethnic Pashtun from Kunduz. III. Hizbi-Islami Afghanistan (Khalis), headed by Molana Younis Khalis, an ethnic Pashtun from Paktya. IV. Ittehad-e-Islami Baraye Azadi-e Afghanistan, headed by Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, an ethnic Pashtun from Paghman. V. Harkat-e-Inqilab-i-Islami headed by Molana Muhammad Nabi Muhammadi, an ethnic Pashtun from Logar. VI. Mahaz-i-Milli Islami ye Afghanistan (National Islamic Front of Afghanistan), headed by Pir Syed Ahmad Gillani, an ethnic Pashtun from Nangarhar. VII. Jubbah-e-Nijat-e Milli Afghanistan (Afghan National Liberation Front), headed by Sibghatullah Mujaddadi, an ethnic Pashtun from Kabul.378

377 Rasanayagam, 2005, p 104. 378Alam, T, M., The Betrayal of Afghanistan: An Analysis of the Afghan Resistance Against Soviet Union. (Ed), M.Y. Effendi, Area Study Centre (Russia, China & Central Asia), University of Peshawar, 2005, pp 128-150.

Except Jamiat-e Islami, mainly comprising Tajik elements, the remainder of six major resistance parties, were Pashtun dominated.379 The rivalry between Rabbani and Hikmatyar was initially strategic, later turned to ethnic; Rabbani stressed flexibility in actions against Daud Khan after crackdown in 1974-75, while Himatyar stressed armed struggle, a shortcut to establishing an Islamic government in Afghanistan. Later, in the wake of split between JIA (Rabbani) and HIA (Hikmatyar), in 1976-7, political differences had wheeled more around ethnic factor. Most non-Pashtun joined Rabbani, and educated but religious Pashtun rallied around Hikmatyar that further strengthened the ethnic dimension in Afghan politics in early 1980s.380

2.1.5 SHIA RESISTANCE

For Syed Askar Mousavi, the Shia resistance movement led by Hazara against the Soviet and the Kabul regime had two distinct phases: In phase-one (1978-83), barring the Centre of Bamiyan province, the entire Hazarajat were liberated and brought under organized control of Shura-ye Ittifaq381, an organization led by Syed Ali Behishti; Phase-two later in1983-89 was marred by intense internal fighting in Hazarajat, since the Hazara groups backed by Iran emerged resulting into killing and migration of thousands of Hazara.382

379 Ibid., p 191. 380 Alam, 2005, p 189. 381 Shura-i Engelab-i Ettefaq-i Islami Afghanistan, often called simply Shura, was a Hazara political movement, led by Syed Ali Beheshti, appeared in Afghanistan in 1979, in opposition to the increasingly leftist Kabul government. The Shura had both political and militant arms, and removed many Kabul-backed authorities within the Hazarajat, replacing them with their own functionaries. By the end of 1983 the Shura controlled 60% of the population of the Hazarajat. 382 Mousavi, 1998, p xv.

Some 50 Shia/Hazara minor/major groups backed by Iran were formed: such as the Sazman-e-Nasr, Sazman-e-Mujahideen-e Mostaz‟affin. Eight Shia/non-Pashtun groups, including Hazara, united in a coalition, in 1987, as a result of pressure from Iran, as they camped in Iran. The coalition, named, Shura-ye-I‟telaf-e Islami-ye Afghanistan, professed that it is opposed to the destructive infighting between the different groups inside Hazarajat. The coalition included; Sazman-e Nasr, Pasdaran-e Jihad-e Islami, Nahzat-e Islami, Jabha-ye Mottahid-e Ingelab-e Islami, Harakat-e Islami, Hizb-e Da‟war-e Islami, Hizbullah and Sazman-e Niroo-ye Islami.383 Later, in 1989, the Hazara/Shia political and religious leaders in Hazarajat, officially formed Hizb-e Wahdat-e Islami (an alliance of eight Shia/Hazara political parties), in Bamiyan, this time under the control of Hazara of Afghanistan. Hizb-e Wahdat stressed Hazara ethnic identity more than Islamic solidarity: because it was established in Afghanistan when Hazara ethnicity was at risk due to political reasons; Hazara wanted space in the political power in Afghanistan. The relations of this organization deteriorated with Iran after 1996. The Alliance gave voice to the rights and demands of the Hazara. The term Hazaristan also appeared in some publications of the party. Later, former Hazara nationalists also joined the party, who never supported the idea of an Islamic state. The ethnic polarization remained the main predicament of the Islamist parties.384 Revolution, invasion, ensuing war and intervention of foreign material resources in terms of weapons and currency transformed hitherto traditional immobile Hazara society in 1980s. New terms such as Hizb (party), rahbari-e siyasi (political leadership), sazman

383 Ibid., pp 179-185. 384 Roy, 2001, pp 206-207.

(organization), goroh (group), tabaqah (class), milliyat (nationality), markaziyat (centralism), jang-e mosallahanah (armed struggle) entered into Hazara lexicon gradually but steadily replacing traditional tribal terms and structure. The Hizb-e Wahdat: opened avenues for the development of Hazara in Afghanistan; participated in international gatherings, on Afghanistan; Conference of Islamic Foreign Ministers, in Istanbul; Four partite Conference in Islamabad and Tehran; the Sixth Conference of the OIC in Senegal; the UN Annual Meetings and held official talks with the UN General Secretary in New York. It also took part in discussions alongside the seven group Mujahideen alliance backed in Peshawar.385 The increased political awareness, strength and role of Hazara, began to cause ethnic tensions with Pashtun and other ethnic groups.386 The anti-Soviet insurgents divided along sectarian lines: the Shia political parties, supported by Hazara, relied on Iran for financial and political support; while the Sunni parties were supported, politically, militarily, financially by United States, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. The ISI distributed foreign aid exclusively to these Sunni Islamic parties.387 Instead of unity, differences and disunity, based on ethnic/sect/clan lines, had been the chief characteristics of the Afghan resistance against Soviet/Afghan forces. Effective links between the Shiite and Sunni groups lacked,388 rather, contest and hostility, could be witnessed.389

385 Ibid., p 186, 193. 386 Katzman, 2011, p 24. 387 Riphenburg, 2007, pp 10-11. 388 Saikal, 2002, p 30. 389 Alam, 2005, p 189.

2.1.6 MILITARIZATION OF ETHNICITY

Militancy also played a prominent role in ascendency of ethnicity in Afghanistan. Militias on ethnic and sectarian basis established in Afghanistan in 1980s: the Uzbek militias of Rashid Dostam (Juwzjani), the Tajik militia of Ahmad Shah Masood390 (Shura-e Nazar), and Pashtun-Tajik militia of Ismail Khan391 (Hamza Division) were ethnic based, while that of Syed Mansur Naderi‘s392 Ismailia militia (Wakhis), was sect-based. The co-ethnics followed their own militia group. The Juwzjani and the Ismailia militias were pro-government, while that of Ismail Khan and Ahmad Shah Masood, anti-government.393 The Juwzjani militia, an effective and equipped force, numbered 40,000 men by 1991. Its task has been to replace the Soviet troops that protected the gas fields, and the supply routes from the Soviet border and southward through Mazar Sharif. Units of this militia were dispatched to Kandahar and Jalalabad to fight the

390 Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953-2001) was an Afghan political and military leader. Massoud came from an ethnic Tajik, Sunni Muslim background in the Panjshir valley of northern Afghanistan. He was a powerful military commander during the resistance against the Soviet occupation between 1979 and 1989 and in the following years of civil war, during which time he became known as the Lion of Panjshir. Massoud was assassinated on September 9, 2001. 391 Mohammad Ismail Khan (b.1946-) is a warlord and politician in Afghanistan, serving as Minister of Water and Energy since 2005. He was previously the Governor of Herat Province. He is widely known as a warlord because of his rise to power during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. He controlled a large sized mujahideen force, mainly his fellow Tajiks from western Afghanistan. He is a key member of the political party Jamiat-e Islami and was a member of the now defunct United National Front party. 392 Sayed Mansur Naderi is a leader (Sayed of Kayan) of a Hazara-Ismaili Shi'a Muslim community centred in Baghlan Province of Afghanistan. Like other Ismaili communities in Afghanistan and worldwide, the Baghlan Ismailis do submit to the spiritual leader of Ismailis worldwide, the Agha Khan, Naderi acts as a figurehead of the local Ismailies till the socio/religious leadership structure is established in the country. This community, not accepted by the Sunni mainstream nor by the more powerful Twelver Shi'a Hazaras, has been historically discriminated against. 393 Rasanayagam, 2005, p 130.

Mujahideen in 1989 and 1990, respectively.394 The militia was also used to fight against other ethnic groups in many parts of the country.395

Naderi‘s Ismailia militia was established to arm and defend his community when most of the Tajiks and Pashtuns in the north aligned themselves either with the Jamiat or with the Hizb-e Wahdat. Najibullah patronized Ismailis, Naderi was made a general, the governor of Baghlan province, and member of Revolutionary Council. This was a great social advance for a highly-stigmatized group. Naderi‘s forces, reaching 13,000 in 1989, acted as intermediary in distributing Soviet aid to Kabul.396 The obvious reason for patronizing Ismailis by the Afghan government, in the north, has been guarding Soviet supply line from the north to Kabul. The anti-Soviet militias of Ismail Khan and Masood fought the communist government in Kabul. Ismail Khan, erected his power-base Herat, in 1988, a conventional type of military organization called Hamza Division, which sustained five regiments, each with six to nine battalions of about 200 men, made up of combat units of 25 men. He convened a Shura of commanders in Ghor from nine western provinces that led to improved military cooperation among resistance groups in the west of Afghanistan. Besides, in the north-east of the country, many Tajik and Uzbek Ulama and Commanders, nominally allied to the NIFA,397 switched their allegiance to the Jamiat and to its most

394 Rasanayagam, 2005, p 130. 395 Nojumi, 2002, p 82. 396 Ibid., p 130. 397 Mahaz-e Milli-ye Afghanistan, or The National Islamic Front of Afghanistan (NIFA), was founded in 1979 in Peshawar as an armed resistance movement by Syed Ahmad Gillani. It is a liberal, nationalist, Islamic party and, according to its manifesto, advocated both the protection of the national sovereignty and territorial

97 effective commander, Ahmad Shah Masood, fighting the Soviet- Afghan forces from his autonomous Punjshir valley. His organization expanded into a regional cooperative of Jamiat commanders, called the Supervisory Council of the North (SCN).398 The unprecedented flourishing of militias based on ethnicity occurred in Afghanistan. These ethnic militias were fueled directly/indirectly by Afghan government of the time.

2.1.7 EFFORTS TO RECONCILE ETHNICIZATION

After becoming president in April 1986, Najibullah399 announced on January 1, 1987, his program of national reconciliation. It comprised three key elements: six-month unilateral ceasefire; formation of national unity; the return of the over 5 million refugees from Pakistan and Iran.400 The ceasefire extended further for six months. Besides, peace jirgas were established at village, counties, districts, and provinces level, followed by convocation of a national peace ‗Jirga‘. These jirgas asked for the cessation of war, and creation of an atmosphere of understanding among the people. Representatives integrity of Afghanistan, and the establishment of an interim government that would draft a national and Islamic constitution with the separation of executive, legislature, and judicial powers. It demaded an elected government. It remained part of a loose coalition of traditional, or moderate, Mujahideen groups. NIFA participated in the presidential elections of Afghanistan in 2004 and 2009. 398 Rasayanagam, pp 132-33. 399 Najibullah Ahmadzai (1947-1996), commonly known as Najibullah or Dr. Najib, was the President of Afghanistan from 1987 until 1992, when the mujahideen took over Kabul. He had previously held different careers under the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and was a graduate of Kabul University. Following the Saur Revolution and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, Najibullah was a low profile bureaucrat: he was sent into exile as Ambassador to Iran during Hafizullah Amin's rise to power. He returned to Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion which toppled Amin's rule and placed Babrak Karmal as head of state, party and government. During Karmal's rule, Najibullah became head of the KHAD, the Afghan equivalent to the Soviet KGB. He was a member of the Parcham faction led by Karmal. 400 Ibid., p 119.

98 of all ethnic groups, tribes, and nationalities took part in the Jirga.401 A Draft Constitution was published in July that year, with opposition invited to suggest changes. Najibullah appealed to the Peshawar based Seven Party Alliance, in October, to join a coalition government, declaring they would be allowed to open offices in Kabul, publish newspapers etc., if ended armed resistance.402 The New Constitution was formally adopted by Afghan Loya Jirga on December 1, 1987,403 establishing Islam as state religion, and converting Afghanistan in theory into a parliamentary democracy. Article 38 of the Constitution stipulated equal rights of the citizens of Afghanistan irrespective of ethnicity, race, tribal, and political affiliation.404 After election, as President, Najibullah delivered a presidential address at the Loya Jirga, forwarding his vision of Afghan multi ethnic/nation/culture state: called various ethnicities by name such as, the Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Char-Aimaq, Baluchi, Nuristani, Kirghiz, Pashai, Arab, and Hindus, and resolved that he will ―firmly and consistently consolidate friendship among all nationalities, tribes, and ethnic groups, decisively exterminate every manifestation of chauvinism and nationalist selfishness, tribal differences and distrust between one people and the other. We must preserve our multi-national garden from the hot winds of war and drought‖.405 Najibullah or the PDPA‘s government recognized ethnicity, while the Geneva Accords, the Mujahideen government and the Taliban regime did not. Besides, in the Bonn Accords, ethnicity was recognized with constitutional guarantees. The

401 Kabul New Times: January 22, 1987. 402 Rasayanagam, 2005, pp 120-121. 403 Kabul New Times: December 10, 1987. 404 Kabul New Times: December 1, 1987. 405 Kabul New Times: December 3, 1987.

99 non-recognition of ethnicity by Afghan governments, paved the way for ethnic strife and warfare. The Geneva Accords,406 signed on April 14, 1988, said nothing about ethnicity. The foreign ministers of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Soviet Union and the United States signed the Accords in Geneva that called for: withdrawal of Soviet troops within nine months from Afghanistan, non-interference by Pakistan and Afghanistan in each other‘s affairs, and voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan. The United States and the Soviet Union became the guarantors of the Accords, and signed the document separately.407 The entire dimension of Geneva Accords was external: it did not address the internal Afghan situations; the Afghan resistance was not a party to the negotiations,408 which showed how ethnicity was not recognized in Afghanistan, and how it led to civil war in the 1990s.

2.1.8 THE MUJAHIDEEN AND ETHNICITY (1992-1994)

During the fratricidal war in Mujahideen government, ethnicity became more prominent in Afghanistan. The qawm, a flexible term, diffused and took ethnic connotation. Though the PDPA‘s government in Afghanistan had recognized ethnicity, the Mujahideen government did not. The non-recognition of ethnicity, and the quest for political power, led the country into political chaos. The major ethnic groups fought each other for gaining the prize of Buzkashi. The non-Pashtun

406 The Geneva Accords, known formally as the agreements on the settlement of the situation relating to the Afghanistan, were signed on 14 April 1988 United Nations, between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the United States and the Soviet Union serving as guarantors. The Afghan resistance, or Mujahideen, were neither party to the negotiations nor to the Geneva accords and, consequently, refused to accept the terms of the agreement. As a result, the civil war continued after the completion of the Soviet withdrawal. 407 Rasanayagam, 2005, p 121. 408 Alam, 2005, p 287.

100 ethnic groups, who tasted a degree of autonomy, and self-rule during the Communist period (1979-89) enabled by ethnic militia, had refused to accept traditional Pashtun domination, enabling relations troubled between the Pashtun and non-Pashtun.409

The suspension of Soviet aid to Afghan government, in late 1991, had forced Najibullah to limit payments to the pro-government forces and militias.410 In the north, the swelling ranks of non-Pashtun militias such as of the Uzbek, Tajik, and Ismailia, demanded extra payment from Najibullah‘s government, in a time of financial crisis. Najibullah replaced the Tajik commander with the Pashtun, a flash point for which the warlords waited. This implied ethnic discrimination by Pashtun in politics. However, weeks before Najibullah‘s stepping down in March 1992, an anti-Pashtun alliance had formed in Mazar Sharif. Two Tajik-dominated Mujahideen groups, Jamiat-e Islami and Shura-e Nazar, joined hands with the Communist Uzbek (Dostam) and Ismaili militia, the Shia‘s Hizb-e Wahdat. Their political aims were ethnic-chauvinistic (against Pashtun), overthrowing the communist government first, and then ending Pashtun domination.411 The establishment of anti-Pashtun alliance appeared as the second block of non-Pashtun ethnicities against the Pashtun in Afghanistan. Prior to it, the first block was appeared in 1960-70s when the novice political parties such as; Sitm-e Milli, Shula-e Javid, and Jamiat-e Islami had established unity of cooperative groups against the Pashtun. Subsequently, two further alliances of non-Pashtun groups established against the Pashtun-dominated regime of Taliban in 1996 and 1997.

409 Rais, 2008, p 42. 410 Ibid., p- 163. 411 Misdaq, 2006, p 171.

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During these times, the shifting and drifting of alliances remained based on ethnicity. Sect played its role too. After the fall of Najibullah, the Seven Sunni Parties based in Peshawar, were brought in a conference in Peshawar to form an interim government in Afghanistan. Hizb-e Wahdat, the Shia/Hazara Eight parties Alliance, were not invited to the conference owing to Shia Sect and Hazara ethnicity. The ministries, distributed exclusively amongst the Sunni parties. The avoidance of Hizb-e Wahdat in the interim government exposed ethnic and sectarian discrimination in Afghanistan. According to Amin Saikal,412 the Peshawar Agreement of 24 April, 1992, became inoperative due to the intransigence of Hikmatyar (Pashtun) who declined to sign it.413 Hikmatyar insisted that the President (Rabbani) should have a lesser role than the Prime Minister (Hikmatyar), and should be subordinate to the latter. He furthered that the position of Defense Minister (Masood), should be subsidiary to Prime Minister (Hikmayar). He also objected Rashid Dostam‘s (Uzbek) inclusion into the coalition government, who previously remained associated with the Communist government. Hikmatyar not allowing Rabbani‘s government to succeed,414 launched a barrage of rockets against Kabul killing thousands of civilians. The rejection of Rabbani‘s rule in Afghanistan by Hikmatyar, had a

412 Professor Amin Saikal (born in 1950 in Kabul), is the Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies (The Middle East & Central Asia) and Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University. Professor Saikal has specialized in the politics, history, political economy and international relations of the Middle East and Central Asia. He has been a visiting fellow at Princeton University, Cambridge University and the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, as well as a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow in International Relations (1983-1988). He is a member of many national and international academic organizations. 413 Saikal, A., The Rabbani Government (1992-1996), In, Afghanistan and the Taliban: The rebirth of Fundamentalism (Edited). Pinguin Books, India 2001, p 33. 414 Ibid., p 142.

102 particular motive behind it; Pashtun have not accepted rule of another ethnicity in Afghanistan. This substantiated further ethnic discrimination and polarization in Afghanistan. Rabbani continued to consider his rule legitimate in Afghanistan, and the countries like Iran, Russia, and India recognized his government.415 For Carol Riphenburg,416 fundamentalist leaders like Hikmatyar, have played both pan-Islamic and ethnic cards, as needed, in Afghanistan.417 The effective practices, constituencies and strategies of Hizb-e Islami and Jamiat-e Islami, enhanced ethnic polarization and sheer political rivalries between their leaders, than with ideology.418 The ethnic activists, joined their own ethnic Mujahideen and militia groups, after the fall of Afghan Communists in 1992; some Khalqi (Shahnawaz Tanai) ended up in Hizb-e Islami of Hikmatyar, the Parchami joined Jamiat-e Islami, Rabbani and Shura-e Nazar, Ahmad Shah Masood, while the Hazara and Uzbek defected to their own warlords in Hizb-e Wahdat and Jumbish Milli respectively. These groupings on ethnic lines set the scene for the most vicious ethnic conflict in Afghanistan.419 Hundreds of Hazara were massacred by forces of Tajik-dominated government in February 1993. This brought together Hizb-e Wahdat (Hazara) and Hizb-e Islami (Pashtun) against the ruling Tajiks. Dostam (Uzbek), Mujaddadi (Pashtun), Hikmatyar (Pashtun), and Khalili (Hazara) made an alliance against

415 Khalilzad, 1997, pp 37-56 416 Carol J. Riphenburg, an American Professor of Political Science at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, IL. She has published various articles on ethnicity, economics, the constitution, and role of women in Afghanistan. 417Riphenburg, J, C., Ethnicity and Civil Society in Contemporary Afghanistan.Middle East Journal Vol. 59, No. 1 (Winter, 2005), pp. 31-51 Published by: Middle East Institute , Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4330095 accessed 12-3-2016. 418 Roy, 2001, p 207. 419 Ibid., p 203.

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Tajik, known to be Shura-ye Ali-ye Hamahangi, which remained effective till mid-1996.420 Besides, Sayyaf‘s Ittihad-e Islami (Pashtun) fought the Hizb-e Wahdat (Hazara), Tajik forces attacked Uzbek forces of Dostam, and Hizb-e Islami (Pashtun) rocketed the Kabul city to oust Tajik government from Kabul.421 Rabbani (Tajik) used power against Hizb-e Wahdat (Hazara) and Jumbesh-I Milli (Uzbek) in order to oust them from Kabul.422 The ethnic infightings between various major ethnic groups in Kabul were for the political power. The metaphor of Afghan Buzkashi,423 may be used, for the ethnic groups, pursuing ethnic warfare for political power, in Afghanistan, during 1992-94. Whitney Azoy, an American expert on Afghan culture and politics, has used the metaphor of Buzkashi for Afghan leaders; as the players in the game seize control of the goat by fair or foul, so did the political leaders to fight off their rivals.424

2.1.9 NEIGHBOURING STATES AND ETHNICITY IN AFGHANISTAN

Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, the neighbouring states, Saudi Arabia and India as regional powers, Russia

420 Mousavi, 1998, pp 198-199. 421 Rais, 2008, p 43. 422 Ibid., p 183. 423 Buzkashi, literally goat dragging in Persian, is the national sport and a passion in Afghanistan, in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal. It is often played on Fridays and matches draw thousands of fans. Buzkashi may have begun with the nomadic Turkic-Mongol peoples who have come from farther north and east spreading westward from China and Mongolia between the 10th and 15th centuries in a centuries-long series of migrations that ended only in the 1930s. From Scythian times until recent decades, Buzkashi remains as a legacy of that bygone era. Whitney Azoy, (involved with Afghanistan since 1971 in different capacities) an American expert of Afghan culture and politics, notes in his book Buzkashi: Game and Power in Afghanistan: ―... (that) leaders are men who can seize control by means foul and fair and then fight off their rivals. The Buzkashi rider does the same". 424 Ibid

104 and USA, the super powers, of the times, had/have in-built incentives in meddling into the affairs of Afghanistan. Not only, are policies of these states affected by developments in Afghanistan, but also by one another‘s actions in Afghanistan or against each other. The Taliban‘s takeover of Kabul increased competition between these states.425 The role of these states, in ascendency of ethnicity in Afghanistan cannot be overlooked; they fueled the ethnic groups in Afghanistan. During the war (1979-89) in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, important neighbouring states, deeply plunged into the affairs of Afghanistan. Both turned into headquarters of the political leaders of Afghan Mujahedeen groups, Sunni and Shia, respectively besides the host to Afghan refugees.426

In Afghanistan, Pakistan has aspired to gain a strategic depth against India, not only to subdue aspirations of its own Pashtun and Baluch ethnic populations but also sought to approach the Central Asian republics.427 Pakistan became active in Afghanistan in early 1980s, when it trained the Afghan Mujahideen, and supported militarily, financially, and logistically the Seven Sunni parties, based in Peshawar. The influx of Afghan refugees in Pakistan reached 3.272 million in 1990. After disintegration of the USSR in 1991, Pakistan changed its Afghan policy from armed struggle to its market-oriented needs. It focused upon the economic market of Central Asia. For that matter, it was obligatory for Pakistan to have a friendly and trustworthy government in Afghanistan. Therefore, Pakistan supported and invested enormously in Hizb-e Islami of Hikmatyar (Pashtun) in

425 Khalilzad, 1997, p 48. 426 Nojumi, 2002, pp 98-99. 427 Khalilzad, 1997, pp 37-56.

105 order to have a greater role for him in the newly established Afghan government.428 Pakistan shifted its support from one Pashtun group to another to pressurise Rabbani to honour the Peshawar Accord. It also tried to stop his transitional government from tilting towards India and other regional powers. The Rabbani government, unhappy from Pakistan, used the lever of Iran-Russia-India to contest Pakistan‘s influence in Afghan politics.429 Iran became active in Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion, and a home for around 2.94 million430 (the 1990 figures) Afghan refugees. It became a support base for the Afghan Mujahideen, particularly the Shia groups. It provided the Shia-Hazara groups with limited military and financial aid. While the penetration of Western and Middle Eastern aid, did not follow into the Shia Mujahideen because the relations of Iran with the USA, and Saudi Arabia remained hostile.431 Though Iran became active in Afghan affairs in late 1980sin the affairs of Shia-Hazara Mujahideen, the Iranian government agencies such as, The Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Etelaat, Bunyad, and Wazarat-e Keshwar (Ministry of Interior), had become active in attempting to push their agenda in Afghanistan. After Soviet withdrawal, Iran united the Hazara factions into Hizb-e Wahdat, and tried to normalize relations with Najibullah. The reason behind policy shift was Iran‘s desire to protest the US and Saudi‘s influence in the upcoming Mujahideen government. Iran supported the Rabbani (Tajik) government, and its support deepened after Taliban seized Herat in 1995.432

428 Ibid., p 184. 429 Rais, 2008, p 185. 430 Rasanayagam, 2005, p 111. 431 Ibid., p 186. 432 Ibid., p 187.

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Iran cultivated relations with the non-Pashtun parties such as Jamiat (Tajik), the Wahdat (Hazara), Jumbish (Uzbek) and Ismail Khan (Tajik) to counter the Peshawar-based Pashtun parties. It established five training camps near Mashad for 5000 fighters led by Ismail Khan.433 The non-Pashtun government in Afghanistan represented a major diplomatic triumph for Iran. Iran provided substantial material support to the Kabul coalition to counter Pakistani and Saudi support for Hikmatyar (Pashtun). After the coalition fragmented in 1993-94, Iran began supporting Shiite-Wahdat to counter Saudi financial support to the Rabbani-Masood regime.434 Iran supported the Northern Alliance in arms, cash, fuel, and logistical support. It flew to Mazar Sharif military aircrafts to help the Northern Alliance, even extened cooperation to Russia to provide joint support for the anti-Taliban forces. It discouraged international recognition of the Taliban government, and encouraged diplomatic support for the Northern Alliance.435 Thus Iran has been supporting the non-Pashtun ethnic groups in Afghanistan. The two important states in the north, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, entertained two apprehensions about Afghanistan; first the creation of Islamic state in Afghanistan may destabilize their societies, inciting similar elements across their border, second, they echoed the concerns of their ethnic cousins in Afghanistan against Pashtun domination. Since the ousting of Tajik government in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan increased their political and material support to the forces of Northern Alliance; Tajikistan offered sanctuaries to the anti-Taliban forces, allowed their aircraft from Afghanistan to its own

433 Rasanayagam, 2005, p 169. 434 Ibid., p 169. 435 Khalilzad, 1997, p 48

107 airfields and operations from there.436 Turkmenistan has ethnic ties with Turkmens in Afghanistan, however, on one hand it has pursued neutral policy towards its neighbours, and on the other, it wanted its oil and gas to be exported. Russia aspired to secure its borders from extremism and terrorism. It did not support religious elements in Afghanistan, rather discouraged them. Taliban tookover threatened Russia. In cooperation with Iran, Russia provided arms to the Northern Alliance. Saudi Arabia had a greater influence on developments in Afghanistan in the 1980s; however, this influence dwindled later. They have supported Taliban with limited financial assistance. Besides, the Indian policy in Afghanistan is Pakistan-centered. India wants to limit Pakistan‘s influence in Afghanistan; therefore, it supported the Northern Alliance against the Taliban.437 Thus various ethnic groups in Afghanistan have been fueled/supported by various neighbouring/regional/extra-regional states in 1980s and 1990s.

2.1.10 THE TALIBAN AND ETHNICITY (1996-2001)

The Taliban rose to the political scene in Afghanistan as a military force in the summer of 1994.438 They captured Kabul in September 1996,439 Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates, the only states in the world, recognized the Taliban government.440 Iran, India, Russia, Turkey and four of the five Central Asia republics such as, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan supported by the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance with arms and cash against the

436 Rais, 2008, pp 198-199. 437 Khalilzad, 1997, p 52 438 Saikal, 2001, p 43. 439 Rashid, 2001, p 48. 440 Rasanayagam, 2005, p 151.

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Taliban‘s advance.441 Particularly Iran and the CARs shared a deep suspicion of Afghan-Pashtun fundamentalism due to support of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.442

Apparently, the central tenet of the Taliban creed persisted to make Afghanistan free from the control of Mujahideen parties, and to establish an Islamic state based on Sharia law,443 however, the endorsement of the system of jirga by the Taliban,444 implied the embodiment of Pashtun culture and ethnicity. In other words, the Taliban movement embodied resurgence of Pashtun under a religious and charismatic leadership,445 and despite a religious movement, driven by Islamic fundamentalism; the ethnic Pashtun undertone of the Taliban movement cannot be dismissed.446 Ethnicity and sect played an active part during the Taliban regime. Some Afghan, and foreign observers described the Taliban as Pashtun nationalists, willing to revive a centralized Pashtun-dominated state in Afghanistan.447 For non-Pashtun, Taliban characterized as a symbol of Islamic conservatism and Pashtun chauvinism, aimed at recapturing political power and reasserting its dominance.448 Taliban suffered too, like the Islamists, from ethnic bias, polarization, however, they discarded any ethnic claim, pretended to represent the Afghan Muslim millat

441 Rashid, 2001, p 5. 442 Roy, 2001, p 200. 443 Marsden, 2002, p 62. 444 Ibid., p 66. 445 Roy, 2001, pp 208-209. 446 Rais, 2008, pp 2-3. 447 Siddique, A., Afghanistan‟s Ethnic Divides. CIDOB, Barcelone, 2012. Retrieved from www.cidob.org/en/content/download/35203/.../OK_ABUBAKAR+SIDDIQUE.pdf. Accessed on 12-04-2016. 448 Ibid., p 3.

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(nation).449 The non-Pashtun criticized the Taliban‘s social decrees, such as; ―in the areas under the Taliban government, every kind of wickedness and immorality, cruelty, murder, robbery, songs, and music, TV, VCR, satellite dish, immodesty (be purdagi), travelling (women) without a mehram (immediate blood related person), shaving of or trimming the beard, pictures and photographs, have all been totally banned‖.450

Ethnic politics and violence pursued in the Taliban regime. The Taliban did not share alliances with the non-Pashtun factions in power sharing arrangements; they mis-treated the Shiite in Kabul, in the Hazarajat, and in Mazar Sharif.451 In Mazar Sharif, in May 1997, the Hazara and Uzbek forces collectively massacred some 600 Taliban in the north; hundreds of Taliban were shot dead, buried in mass graves by Masood‘s forces.452 The Taliban, in revenge, in 1998, treated the Hazara in Mazar Sharif most viciously; the Hazara men, women, children were massacred; even goats and donkeys were killed. The Taliban were ordered to kill for two hours, however, the killings continued for two days. Taliban‘s mullah, proclaiming from mosques, put three choices to Shia-Hazara: embrace Sunni Islam, go to Iran, or face death.453 Taliban‘s policies accentuated the process of polarization of Afghanistan, already nascent along ethnic-linguistic lines. Taliban replaced all senior Hazara, Tajik and Uzbek bureaucrats with inexperienced Pashtun. Governor, mayors, and police chiefs in Kabul, Herat and Mazar Sharif were appointed as Pashtun, who only spoke Pashto, not Dari, the lingua franca of the country.454

449 Roy, 2001, p 208. 450 Nojumi, 2002, p 154. 451 Rasanayagam, 2005, p 152. 452 Rashid, 2001, pp58-59. 453 Rasanayagam, 2005, p 157. 454 Ibid., p 191.

