Nuristan Province
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nuristan (نورستان) | |
| Province | |
| Country |  Afghanistan |
|---|---|
| Population | 112,000 [1] |
| Governor | Eng. Hazrat Din Noor |
| Timezone | GMT+4:30 |
| Main language | Nuristani |
 Map of Afghanistan with Nuristan highlighted
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Nuristān (نورستان), also spelled Nurestān or Nooristan, is a region embedded in the south of Hindu Kush valleys. Its administrative center is Parun. It was formerly known as Kafiristan (land of the unbelievers or infidels) until they were forcibly converted to Islam in 1896 which brought light (nur) to the area.[2] Today it is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, formed in 1989 and officially established in 2001 from the northern parts of Laghman Province and Kunar Province. Before 2001 its capital was situated in Laghman province due to Mujahideen control over Nuristan province. The population of around 300,000 is almost exclusively Nuristani, with a small representation of Gujar, Tajik, and Pashtun residents. [3] The primary occupations are agriculture, animal husbandry, and day labor. Located on the southern slopes of the Hindu Kush mountains in the northeastern part of the country, Nuristan spans the basins of the Alingâr, Pech, Landai Sin, and Kunar rivers. Its administrative center is located in the Parun valley. It is bordered on the north by Badakhshan Province, on the west by Panjshir Province, on the south by Laghman and Kunar provinces, and on the east by Pakistan.
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[edit] History
Until the 1890s, the region was known as Kafiristan (Persian: Land of the non-believers) because of its inhabitants: the Nuristani, an ethnically distinctive people who are of Greek origins (numbering about 60,000) who practiced animism, polytheism and shamanism[2].
[edit] Advent of Islam
The region was conquered by Emir Abdur Rahman Khan in 1895-96 and the Nuristani were then converted to Islam.
| “ | The Kafirs are thought to be the original inhabitants of the plains country of Afghanistan in what is now Nuristan. They were driven back into the mountain areas by the arrival of Islam in the country about 700AD. They are thought to be the descendents of the old Indian population that used to occupy the region, and they did not convert to Islam with the rest of the population, remaining pagan for several more centuries. Their language is much akin to Sanskrit.[4] | ” |
| “ | The Kafirs were largely independent until the late nineteenth century, when the region was attacked by the forces of Abdur Rahman and the population was more forcibly converted to Islam .[5] | ” |
| “ | They had only been converted to Islam as late as the 1890s , at the point of the sword [6] | ” |
The region was renamed Nuristan, meaning Land of the Enlightened, a reflection of the "enlightening" of the pagan Nuristani by the "light-giving" of Islam.
Nuristan was once thought to have been a region through which Alexander the Great passed with a detachment of his army; thus the folk legend that the Nuristani people are direct descendants of Alexander (or "his generals"). In fact the European appearance of the locals is due to much earlier Indo-European migration.
Abdul Wakil Khan Nuristani is one of the most prominent figures in Nuristan's history. He fought against the British army and drove them out of the eastern provinces of Afghanistan. His monument stands in Chahrahi Dehmazung in the capital Kabul, Afghanistan. He is buried on the same pleatue where King Amanullah Khan is buried.
Nuristan was the scene of some of the heaviest guerrilla fighting during the 1979-89 invasion and occupation of Afghanistan by Soviet forces. For a period of time during this era, the eastern area of Nuristan was a semi-autonomous region called the Islamic Revolutionary State of Afghanistan, or Dawlat. It was a Wahhibist Islamic state run by anti-Soviet warlord Maulvi Afzal and was recognized by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The Dawlat dissolved under Taliban rule. [1]
Nuristan is one of the poorest and most remote provinces of Afghanistan. As of Summer 2006, no NGO's operate in Nuristan because of a poor security situation and lack of infrastructure. Largly in response to a publicity campaign by Nuristan's first governor, Tamim Nuristani, roads are being built between Nangarej to Mandol and Chapa Dara to Titan Dara [2]. Nuristani also worked on a direct road route to Laghman province, in order to not be so dependent on the road through restive Kunar province to the rest of Afghanistan.
