The Long Shadows of Hindu Kush

There is nothing unusual about the Hindu Kush and its associated baby mountain ranges. They are dry, barren and rugged. Hind Kush begins where the Karakorums end and it runs in a South Westerly direction in a monotonous cycle of plains and mountains. The height decreases progressively towards the West with the average the average being 12,000 feet. The highest point, around 21,000 feet, is in Chitral and has green forests. Numerous high passes guard its the approaches. Kabul valley is its psychological center its centre of gravity lies along the Kabul-Qandhar axis. Amu Darya and Indus form the psychological Northern and Eastern boundaries. Two small rivers, Hari Rud and Helmend, flow West drying up into the desserts.

Indus used to be called the Sindhu river and all inhabitants East of Indus were known as Hindus. And thus came about the name Hindu Koh or the Hindu mountain. When the Hindu prisoners of battles began to parish in the difficult journey through the mountains, the name got changed to ’Hindu Kush’ or Hindu killer. Historically, Hindu Kush was always a backyard of Persia. Rig Veda talks about it as a sparsely populated region inhibited by Vedic Aryans who lived with sheep and goats in river valleys. Zoroaster was born in Balk (Bactria) and he preached the message of the Zoroastrianism. He exhorted the feuding tribes, who occasionally fought over grazing land, to unite in the name of Lord Ahura Mazda.

While the Himalayas, Karakorums or Pamirs may be more imposing and cause weather changes, it has been the Hindu Kush that cast deep long shadows and kept re-shaping the history of the region. Its only crime was its location in the middle of nowhere which happened to be on the passage towards the Central, West and South Asia. It was destined to witness a long line of adventurers, armies, cultures and religions criss-cross it from the three directions. It began with the Achaemenians, to be followed by Alexander, Selecus, Mauriyas, Kushans, Sassanians, White Huns, Arabs, Samanids, Khawarzam Turks, Gengis Khan, Timur, Babar, Mughals, Nadir Shah, Sikhs, British, Soviets and now the Americans. Its own stalwarts were the Ghaznavis, Ghoris and the Abdalis. In recent times, it produced its very own radical Talibans and the international terrorist cult of Al Qaeda.

The outsiders who came to the Hindu Kush were only temporary visitors looking far beyond in search of territory, riches, influence or just to make a show of force. Empires clashed over this real estate. Empires such as the Mauryas vs Selecus, Mughals vs Safvi, British vs Russia or the Soviets vs Americans. During the Taleban era, it caused tension between India vs Pakistan and between Pakistan vs Iran. The Hindu Kush wallas have become somewhat of an expert in exploiting the rivalries between others to their advantage and negotiating the best terms and conditions. At times, this has also worked against their interests.

Hindu Kush has passed through phases of Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Islam. Islam, introduced by the Abbasid Arabs, got bifurcated into the Persians’ Shiaism and while the Hindu Kush opted for the Sunni sect. This introduced yet another element of conflict. It is said that the Ghaznavis prevented spread of Shiaism towards East. The Saudis further radicalized the faith through the Wahabism during the Afghan war against the Soviets. Add to this, the influences of the Soviet socialism and the American capitalism and democracy, and you get a heavy doze of ideological mix.

We notice some interesting patterns of the outsiders who came to the Hindu Kush. All invaders from the West like the Achaemenians, Alexander, Selecus, Arabs, Sassanians and Nadir Shah invariably moved beyond the Hindu Kush. Similarly, the invaders from the North like the Kushans, White Huns, Samanids, Kwarazam Turks, Gengis Khan, Timur and Babar did stop at the Hindu Kush. (Only the Soviets got unlucky and were pushed back)

But all the invaders who came from the East like the Mauryans, Mughals and Ranjit Singh did not venture beyond the Hindu Kush. The British were wise to be content with only the influence. It seems that all invasions from the East were defensive in nature and South Asia itself was rich enough not to look beyond. In general, the South Asians were inward looking, culturally more refined and docile because of the Vedic heritage. The Hindu Kush heroes like the Ghaznavis, Ghoris or Abdalis, if anything, were even more ruthless and greedy than Western or the Northern invaders. They expanded in all the three directions. Even the later day spurious religious movements like the Talibans and Al Qaeda tended to flow outwards.

