The Hazaras are an ethnic group and a principal component of the population of Afghanistan. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan and primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan. Hazaras are also as significant minority groups in Pakistan mainly in Quetta and Iran mainly in Mashhad. They speak the Dari and Hazaragi dialects of Persian. Dari, also known as Dari Persian, is one of two official languages of Afghanistan.
Baghlan is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country. As of 2020, the province has a population of about 1,014,634.
Kayan is a town in Baghlan Province in north eastern Afghanistan It is located in the valley of Kayan, some 30 kilometres west of Dushi. It is the official seat of Sayed of Kayan; a ruling Historical title of Northern Afghanistan. The residents of Kayan valley are mostly members of Sadat and Hazara tribes loyal to Sayed Kayan who has been the official representative of Aga Khan in Afghanistan. These Sayyids follow Isma'ili Islam.
Sayed Isma'el Balkhi was one of the most prominent Hazara reformist leaders in 20th-century Afghanistan. As a poet, mystic and a political leader, Balkhi is considered the figurehead of modern Hazara history.
Sayed Kayan or Sayed of Kayan is a ruling title in northern areas of Afghanistan. Ismaili community in Afghanistan is led by this family of Syeds hailing from the historical valley of Kayan Baghlan.
Sayed Mansur Naderi is incumbent Sayed of Kayan; leader of Ismaili Shi'a community of Afghanistan centred in Baghlan Province and also in other parts of Afghanistan. This community although Shia is smaller than the mainstream Twelver Shia community in Afghanistan.
Shia Islam in Afghanistan is practiced by a significant minority of the population. According to a PEW 2021 survey, 7% of Afghans followed Shia Islam, but other estimates have put the number as high as 35%. Afghanistan's Shia are primarily the Twelvers, while a minority are Ismailis.
Massoud Nawabi also known as Ustad Nawabi, was an Afghan poet, writer, and founder of the Educational Committee for Afghan Refugees (ECAR), Afghan Cultural Center, Ghulam Habib Nawabi, Chief Administrator of the Afghan Ibn-e-Sina University and Principle of Ariana Mahajir High School. Massoud Nawabi was the Son of Ghulam Habib Nawabi, who was the last of the great Persian Poet and among the first to introduce modern Dari poetry to Afghanistan.
Kamran Mir Hazar is a Hazara Norwegian poet, journalist and human rights activist. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Kabul Press and Refugee Face. He has won various awards for his work and critical reporting, including a Hellman/ Hammett grant from American Human Rights Watch in 2008 and Freedom award from Afghanistan Civil Society Forum in 2007. Kamran Mir Hazar is a member of The Norwegian Writers' Center.
Sayed Sadat Mansoor Naderi is an entrepreneur and politician. He was Afghanistan's State Minister for Peace from 2020 to 2021 and Minister of Urban Development and Housing from 2015 - 2018.
Mohammad Sharif Saiidi is a poet from Afghanistan.
Sayed Abutalib Mozaffari, is an ethnic Hazara poet and writer from Afghanistan.
Poopak Niktalab is an Iranian education theorist, author, and literary researcher, especially of children's literature.
The Balkhab uprising was a Hazara rebellion in Balkhab district, Sar-e Pol province, Afghanistan against the Taliban. It was led by Mehdi Mujahid, and it began on 23 June 2022 after Mehdi Mujahid's forces captured Balkhab district.
Abdulghafour Arezou is an Afghan writer, poet, Bīdelšinās, former ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to Tajikistan and former university professor. By 2014 he had written more than 40 books about Persian poetry and literature, culture, and politics and was called one of the most prominent writers of modern Afghanistan by the former president of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani. For his contribution to culture and language, he was awarded the medal of Ghazi Mir Bacha Khan kohdamani and the Abolghasem Ferdowsi's artistic cultural emblem.
The world's largest handmade Quran was unveiled in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2012. It was crafted by Afghan calligrapher Mohammed Sabeer Khedri Hussani and his team.
Warlord of Kayan is a documentary film directed by Jeff B. Harmon in 1989, focusing Sayed Jafar Naderi, also known as Jeff Naderi. Sayed Jafar is the elder son of Sayed Mansur Naderi, an Ismaili leader in Afghanistan. The film delves into Sayed Jafar's life journey from a former hippie motorcycle gang member and heavy metal drummer in the United States to a political and military figure in Afghanistan. The film won the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival.
The Eagle of Kayan, also known as the Kayan Eagle, was an architectural structure situated in the Kayan Valley of northern Baghlan Province, Afghanistan. Constructed in the early 1990s, this structure became a landmark, symbolizing cultural strength and architectural ingenuity. The Eagle of Kayan was officially inaugurated on December 10, 1996, in a grand ceremony attended by political and cultural figures from across Afghanistan.