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After a month of capturing Kabul by Taliban in October 1996, the non- Pashtun, such as Masood (Tajik), Dostam (Uzbek), Karim Khalili (Hazara) had formed a Supreme Council for the Defense of the Motherland, declaring Mazar Sharif as capital. Within a month, Masood recaptured key positions along Salang Highway (Jabul Seraj, Bagram, and Chrikar), bringing fight within 20 kilometers of Kabul, forcing 50000 people to seek safety in Kabul. While tens of thousands of Kabulis, mostly Tajik and Hazara, fled for Mazar Sharif or Pakistan to escape Taliban‘s arrests and reprisals,455 leading to large scale ethnic cleansing. After defeating Taliban in Mazar Sharif, again the leaders of three major non-Pashtun ethnic groups such as, Masood (Tajik), Khalili (Hazara), and Maalik (Uzbek), formed a new alliance on June 13, 1997 called the United National and Islamic Front for the Salvation of the Homeland. Rabbani was reelected as President, with Masood as Defense Minister, declaring Mazar Sharif (North of Afghanistan) as capital.456 Iran declared to support anti-Taliban Alliance and appealed to Russia, India and the Central Asia states to help them too. Taliban blamed Iran and Russia for support of the opposition.457 Afghanistan remained divided between the Taliban (Pashtun) and the Northern Alliance (Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara) during the Taliban period. Severe ethnic and sectarian violence and conflicts occurred. The non-Pashtun alliances (1996, 1997) in the north were necessarily against the Pashtun- dominated Taliban. For Conrad Schetter,458 ethnicity remained a dominant argument in the war in Afghanistan, therefore the peace process

455 Ibid., p 152. 456 Ibid., p 155. 457 Rashid, 2001, p 61. 458 Acting Director, since 2002 at Center for Development Research (ZEF), Department ‗Political and Cultural Change‘, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms

111 initiated, after the fall of the Taliban regime, at the Bonn peace conference in 2001, was based on an ethnic representative government.459

2.1.11 POST 9/11 AFGHAN ETHNICITIES

After the event of 9/11, the United States began to seek out allies in the region to destroy al-Qaeda, and crushing the Taliban. The Bush administration, choosing the Northern Alliance against bin Laden and the Taliban460 attacked Afghanistan. Within a brief time span of two months, the Taliban regime was toppled. They fled Kabul and the major cities, the vacuum created, were filled by the forces of the Northern Alliance. After capturing Kabul, the Northern Alliance, dominated by Tajik, reincarnated the pre-Taliban bureaucracy dominated by Shura-e Nazar Tajik. The monopolization of power precluded the emergence of an ethnically balanced post-Taliban government. The military considerations in the political developments at Bonn remained dominant under the aegis of the US-led coalition. The negotiations, on the structure of the new government, between the four major ethnic groups, at the UN sponsored conference in Bonn, were strongly influenced by the military situation on the ground. At

Universität Bonn. Conrad started his academic career with studies on the impact of ethnicity on violent conflicts. He has published widely on local politics, ethnicity, and intervention policy in Afghanistan.His PhD Dissertation include Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflict in Afghanistan (1997-2001). 459 Schetter, C., Ethnicity and the Political Reconstruction in Afghanistan. Centre for Development Studies (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany. Retrieved from eprints.lse.ac.uk/28376/1/Schetter_LSERO_version.pdf 460 Grossman, P., Afghanistan in The Balance. Source: Middle East Report, No. 221 (Winter, 2001), pp. 8-15. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1559333. Accessed 15-06-2016.

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Bonn, the hallmark of developments in Afghanistan was to restore ethnic balance to the government through a political process.461

Representatives of the key Afghan political, ethnic, and military factions, signed Bonn accord in December 2001, sponsored by UN, to establish a framework for the political reconstruction of Afghanistan.462 These were anti-Taliban delegates, or simply the Northern Alliance, occupying most of the space in the deliberations.463 Ethnicity became the dominant theme in the Bonn conference due to the violent episodes of ethnic cleansing and ethnicide in the 1990s: ethnic violence in Kabul during 1992-94; in the Shomali plains to its north during 1996-2001; in the Hazarajat during 1998-2001; and in Mazar Sharif during 1997-1998.464 Patterns of political affiliation by family, clan, tribe, village, ethnicity, and region often superseded relationships based on ideology or religion/sect, these patterns have been evident in every Afghan election since the fall of the Taliban regime.465 The prominent members of Northern Alliance in the Bonn Accords, most notably, the Punjsheri Tajik466 occupied key positions in the interim government in 2001: Younis Qanuni was selected as

461 Jalali, A, A., Afghanistan in 2002: The Struggle to Win the Peace. Source: Asian Survey, Vol. 43, No. 1 (January/February 2003), pp. 174-185. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/as.2003.43.1.174. Accessed 15-06-2016. 462 Lyon, D, S, Peter., A Solution for Ethnic Conflict: Democratic Governance in Afghanistan, A Case Study, (Unpublished Masters. Thesis), University of Manitoba, 2006, p 191. Retrieved from www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/MWU/TC- MWU-298.pdf 463 Rais, 2008, pp 125-126. 464Siddique, A., Afghanistan‟s Ethnic Divides. CIDOB, Barcelone, 2012. Retrieved from www.cidob.org/en/content/download/35203/.../OK_ABUBAKAR+SIDDIQUE.pdf. Accessed on 12-4-2016 465 Katzman, K., Afghanistan: Politics, Elections and Government Performance. Congressional Research Service. CRS Report for Congress. 2011. Retrieved from www.crs.gov. Accessed on 12-03-2016 466 Rais, 2008, pp 126-127.

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Interior Minister, General Fahim as Defense Minister, while Dr. Abdullah Abdullah as Foreign Minister. However, Hamid Karzai (Pashtun), though politically weak, was selected as the President of Afghanistan. The Cabinet included 11 Pashtun, 8 Tajiks, 5 Hazara, and 3 Uzbek, the remaining 3 were drawn from other minority ethnic groups.467 This political change was unprecedented. The Pashtun political power was weakened again by the Tajik in Afghanistan. The Tajik have been the only ethnic group in Afghanistan who have defied Pashtun thrice (1929, 1992-94, 2001) in politics of the country. Pashtuns were unhappy with this ethnic imbalance in the government, hence, Hamid Karzai, later included 5 more Pashtun ministers.468 The political power of non-Pashtun increased, while that of the Pashtun decreased after the fall of Taliban. Ethnicity emerged as a salient force due to ethnic violence perpetuated by the major ethnic groups in the 1990s. The post-Taliban government needed broad-based ethnically balanced parliament, to save the country from descending into ethnic war and chaos again. Thus, the Constitution of Afghanistan, 2004 recognized ethnicity as a dominant theme in the politics of Afghanistan. The rights of ethnic groups were recognized: articles 16, 35, and 135 of the Constitution (2004) guaranteed peace amongst the ethnic groups safeguarding their relations. Recognizing the status of non-Pashtun ethnic languages, article 16 stipulates, thus, ―From amongst Pashto, Dari, Uzbeki, Turkmani, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, Pamiri……….Pashto and Dari shall be the official languages of the state. In areas where the majority of the people speak in any one of Uzbeki, Turkmani, Pashai, Nuristani, Baluchi or Pamiri languages …shall be the third official language. The state shall design and apply effective programs to

467 Schetter, C., Ethnicity and the Political Reconstruction in Afghanistan. Centre for Development Studies (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany. Retrieved from eprints.lse.ac.uk/28376/1/Schetter_LSERO_version.pdf 468Rais, 2008, p 129.

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foster and develop all languages of Afghanistan. Usage of all current languages………shall be free in press publications and mass media. Academic and national administrative terminology and usage in the country shall be preserved.‖469

In cultivating democratic culture among the various ethnic groups, article 35 of the Constitution 2004, provides for the formation of political parties; ―………. the citizens of Afghanistan shall have the right to form associations in accordance with provisions of the law. The people of Afghanistan shall have the right……...to form political parties……...Formation and operation of a party on the basis of tribalism, parochialism, language, as well as religious sectarianism shall not be permitted.‖470

Article 135 provides for assigning of translator in mother tongue in court‘s cases to the various ethnic groups when they need it, ―If a party in lawsuit does not know the language, the right to know the materials……. Documents………conversation in the court, shall be provided in the party‘s mother tongue through a translator appointed by the court‖.471

Thus, the Constitution (2004) of Afghanistan recognized ethnicity constitutionally and officially and proclaims equity.

469 The Constitution of Afghanistan, Clause 16, 2004. 470 Ibid., Article 35. 471 Ibid., Article 135.

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2.2 CONCLUSION

Due to changes in the state and society in Afghanistan; the Constitution of 1964, the Soviet invasion, the ensuing war, and the foreign states‘ involvement, ethnicity, not only emerged, but became more salient in that specific socio-political Afghan milieu. The stirrings of politicization of ethnicity, initiated by Khalq and Parcham factions of PDPA in 1960s; aggravated further on ethnic and sectarian lines by the Afghan Resistance alliances, buttressed by foreign powers, Pakistan and Iran, in 1980s. The politicization and militarization of politicized ethnicities, during the 1980s, and the sudden flight of the Soviet Union and the United States from Afghanistan, in 1989, left the risen major ethnicities: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, and Uzbek; to fight each other. This, not only, led to the most vicious ethnic war ever seen in Afghan history in 1990s, but led to ethnicization of politics too. The fueling of ethnicity and sect by neighbouring-regional states, such as Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia further aggravated ethnic issues. The Mujahiddeen and Taliban were ostensibly religious regimes, professing not to recognize ethnicity, directed, ferocious fratricidal infightings, ethnic cleansing and killings. The ethnic politics subdued, in the name of religion, qawm and sect, nevertheless an inherent ethnic undertone existed. Various ethnic based alliances, mainly non-Pashtun, to gain political power, in the 1990s emerged: such as, Shura-ye Ali-ye Hamahangi (1993), Northern Alliance (1996), and United National and Islamic Front for the Salvation of the Homeland (1997). These ethnic groups tried to weaken rivals to strengthen their own political power. However, the Communist regime under Najibullah (1987) and the Karzai government (2004), both made ethnicity constitutionally documented.

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The Constitution (1987) rejected all classifications on the basis of language, tribe, religion, race, and political ideology, and entitled every citizen to equal legal rights according to the law. The minorities‘ languages such as Uzbeki, Turkmen, Baluchi, and Nuristani were elevated to the status of national languages (Dari, Pashto), and the character of Afghanistan as the multi-ethnic state was recognized, these moves were unprecedented. Najibullah began even reconciliation efforts to bring ethnic groups at peace, and recognizing their role for national development. In the wake of two decades of ethnic warfare, the Constitution of Afghanistan, 2004 recognized ethnicity, and the rights of various ethnic groups in Afghanistan. The present Constitution (2004) of Afghanistan, recognizes 14 ethnic groups such as; Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, Baluch, Pashai, Nuristani, Aimaq, Arab, Kirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujar, and Brahui. Though ethnicity has become salient, recognized, officially and constitutionally, but still unresolved. Presently, the major ethnic groups are struggling hard to attain political power and influence in the state and society. Although, a National Unity Government of President Ashraf Ghani (Pashtun) and Chief Executive, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah along with leaders of other ethnicities as vice Presidents, etc., have been formed, however, contest based on ethnic politics continues, if not mounting.

The next chapter shall describe the literature review consulted for the work. It shall help in understanding the gap in the literature and the knowledge about the research topic/work.

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CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW 3. INTRODUCTION

This chapter examines and analyzes the related literature reviewed on the topic. The aim is to explore the importance of ethnicity in Afghanistan. Literature review has been helpful in understanding the gap in the literature as well as the knowledge about the work. Various published books, journal articles, on-line sources, related to the topic: associated with The Kite Runner, the politics of ethnicity, the development of novel in Afghanistan, and Orientalism were consulted. The following literature, related to the work, has been reviewed.

3.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

The Kite Runner is the primary source to my work. Khaled Hosseini depicts ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara in Afghanistan coupled with internal orientalism in the novel. The disparity is expressed through the hierarchical relationship between the two major characters, Amir (Pashtun) and Hassan (Hazara). The thread of ethnic disparity, polarity, and division is evident in the text. There exists a binary of Us and Them along with the superior-inferior bond. At the end of the novel, the lines such as, ―there is a way to be good again472‖ and ‗for you a thousand times over‖473 suggest redemption and reconciliation between the Pashtun and Hazara in Afghanistan.

472 Hossenei, 2004, p 168. 473 Ibid., p 323.

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E. M. Forster (1879-1970) has published Aspects of the Novel,474 a series of his lectures reflecting on the English novel. He has pointed out and discussed seven aspects of the novel; story, characters, plot, fantasy, prophecy, pattern and rhythm that provides a framework for the structure of novel.

Muhammad Asghar Malik,475 Syed Kazim Shah,476 and Rashid Mahmud477 in Representation of Power Relationships in The Kite Runner,478 have revealed that Hossenei used texts as a tool of propaganda in favour of the western agenda in Afghanistan. The writers have followed Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as method to analyze linguistic manipulation in The Kite Runner. The novel has highlighted, power relations, dominance, oppression, repression, and marginalization of minority ethnic groups. According to them, Hossenei paints a distorted picture of Afghan culture, maneuvers facts to highlight ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and the Hazara. In another article, The Role of Linguistic Devices in Representing Ethnicity in The Kite Runner,479 Muhammad Asghar Malik, Syed Kazim Shah, and Rashid Mahmud have applied Critical Discourse

474 Aspects of the Novel is a book compiled from a series of lectures delivered by E. M. Forster, an English novelist, at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1927, in which he discussed the English language novel. By using examples from classic texts, he highlights the seven universal aspects of the novel: story, characters, plot, fantasy, prophecy, pattern, and rhythm. 475 Muhammad Asghar Malik, Assistant Professor, English Department, Govt. Postgraduate College Samanabad, Faisalabad. 476 Syed Kazim Shah, Department of Applied Linguistics, G C University Faisalabad. 477 Rashid Mahmood, Department of Applied Linguistics, G C University Faisalabad. 478 David Publishing, US-China Foreign Language, ISSN 1539-8080 , January 2014, Vol 12, No 1, Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/5668366/Representation_of_Power_Relationships_in_The _Kite_Runner on 02-01-2015 479Macrothink Institute, International Journal of Linguistics, 2013, Vol 5, No 1. Retrieved from http://www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/ijl/article/viewFile/3303/2777 , on 05- 01-2015

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Analysis (CDA) in the text of The Kite Runner suggested by Huckin. They found that Hossenei has employed linguistic devices (such as foregrounding, backgrounding, presupposition, omission, and framing) as a powerful instrument to represent ethnicity. The first paragraph of the novel, pregnant with harsh element of Pashtun-Hazara ethnicity, highlights the frame of ethnicity in the very beginning of the novel. Hossenei‘s portrayal of redemption of Amir corresponds with the redemption of Afghanistan as a state, which should atone for its history of violence and discrimination against the minority ethnic groups. The redemption may be through social justice and sacrifice. It will pave the way for Afghanistan to be good again.

Mir Hikmatullah Sadat, in his unpublished PhD thesis The Afghan Experience: An Exploratory Study of Societal Realities Through the Lenses of Afghan Diasporic Literary Works, written in 2006, quoted Hossenei that he had heard from many Afghans that his writings were divisive. People objected to his bringing up issues of discrimination, racism, and ethnic inequality. Hossenei responds to them that these issues are important to be debated and should not be taboo. According to him, it is the role of fiction to take on these difficult subjects and open them up for debates.480 In another article, Afghan History: Kite Flying, Kite Running and Kite Banning481 written in 2004, Sadat has discussed socio-political themes in The Kite Runner. Hossenei‘s writing challenges those people having tribal mindset. They should gain courage and break away from their ethnic and clan

480 Sadat, H, M.,.The Afghan Experience: An Exploratory Study of Societal Realities Through the Lenses of Afghan Diasporic Literary Works. Unpublished PhD Dissertation. Claremont Graduate University and San Diego State University 2006, p 166. 481 Retrieved from http://studylib.net/doc/6863227/eng-4uthe-kite-runner-afghan- history--kite-flying--kite-r... Accessed 08-01-2015

120 affiliation as Amir, in the novel, atoned for his sins and went for reconciliation.

In the Bloom‟s Guides, Khaled Hossenei‟s The Kite Runner, edited & with a Introduction by Harold Bloom, published in 2009 by Bloom‘s Literary Criticism-Infobase Publishing, various writers have contributed to examine in The Kite Runner themes of betrayal, redemption, orientalism, ethnic cleansing etc. Some writers examined ethnicity and tribalism as sources of injustice, violence and ethnic divisions in Afghanistan.482 Besides, Rebecca, Stuhr, a librarian for Humanities Collections, in Reading Khaled Hossenei483 published by Greenwood Press in 2009, has examined The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Containing nine chapters, this Guide book has depicted ethnic dimension mostly in the novel. There is further collected materials on The Kite Runner on internet and media. The themes of ethnic discrimination, cultural prejudices and marginalization of minorities, in Afghanistan, are depicted in The Kite Runner.

Reading The Kite Runner in An American Classroom484 by Christy Reiger, and The Kite Runner By Khaled Hossenei- There is a Way to be Good Again by David Kipen, are the two study guides books on The Kite Runner, reflecting the various aspects of the novel. In the former work, the writer asks the students questions relating to language of the text, highlighting race, ethnicity, class, nationality and gender,

482 Bloom, Harold., Bloom‟s Guides, Khaled Hossenei‟s The Kite Runner‟. (edited). Bloom‘s Literary Criticism-Infobase Publishing 2009, p 91. 483 Retrieved from http://files.meetup.com/1348465/Reading_Khaled_Hosseini.pdf Accessed 02-02-2015 484Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/irfan/Downloads/3831-5800-1-SM.pdf Accessed 03-02-2015

121 making the history of ethnic conflict central point in class discussion. In the latter article, critical questions are asked on The Kite Runner, its characters and the events.

Niraja Saraswat, in Theme of Identity and Redemption in Khaled Hossenei‟s The Kite Runner485 explores guilt and perseverance in the novel to motivate those individuals that seek redemption, and attain the satisfaction of self-fulfillment. While, Ahmad Thamrini in Once Upon a Kite: Glimpses into Afghanistan‟s Race Relations486, has emphasized that reconsidering ethnic relations and creating room for reconsolidating their differences are the most important factors for Afghans to reconsider.

Neil Englehart in the article A Tale of Two Afghanistans: Comparative Governance and Insurgency in the North and South divides Afghanistan into two halves, the north and the south. The north is overwhelmingly resided by non-Pashtun, which is led by the Northern Alliance, while, the south, resided by majority Pashtun, where tribal politics reigns. The writer argues that the history of the north is the history of the better governance and established institutions, while in the south, the tribal politics has led to governance and security issues, creating the way out for the Taliban‘s insurgency.487

485Saraswat, N., Theme of Identity and Redemption in Khaled Hossenei‟s The Kite Runner. International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Mutidisciplinary Studies (IJIMS), 2014. Retrieved from http://www.ijims.com on 16-02-2015. 486 Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/irfan/Downloads/71-139-1-SM.pdf Accessed 03- 02-2015 487 Englehart, A, N., A Tale of Two Afghanistan: Comparative Governance and Insyrgency in the North and South. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/as.2010.50.4.735 Accessed 15-06-2016

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Ali Jalali in Afghanistan in 2002: The Struggle to Win the Peace has tried to emphasize that 2002 was the year when great changes occurred in Afghanistan. The Taliban were ousted from ruling Afghanistan in 2001 by the US-led coalition forces, aided by the Northern Alliance. The devastated Afghanistan needed peace, security, and institutions to develop. The writer argues in this article that it was harder to forge peace to the country than winning the war. He further argues that Afghanistan needed financial assistance, economic development, established army and police. There was a need to direct efforts to change the divisive situations rather than adopting solutions solely to accommodate the existing ethnic division. He suggests that in order to reduce ethnic conflicts, private sectors and civil society should be mobilized to accommodate the various ethnic groups towards social mobility and sustained development.488

Patricia Gossman in Afghanistan in the Balance tries to examine that in the early 1990s, when the Soviet Union was disintegrated and the communist government in Afghanistan fell, there was created a power vacuum with the flight of superpowers from Afghanistan. That vacuum was filled by the warring Mujahideen which led to vicious ethnic fight, anarchy, and civil war in Afghanistan. The writer emphasizes that the same power vacuum was created after the demise of the Taliban in 2001. However, the international community, led by USA and the UN came to the forefront and helped create a broad-based coalition government in Afghanistan in 2002. The writer

488 Jalali, A, A., Afghanistan in 2002: The Struggle to Win the Peace. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/as.2003.43.1.174 Accessed 15-06-2016

123 accentuates that it were the Afghans themselves who could build their own country out of the chaos.489

Zalmay Khalilzad in his article, Anarchy in Afghanistan argues that the fragmentation of power during the resistance to the Soviets in 1980s, and the increased ethnic tensions among the various Afghan ethnic groups have been the immediate factors responsible for the conflict in Afghanistan. He presented his suggestions to remedy the crisis in Afghanistan such as; to make a ceasefire amongst the warring factions, to establish a broadly based interim government, to disarm the various militia and integrate them into a national army, to reconstruct the fragile economy, to settle the issue of refugees, and to ensure the rule of law, and finally to create and prosper a civil society. He further suggests that the UN should play a role in making ceasefire, and to implement an agreement for a transitional government in Afghanistan. Besides, he emphasizes that though, the USA has failed in bringing solid solution to the Afghan problems in the 1990s, but now, they should play their due role in its own interests to promote a reasonable settlement. The USA‘s interests should include; to prevent Afghanistan from becoming harbor for international terrorists, to stop production and export of illegal drugs, to promote regional stability, and to open Central Asia for international trade. Khalilzad wrote this article in 1997, and most of his suggestions and viewpoints were materialized in the Bonn agreement in 2002. 490

489 Gossman, P., Afghanistan in the Balance. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1559333 Accessed 15-06-2016 490 Khalilzad, Z., Anarchy in Afghanistan. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24357465 Accessed from 15-06-2016

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Nasreen Ghufran in her article The Taliban and the Civil War Entanglement in Afghanistan has made a detailed examination of Taliban‘s de facto regime in Afghanistan. She argues that though Taliban emerged to the political scene of Afghanistan to end the civil war, however, they themselves entangled and became part of that war. Their hard social and political policies, not only, alienated the masses, but widened ethnic differences.491

Kanchan Chandra in her edited work Constructivists Theories of Ethnic Politics argues that through the constructivist theories, ethnic identity can be changed over time, however, primordialists approach may affect the ethnicity on economic and political outcomes. The work stresses a new conceptual approach about the ethnic identity, and amalgamates it with the constructivist arguments into a set of testable propositions. The theoretical arguments challenge the conclusions of previous theories, where ethnic diversity produce regimes with attributes of less stable, less democratic, less well-governed, less peaceful, poor, and slower rates of economic growth than regimes which contain an ethnically homogenous population.492

Timothy Aubry in the article, Afghanistan Meets the Amazon: Reading the Kite Runner in America has examined the novel, The Kite Runner and the various reviews on it. In this article, the writer underlines that the novel was designed for the American audience, and the Americans were at first reluctant to read it. However, with the

491 Ghufran N., The Taliban and the Civil War Entanglement in Afghanistan. Retrieved from http:///www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/as.2001.41.3.462 Accessed 15- 06-2016 492 Chandra, K., Constructivist Theories of Ethnic Politics. Retrieved from http://commonweb.unifr.ch/artsdean/pub/gestens/f/as/files/4760/42841_155803.pdf Accessed 15-05-2015

125 passage of time, they got interests in reading it and recommending it to their friends. Reviewers have described the novel from various angles; orientalists, ethnic issues, immigration, love and integration etc.493

Muhammad Usman Khan in The Kite Runner: A Historical Novel or Stereotyping Propaganda Against Pashtun Majority of Afghanistan?494 has portrayed the novel a stereotyping propaganda against Pashtuns. He argues that the events portrayed in the novel, do not reflect realistic history, hence the work is inauthentic.

Alicia Dorothea Angemeer, in her work, Reading the Other, and Reading Ourselves: An Interpretive Study of Amazon.com Reviews on Bestsellers about Muslims,495 performs conceptual/discourse analysis, using Edward Said‘s Orientalism. She successfully conveys her message through her research that how the Western readers read and interpret the Muslim Other, reflected through the ―texts‖ of the amazon.com reviews of bestsellers such as, Reading Lolita in Tehran‟(2003), The Kite Runner, and Three Cups of Tea. Since 9/11, Western readers take interest in reading bestselling texts, written by/or about Muslims. They want to learn more about Muslims. Their readings‘ responses perpetuated negative, colonizing stereotypes of Muslims. There exist bestselling texts written by native

493 Aubry, T., Afghanistan Meets the Amazon: Reading the Kite Runner in America. Retrieved from http:///www.jstor.org.stable/25614246 Accessed 20-02-2016 494 Khan, U, M., The Kite Runner: A Historical novel or Stereotyping Propaganda Against Pashtun Majority of Afghanistan? Researcher at UNESP, Sao Jose, Department of Letters. International Journal of Research (IJR), Vol-1, issue- July- 2014. Retrieved from https://edupediapublications.org/journals/IJR/article/viewFile/289/259, on 10-02- 2015 495Angemeer, D, A., Unpublished PhD Diss, ‗Reading the Other, and Reading the Ourselves: An Interpretive Study of Amazon.com Reviews on Bestsellers about Muslims‟. University of Pittsburg, 2012. Retrieved from http://d- scholarship.pitt.edu/13329/1/AngemeerA_etdPitt2012.pdf Accessed on 06-08-2015.

126 informants/Westernized Muslims from Afghanistan, and Iran, even Western experts/Westerners. They claim to possess knowledge of/and experience with Muslims, request to offer an insider view of the Islamic world, and assumes the role of ambassador of the Muslim Other to Westerners. They promote themselves as authority on the Muslims. The Kite Runner, amongst these, has generated a significant discourse about what it means to be Muslim. The researcher contends that it is necessary to understand historical, political, and cultural influences on Western reading process. It needs to understand the subjective-individual meaning they create in a reading with these texts. Western readers lack the context that gives a more holistic perspective of their readings of the Other. Unless this perspective is adopted, it is difficult to understand more critically aware, responsible approaches to reading and, to break away from such perceptions and practices.

Jennette Edwards in Expatriate Literature and the Problem of Contested Representation: The Case of Khaled Hosseini‟s The Kite Runner, emphasizes that The Kite Runner is a story made up, and has no connection with the indigenous reality in Afghanistan. Hossenei‘s voice is inauthentic, and his motives suspect. She has further explained that Hossenei has a little knowledge about culture and history of Afghanistan. Thus, her analysis of the novel, leads us to further examine and probe the indigenous reality.496

Muhammad, Qasim Wafayezada, in his article Ethnic Politics, Ethnic Political Parties and the Future of Democratic Peacebuilding

496 Edwards, J., Expatriate Literature and the Problem of Contested Representation: The Case of Khaled Hosseini‟s The Kite Runner. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/irfan/Downloads/Expatriate_Literature_and_the_Problem_of_Contest ed%20(1).pdf.

127 in Afghanistan,497 published in 2012, has highlighted the importance of political parties in Afghanistan. Generally, in post-conflict societies, ethnic-political parties deepen social divisions, however, Wafayazada argues that ethnic political parties can play a positive role. The post- 2001 Afghanistan is favouring the political situations for political parties, but the sidelining, marginalizing, and weakening of ethnic political parties, have a negative impact on political process, and consolidation of democracy. He identifies that the history of inter- ethnic relations in Afghanistan is ‗one of co-existence‘, however, unequal opportunities and conflict. According to Wafayezada, ethnicity in Afghanistan became salient with the modernization of the state, while politicization of ethnicity in the country dates back to the era of state- formation during the reign of Amir Abdur Rehman (r.1880-1901). Abdur Rehman polarized the country ethnically by suppressing Pashtun rebellions, and then unified and mobilized them to suppress non-Pashtun ethnic groups. He points out that the inter-ethnic relations in Afghanistan have been one of domination by the Pashtuns and subordination of other ethnic groups.

Edward Said, a Palestinian-American academic, political activist, and literary critic, has examined his seminal work, Orientalism in the light of social and cultural politics. Orientalism has stirred the imagination of many academic writers. For Said, anyone who teaches, writes about, or researches the Orient, and applies this whether the person is an anthropologist, sociologist, historian, or philologist, either in its specific or its general aspects, is an Orientalist, and what he or

497 Wafayezaa, Q, M., Ethnic Politics, Ethnic Politicl Parties, and the Future of Democratic Peacebuilding in Afghanistan. Retrieved from http://dspace.lib.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2297/32790/1/AA12162559-24- 65-91.pdf on 12-02-2015`

128 she does is Orientalism.‖498 Orientalism is about culture, ideas, history, knowledge, and power,499 promoted the difference of ‗Us‘ and ‗Them‟, and the idea of ‗Otherness,‘ considered the West as rational, developed, humane, superior, while, the East (Orient) as aberrant, undeveloped, inferior.500 Besides, Louisa Schein in her article Gender and Internal Orientalism in China501 has tried to highlight the Miao minority ethnicity, in Ghizzou, in relation to the dominant Han people in China. This process she called as ‗internal orientalism‟, which is a set of practices that occur within China, and that, in this case, refers to the fascination of more cosmopolitan Chinese with exotic minority cultures in an array of polychromatic and titillating forms. China celebrated in the 1950s, the minority culture as diversity within unity, or heterogeneity of culture. However, during 1957-1976, the policy of protecting heterogeneity dramatically changed. It reversed with a call instead for cultural homogenization and the smashing of old ways. In this culture, ethnic minority women were associated with backward, traditional, but integrated; they were both otherer and incorporated, sources of contrast as well as identity. Internal orientalism is a forceful method to deny aspirations and identity of others.

James Blaut502 has appropriately explained nationalism in his book The National Question: Decolonizing the Theory of Nationalism.

498 Said, E., Orientalism. PINGUIIN BOOKS. First Published by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd 1978, Reprinted with a New Preface 2003, p 1. 499 Ibid., p xii. 500 Ibid., p 300. 501 Schein., L. ‗Gender and Internal Orientalism in China‟. Modern China, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Jan., 1997), pp. 69-98, Sage Publications in 1997. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/189464, Accessed 12-03-2015 502 James Morris Blaut (1927-2000) was a professor of anthropology and geography at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His studies focused on the agricultural micro geography (geographical activity of villagers), cultural ecology, theory of nationalism, philosophy of science, historiography and the relations between

129

For him, national struggle existed as a class struggle for state power, and is not a Eurocentric diffusionism, a European idea of nation-state. Nationalism is whole, fascism is its part, or the architype of nationalism. Generally, it existed, in some sense, in every national movement, and liberation struggle, literally part of the struggle.503 The early German nationalism carried two sets of originating circumstances; to unify the German states into a cohesive nation state; and the ideology that buttressed this political agenda. According to the ideology, the German nation is a superorganism, carrying a `will' and` spirit', while the German citizen, not independent, subscribed to its superordinate `will'. The Germanic doctrine romanticize the unity of the civil-community.

The book ‗A Brief Political History of Afghanistan‟ (1989) written by Abdul Ghani is divided into three parts. Each part contains several chapters and equal balance is given to each part. Besides, there is the introduction to the book in the beginning. Part one, consisting of fifteen chapters, describes the historical events about Afghans and the state of Afghanistan from the early history of Afghanistan till the end of Sadozai (a clan of Durrani tribe) dynasty. The second part, consisting of fourteen chapters, describes the historical events from the period of Barakzai (another clan of Durrani tribe) dynasty till the end of rule of Amir Habibullah in 1919. The last part, consisting of twelve chapters, discusses the events from the rule of King Amanullah till the early period of King Zahir Shah. The book gives a first-hand

the First and the Third World. He is known as one of the most notable critics of Eurocentrism. Blaut was one of the most widely read authors in the field of geography. His work The National Question focusses on the argument that national struggle indeed a class struggle, which leads to capturing power in the state. 503 Blaut, 1987, p 77.

130 knowledge of the history of Afghanistan and a very useful work to be acquainted with. All the official letters, treaties and agreements of Afghan rulers with foreign dignitaries and governments have been well documented in the book. The three Anglo-Afghan wars and their causes and effects are logically presented.504 Katrine Ornehang Dale, in her work What Happens in Afghanistan, Does not Stay in Afghanistan: Understanding American Literary Representative of Afghanistan Through a New Orientalist Approach,505 presents that new orientalist narrative is embedded in The Kite Runner. She underlines how American authors portray Afghanistan in contemporary fiction. She finds that fiction can be served to accentuate negative stereotypes and misconceptions. She draws her analysis on theories of Mahmud Mamdani Good vs Bad Muslims, Hamid Dabashi‘s Native Informers, and Samuel Huntington‘s Clash of Civilizations.

Van Dijk in Structure of Discourse, and Structure of Power506 finds out that text and talk are the important factors in the exercise of power: their significance is great in society. There is available a direct connection between scope of discourse and of power. In everyday life, the immobilized (powerless) have control in daily conversation, but are passive recipients of official and media discourse. However, the powerful (mobilized) have recourse to dialogical, especially printed,

504 Ghani, A., A Brief Political History of Afghanistan. ed. Abdul Jaleel Najfi. Najaf Publishers, Lahore N.Y, 505 Dale, O, K., What Happens in Afghanistan, Does not Stay in Afghanistan‟: Understanding American representative of Afghanistan through a New Orientalist Approach‘. University of OSLO, Department of Literature, Area studies, 2016. 506Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/fa12/dc86e46d68e1d46d2b186fa592ffd501459c.pdf Accessed 02-05-2015

131 formal forms of texts and talk. Their access is to a large group of people. They control discourse because they control its material production, formulation, and distribution. Central to controlling the exercise of power is the control of the formation of social cognitions through the subtle management of knowledge and beliefs, the pre- formulation of beliefs or the censorship of counter-ideologies. When the power in the hands of powerful is increased, it, generally restricts freedom of those subjected to this power. There exists a relationship between social power and discourse.

