Hazara genocide (19th century)

Last updated

Hazara genocide
Location Hazarajat, Afghanistan
Date1888–1893
Target Hazaras
Attack type
 Ethnic cleansing, Genocide
Deaths66,000 to 79,200 Hazara families [N 1]
VictimsOver 60% of the Hazara population of Hazarajat were killed and some displaced. [3]
PerpetratorsAfghan army under Abdur Rahman joined by Sunni volunteers from various tribes
Motive Ethnic prejudice, Anti-Shi'ism, and Colonization [1]

The Hazara genocide occurred in the aftermath of the Second Anglo-Afghan War when the Afghanistan Emirate signed the Treaty of Gandamak. Afghan Amir Abdur Rahman set out to bring the Turkistan, Hazaristan, and Kafiristan regions under his control. He launched several campaigns in the Hazarajat due to resistance to oppression from the Hazaras, culminating in the Battle of Uruzgan and he conducted a widespread genocidal campaign against its population. [4]

Contents

The Hazaras are a Shia Muslim minority in predominantly Sunni Muslim countries. This religious difference has contributed to their historic marginalization and made them targets of sectarian violence. Over 60 percent of the total Hazara population was massacred with some being displaced and exiled by migrating to Quetta (Pakistan) and Mashhad (Iran) and other adjoining areas. The Hazara land was distributed among loyalist villagers of nearby non-Hazaras. [5] [6] [7] The repression after the uprising has been called the most significant case of genocide or ethnic cleansing in the history of modern Afghanistan. [1] [8] [3] [9] [5] [10] [11]

First uprising

The first Hazara uprising against Abdur Rahman took place between 1888 and 1890. When Abdur Rahman's cousin, Mohammad Eshaq, revolted against him, tribal leaders of the Sheikh Ali Hazaras joined the revolt. The revolt was short-lived and crushed as the Emir extended his control over large parts of Hazarajat. Leaders of the Sheikh Ali Hazaras had allies in two groups, Shia and Sunni. Abdur Rahman took advantage of the situation, pitting Sunni Hazara against the Shia Hazara, and made pacts among the Hazara.

After all of Sheikh Ali Hazaras' chiefs were sent to Kabul, opposition within the leadership of Sawar Khan and Syed Jafar Khan continued against the government troops, but at last, were defeated. Taxes were imposed and Afghan administrators were sent to occupied places, where they subjugated the people with abuses. [12] People were disarmed, villages were looted, local tribal chiefs were imprisoned or executed, and the better lands were confiscated and given to Kochi people (nomads). [13]

Second uprising

The second uprising occurred in the Spring of 1892. According to Sayed Askar Mousavi, the cause of the uprising was an assault on the wife of a Hazara chieftain by Afghan soldiers. The families of both the man and his wife killed the soldiers involved and attacked the local garrison. [12] Several other tribal chiefs who supported Abdur Rahman now turned against him and joined the rebellion, which rapidly spread through the entire Hazarajat. In response to the rebellion, the Emir declared a "jihad" against the Shias [14] and raised an army of up to 40,000 soldiers, 10,000 mounted troops, and 100,000 armed civilians (most of whom were the Pashtun nomads). [12] He also brought in British military advisers to train his army. [13]

The large army defeated the rebellion at its center, in Oruzgan, by 1892 and the local population was massacred with some being displaced.

"thousands of Hazara men, and women were sold in the cities of Kabul and Qandahar, while numerous towers of human heads were made from the defeated rebels as a warning to others who might challenge the rule of the Amir". [12]

— S. A. Mousavi

Abdur Rahman ordered that all weapons of the Hazara be confiscated and for Sunni Mullahs to impose a Sunni interpretation of Islam. [1]

Third uprising

Map of Kabul Province in 1893, showing the boundaries of the different Hazara tribes at the time of the third uprising. Map to Illustrate the Military Geography of Afghanistan Part IV Kabul Province.png
Map of Kabul Province in 1893, showing the boundaries of the different Hazara tribes at the time of the third uprising.

