Table of Contents

• The Word "Hazara"
• The Hazaras
• The Hazara land, Hazarajat
• The Hazargi Language
• The Hazara Religion
• The Father of Hazara nation
• The Hazara population in Afghanistan (and other countries)
• FAQ on Hazaras

The word "Hazara"
The term "Hazara" is believed to came from the word "Hazar," meaning one thousand.

The  Hazaras
Hazaras are among few races on the face of the earth about whose origin so little is known. Some research done on Hazara background suggests that they are the descendants of  Changez Khan ( Genghis Khan), the great Mongol warrior of 13^th Century (5). This theory is supported by the similarities in the language and words that mongols and hazaras use even today. For example,

 

Hazara word Mongol word Meaning   elgha alga palm of hand   nilgha nilha baby   tolgha tolgha forehead mongolian word "tolgai" means head qabargha habirgha ribs

This similarity is also pointed out by the author of the famous book The Hazaras by Late Hassan Poladi.

Another plausible theory is that Hazaras were Buddhists that actually lived in Afghanistan for the known history at least since the time of the Kushan Dynasty some 2000 years ago prior to the arrival of Islam. During the time of Kushan Dynasty, Bamyan was the home of one of the biggest Buddhist civilizations. This is obvious from the two of the World Tallest Buddhas statues that is carved in the mountain in Bamyan, Afghanistan - the heart of Hazarajat region inhabited by Hazaras for at least 2000 years.

The Hazara land, Hazarajat
Hazarajat (also referred to as Hazaristan) is the land or the provinces (states) in Afghanistan which have historically been inhabited by Hazara people.

It was believed that the area of Hazara Jat was larger than now. According to H.W.Bellew the area was " from the border of Kabul and Ghazni to those of Harat in one direction and from vicinity of Kandahar to that of Bulkh in the other. (4)

It may be noted that after the complete defeat of Hazaras in 1893 (see more 1, and 2), Afghan ruler adopted a policy to plant Pushtun nomads in green land of Hazara terrotory. According to Askar Mousavi's book  Hazaras of Afghanistan (page 66) , now the Hazarajat area is reduced to 100,000 - 150,000 sq km.

Hazaras live in the following provinces in Hazarajat:  (3)
Ghazni, Uruzgan, Ghore, Wardag, Bamyan , Parwan , Baghlan  (Majority Ismali Hazaras inhabit)

Hazaras living in provinces out of Hazarajat:  (3)
Samangan, Balkh , Jozjan , Faryab ,  Kabul , Badges (with Sunni Hazaras) , Kunduz (with mixed Shia and Sunni Hazaras),
Herat ( few number of Shia Hazaras)

The Hazargi Language
Hazara people commonly refer to their language as "Hazargi" . The Hazaras of Afghanistan speak a dialect known as Dari.

The Hazaras of Pakistan have a mixed dialect. Overtime their dialect has been changed from Dari to "Aazragi." Which is more of a mixture of a few languages, such as Farsi, Dari, Arabic, Urdu etc. This is the more the slang version of language that people speak. Although the Hazara elders still maintain the bond with Afghanistan and speak the Hazargi of Afghanistan.

The Hazara religion
Majority of Hazaras belong to the Shia sect of Islam. Although many Hazaras also belong to Ismaili sect , and Hanafi sect (one of the biggest sect among Sunni Muslims) of Islam.

It is very hard to separate the Hazara culture from its religion. Among themselves they are all Hazaras regardless of any belief system, or the land that they belong to.

The Hazara Population in Afghanistan
According to the Hazara sources, the population of Hazaras is believed to be around 6 to 7 million including Shia, Sunni and Ismaili but Askar Mousvi in his book "The Hazaras of Afghanistan" page no: 64 mentioned says that the population is over 4 million. Author Ahmed Rasheed (of Pakistan) says that it is around 3 to 4 million in his English book by the name of "Taliban, Islam, Oil and new great games" translated in Persian published in Iran Page no:117.
 

The Father of  Hazara nation:
Ustad Abdul Ali Mazari (1946-1995).
One of most respected and loved leader that united all Hazaras of the world. Hazaras out of respect, refer to him as  "Baba Mazari" ( Father).

Sources:

1. Hazaras in the view of British Diaries:  "Diaries of Kandahar"  (1884 - 1905)
   Persecution and massacre of Hazaras documented by British  news readers over a century ago
2. Hazaras vs. Taleban -  Michael, UN.
   traces the root of the conflict between Hazaras and Pushtuns and the de-population of Hazaras by the Pushtun rulers 
3. Atlas of Peoples Democratic of Afghanistan Printed in Poland
4. "The Races of Afghanistan" , H.W. Bellew page no:113 Published in Pakistan in 1979.
5. Map of Genghis Khan's Empire in 13th Century.

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