Nuristanis
Ethnic group of Afghanistan and Pakistan / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Nuristanis are an ethnic group native to the Nuristan Province of northeastern Afghanistan and Chitral District of northwestern Pakistan.[5] Their languages comprise the Nuristani branch of Indo-Iranian languages.[6]
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Total population | |
---|---|
c. 125,000–300,000[1][2] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Nuristan, Kunar, Afghanistan Chitral, Pakistan | |
Languages | |
Nuristani languages, Pashto, serving as the lingua franca and widely understood as a second language | |
Religion | |
Sunni Islam [3][4] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Kalash, Pashayi, Kho |
In the mid-1890s, after the establishment of the Durand Line when Afghanistan and the British Indian Empire reached an agreement regarding the Indo-Afghan border for a period of time, Emir Abdur Rahman Khan conducted a military campaign in Kafiristan and followed up his conquest with forced conversion of the Kafirs to Islam;[7][8] the region thenceforth being known as Nuristan, the "Land of Light".[9][10][11][12] Before their conversion, the Nuristanis practised a form of ancient Hinduism.[4][13][3] Non-Muslim religious practices endure in Nuristan today to some degree as folk customs. In their native rural areas, they are often farmers, herders, and dairymen.
The Nuristan region has been a prominent location for war, which has led to the death of many indigenous Nuristanis.[14][15] Nuristan has also received abundance of settlers from the surrounding Afghan regions due to the borderline vacant location.[16][17]