The third uprising of Hazara was in response to excessive taxation, [15] [16] starting in early 1893. This revolt took the government forces by surprise and the Hazara managed to take most of Hazarajat back. During the revolt the Hazaras arrested or killed the governor of Gizu; [17] the governor of Uruzgan tried to plead to the Hazaras that the Amir would listen to their demands. [17] The provincial forces responded to the revolt with military force; in this response the Hakim of Gizu reported to the governor general of Balochistan that General Mir Atta Khan at Gizu committed "great excesses" in Gizu. [18] Hazaras also managed to commit great success in the First Battle Of Uruzgan, where Hazara forces managed to defeat 2 waves of Afghan attacks in Uruzgan [19]

After the revolt unfolded; Hazara tribal leaders like Muhammad, Karbala-i-Raza and others were arrested after trying to flee. [20] Abdur Rahman kept various Hazara chiefs as hostages in Kabul; yet eventually sent them back to Uruzgan; [21] after the revolt was crushed they were then sent back to Kabul again. [22] After months of fighting, the uprising Hazaras were eventually defeated due to a shortage of food; in response to such food shortages Abdur Rahman ordered grain be sent from Herat to Uruzgan. [23] Small pockets of resistance continued to the end of the year as government troops committed atrocities against civilians and deported entire villages. [13] The governor of Balochistan reported to the foreign department of India that he believed Abdur Rahman was intending to exterminate the Hazaras. [24] Massive forced displacements, especially in Oruzgan and Daychopan, continued as lands were confiscated and populations were expelled or fled. Out of 132,000 families, 10,000 to 15,000 Hazara families fled the country to northern Afghanistan, Mashhad (Iran), and Quetta (Pakistan), and 7,000 to 10,000 Hazaras submitted to Abdur Rahman, and the rest fought until they were defeated. [1] [12] There is a famous story of 40 Hazara girls in Uruzgan committing suicide to escape sex slavery during the persecution. [25] 30 mule loads; [26] or roughly over 400 decapitated Hazara heads [N 2] were allegedly sent to Kabul. The Sultan Ahmad Hazara tribe of Uruzgan was in particular severely persecuted. [1] The Beshud Hazara tribe too faced the brunt of Amir's crackdown in particular as well. [1]

It is estimated that more than sixty percent [29] of the Hazara population were massacred and some displaced and exiled during Abdur Rahman's campaign against them. Hazara farmers were often forced to give up their property to Pashtuns and as a result, many Hazara families had to leave seasonally to the major cities in Afghanistan, Iran, or Pakistan to find jobs and a source of income. Quetta in Pakistan is home to the third largest settlements of Hazara outside Afghanistan. Sayed Askar Mousavi, estimates that more than half of the entire population of Hazarajat was driven out of their villages, [12] including many who were massacred. Encyclopædia Iranica claims: "It is difficult to verify such an estimate, but the memory of the conquest of the Hazārajāt by ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān Khan certainly remains vivid among the Hazāras themselves, and has heavily influenced their relations with the Afghan state throughout the 20th century." [12] In 1894 802 Hazara leaders who survived the rebellion were killed or exiled after being captured. [1]

Others claim that Hazaras began leaving their hometown of Hazarajat due to poverty and in search of employment mostly in the 20th century. [30] Most of these Hazaras immigrated to neighboring Balochistan, where they were provided permanent settlement by the government of British India. [31] Others settled in and around Mashad, in the Khorasan Province of Iran. [30]

Legacy

The Hazara diaspora mourns the deaths of the victims of the Hazara uprisings of the 1890s on September 25 (called the "Hazara Black Day") and it wants the International community to recognize the subjugation of the Hazaras as a genocide. [32]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ of 132,000 [1] Hazara families 50% to 60% of their population was massacred [2]
  2. ↑ 30 mule loads is roughly 30 sets of 150 [27] pounds or 2.25 tons; a human head weighs 10.5 pounds on average [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdur Rahman Khan</span> Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to 1901

Abdur Rahman Khan also known by his epithets, The Iron Amir, was Amir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for perpetrating the Hazara Genocide, but also uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Agreement with British India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazaras</span> Persian-speaking people mainly in Afghanistan