What is finally left behind is a mosaic of different ethnicities - Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Baluch and Punjabi speaking Sikhs and Hindus and the mixing of some Arab and Mongol blood. The history has also left behind a wide array of faiths, languages and cultures. All along its borders, the inhabitants have close ethnic, linguistic and cultural affinities with countries across the borders. In fact, Afghanistan has more Tajiks than Tajikistan. However, Hindu Kush continues to remains a chaotic conglomerate of the local chieftains, tribal laws and customs very similar to the days of the Vedic Aryans. It was in 1747 that it became a political entity, called Afghanistan, Sunni in nature. And it broke away from its historical Persian God mother.

Let us pickup a few interesting episodes of the invaders venturing out of Hindu Kush especially towards the South Asia. Darius (486 BC), the Achaemenian ruler, ruled upto Taxila (Islamabad). Alexander reached Kabul valley in 330 BC. He has a word of praise for the Hindu Kush wallas because it took him two years to subjugate them whereas it took only six months to subjugate Persia. Alexander then dashed to Central Asia and married Roxana at Samarqand (Uzbekistan). On his return, he got out of Khyber and headed towards the Indus. Raja Ambhi of Taxila joined him. He fought Raja Poros close to Mandi Bahauddin. His expeditions took him to Charsadda, Bannu, Bajour, Swat and Buner. A flavour of the Hellenic culture still persists in Northern Pakistan. Presently, the Greek Government is establishing a museum in Chitral to preserve the Greek culture.

The successor of Alexander, Selecus (305 BC), even went beyond what is now Pakistan and reached upto the Ganges. He also expanded towards the Central Asia. His nemeses was Chandra Gupta, a khatree from Taxila, who unified South Asia and captured the Hindu Kush introducing Buddhism. Thereafter, another Greek, Demetrious (160 BC), came and he extended upto Patna (Patalipura). This Indo-Greek kingdom lasted for 200 years.

Then came the Chinese Kushans, from Shinjan (150 BC). They conquered the Indus valley upto Kashmir. Kaniska (2 AD) sets up a flourishing Gandhara civilization from Peshawar to Potohar to Mathura with Buddhism at its peak. Then the Persians (Sassanians) again reclaim their territory in 3 AD. They are followed by the White Huns who descend from North. The White Huns get fully assimilated leaving behind no trace except for the chinky eyes on the Western borders of Pakistan. They rule upto Sialkot.

The next invader, the Abbasid Arabs (651AD) reach Heart and bring about a major change in the region for all times to come. They move only towards the Central Asia and convert the Turks to Islam. A unique Pashtun-Turkish-Sunni assimilation takes place. Arabic becomes the official language in Central Asia.

By the ninth century, the Samanids, descend down from Bokhara to Hindu Kush and extend their rule right down to South India. They revive the old Persian culture and Farsi. This is the beginning of the Tajik ethnicity.

By 10 AD, Hindu Kush produces its own conqueror, Ghaznavi, who goes beyond the Amu Darya in the North and makes a habit of making deep plundering raids into the South Asia. With that wealth, he builds a grand city at Ghazni. He is followed by the Ghori (1186AD) from Ghor and who destroys the Ghazni city. Ghoris extend towards the South Asia as well as into Persia.

There is a brief moment for the Khawarzam Turks (1200AD) who descend from the North until Gengis Khan (1220) rises from Mangolia and desecrates everything on his path and destroys the Muslim Empires. By 1300AD, the Mongols become Muslims. Timur (1300-1380) comes from Samarqand and goes West towards Persia and East towards the South Asia.

