Nuristani

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The Nuristani are a religious/ethnic group in the Nurestan Province of Afghanistan. They were known as the "Red or Black Kafirs", and the Nurestan province as Kafiristan, before they were forced to convert to Islam in 1895. The Nuristani, particularly the Kalasha clan, are known for their typical Indo-European characteristics like fair skin, light eyes, and blonde hair. The physical features reflect their kinship to ancient Indo-European Tokhars who once lived in the Tarim Basin. Kalasha people claim descent from the Greeks after Alexander the Great campaign and during Indo-Greek Kingdom, although this has not been proven. Other people, such as the Iranian Scythians also trekked into this region during their migration from Central Asia, into the Indian subcontinent some 2,200 years ago.

General Issa Nuristani was second in command following the King during the Communist invasion of Afghanistan. Before his assassination, General Issa called the Nuristani people in a "Jihad" against the Soviet Red Army. The Nuristani people were the first in Afghanistan to rise against the communist invasion.

1 Nuristanis and the Soviet invasion
2 Nuristani tribes
3 External links
4 See also

[edit] Nuristanis and the Soviet invasion

The most of the former Hindukush Kafir people are today's Nuristanis. They are such devout Muslims now that, led by the Koms, these former Kafirs were the first citizens of Afghanistan to successfully revolt against the communist overthrow of their government in 1978. Thereafter, Nuristan remained a scene of some of the bloodiest guerrilla fighting with the Soviet forces from 1979 through 1989. The success of Nuristanis inspired other Afghans to rise up and contributed to the demise of the Soviet Union through ten years of war [1].

Image:Nuristani Girl.jpg