The Hazaras are an ethnic group and a principal component of Afghanistan’s population. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan, primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan. Hazaras also form significant minority communities in Pakistan, mainly in Quetta, and in Iran, primarily in Mashhad. They speak the Dari and Hazaragi dialects of Persian. Dari, also known as Dari Persian, is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghan Civil War (1928–1929)</span> Military conflict

The Afghan Civil War was fought from 14 November 1928 to 13 October 1929. Rebelling, and subsequently governing Saqqawist (Saqāwīhā) forces under Habibullāh Kalakāni fought against various opposing tribes and rival monarchs in the Kingdom of Afghanistan, among whom Mohammed Nādir Khān eventually achieved a preponderant role. Despite early successes, such as the capture of Kabul and defeat of Amanullah Khan on 17 January 1929 or the capture of Kandahar on 3 June, the Saqqawists were eventually deposed by anti-Saqqawist forces led by Nadir on 13 October 1929, leading to Nadir's ascension as King of Afghanistan, who ruled until his assassination on 3 November 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazarajat</span> Region in the central highlands of Afghanistan

Hazarajat, also known as Hazaristan is a mostly mountainous region in the central highlands of Afghanistan, among the Kuh-e Baba mountains in the western extremities of the Hindu Kush. It is the homeland of the Hazara people who make up the majority of its population. Hazarajat denotes an ethnic and religious zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kakar</span> Pashtun tribe

The Kakar is a Gharghashti Pashtun tribe, based in Afghanistan, parts of Iran, and northern Balochistan in Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Anglo-Afghan War</span> 1878–1880 war between the British Empire and the Emirate of Afghanistan

The Second Anglo-Afghan War was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. The war was part of the Great Game between the British and Russian empires.

The Tareen is a Pashtun tribe inhabiting southern Afghanistan, and western region of Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Browne (Indian Army officer)</span> British Indian Army general

Major-General Sir James Browne, known as "Buster Browne", was a British military engineer and administrator in British India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad Musa (general)</span> 4th C-in-C of the Pakistan Army

General Muhammad Musa Khan was a Pakistani senior military officer who served as the 4th Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army from 1958 to 1966, under president Ayub Khan. Following his tenure as C-in-C of the Army, he later became a politician.

Hazara Town is a lower- to middle-income area on the western outskirts of Quetta, Pakistan, of which an almost all the residents are ethnic Hazaras, with a small population of Pashtuns and Baloch.

The Uruzgani are one of the major tribes of the Hazara people. They mainly inhabit the Uruzgan province and the present-day Daykundi province. A 1965 work describes them as "sedentary agriculturalists... speak[ing] Hazaraghi."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaghori (Hazara tribe)</span> Hazara tribe

Jaghori is a major tribe of Hazara people in Afghanistan, who mostly inhabiting and originating from Jaghori District of Ghazni Province. Some Jaghoris also live in Pakistan, and they form the majority of the Hazaras in Quetta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammad Nadir Shah</span> King of Afghanistan from 1929 to 1933

Mohammad Nadir Shah was King of Afghanistan from 15 October 1929 until his assassination in November 1933. He became the king after his victory in the Afghan Civil War of 1928–29. Previously, he served as Minister of War, Afghan Ambassador to France, and as a general in the Royal Afghan Army. He and his son Mohammad Zahir Shah, who succeeded him, are part of the Musahiban.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Uruzgan</span>

The Battle of Uruzgan took place in Uruzgan, Afghanistan during the reign of Amir Abdur Rahman in 1893 between the Hazaras and Abdul Rahman's army, which were government military forces and non-government forces, and the majority of which included the Pashtuns. Thereafter, on Hazara defeat, the Hazaras were uprooted from Uruzgan by Abdur Rahman and Pashtun tribes were settled in Uruzgan. Some Hazaras migrated to British India (Quetta) and Iran (Mashhad). In 1901, Amir Habibullah Khan granted amnesty to the migrated Hazaras and asked them to return. Some returning Hazaras were then resettled in Afghan Turkistan and Balkh Province, but were not allowed to return to Uruzgan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persecution of Hazaras</span> Persecution of the Hazaras ethnic group

