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Kafiristan making Trouble
The Valley of Bashgal has been long known through history as the
central part of the then Kafiristan. After 1895 A.D when the
boundary between India and Afghanistan was demarcated this valley
and the part of Kunar to the north of Asmar which was the part of
the State of Chitral was annexed to Afghanistan. Then the Amir of
Afghanistan Abdurrahman Khan did make a call to the Kafirs to
convert to Islam having no other option left for them. Some Kafirs
migrated to Chitral, to the territory of their Kalash brethren
while others became Muslims. Now the Kafir population was only left
in the valleys of Chitral namely Birir, Bumburet and Rumbur. These
Kafirs live a unique life that attracts the interest of masses and
tourists pour to the area throughout summer season. With the
passage of time greater part of the population of these people did
convert to Islam and only a small part of them is left now which is
merely in hundreds.
Actually, if it be analysed carefully we come to
the conclusion that these people are intentionally let to lead a
life that is contrary to the life standards of a human being. A
responsible authority and a big part of human population makes
prevail a bulk of humans in such an in-human atmosphere that is
intolerable in this modern age, just for rejoicing and the
entertainment of people who come to watch them like one visits a
zoo.
Some problems have appeared with time by the
frequent visits of tourists and other people of the country to the
valleys where these Kalash people live.
1- The people of Southern Chitral is comprised
of mostly Aryan racial stock that was influenced by the culture,
religion and language of the dominating society of the north which
gradually influenced the whole area with the passage of time. This
whole population got merged into a single Kho or Chitrali society
with time and those who did remain apart are only that lived in the
three narrow valleys. Seeking a signal in history that Alexander
The Great had left a part of his injured and sick Greek soldiers
somewhere in the north of Afghan plateau, Europeans have labelled
these people as being offsprings of those soldiers. The other link
to make them closer to these people is of being these people
Aryans. Thus Europeans frequently visit these people as tourists.
These visits did prevail for long smoothly until it was heard by
the local people in the last decade of twentieth century that some
secret preaching of Christianity had begun there by some so called
tourists who with the excuse of further studying Kalash practices
had decided to stay there for long. May be Kalash people themselves
did also not like the foreign involvement in their customs that a
Spanish man Danial Pearl who was accused of carrying on secret
preaching in the area was killed in 2001 by his own servants. It
only provoked the foreign interest and soon some women and men were
heard visiting and staying long in the area making expenses not for
the development of the social status of the people but to make them
by someway or other convinced that they are Aryans as Europeans and
must be converted to the dominating religion of Europe. Some then
even did more daring effort visiting the once old prominent
villages of Kalash now converted Muslims with the theory of Aryans
and the story of the sick soldiers of Alexander the Great. They
stayed in the Muslim homes and made frequent visits making expenses
and making them convinced of being from a great descent of
Europeans. Recently in September 2009 a second European Athansis
Lerounis has been abducted from the valley and taken to Bashgal
across the boundary by the Talibans. These people never openly have
been heard of preaching a religion but the Kalasha people have been
heard of complaining about them saying that these people are
interfering in their beliefs.
2 _ Wine made from grapes and other dried
foodstuff is a part of culture of the the Kalash and they are
allowed to prepare and use it in the area. Getting the benefit of
allowance of the said drink many hooligans from other areas of
Pakistan especially from the local Chitral area make tours to the
valley to enjoy the prohibited intoxication. The Kalash people are
a mass caring not about physical hygiene, thus scores of people get
themselves ill and are affected by these drinks. recently many
people got unconscious and some even died of drinking polluted
intoxications that had become poisonous. The people of Chitral and
Muslims of the said valleys where Kalash live condemn the practice
and consider it being like a tavern right in the vicinity of their
homes. Moreover, they also dislike to name the area as Kafiristan
having the least population of Kalash people as compared to them as
Muslims.
The only solution of all these problems and
expected troubles in future is that the people of Chitral rather
government should arrange a seasoned religious party to make these
people converted to Islam as most have their half families already
converted.
Mohammad Ilyas,
Goldoor, Chitral.
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