Larry. P. Goodson in his work Afghanistan‟s Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics, and the Rise of the Taliban, assesses that Afghanistan, composed of a mixture of ethnic, social, religious, and geographic characteristics, has resisted the viable Afghan state. State in Afghanistan paralyzed and collapsed during the 1980s and the 1990s; ethnicity, emerged as a prominent aspect of politics and power in Afghanistan, which is affecting the political landscape with intensity.507

Carol. J. Riphenburg508 in her article Ethnicity and Civil Society in Afghanistan509 has a detailed analysis of ethnic dynamics in Afghanistan. In the beginning, she has presented different models of ethnicity: Daniel N. Posner directs that in society, it is the size or

507 Goodson, P, L., Afghanistan‟s Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics, and the Rise of the Taliban. University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, 2001. 508 Carol J. Riphenburg is Professor of Political Science at the College of DuPage at University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA. She has published various articles on ethnicity, economics, the constitution, and role of women in Afghanistan in addition to a book and articles on Oman, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. 509 Riphenburg, J, C., Ethnicity and Civil Society in Contemporary Afghanistan. Middle East Journal Vol. 59, No. 1 (Winter, 2005), pp. 31-51 Published by: Middle East Institute , Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4330095 accessed 15-03- 2015.

132 geographic distribution that determine the dynamics of ethnic competition and conflict not the presence of various ethnic groups.510; however, James D. Fearon and David D. Laitin found that it is not the ethnic or the religious characteristics that favour insurgency rather the factors such as, poverty, political instability, rugged terrain, and large populations.511 Applying second model on Afghanistan, Riphenburg found that the country suffers from the above-mentioned features. She further explains that civil society, anywhere, has a history; however, in Afghanistan, it is nascent. The 23 years‘ warfare in the country did not provide for education, liberalization, and foundation for civil society. But the presence of various NGOs, operating in the country, may lead to vibrant civil society if the foreign lines and terms of conditions are not restricted, and the government did not meddle into its affairs.

Conrad Schetter512 in Ethnicity and the Political Reconstruction in Afghanistan, examined that the 23 years‘ warfare in Afghanistan, especially in 1990s, was not an ethnic one despite its categorization by the journalists, researchers and policy-makers as ethnic-conflict. He considered ethnicity as one of the causes of the war, but not the sole one. No ethno-centric views, slogans, and speeches were seen by the political parties themselves. The major ethnic groups such as, the Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, and Uzbek never entertain separation from or disintegration of Afghanistan. This article was found different from the

510Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/posner/www/papers/Posner_CP_2003.pdf 511 Retrieved from http://web.stanford.edu/group/ethnic/workingpapers/apsa011.pdf 512 Conrad Justus Schetter (b.1966-) is a German peace and conflict researcher with a regional focus on Asia. Schetter studied geography, history, education, Persian, and Indonesian from 1988 to 1995. In 1995, he dropped the state sabot (on Lehramt). Subsequently, he was a research assistant at the Institute for Geography of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn . In 2001, he became a doctor at Eckart Ehlers at the Faculty of Philosophy with the dissertation Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflicts in Afghanistan phil. PhD. Since 2013 he has been Director for Research at the Bonn International Center for Conversion .

133 mainstream works due to the reason that most of the works consider the warfare in Afghanistan as ethnic.513

Lyon D. S. Peter has applied Michael Ignatief‘s theory of ethnic conflict514 in Afghanistan in his work A Solution for Ethnic Conflict: Democratic Governance in Afghanistan, A Case Study515. According to the theory the outbreak of ethnic conflict occurs due to the breakdown of state governance and institutions. Establishment of democratic institutions can improve ethnic relations. For this purpose, he presented five key variables as necessary conditions for democracy such as, strong economy, a vibrant civil society, an institutional history, positive security and geo-political environment. The work lacks detailed inter-ethnic relations. Rasul Bakhsh Rais516 has surveyed the Afghan civil war in his article Conflict in Afghanistan: Ethnicity, Religion, and Neighbours, finding that the war accumulated a mixture of elements such as, ethnicity, sectarianism, religious extremism, and external intervention. He has described how the flight of super powers from Afghanistan, provided the opportunity to the neighbouring states to meddle into its affairs, and how the Taliban furthered the complexity of the Afghan civil war. The writer has contended that the responsibility of

513 Schetter, C., Ethnicity and the Political Reconstruction of Afghanistan. Centre for Development Studies(ZEF). University of Bonn, Germany. 2005 (http://www.lit_verlag.de/reihe/zef) accessed on 20-05-2015 514 Ignatief, M., The Warrior's Honor: Ethnic War and the Modern Conscienc. Henry Holt and Company, 1998. 515 Retrieved from http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/MWU/TC- MWU-298.pdf 516Rasul Bakhsh Rais is a Pakistani political scientist and professor of political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). He has several publications to his credit, and is currently researching Western Pakistan's geopolitical situation, Pakistan's political dynamics, security, and nuclear weapons political issues.

134 reconstruction of Afghanistan was rested with the super power states of the time.517 Thomas Barfield518, in his book Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History519, has provided a detailed description of Afghan ethnicity and ethnic groups, the ethnic make-up, and tribal division. It has further described political rift among the PDPA and Jamiat-e Islami parties, and the subsequent war in Afghanistan.

Angelo Rasanayagum in his work ‗Afghanistan: A Modern History; Monarchy, Despotism, or Democracy? The Problems of Governance in the Muslim Tradition‘ describes the political history of Afghanistan from the period of Modern Afghanistan in 1747 till the period of Karzai‘s government in 2004. This work provides ready historical reference to my theses. It is an analytical book on Afghanistan‘s history. which embodies the democratic experience in Afghanistan and the involvement of superpowers and their subsequent flight from Afghanistan.520

Louis Dupree, a renowned Afghanologist, has touched upon briefly in his work Afghanistan521, the Afghan ethnic groups by

517Rais, B, R., Conflict in Afghanistan: Ethnicity, Religion, and Neighbours. Retrieved from http://ashavaeducation.wikispaces.com/file/view/Afghanistan- %20Rais,ESR,Jan%201999.pdf/379334792/Afghanistan- %20Rais,ESR,Jan%201999.pdf on 25-03-2015. 518 Thomas Barfield is Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies and Civilizations at Boston University. His books on Afghanistan include The Central Asian Arabs of Afghanistan (1981), Afghanistan: An Atlas of Indigenous Domestic Architecture (1991), and Afghanistan: Power and Politics 1500-2010 (in press). 519 Barfield, T., Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History. Oxfordshire: Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 2010. 520Rasanayagum, A., Afghanistan: A Modern History; Monarchy, Despotism, or Democracy? The problems of Governance in the Muslim Tradition‟. London & New York: I.B.Taurus & Co.Ltd, .2005. 521 Dupree, L., Afghanistan. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 1980.

135 concentrating on their physical and cultural identity and demography. However, this work lacks the period of Saur Revolution and the developments afterwards. Still, there is available a good pioneer survey of Afghan ethnic groups.

Frederik Barth, a famous Norwegian anthropologist, has produced a seminal work Ethnic Groups and Boundaries522 in 1969. In the Introduction to that book, he outlined a model of ethnicity, which is still a source of inspiration for anthropologists. Barth says in this work that the focus of ethnicity must shift to ethnic boundary, not the cultural stuff; in his view, it is the boundary which determines an ethnic group not the cultural stuff. These are socio-psychological boundaries referring of group inclusion and exclusion. In another work, Features of Person and Society in Swat collected Essays on Pathan, edited by Adam Kuper, in 1981, Barth has analyzed empirically the social organization of Pathans, their caste system, political system, and the processes at work in ethnic differentiation and identity. This work contains a chapter on Pathan-Baloch boundary maintenance, which describes how ethnic identity is fixed between the two ethnic groups. However, there has been ethnic overlapping between the two ethnic groups. Besides, Fredrik Barth in „Form and Process in Social Life, Selected essays of Fredrik Barth Volume I‟, has described comprehensively the form and process in social life. In Chapter 12, he particularly describes and explains ethnic groups, their

522 Barth, F., (ed). Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Cultural Difference. Published in Norway by Universitetsforlaget, Bergen, Oslo, In United States of America by Little Brown and Company, Boston, In United Kingdom by George Allen & Unwin, London, 1969.

136 relations and interactions, cultural differences and boundaries, stratification and their interdependence.523

Thomas Hylland Erikson in his book, Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives (2010) tries to explain thoroughly the term ethnicity, the nature of ethnicity, the difference between tribe, ethnic group, race, class, and nation. Emphasis is drawn on the binary division of „Us‘ and ‗Them‘ which also implies ethnic identification and categorization. The book explains how ethnic boundary are created and formed in multiethnic societies.524

Richard Jenkins in his book Rethinking Ethnicity: Arguments and Explorations, has presented in details the arguments and explorations in defining and explaining ethnicity. He has tried to understand how ethnicity works in a multiethnic society. This work has concentrated on the discussion on cultural stuff, and ethnic identity in Northern Ireland. Jenkins outlines the basic anthropological model of ethnicity, wherein ethnicity involves cultural differentiation and identification: it contains a dialectical relationship between similarity and difference; reflects shared meanings or culture, but it is also produced and reproduced during interaction. Ethnicity is not fixed rather constructivist, and it is identification, collective and individual. It is categorization of others, identification of self.525

523 Fredrik Barth. ‗Form and Process in Social Life, Selected essays of Fredrik Barth Volume I‘. Published by Routledge & Kegan Paul. London, Boston and Henley.1981 524 Erikson, H, T., Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives. Pluto Press. New York, 2010. 525 Jenkins, R., Rethinking Ethnicity: Arguments and Explorations. SAGE Publications, 2008.

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Muhammad Ayub Jan, in his PhD Thesis, Contested and Contextual Identities: Ethnicity, Religion, and Identity Among the Pakhtun of Malakand, Pakistan (2010), has tried to examine the multi- layered, contextual and contested identity of Pakhtun of Malakand, Pakistan. This work contributes to the debate in Social Anthropology by emphasizing on ‗boundary‘ and the ‗cultural stuff‘. There exists a reciprocal opposition and categorical boundary between the Pakhtun categories of Khanan and Ghariban. The Pakhtun identity preceded for Pakhtun of Malakand than the Pakistani identity.526

In the book ‗The Hazaras of Afghanistan: An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study‘, the writer, Syed Askar Mousavi has examined and analyzed the origin, evolution and development of Hazaras in Afghanistan. The Hazara ethnic group has been described elaborately in relation to the dominant Pashtun, and how the former were suppressed, subjugated and forced on migration by the latter. This work shows how the Pashtuns have dominated the history and politics, and how they tried to pashtuniz the government, politics and the people.527

M. Nazif Shahrani in his article Ethnic Relations and Access to Resources in Northeast Badakhshan, published in 1977 (which is based on the field work in Wakhan Corridor and Afghan Pamir between 1972 and 1974) has highlighted the relationships and interactions between the ethnic groups (Tajik, Trukic) in Badakhshan, particularly the Pamir and Wakhan Corridor areas. Shahrani has

526 Jan, A, M., Contested and Contextual Identities: Ethnicity, Religion, and Identity Among the Pakhtun of Malakand, Pakistan.2010. Retrieved from http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/1179/1/Ayub_Jan_Thesis.pdf 527 Mousavi, Askar, Syed. ‗The Hazaras of Afghanistan: An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study‘. Surrey: Curton Press, 1998

138 explained that ethnicity in Afghanistan is not primordial, rather constructivist. The writer mentions that when the Turkistan came under the suzerainty of Ahmad Shah Durrani, they were asked to pay taxes to the government. However, they did not have rights or claims to the political authority. He further mentions that the inactive participation of the northern population in the mainstream Afghan politics continued till the early period of Zahir Shah (r.1933-1973).528

Muhammad Saleem Mazhar, Samee Ozair Khan, and Naheed S. Goraya examine in the article Ethnic factor in Afghanistan529 that the wars in Afghanistan during the late 20th century have created or sharpened ethnic identities. The wars altered the balance of power; influenced traditional social and political forces; and ethnic considerations caused political polarization. It further highlighted that the war undertook ethnic dimension between the Pashtun and non- Pashtun during the civil war; the absence of democratic institutions made the resolution of the conflict impossible.

Abubakar Siddique, in Afghanistan‟s Ethnic Divides530 identifies the key flaw in the Bonn-Accord was that it portrayed the Afghan conflict as ethnic one, however, in reality the ethnicization did not filter down to the masses. Afghan‘s demand for security, good

528 Shahrani, N, M., Ethnic Relations and Access to Resources in Northeast Badakhshan. In Ethnic Processes and Intergroup Relations in Contemporary Afghanistan. Papers Presented at the Eleventh Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association at New York City, November 10, 1977, Organized and edited by Jon. W. Anderson and Richard F. Strand. Retrieved from http://afghandata.org:8080/jspui/bitstream/azu/3130/1/azu_acku_pamphlet_ds354_5_ a53_1978_w.pdf 529Retrieved from http://pu.edu.pk/images/journal/pols/pdf-files/Naheed- winter2012.pdf Accessed 30-04-2015 530 Siddique, A., CIDOB Policy Research Project, article published in 2012. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/irfan0172- 2/Downloads/OK_ABUBAKAR+SIDDIQUE.pdf Accessed 02-02-2015

139 governance, basic services and justices were relegated to secondary significance.

Amrullah Saleh531 holds his views in The Crisis and Politics of Ethnicity in Afghanistan,532 written in 2012, that Pan-Afghan national politics is missing. He further holds that Pan-Afghan parties don‘t exist, ethnic divide is increasing, ethnic politics is on the rise, and both the literature of hate and demagogic politicians are gaining traction. Politicians, intellectuals, and opinion leaders resort to ethnic politics openly when they address audiences made up of their own kin. However, they recourse to vague rhetoric while on the national stage. The writer stresses that though, Afghans of all ethnic groups have stood together for a common cause, but failed to share a common platform. It further mentions that neighbouring countries have the advantage of meddling into the political affairs of Afghanistan due to the ethnic ties across the border.

Vartan Gregorian, in his published book The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan: Politics of Reform and Modernization (1880- 1946)533, has examined ethnic diversity, tribalism, the social organization in Afghanistan, alongwith the spread of literature through Siraj-ul-Akhbar has been examined.

531 formerly a member of Ahmad Shah Massoud‘s Northern Alliance, then a Director of National Directorate of Security (2004-2010), and presently a politician and head of Basej-e-Milli and Green Trend, a pro-democracy and anti-Taliban political party, 532Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/06/201262013830446913.html Accessed 20-04-2015 533 Gregorian, V., The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan: Politics of Reform and Modernization (1880-1946), (Stanford, Californiya: Stanford University Press, 1969).

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Nabi Misdaq534 in Afghanistan: Political Frailty and External Interference535, has examined ethnic awareness, ethnic divisions since the Communist takeover of Afghanistan. It has highlighted the rivalry between political parties like Khalq and Parcham, and the neighbouring states‘ support to their own kith and kin.

Sohail Shehzad in his unpublished Ph.D. thesis (2004) Ethnic Diversity in Afghanistan: A Case for Federalism, has tried to highlight the constitutional making process in Afghanistan in its, historical, political and sociological context. The ethnic factor, in the entire constitutional legacy, has been ignored, which resulted into the fragmentation of the society. According to him, a fair and just ethnic policy could have avoided the devastating conditions of civil war. The three decades of turmoil and anarchy have proved the inherent flaws in the constitutional arrangement.536

Sarfraz Khan and Shafi Afridi in Works of Mehmud Beg Tarzi: The Precursor of Reform in Afghanistan537 catalogues works of Mehmud Tarzi, both before his political exile (1882-1902) and after

534 Dr. Nabi Misdaq Misdaq, an author and journalist in Afghanistan, has a BSc. Hon. from London School of Economics and M.A. and Ph.D. from Sussex University. He has written several books ("Afghanistan", Routledge, 2003), academic papers in English. Recently he finished a Pashto-English dictionary which is due to be published. In the meantime, he is writing a book which contains Afghan jokes translated into English. He is also the author of many articles widely for Afghan exile press in both Pashto and Dari (Persian) over the years. He was the founder and head of the Pashto Section at BBC World Service in the early 1980s.[2] In 2015, by special decree, and under the 64th article of the constitution, President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, named Dr. Nabi Misdaq as his new Media Affairs advisor. 535 Misdaq, N., Afghanistan: Political Frailty and External Interference. Routledge, London & New York. 2006. 536 Shahzad, S., Ethnic Diversity in Afghanistan; A Case for Federalism. Area Study Centre (Russia, China & Central Asia), University of Peshawar. 2004 537 Khan, S, Afridi, S., Works of Mehmud Beg Tarzi: The Precursor of Reform in Afghanistan. Central Asia, 62. Area Study Centre (Russia, China & Central Asia), University of Peshawar, 2008.

141 exile (1902-1929). Tarzi has translated some science fictions from Turkish sources into Dari. Tarzi opened Siraj-ul Akhbar, the first newspaper of Afghanistan, which was instrumental in spreading literature and importing novel into Afghanistan.

Senzil Nawed in his article Tarzi and the Emergence of Afghan Nationalism: Formation of a Nationalist Ideology, has tried to examine famous Afghan reformer, Mehmud Beg Tarzi‘s views and practical efforts for the modernization in Afghanistan. The article concentrates on Tarzi‘s ideas on fatherland, nationality, statehood, and national sovereignty. He introduced modern education, rationality, and scientific thinking to Afghan society. For Tarzi, ethnic, tribal, and regional affiliation were subordinated to the national ideology, national thinking and national progress. Besides, in 1920, his advocacy for feminist rights led to establishing first girls school in Afghanistan.538

Muhammad Azam Azam539 in Pakhto Afsana: Tehqiq ao Tanqid, has described the origin and development of fiction in Pashto. His work traces Pashto supernatural stories developed and transformed into legends, then to fiction and novel in Pashto. It has presented a logical development of Pashto fiction.540

Abdul Hai Habibi, the famous Afghan Pashto critic, in his work, Da Pakhto Adabyato Tarikh has examined thoroughly the Pashto language and literature since the times before advent of Islam till the 20th Century. He classifies the history of Pashto language and literature

538 Nawid, K, S., Tarzi and the Emergence of Afghan Nationalism: Formation of a Nationalist Ideology. Retrived from https://www.bu.edu/aias/nawid_article.pdf 539 He was a Pashto playwright, critic, and poet who has been rewarded Tamghaa-i- Imtiaz, a civil award, for his performance. 540 Azam, A, M., Pakhto Afsana: Tehqiq ao Tanqid. Azam Publishing House, Peshawar, 1976.

142 into four distinct periods. The First period traces the development of Pashto language from the times of Aryans. The writer has tried to make resemblance between the Pashto language and the Aryan. The second period touches upon the development of Pashto from early Islam till 1592 A.D. The third period covers the development of Pashto from 1592 A. D. till 1885 A. D. Poetry and prose developed greatly in this period. While the fourth period extends till the 20th Century, where Pashto language and literature became richer.541

Wali Ahmadi,542 in Modern Persian Literature in Afghanistan: An Anamalous Visions of History and Form, has presented a detailed description of modern Persian novel and poetry in Afghanistan in the 20th century. There is rich descriptions of origin and development of Persian novel in Afghanistan.543

Foucault's genealogical work, The Archeology of Knowledge544, focusses on the meaning of a given discourse, where power was linked to the formation of discourse within specific historical periods, this approach stresses on power relationships expressed through language and behavior. It examines relationship between language and power. Rather, it focusses on power relationships in society through language

541 Habibi, H, A., Da Pakhto Adabyato Tarikh; Part-I. N.P. Kabul, 1907. 542 Wali Ahmadi is an Associate Professor of Near Eastern Studies, where he also serves as the departmental undergraduate advisor. Ahmadi, a native of Kabul, Afghanistan, came to the United States after graduating high school in the early 1980s. He earned a B.A. in political and social sciences from California State University, Hayward (now East Bay) in 1987 and a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1997. Ahmadi‘s primary areas of interest include classical and modern Persian literature, literary theory and criticism, and cultural history. 543 Ahmadi, Wali., Modern Persian Literature in Afghanistan: An Anomalous Visions of History and Form. Routledge, USA & Canada, 2008. 544 Foucault, M., Archeology of Knowledge. Translated by A. M. Sheridan Smith. First Published in Routledge Classics. London & New York, 2002.

143 and practices. Michel Foucault has explained elaborately his concept of discourse and discursive practice in ‗The Archeology of knowledge‘. He offers in it his principles of discourse theory and analysis. His discourse analysis is beyond hermeneutics and structuralism; it finds out concepts and philosophies out of text and context. Foucault defines discourse as a way of speaking, while statement as a unit of discourse. Statement may be a phrase, proposition, or a speech act.

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3.2 CONCLUSION

The Average Afghan on the street denies the importance of ethnicity in Afghanistan. However, ethno-political leaders have exploited ethnic identity to gain political power and resources. They reinterpreted history around symbols of ethnic or religious differences, particularly during the civil war.545 One of the core issues strengthened during the last three decades of the 20th century in Afghanistan is ethnic: division; polarity; and conflict. Sectarianism, and ethnic: mobilization; cleansing also increased. Foreign interference and warlordism increased ethnic and sectarian polarization. The ethnic polarization in Afghanistan increased due to the ethnic warlords/or activists, however, it did not spread to the masses. Furthermore, the neighbouring states of Afghanistan: Pakistan; Tajikistan; Iran; Uzbekistan; comprising a population of same ethnicity, have a natural advantage to meddle into the political affairs of Afghanistan. The Kite Runner, and the secondary literature on it, has highlighted the political turmoil in the last decades of the 20th century, and the ethnic relations during the period. Hossenei asserts that these ethnic issues were important to be debated, and should not be a taboo. Therefore, this work analyzes and interprets ethnic disparity between Pashtun and Hazara as depicted in The Kite Runner. The next chapter shall discuss the history (evolution) of Afghan novel in the 20th century and its relevance to the understanding of Afghan social issues.

545 Riphenburg, J, C., Ethnicity and Civil Society in Contemporary Afghanistan. Middle East Journal Vol. 59, No. 1 (Winter, 2005), pp. 31-51. Published by: Middle East Institute , Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4330095 accessed 15-03-2015.

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CHAPTER 4: 4. THE AFGHAN NOVEL IN THE 20TH

CENTURY

4.1 INTRODUCTION

The genre of novel originated in the West in the 18th century; however, diffused to a non-literate society546 like Afghanistan in translated form, in the early 20th century. Mehmud Beg Tarzi, a precursor of reform in Afghanistan, introduced the novel in Afghanistan. He translated French novels of Jules Verne from Turkish sources into Dari, and published these in Sirajul Akhbar547 (The First Newspaper of Afghanistan).548 Sirajul Akhbar had a limited

546Louis Dupree, in his book, Afghanistan, published in 1980, has articulated that Afghanistan has a literate culture and non-literate society. In non-literate society, most of the individuals do not have access to the great literature of their culture. 547Sirajul Akhbar Afghaniyah (The lamp of the News of Afghanistan), the first Afghan newspaper published bi-weekly during the period of Amir Habibullah from October 1911 to January 1919. Edited, and contributed chiefly by Mehmud Beg Tarzi, a polyglot Afghan intellectual, this newspaper, played, not only, a great role in journalism and literature, but also, in the development of an Afghan modernist movement. Despite widespread illiteracy at the time, and written in Persian, with an occasional verse in Pashto, the newspaper did not have a large circulation. The paper was essentially accessible to the urban readers of eastern and western Afghanistan. However, the paper had a degree of success; broadening the horizon of the Afghan elites, introducing and acquainting them with modern concepts and developments, and stimulating the development of modern Afghan literature and journalism. Sirajul Akhbar, though independent, received official backing. Its first issue contained the topics such as how Ramadan and Eidul Fitr were observed in Afghanistan, the information regarding official postings, extracts from foreign newspapers such as Central Asia, Iran, India, Arab countries and Europe, and a promise to publish translation, in future, of a French novel. The closure of Sirajul Akhbar, paved the way for opening other newspapers and news digests in Afghanistan, such as, Aman-e- Afghan (1919), Tolu Afghan (1921), Anis (1929), Islah (1929), Kabul, Aryana, and Herat. Anis appeared in both Dari and Pashto. It was at this period that Pashto‘s becoming the official language of the country, was discussed; becoming a heated political issue later on. 548 Scholar disagree on the name and year of the publication of first newspaper of Afghanistan. Some writers opine for Shamsul Nahar (1873) as the first newspaper,

146 circulation, with a brief period of publishing (1911-1918); however, it unleashed novel writing tradition in Afghanistan. According to Mir Hikmatullah Sadat, the Afghan novel in the 20th century, paralleled Afghan political history. Such as, political awakening (1900–19), patriotic sentiment (1919–29), sentimental socialism (1929–52), realism (1953–63), socialist realism (1963–78), revolutionary activism (1978–89), and reconciliation and domestic resistance (1989–92).549 No significant novels were produced in Afghanistan during the period 1992-2001 due to civil war,550 however, diaspora Afghan novel flourished. Besides, in the 20th century, the penetrations of foreign novels such as, English, French, Russian/Soviet, Persian, and American have impacted the novel in Afghanistan. This chapter will discuss the origin of novel in Afghanistan, and the impact of above mentioned foreign novels on the evolution of novel in Afghanistan. It will further discuss the Afghan novel in Dari, and Pashto, in Afghanistan.

4.1.1 DASTAN

Dastan has been precursor to novel in Afghanistan. Dastan, in Persian, simply means a tale or a story. Specifically, in literature, it denotes the lengthy cycles of medieval romances consisting of heroic- some consider Siraj ul Akhbar Afghanistan (1906), while some favour Siraj ul Akhbar Afghania (1911) as the first newspaper of Afghanistan. The former appeared during the period 1873-78, the second published in 1906, while the third printed during 1911-1918. Prior to Sirajul Akhbar Afghanistan (1906), Shams ul Nahar, a periodical, had started publication in 1873, but remained unable to influence journalism in any way, and left no traces whatsoever in literary circles. The first issue of the second newspaper contained anti-imperialist articles, the British Indian government did not like its tone and pressurized Habibullah to shut down. Shamsul Nahaar had also spread anti-British propaganda, therefore the British took steps to stop it. 549Sadat, 2008, p 291. 550Ibid., p 309.

147 adventurous tales of great courage and valor including the deployment of supernatural machinery, magic and enchantment, and adheres to the medieval code of chivalry.551

Afghanistan has a long tradition of story-telling and story- writing. Dastan, a literary genre, existed in Afghanistan prior to the advent of novel in the early 20th century. Dastan is classic, spiritual, written in aphoristic style, and having many sub-plots with digressions. It portrayed realistic events with fictitious presentations. Traces of ―navul” (novel) or ―ruman” (roman) are certainly found in classical Afghan Dari dastans such as, Firdousi‘s Shahnama, Nizami‘s552 Khamsah, and in traditional prose stories such as, Bahar-i-Danish, Shams-i-Qahqihah, Laila Majnun, and Alif Laila.553 Shahnama (Book of Kings), the famous epic by Abul Qasim Firdousi (935-1020), written in 1010 in 60000 rhyming couplets, along with dastans of Abu Muslim Khurasani, transmitted orally from generation to generation in Afghanistan.554 Besides, Punj Ganj (in Persian) or Khamsa (in Arabic) are the five long narrative poems for which Nizami is famous for, such as; Makhzan-al-Asrar (The Treasury of Mysteries-written in 1163), Khorrow-o-Shirin (Khorow and Shirin-1177-1180), Laila-o-Majnun (Laila and Majnun-1192), Eskander Nameh (The Book of Alexander- 1196-1202), and Haft Paykar (The Seven Beauties-1197). Nizami has used Shahnama as source in his three epics of Haft Paykar, Khosrow

551 M, Asaduddin., First Urdu Novel: Contesting Claims and Disclaimers. Retrieved from http://www.urdustudies.com/pdf/16/10_Asaduddin.pdf 552 Nizami Ganjavi (1141-1209), born in Ganja, Azerbaijan, was a 12th c Persian Sunni Muslim poet. He is known as a great romantic epic poet in Persian literature, and is widely appreciated in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, the Kurdistan region, and Tajikistan. 553 Ahmadi, W., Modern Persian Literature in Afghanistan: Anomalous Visions of History and Form. Routledge, USA & Canada 2008, p 56. 554Sadat, 2008, p 294.

148 and Shirin, and Eskander Nameh. This substantiates that he had read Firdousi‘s Shahnama. Nizami has referred to Firdousi as Hakim (Sage) and Daana (Wise) in these epics.555 Except Makhzan-al-Asrar, an ethico-philosophical poem, dedicated to a king, Fakhr al Din Bahramshah, the remaining works of Nizami are narrative poetry. All epics of Nizami‘s are of pre-Islamic Persian origin. Besides, Laila- Majnun, originated as poem in 11th century, was of Arabic origin. Later on, it was adopted by the Persians, the Turks, and the Indians in their own versions.

The earlier Pashto dastans have been translated from Persian and Arabic in Afghanistan. These Pashto dastan writings began during the 17-18th centuries.556 Laila Majnoon, written by Sadar Khan Khattak (son of Khushal Khan Khattak), in 1679 is considered the first Pashto dastan translated from Persian.557 Talib Rashid wrote the second Pashto dastan, Gul Sanaubar from Persian in 1692; though, Syed Taqweemul Haq, a Pashto critic, has pointed out the year of its writing in a letter to Molana Abdul Qadir, that the dastan might be written in 1780, elucidating it from a verse from ‗Gul Sanober‟. He explains it while referring as evidence to the name of Taimur Shah (son of Ahmad Shah) period, king of Afghanistan.558 However, its origin is still contested. Other romances from Persian sources include; Yousaf Zalekha, written by Abdul Qadir Khattak (son of Khusal Khan Khattak), in 1700 A.D., Shah-wa-Gada written by Abdul Hameed in 1882 A.D., Shireen-Farhad, written by Mullah Nematullah in 1887

555 Gohrab, S, A, A., Layli and Majnun: Love, Madness and Mystic Longing. Brill Studies in Middle Eastern Literature, June 2003, p 276. 556The Express Tribune. Peshawar. 30 June, 2014 557 ibid 558Rashid, T., Gul Sanober.Dibacha by Mir Sharaf Khan. Pashto Academy, University of Peshawar, 1981, p 132.

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A.D., Shahnama and Char Darwesh by Mullah Nimatullah, and some other stories such as, Saiful Maluk Badri Jamala, and Behram ao Gul Andama. The dastans from Arabic include; Hatam Tai, Laila Majnoon, and Alif Laila (Arabian Nights) written by Mulla Nematullah. The indigenous Pashto dastans include; Dale-Shahai and Adam Khan Durkhanai written by Sadar Khan Khattak (son of Khushal Khan Khattak) in 1699 and 1706 respectively. Other dastans such as, Musa Khan ao Gul Makai, Nimbula Timbula and Qissa da Fateh Khan Qandhari were written by Mulla Nematullah,559 Yousaf Khan Sherbano by Ali Haider Joshi, and Mehbuba Jalat by Abdul Karim.560 All these dastans were in form of Masnavi or Badala. Besides, Gul Muhammad Noori published the collection of Pashto indigenous stories in his book Milli Hindara in Afghanistan, for the first time, these stories were published in prose. The famous stories of this book are; Fateh Khan Barekhi, Mard ao Namard, Zabzubana Shaperai, Mulla Abbas ao Gul Bashara, Khushkyar ao Shatrina, Momin Khan Sherino, Musa Jan ao Wali Jan, Jalat Khan ao Shumaila, Khadi ao Bibo, Zarif Khan ao Mabai, Qutub Khan ao Nazo, dale ao Shahu, Adam Durkhanai. Except the last one, all the dastans are indigenous to Afghanistan.561 The dearth of novel writers in Afghanistan in the early 20th century created a space for penetration of foreign novel, catering to the need and satisfaction of Afghan reader and intellectuals alike. The translation of these novels laid the ground work for the genre of novel

559 Azam, A, M., Pakhto Afsana: Tehqiq-ao-Tanqid. Azim Publishing House, Peshawar 1976, pp 25-28. 560 Joshi, H, A., Yousaf Khan Ao Bibi Sherbano. Zeb Art Publishers, Qissa Khani, Peshawar N.D. 561 Noori, M, G., Milli Hindara. Rehman Publishers, Qissa Khawani, Peshawar N.Y.