[edit] Districts
| District | Center | Population | Area[7] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bargi Matal | ||||
| Du Ab | Created in 2005 within Kamdesh District | |||
| Kamdesh | Sub-divided in 2005 | |||
| Mandol | ||||
| Nurgram | Created in 2005 within Kamdesh District | |||
| Paroon | ||||
| Wama | ||||
| Want Waygal |
[edit] Politics
From 2005 Tamim Nuristani was governor of Nuristan Province but was fired by Afghan president Hamid Karzai in July 2008. His replacement as governor, Hazrat Din Noor, was killed in a car crash on September 5, 2008.[8]
[edit] Security Situation
Since Nuristan is the only ethnically homogeneous province in Afghanistan, there are few incidents of inter-ethnic violence. However, there are instances of disputes between inhabitants, some of which continue for decades. Nuristan has suffered from its inaccessibility and lack of infrastructure. The government presence is under-developed, even compared to neighboring provinces. Nuristan's formal educational sector is weak, with few professional teachers.
The terrain, coupled with its proximity to Pakistan, make Nuristan vulnerable to infiltration from anti-government elements who receive support and sanctuary in Pakistan. This does not necessarily mean that the insurgents enjoy the support of Nuristanis.
At Kala Gush in Nurgram district there is a U.S. led Provincial Reconstruction Team. It augments local security, mentors local governance and provides development assistance to support the sub-national administration at the provincial and district levels. Other Coalition military units that operate in Nuristan are based at Kala Gush; Nangalam, Pech District, Kunar Province; and Narai District, Kunar Province.
[edit] Trivia
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (December 2008) |
- Nuristan is the subject of the book A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by the British travel writer Eric Newby.
- Nuristan was the location of three of the missions in Hitman 2: Silent Assassin.
- Rudyard Kipling's short story The Man Who Would Be King and the film it inspired are set in pre-Islamic Nuristan (when Muslims called it Kafiristan, the Land of the Kafirs, or infidels).
[edit] External Sources
[edit] References
- ^ Provinces of Afghanistan on Statoids.
- ^ a b Klimberg, Max (October 1, 2004). "NURISTAN". Encyclopædia Iranica (Online Edition ed.). United States: Columbia University. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/unicode/ot_grp6/ot_nuristan_20041001.html.
- ^ Cultural and Conflict Studies, Nuristan Province
- ^ Conflict in Afghanistan: a historical encyclopediaBy Frank Clements, Ludwig W. Adamec Edition: illustrated Published by ABC-CLIO, 2003 Page 139 ISBN 1851094024, 9781851094028
- ^ Conflict in Afghanistan: a historical encyclopediaBy Frank Clements, Ludwig W. Adamec Edition: illustrated Published by ABC-CLIO, 2003 Page 139 ISBN 1851094024, 9781851094028
- ^ A passage to Nuristan: exploring the mysterious Afghan hinterland By Nicholas Barrington, Joseph T. Kendrick, Reinhard Schlagintweit Edition: illustrated Published by I.B.Tauris, 2006 Page Preface xiii ISBN 1845111753, 9781845111755
- ^ Afghanistan Geographic & Thematic Layers
- ^ AFP: Afghan provincial governor dies in car crash
- Dupree, Nancy Hatch (1977): An Historical Guide to Afghanistan. 1st Edition: 1970. 2nd Edition. Revised and Enlarged. Afghan Tourist Organization. LINK
- Richard F. Strand. Richard Strand's Nuristan Site LINK. The most accurate and comprehensive source on Nuristan, by the world's leading scholar on the languages and ethnic groups of Nuristan.
- M. Klimburg. NURISTAN in Encyclopedia Iranica. LINK
[edit] See also
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