Finally, it is time, for Babar from Farghana to capture Kabul which is called Khuba in Avesta. Babar (1504) enters Hindu Kush and sets up his shop in Kabul. For four years, he makes forays into areas now in Pakistan. Getting out of Khyber, his visits include Pehawar, Kohat, Bannu, Bajaour, Kalar Kahar, Bhera. He marries Mubaraka, Wali Swat’s daughter and hunts rhinoceros at Swabi. Then he begins his final historic journey in 1525. He crosses rivers Indus, Jhelum and Chenab to reach Sialkot, then to Pasrur and then to Kalanur. And finally, to the battle ground - Panipat.

Around 1700, the Ghilzai Pashtuns make it into the Safvi territory in Persia and capture the capitol Isfahan. They are evicted by the Persian Nadir Shah (1738) who goes further East towards Dehli and makes out with Koh-e-Nur which eventually finds a place on the peacock throne.

By 1747, Hindu Kush finds an identity as a state founded by Ahmed Shah Abdali. He descends into Punjab and Kashmir many times. Bulleh shah speaks of the atrocities of Abdali in Punjab. The Mughals get so fed up with the Afghans that they cede areas West of Indus to the Afghans. When the British come, they fail to conquer Hindu Kush from the East but Afghanistan lets the British handle the foreign affairs. The great game between the Soviets and the British continues until South Asia is divided into two states. Afghanistan threatens Pakistan with ’Pashtoonistan’ and does not accept ’Durand Line’. It has sympathetic onlookers – India and Soviet Union. Then the Soviet Union walks into the Hindu Kush.

Hindu Kush becomes the focal point of the cold war between the Soviets and the Americans. Religion is used to fight the Soviets. Saudis provide money, America provides equipment and Pakistan provides the covert organization for the Mujahiddin. Russia is driven out and America flies back to its continent.

Hindu Kush reverts back to its traditional chaotic mode. Both Iran and Pakistan try to move into the vacuum. Pakistan mothers the birth of radical Taleban and was naïve enough to begin thinking of Hindu Kush as its ’strategic depth’ little realizing that, in its 2000 years of history, Hindu Kush has never permitted an outsider more than a transitory status. Taleban even refuse to accept ’Durand Line’ as the border. Talibans permit the growth of yet another ultra-terrorist group ’Al Qaeda’ which attacks America. America is back into Hindu Kush and this time with no intention to fly back in a hurry. They have already built up the Kabul-Kandhar highway, the centre of gravity, free of cost.

Historically, Hindu Kush has been a tribal society run by the local chieftains. The Pashtoon majority has always co-existed amicably with other minorities. The centuries old Pashtoon code of ethics, Pashtoonwali, is harsh but secular. It has elements like the Badal (eye for an eye), ghairat (like killing own sister and her seducer for sex) or Jirga, elders council which gives a non-appealable verdict. The Mulla looked after the mosque and the Malik managed the Hujra to take care of the worldly affairs. But the events of the Soviet invasion, Mujahideen, Taleban and Al Qaeda have changed all that. The Pashtoon tribal customs have gotten entangled with the religious zeal thus getting a Devine legitimacy. Mulla Omer becomes the temporal ruler. This has resulted in a schism between the Pashtoon majority and other minorities which were always culturally more liberal. And over 200 years of the Pashtoon (Durrani) rule, which had brought about a semblance of Afghan identity and cohesiveness, has come under a stress.

With United States settled in the Hindu Kush, it has once again begun to cast long shadows in the three directions. North and West are significant for oil which has replaced the grazing lands of the old days days. Nuclear and terrorist discomfort is both from West and East. United States considers China as its long term adversary while interested in local allies. Pakistan finds itself placed between the cross-currents of three bigger states. Folk wisdom suggests that it should have good relations with all the three.

But if any lesson was to be learnt from the saga of the Hindu Kush, it need not be re-told that every invader into the South Asia invariably exploited the differences between the local players. Therefore, when the push comes to a shove, it would be a wise decision for Pakistan to side with the regional rather than the extra-regional states. An interesting century ahead …..