150 writing in Afghanistan.562 Mehmud Beg Tarzi translated the first Afghan novel in Afghanistan in the second decade of 20th century from French into Dari through the Turkish sources. According to Ashraf Ghani,563 the Afghans were first introduced to the short story, novelette, novel, literary essay, and foreign poetry through the pages of Siraj-ul Akhbar (1911-1918).564 Thus, dastan in Afghanistan has been Arabic-Persian, while novel as French-Turkish.

4.1.2 MEHMUD BEG TARZI

Mehmud Tarzi, an enlightened, moderate and precursor of reform, introduced modern prose and journalism in Afghanistan. He spent 23 years of his early life abroad, mostly in Damascus and Istanbul. He translated many books from Ottoman Turkish into Dari.565 His father, Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi was a poet. Tarzi got the pen name Tarzi (the stylist) from his father. His father, known to be erudite and outspoken, led his family to exile when Amir Abdur Rehman bore a grudge against him on helping Sardar Ayub Khan (the Amir‘s foe) in the battle in 1880. His family deported to Fort Abdullah, from where

562 Sadat, H, M., The Afghan Experience Reflected in Modern Afghan Fiction (1900- 1992). The first Dari novel, Jihad-e-Akbar, authored by Molvi Muhammad Hussain Panjabi (having Afghan descent), was printed in 1920. Its theme stands the courageous struggle of the protagonist, Wazir Akbar Khan, against the British oppression during the first Anglo-Afghan war (1839-42). The novel reveals the Afghans‘ resistance to the colonial British. The writer, concerning contemporary social realities, has used modern writing style in the novel; however, it also mingles with it the traditional stylistic elements those found in the works of Rumi and Jami.562 563 Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai is the current President of Afghanistan, elected on 21 September 2014. An anthropologist by education, he previously served as finance minister and the chancellor of Kabul University. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002, Ghani worked with the World Bank. 564 Ghani, A., The Persian Literature of Afghanistan, 1911-78. In, Iqbal, Afghan and Afghanistan. Chaghatai, I, M. Sang-e-Meel Publications, Lahore, 2004, p 242. 565 Khan, S, Afridi, S., Works of Mehmud Beg Tarzi: The Precursor of Reform in Afghanistan‘. Central Asia Journal No.62. Area Study centre (Russia, China & Central Asia), University of Peshawar Summar-2008.

151 they moved to Karachi, and subsequently, travelled to the Ottoman Empire, where they settled in Damascus. Damascus and Istanbul, considered a hotbed of late 19th century Muslim reformist activities, Tarzi spent most of his time there. For a period of two decades, Tarzi was exposed to French literature. He witnessed the Ottoman nationalist-revivalist movement, and received Pan-Islamic views of Jamal-ud-Din Afghani.566 The Young Turk writers shaped his social and political thought.567After exile in 1902, he returned to Afghanistan with his family. Influenced much by the European culture and institutions, he embarked upon a program of reforms in Afghanistan, for that purpose, he was appointed by the Amir Habibullah (r.1901- 1919)568 as head of the Bureau of Translation for the royal court; and his job was to keep the Amir informed about events in the Muslim world and Europe. Being a ruler of a country, the Amir was keen to know the modern technological happenings in the advanced societies. Subsequently, Tarzi, the founder and editor of Siraj-ul-Akhbar (1911- 1918) published in Persian domestic and foreign news, that carried translations of stories appeared in the English, Urdu, Turkish, and

566Known as Syed Jamal Uddin Afghani Asadabadi, commonly known as Al- Afghani (1838/39-1897), he was a political activist and Islamic ideologist in the Muslim world during the late 19th century, particularly in the Middle East, South Asia and Europe. One of the founders of Islamic Modernism and an advocate of Pan- Islamic unity, he has been described as being less interested in minor differences in Islamic jurisprudence than he was in organizing a Muslim response to Western pressure. 567Ibid., pp 127-128. 568 Habibullah Khan was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until 1919. He was born in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the eldest son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, whom he succeeded by right of primogeniture in October 1901. Habibullah was a relatively reform-minded ruler who attempted to modernize his country. During his reign, he worked to bring modern medicine and other technology to Afghanistan. In 1903, Habibullah founded the Habibia school as well as a military academy. He also worked to put in place progressive reforms in his country.

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Arabic press. It also included reproduced articles from Persian newspapers and journals.569

Tarzi prefered realism than fantasy in novel. He seriously read and probed the traditional Persian narrative forms, ―hikayah”, and ―afsanah”.570 Traditional Dari prose fiction included the format of ―Tellers of tales and conveyers of events inform us that, once upon a time, during the reign of so-and-so a caliph, in such-and-such a city, there lived a merchant who…‖. The story continued with no interruption and no real narrative progression. It contained no character development and no attempt at creating a clear narrative space. Popular verse fiction in Dari followed the same presentation. It began with lofty, philosophical contemplation, using highly metaphorical language. Little attempt was made to develop the plot,571 or delving into the treatment of character. In traditional narrative, the narrator is omnipresent voice, with no attempt to creating cause and effect relationships in the events, or the idea of individuality and personality found in the modern novel. In order to offer aesthetic pleasure, the classical authors endowed the masses, hyperbole, extraordinary, supernatural and magical things, such as fairies, and making them fly

569 Gregorian, 1969, pp 163-64. 570Ahmadi, 2008, p 54. 571Plot refers to the sequence of events inside a story which affect other events through the principle of cause and effect. The causal events of a plot can be thought of as a series of sentences linked by "and so". Plots can vary from simple structures such as in a traditional ballad to complex interwoven structures sometimes referred to as an imbroglio. According to Forster, "The king died, and then the queen died, is a story, while The king died, and then the queen died of grief, is a plot. In 1863, Gustav Freytag, a German writer, advocated a model based upon Aristotle's theory of tragedy. This is now called "Freytag's pyramid," which divides a drama into five parts, and provides function to each part. These parts are: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement.

153 like birds. Tarzi found the popular, oral, and polyvalent narratives as the antithesis of modern narratives. It corrupted the masses.572

Tarzi was the first to advocate prose as a viable medium for literature.573 The place occupied by love, beauty, wine, and flowers in classical Persian poetry, offended his sensibilities as an advocate of modern education: colonialism, patriotism, progress, and technology were to provide the alternative key symbols of the new literature.574 In Mahmud-namah, the poem ―Bugzasht-u-raft‖ (It is over), highlights Tarzi‘s manifesto for the end of the poetry. It begins importance of narrative prose in the Persian literature in Afghanistan. There exists a paradoxical well-crafted literary schema, expressed in the poem for abolishing the poetry. Here are some of the verses of the poem translated from Persian into English;

―The time for poetry and versification is over The time for magic and sorcery is over The telegraph connects East and West The age of travelling messengers is over A metallic rod is the modern harbinger Listen to the telephone; the time of speechlessness is over575‖

For Tarzi, realism in novel is more comforting, relaxing and delightful than reading fantastic fiction. As reality overwhelms fantasy therefore, only literary realism could claim adequately capturing the truth. For these reasons, Tarzi insisted on importing European genres such as ―ruman”576 or “novul” (novel) in the literature of Afghanistan, because, they reflected realism. Tarzi, an avid reader of 19th century

572 Ibid., pp 54-56. 573 Dupree, 1985, pp 74-75. 574 Ghani, 2004, p 240. 575 Ahmadi,2008, pp 53-54. 576 Abrams, H, M.., A Glossary of Literary Terms. Heinle & Heinle, USA 1999, p 190.

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European novel, translated a number of such works from Turkish into Dari. Such as, novels of Jules Verne and of the lesser known writer, Xavier de Montpin‘s novel, Les Viveurs de Paris.577 Tarzi wrote, during his exile, a number of books on a variety of subjects such as,

1. ―Majmoa-e-Sanaie (The collection of Arts-written in 1883) 2. Gozida hai e az Sher hai G.M.Tarzi (An Anthology of Forgotten Poetry of G.M.Tarzi-1886) 3. Majmoa e Akhlaq (The collection of Ethics-written in1888) 4. Siahatname e Dar e Sahadat (Travel to the court of Lucky- 1888) 5. Az Har Daham Sokhan e wa az Har chaman Saman e (From Every Mouth, an Expression and from Every Green, a Meadow-published in1913) 6. Rawzah e Hekam (The Garden of Wisdoms, Knowledge and Philosophies-1890) 7. Siahatname e She Qetah e Rui e Zamin dar 29 ruz, Asya, Orupa, Afriqa (Travel Account of Three continents of Earth in 29 days, Asia, Europe and Africa-published in1915) 8. Dibacha e Divan Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi (Preface to the collection of Poetry of Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi-1892)‖. 578

Amongst the above, Siahatname e Dar e Sahadat, and Siahatname e She Qetah e Rui e Zamin dar 29 ruz, Asya, Orupa, Afriqa are the travelogues, written by Tarzi in 1888 and in 1891 respectively. After exile, following his appointment as in charge of Bureau of Translation by Amir Habibullah, Tarzi began translating numerous books including novels; the main task of Tarzi was to inform

577Ahmadi, 2008, p 56. 578Khan & Afridi, 2008, pp 129-133.

155 and satisfy the Amir‘s interest to happenings within the Muslim world and Europe.579 The translation of novels of Jules Verne (1828-1905)580 was another of Amir‘s private interests.581 Tragedies of Paris, originally written in 1876, was the first French novel Tarzi translated from among the works of Xavier de Montépin (1823-1902).582 These translations became the source of inspiration for the first Afghan novel.583 Novels of Jules Verne translated from Turkish into Dari included: Siahat dar Jaw e Hawa (A Journey to the Centre of the World)584, Bist Hazar Fasrakh Sihatat Zer Bahr (Twenty Thousands Leagues Under the Sea)585, Siahat Daurradaur e Kore ye Zamin ba Hashtad Ruz (A Trip Around the World in Eighty Days), and Jazira e Penhan or Qaza Zadagan e balun (The Hidden Island).586Besides, the Urdu translation of Daniel Defoe‘s Robinson Crusoe (1719), was the first western literary work translated into Dari by Sher Ali.587

According to Ashraf Ghani, Tarzi, who translated novels for the pleasure of king, were referred as technical novels. Tarzi justified their publication as a guide to the knowledge of world geography.

579Khan, Afiridi, 2008, p 133. 580 Jules Gabriel Verne was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. Verne was born to bourgeois parents in the seaport of Nantes, where he was trained to follow in his father's footsteps as a lawyer, but quit the profession early in life to write for magazines and the stage. Verne has been the second most-translated author in the world since 1979, ranking between Agatha Christie and William Shakespeare.[5] He has sometimes been called the "Father of Science Fiction". 581Rasanayaguam, 2005, 15. 582 He was a popular French novelist. The author of serialised novels (feuilletons) and popular plays, he is best known for the 19th-Century best-seller, La Porteuse de pain (The Bread Peddler), which was first published in Le Petit Journal, from 1884 to 1889, and underwent many adaptations for theatre, film and television. 583 Palat, K, M, Tabyshalieva, A., 2005, pp 877-879. 584Ibid., p 135. 585 Verne, J., 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Bloomsbury Books, London 1994, p 256. (This science-fiction is divided into two parts; each part containing 23 small chapters.) 586Khan & Afridi, 2008, p 136. 587Sadat, 2008, p 294.

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Ghani further articulated that the books appealed to the Afghan readers due to the fantastic dimension, a quality much in tune with the structure of fairy tales.588 Thus, Tarzi, familiarized with the western novel, and advocating prose as viable medium for literature, has been the precursor of novel writing tradition in Afghanistan. Tarzi was the first Afghan who introduced western novel into Afghanistan in translated form, while Khaled Hossenei is the first Afghan who wrote the first English novel in America. Besides, novel writing in English have also a great bearing on the novel in Afghanistan. Novels in English, set in Afghanistan, have been written largely by non-Afghans.

4.2 IMPACT OF ENGLISH NOVEL

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)589 received the Noble Prize for Literature as the first English youngest writer in 1907.590 Considered at par with Charles Dickens (1812-1870), Kim591 is his master piece

588 Ghani, 1988, p 436. 589Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist. Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including "The Man Who Would Be King" (1888). His poems include "Mandalay" (1890), "Gunga Din" (1890), "The Gods of the Copybook Headings" (1919), "The White Man's Burden" (1899), and "If—" (1910). He is regarded as a major innovator in the art of the short story; his children's books are classics of children's literature, and one critic described his work as exhibiting "a versatile and luminous narrative gift". Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kipling's subsequent reputation has changed according to the political and social climate of the age, and the resulting contrasting views about him continued for much of the 20th century. 590David cody, Kipling: a Brief Biography, Retrieved from http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/kipling/rkbio2.html, Accessed on 02-8-2016 591 Kim, the novel was first published serially in McClure's Magazine from December 1900 to October 1901 as well as in Cassell's Magazine from January to November 1901, and first published in book form by Macmillan & Co. Ltd in October 1901. The story unfolds against the backdrop of The Great Game, the political conflict between Russia and Britain in Central Asia. The novel made the term "Great Game" popular and introduced the theme of great power rivalry and intrigue.

157 novel. He authored some good novels like Captain Courageous and The Light That Failed. However, his mastermind is surpassed in his children works. His short stories about India are his real identity mark. Assessing his place in the English literature, it is important to analyze his views on colonial India, the East-West relationship, and imperialism. In this context, The Great Game592 in Kim, somehow, eclipses his art and literary stature.

In the context of Afghanistan, Kipling is considered the pioneer novelist whose novels have not only borrowed from British India and Central Asia (particularly Afghanistan) but also added to the novel writing tradition in Afghanistan. Under the direct bearing of the British in Afghanistan during The Great Game (1813-1907), the first English novella, The Man Who Would be King, set in Afghanistan, was written by Kipling in 1888. This discloses the early and direct penetration of English novel in Afghan society in the late 19th century. No novel or novella, in English or indigenous language, exists in Afghanistan, prior to 1888. Kim, another English novel by Kipling, published in London in 1901, had Afghanistan as part of its setting. Kipling wrote four

592 The term "The Great Game" is attributed to Captain Arthur Conolly (1807–42) who had been appointed as a political officer. In July 1840, in correspondence to Major Henry Rawlinson who had been recently appointed as the new political agent in Kandahar, Conolly wrote: You've a great game, a noble game, before you. "The Great Game" is used by historians to describe a political and diplomatic confrontation that existed for most of the 19th Century between Britain and Russia over Afghanistan and neighbouring territories in Central and Southern Asia. Russia was fearful of British commercial and military inroads into Central Asia, and Britain was fearful of Russia adding "the jewel in the crown", India, to the vast empire that Russia was building in Asia. This resulted in an atmosphere of distrust and the constant threat of war between the two empires.

158 novels, and many short stories in English. His long literary career lasted for around fifty years (1886-1937). His novels include;

 The Light That Failed, (1890)  The Naulakha - A story of West and East (1892)  Captains Courageous (1897)  Kim (1901)

A Vizier‟s Daughter: A Tale of the Hazara War,593 written by Lilies Hamilton,594 is considered another pioneer English novel, set in Afghanistan, published in London, in 1900.The setting of this novel is exclusively Afghanistan, and the plot revolves around the rule and court of Amir Abdur Rehman (r.1880-1901). The affiliation and familiarization of Lillias Hamilton, an English lady physician to the

593 Retrieved from http://www.asc- centralasia.edu.pk/Issue_72/02_Mir_munshi_Sarfraz.html. Accessed 08-08-2016 594 Dr. Lillias Anna Hamilton M.D., (7th February 1858 – 6 January 1925), born at Tomabil Station, New South Wales, was English pioneer female doctor and author. After attending school in Ayr and then cheltenham Ladies‘ college, she was trained first as a nurse, in Liverpool, before going to study medicine in Scotland, qualifying as a Doctor of Medicine in 1890. She was, a court physician to Amir Abdur Rahman Khan in Afghanistan in the 1890s, wrote a fictionalized account of her experiences in A Vizier‘s Daughter: A tale of the Hazara War, and published it in 1900. After brief private practice in London, she joined Studley Horticultural college as Warden in the years before World War 1, however, left the college in 1915 for a typhoid hospital in Montenegro under the auspices of the Wounded Allies Relief committee. Her other published work includes A Nurse‘s Bequest, 1907. Similarly, she had typed a novel, The Power that Walks in Darknesses, which could not be published still lying in the India office record. Besides, Faiz Ahmed Faiz's father, Sultan Muhammad Khan, had served Afghanistan in the capacity of British India's ambassador to Kabul. He had also served Afghanistan's ruler, Amir Abdul Rahman and had written his biography entitled 'Life of Abdur Rahman, Amir of Afghanistan'. Hamilton has discussed Faiz 's father's ordeal in Kabul in her novel A Vizier‘s Daughter: A tale of the Hazara War, which made him leave Kabul immediately and save his life. Quite a few intensifying aspects of Sultan Muhammed Khan, came to our knowledge through this novel.

159 court of Amir Abdur Rehman in Afghanistan in the 1890s, swayed her to write a fictionalized account of her experiences in the novel.595

Subsequently, many novels in English, set in Afghanistan, were written. Under the same inspiration, the first modern Afghan fiction or novella,596 Jashn-i Istiqlal dar Bolivia (Independence Day celebrations in Bolivia), written in English by an Afghan author, Murtaza Ahmad Muhammadzai, translated by Ghulam Nabi in Dari, published in installments, in 1927, appeared in Aman-e-Afghan.597 These foreign novels, under the influence of 19th century European realism, introduced Afghan writers to the techniques of the various modern European genres, and taught them the value of character, representing contemporary life.598

Until recently there have been written 38 novels and a novella, in English, set in Afghanistan, by various writers: Afghan and foreign writers. The first Afghan novella in English (1927) was followed by seven novels in English in the 20th century, trailed by thirty one599

595 Ibid 596 A novella is a work of written, fictional, narrative prose normally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. 597Ahmadi, 2008, p 67. 598 Sadat, 2008, p 293 599 The novels include; My Forbidden Face: Growing up under the Taliban: A Young Woman‟s Story written by Latifa (Afghan) Published in 2001, The Breadwinner written by Debora Ellis (canadian) in 2001, Earth and Ashes written by Atiq Rahimi (French-Afghan) in 2002, The Black Tulip: A Novel of War in Afghanistan by Milton Bearden (American) in 2002, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hossenei (Afghan- American) in 2003, Mud city by Deborah Ellis (Canadian) in 2003, Parwana‟s Journey by Deborah Ellis (Canadian) in 2003, The Book Sellers of Kabul by Asne Seierstad (Norwegian) in 2004, Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra (Algerian) in 2005, The Afghan Campaign by Steven Pressfield (American) in 2006, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hossenei in 2007, The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam (British-Pakistani) in 2008 , crossfire (Nick Stone) by Andy McNab (English) in 2008, Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie (Pakistani) in 2009, The Breadwinner Trilogy by Deborah Ellis (Canadian) in 2009 (First Published in 2003), Thunder Over Kandahar by Shron E. Mckay (Canadian ) in 2010, Shooting Kabul by N. H. Senzai

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(novels) in the 21st century. The seven novels in English by foreign writers in 20th century include: A Vizier‟s Daughter: A Tale of the Hazara War (1900), written by Lillias Hamilton (English); Kim (1901) by Rudyard Kipling (English); Caravans: A Novel of Afghanistan (1963) by James A. Michever (American); Flashman (1969) by George McDonald Fraser (Scottish); Leopard and the Cliff (1978) by Wallace Breem (British); Lie Down with Lions (1985), by Ken Follet (Welsh); while Horses of Heaven(1990), by Gillian Bradshaw (American). Nationalities and numbers of writers of these thirty one English novels include: Afghans (nine), Americans (eight), British (five), Pakistani (four), Canadians (two), Scottish (one), Welsh (one), Indian (one), Algerian (one), and Norwegian (one). All Afghan writers of English novels are diasporic. The novels reflect directly the societal realities of Afghans affected by the three decades of war, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.600

4.3 IMPACT OF PERSIAN NOVEL

Iran‘s leftist writers influenced the generation of Afghan writers greatly between 1953 and 1978. When the Tudeh Party601 was

(Afghan-American) in 2010, Born Under a Million Shadows: A Novel by Andrea Busfield (British Journalist) in 2010, And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hossenei in 2011, Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy (American) in 2011, The Watch by Joydeep Bhattacharya (Indian) in 2012, Sikandar by M. Salahuddin Khan (Pakistani) in 2012, Khost by Vincent Hobbes (American) in 2012, Jeegareh Ma by Rahela Nayebzadah (Afghan-Canadian) in 2012, Silent Trees: A Novel of Afghanistan by Nasir Shansab (Afghan-Pashtun from Northern Afghanistan) in 2012, Fear of Beauty by Susan Freetschel (American) in 2013, Flashes of War by Katey Schultz (American) in 2013, The Blind Man‟s Garden by Nadeem Aslam ((British- Pakistani) in 2013, The Pearl that Broke its Shell by Nadia Hashimi (Afghan- American) in 2014, Dancing in Terror by Shahi Sadat (Afghan) in 2014, The Journalist: Attack on the central Intelligence Agency by M.F. Moonzajer in 2015. 600 http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6969.Afghan_fiction 601 The Tudeh Party of Iran, a communist party, was formed in 1941, with Soleiman Mohsen Eskandari as its head. It had considerable influence in its early years and

161 dissolved in 1953, the Afghan writers were forced to stay underground. This group of writers was praised lavishly by the 1980 Congress602 (of Afghanistan) for their strong revolutionary content. They depicted societal realities, exposed despotism and oppression. Their role had been the most effective in mobilizing the people for revolution in Afghanistan.603The Tudeh party have impacted the Afghan socialist literature. Afghan leftist writers always emulated and praised socialist ideology in other countries.604 It was also receptive to influence from the socialist countries and parties. Iranian short story writer, Sediq Hedayat‘s works have influenced Afghan novel writers to a great extent such as, Azam Rahnaward and Akram Osman.

After the Saur Revolution (1978)605 in Afghanistan, the Khalq regime, and for some years the Parcham government, banned importation and translation of all foreign books. Even, they censored Persian (Dari) masterworks, however, only Soviet books, translated into Persian by Tajiks, written by machine, not people, were to be

played an important role during Mohammad Mosaddegh's campaign to nationalize the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and his term as prime minister. The crackdown that followed the 1953 coup against Mosaddegh is said to have "destroyed" the party, although it continued. The party still exists, but is much weaker as a result of the banning of the party and mass arrests by the Islamic Republic in 1982 and the executions of political prisoners in 1988. 602 The Union of Writers of Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) summoned that ―to put the literary talent at the service of the people and implement the real humanistic aspirations of the Saur Revolution.‖ 603Dupree, 1985, p 80. 604 Nazemi, Persian Literature, p 32. 605 The Saur Revolution also called the April Revolution or April Coup, was a coup d'état led by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) against the rule of Afghan President Mohammed Daoud Khan on 27–28 April 1978. Daoud Khan and most of his family were killed at the presidential palace, ending 231 years of Afghanistan rule by Ahmad Shah Durrani and his descendants. The revolution resulted in the creation of a communist democratic republic with Nur Muhammad Taraki as President, and was the precursor to the 1979 intervention by the Soviets and the 1979–1989 Soviet–Afghan War against the Mujahideen.

162 found in the foreign literature shelves of bookshops.606Aitmatove‘s famous novel, Jamila, and Sadriddin Ayni‘s novels might have been imported into Afghanistan under such circumstances.

During 1960s and early 1970s, Afghanistan‘s relationship with the outside world grew. It witnessed the highest degree of cultural exchange. Feature films, books, magazines, journals, music, and other cultural goods, flooded into the country. These materials transported in their original forms, others imported through translated versions made in Iran. Afghanistan sent a large number of students overseas for higher education. Foreign tourists and experts visited and employed in Afghanistan. The western embassies began running cultural institutions in Afghanistan: they organized conferences, seminars, exhibitions, concerts, and theatrical performances and language courses.607

The flooding in of Iranian literature and Farsi translations of western tabloid literature began to introduce western and Iranian societal realities to Afghans. Some of these literary styles and themes began to be incorporated into Afghan literature, particularly detailed descriptions of female bodies and sexual affairs, a foreign notion, imported into some Afghan literary works.608

The ideals of socialist thought of Karl Marx,609 Lenin, and Tudeh party of Iran were also presented in the Farsi translations by

606 Sadat, H, M., The Afghan Experience Reflected in Modern Afghan Fiction (1900- 1992). 2008, p 307. 607 Bezhan, Asadullah Habib, p 188. 608Sadat, 2008, p 303. 609Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German philosopher, economist, political theorist, sociologist, journalist and revolutionary socialist. Born in Trier to a middle- class family, Marx later studied political economy and Hegelian philosophy. Marx's

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Iranian writers from the works of Honore de Balzac and Guy de Maupassant. Works of Lev Tolstoy, Jack London, Ernest Haminqway, Anton Chekhov, Mikhail Sholokhov, and Fyodor Dostoevsky610 were also available in Afghanistan. Import of these works and novels into Afghanistan helped the Afghan writers to write about their own societal realities.

4.4 IMPACT OF SOVIET/RUSSIAN /TAJIK / KIRGHIZ NOVEL

The efforts of Sardar Daud as Prime Minister in bringing Afghanistan closer to Soviet Union in 1953,611 made Bulganin and Khrushchev to visit Afghanistan in 1955 that resulted into a US$100 million long term development loan on very soft terms. Between 1956 and 1978, Afghanistan received a total of US$ 1265 million in Soviet economic assistance, mostly in form of loans, and additional US$ 110 million from the rest of the Eastern Bloc. By March 1956, numerous projects had been identified by joint Afghan-Soviet teams: two hydro- electric plants; three automotive repair and maintenance facilities; a road from Qizil Qala on the Iranian border west of Herat to Kabul; the Salang Tunnel,612 a major air base in Bagram; three irrigation dams theories about society, economics and politics collectively understood as Marxism hold that human societies develop through class struggle. 610Ibid., p 305. 611Ibid., p 302. 612 The Salang Tunnel is a 2.67 kilometres (1.66 mi) long tunnel located at the Salang Pass in the Hindu Kush mountains, between the Parwan and Baghlan provinces of Afghanistan. It was completed by the Soviet Union in 1964 and has been used to connect the northern Afghan cities with the capital of Kabul. Between seven and ten thousand vehicles pass through the tunnel each day. During the Soviet-Afghan war, the tunnel was a crucial military link to the South yet prone to ambushes by the mujaheddin. After the 1989 Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, maintenance suffered, and eventually, in the course of combat between the Afghan Northern Alliance and the Taliban in 1997–1998, the tunnel's entrances, lighting and

164 and a canal systems; and a fertilizer factory.613 The Soviet Union distributed books and publications containing socialist/communist ideology and thoughts amongst students of schools and universities in Afghanistan.614 Soviet literature flooded Afghanistan. This made Afghan students to study in the Soviet Socialists Republics. Sociable relations and visits of delegations also developed between the two countries. The works of Maxim Gorky (1868-1936),615 Mikhail Sholokhov (1905-1984),616 Chingez Aitmatov (1928-2008),617 and others were easily available.618 Gorky‘s works proved extremely influential. It introduced Afghan intellectuals to the Soviet ‗socialist realist‘619 version of Marxian theory of culture.620 The Soviet literature

ventilation system were destroyed, so that it could only be transited by foot in the dark. 613 Rasanayagam, 2005, p 33. 614Sadat, 2008, p 302. 615 Alexei Maximovich Peshkov primarily known as Maxim (Maksim) Gorky was a Russian and Soviet writer, a founder of the socialist realism literary method and a political activist. He was also a five-time nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Around fifteen years before success as a writer, he frequently changed jobs and roamed across the Russian Empire; these experiences would later influence his writing. Gorky's most famous works were The Lower Depths (1902), Twenty-six Men and a Girl, The Song of the Stormy Petrel, My Childhood, The Mother, Summerfolk and Children of the Sun. He had an association with fellow Russian writers Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov; Gorky would later mention them in his memoirs. 616Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov was a Soviet/Russian novelist and winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is known for writing about life and fate of Don Cossacks during the Russian Revolution, the civil war and the period of collectivization, primarily the famous And Quiet Flows the Don. 617Aitmatov was a Soviet and Kyrgyz author who wrote in both Russian and Kyrgyz. He is the best-known figure in Kyrgyzstan's literature. 618 Nazemi, Persian Literature, p 31 619 Socialist realism is a style of realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in that country as well as in other socialist countries. Socialist realism is characterized by the glorified depiction of communist values, such as the emancipation of the proletariat, by means of realistic imagery. Although related, it should not be confused with social realism, a type of art that realistically depicts subjects of social concern. 620Ahmadi, 2008, p 81.

165 in Afghanistan influenced particularly the leftist and socialists.621 Their themes included the socialist realism, differences in the social structure of society, protection of the lower strata of society, fantasies of a better social life, and fictitious heroes of the system.622 The Afghan writers: Asadullah Habib, Akram Osman, Azam Rahnavard, and Spozhmai Rahnavard, influenced by these works, followed the leftist ideology in their short stories..

The Union of the Writers of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1980-87) was formed in Afghanistan during the period, 1979-89. It was shaped for the first time in Afghan history. It was renamed as the Union of Afghan Writers in 1987.623 The government in Kabul controlled the English-language newspaper, Kabul News Time. It published bluntly the formation of the Union: the people were organized under the leadership of the People Democratic party of Afghanistan (PDPA), the vanguard of the working class. It impacted greatly the spirits of readers,624 and served as a source of propaganda for the socialist rule in Afghanistan. The Union began attracting writers with other political and social allegiances. It cemented the way for literary work in Afghanistan freed from politicization. The Union published almost 2000625 literary works during its 12 years period, out of which, 200 books of poetry, novels, novellas, and short stories were included.626 Some prominent novelists, whose works were published, include; Hussain Fakhri, Abdul Qadir Moradi, Haroon Yusofi, Bilqis

621 Nazemi, Persian Literature, p 31. 622 Ibid., p 31 623 Nazemi, Persian Literature, p 29. 624Dupree, 1985, p 71. 625 Sadat, H, M., The Afghan Experience Reflected in Modern Afghan Fiction (1900- 1992). 2008, p 307. 626 Nazemi, Persian Literature, p 29.

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Makeez, Dastagir Nahil, Zalmai Babakohi, Parwin Pazhwak, Syed Nematullah Husseini, Rosta Bokhtari, Malalai Mousavi, Camela Habib, Qadir Habib, Burhan Abdali and Alim Iftikhar.627 The decade of 1980s, finally made widely available the complete bodies of novel. According to Nancy Dupree,628 during the communist regime in Afghanistan, Afghan literati were first mobilized then injected into them the socialist realism as a psychological weapon: the Afghan culture was vaccinated with the ideological objectives of the People‘s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA).629 Whatever the criticism on the Union as tool of propaganda, it is substantiated that it helped the Afghan novelists to write novel free of political ideology.

Social realism630 dominated the literature in Afghanistan before 1978. However, socialist realism subjugated the Afghan novel following the 1980. The Writers‘ Union required writers to create

627 Sadat, H, M., The Afghan Experience Refleted in Modern Afghan Fiction (1900- 1992). 2008, p 307. 628Nancy Hatch Dupree (1927-2017) was an American historian whose work primarily focused on the history of modern Afghanistan. She was born in Cooperstown, New York, and went to Barnard College and Columbia University to study Chinese. She was the director of the Afghanistan Center at Kabul University in Afghanistan and author of five books that she compiled while studying the history of Afghanistan from 1962 until the late 1970s. She was fondly called the ―grandmother of Afghanistan. In 2007, Nancy Hatch Dupree established the Louis and Nancy Hatch Dupree Foundation. It is a charitable organization that promotes research and raises awareness of the history and culture of Afghanistan. In addition, this organization also preserves Afghan cultural heritage. The organization's primary goal is to ensure the sustainability of the Afghanistan Center at Kabul University (ACKU). Programs offer Afghans from all walks of life, especially youth, incentives to acquire and employ information that will help them address the challenges of rebuilding their nation. 629Dupree, 1985, p 69. 630 Social realism, an international art movement, encompasses the work of painters, printmakers, photographers and filmmakers who draw attention to the everyday conditions of the working class and the poor; social realists are critical of the social structures which maintain these conditions. While the movement's characteristics vary from nation to nation, it almost always utilizes a form of descriptive or critical realism.

