Searching for Afghanistan
10 years of USSR occupation, 20 years of US occupation, and a
dangerous interregnum of devastation caused by hidden landmines. A brutal 42
years. It is impossible for anyone to comprehend how Afghanistan resisted for
so long.
Since all three superpowers with vested interest, Britain in
the 19th century and USSR and USA in the 20th and 21st centuries,
failed to subdue Afghanistan, one hopes that the Afghanis will be left at last,
to find their own equilibrium.
The main actors of resistance during the two occupations –
the Mujahidin and the Taliban – have come to represent the image of
Afghanistan. They are in effect armies,
while it is civilians who determine society and culture.
Tamin Ansary, author of “Games without Rules: The
Often-Interrupted History of Afghanistan” recognizes that there is a nostalgia
for a past that can never be restored. However, he says, “That does not mean we
should ignore what that nostalgia craves”.
So what is Afghanistan when you peel back the layers of war
and occupation? The Rigveda mentions the Pakta which may be Pakhtun, the Greek
historian Herodotus refers to Pakteus, the Sassanians called them Abgan, and
the traveler Hiuen-Tsang uses the name Avakan. The Indus Civilization extended into
Afghanistan. The Aryans, like many others after, entered India through
Afghanistan , once called Ariana. The Kushan kingdom extended from Bactria ( Balkh) to Mathura in Northern India .The region was
conquered by Cyrus II, Alexander, Turkic tribes, Genghis Khan, Timur, Mauryas,
Hindu Shahi rulers, and even Babar, who is buried in his beloved Kabul.
Until the Muslims arrived in the 7th and 8th Centuries,
the people were largely Buddhist.
These culturally
diverse conquerors contributed to the complex demography as they settled in
this land. For centuries the Silk Route, established connections from the
Mediterranean to China. The earliest mention of the name
"Afghanistan" was in the 13th century as a country between Khorasan
and Hind.
The oasis of
Balkh, a key stop on the Silk Route, became a Hellenistic capital, was renowned
as the cradle of Sufism, and along with Merv in Turkmenistan, became a centre
for Arab settlers, and a hub of commerce, learning and culture. It was called Umm
al- Bilad (Mother of Cities) and Qubbat ul Islam (Dome of Islam). Balkh was
home to Rābi'a Balkhī, the first woman poet of Persian poetry. It was the birthplace
of Rumi, and possibly where Zoroaster began preaching.
Herat, was a thriving city of culture with its own poets,
such as Jami, as well as Sufis, including the 11th century Sufi
Saint, Abdullah Ansari, known as Pir-i-
Herat. Rumi called Herat ‘the pearl’ of Khorasan. It had its most creative
period under Timurid rule. Both Balkh and Herat had branches of the famous Nizamiyyah
University. When Herat was conquered by
the Uzbeks, many scholars fled. When another Timurid, Babar, conquered Kabul,
they flocked there and followed him to India. It has been said Herat was reborn
in the Mughal court of India.
Beautiful hand blown Herat glass preserves the 2700 year old
Mesopotamian formula. Although the years of war have tragically disrupted the
local industry, a market for Herat glass is emerging in Japan via Pakistan.
The now infamous Bagram(Kapisa) may perhaps be once again known as an
archaeological site, the summer capital of the Kushans.
Afghanistan is known the world over for its beautiful rugs
and kilims, woven by Turkman and Afghani Baluch women. The women weavers even
created war carpets expressing the
horrors of the Soviet invasion, inserting
subtle designs of tanks, machine guns, helicopters and landmines. An
Afghani carpet trader in Karachi said the US cluster bombs destroyed many herds
of sheep, halting the production of rugs till new herds could be formed.
The most fascinating export from Afghanistan is Lapis Lazuli
mined in the remote Sar-e-Sang valley, the only source for the exquisite blue
stone till the 18th century. It was used by the ancient Egyptians and
Babylonians for jewelry and amulets as a defense against the evil eye.
Cleopatra used it as eyeshadow. Renaissance artists ground it to create the
brilliant blue reserved for the clothing of the Madonna. An ounce of lapis cost
the same as an ounce of gold.
As scholar Arezou Azad says “Place is not a static thing. It
is created and recreated over time” One
can only hope the Afghani people can put war behind them and restore the rich
and diverse culture of their land.
Durriya Kazi
September 12, 2021
Comments
Post a Comment