The Hazaras have long been the subjects of persecution in Afghanistan. The Hazaras are mostly from Afghanistan, primarily from the central regions of Afghanistan, known as Hazarajat. Significant communities of Hazara people also live in Quetta, Pakistan and in Mashad, Iran, as part of the Hazara and Afghan diasporas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barozai</span>

Barozai is a clan of Balailzai, a Pashtun tribe in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Panni (Panri) are also known as Balailzai. The Panni are descended from Gharghasht, one of Qais Abdur Rashid sons. Originated from present Pakistan-Afghanistan border and then mostly resettled in Karachi, Quetta, Zhob, Sibi, Sangan, Musakhail, Harnai, Dera Ismail Khan, Ziarat, Mardan, Peshawar, Kabul, Tank, Kohat.

The New Year Honours 1909 were appointments by King Edward VII to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were announced on 5 January 1909.

The 1903 New Year Honours, announced at the time as the Durbar Honours, were appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India. The list was announced on the day of the 1903 Delhi Durbar held to celebrate the succession of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra as Emperor and Empress of India. The membership of the two Indian Orders were expanded to allow for all the new appointments.

The 1911 Delhi Durbar was held in December 1911 following the coronation in London in June of that year of King George V and Queen Mary. The King and Queen travelled to Delhi for the Durbar. For the occasion, the statutory limits of the membership of the Order of the Star of India and the Order of the Indian Empire were increased and many appointments were made to these and other orders. These honours were published in a supplement to the London Gazette dated 8 December 1911.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghan Qizilbash</span> Shia Muslim ethnic group in Afghanistan