167 novels adhering to the plot of socialist realism. It further required them to reflect lives of workers, peasants, farmers, and the armed forces that defended the regime, and safeguarded the revolution (Saur Revolution).631 After 1978, there emerged two groups of writers in Afghanistan: one group served the PDPA government (socialist writers); the other wrote in the service of resistance (resistance writers). Works of first group were divided into three types: the First praised the coup, introduced it as people‘s revolution, and tried to justify its achievements; the second group encouraged friendship between the people of Afghanistan and the Soviet Union; the Third group criticized the Islamic fundamentalists (Resistance) and introduced them as enemy of the people.632 They attacked American imperialism too. Besides, the writers of resistance literature, criticized the communist government in Afghanistan, and praised its opposition movement (Resistance).633 Spogmai Zaryab informs that Afghanistan had banned import and translation of all foreign books during early years of rule of the PDPA. The Soviet books translated into Persian by Tajiks were found in the foreign literature shelves of bookshops.634 Sadruddin Ayni (1878-1954), the Soviet-Tajik poet and novelist, was born in Sāktarī in the emirate of Bukhara, a Russian protectorate. Ayni‘s works may have been imported to Afghanistan, because his novels and short stories were written in Tajiki (a version of Persian). Ayni had welcomed the

631 Ahmadi, 2008, pp 94-95 632 Ibid., p 31 633 Ibid., p 31 634 Sadat, H, M., The Afghan Experience Reflected in Modern Afghan Fiction (1900- 1992). 2008, p 307.

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October Revolution, 1917, in Russia.635 The direction of Ayni‘s art, if not the substance, changed with the Russian revolution. He fled to Samarkand after brief imprisonment and beating by the Amir‘s men. After that, he came into contact with Muslim organizations linked to the local Soviet. He believed that the revolution had opened the way for enlightenment, and made him a fervent supporter of the new Soviet regime.636Ayni stopped writing poetry after the revolution (1917). He thought prose a better medium for expression and understanding. He completed his first realistic story, Jalladan-e Bukhara (The executioners of Bukhara) in 1922. It was an indictment of the amir and his circle told through the conversations of prison guards. He produced a short novel, Sargodast-e yak tajik-e kam-bagal (The story of a poor Tajik) in 1924, generally known for its hero, Odina. He wrote three more novels in 1920s and 1930s. It remained the most creative period of his life. His three major novels include: Doḵunda (1930), Ḡulomon (1935), and Margi sudḵur (1939). He wrote Yatim (orphan) in 1940, another novel that revolved around a Tajik boy, depicting the separation of the boy from his mother, and subsequent adventures with Soviet border guards in their struggle against counterrevolutionaries.637 Ayni‘s other works include; Tarikh-I Emiran-I Manghitia Bukhara (History of the Manghit Emirs of Bukhara), Namuna Adabiat-I Tajiki (Patterns of Tajiki Literature), and Vospominaniya (Reminisences).638 Thus, Ayni‘s Tajik/Persian stories might have impacted novel writing in Afghanistan.

635 Aleksander Makal, MA Thesis in Persian Studies, From a Slave to the New Soviet (Wo)Man: (Socialist?) Realism in SadriddinAyni‟s Ƣulomon,Universiteit Leiden, August 2015, P17. 636Retrieved from http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayni-sadr-al-din 637 Ibid 638 Khan, S., Muslim Reformist Political Thought: Revivalist, modernist, and the free will. Routledge and Curzon, USA, Canada, 2003, p 53.

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Animal Farm, an allegorical and dystopian, by Georg Orwell, was a democratic-socialist English novella, published in 1945. Carrying socialist realism, it moved to Afghanistan and translated into Pashto by Rasul Amin under the title, Da Zanawaro Farm Ya Da Roosi Communism Hindara, published by Writers‘ Union of Free Afghanistan in 1980s. The plot begins in Czarist period, leads up to the Russian Revolution of 1917, and into the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union. According to Orwell, the rule in the Soviet Union had been transformed into a brutal dictatorship; to a cult of personality; and a reign of terror. The novella was written in between 1943-44, in a time of war alliance between the Soviet Union and the British. It was the time when the British people and intelligentsia held Joseph Stalin in high esteem, the phenomenon which Orwell hated. The characters in the novella include; pigs, humans, horses, and donkeys. The Old Major (pig) is symbolized an allegorical combination of Karl Marx and Lenin, Mr Jones (human) as Nicholas II, Napoleon (pig) as Joseph Stalin, Snowball (pig) as Trotsky, Fredrick (human) as Hitler, and Boxer (horse) as loyal horse of Napoleon.

Jamila, the first major novel by the Kirghiz, Chingez Aitmatov (1928-2008)639, published originally in Russian in 1958, was translated into English by Fainna Glagoleva.640 Set in northwestern Kirghizstan, its plot recounted the love story between the sister-in-law (Jamila) and a local crippled young man, back dropped against the collective farming culture. As a Soviet/Kirghiz novel, Jamila, might have been one of the imports into Afghanistan. Besides, the realist writers like

639He was a Soviet and Kirghiz novelist who wrote in both Russian and Kirghiz. He is the best known figure in Kirghizstan's literature. 640 Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamila_(novel)#cite_note-1

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Franz Kafka (1883-1924),641 Albert Camus (1913-1960)642, and Sadiq Hidayat (Iranian writer) have also influenced the Afghan novel.643 Prose in Afghanistan developed greatly during the democratic period (1964-73). The impact of Soviet literature and the new style of prose are quite palpable. Afghan writers such as, Asadullah Habib, Akram Osman, Azam Rahnavard, and Spozhmai Rahnavard may be considered the great short story writers of this period.644 Habib‘s Saped Andām (The White Physique), a novelette, and Seh Mazdour (The Three Servants), a collection of short stories, are considered his two- noteworthy works.645 Besides, in 1950s, crime fiction literature appeared in various digests in Afghanistan. The works of Muhammad Saber Rosta Bakhtari, educated in Iran, are true examples of this genre;

641 Kafka, a German-speaking Jew, born in Prague, the then part of Austro-Hungarian Empire, is widely considered the 20th c famous German language writer of novels and short stories. His works such as Die Verwandlung ("The Metamorphosis"), Der Process (The Trial), and Das Schloss (The castle) fuse elements of realism and fantastic. The term Kafkaesque has entered the English language to describe situations like those in his writing. Few of Kafka's works were published during his lifetime: the story collections Betrachtung(contemplation) and Ein Landartz (A country Doctor), and individual stories (such as "Die Verwandlung") were published in literary magazines but received little public attention. Kafka's unfinished works, including his novels Der Process, Das Schloss and Amerika (also known as Der Verschollene, The Man Who Disappeared), were ordered by Kafka to be destroyed by his friend Maz Brod, who nonetheless ignored his friend's direction and published them after Kafka's death. 642Camus, a French philosopher, novelist, and journalist, was born in French Alegeria to a Pied Noir family (The christian and Jewish families, migrated from all parts of the Mediterranean to French Algeria, who were awarded French citizenship in 1870). He founded in 1949, the Group for International Liaisons to denounce the two ideologies found in both the USSR andzthe USA. His views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as absurdism. Absurdism, a Philosophical school of thought, states that the efforts of humanityto find inherent meaning will ultimately fail, hence absurd, because the sheer amount of information as well as the vast realm of the unknown make total certainty impossible. His novels include; The Stranger (L'Étranger, often translated as The Outsider) (1942), The Plague (La Peste) (1947), A Happy Death (La Mort heureuse), (1936–38, published posthumously 1971), The Fall (La chute) (1956), and The First Man (Le premier homme) (incomplete, published posthumously 1995). Besides, he wrote short stories too. 643Nazemi, Persian Literature, p 31. 644Ibid. p 31. 645 Bezhan, Asadullah Habib, p 189.

171 however, most of his plots or themes have nothing to do with Afghanistan, rather influenced by western societal realities. Asadullah Habib, a poet, translator, and novelist, born in 1941 in Maimana, is considered the most recognized and influential practitioner of the ideology of socialist-realist literature in Afghanistan.646His novels reflect his rural experiences in Afghanistan. Echoing the gender theme found in the works of Jaghori and Alemshahi, though with deeper critical analysis, Habib‘s Sapid Andam (The White-Physique), published in 1965, concerned the societal realities of marriage customs, the role of parental control, the position of women in society, and class conflict.647 He demonstrated to be expert too in highlighting the traumas of urban youth moving from traditional life-style to a modern one. The 1980 Congress recognized to elect him President of the Union of Writers and Poets of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA).648 He made a diverse contribution to the type of literature. He wrote short stories, novelettes, dramas, screen scripts, and academic works. That all were produced in defense of socialist realism and its importance, as well as translated works in the same line. His novels can be divided into two groups: those written between 1965 and 1978, and those produced after the Saur Revolution, 1978, in Afghanistan. Following the socialist-realist method, his works created different themes and presentation. The first group embodying class struggle, undermined the authority and fairness of the monarchist rule in the 1960s, while, the second defended the revolution against the reactionary Mujahideen powers (Resistance), and supported the communist regime in Afghanistan. The first group

646 Bezhan, Asadullah Habib, p 189. 647Sadat, 2008, p 304. 648 Dupree, 2008, pp 83-84.

172 indicate the peasants to reach class consciousness through their own hard experiences, while, in the second; they have already grasped an ideological consciousness. However, the works of his second group contributed more to socialist realism than the first one.649 Besides, Akram Osman's650 short stories represent a genre akin to the writing of European socialist-existentialists such as, Jean-Paul Satre and Albert Camus. It first influenced literary circle in Iran, then filtered into Afghanistan to attract a large group of writers born in 1930s and 1940s.651 This group contributed much to popularize the short story. Their themes are somber such as, futility, inadequacy, loneliness, madness, discrimination, deception, duplicity, cruelty, treachery, and enslavement.652

4.5 IMPACT OF AMERICAN NOVEL

The impact of American literature on the novel in Afghanistan is of recent origin,653 and the Western short stories, plays, essays, novels, prose, and poems all have had their influence. The Soviet invasion and subsequent occupation of Afghanistan in 1979 had influx of massive refugees from the country including novelists to the West and the United States. The renowned Afghan diaspora novelists, settling in the host countries, include; Tamim Ansari, Khaled Hossenei, Muhammad Asif Sultanzadah, and Atiq Rahimi. Amongst these, Khaled Hossenei, as novelist, has got worldwide reputation due to his debut novel, The Kite Runner published in the USA in 2003. During

649 Bezhan, Asadullah Habib, p 189. 650 Akram Usman, born in Herat in 1937, earned PhD in Political Science from Tehran University (Iran), worked for years as narrator and writer of several social- cultural programs in Afghanistan‘s Radio and TV. 651Dupree, 2008, 84. 652Ibid., p 84. 653 Nazemi, Persian Literature, p 32.

173 childhood, he got his first impressions from Persian poetry of Rumi, Hafez, Omer Khayyam, and Abdul Qadir Bedil. The Persian translations of novels ranging from Alice in Wonderland to Mickey Spillane‟s Mike Hammer series and the Persian translation of American novel of Jack London‘s (1876-1916) White Fang, impacted his young mind significantly. In the US, the American novel, The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Ernst Steinbeck (1902-1968) rekindled his love of literature.654 Hosseini has a unique place in American novel and is perhaps the only author coming out of the Afghan diaspora writing novel in English.655

4.6 AFGHAN NOVEL IN DARI

The indigenous novels in Dari and Pashto flourished side by side in Afghanistan reflecting societal realities. The first novel in Dari appeared in the early 20th century: Jihad-e-Akbar, written by Molvi Muhammad Hussain Panjabi (having Afghan descent) was published in 1920. Its theme stands the courageous struggle of the protagonist, Wazir Akbar Khan against the British oppression during the first Anglo-Afghan war (1839-42).656 The novel reveals the Afghans‘ resistance to the colonial British. The writer, concerning contemporary

654 Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grapes_of_Wrath 655 Rebecca, Stuhr. Reading Khaled Hossenei. Greenwood Press. California, Colorado, England, 2009, p 81. Retrieved from http://files.meetup.com/1348465/Reading_Khaled_Hosseini.pdf on 05-03-2015 Stuhr. Reading Khaled Hossenei. Greenwood Press. California, Colorado, England, 2009, p 81. Retrieved from http://files.meetup.com/1348465/Reading_Khaled_Hosseini.pdf on 05-03-2015 656 The First Anglo-Afghan War (also known as Disaster in Afghanistan was fought between British imperial India and the Emirate of Afghanistan. The war is notorious for the loss of 4,500 British and Indian soldiers, plus 12,000 of their camp followers, to Afghan tribal fighters, but the British defeated the Afghans in the concluding engagement.

174 social realities, has used modern writing style in the novel; however, it also mingles with it the traditional stylistic elements found in the works of Rumi and Jami.657 Besides, Zinat and Tasswir-e-Ebrat are other two novels in Dari that contest for first Afghan novel. Zinat, a historical novel, written by Nur Muhammad Alizad, an official in the royal court of Amir Habibullah Khan, remained unpublished due to initial censorship and lack of independent printing press. Tasswir-e- Ebrat, written by Muhammad Abdul Qadir Effendi (son of exiled prince Muhammad Ayub Khan) was published outside of Afghanistan, in Madras, British India in 1922.658 Besides, Muhammad Shafi Rahguzar wrote, Hakim (Governor), the first Afghan political novel, published in 1956. The novel depicts the plight and misuse of women in a rural society. It also criticizes those who believe that women are born for sexual pleasure and domestic affairs.

Begum (Lady in Turkish), written by Sulaiman Ali Jaghori in late 1930s is another modern novel printed in Afghanistan. Its story revolves around a Hazara woman living in a village of Jaghori, Hazarajat. The first work devoted to the Hazara‘s situations, Begum condemns the living conditions, gender relations, appeals to woman rights, and stresses patriotic values for future salvation. Such like women issues were highlighted in Sham-e-Ghariban, a novel written by Abdul Halem Atifi in early 1940s.659 Besides, Khanjar (1939) and Az amaq (1950) are further novels related to social evils and taboos in Afghan society.

657 Sadat, H, M., The Afghan Experience Reflected in Modern Afghan Fiction (1900- 1992). 2008, p 296. 658Ibid., p 296. 659Ibid., p 299.

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Abdul Rehman Pazhwak and Najibullah Torwaynah, successful diplomats, remained effective in fiction writing during the period 1942-52. The subjects of their stories include the blend of historical events and characters, and folkloric tales of past civilizations on present day Afghan soil. Marg-e-Mahmud, Akhereen Khwarazem Shah, and Farzand-e-Roeygar are best stories by Torwaynah. Pazhwak focussed on folkloric stories to create his fiction. Besides, Abdur Ghafur Breshna, Ghulam Ghaus Khaibari, and Abdul Jalil Parwani are the story writers who also concentrated on past historical events. Moreover, Breshna‘s collection of short stories, Qisa-ha wa afsana-ha (Stories and Legends), published in 1973, and Jaday-e-afyun (The Opium Road) depicted British deceptive policies towards Afghans during the period 1800s and 1900s. Furthermore, Parwani‘s Jawan-e- Fedai and Tufangdaran-e-Khaibar focus the first Anglo-Afghan war.

Since 1952, novel began replacing mythical and historical events and characters in fiction with everyday contemporary people from bazars, streets, and rural provinces. The closeness of Prime Minister Daud Khan with the Soviet Union in 1953 made the penetration of socialist ideology and thought into Afghanistan possible, in form of distribution of books and publications. The translations of Russian books and novels were easily available. Asadullah Habib is the true representative of this socialist-realist thought in Afghanistan. His Sapid Andam (The White Physique), published in 1965, portrays marriage customs, parental control, woman‘s place in society, and class conflict. Karim Misaq, an ethnic Hazara, in his novel Arman (Ideal) depicts a rural peasants and farmers working on the land of the landowners. The peasants and farmers conclude that the land they

176 plough, belong not to the landowners but to those who work on it. Misaq‘s stories revolve around the plight of the Hazara.660

The literary fictions of Azam Rahnaward Zaryab and Akram Osman, embodying unique perspectives, are in line with the European socialist-existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sarter and Albert Camus.661 The works of these Europeans writers first influenced Iran, and then impacted Afghanistan to appeal a wide circle of writers. Sediq Hidayat, a famous Iranian novelist, influenced Afghan writers such as, Azam Rahnaward and Akram Osman. These Afghan writers popularized short story with somber themes such as, futility, cruelty, treachery, and enslavement.662 The short stories of Azam Rahnaward such as, Zanjeer (chian), Dost-e az shar-e dur (Friend in a Remote city), and Naqsh-ha wa pindar-ha (Images and Thoughts) reflect that literary blend.663 Besides, Mard-ha re qaul ast (A Man Keeps his Promise), Daracula and His Disciple, are Akram Osman‘s best short stories; the first explores the traditional code of honour among men in Afghanistan, while the second, depicts a thin account of Taraki and Hafizullah Amin.

Before 1978, the literary community in Afghanistan, though remained always critical of the government, had been split into two obvious divisions; the critics and the soothsayers. After the communist

660Ibid., p 305. 661Ibid., p 305. 662 Dupree, H, N. Conscription of Afghan Writers: An Aborted Experience in Socialist Realism. Central Asia survey, Vol 4, No 4, pp 69-87, printed in Great Britain, 1985. Retrieved from http://www.afghandata.org:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/azu/4323/azu_acku_pamphl et_pk6561_i5_d87_1985_w.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y on 09-03-2016 663 Sadat, H, M., The Afghan Experience Reflected in Modern Afghan Fiction (1900- 1992). 2008, p 305.

177 coup in 1978, the split further polarized. The government propagated literary themes of realism, class conflict, exploitation of foreign imperialist powers, and condemnation of traditional and conservative customs.664 According to N. Dupree, this era also contained writings having themes of revolutionary activism.665 Stories of Babrak Arghand such as, Rah-e Sorkh (Red Path), Daftar-cheh Sorkh (Red Notebook), and Haq-e Khoda Haq-eHamsaya (God‘s Right, Neighbour‘s Right), reflect revolutionary activist trend.666 Besides, Asadullah‘ Habib‘s Nazargul and Das-ha wa Dast-ha (Sickles and hands) portray educated peasants and students fighting loyally in defense of their party and revolution. The story of Torpaykai Qayum Wa sokut shikast (And Broken Silence) advocated Saur Revolution in Afghanistan.

During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, some writers cooperated with the Afghan government (communist), or remained in the country while, others joined the ranks of Mujahideen factions (resistance) based in Pakistan and Iran, or fled to live as common refugees. Some of these writers worked freely in societies outside Afghanistan. Spogmai Zaryab was the representative writer of resistance literature in Afghanistan during the period 1980s and early 1990s. Those writers, who were not officials in the government, members in the state-run party, or in good standing with the government, became the part of resistance literature. Still critical of the government, this group did not promote its overthrow.667 Their stories

664Ibid., p 306. 665 Dupree, H, N., The Conscriptions of Afghan Writers, 1985 pp 69-87. 666 Sadat, H, M., The Afghan Experience Reflected in Modern Afghan Fiction (1900- 1992). 2008, p 306. 667Ibid., p 306.

178 focused anti-government propaganda, spreading of Islamic teachings, and past and imaginary legends of heroes and military commanders.

No novelistic themes or styles written in Afghanistan during the period 1992-2001 could be found to raise awareness of this dark period. However, diaspora Afghan novel flourished. Muhammad Asif Sultanzadah, was the prominent novelist of this period. Born in 1964 in Kabul, he attended French model Lycee Istiqlal in Afghanistan. He fled Afghanistan for Iran in 1985, fearing imprisonment and repression during Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Spending around two decades in Iran, he fled for Denmark in 2003. Sultanzadah wrote six stories in total such as, Dap-e Shahana (The Royal Feast), Muarifa (Introduction), Dotahi Pasha (The Two of Mosquito), Damad-e Kabul (The Bridegroom of Kabul), Ta Mazar (To Mazar), and Komita-e Kaifar (The Punishment committee). Dotahi Pasha portrays the ethnic conflict in Kabul during 1990s when the city was split between different ethnic zones. Militia of each ethnic group controlled a specific area and did not allow entering other ethnicities into their zone. His stories deal with taboo topics from Afghanistan‘s dark period (1992-2001) such as, genocide, rape, war crimes, psychological trauma, religious extremism, ethnic discrimination, and poverty. They highlight how ordinary human beings become savage and inhuman668, and how the militia groups and the civil war in Afghanistan made difficult the lives of ordinary people. Thus, Dari novel in Afghanistan flourished in the 20th century, reflecting societal realities.

668 Sadat, H, M., War crimes and Psychological Trauma: Afghan Diaspora Fiction on Afghanistan. UCLA Asia Institute, Los Angeles., 2012. Accessed from http://international.ucla.edu/media/files/Sadat_PoCA_3-uz-sp2.pdf on 15-9-2016

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4.7 AFGHAN NOVEL IN PASHTO

Pashto novel got inspiration from the Urdu novel, and in turn, the Urdu novel got inspiration from the English novel. The first English novel Robinson Crusoe written by Daniel Defoe published in 1719 in London, while the first Urdu novel Miratul Uroos written by Deputy Nazir Ahmad (1830-1912) in 1818, published in 1869 in Lahore.669 The first Pashto novel Be-Tarbiata Zoi written by Noor Muhammad Taraki was published in Kabul magazine in 1939. The difference is evident in the origins of novel in English, Urdu and Pashto respectively.

In 1869, the Urdu novel Miratul Uroos was translated into Pashto titled Naqsh-e-Nagin, by Mian Haseeb Gul Kakakhel.670 Later on, the Urdu novel, Tabatun Nasooh, written in 1878, also translated into Pashto by Mian Muhammad Yousaf Kakakhel, which was published by New Press Rawalpindi in 1905.671 Therefore, the Pashto novel appeared in translated form from Urdu. One of the pioneer Pashto indigenous novels, Mah Rukh ya Natija-e-Ishq, was written by Syed Rahat Zakheli (1884-1963) in 1912.672 Divided into 12 chapters, the novel is written in Pashto prose, but in the text, there is available some Persian and Pashto poetry; some Urdu poetry also exists. At the end of the novel, the writer has written ―Tamat Shud, Hissa Awal‖ (The End, Part-I).673 Part-II of the novel is un-available; thus the work

669Maryam, B., Da Pakhto Novel Yawa Tajziyati Mutaliaa. (Unpublished PhD. Diss., Pashto Department. University of Peshawar, 2004) 670Azam, A, M., Pakhto Afsana: Tehqiq ao Tanqid. Azam Publishing House, Peshawar, 1976. 671Maryam, Da Pakhto Novel Yawa Tajziyati Mutaliaa, 2004, p 595. 672Ibid., 189. 673 Rahat Zakheli, Novel da Mah Rukhi (Natija-e-Ishq), (Kabul: Da Kabul Pohantoon Farhangi Shura, 1944), 190.

180 is fragmentary. Abdur Rashid, a Pashto critic, considers in his book, Da Pakhto Wrombay Novel, published in 2014, that this novel might be translated from Persian into Pashto, because, the names and characters used in the novel seem not indigenous Pashto rather Dari. Three Pashto novels contest for the origin of first Pashto novel: Mah Rukh ya Natija-e-Ishq, written by Rahat Zakheli, in 1912, Be-Tarbiyata Zoi by Noor Muhammad Taraki, in 1939, and Paighla by Sahibzada Muhammad Idrees in 1950. Critics are divided about the origin of Pashto novel. Hanif Khalil, a Pashto novel critic, argues that Paighla may be considered the first Pashto novel because it is complete in terms of story and artistic techniques. He further argues that neither Mah Rukh ya Natija-e-Ishq nor Bai-Tarbiyata Zoi, is the first Pashto novel, because both are fragmentary, and have technical weaknesses.674 Muhammad Azam Azam, another Pashto critic, considers Paighla as the first Pashto novel.675 But Bibi Maryam and Abdur Rashid, the Pashto scholars, think differently; the former consider Mah Rukh ya Natija-e-Ishq as the first novel, while the latter consider Be-Tarbiyata Zoi, the first Pashto novel. According to Abdur Rashid, the names and environment in the novel, Mah Rukh ya Natija- e-Ishq are not indigenous Pashto; the characters of Mah Rukh and Shamsul Nazir, seem not indigenous Pashto, rather Persian, even the story does not reflect local domestic culture, and therefore, the novel may be considered translated from Persian: the novel is fragmentary, its second part is unavailable. Another critic, Muhammad Sadiq Zhrak, mentions that the first part of Be-Tarbiyata Zoi published in installments in March/April 1939 (pages, 88-92), while its second part

674 Hanif Khalil, Pakhto Novel: Tehqiqi Ao Tanqidi Jaiza. Lahore: Millat Educational Printers, 2000, pp 44-46. 675Azam, Pakhto Afsana: Tehqiq ao Tanqid. 1976, p 73.

181 published in April/May 1939 (pages, 85-86) in Kabul magazine.676 It is also considered fragmentary. Abdur Rashid even criticizes Hanif Khalil and others who consider Be-Tarbiyata Zoi as reflection of socialist-political ideas, propagated by Noor Muhammad Taraki, for which the novel is commonly believed, was banned by the government. He argues that the understanding of the novel has been distorted which is a reformative novel about giving education to the youth. There is no such word against religion, Khan, Mulla or the government in the novel. Taraki, later, admitted in an interview to a newspaper that the novel‘s other installments had not been published,677 concluding the novel as fragmentary. Taraki‘s other novels include: Sangsaar, published in 1979, Sara, published in 1943, Spin and Da Bang Musafri both published in 1958, and Moochi.678 Concludingly, Be-Tarbiata Zoi being indigenous Afghan novel, may be considered the first Pashto novel in Afghanistan. During the period 1912-2014, 105 Pashto indigenous-novels were published.679 Syed Nazeem Syedi has mentioned 141 published novels in his book, Navel Ba Sanga Liko.680 The famous include; Mafrur (1963), Mamonai (1963), Khudkushi (1972) and Shamai (1975) written by Syed Rasul Rasa. Rehman Koruna (1974) , Wada Wo Na Sho (1997) and Karkach (2009) by Sher Zaman Taizai, Heeray ao Eeray (1978) by Matoo Khan, Nawe Kol (1972) by Saghar Apridey, Da Abdali Toora (1973) by Ghulam Ghos Khaibarey, Khaperay (1975) and Meena ao Farz (1976) by Habib Afghani, Banzay (1987) by Ghazi

676Rashid Ahmad, Da Pakhto Wrombay Novel. Peshawar: Zeb Art Publishers, Mohalla Jhangi, 2014, pp 23-30. 677Ibid., pp 29-33. 678Ibid., pp 52-53. 679Ibid., pp 52-58. 680Syedi, N, S., Navel Ba Sanga Liko. Jalal Abad: Momand Khaprendwoya Tolana, 2010, pp 144-151.

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Sayal, Kota Sikka (1988) by Pervez Sheikh, Gham Makawa (1997), Fikr Makawa (1997), Aasra Makawa (1997) and Siasat Makawa (1997) by Muhammad Hassan Khan Khalil, Da Dasht-e-Loot Musafar (1996) and Allah ao Bhagwan (2004) by Painda Muhammad Khan, Ka Ranra Shwa (1998) by Salma Shaheen, Malaka (2011) by Syeda Haseena Gul, Kanro ke Ragoona (2000) by Tahir Apridey, Da Azadai Nangiyali (2002) by Sabir Hijazi and Majnun (2009) by Mubarak Shah Daudzai.681 According to Bibi Maryam, many foreign novels were translated into Pashto from French, English, Russian, Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Bengali during 1932-1997.682 She has mentioned 46 translated novels from other languages into Pashto,683 however, Syed Nazeem Syedi noted 99684 such novels. According to Syedi, amongst these, included, 40 novels translated from Urdu (mostly from Nasim Hijazi‘s novels), 15 from English, 15 from Russian and 14 from Persian. Most of these translations made by the writers of Afghanistan in the 20th century; the Pashto writers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have little contributions in this regard.685 Below are mentioned some of the translated novels from foreign languages into Pashto686;

I. Badal (containing 280 pages) was translated in 1959 by Sahibzada Abdur Rehman, from the English novel, Montezuma‟Daughter originally written by Sir H.Rider

681Ibid., pp 52-58. 682Maryam, 2004, p 592. 683Ibid., pp 592-596. 684Syedi, 2010, pp 151-60. 685Maryam, pp 592. 686 Syedi, 2010, pp 347-391.

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Haggard in 1893. II. Akhri Chatan, was translated by Syed Akram Bacha, from Urdu novel of Nasim Hijazi of the same name. III. Baghbaan, translated by Muhammad Yousaf Ayazi, from a Bengali novel of Robindar Naath Taigor. IV. Bayozlaan, an historical novel, translated by Abdul Hai Habibi, from Dari translation of Les Miserable written by Victor Hugu, published in Tulu-e-Afghan. V. Panra Woraizhda (containing 187 pages) translated from Persian by Saleh Muhammad Saleh in 2002, published by Danish Kutub Khana Peshawar. VI. Tagai Musafar, translated by Amin Afghan, from Russian novel of Makhil Sadoanov, published by Kabal Dolati Matbaa in 1991. VII. Tabatun Nasuh (containing 440 pages) translated by Mian Haseeb Gul Kakakhel, from deputy Nazir Ahmad‘s novel, published by New Press Rawalpindi in 1905. VIII. Tom Sawyer, translated by Dolat Muhammad Lodin, from the American novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer written by Mark Twain, published by Pakhto Tolanai Dolati Matbaa, Kabul in 1964. It contains 332 pages. IX. Da Khan Ghaiz (containing 217 pages) translated by Yousaf Sabir, from a Russian novel by Tolstoy, published by Da Afghanistan Likwalo Anjuman Dolati Matbaa in 1989. X. Zor Sarey ao Seend, (containing 76 pages) translated by Saaduddin Shpoon, from The Old man and The Sea, an American novel written by Ernest Haminguay, published by Pakhto Tolanai Kabul Dolati Matbaa in 1961.

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XI. Firdous ya Bla Nishta, (containing 191 pages) translated by Shahjehan Wagaryaal, from an Arabic novel written originally in 1987 by Nawal El Sadawi, published in 1996. XII. Marghlara, (containing 120 pages) translated by Engr. Muhammad Nabi, from John Steinbeck‘s novel The Pearl, published by Pakhto Tolanai Afghanistan Dolati Matbaa in 1978. XIII. Nan Shpa Okhke Toyegi, translated in 1966, by Syed Nazeem Syedi, from a Persian novel.687 XIV. Shaheen, translated by Muhammad Zubair Shafiqui, from the Urdu novel of Nasim Hijazi in originally written in 1968. XV. Shpagama Kamra, translated by Sami uddin in 1948, from a Russian novel of Anthony Chinjof.688 XVI. Da Zanawaro Farm Ya Da Roosi Communism Hindara, translated into Pashto By Rasul Amin, from the English novel Animal Farm, written by George Arwil, published by Writers‘ Union of Free Afghanistan, N.Y.

Thus, Dari and Pashto novels written in the 20th century in Afghanistan reflected societal realities. The Pashto writers overwhelmingly remained writing novel in Pashto, while, the Dari writers focused Dari. The Pashto writers or Pashtun might switch over to Dari though, comparatively focussed Pashto literature. The non- Pashtun (Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara etc) preferred to write in Dari than Pashto. Because, they can understand well Dari than Pashto, or their languages have more or less connection with Dari (Persian). So, this split of medium stands in novel writing tradition in Afghanistan.

687Ibid., p 160. 688Ibid., p 155.

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Besides, the political developments in the 20th century made novel more dynamic: the import of translations of foreign novels along with the socialist ideology stirred the imagination of Afghan novelists and short story writers to criticize society, politics and the government. Consequently, towards the end of 20th century, novel writing in Afghanistan became a common medium to reflect societal realities.

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4.8 CONCLUSION

The genre of novel originated in Afghanistan in the early 20th century. Subsequently, novel evolved to a great extent in Afghanistan. Understanding depiction of Afghan society in the Afghan novel in the 20th century was important before interpreting the ethno-political culture in The Kite Runner. Dastan existed in Afghanistan prior to the advent of novel in the early 20th century. Novel imported into Afghanistan in translated form from French through Turkish sources. Mehmud Beg Tarzi, founded, edited Sirajul Akhbar (1911-1918), the first newspaper of Afghanistan, and published western novels in it. Sirajul Akhbar becoming the medium of publication for prose and fiction, acquainted Afghans with French novels such as, The Hidden Island, and the Tragedies of Paris. English novels written by Lilies Hamilton and Rudyard Kipling, set in Afghanistan such as, A Vizier‟s Daughter: A Tale of the Hazara War, Kim, and The Man Who Would Be King influenced the novel writing tradition in Afghanistan. These works, not only, acquainted the Afghan with novel, plot, characterization, and realism (non-existent in dastan), but also, opened the way for writing realistic novels in indigenous languages. Sirajul Akhbar flourished for a very short period (1911-1918) with limited circulation. However, it introduced novel. Novel influenced Afghans to write realistic stories in their own native language. This led them to create the first Afghan novel in Dari and Pashto respectively; Jihad-e Akbar, in 1919, and Be-Tarbiata Zoi in 1939. Following in the 20th century, Tajik/Soviet/Russian/Kirghiz/Persian and American novels impacted the Afghan novel, the important include; Tajiki and Kyrgyz novels; Margi Sudkur, Yatim, Gulomon, and Jalladon-e Bokhara by Sadriddin Ayni, Jamila by Chingez Aitmatov; American novels, White

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Fang and The Grapes of Wrath by Jack London‘s (1876-1916) and John Ernst Steinbeck‘s (1902-1968). Paighla (1950), and Be-Tarbiata Zoi (1939) in Pashto, and Jihad-e Akbar (1919), and Begum (1930s) in Dari, are the famous indigenous Afghan novels written in the 20th century, reflecting societal realities. Presently, Afghan domestic as well as diaspora novel writers are equally working hard to highlight societal realities in Afghanistan. Khaled Hossenei is one of the Afghan diaspora.

