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The crisis of national identity in Afghanistan

National identity is that identity which a separate, independent and sovereign country has for defining its people. This identity gives a single dimension to all the inhabitants of a country as one nation. It shows the relationship of social groups to the country and vice-versa. This identity, which is higher than social group identities, creates the highest loyalty in the people and becomes а part of the social thought process of each individual. National identity, which has its own unique characteristics, cannot be created in a vacuum; rather it has to originate from the fundamental beliefs, values, and mores of the society.

Building of a national identity is a comparatively easy task in countries that have simpler social structures, such as Japan. However, in countries such as Afghanistan, which are situated at a geographic crossroads and are composed of many diverse social groups, nation building becomes a difficult and sensitive task. The process has several components and several stages of development. 

Introduction. National identity is one's identity or sense of belonging to one state or to one nation. It is the sense of a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, language and politics.National identity may refer to the subjective feeling one shares with a group of people about a nation, regardless of one's legal citizenship status.National identity is viewed in psychological terms as "an awareness of difference", a "feeling and recognition of 'we' and ‘they’’ [1].

One's national identity refers to the sense of belonging one has to a state or a nation, or a sense of solidarity one feels with a particular group without regard to one's actual citizenship status. This is not a trait with which people are born; rather, experiences from the common waystations of people's lives build their sense of national identity. Factors like language, national colors, national symbols, the history of the nation, blood connections, culture, cuisine, music and other factors all play a part. If one views national identity positively, it is typically called "patriotism," but if one views this negatively, it is sometimes known as "chauvinism [2].

When social order is politically disturbed in a society like Afghanistan, inter- and intra-group dynamics set forces in motion that cannot be harnessed once unleashed. While group dynamics dictate, for instance, that majorities behave as an integrative and cohesive force as their sense of loyalty lies in the wellbeing of the collective whole, a minority’s interests may on occasion diverge in the pursuit of greener pastures across the fence, allowing themselves to be used as vulnerable pawns by others.

When political conflicts are deemed irresolvable, existing social frictions are manipulated and exacerbated, calling into question the identities as defined by the status quo ante. In an identity power struggle, defining is empowerment, but being defined by others inherently implies disenfranchisement and vilification. Once a group is identified as “the other,” the designation is often carried over from social attitude to political platform and eventually it becomes a military strategy, resulting in the phases of social alienation, political disenfranchisement, ethnic cleansing, and ultimately in civil war [3].

Materials and methods. The main sources used in writing the article can be divided into the following groups: 1) historiographical sources, represented by the general and special studies, scientific and reference books that characterize this problem; 2) periodicals 3) statistical data.

The methodological basis for the study is realized with the help of general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction; especially historical, historiographical methods: systematic, comparative, each of which allows us to solve research problems. Comparative analysis method made it possible to consider the history of Afghanistan at its various stages, to determine the relationship of history and modernity, to compare different points of view on the problem of the ethnic politics in Afghanistan, to identify general patterns and features of the evolutionary development of the idea of nation building, to determine the most debatable issues (nation building, the ethno-nationalist).

Discussion. The theoretical basis of the study became the provisions of scientific works of afghan scientists- Andeshmand Muhamad Akram, Badakhshani Ghufran, Afkhami Mahbubullah. Some aspects of the problem are considered by the authors examining questions of political ideology, nation building, ethnicity and ethnic politics of Afdhanistan-Mansur Abdulhafiz, Musharafi Dedar Alli, Husaini Sadeqa .