The Afghan Qizilbash are a Persian-speaking ethnic group in Afghanistan, mainly residing in Herat, Kabul and Kandahar. Numbering around 30,000, they are adherents of Twelver Shia Islam.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Ibrahimi, Niamatullah (2017). The Hazaras and the Afghan State Rebellion, Exclusion and the Struggle for Recognition. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9781849049818.
  2. ↑ "World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Afghanistan : Hazaras". Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. 1 2 Hakimi, Mehdi J. (25 July 2023). "The Afghan State and the Hazara Genocide". Harvard Human Rights Journal. 37. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "THE AMEER CAPTURES URZAGHAN". The New York Times. 2 October 1892. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  5. 1 2 دلجو, عباس (2014). تاریخ باستانی هزاره‌ها. کابل: انتشارات امیری. ISBN   978-9936801509.
  6. ↑ کاتب, فیض‌محمد (1913). سراج‌التواریخ. کابل: مطبعه دارالسلطنته.
  7. ↑ "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".
  8. ↑ Zamani, Ezzatullah (September 2019). "The 'Genocide of the Hazaras' in Afghanistan from 1884 to 1905 and subsequent genocidal campaigns and target killings against them in the 21st century".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ↑ Ibrahimi, Niamatullah (1 October 2017). The Hazaras and the Afghan State: Rebellion, Exclusion and the Struggle for Recognition. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-1-84904-981-8.
  10. ↑ Zamani, Ezzatullah (1 January 2019). "The 'Genocide of the Hazaras' in Afghanistan from 1884 to 1905 and subsequent genocidal campaigns and target killings against them in the 21st century". Genocide of the Hazaras of Afghanistan.
  11. ↑ Mohammadi, Ishaq (6 May 2022). "Hazara Genocide in Afghanistan (1892-1901)". Bolaq. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Alessandro Monsutti (15 December 2003). "HAZĀRA ii. HISTORY". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  13. 1 2 3 Mousavi, Sayed Askar (1998) [1997]. The Hazaras of Afghanistan: An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study. Richmond, NY: St. Martin's Press. ISBN   0-312-17386-5.
  14. ↑ "Refworld | World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Afghanistan : Hazaras". Refworld. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  15. ↑ News.D.No.48 F. No.124 F.C.,dated Sibi, 27 January 1893. From-Major-General Sir James Browne, K.C.S.I.,C.B.,R.E.,Agent to the governor-general in Baluchistan, To-The Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department. News-Letter No 3,
  16. ↑ News.D.No.128 F. No.1537, dated Quetta, 24 March 1893. From-Major-General Sir James Browne, K.C.S.I.,C.B.,R.E.,Agent to the governor-general in Balochistan, To-The Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department. News-letter No.11, By Khan Bahadur Mirza Muhammad Takki Khan, 17 March 1893.
  17. 1 2 News.D.No.186 F. No.2257, Quetta, 28 April 1893, From-Major-General Sir James Browne, K.C.S.I.,C.B.,R.E.,Agent to the governor-general in Baluchistan, To-The Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department. News-letter No.16, By Khan Bahadur Mirza Muhammad Takki Khan, 21 April 1893.
  18. ↑ News.D.No.29 F. No.26 F.C.,dated Camp Jacobabad, 14 January 1893. From-Major-General Sir James Browne, C.B.,K.C.S.I., R.E.,Agent to the governor-general in Baluchistan, To-The Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department. News-letter No.1, By Khan Bahadur Mirza Muhammad Taki Khan, 6 January 1893.
  19. ↑ Poladi, Hasan (1944). The Hazaras. Stockton, California: Mughal Publishing. p. 216. ISBN   0-929824-00-8.
  20. ↑ News. D.No.85 F. No.300 F.C., dated Sibi, 25 February 1893. From-Major-General Sir James Browne, K.C.S.I.,C.B.,R.E., Agent to the governor-general in Baluchistan, To-The Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department. News-letter No.6., By Khan Bahadur Mirza Muhammad Takki Khan, 10 February 1893.
  21. ↑ News.D.No. 242. F. No.2909,dated Quetta, 5 June 1893. From-Major-General Sir James Browne, K.C.S.I.,C.B.,R.E.,Agent to the governor-general in Baluchistan, To-The Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department. News-letter No.21, By Khan Bahadur, Mirza Muhammad Takki Khan, 27 May 1893.
  22. ↑ News. D.No.390 F. No.921. F.C., dated Ziarat, 11 September 1893. From-Major-General Sir James Browne, K.C.S.I.,C.B.,R.E.,Agent to the governor-general in Baluchistan, To-The Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department. News-letter. No.34, By Khan Bahadur Mirza Muhammad Takki Khan, 26 August 1893.
  23. ↑ Diaries.D.No 62, No. 177 F.C., dated Sibi, 6 February 1893. From-Major-General Sir James Browne, K.C.S.I., C.B., R.E., Agent to the governor-general in Baluchistan, To-The Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department. News-letter No.4, By Khan Bahadur Mirza Muhammad Takki Khan, 27 January 1893,
  24. ↑ News.D.No.243 F. No.2903, dated Quetta, 5 June 1893. From-Major-General Sir James Browne, K.C.S.I.,C.B.,R.E.,Agent to the governor-general in Baluchistan, To-The Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department. News-letter No.20, By Khan Bahadur Mirza Muhammad Taki Khan, 19 May 1893.
  25. ↑ "Chehl Dukhtaro". Hazara.net. April 2013. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019.
  26. ↑ Gier, Nicholas F. "THE GENOCIDE OF THE HAZARAS Descendants of Genghis Khan Fight for Survival in Afghanistan and Pakistan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2019.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  27. ↑ "Mule". Encyclopedia.com.
  28. ↑ Brain, Marshall. "How much does the human head actually way?". Brainstuff.
  29. ↑ Bussi, Pierluigi (19 January 2017). "IL GENOCIDIO DEGLI HAZARA". Kim International Magazine. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019.
  30. 1 2 "HAZĀRA". Arash Khazeni, Alessandro Monsutti, Charles M. Kieffer. United States: Encyclopædia Iranica. 15 December 2003. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  31. ↑ "Who are the Hazara". Pak Tribune. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  32. ↑ Hazara International (23 September 2021). "Hazara Genocide Memorial". Hazara International. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.