In the last four chapters, efforts have been made to make the conceptual base/ground for the main chapter of the work: Ethnic Politics in The Kite Runner. Thus, keeping the background in view on the topic, the following chapter shall analyze and interpret the discourse of ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara in Afghanistan as depicted in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hossenei.

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CHAPTER 5: 5. ETHNIC POLITICS IN THE KITE RUNNER

5.1 INTRODUCTION

In the context of the discussion in chapters one to four, this chapter shall examine the discourse of ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara in Afghanistan as depicted in the text of The Kite Runner by Hossenei. It argues that the discourse of ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara coupled with internal orientalism embedded the text of the novel. The novel is about ethnic differences,689 familiar Us and Them, Otherness, and discourse of knowledge and power. To explore the discourse of ethnic disparity in the novel, Michel Foucault method of discourse analysis has been applied in this chapter. Hossenei‘s relevant statements regarding ethnic: disparity; polarity; divisions especially, between the Pashtun and Hazara, have been analyzed and interpreted. In the novel, Hossenei, an internal orientalist, has depicted Pashtun: superior but treacherous; unimaginative, brutal, and aberrant, while Hazara, inferior but loyal; imaginative, humane, and protector. The novel and the movie based on the novel were received well in the Western capitals, but, according to Latif Ahmadi, the director of the state-run company Afghan Film, some of the movie‘s scenes aroused tensions between some Afghan ethnic groups in Afghanistan, therefore, the movie was

689 Christy Rieger, as instructor, taught The Kite Runner at college level in the USA. She has found that students took great interest in reading it. She taught them to understand the cultural differences embedded in the text of the novel. Her questions focussed on the language of the text, and highlighted ways in which race, ethnicity, class, nationality, and gender informed the story. However, the history of ethnic conflict became the focus of class discussion. She urged that in order to understand The Kite Runner, it is necessary to understand the history of Afghanistan well.

189 banned in the country. However, Ahmadi further informs that the novel was not banned, because, it was written in English, and most Afghans could not read it in English.690 Besides, though Hossenei claims to have a deeper understanding of history and culture of Afghanistan, however, one finds him wanting in knowledge of indigenous cultural history. He is a story-teller, who presents his orientalist views in a fictional art form. Rather, he may be considered a tourist in his own country. Hossenei falsely claims that the socio-political issues in Afghanistan were never discussed in depth in fiction prior to The Kite Runner;

―The romanticized Afghanistan…………probably never existed. That society had warts and pimples that no one talked about………strangely, no one talks about to this day……...this book……..finally putting a human face to the Afghans………it is true that our people have been in fiction at least, faceless and voiceless for far too long.‖691

Prior to Hossenei, Afghan novel writers have been writing about the warts and pimples in Afghan society, they include; Mehmud Beg Tarzi (1865-1933), Noor Muhammad Taraki (1917-1979), Asadullah Habib (b.1941-), Akram Osman (b.1937-), Azam Rahnaward (1944-), Muhammad Asif Sultanzadeh (b.1964-), Abdur Ghafur Breshna (1907-1974), Ghulam Ghaus Khaibari, Abdul Jalil Parwani, Babrak Arghand (b.1949-), and Karim Misaq (1937-2016) etc (discussed in detail in Chapter 3). The novels and literary pursuits of these writers‘ deal with class conflict, political deprivation, cruelty, enslavement, conflict, development, progress. Besides, after the

690 Wafa, W, A., „The Kite Runner‟ Film Outlawed in Afghanistan. January 16, 2008. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/world/asia/16kiterunner.html 691 Sadat, Kite Flying, Kite Running, Kite Banning. 2004. Accessed from http://studylib.net/doc/6863227/eng-4uthe-kite-runner-afghan-history--kite-flying-- kite-r... On 02-05-2016.

190 promulgation of 1964 Constitution in Afghanistan, the political parties such as, Khalq, Parcham, Sitm-e Milli, and Shula-e Javid propagated and published their views not only in forums, pamphlets and organs, but also in novel to reform the Afghan society. Hossenei has not just been aware of such indigenous Afghan writings in Pashto, Dari, or Hazargi etc.

5.1.1 HOSSENEI, AS AN OUTSIDER

The Saur Revolution in Afghanistan, in 1978, triggered a cycle of wars and upheaval for nearly two decades. Prior to Soviet intervention in 1979, and ensuing war in Afghanistan, Hosseini had already left Afghanistan. In 1976, he visited and began living in Paris, and proceeded to the United States in 1980, resided there during the 1980s-90s. He briefly visited Afghanistan in 2003 after the 9/11 in 2001. The Kite Runner narrates the story of two young Afghan boys, having diverse ethnic identities, at the backdrop of three decades of war and political turmoil in Afghanistan (1973-2001). Hossenei‘s lack of vernacular knowledge, and his long absence from the political and cultural setting in Afghanistan, makes him an outsider to his own country. He has not witnessed the socio-political turmoils in Afghanistan during the period 1979-2001. Amir, the protagonist states in The Kite Runner,

―I feel like a tourist in my own country.‖692

Farid (Tajik) responds to Amir,

―You have always been a tourist here; you just didn‘t know it.‖693

692 Hossenei, 2004, p 203.

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At another place in the novel, Amir admits before Farid that he remained outside Afghanistan during the political turmoil in his country,

―twenty years earlier, I had seen some of the first war with my own eyes (1979). The second war (1980s), I had watched on my TV screen, and now, I am seeing it (2001) through Farid‘s eyes.‖694 Janette Edwards notes, how parallels between author and character seem to position Hosseini himself as an outsider to Afghan identity. Through interviews with Afghan-Americans, Edwards exposed Hosseini‘s view, whose voice was not authentic and motives suspect. For her, Hosseini was a son of a diplomat, spending most of his life outside Afghanistan, before he immigrated to the United States in early 1980s. His early departure from Afghanistan, and reckless devising of characters and situations in The Kite Runner, certainly demonstrates that he did not really know the fabric of the Afghan society. The contest of authorial power based on the accusation of an inauthentic Afghan identity speaks to the broader strains.695 Edwards quoted Hosseini‘s response to criticisms of The Kite Runner, that his Western sensibility,696 and his attachment with his new home (the

693 Ibid., p 203. 694 Ibid., p 213. 695 Janette, E., Expatriate Literature and the Problem of Contested Representation: The Case of Khaled Hosseini‟s The Kite Runner. Inter-Disciplinary.net. 3 Sep. 2008. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/irfan/Downloads/Expatriate_Literature_and_the_Problem_of_Contest ed.pdf Accessed on 10-02-2015 696 Hossenei informs in Hindustan Times that I‘ve lived here for 30 years. Inevitably, American Western sensibilities have seeped into my identity and personality. Retrieved from http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/cover-story-the-afghan-story- teller-khaled-hosseini/story-akDFXNa674adnx22QMMLMO.html

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USA), made him to feel like that.697 Furthermore, Edwards articulates that, during the book signing event of The Kite Runner he attended in Fremont, the San Francisco, many took as the exposure of Hosseini‘s limited knowledge of Pashto or Dari, the major languages of Afghanistan. Rather, it would have, in turn, compromised his standing as a cultural insider.698

In the novel, Rahim Khan699 becomes sick in Peshawar in 2001. He calls Amir to visit him before he dies. Amir flies by air at once from the USA to see him. Rahim Khan wants Amir to save Sohrab (Hassan‘s son) from the clutches of Taliban in Afghanistan. Initially, Amir seems reluctant to visit Kabul, refuses, and presents his reservations. His reservations were,

―Why me?...... I have a wife in America, a home, a career, and a family. Kabul is a dangerous place, you know that, and you‘d have me risk everything for…...‖.700

At another excerpt, when Rahim Khan tells Amir the story of sterility of Ali, and how to save Sohrab from the clutches of Taliban in Kabul, Amir does not pay heed to him, but just thinks about himself. He becomes selfish. Thus, Amir informs,

―But I didn‘t want to hear the rest of it. I had a good life in California, pretty Victorian home with a peaked roof, a good marriage, a promising writing career, in-laws who loved me. I didn‘t need any of this shit.‖701

697 Grossman, L., The Kite Runner Author Returns Home,‘ Time, 17. May 2007, viewed on 26 June, 2008, Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1622583,00.html 698 Janette, 2008, p 6. 699 The Pashtun character in The Kite Runner and friend of Baba. 700 Hossenei, 2004, pp 193-194. 701 Ibid., p 195.

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Hossenei‘s selfishness reveals from his response to a question posed in an interview by Michael Mechanic, a Western journalist, Hossenei explains that president Karzai, once announced his call to the Afghan refugees at Georgetown, in 2002, asking, ―come back to Afghanistan.‖ A lot of people took up that call but Hossenei did not. When asked, Afghanistan needed doctors desperately, Hossenei responded,

―I have to be honest. I didn‘t. I was married and I had a young boy, and I could imagine neither detaching myself from them nor taking them to Afghanistan, so for me it just never seemed like an option‖.702

Intsab Rahi writes that the comprehensiveness of a book of novel is inherent in the way all the elements, plot, characters, incidents and setting interact with each other. Setting is a tool to build an entire narrative around. The novels of Hossenei are set in Afghanistan, which is one of the factors of gigantic popularity of his novels.703 There are writers who have not visited Afghanistan and have written about it. Hossenei is one of them; he has not visited Afghanistan during the period of political turmoil (1979-2001) and written a novel about Afghanistan. He may not be considered an insider, rather an outsider. Hossenei has just remembered his childhood days in Kabul. He has talked about his childhood‘s experiences in several interviews: but never mentioned himself indulged in the culture and society of Afghanistan during the period 1979-2001. His association with Afghanistan has not more than a tourist.

702Mechanic, M., Khaled Hosseini, Kabul's Splendid Son (Extended Interview). June 2009. Retrieved from http://www.motherjones.com/media/2009/05/mojo-interview- khaled-hosseini-kabuls-splendid-son-extended-interview Accessed on 12-03-2015 703 Intsab Sahi, Setting a Story, The News, 21st February, 2016

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5.1.2 THE IDEA OF AMERICA IN THE KITE RUNNER

Edward Said has described in Orientalism that the focus of the orientalists always remained the western reader. They wrote from the perspective of western reader, rather the emphasis never was the orient. He informs,

―None of the orientalists I write about seems ever to have intended an Oriental as a reader. The discourse of Orientalism, its internal consistency and rigorous procedures, were all designed for readers and consumers in the metropolitan West.‖.704

The emphasis in The Kite Runner is undoubtedly upon the American reader. Hossenei designed the novel for American audience,705 and praised everything American by highlighting orientalist viewpoint. He hailed America, Britain, and Israel, however, loathed Russia. The praise of America, and abhorrence of Russia seemed binding in the novel, because, without this, the novel would not have gained that popularity what it achieved in America and the world. Amir reports in the novel,

―Baba loved the idea of America.‖706

Amir further reports that during walks with Baba in Fremont, they had a long discussion on politics. Baba would emphasis,

―There are only three real men in this world: America the brash savior, Britain, and Israel. The rest of them---they‘re like gossiping old women.‖707

704 Said, 2003, p 337. 705 Aubry, T., Afghanistan Meets the „Amazon‟: Reading The Kite Runner in America. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25614246 Accessed 20-02-2016 706 Hossenei, 2004, p 109. 707 Ibid., p 109.

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Baba loathed Jimmy Carter (b.1924-)708 because, for him, he proved unfit to run America. However, he loved Ronald Reagon (1911-2004).709 When Reagan called on TV the Soviet Union, the Evil Empire, Baba bought his picture and hanged it next to his picture with King Zahir Shah (1914-2007)710 in the hallway.711 For Amir, America proved the place to forget his memories.712 At a restaurant, Baba stood and raised his beer, spilled it on the floor, and yelled, ―Fuck the Russia‖.

The United States and the Soviet Union had been competing during the Cold War (1945-1991) and the rivalry between their ideologies; communism713 and capitalism,714 led the two states to challenge each other in strategic, economic and political sphere. They fought proxy wars in Vietnam, Korea, and Afghanistan. A great

708 James Earl Carter Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the Governor of Georgia prior to his election as president. Carter has remained active in public life during his post-presidency, and in 2002 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the Carter Center. 709Ronald Wilson Reagan was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Before his presidency, he was the 33rd Governor of California, from 1967 to 1975, after a career as a Hollywood actor and union leader. 710Mohammed Zahir Shah (r. 1933-1973) was the last King of Afghanistan. He established friendly relations with many countries and tried to modernize his country. While staying in Italy for medical treatment, Zahir Shah was overthrown in a surprise coup in 1973 by his cousin and former prime minister, Mohammed Daoud Khan. He remained in exile near Rome until 2002, returning to Afghanistan after the end of the Taliban. He was given the title Father of the Nation, which he held until his death in 2007. 711 Hossenei, 2004, p 110. 712 Ibid., p 112. 713 A theory or system of social organization in which all property is owned by the community and each person contributes and receives according to their ability and needs. 714 An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.

196 contention existed between them.715 The rivalry is highlighted in The Kite Runner. Baba suffered from cancer in America and Amir took him to the doctor. During the treatment, Baba asked the doctor where he was from. The doctor said Russia. Baba at once stood up and left the room. Amir told Baba that the doctor was from Russia, but settled in America. Baba responded that he did not care where he was from, but, he was Roussi (Russian).716 However, Baba approved Dr Armani, an Iranian for his treatment. Besides, Amir informs that American movies were shown in the cinema during his childhood in Kabul.

―We saw Rio Bravo three times, but we saw our favorite Western, The Magnificent Seven, thirteen times.‖717

Besides, Hossenei has used a simile by associating an English musician, John Lennon718 with the Taliban in the novel. When the two adulterers were stoned to death in the Ghazi stadium, Amir describes Assef, leader of Taliban, wearing glasses like an English musician,

―I saw he was wearing dark round sunglasses like the ones John Lennon wore.‖719

Both Amir and Hassan loved the Western movies. Once Baba brought a cowboy hat as birthday gift for Hassan. Amir alludes this hat

715 Toal, L, Cold War Contingencies: Rethinking the Inevitability of Post-World War II Super Power Conflict. 2014. Retrieved from http://repository.wellesley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1277&context=thesiscolle ction Accessed on 04-03-2017. 716 Hossenei, 2004, p135. 717 Ibid., p 23. 718 John Winston Ono Lennon (1940-1980) was an English guitarist, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beatles, the most commercially successful and musically influential band in the history of popular music. He and fellow member Paul McCartney formed a much-celebrated songwriting partnership. 719 Ibid., p 236.

197 to the Western movie, The Good, the Bad, the Ugly.720 Both the characters venerated the hat very much. Amir apprises,

―That whole winter, Hassan and I took turns wearing the hat, and belted out the film‘s famous music as we climbed mounds of snow and shot each other dead.‖721

Following the 9/11, the US-led coalition forces attacked Afghanistan in October 2001. Representatives of the key Afghan political, ethnic, and military factions, signed Bonn accord in December 2001, sponsored by UN, to establish a framework for the political reconstruction of Afghanistan. Ethnicity became the dominant theme in the Bonn conference due to the violent episodes of ethnic cleansing and ethnocide in Afghanistan in the 1990s. The Punjsheri Tajik722 occupied key positions in the interim government in 2001: Younis Qanuni was selected as Interior Minister, General Fahim as Defense Minister, while Dr. Abdullah Abdullah as Foreign Minister. However, Hamid Karzai (Pashtun), though politically weak, was selected as the President of Afghanistan. The Cabinet included 11 Pashtun, 8 Tajiks, 5 Hazara, and 3 Uzbek, the remaining 3 were drawn from other minority ethnic groups.723 This political change,

720It is a 1966 epic Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in their respective title roles. Its screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Leone (with additional screenplay material and dialogue provided by an uncredited Sergio Donati), based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone. Director of photography Tonino Delli Colli was responsible for the film's sweeping widescreen cinematography, and Ennio Morricone composed the film's score including its main theme. It was an international co-production between Italy, Spain, West Germany and the United States. 721 Ibid., p 39. 722 Rais, 2008, pp 126-127. 723 Schetter, C., Ethnicity and the Political Reconstruction in Afghanistan. Centre for Development Studies (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany. Retrieved from eprints.lse.ac.uk/28376/1/Schetter_LSERO_version.pdf

198 unprecedented in Afghanistan, signified power struggle in politics between the various ethnic groups.

Besides, in The Kite Runner, many American personalities and things such as, Henry Kissinger,724 Mark Twain, Coca Cola, and The Ford Mustang were hailed.725 Hossenei‘s Afghan-American identity obliged him to hail everything American in the novel. Thus, eulogizing everything American in the novel and veneration of America (West) as a savior state while Afghanistan (East) as brutal state is indicative of the orientalist approach.

5.1.3 DISPARITY IN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND CULTURE

Edward Said has argued that orientalism is fundamentally related to knowledge and power, or the discourse of both. These are interdependent and go together. He articulates,

―No more glaring parallel exists between power and knowledge in the modern history of philology than in the case of Orientalism.‖726

Treatment of disparity in language and literature exists in The Kite Runner. Ethnic politics in Afghanistan has put Pashto in

724Henry Alfred Kissinger, born in 1923, is an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Kissinger and his family were Jewish refugees who fled their native Germany in 1938 because of the Nazi government. He became National Security Advisor in 1969 and later concurrently United States Secretary of State in 1973. For his actions negotiating a ceasefire in Vietnam, Kissinger received the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize under controversial circumstances, with two members of the committee resigning in protest. Kissinger later sought, unsuccessfully, to return the prize after the ceasefire failed. 725 Hossenei, 2004, pp 18-23. 726 Said, 2003, p 344.

199 competition with Dari.727 This is evident that non-Pashtun prefer to adopt Persian/Dari culture and literature than Pashto. Preferably, Dari terms have been used in the novel to signify dominance of Dari culture in Afghanistan such as; shirini-khori (dinner served before engagement party), chapan (long coat), sholeh-goshti (braised lamb or beef, simmered with mung beans and rice), madar (mother), padar (father), Yelda (longest), khastagari (official proposal to marriage), bakhshida (forgiveness), balay (yes), bia (to lead along), chi (what), dil (heart), farsi (Persian), biwa (widow), buzkashi ( Afghanistan has two national games: Buzkashi and Volleyball; the former is played in the north of the country), chapandaz ( a master horseman in Buzkashi), ghamkhori (woeful situation), Uroosi (wedding ceremony), hadia (gift), hijab (veil), zindagi migzara (life goes on) etc. Pashto words have little useage. Not a single Pashto writer has been mentioned, hailed, or praised in the novel. Rather, the Dari writers728 and poets such as Firdousi, Khayyam, Rumi, and Hafez have been eulogized and emphasized. Amir mentions translated stories of Victor Hugo (1802- 1885)729 and Mark Twain (1835-1910)730 he read in Dari.731 Eclipsing of one culture, while eulogizing another, is internal orientalism.

727Saleh, A., The Crisis and Politics of Ethnicity in Afghanistan. June, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/06/201262013830446913.html Accessed on 20-04-2015 728 Firdousi, Khayyam, Rumi, and Hafez are the Persian poets, however, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Iran equally admire them, and sometimes claim them their home/national poets. 729 Victor Marie Hugo was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. He is considered to be one of the greatest and best-known French writers of all time. Outside of France, his best-known works are the novels Les Misérables, 1862, and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, 1831. In France, Hugo is known primarily for his poetry collections, such as Les Contemplations (The Contemplations) and La Légende des siècles (The Legend of the Ages). He produced more than 4,000

200

Besides, Amir alludes to the cultural elements of Pashtun by referring to naswar732 (tobacco) and the language, Pashto as sterotyping. He taunts Pashtun ethnicity by associating such cultural terms to Taliban and Pashtun in the novel. While ascribing such attachment and useage to Pashtun, Hossenei has tried to alienate Pashtun culture from Afghanistan. This is his internal orientalism. Amir informs,

―Their (Taliban) teeth were stained green with naswar...... I heard the creak of a door swinging open. Heard the guard say something in Pashto, in a hard voice.‖733 At another place, when Amir visits the Taliban leader in his office, a security talib checks him from head to toe. The talib passes derogatory remarks in Pashto while patting the legs of Amir. Presentation of Taliban in such manner highlights degraded conditions and their sexual proclivity. In this event, there is also a reference to the language of Pashto, the majority Pashtun speak. Hossenei has alienated Pashto, language of Pashtun. Amir informs,

―The armed men (talib) frisked me head to toe, patted my legs, felt my crotch. One of them said something in Pashto and they both chuckled.‖734 Besides, the Persian (Iranian) places and things such as, Isfahan,735 Mashhad,736 Herati rug, have been eulogized in the novel:

drawings in his lifetime, and campaigned for social causes such as the abolition of capital punishment. 730 Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. Among his novels are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called "The Great American Novel". 731 Hossenei, 2004, p 17. 732 A dark greenish matter made of tobacco most Pashtun daily put into their mouth. It gives them mental easement. 733 Ibid., pp 243-244. 734Ibid., p 240.

201 being a Hazara, Hossenei speak Hazaragi, a dialect of Dari; it is a language more acquainted with Persian (Farsi) than Pashto; while the Persians of Iran have Persian as their national language. Thus, the acquaintance with Persian language and culture have more importance for Hossenei than the Pashto. Even Amir refers to an old Iranian history book of his mother locked in her room, which he finds during a search. He articulates,

―I found one of my mother‘s old history books. It was written by an Iranian named Khorami.‖737 Shahnama is one of the most voluminous epics of world literature. It completed in 1010 AD, contained around 55,000 verses (each verse consists of two rhyming hemistiches, a prosodic structure of the Persian masnavi)738. It narrates the historical ancient kings of Iran from mythical beginnings till 651 AD. The work describes around four successive dynasties and their 50 kingdoms. Each dynasty represents the various phases of human history from the Iranian

735Isfahan, historically also rendered in English as Ispahan, Sepahan, Esfahan or Hispahan, is the capital of Isfahan Province in Iran, located about 340 kilometres (211 miles) south of Tehran.

736 Mashhad is the second most populous city in Iran and capital of Razavi Khorasan Province. It is located in the northeast of the country, close to the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Its population was 2,749,374 at the 2011 census and its built-up (or metro) area was home to 2,782,976 inhabitants including Mashhad Taman and Torqabeh cities. It was a major oasis along the ancient Silk Road connecting with Merv in the East. 737 Ibid., p 8. 738 Masnavi is the name of a poem written in rhyming couplets, or more specifically, "a poem based on independent, internally rhyming lines". Most masnavi followed a meter of eleven, or occasionally ten, syllables, but had no limit in their length. The masnavi consists of an indefinite number of couplets, with the rhyme scheme aa/bb/cc.Mathnawī have been written in Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish and Urdu cultures.

202 perspective.739 The most important Afghan literary depiction in The Kite Runner is of Shahnama. From it, Amir narrated to Hassan stories of Rustam and Sohrab. Thus, in the novel, When Hassan had, his son born, he named him Sohrab. Amir points out;

―Hassan favourite book was Shahnama, the tenth century epic of ancient Persian heroes.‖740 Amir again points out that he receives a letter from Hassan which was written in Dari;

―I unfolded the letter. It was written in Farsi (Dari)………I began to read.‖741

When Amir sees Surayya (his beloved/wife) for the first time, he was astonished to see her beauty. He compared her beauty with the beautiful wife of heroic character, Rostam (from Shahnama). Again, the allusion is made to the Persian literature and culture. Amir articulates,

―She (Surayya) had thick black eyebrows………and the gracefully hooked nose of a princess from old Persia---may be that of Tahmineh, Rostam‘s wife and Sohrab‘s mother from the Shahnamah.‖742

Hossenei is unaware of the modern Afghan indigenous- contemporary literature, and has not read great literary writers of the past such as, Mehmud Tarzi, Noor Muhammad Taraki, Asadullah Habib, Muhammad Asif Sultanzadeh etc. The bulk of Afghan literature was produced during the period (1978-1992) in Afghanistan, but

739 Casari, M, The Conceits of Poetry: Firdousi‟s Shahnama and the Discovery of Persian in the early Modern Europe. Retrieved from https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/La-Trobe-Journal-91-Mario-Casari.pdf Accessed on 04-03-2017. 740 Hossenei, 2004, p 25. 741 Ibid., p 188. 742 Ibid., p122.

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Hossenei remains unaware of it. The major reason is that he left Afghanistan for the West at the age of eleven. In the novel, disparity in language, literature and culture is evident. Hossenei has emphasized Dari (non-Pashtun) language and culture at the expense of Pashto (Pashtun).

5.1.4 DISPARITY IN EDUCATION

According to Van Dijk (b.1943-),743 most textbooks carry a nationalistic, ethnocentric, or racist view of the world. They represent underrepresentation, voicelessness, and stereotyping. The culture and history of minority groups are ignored, while, a few stereotypical cultural differences are emphasized, often negatively, in contrast to properties of the "own" group, nation, or culture. Although cultural differentiation and pride may be a feature of all or most groups, cultures, or countries, Western or white dominance is preferred by referring to "our" superior technology, culture, and political system. However, the third World countries and (black) minorities are portrayed as "backward" compared to "our" position and development, if not as "primitive," "lazy," and "stupid."744

Edward Said states that the Western writers have achieved great philological discoveries in comparative grammar. They were

743 Van Dijk is a scholar in the fields of text linguistics, discourse analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). With Walter Kintsch he contributed to the development of the psychology of text processing. Since the 1980s his work in CDA focused especially on the study of the discursive reproduction of racism by what he calls the 'symbolic elites' (politicians, journalists, scholars, writers), the study of news in the press, and on the theories of ideology, context and knowledge. 744Dijk, V, A, U., Structure of Discourse, and Structure of Power. p 48. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/fa12/dc86e46d68e1d46d2b186fa592ffd501459c.pdf Accessed on 02-05-2015

204 obligated to manuscripts brought from the East to Paris and London. In this way, Orientalism, developed two traits. First, a newly found scientific self-consciousness based on the linguistic importance of the Orient to Europe, second, a tendency to divide, sub-divide, and re- divide its subject matter without ever changing its mind about the Orient, as being always the same, unchanging, and uniform. Linguistic played quite a vital role in propagating Orientalism.745 Said informs,

―Almost without exception, every Orientalist, began his career, as a philologist‖.746 In The Kite Runner, text and context, literacy and education, and power and knowledge are intricately tied. Amir is depicted as being literate, while Hassan, illiterate. There is evident a vast gap of education between them. This suggests how Pashtun discriminated against other ethnic groups in education in Afghanistan, particularly the Hazara. Hassan remains deprived from reading and writing, and worked at home while Amir went to school for learning. Disparity in education is evident in school as revealed by Amir;

―school textbooks (in Afghanistan) barely mentioned them (Hazara) and referred to their ancestry only in passing.‖747 Besides, Shahnama suggests the theme of illiteracy in Afghanistan. Amir learned to read and write, however, Hassan did not. Hassan liked Shahnama very much.748 It covered human and political experience; from battles and romantic interludes to realistic descriptions and supernatural events; from intense meditations to

745 Said, 2003, p 89. 746 Ibid., p 89. 747 Hossenei, 2004, p 8. 748 Ibid., p 25

205 exploration of the depth of human doubt.749 The disparity in education between Amir and Hassan, suggests disparity in education between the educated Pashtun and uneducated Hazara in the novel.

5.1.5 THE NOTION OF TREACHERY

The concept of treachery and theft has been highlighted in The Kite Runner. Baba and Amir, the Pashtun characters, stereotypically, have the traits of betrayal, treachery, and deception. They betray characters in the novel. Though, Baba instructs Amir not to steal in life, however, he himself, commits theft. He lies on bed with Sanauber (Hassan‘s mother), makes her pregnant, becomes biological father of Hassan, and betrays Ali, whom he calls family. This is treachery on the part of Baba. However, his belief is that sin is a form to steal something from one's fellow. Likewise, Amir is also depicted treacherous when he betrays Hassan, his close friend, by not protecting him from molestation. The concept of theft, lies, and treachery is embedded in the novel. Baba, a wealthy businessman, supports the community by creating businesses for people, and building orphanages. He never discloses Hassan‘s birth to anyone but to Rahim Khan. Amir considers that it is the worst way to dishonor an Afghan by sleeping with his wife.750 The concept of treachery and theft in the novel, is intricately connected with ethnic disparity. Baba instructs Amir regarding theft thus;

―there is only one sin. That is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft………when you tell a lie, you steal

749 Casari, M, The Conceits of Poetry: Firdousi‟s Shahnama and the Discovery of Persian in the early Modern Europe. Retrieved from https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/La-Trobe-Journal-91-Mario-Casari.pdf Accessed on 04-03-2017. 750 Malik, A, M, Shah, K, S, Rashid, M, R., 2013, Vol 5, No 1.

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someone‘s right to truth. There is no act more wretched than stealing.‖751 As the plot progresses, Baba proves to be a liar and thief. He keeps his secrets with himself and tells no one except Rahim Khan. When Baba dies, Amir wonders to know the secrets about him from Rahim Khan. He begins to consider Baba thief of the worst kind, because he stole the sacred things; from Amir his brother (Hassan); from Hassan his identity; and from Ali, his honour, nang, and namoos.752 At the end of the novel, Amir astonishes to hear words of lies, treachery, and betrayals about Baba from Rahim Khan. Thus, Amir informs that it;

―made me see how my entire life, long before the winter of 1975, dating back to when that singing Hazara woman was still nursing me, had been a cycle of lies, betrayals, and secrets.‖753 5.1.6 THE PASHTUN

Pashtun and Taliban are synonymous for Hossenei in the novel. He considers Taliban Pashtun too. Both have been depicted vilifying. In the following two sections (The Pashtun, The Taliban), traits of Pashtun (superior, treacherous, unimaginative, brutal, aberrant) are examined as depicted by Hossenei. For Said, the impact of colonialism, of worldly circumstances, of historical development were to Orientalists as flies to wanton boys, killed, or disregarded, for their sport.754 Hossenei, an internal orientalist, has tried to make schism between the Pashtun and Hazara in the novel. At the backdrop of political turmoil, he describes how ethnic disparity, deprivation, and

751 Hossenei, 2004, p 16. 752 Ibid., p 197. 753 Ibid., p 197. 754 Ibid., p 106.

207 discrimination existed in Afghanistan. He admonishes that discussion of ethnic issues are taboo in Afghanistan, which shall be understood and debated. The very first two sentences in The Kite Runner, pregnant with ethnic connotation, indicate the treachery of Amir. This also seems foregrounding of ethnicity, and ethnic orientation of the text.755 Amir thus informs:

―I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of `1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek.‖756

The above lines signify the molestation of Hassan. They suggest that the narrator has undergone an important phase of life in childhood. The frame of ethnicity and ethnic violence in the very beginning of the novel, against a member of one ethnic group (the Hazara), is thematically noteworthy.757 The 1975 indicates the time period when Daud Khan, the Pashtun nationalist, ruled Afghanistan.

During childhood, Amir did not like to share Baba with Hassan. He is depicted selfish. Once Baba planned to visit Ghargha Lake,758 he asked Amir to let join Hassan too. But, Amir lied about Hassan to Baba, and said;

755 Malik, A, M., Murtaza, G., Shah, K., Representation of Power in The Kite Runner. David Publishing, 2014. Accessed from http://www.academia.edu/5668366/Representation_of_Power_Relationships_in_The _Kite_Runner Accessed on 02-01-2015. 756 Hossenei, 2004, p 1. 757 Malik, Shah, Mahmud, 2013, Vol 5, No 1. 758Ghargha or Qargha is a dam and reservoir in Afghanistan near Kabul. The reservoir and its peripheral areas provide for recreation facilities such as boating, surfing, golfing, etc. and has a hotel on its bank. There is a fishery development in the reservoir supported by a hatchery on its banks. Irrigation and hydropower developments have also been planned from the stored waters of the reservoir.

