Hazaras and Being Ignored in Discourse of National Unity

Afghanistan is engulfed in numerous crises, each of which has caused devastating damage to the wounded body of this country and acted as a strong and invincible barrier in the path of “development” and “nation building”. One of the most serious crises affecting Afghanistan is the crisis of “national identity” and “national unity”, which is one of the main and fundamental obstacles to becoming a nation. The feature of ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious and identity pluralism in Afghanistan has caused this country to travel a path full of challenges and problems throughout its history, and every day it goes “historically backward” more than yesterday. This has become one of the most vulnerable points that global and regional powers on the one hand and domestic opportunistic politicians on the other hand have used to expand their sphere of influence and control over this country and have benefited greatly from it.

The ethnic divisions that have been deliberately and consciously created among the citizens by external and internal factors have turned the geography of Afghanistan into separate ethnic identities that are considered impossible to collect and create solidarity and unity in. The hatred and disgust that they have created among the ethnic groups of Afghanistan is so deep and has penetrated into different layers of the society that some ethnic groups consider the killing and destruction of others as a necessity for the continuation of life and have no right to participate in political and economic affairs, and they do not provide social services for them.

The inhumane policy that has been operating as a part of the institutionalized political culture in Afghanistan for centuries is the cause of this disaster and its adoption is done with the aim of staying in power, monopolizing power and continuing it forever. Therefore, politics and power in Afghanistan, instead of looking for a solution to reduce and eliminate wide ethnic divisions and discrimination, mainly seeks to expand it further.

The most interesting and surprising point here is that in the chaotic market of Afghan politics, every regime and government that comes to power, its first and biggest slogan is to fight against ethnic and religious discrimination, and they always raise this issue as an important and fundamental need, and work in this direction and they present it to the people as their achievements, while in practice they act contrary to their words and beat the drum of hypocrisy and divisiveness and follow the policy of excluding others.

Hazaras, as one of the four major ethnic groups living in this land, have suffered more than any other ethnic group in this path and suffered heavy blows. Hazaras have experienced the highest level of deprivation of citizenship rights and political participation. The neglect of the Hazaras in the false discourse of national unity is clearer than day, and the politicians of Afghanistan from the distant past until now, although they emphasize the peaceful coexistence of all ethnic groups living in the country and call Afghanistan a common land of all ethnic groups, but in the field of practice, Hazaras are treated as a complete exception. We have seen and heard a lot that from ordinary citizens to thinkers and high-ranking politicians, to show the way of thinking and beliefs against ethnic policies, they talk about the unity and solidarity of ethnic groups, and in this regard, they also mention various ethnic groups, but sometimes the name “Hazara” even in the row of other ethnic groups of Afghanistan are not included and somehow the reality is hidden. With such an attitude, which is highly likely to be deliberate, the belief is simply created in the minds of the people that in a land called Afghanistan, national unity, national solidarity and national participation are one of the requirements of moving towards becoming a nation, but in this way, the Hazaras are not included and they should not include trends.

The exclusion of Hazaras and the deliberate passing of the name “Hazara” means denying the presence of Hazaras in Afghanistan, and shows that the policy of identity concealment is going on against Hazaras, and the ultimate goal of many groups is the formation of Afghanistan without “Hazaras” in the future.

Insisting on continuing the vicious cycle of ignoring and eliminating ethnic groups will undoubtedly never lead to the establishment of stability in Afghanistan. Going to the past history of Afghanistan, which has witnessed this policy for centuries, easily proves its ineffectiveness. Historical lessons show the undeniable fact that the failed policies of the past must be abandoned. History is a lesson for future generations, and the catastrophic historical events in Afghanistan should be properly diagnosed and used as lessons for the future.

The biggest and most important lesson of history for Afghanistan is that by humanizing politics and correcting the wrong beliefs of the past, it will create the ground for the real participation of all ethnic groups in all spheres of life in Afghanistan. Undoubtedly, with such an approach, in the not too distant future, we will witness the emergence of stability and peace, and in the existence of national solidarity and a single national identity, development will gradually become possible.