History of the Pashtun people
The Tughlaq Sultans who ruled India in 14th century, were from that part of Khurasan which is now western Afghanistan. They belonged to the Qarauna/Negudari tribe of Mongols, spoke Mongolian, and were related to but distinct from Hazaras. Tughlaq was not the name of their tribe but the name of the founder of the dynasty … Read more
Some Pashtuns of Afghanistan (particularly the diaspora) get offended when Uzbeks, Tajiks and Hazaras refer to them as Awghan (اوغان), thinking it is a derogatory distortion of the word Afghan. But there is plenty of evidence to suggest that it is Awghan which is original while Afghan might be its Arabic or Persian modification of … Read more
In 1842 Hazaras in the vicinity of Ghazni approached British and expressed their wish and desire that British invaders should exterminate the Pashtun race and repopulate the country (eastern Afghanistan) with Indians and Hazaras. Henry Rawlinson in his diary (unpublished) writes: “The Huzareh all visited us and did their best to supply us. They have … Read more
Hazaras, like other Shias of Afghanistan, welcomed the British invaders during the First Anglo-Afghan war in their sectarian hatred for Sunni Pashtuns. There did not appear to be repercussions for them for collaborating with British invaders in the First Anglo-Afghan war. However, in Second Anglo-Afghan war, their enmity with Pashtuns turned very dark and ugly. … Read more
Mir Khvand in his book Rauzat-us Safa (written in 1497 AD) tell us that Chenghiz Khan sent his youngest son Tulai to conquer Khurasan and to devastate its cities of Merv, Nishapur and Herat. Mongols slaughtered all the inhabitants of these cities. The following year he sent an army of 80,000 to kill the whole … Read more