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―He (Baba) asked me to fetch Hassan too, but I lied and told him Hassan had the runs. I wanted Baba all to myself.‖759 At another place in the novel, Amir emphasizes ethnic and sect divisions between Pashtun and Hazara to highlight a permanent gulf. He realizes that history and religion cannot be overcome.760 He states,

―because history is not easy to overcome. Neither is religion. In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni, he was Shia, and nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing.‖761

Hossenei has focused that ethnic divisions and affiliations are strong in Afghanistan, a multi-ethnic state, wherein the concept of qawm is fluid; referring to kin, clan, village, tribe, ethnic/vocational/confessional group, profession, and/or nation. The population is divided into numerous groups at the local level; therefore, the term qawm is flexible, expandable, and contextual. When asked about identity, Pashtun will respond with their tribal connotation such as, Muhammadzai, Nurzai, Ahmadzai, Popalzai, and Sadozai, while non-Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara, Baloch, Nuristani will also have tribal or regional connotations (see chapter 1 for detail). According to Syed Askar Mousavi, the Constitution of Afghanistan, 1964 defines ―Afghan‖ as the national identity, however, non-Pashtun do not entertain such view. Mousavi argues that ―Afghan‖ is synonymous for Pashtun, which does not convey non-Pashtun‘s identities. He calls citizen of Afghanistan as ―Afghanistani‖ and asserts there exist no national identity in Afghanistan.762

759 Hossenei, 2004, p 12. 760Sadat, Afghan History: Kite Flying, Kite Running, and Kite Banning. 2004. Retrieved from http://studylib.net/doc/6863227/eng-4uthe-kite-runner-afghan- history--kite-flying--kite-r... Accessed on 02-05-2016. 761 Hossenei, 2004, p 22. 762 Mousavi, 1998, pp 10-13.

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For Blaut, nationalism is whole, fascism is its part, or the architype of nationalism. Generally, it has been existed, in some form, in every national movement, and liberation struggle, as literally part of the struggle.763 The early German nationalism carried two sets of originating circumstances; unifying the German states into a nation state; and the ideology that buttressed this political agenda. According to the ideology, the German nation was a superorganism, carrying a `will' and` spirit', while the German citizen, not independent of will or rights, was as cell, subject to its superordinate `will'. The Germanic doctrine romanticize the unity of the civil-community. Language remained the unifying trait of that community, and denied both the real freedom of the individual and the existence of internal conflicting classes.764 The old German nationalism transformed later into fascism.765 In The Kite Runner, Hossenei has borrowed the German nationalism and fascism, tried to associate it with the Pashtun nationalism in Afghanistan, and depicted Pashtun superior than Hazara. Assef‘s praised Hitler in the novel on several occasions. As Hitler was a German and he propagated the German nationalism too much. Hossenei, in the early chapters of the novel, highlights ethnic divisions in the novel. Assef (Pashtun) utters ethnocentric and chauvinistic words to Hassan (Hazara) after meeting in the bazar;

―Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. His people pollute our homeland, our watan. They dirty our blood………Afghanistan for

763 Blaut, 1987, p 77. 764 Marx, K, Engels, F., The Critique of The German Ideology. First Published in 1932. Progress Publishers, Germany, 1968. 765 Ibid., p 84.

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Pashtun, this is my vision…...too late for Hitler, but not for us.‖766

Assef tells Hassan again that he would request Daud Khan (President of Afghanistan) to expel these dirty Hazara from Afghanistan. It not only implies the elite and/or close relationship of Assef‘s parents to Daud Khan (himself a Pashtun), but also indicates tribalism of Pashtun, and how they consider Hazara as inferior immigrants to Afghanistan. Amir says,

―I‘ll ask the president to do what the king didn‘t have the quwat (courage) to do. To rid Afghanistan of all the dirty, Kasseef (filthy) Hazara.‖767 Then Assef addresses Amir and taunts him by saying,

―You are part of the problem, Amir. If idiots like you and your father didn‘t take these people in, we‘d be rid of them by now. They‘d all just go rot in Hazarajat where they belong. You‘re a disgrace to Afghanistan.‖768 Assef, a socio-path,769 was born to a Pashtun father and German mother. Hossenei has depicted him as bully, savage, chauvinistic, and ethnocentric. He associated Pashtun chauvinism with Nazism. Amir informs,770

―Born to a German mother and Afghan father, the blond, blue-eyed…...His well-earned reputation for savagery preceded him on the street. He walked the neighborhood like a Khan…...His word was law, and if you needed a little legal education, then those brass knuckles were just the right teaching tool.‖771

766 Hossenei, 2004, p 35. 767 Ibid., p 36. 768 Ibid., p 36. 769 A person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is anti-social, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. 770 Malik, Murtaza, Shah, 2014. 771 Hossenei, 2004, p 33.

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Assef presented Amir the book of Hitler as birthday gift that symbolizes Pashtun chauvinism in the garb of German fascism.

―It was a biography of Hitler.‖772

Besides, as grown up, both Assef (leader of Taliban) and Amir are engaged in dialogue at the house of the former. Assef stressed Amir to have pride in Pashtun culture, customs, and language, while used the metaphor of garbage for Hazara. This metaphor suggests Hazara as alien and a load to Afghanistan. Thus, Assef tells Amir,

―Like pride in your people, your customs, your language. Afghanistan is like a beautiful mansion littered with garbage, and someone has to take out the garbage.‖773

Furthermore, Hasan (as child) puts his slingshot at Assef, and asks him if he moves, would be shot in the eye. Assef becomes scared of Hassan. He does not move, but tells Hassan that he would wait for the revenge. Assef reacts to Hassan,

―You should know something about me, Hazara,‖ I ‗m a very patient person. This doesn‘t end today, believe me‖.774 The above lines depict Pashtun as superior, ethno-centric, and aggressive. Besides, cultural dichotomies between Pashtun and Hazara are highlighted In The Kite Runner. The culture of Pashtun is portrayed dominant, while that of Hazara, subordinate. Though, Hossenei portrays in the novel a story of friendship between the two young boys, however, neither Amir accepts Hassan as friend, nor Baba considers Ali as friend. Amir indicates,

772 Ibid., p 85. 773 Hossenei, 2004, p 249. 774 Ibid., p 37.

212

―None of his stories did Baba ever refer to Ali as his friend.‖775

Ali was sterile. Baba disgraced Ali by sleeping with his wife, Sanauber.776 Hassan was the illegitimate son of Baba. This implies how Baba negates his own principles and sayings about theft and guilt in the novel. Sex with Ali‘s wife suggests how Pashtun have been treacherous towards Hazara by disgracing them secretly, and how the former have deceived the latter in socio-political sphere in Afghanistan.

Though, Amir plays, walks, talks, and laughs with Hassan, but never considers him as friend. Amir reports,

―I never thought of Hassan and me as friends either. Not in the usual sense, anyhow. Never mind that we taught each other to ride a bicycle with no hands.‖777

The description of kite in the novel is symbolic. Kite stands for power, and the kite-fighting tournament symbolizes ethnic groups‘ struggles for political power. Kite fighters remain busy in cutting the opposition‘s kite. The kite fighter and kite represent hierarchical relationship in the Afghan society. Amir, the kite fighter, represents domination, power, control while, Hassan, the kite runner suggests subordination, weakness, and under control. Rather, a command-obedience relationship exists in the novel. Hassan is servant and assistant to Amir, the kite fighter in the novel. Amir informs,

―I was a good kite-fighter……every kite-fighter had an assistant, in my case, Hassan, who held the spool and fed the line.‖778

775 Ibid., p 22. 776 Malik, Shah, Mahmud, 2013, Vol 5, No 1. 777 Hossenei, 2004, p 22. 778 Ibid., pp 45-49.

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Thus, the kite has symbolic significance in The Kite Runner.779 Besides, in Kabul, catching the last fallen kite signified an honour, trophy, and admiration. It was a sign of success. Amir articulats,

―For kite runners, the most coveted prize was the last fallen kite of a winter tournament. It was a trophy of honour, something to be displayed on a mantle for guests to admire.‖780 Treachery of Pashtun is also highlighted in the molestation scene of Hasan. When Hassan was caught around by the three older Pashtun boys in the blind alley to molest him, Amir peeped into the alley, saw Hassan, then his sight focused on the kite, which Hassan held back. Here, importance of kite preceded for Amir than saving Hassan, his close friend. He becomes selfish and sacrifices Hassan for the kite to win Baba‘s favour and love. Amir apprises,

―Behind him, sitting on piles of scrap and rubble, was the blue kite. My key to Baba‘s heart.‖781 Amir once finds in her mother old Persian book how Pashtun suppressed and persecuted the Hazara in the late 19th Century. This historical suppression, inflicted upon Hazara by the Pashtun Amir Abdur Rehman (r.1880-1901), resulted into dispersion of Hazaras into three various directions; Iran, British Baluchistan (Quetta), and Czarist Russia besides, the large numbers of Hazara internally displaced. In The Kite Runner, Hossenei highlights not only the persecution and suppression of Hazara by brutal Pashtun but also, to emphasize a difference of Us and Them. Amir reads the book,

―An entire chapter dedicated to Hasan‘s people! (Hazara) In it, I read that my people, the Pashtuns, had persecuted and

779 Malik, Shah, Mahmood, 2013, Vol 5, No 1. 780 Hossenei, 2004, p 46. 781 Ibid., p 62.

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oppressed the Hazara……quelled them with unspeakable violence.‖782 According to Mousvi, the fear, hatred, and repression inspired by Amir Abdur Rehman persist to this day in the soul and minds of the people of Afghanistan, particularly the Hazara.783 Next week, Amir takes the book to school, and shows the chapter on Hazara to his teacher. The Pashtun teacher did not hail it, Amir states,

―He (teacher) skimmed through a couple of pages, snickered, handed the book back. ―That‘s the one thing Shia people do well‖, he said, picking up his papers, ―passing themselves as martyrs‖. He wrinkled his nose when he said the word Shia, like it was some kind of disease.‖784 Amir‘s justification for his irresolution to save Hassan from molestation brings us back to the ethnic hierarchies that informed his relationship with Hassan.785 Baba symbolized a form of power, and Amir aspired to gain that power by all means, even at the cost of his close friend, Hassan.786 The betrayal of Hassan made Amir reminiscent of his guilt throughout. He became very sad and contemplative about what he did to Hassan, and about his irresolution (not intervening). He blames himself for the blunder. However, he prioritizes Baba‘s smile and happiness. When Amir shows the kite to Baba, the latter becomes happy and takes the former in his arms. Amir selfishly feels happy in Baba‘s arms, and forgets about Hassan. He, thus, articulates,

―Did he know what I knew? And if he knew, then what would I see if I did look in his eyes? Blame? Indignation?...... guileless devotion?...... then a smile played

782 Ibid., p 8. 783 Mousavi, 1998, p 114. 784 Hossenei, 2004, p 8. 785 Rieger, C., Reading The Kite Runner in an American Classroom. 2011, p 4. Retrieved from https://ojs.library.dal.ca/C2/article/viewFile/3831/3501 Accessed on 04-06-2016. 786 Malik, Murtza, Shah, 2014

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on my father‘s lips. He opened his arms……. In his arms, I forgot what I ‗d done. And that was good.‖787

At another place, Amir describes the dream of Hassan and discloses himself as the monster in the dream that dragged Hassan to the bottom of the lake. Here, he confesses his treachery to Hassan and reveals,

―There is no monster, he‘d said, just water. Except he‘d been wrong about that. There was a monster in the lake. It had grabbed Hassan by the ankle, dragged him to the murky bottom. I was that monster.‖788 At another excerpt, Amir admits himself as liar and thief when he makes a plan of dismissing Hassan out of his house through Baba. After the molestation of Hasan, he did not tolerate his presence at his father‘s house. He wanted to get rid of him, so that he could not see him and his guileless devotion. Because, Hassan‘s presence reminded him his guilt, betrayal, and treachery. Therefore, in order to expel Hassan, Amir plans and hides his watch and some Afghani bills under Hassan‘s mattress and asks Baba whether he had seen his watch. Baba calls Hassan and asks him whether he had stolen the money and the watch. Showing his disloyalty, Hassan replies in ‗yes‘. Though, he did not steal the watch but told a lie and sacrificed himself for Amir. This depicts loyalty on the part of Hassan and treachery by Amir. Though Baba forgives Hassan, but Ali decides to leave the house after this event. When they leave, Amir becomes very sad, thus, Amir reveals,

―I was the snake in the grass, the monster in the lake. I wasn‘t worthy of this sacrifice; I was a liar, a cheat, and a thief.‖789

787 Hossenei, 2004, p 69. 788 Ibid., p 75. 789 Ibid., p 92.

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Story-writing is a creative art. It is linked with imaginative power. In The Kite Runner, both Amir and Hassan loved stories in childhood. Amir has been depicted unimaginative in the novel, rather, Hassan was portrayed imaginative than Amir. Once Amir narrates his own written (created) story to Hassan. The story is, ―there was a poor man who led a happy life. He found a magic cup, and learnt if he wept into the cup, his tears turned into pearls. As shedding tears was very difficult for such a happy man. However, he found ways to make himself sad, hence rich. Piling up of pearls grew his greed. The story ended, and the man, sitting on a mountain of pearls, knife in hand, wept helplessly into the cup with his beloved wife‘s slain body in his arms.‖790 When Amir ended the story, Hassan asked him why did the man kill his wife, couldn‘t he have just smelled an onion?791 This made Amir wondered. This highlights imaginative quality of Hassan, while unimaginative feature on the part of Amir. Thus, Hassan tells Amir the simple way to become rich. Hassan tells Amir the simple solution about the event;

―Couldn‘t he have just smelled an onion?‖792

Amir makes fun of Hassan while reading excerpts from Shahnama, and considers him illiterate. Hassan is found more creative than Amir. Amir would read to him poems, stories, and riddles. When Amir would stop reading or understanding a poem, stories, and riddles, Hassan would suggest to him and solve the problem on the spot. This would astonish Amir. Amir informs,

790 Ibid., p 27. 791 Ibid., p 29. 792 Ibid., p 29.

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―I read him poems and stories, sometimes riddles, though I stopped reading those when I saw he was far better at solving them than I was.‖793

Amir would read Hassan also funny stories of Mullah Nasiruddin794 and his donkey. They would sit for long, during day time, under the pomegranate tree, to read and listen to the stories. When the dark approached, Hassan would wished for more stories. It implies his love for knowledge.

―Hassan insisted we had enough daylight for one more story, one more chapter.‖795

5.1.7 THE TALIBAN

Edward Said in Orientalism, finds that orientalism could now be challenged, because, the 20th century has made people of the world aware politically and historically, and Orientalism has failed to identify with the experiences of human being.796 Said settles,

―I do believe…….that enough is being done today in the human sciences to provide the contemporary scholar with insights, methods, and ideas that could dispense with racial, ideological, and imperialist stereotypes of the sort provided during its historical ascendency. I consider Orientalism failure to have been a human as much as an intellectual one……..Orientalism failed to identify with

793 Ibid., p 24. 794 Nasiruddin or Nasreddin Hodja was a Seljuq satirical Sufi, born in Hortu Village in Sivrihisar, Eskişehir Province, present-day Turkey and died in 13th century in Akşehir, near Konya, a capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, in today's Turkey. He is considered a populist philosopher and wise man, remembered for his funny stories and anecdotes. He appears in thousands of stories, sometimes witty, sometimes wise, but often, too, a fool or the butt of a joke. A Nasiruddin story usually has a subtle humour and a pedagogic nature. The International Nasreddin Hodja festival is celebrated between the 5th and 10th of July in his hometown every year. 795 Hossenei, 2004, p 24. 796 Said, 2003, p 328.

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human experience, failed also to see it as human experience.‖797

Said has tried to explain that systems of thought like Orientalism, discourses of power, and ideological fictions are all too easily made, applied, and guarded. There exists an orientalist approach in The Kite Runner. Hossenei has portrayed Taliban aberrant and brutal in the novel. Though obviously pious, Taliban acted against the religious norm in the novel. They killed people on sectarian basis, hailed ethnic cleansing,798 raped girls and boys. Music was not bad as and when it played to Taliban‘ ears. Taliban banned social activities in Kabul such as, TV, music, and kite flying.

Prior to the couple alleged of adultery and stoned to death by the Taliban in the Ghazi stadium,799 a white-bearded cleric cleared his throat into a handheld microphone. He began reciting lengthy prayer from the Quran. Suddenly, Amir remembered something Baba had told him once about the religious people long time ago. He repeats words of Baba,

―Piss on the beards of all those self-righteous monkeys. They do nothing but thumb their rosaries and recite a book

797 Ibid., p 328. 798 Aubry, T., Afghanistan Meets the „Amazon‟: Reading The Kite Runner in America. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25614246 Accessed 20-02-2016 799 Ghazi Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kabul, Afghanistan, mainly used to play football. It is sometimes called by other names such as the Afghan Football Federation Stadium. It was built during the reign of King Amanullah Khan in 1923, who is regarded as Ghazi (Hero) for the Afghan victory in the Third Anglo-Afghan War and gaining independence for his nation after the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919. The stadium has the capacity to house 25,000 people. During the late 1990s the stadium was used as a venue for public executions by the Taliban government. The stadium is currently used mostly for football matches between teams from different provinces of the country as well as neighboring countries.

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in a tongue they don‘t even understand. God help us all if Afghanistan ever falls into their hands.‖ 800

The metaphor of monkeys used in the above lines for the Taliban is thus disgusting. The central tenet of Taliban‘s creed was to save Afghanistan from the armed clutches of the Mujahideen parties and to establish an Islamic state based on Sharia law.801 But in the novel, they brought destruction to state and society. On their way to Kabul, in 2001, to save Sohrab from the clutches of the Taliban, Farid (Tajik driver) describes Amir the wild and destructive conditions of Afghanistan under the Taliban rule;

―Kabul is not the way you remember it……...The wars had made fathers a rare commodity in Afghanistan………No shortage of police in this city. But you won‘t find kites or kite shops…….‖802

Amir responds to him that when he was child, he used to visit Jadeh Maywand (place in Afghanistan). There were shops, hotels, restaurants, neon lights, even kites. It was a beautiful and peaceful place. Farid again tells Amir that those peaceful days of Afghanistan are over now,

―But you won‘t find kites or kite shops on Jadeh Maywand or anywhere else in Kabul. Those days are over.‖803 Media is a source of information and entertainment. It plays vital role in the personality of people. However, in Afghanistan, Ahmad Rashid confirms that Taliban banned almost all social activities. He informs,

800 Hossenei, 2004, p 235. 801 Marsden, P, The Taliban: War and Religion in Afghanistan. Zed Books Ltd, London, New York. 2002, p 62. 802 Hossenei, 2004, pp 214-215. 803 Ibid., p 215.

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―TV, videos, satellite dishes, music, and all games including chess, football and kite-flying were banned.‖804 Music is allowed in Islam,805 however, some amongst Muslims consider it heresy. In The Kite Runner, Taliban hailed it. When Taliban brings Sohrab before Amir, Assef asks the talib to play music, and makes Sohrab to dance. They rejoiced while listening to the music and watching Sohrab to dance. Amir reports the hypocrisy of Taliban,

―I guessed music wasn‘t sinful as long as it played to Taliban ears.‖806

Amir compares the chest length beard of Taliban with Islamic sharia. Ironically, he criticizes Taliban version of Islam, and compares physical with the spiritual. He informs,

―an artificial beard, black and chest length, Sharia-friendly or at least the Taliban version of Sharia.‖807 In The Kite Runner, Hossenei depicts Taliban as brutal and intolerant. The Taliban whipped the crowd while making a noise during the soccer match at Ghazi Stadium in Kabul. During half-time of the match, Taliban brought and announced the adulterers, where they were stoned to death and buried. The Taliban would announce the reason for the punishment. They would say that we were bound to keep the ―will‖ of Allah and the ―word‖ of prophet Muhammad. Amir observes all this activity and considers it distortion of Islam.808

Depicted in The Kite Runner, Taliban did not tolerate people staring at them in Kabul. This implies their belief in the physical. It also reflects the dictatorial rule of the Taliban. When Amir and Farid

804 Rashid, 2000, p 50. 805 From Bukhari Volume 2, Book 15, Number 70 806 Hossenei, 2004, p 245. 807 Ibid., p 202." 808 Malik, Murtaza, Shah, 2014.

221 travel to Kabul, they find Taliban patrolling the city with guns at their hands. Farid says to Amir,

―Don‘t ever stare at them……They drive around looking. Looking and hoping that someone will provoke them……. Keep your eyes on your feet when the Talibs are near.‖809 Amir recollects Baba words about the religious people,

―You will never learn anything of value from those bearded idiots.‖810

Hossenei has presented an old beggar as a character in the novel. Before the Taliban rule, the beggar used to be a university lecturer; taught Hafez, Khayyam, Rumi, Beydel, Jami, and Saadi. He had a lecture on mystic Beydel in Tehran in 1971, and the Persians appreciated his lecture. The beggar tells Amir that the Taliban were bereft of such knowledge and appreciation, and ridicules them. He points out to the Taliban while telling Amir that,

―But you saw those young men in the truck. What value do you think they see in Sufism.‖811 Here it is noteworthy that Hossenei has appreciated the Persians over the Taliban. It implies that Persian (or Dari speakers) are educated and learned, appreciate knowledge and understanding, while the Taliban (Pashtun) are uneducated, unappreciative, and brutal.

Besides, at another place, Taliban are depicted aberrant in The Kite Runner. Though religious, Taliban entertained immoral and dissolute views. When Amir visits the orphanage in search of Sohrab, where he astonishes to hear the immoral activities of the Taliban. Taliban did not allow women to work, this affected the young children,

809 Hossenei, 2004, p 217. 810 Ibid., p 15. 811 Ibid., p 218.

222 hence, put in orphanage. Zaman, the director of the orphanage informs Amir about the immoral activities of the Taliban,

―A Talib visits once every month or two, usually he will take a girl for a cash, but not always……...If I deny him one child, he takes ten.‖812

Similarly, when Amir visits Assef (as talib) at his house, he comes to learn that the talib touches his crotch. This implies dissolutness on the part of Taliban. While touching the Amir‘s crotch, the talib said something in Pashto to his fellowmen, and they laughed. This implies that Taliban/Pashtun are immoral: physical touching or body tapping signifies sexual desire. Amir narrates,

―The armed men frisked me head to toe, patted my legs, felt my crotch. One of them said something in Pashto and they both chuckled.‖813 Besides, before entering Assef‘s house, Amir recollects that if Baba was alive, he would have taught lesson to the Taliban. But here, the words used by Amir are insulting about the Taliban;

―Baba would have busted through the front doors and demanded to be taken to the man in charge, piss on the beard of anyone who stood in his way.‖814

Taliban as Pashtun were considered religious and pious ruler of Afghanistan. Pissing or urinating in the beard of Taliban reflects derogation of Taliban, or in other words, Pashtun. Besides, when Amir meets Assef at his house, the former involves with him in dialogue about the adventure of killing of Hazara in Mazar Sharif in 1998. Assef describes him how they killed Hazara mercilessly in Mazar Sharif. Amir asks Assef,

812 Ibid., pp 224-225. 813 Ibd., p 240. 814 Ibid., p 239.

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―That‘s what you were doing in Mazar, going door to door? Taking out the garbage?‖815

The metaphor of garbage is referred to the Hazaras of Afghanistan. Ahmad Rashid conveys that all Shia prayers services in the mosques were banned in Mazar Sharif by the Taliban. Taliban announced Shia as non-Muslims, and urged Hazara that now they were there to deal with them,

―Last year you rebelled against us and killed us. From all your homes, you shot at us. Now, we are here to deal with you. The Hazara are not Muslims and now we have to kill Hazara.‖816 At a place, Amir informs Assef that there exists an expression of ‗ethnic cleansing‘ for that (taking out garbage) in the West. Assef exults to hear this word and asks Amir in a state of jubilation,

―Do they? Ethnic cleansing? I like it. I like the sound of it.‖817

Assef further describes to Amir how they inflicted heinous acts against the Hazara in Mazar Sharif in 1998. This depicts atrocities of Taliban against the Hazara. The Talib lit his cigarette and said to Amir in a state of pride,

―But you want a real show, you should have been with me in Mazar. August 1998, that was…...We left them out for the dogs, you know.‖818 This highlights the barbarity of the Taliban. The Mazar episode alarmed the UN too. The Security Council adopted a resolution on the conflict in Afghanistan. It expressed grave concerned at the continued conflict in Afghanistan, the forcible displacement of people, escalated by Taliban‘s forces, causing serious threat to international peace and

815 Ibid., p 249. 816 Rashid, 2000, p 74. 817 Hossenei, 2004, p 249. 818 Ibid., p 242.

224 security, and human suffering. It also felt concerns about the growing ethnic conflict, religious-based persecutions, particularly against the Hazara, hence, threat to the state of Afghanistan.819

Furthermore, the terrible conversation between Assef and Amir regarding persecution of Hazara was extended. Assef tells Amir,

―Door to door we went, calling for the men and the boys. We would shoot them right there in front of their families……we only rested for food and prayer.‖820 Assef furthers,

―We left the bodies in the street, and if their families tried to sneak out to drag them back into their homes, we‘d shoot them too. We left them in the streets for days.‖821

Ahmad Rashid notes, soon the dead bodies along with the blood were lying everywhere; people were not allowed to bury the corpses for around a week.822 There was alarming ethnic conflict in the north of Afghanistan. Taliban inflicted atrocious acts against the Hazara. Besides, in the novel, the talib uses the metaphor of ―dog‖ for the Hazara, a reference to extreme inhumanity. Assef articulates,

―We left them for the dogs. Dog meat for dogs.‖823

However, Hassan (Hazara) too calls the Taliban (Pashtun) as ―dogs‖ when the talib beat Hassan‘s wife with stick. Once Hassan goes out to the market with his wife, Farzana, to buy some daily ration. In dealing about the high price of the item, she begins to apeak a bit

819UN Security Council Report, December 8, 1998. Retrieved from https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/8%20December%201998.pdf Accessed on 02-08-2016. 820 Hossenei, 2004, pp 242-243. 821 Ibid., p 243. 822 Rashid, 2000, p 73. 823 Hossenei, 2004, p 243.

225 louder. The nearby talib screamed and cursed her and said that the Ministry of Vice and Virtue did not allow women to speak loud. Thus, he beats her with stick on her thigh. She gets bruise on her thigh for days. Hassan informs if he had fought the talib in that situation, the consequences were agonizing for his family. He informs,

―If I fought, that dog (talib) would have surely put a bullet in me, and gladly! Then what would happen to my Sohrab.‖824

But, prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) had declared in his last Serman that there was no preference between Arabs and non-Arabs in Islam, between white and black. If there was any, that was righteousness. [Musnad Ahmad (22391)].825 After the 9/11, Amir extols when the USA bombed the Taliban and the UN facilitated the government-making process in Afghanistan to end the long-lasting ethnic conflict. All the major ethnic groups such as, Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara gathered at Bonn to form an interim government in Afghanistan. Amir informs,

―Soon after the attacks, America bombed Afghanistan, the Northern Alliance moved in, and the Taliban scurried like rats into the caves. Suddenly, people……...talking about the cities of my childhood: Kandahar, Herat, Mazar Sharif………..That December, Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara gathered……….under the watchful eye of the UN, began the process that might someday end over twenty years of unhappiness in their watan.‖826 However, Syed Rahmatullah Hashimi, the Taliban envoy to the USA, while giving his interview to CNN, defended Taliban‘s government in Afghanistan. When asked about the purpose of

824 Ibid., p 190. 825 http://www.iqrasense.com/about-islam/the-last-sermon-khutbah-of-prophet- muhammad-farewell-sermon.html 826 Ibid., p 316.

226 government, Hashimi responded, they wanted reunification of the country, disarming the people, and one administration. He spoke that the problem in Afghanistan was neither political nor ethnic, rather it was the existence of arms.827 He furthered that they were against those who had arms: people should surrender their arms, otherwise, they will be disarmed by force; Taliban could not tolerate an armed opposition within Afghanistan.‖828

In Mazar Sharif, the Taliban leaders announced that Hazara were not Muslims, and to kill them was not a sin.829 This led to the initiation of a genocidal frenzy-killing in the north: Taliban killed men, women, children, even goats and donkeys. They raped Women too.830 Mullah Umar gave order to the Taliban to kill for two hours, however, they killed for two days. Dead bodies were laid on the ground for six days, and dogs began to eat the flesh.831

Besides, Katrine Dale, has informed that Hossenei has hyper vilified the Taliban as a gang of Nazi-loving, heroin-using, homosexual pedophiles intent on repressing the free and full development of the human personality.832 She furthered that The Kite Runner is a carefully calculated, crafted, edited, and packaged Hosseini´s debut Bildungsroman to satisfy a sudden, war-induced American taste for success stories from Afghanistan.833 According to

827 Retrieved from http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x15jz1x_taliban-diplomat- sayed-rahmatullah-hashemi-with-charlie-rose-2001_news Accessed 20-06-2016. 828 Ibid 829 Williums, G, B., Afghanistan. Retrieved from http://www. Brianglynwilliums.com/pdfs/20120301114407597.pdf Accessed on 15-02-2017. 830 Rasanayagum, 2005, p 157. 831 Rashid, 2000, p 73. 832 Dale, 2016, p 22. 833 Ibid., p 22.

227 her, Assef as leader of Taliban is faceless, dehumanized, and Other, in the novel,

―Assef who has that role in The Kite Runner is faceless and dehumanized, reinforcing his position as an ―Other‖.‖834

Besides, on the brink of a US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the Taliban captured a British journalist, Yvonne Ridley, who had entered Afghanistan in a Burka.835 She remained captive for eleven days under the Taliban. One captors asked her to convert to Islam, she refused, however, she promised him that she would read the Quran after release. The promise proved to be a spiritual journey for her. She began an academic exercise, read the Quran along with the supporting literature, and converted to Islam in 2003. She realized that women are equal to men in spirituality, worth, and education as preached in the Quran. According to her, Taliban respected her, and did not hurt her physically. The Taliban are not filthy, dirty people, rather they are handsome young men. She strongly opposed distortion and manipulations about Islam.836 Thus, Taliban are depicted hypocrite, sectarian, ethnocentric, immoral, and aberrant by Hossenei in The Kite Runner.

5.1.8 THE HAZARA

Hazara are depicted inferior but imaginative, loyal, humane, and protector in The Kite Runner. Hassan‘s intelligence and imaginative capabilities have already been discussed above. In the

834 Dale, 2016, pp 15-16. 835 a long, loose garment covering the whole body from head to feet, worn in public by women in many Muslim countries. 836 Islam: From Taliban Captive to Muslim Feminist – Interview with Yvonne Ridley, by Asma Hanif, 2007. Retrieved from http://english.religion.info/2007/12/28/islam-from-taliban-captive-to-muslim- feminist-interview-with-yvonne-ridley/ Accessed on 12-08-2016.

228 novel, not only, Amir betrays Hassan, but the latter also becomes the victim of Assef. Assef had raped Hassan when he was child, when Assef becomes the leader of Taliban, he rapes Hassan‘s son, Sohrab too. Thus, Assef has raped both the generations of Hazara, the father (Hassan) and the son (Sohrab), in the novel. Rather, the Pashtun character have raped the Hazara. Taliban too, like Pashtun characters, in the novel, looked down upon the Hazara. They are depicted inferior in The Kite Runner and the Pashtun mistreated them.