Results. Beside ethnic identities, such as Uzbek, Hazara, Tajik, Pashtun, and Turkmen, there is a national identity of “Afghan” for all individuals who live in Afghanistan regardless of ethnic or religious ties. The word “Afghan” has been presented to the world as a common national identity for all ethnic groups including Pashtun and non-Pashtun ethnic groups. However, non-Pashtun groups generally dislike using the identity of “Afghan”, arguing that it just identifies the Pashtuns, not Tajiks, Uzbeks and other ethnic groups. They are reluctant to use the term because there is a considerable amount of debate over the term “Afghan” to identify a specific ethnic group. In fact, the history behind the term “Afghan” is quite controversial due to various sources of where it originated from. In Persian, the meaning of “Afghan” is to shout, to whine and to moan. There is strong evidence that “Afghan” only referred to the Pashtun ethnic group, but later on it was extended to the whole population by the political dictates of Pashtun regimes. The history of Afghanistan shows that the term “Afghan” referred to only one ethnic group not only before Ahmad Shah Abdali, but also during and after his kingdom. Ahmad Shah Baba, the founder of Afghanistan, in his letter to Ottoman Emperor Sultan Mustafa the third, repeatedly mentioned a great tribe called “Afghan” and referred it to Pashtuns [4]. Just like in conversational language today, the word “Afghan” was used as opposed to “Tajik”, “Uzbek”, “Hazara”, and “Arab” at that time. In addition, Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani (1897), a great Afghan scholar, historian and political activist, in his book “Tetimmetu’l Beyan fi Tarikhi Afghan” discusses the history and the meaning of the term “Afghan”. He says, “Persians used to call them ’Afghan‘ and the reason was they were shouting and whining when they were captured by ‘Bakht Nasr‘. In Persian, ’Afghan‘ means to shout or to whine, and ordinary Persian (Farsiwans) call them “Awghan” (Afghani, . In another place of this book, Afghani states that the language of the Afghans is called Pashto. Anthony Hyman (2002), an expert of Afghanistan, argues that the term “Afghan” was always specifically identified with Pashtuns and Pashtun dominance. He continues, “The usage of the term ’Afghanistan‘ came about naturally enough, because 19th-century British writers approached the country from the south where, of course, Pashtun tribes were settled, while Pashtun rulers were also dominant politically”. It is ironic that the name of country as Afghanistan is given by the British when they first invaded Afghanistan in 19th Century. The areas that they encountered were predominantly Pashtun and since they knew “Afghan” as synonymous with “Pashtun” they therefore erroneously declared the entire country as “Land of the Afghan” or “Afghanistan” . Bellew (1880) in his book, The Races of Afghanistan, says, “The principal nationalities which together compose the inhabitants of Afghanistan, are the Afghan, the Pathan, the Ghilzai, the Tajik, the Hazarah and the Uzbeks...Interestingly, he argue that the Afghan, the Pathan, and the Ghilzai are the Pukhto (Pashto) [5]. The Post-Taliban constitution of Afghanistan (2004) officially recognize the term “Afghan” as a national identity of the country. In its fourth Article it states, “The nation of Afghanistan consists of all individuals who are the citizen of Afghanistan. The word Afghan applies to every citizen of Afghanistan.” There were many debates in the constitutional making process in Afghanistan. One of the major debates in the constitution making process in Afghanistan was whether to formally recognize “ethnicity” within institutions of the state and just accept the word of “Afghan” as a national identity (Adeney, 2008). However, in Loya Jirya of 17 2003 the members demanded that citizens should be called “Afghanistani” and that the name of the currency be changed from the Afghani to the paisa . A well-known expert of Afghanistan, Barnett Rubin (2004), states that the Pashtuns are the titular ethnicity of the country. That is, he says, the word Afghan was originally nothing more than a variation of the word Pashtun, making Afghanistan literally the "land of the Pashtun." One of the primary problems in the issue of ethnic politics in Afghanistan originated from the crisis of national identity because we do not have a clear definition of national identify and the debates over it remain still unsolved. For this reason, “Afghan” national identity is not an inclusive identity that embraces all ethnic groups. The real problem is that this word, “Afghan”, is being forced upon the country for all non-Pashtun ethnic groups and they are told to go by this name. As mentioned above, it is registered in the constitution that each person should be referred to as an Afghan. Despite the fact that the term “Afghan” refers to Pashtuns and Pashtun elites imposed it as the country’s national identity, today, a sense of Afghan national identity does exist among non-Pashtun ethnic groups. However, members of these groups are reluctant to use the term “Afghan”. Instead of “Afghan”, they use the term “Afghanistani” to identify themselves. Most prestigious magazines and newspapers that belong to non-Pashtun groups, such as Kabul Press, Kokcha Press, and Afghanpaper are reluctant to use the word “Afghan” and prefer to use the word “Afghanistani”, which means who lives in and holds citizenship of Afghanistan[6].

