WHO ARE THE TAJIKS OF AFGHANISTAN?
Here you will find short answers to the most frequently asked question. Click on the links for more information.
Is it okay to refer to the Tajiks of Afghanistan as ‘Afghans’?
Opinions on this vary. Some Tajiks from Afghanistan refer to themselves as Afghans or Tajik Afghans, but others see the word ‘Afghan’ as being synonymous with Pashtun and do not identify with this term. Some suggest referring to Tajiks from Afghanistan as ‘Afghanistanis’, indicating that they belong to the lands now referred to as ‘Afghanistan’ without confusing their identity with that of Pashtuns. However, other Tajiks find this problematic as well since they do not agree with the name of the country as such, as they consider the term ‘Afghanistan’ (land of the Pashtuns) to be ethnocentric and exclusive to the majority of the population of the country which is non-Pashtun.
Are Tajiks originally from Tajikistan?
The Tajiks of Afghanistan are indigenous to the territories of Afghanistan. It is not only inaccurate but also offensive, to refer to the Tajiks of Afghanistan as ‘migrants’, ‘refugees’, or ‘foreigners’, given that much of the territories of Afghanistan are in fact their ancestral lands. In the 1990s, the Taliban in fact used the false argumentation that Tajiks and other non-Pashtuns are not native to Afghanistan to persecute the non-Pashtuns of Afghanistan (1).
How are the Tajiks of Afghanistan related to Tajiks in other countries?
Prior to the formation of Afghanistan – and the rest of the region’s modern states –, the Tajik people of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and other neighboring countries were not separated by colonial borders. The Tajiks in these now separate countries are all one nation but have been living under different circumstances depending on the borders they now happen to reside in.
More on this can be found in Richard Foltz’s ‘A History of the Tajiks – Iranians of the East’ (2019)
Are Tajiks Persian?
The term ‘Persians’ is currently often used to refer to the Persians of the country Iran. Although Tajiks and the Persians of Iran share a common language and culture, they are not the same nation. Persians from Iran are Western Iranians (just like Kurdish people), whereas Tajiks are Eastern Iranians (just like Baluch and Pashtun people).
However, we – Tajiks – are Persian in the sense that our mother tongue, culture, and customs are Persian. Despite the often incorrect modern use of the term ‘Persian’, before the formation of colonial borders, being Persian was not about having a specific ethnicity, lineage, or living in a certain territory. It was rather about embracing the Persian ‘adab’ – way of life and ethics, including language, culture, and customs. That is why, in Persian, Persians often refer to ourselves not as ‘Persians’ in the sense of having a set genetic makeup, but rather as ‘Farsi-zaban’ or ‘Farsiwan’ (Persian speaking) to indicate that we embrace the Persian adab.
Read more on this in Mana Kia’s book ‘Persianate Selves: Memories of Place and Origin Before Nationalism’ (2020)
Who are the ancestors of the Tajiks?
Tajiks are mainly the descendants of Sogdians and Bactrians (eastern Iranian groups), with an admixture of Turks, Arabs, Western Persians, Arabs, and Indic people. Since the territories of Bactria largely overlap with the territories of modern Afghanistan, the Tajiks of Afghanistan’s main ancestors are the Bactrians (with an admixture of other nations). Tajiks, by definition, are people with mixed genetic lineage.
What distinguishes Tajiks from other modern Eastern Iranians such as Baloch or Pashtun people?
What distinguishes Tajiks from other Eastern Iranian nations – other than possible differences in lineage – is that we are Persians. We embrace the Persian ‘adab’: we speak Persian and embody Persian culture and customs.
What do Tajiks look like?
Tajiks are a diverse Iranian nation. Our appearance varies by region and exact genetic lineage. By global standards, we are of average build.
Many of us are olive-colored and have dark hair and brown eyes. Some of us have lighter – sometimes white – skin, and/or blue or green eyes, and/or light brown or dark blonde hair. Yet, others of us have darker brown ‘sabza’ or ‘gandumi’ skin.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