Hassan loved his famous story, Rustam and Sohrab from Shahnama,.837 Amir used to read it to Hassan, though, Hassan could not understand the text. Amir, while knowing Hassan‘s illiteracy, played upon the words in the story. For Amir, the favourite part of reading was when he came across a big word that Hassan did not know. He would tease him (Hassan) and expose his ignorance. Once, Amir reads to him the story of Mullah Nasiruddin, but Hassan stops him and asks about the word ‗imbecile‘. Amir grins and asks him you don‘t know the meaning of such a common word. After making fool of Hassan, Amir used to give old shirts or his broken toys as amends. Amir, thus informs,

―To him, words on the page were a scramble of codes, indecipherable, mysterious. Words were secret doorways and I held all the keys……. after all, what use did a servant have for the written word.‖838

When the Taliban come to power in Afghanistan in 1996, Rahim Khan hails them and rejoices their emergence. However, as he informes Hassan about Taliban‘s appearance, Hassan grumbles,

837 Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/ShahnamaEFirdausiAzNazmBaNasrFarsi Accessed on 12- 03-2017. 838 Hossenei, 2004, pp 24-25

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―God help the Hazara now.‖839

Hassan is depicted inferior in the novel. The daily routine of the two boys (Amir and Hassan) was varied. When Amir would have left for school, Hassan worked inside the house; Hassan did domestic job, while Amir learned to read and write. It symbolizes inferiority of Hazaras as expressed in the lines below by Amir;

―Hassan made my breakfast……. made my bed, polished my shoes, ironed my outfit for the day, packed my books and pencils……then Baba and I drove off in his black Ford Mustang.‖840

Inferiority is also expressed in the kite-fighting tournament, when Hassan runs after the last kite Amir cut. In the alley, Assef and his companions catches him in the evening. As the dark approaches, Amir follows Hassan in the bazar, eventually meets an old Pashtun man who was about to close his shop for namaz (evening prayer). Amir asked him about Hassan. The old man knew Amir, his wealthy Baba, and their status. He passes discriminatory words on Hassan,

―Lucky Hazara, having such a concerned master. His father should get on his knees, sweep the dust at your feet with his eyelashes.‖841

Assef, the antagonist, embodies evil incarnation in The Kite Runner. Hossenei has eliminated from his character every positive trait of a human being.842 As child, Assef confronts Hassan and Amir in the street. He exposes to Hassan his status, and compares it with a pet of Amir. He even tells him that when Amir has guests, why not he includes him in games. Assef addresses Hassan,

839 Ibid., p 186. 840 Ibid., p 23. 841 Ibid., p 61. 842 Malik, Shah, Mahmud, 2013, Vol 5, No 1.

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―But before you sacrifice yourself for him, think about this: Would he do the same for you? Have you wondered why he never included you in the games when he has guests? Why he only plays with you when no one else is around……because to him, you‘re nothing but an ugly pet?‖843

Hassan‘s rape by Assef symbolizes Pashtun‘s extreme injustice, abuse and hate for the Hazara. It also symbolizes subordinate and degrading position of Hazara in Afghanistan. The dialogue of the below scene is pitiful, low, and derogatory. Assef asks Kamal and Wali (his Pashtun friend) to rape Hassan, but, they refused. Assef asks them again why do you hesitate to act, and forcibly tells them; ‗it‟s just a Hazara‟. Thus, Assef begins to molest Hassan, while the other two boys hold him. Amir watched this event helplessly and passively. Thus, Amir communicates how Hassan looked quiet and resigned during his molestation,

―He moved his body slightly and I caught a glimpse of his face. Saw the resignation in it. It was a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb.‖844 Amir showed irresolution during the molestation of Hassan. He did not intervene and kept away. He feared of the three older Pashtun boys. He wanted to make only Baba happy by sacrificing Hassan. Hassan never had been his priority than the kite. Amir‘s inaction during the molestation event, verified that he yielded to the domination of the powerful (Pashtun) for the powerless (Hazara).845 Thus, Amir betrays Hassan, and says;

―I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative……. was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the

843 Ibid., pp 63-64. 844 Ibid., p 66. 845 Malik, Shah, Mahmud, 2013.

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lamb I had to slay, to win Baba. Was it a fair price? The answer floated to my conscious mind before I could thwart it: He was just a Hazara, wasn‘t he?‖846 Baba arranged a grand birthday party for Amir, many guests were invited. Assef, his father, and his friends were also invited. When Hassan serve Assef and Wali with drinks, but, they look down upon him. This scene also implies inferior status of Hazara in the novel;

―Hassan serving drinks to Assef and Wali from a silver platter. The light winked out, a hiss and a crackle, then another flicher of orange light: Assef grinning, kneading Hassan in the chest with a knuckle‖.847

According to Mousavi, insults, humiliation, and the general brutal treatment of the Hazara in Afghanistan was the accepted norm.848 Besides, Amir‘s mother was a teacher, taught Persian and history at a girls high school in Kabul. She died while giving birth to Amir. Once, Amir came across her history book. There he found a chapter about the Hazara. He read the various negative stereotypes associated with the Hazara, such as,

―mice-eating, flat-nosed, load-carrying donkeys.‖849

The expressions of mice-eating and load-carrying donkeys are pungent and overpowering. Mousavi has articulated in his work, The Hazara of Afghanistan that insults aimed at the Hazara abound, and are still current in Afghanistan. Insulting remarks against Hazara were promoted by Pashtun nationalism such as, Hazara-e moosh khor (mouse eating Hazara), Hazara wo chaklet (Hazara and chocolate), Hazara-e Khar-e Barkash (load-carrying Hazara). Besides, another

846 Hossenei, 2004, p 68. 847 Ibid., p 87. 848 Mousavi, 1998, p 161. 849 Hossenei, 2004, p 8.

232 current expression is, ―if there were no Hazara, the price of donkeys would be very high.‖850 Furthermore, Mousavi has described elaborately about the plight of Hazara in Afghanistan. He has touched upon the fundamental questions of identity crisis in Afghanistan, such as, the word ―Afghan‖, ―Afghanistan‖, and ―Afghan (Pashtun) nationalism‖. According to him, the word ―Afghanistan‖ has no mention in the history prior to the mutual agreement signed between the British and Iran in 1801.851 The country known today Afghanistan was called Khorasan 150 years ago; the new name was gradually formalized over the last 100 years or so. Mousavi furthers that Afghanistan means the land of Afghans, and Afghan is the synonym for Pashtun. Afghan nationalism or Pashtunism is a taboo in Afghanistan which can‘t be discussed or touched upon. It referred to the whole array of attitudes and beliefs which lie at the basis of the notion, held by the Pashtuns, of their racial supremacy over and above all the other ethnic groups in Afghanistan. These beliefs of the Pashtuns made them rightful to rule over Afghanistan. Afghan nationalism or Pashtunism as an instrument has been imposed upon society and the people for around a century. Mousavi asks fundamental question that ―why an issue as significant as tribal and ethnic discrimination in Afghanistan has never been seriously addressed?852 But, Mousavi also recognizes that when king Amanullah (r.1919-1928) abolished slavery in Afghanistan, the Hazara were given equal rights, their confiscated land was restored to them, and they were allowed to serve in the army in Afghanistan receiving almost the same pay and

850 Mousavi, 1998, pp 161-162. 851 Ibid., p 4. 852 Ibid., pp 2-13.

233 rights as the other ethnic groups.853 Except Mousavi, no writer has dealt with the ethnic disparity so deep in Afghanistan.

Amir wonders by the intelligence of Hassan when he tells him the story of a greedy man, who wept into the magic cup and his tears turned into pearls. Though, the man was happy, he tries to find ways to make himself sad. He kills even his beautiful wife too. During this time, Hassan interrupts Amir why the man kills his wife, could not he smell the onion? This question stunned Amir and becomes prejudiced about Hassan‘s intelligence. Thus, he whispers;

―What does he know, that illiterate Hazara? He‘ll never be anything but a cook. How dare he criticize you?854 When the Taliban come to know that a Hazara family reside in a big house (of Baba) in Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul, then a pair of Taliban approach the house for investigation. Hasan tells them that he lives in the house alongwith his family and Rahim Khan. But the talib calls him thief as well as liar; he furthers that all Hazara are liar. This implies Taliban‘s (Pashtun) distrust of Hazara. Amir articulates,

―The Talib said he was a liar and a thief like all Hazara‖855.

Mousvi points out that humiliation and intimidation of Hazara in Afghanistan were openly practiced. They were regarded as second- class citizens. This treatment was in practice even if not officially and constitutionally.856

853 Ibid., p 144. 854 Hossenei, 2004, p 30. 855 Ibid., p 192. 856 Mousavi, 1998, p 160.

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In the novel, Pashtun characters (Assef, General Tahiri) do not call the Hazara characters by name but with the ethnic-connotation such as, Hazara. This implies Pashtun ethnocentric views about inferiority of other ethnic groups, particularly Hazara in Afghanistan. The various ethnic inferior-connotation of Hazara in the novel are evident from the lines quoted below,

―Where is your slingshot, Hazara?‖………A loyal Hazara. Loyal as dog,….….Last chance Hazara,……Today is your lucky day Hazara,…….,Lucky Hazara! Having such a concern master,…….They will want to know why there is a Hazara boy living with our daughter,……You will never refer to him as ‗Hazara boy‘. During the molestation scene of Hassan, Assef asks his two Pashtun friends to molest him. But they refused, even one of the boy said, that his father considered molestation sinful. Assef used the metaphor of donkey for Hassan, a derogatory connotation, and asked the boys,

―And there‘s nothing sinful about teaching a lesson to a disrespectful donkey.‖857

Though the depiction of Hazara in The Kite Runner is of lesser being, but they are portrayed as humane. Religion preaches piouness and humanity. The actions of the three major Pashtun characters (Baba, Amir, Assef) in the novel deviate from the Islamic norm; Baba detested religious people, Amir preferred secular life, while Assef, though Taliban leader, acted against the norms of religion. Amir reports,

Baba mocked everything religious.858

857 Hossenei, 2004, p 66. 858 Ibid, p 67.

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However, Ali and Hassan (Hazaras) are depicted spiritually pious and religiously righteous in the novel praying five times a day.

―Hassan never missed any of the five daily prayers.859

Hassan never tells a lie in the novel. He is portrayed as pious and truthful. Like him, his father, Ali too, is portrayed truthful. Amir informs,

―Like Hassan, Ali was incapable of lying.‖860

But, Baba (Pashtun) proved to be a liar and thief in the novel. Amir considered Baba as thief of the worst kind, because he stole the sacred things; from Amir that he had a brother (Hassan); from Hassan, his identity, and from Ali, his honour, nang, and namoos. Amir astonished to hear when Rahim Khan told him words of lies and betrayals about Baba.861

Hassan is depicted protector and bold than Amir in the novel. He confronts foes of Amir and protects him against them. Baba considered Hassan protector. He tells Rahim Khan that when Amir is confronted by bully in the street, Hassan intervenes and saves Amir. He considered Hassan bold than Amir. Baba addresses Rahim Khan,

―Self-defense has nothing to do with meanness. You know what always happens when the neighborhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fends them off……….I say to them, ‗How did Hassan get that scrape on his face?‖862

859 Ibid., p 60. 860 Ibid., p 39. 861 Ibid., p 197. 862 Ibid., p 20.

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When Assef as young boy, along with his two friends, Wali and Kamal, confronts Amir and Hassan in the street, the former begins to fight them. But before the fight begins, Hassan holds his slingshot and points it out directly at Assef‘s face. This is how Hassan boldly defends Amir always. Here Hassan is depicted as a protector of Amir, and bold than Amir. This protection implies his loyalty to Amir. Amir reports,

―Assef raised his fist and came for me……..I saw Hassan bend down and stand up quickly………Hassan held the slingshot pointed directly at Assef‘s face……….‗please leave us alone, Agha‘, Hassan said in a flat tone.‖863 Towards the resolution of the novel, fight occurs between Amir and Assef. Amir is seriously wounded but, Sohrab comes forward to defend and save him as protector. Sohrab points his slingshot at Assef‘s face, once Hassan (his father) protected Amir. This implies that both the Hazaras (Hassan and Sohrab) protected Amir when he was in crisis, and remained loyal to him. During fight, Assef is shot in the eye with the slingshot, and Amir is saved. Amir narrates,

―No more, Agha. Please, he (Sohrab) said……. Stop hurting him……..Put it down, Hazara, Assef hissed…….The slingshot made a thwiiiiit sound when Sohrab released the cup……. He (Hassan) took my hand. Helped me to my feet.‖864 When Amir and Farid travel by road from Peshawar to Kabul in 2001, they had an expressive dialogue, particularly about the Taliban. It depicted the brutal and alarming situations under the Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Rather, it mirrored that Farid longed for a humane and peaceful government in the country. Farid asks Amir what does he do in America? Amir replies that he is a writer. Choked by

863 Ibid., pp 36-37. 864 Ibid., p 254.

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Taliban‘s brutality, he asks Amir to write about the inhumanity of Taliban;

―Tell the rest of the world what the Taliban are doing to our country.‖865

A reference exists in the above line towards the theme of the novel. It implies not only ethnic disparity in Afghanistan pointed out by Hossenei, but also, that the world, at large, should know about the barbarity of the Taliban. Besides, Amir reads the two-page long letter that he receives from Hassan. In it, Hassan describes the wild conditions in Afghanistan under the Taliban. Hassan refers to Taliban as savages in the letter,

―Alas the Afghanistan of our youth is long dead. Kindness is gone from the land and you cannot escape killings………..In Kabul, fear is everywhere, in the streets, in the stadium, in the markets, it is a part of our lives here, Amir agha. The savages who rule our watan don‘t care about human decency.‖866

Thus, the Hazara are depicted as inferior but, imaginative, loyal, humane and protector.

5.1.9 REDEMPTION

Edward Said describes that an unbridgeable chasm existed for centuries between the East and the West. According to him, difference implies hostility, it was necessary to revisit and rethink of that hostile gap. He narrates,

―My aim (in Orientalism) was not so much to dissipate difference itself----for who can deny the constitutive role of national as well as cultural difference in relations between human beings----but to challenge the notion that

865 Ibid, p 206. 866 Ibid., pp 189-190.

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difference implies hostility, a frozen reified set of opposed essences, and a whole adversarial knowledge built out of those things.‖867

Said is not pessimistic of the animosities and inequalities of Orientalism, rather he views an optimistic approach out of it. According to him, this order of inequalities may be changed;

―Although the animosities and inequalities still exist from which my interest in Orientalism as a cultural and political phenomenon began, there is now at least a general acceptance that these represent not an eternal order but a historical experience whose end, or at least partial abatement, may be at hand.‖868

In The Kite Runner, Hossenei has tried at the end of the novel to reconcile the Pashtun and Hazara. As child, Amir betrays Hassan, his close friend. However, as grown up, he tries to redeem his guilt by saving Sohrab from the clutches and shackles of the Taliban. Redemption of Amir in the novel symbolizes reconciliation between the Pashtun and Hazara. It implies peace, equality, and development between the two ethnic groups.869 Hossenei‘s unification of the diverse characters at the end of the novel is reflected from the various glimpses of events. When Amir visits Rahim Khan in Peshawar in 2001, the latter urges him to save Sohrab from bondage and ferocity of Taliban. Rahim Khan further tells him that he should redeem the guilt of his past (Hassan‘s molestation). The saving of Sohrab or/and redemption of Amir, symbolize solidarity and unification between the two characters of diverse ethnic groups. Thus, Rahim Khan says to Amir,

867 Said, 2003, p 353. 868 Ibid., p 355. 869 Banu, S, S., Discrimination, War, and Redemption in Khaled Hossenei‟s The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Retrieved form http://www.languageinindia.com/aug2016/sahirasplendidsuns.pdf Accessed 06-02- 2017.

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―There is a way to be good again……....A way to end the cycle.‖870

Rahim Khan utters these words twice to Amir in the novel; first, when Amir lived happily with his wife in the USA in 2001, secondly, when Amir visited the ailing Rahim Khan in Peshawar. Rahim Khan knew the secret of Amir; betrayal of Hassan. He wanted Amir‘s redemption to save Hassan‘s son, Sohrab from the brutality of Taliban. Amir feels redemption when he is injured in fight against the Talib, and saves Sohrab.

Similarly, symbolism of faithfulness, sacrifice and harmony is embedded in the phrase For You a Thousand Times Over.871 Hassan is depicted faithful while saying these words. Hassan uttered these words to Amir while running after the last kite cut by the latter. It implies that a Hazara (Hassan) uttered a to Pashtun (Amir) words of love and faithfulness. However, Amir returns the same faithful behavior in the USA when he repeats Hassan‘s word to Sohrab, For You a Thousand Times Over. This time Pashtun (Amir) uttered these words to Hazara (Sohrab). Thus, this signifies unification and integration of diverse ethnic characters in The Kite Runner.

Feeding of both Hassan and Amir from the same woman symbolizes equity, brotherhood, and oneness,

―both Amir and Hassan were fed by the same woman……...Ali would tell both boys that brotherhood and kinship existed timeless between people fed from same breast.‖872

870 Hossenei, 2004, p 198. 871 Ibid., p 59. 872 Ibid., pp 9-10.

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Amir says that his grandfather, a respectable judge, had adopted Ali in his family. Both Baba and Ali were raised in the same house.

―My grandfather, a judge, brought and adopted Ali as a child.‖873

When Amir cut the last kite in the kite fighting tournament, Hassan ran after it. Amir followed him too. Hassan sat where he knew the kite would fall. A dialogue began between the two boys waiting for the kite; Amir asked him why we were wasting time here, the kite might go the other way; Hassan responded him that the kite would fall where they were sitting. When Amir asked him how he knew it, Hassan told him,

―Would I ever lie to you Amir agha?...... I‘d sooner eat dirt.‖874

Amir asked him if he ever told him to eat dirt, would he do that. Hassan responded,

―If you asked, I would.‖875

Hassan then tests Amir.

―Would you ever ask me to do such a thing, Amir agha?‖876

Amir replies,

―Don‘t be stupid, Hassan. You know I wouldn‘t.‖877

873 Ibid., p 21. 874 Ibid., p 47. 875 Ibid., p 48. 876 Ibid., p 48. 877 Ibid., p 48.

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The above conversation highlights deep love between Amir and Hassan. Though, there existed treachery in the relationship, however, love prevailed over their association.

At another excerpt, when Amir made a plan of dismissing Hassan out of his house by planting his watch and some money under the latter‘s mattress, the former becomes very sad after succeeding in the plot. He narrates,

―He (Hassan) knew that I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me one again……….I loved him in that moment, loved him more than I‘d ever anyone.‖878

When the fight ended between Assef and Amir at the end of the novel, Amir felt redemption. He felt redeemed of the past guilt that he committed against Hassan in childhood. The fight and adventure of Kabul Amir made was for the son of Hassan. The injuries of Amir during the fight with Assef were the sigh of relief for him. Thus, Amir communicates,

My body was broken, just how badly I wouldn‘t find out until later, but I felt healed. Healed at last. I laughed.879

According to Juma Khan Sufi, the Afghanologist, in Afghanistan, monarchy remained Pashtun-dominated. However, other ethnic groups were accepted and united under monarchy. Though, the country was backward but interactions existed between the ethnic groups. There were no ethnic tensions. Ethnicity in Afghanistan, not only emerged in the wake of promulgation of Constitution, 1964, rather, but became salient and prominent during the decades of 1980s and 1990s. The revolutions, war, and political turmoil during the three

878 Ibid., p 92. 879 Ibid., p 253.

242 decades (1973-2001), destroyed, state, society, and institutions in the country. The communist rule (1978-1992) provided rights to the non- Pashtun, and democracy began to establish. Jihad too happened to be a unifying force for the non-Pashtun, however, Pashtun remained dominant in Jihad. Mujahideen could not bring system to Afghanistan, though, non-Pashtun captured the state. Western democracy brings consciousness; in case of Afghanistan, it did too. The introduction of political parties in Afghanistan brought enormous changes in state and society. The non-Pashtun are considered educated, while Pashtun as tribal and backward. The non-Pashtun aspire for dominant position in the state and society against the Pashtun. They are united against the Pashtun, though, they had wars with each other. Hazara wants Pashtun to rule Afghanistan but, Tajik are competitors to Pashtun.880 According to Sufi, presently, ethnic tensions exist in Afghanistan due to democratic and ethnic consciousness, political party culture, and globalization.881

880 Personal interview with Juma Khan Sufi (age 68) on March, 24, 2017. Juma Khan Sufi is the famous Afghanologist, and first-hand observer of Afghan political affairs from 1967 till 1992. He went to Kabul in 1970s as a political exile, and worked in the closed circles of Afghan government. 881 Ibid

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5.2 CONCLUSION

The discourse of ethnic disparity between Pashtun and Hazara exists in The Kite Runner. Khaled Hossenei has created a difference of Us and Them by projecting Pashtun, superior, but treacherous, unimaginative, brutal, and aberrant, while Hazara, inferior, but loyal, imaginative, humane, and protector. This construction by Hossenei is deviant from Said‘s Orientalism, for whom, the superior is rational, humane, while, inferior, irrational, aberrant. The master-slave relationship is evident in the textual treatment of the novel; Pashtun have been portrayed masters, while Hazara, as subordinates. The Constitution of Afghanistan, 2004, negates ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara: it constitutes them equal citizens including other ethnic groups. The Hazara equally/actively participate along with other ethnic groups in the socio-economic and political arenas in Afghanistan.

The Kite Runner has portrayed the tumultuous period of Afghanistan (1978-2001), however, Hossenei, as an outsider to Afghan cultural society and history, remained outside the country and did not pay a single visit to Afghanistan during that particular period. He has studied old Persian and American literatures but remained ignorant to the modern Afghan indigenous literature. In the novel, instead of indigenous Afghan literature and culture, Hossenei, time and again, has referred to the foreign cultures (Persian & American). This substantiates him unacquainted with indigenous Afghan literature, culture, and society. The novel is devoid of the works and literature of famous Afghan indigenous novel writers of the 20th century such as, Mehmud Beg Tarzi, Noor Muhammad Taraki, Asadullah Habib,

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Muhammad Asif Sultanzadeh etc. Besides, America, American movies, American leaders, and American things have been eulogized in the novel such as, Rio Bravo, The Magnificent Seven, The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, Ronald Reagon, Henery Kissinger, The Ford Mustang, Coca Cola, American cap etc. For Hossenei, America is the savior to the affected Afghans, particularly the Hazara. Being Hazara himself, Hossenei has created the difference of Us (Hazara) and Them (Pashtun) in the novel. This testifies him fully orientalist. Besides, Afghanistan has two official languages, Dari and Pashto. Both languages are spoken in Afghanistan followed by a great number of the population. There was a need to present a balanced picture of Afghan culture and society. However, in The Kite Runner, Dari language and culture (Hazara speak Hazargi, a dialect of Dari in Afghanistan) have been emphasized and prioritized, while, Pashto language and culture (the culture of Pashtun) are not. All highlighted characters, Pashtun and non-Pashtun in the novel, speak Dari, however, Taliban are portrayed as speaking Pashto. Taliban are portrayed as Other in the novel. Highlighting solely, Dari language and culture in the novel at the expense of Pashto, is to eclipse Pashtun and Pashto language and culture. This is disparity in language and culture. Hossenei may be considered here as internal orientalist. Besides, The Kite Runner was published in 2003, after launching of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2001. The USA targeted Taliban and Al-Qaeda in its wake, and considered them terrorists. Taliban have been pictured brutal and uncivilized. Thus, The Kite Runner may also be considered an apology for the War on Terror in Afghanistan. Here, Hossenei is fully orientalist.

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The young Pashtun character and antagonist, Assef, becomes the leader of the Taliban, later in the novel. He is depicted aberrant (immoral), ethnocentric, treacherous, and brutal. Criticizing Assef in the novel is tantamount to criticizing Pashtun. Because, ranks of Taliban were largely consisted of Pashtuns in Afghanistan, and they spoke Pashto language. They are portrayed as treacherous, immoral, brutal, and ethnocentric. Assef‘s German mother, and his admiration of Hitler implies ethnocentrism, chauvinism and fascism. Historically, Hazaras have been persecuted by Pashtun rulers. Inspired by chauvinism and fascism, Assef entertains antagonistic thoughts against the Hazara, and uses the metaphor of garbage for them. This not only alludes to the historic ethnic cleansing of Hazara by Amir Abdur Rehman during the 1890s, but also, a century later, to Taliban‘s killings of Hazara in Mazar Sharif in 1998. Though, in Afghanistan, there exist other ethnic groups too such as, Tajik, Uzbek, Aymaq etc., but, Hossenei has problematized the plight of Hazara only in The Kite Runner. Hossenei‘s Hazara ethnic identity may be taken into account in this regard. The treachery of Pashtun characters, and the brutal portrayal of Taliban is vilifying in the novel. Hossenei, an internal orientalist, and ethnic Hazara, has eulogized Hazara (Us) and vilified Pashtun (Them). He has created a schism between the Pashtun and Hazara ethnic groups in Afghanistan. Thus, Hossenei deviates from objectivity in The Kite Runner, and his depiction of ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara may be considered exaggerated, misleading and biased towards Pashtun.

Although, both the Pashtun and Hazara including others in Afghanistan live peacefully with one another, and have equal opportunities in socio-economic and political arenas. Hazara have an

246 overwhelming political strength; Sultan Ali Keshtmand has been Prime Minister of Afghanistan during the decade of 1980s; and, presently, Hazara have ministers in the government. Common Afghan in the street denies the ethnic disparity rather prefer national cause and development.

Reconciliation of the Pashtun and Hazara in the resolution of the novel is appreciable. This depiction symbolizes ethnic parity, equality and development in Afghanistan. Rahim Khan displays the role towards the unification. He persuades Amir to get redemption for his past betrayal and tells him that There is a Way to be Good Again. Thus, the end of the novel symbolizes the power of love, tolerance, and compassion between the Pashtun and Hazara characters that lead towards the unity.

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CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS

This thesis explored the discourse of ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara in Afghanistan as depicted in The Kite Runner. It attempted finding answers to the following questions: Does The Kite Runner project ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara in Afghanistan? Does The Kite Runner mirror socio-political situations of Afghanistan? Is the narrative of The Kite Runner embedded in an internal orientalist perspective? And, Does The Kite Runner suggest redemption to promote ethnic parity in Afghanistan? The study has briefly delineated the history of Afghan ethnic distributions, socio- ethnic issues, and the evolution of novel in Afghanistan to set the ground for interpreting ethnic disparity in The Kite Runner.

From The Kite Runner, it is evident that all Taliban are Pashtun but all Pashtun are not Taliban. The Taliban are depicted synonymous to Pashtun. They are portrayed as Them or Other in the novel. Assef as young child, and antagonist, has been depicted as bully and chauvinistic. Later in the plot, he becomes the leader of the Taliban. He is depicted treacherous, aberrant, and brutal. Such depiction of Assef in the novel is tantamount to criticizing Pashtun indirectly. Taliban of Afghanistan, overwhelmingly, gathered support from Pashtun ethnic group, and they spoke the Pashto language. Assef‘s mother was a German and father, a Pashtun. Hitler was a nationalist (ethnocentric) as well as a fascist. Assef admires Hitler: it suggests that he was ethnocentric and fascist. Inspired by these feelings, he entertains antagonistic and ethnocentric views against the Hazara. He uses the metaphor of garbage for the Hazara, kills them as adult on a

248 large scale. This not only alludes to the historic ethnic cleansing of Hazara by the Pashtun Amir, Abdur Rehman Khan, during the 1890s, but also refers , a century later, to the ethnic cleansing (killings) of Hazara by Taliban, in Mazar Sharif, in 1998.

The Hazara are depicted as suppressed ethnic group in the novel. Hossenei has depicted them so because he wanted to show the suppressed face of Hazara to the world. In another way, he wanted to highlight how they are being persecuted, their rights confiscated by the dominant Pashtun in the state and society in Afghanistan. Hossenei has a soft corner for the Hazara in the novel: he projects them inferior but loyal, imaginative, humane, and protector. These traits are depicted in the character of Hassan and Sohrab (the Hazaras). Power and knowledge are inseparable as propagated by Michel Foucault. As a novelists, Hossenei has made use of his knowledge to bifurcate the power relationship in Afghanistan: to subjugate Pashtun, and to dominate the Hazara. Hossenei is not a Pashtun rather a non-Pashtun. The Pashtun have been dominant and ruled Afghanistan since 1747. Presently, the non-Pashtun in Afghanistan endeavor to change that status quo in the state and politics: they want equal representation. Equal representation in Afghanistan may be appreciated, however, not at the cost of any particular ethnic group. The Kite Runner is devoid of that equal representation. The above two paragraphs answer the first two research questions of the work: ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara exists in The Kite Runner, and that, The Kite Runner does not mirror the socio-political situations of Afghanistan.

Hossenei may be considered as an outsider to Afghan society in The Kite Runner. He remained outside Afghanistan during the period

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1979-2003 and did not pay a single visit to his native country. While, The Kite Runner deals with the above mentioned tumultuous period. The sentence in the novel, ―I feel like a tourist in my own country‖, best portrays Hossenei as an outsider. He left Afghanistan in 1976 as immigrant, and only returned for a brief visit in 2003. He learnt about Afghanistan either through newspaper or television while staying at America. Besides, though, Hossenei studied old Persian and American literatures but remained ignorant to the modern Afghan indigenous literature. He, time and again, instead of indigenous Afghan literature and culture, has referred to the foreign cultures/literature (Persian & American) in the novel. The United States of America, the American movies, American leaders, and American things have been eulogized in the novel such as: Rio Bravo, The Magnificent Seven, The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, Ronald Reagon, Henery Kissinger, The Ford Mustang, Coca Cola, the American cap etc. The novel is also devoid of the works and literature of famous Afghan indigenous fiction writers of the 20th century: Mehmud Beg Tarzi, Noor Muhammad Taraki, Asadullah Habib, Muhammad Asif Sultanzadeh etc. This substantiates him unacquainted with indigenous Afghan literature and culture. Thus, he may be considered as an outsider.

Hossenei may be considered as an internal orientalist. His internal orientalist philosophy stems from his dual identity: ethnic- Hazara and American. Internal orientalism is the projection of dominant Pashtun and subaltern Hazara in The Kite Runner through the lens of orientalism: Hossenei has tried to make a binary of Us (Hazara) and Them (Pashtun) in the novel, projecting Pashtun; superior but treacherous, unimaginative, brutal, and aberrant, while Hazara; inferior but loyal, imaginative, humane, and protector. By this projection, he

250 has tried to highlight the Pashtun as vilifying and Hazara as suppressed to the western world: it has been emphasized how the Pashtun have captured the state and politics into their own hands and how they brutally suppress the other ethnic groups, particularly the Hazara. More than fifty ethnic groups reside in Afghanistan, but, Hossenei has projected the plight of the Hazara only: the soft corner for Hazara is well crafted/woven in the text of the novel through the depiction of their suppression, illiteracy, inferiority, loyalty, and humanity. This binary depiction of Us and Them in Afghanistan makes Hossenei an internal orientalist.

Afghanistan has two official languages: Dari and Pashto. Both languages are spoken by a great number of the population. The majority of Pashtun speak Pashto while, Hazara speak Hazargi (dialect of Dari). The Afghans are recognized by both the languages. In the novel, there was a need to present a balanced picture of Afghan culture and society, however, Dari language and culture has been highlighted and emphasized, while, Pashto language and culture, the dominant culture of majority ethnic group, Pashtun, did not: there exists imbalance in the depiction. All characters, Pashtun and non-Pashtun, portrayed in the novel, speak Dari, however, Taliban are depicted as speaking Pashto. Highlighting solely Dari language and culture in the novel at the expense of Pashto, is to eclipse Pashto language and culture, hence to sideline Pashtun. Pashto language is depicted as alien. This is disparity in the language and culture depicted in the novel. This is also internal orientalism. The above three paragraphs have answered the third research question: the narrative of The Kite Runner has been embedded in an internal orientalist perspective.

251

Presently, both the Pashtun and Hazara including other ethnic groups live peacefully with one another in Afghanistan and have equal opportunities in socio-economic and political arenas. The post-Taliban Afghan government‘s cabinet included 11 Pashtun, 8 Tajiks, 5 Hazara, and 3 Uzbek, the remaining 3 were drawn from other minority ethnic groups. This political change was unprecedented in Afghanistan. Under the consitituion, 2004, Afghans of all ethnic groups can establish political parties and take part in the political activities. Pashto and Dari are the two official languages of the state. However, Uzbeki, Turkmani, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, and Pamiri are also considered as one of the third official language in areas where the majority of the people speak it. Usage of all current languages in press publication and mass media is free. The Hazara as ethnic group in Afghanistan have an overwhelming political strength. Sultan Ali Keshtmand, a Hazara, has been Prime Minister of Afghanistan during the PDPA‘s government i.e. 1980s. They have freedom of speech and expression: have established political parties and take part in the democratic activities. They avail equal opportunities in education, health, and politics, have political representative in the parliament, ministers in the government, and are engaged in the lucrative transport and commercial activities in Kabul. They entertain a feeling of coexistence and integration, and work towards the national, economic, and political development in Afghanistan. The constitution, 2004, rejects any discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, language and religion: it considers Hazara as equal citizen of Afghanistan including Pashtun and other ethnic groups.

It is confessed that partly ethnic disparity exists in Afghanistan as described in the first two chapters. Hossenei is somewhat right in

252 propagating that view in the novel, but, the concern here is that he has problematized the ethnic issue by exaggerating the ethnic disparity between the Pashtun and Hazara in Afghanistan. He has highlighted ethnic hierarchical relationship by propagating a vast split i.e. dominant-Pashtun and subaltern-Hazara. The Pashtun are depicted vilifying while, Hazara as admiring: Hossenei has highlighted this portrayal of ethnic disparity particularly to the western world (particulary the USA). The Kite Runner was published in 38 countries, translated into 62 languages, and sold worldwide into 12 million copies. This vast exposure of the novel did have a political agenda behind it in Afghanistan, and may also be considered an apology for the war of terror in Afghanistan. Both the ethnicities, the Pashtun and Hazara are represented equally in the state and politics in Afghanistan: there exists no such vast gulf between the two ethnic groups as depicted in The Kite Runner. However, the depiction of ethnic disparity in the novel is exaggerated: it is deviant from objectivity and may be considered biased.

At the end of The Kite Runner, Hossenei has made an attempt to reconcile and unite the Pashtun and Hazara that symbolizes ethnic parity, equality and co-existence. Hossenei‘s effort is well appreciated towards the unification. Rahim Khan‘s role has been that of a bridge to form the union. He persuades Amir to get redemption for his past betrayal, and tells him, There is a Way to be Good Again. This suggests reunion of the ethnic groups. At the end of the novel, the power of love, tolerance, and compassion prevails and this brings closer the Pashtun and Hazara characters. The unification suggests solidarity: national harmony; national development; and co-existence in Afghanistan. The last paragraph has answered the fourth research

253 question: redemption of Amir in The Kite Runner suggests promotion of ethnic parity in Afghanistan.

254

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