Before the process of modernization, Afghanis used to identify with religious and tribal values. The process of modernization brought to them the concept of the nation-state and then nationality. This formation of the nation is not yet complete, however. For example, during this period various national flags and anthems appeared but mostly they did not last because they reflected ideological agendas rather than national ideals. Even the name of Afghanistan still is controversial since it may reflect only one tribal identity. While the constitution and Pashtu groups emphasize the term “Afghan” referring to Afghani citizens, non-Pashtu groups use “Afghanistani.” Last year a huge dispute erupted over issuing new Afghani national ID cards mentioning tribal identity. The latest presidential election in Afghanistan, the only peaceful transition of power in modern Afghanistan, led to very aggressive and heated debate due to tribal and racial tensions. All this only suggests how much Afghanis still struggle to establish a national identity [7].

If the process of nation making has had only limited success up till this point, the shaping of a religious identity is visibly regressing. The dominance of textual trends is going to affect new generations. The corrupt government and un-seen benefits of international aid for public benefit or infrastructural construction in Afghanistan has always paved and still paves the way for extremists.

In sum, the lack of a national identity and the distance from the moderating spirit of Afghani Islam have led to the crisis of the Afghani spirit. The same crisis makes any clear prediction about Afghanistan’s future fraught with difficulty [8].

The Afghan government is seeking to issue biometric cards to citizens to help curtail election fraud and promote national unity. But the issue of whether to include citizens' ethnicity has instead highlighted Afghanistan's historical ethnic divisions, largely because critics believe putting everyone under the "Afghan" umbrella is politically advantageous to the country's largest ethnic group, the Pashtuns.

Conclusion. Ethnic rifts run deep in Afghanistan, and ethnicity is closely tied to citizens' broader sense of political and social identity.

Some argue that, with precise population estimates unavailable because Afghanistan has never conducted a nationwide census, documenting citizens' ethnicity on the national ID card could help the government accurately determine the size of the country's various ethnic groups.

This is contentious because ethnic minorities in Afghanistan claim that population estimates used to determine political representation greatly overstate the percentage of Pashtuns, which arguably results in the group taking a greater share of power than it deserves.

Advocates of the effort to forge a common Afghan identity, however, say singling out citizens' ethnicity could be divisive. Excluding mention of ethnicity on the ID cards, they argue, could promote unity in the volatile multiethnic country.

One of the reasons of the deep crisis in political, social and cultural areas in Afghanistan is its ethnic policy. The authors of this article believe that Afghanistan’s government has to solve the current conflict that is interpreted as an ethnic one. In this case it is possible to learn the historical experience of Afghanistan in the period between the 1963 and 1973 Afghans often refer to this as their country’s Golden Age or long years of peace and stability [9].

 

References:

  1. Musharafi Dedar, Alli Buhran Huiat mali dar Afghanistan / Musharafi Dedar, Alli -Kabul, - 2010, 320p.
  2. Andeshmand Muhamad, Akram Dawlat Melat sazi dar Afghanistan / Andeshmand Muhamad, Akram Dawlat.- Kabul, 2014.-450
  3. Husaini Sadeqa Terrorism va ravand dawlat sazi dar Afghanistan / Husaini -Kabul, - 2013.-325 p.
  4. Mansour Abdulhafiz Political obstacle development in / Mansour Abdulhafiz. Kabul, 2013. -312 p.
  5. Andeshmand Muhamad, Akram Dawlat Melat sazi dar Afghanistan / Andeshmand Muhamad, Akram Dawlat.- Kabul, 2014.-450 p
  6. Afkhami Mahbubullah Malati ki sakhta nashud / Afkhami Mahbubullah. Kabul, - 2015. - 450
  7. Afkhami Mahbubullah Malati ki sakhta nashud / Afkhami Mahbubullah. Kabul, - 2015. - 450
  8. Badakhshani Ghufran Government without nation / Badakhshani - Kabul, 2013.-345 p.
  9. Amiry Noorulhaq. The golden decade of Afghans’ history// Вестник КазНПУ им. Абая, Серия «Международная жизнь и политика»- – T. 47. №4. - C.55-58

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