On the Danger of the Tajik-Hazara Gap and the Need for Persian-Speaking Unity Against Afghan Ethnic Domination
By Fayaz Bahraman Najimi, Regional and International Affairs Analyst, Member of the Sangar Advisory Board
Original article: اسباب بازی های پشتونیزم، یا پشت دشمنی تاجیک و هزاره
In today’s political climate, the growing gap between the two major Persian-speaking communities, the Tajiks and the Hazaras, has become a matter of concern. At a time when the Taliban and the Pashtuns are trying to suppress the language, culture, and rights of Persian speakers as a tool for ethnic superiority, we are witnessing a wave of mutual and useless hostility between the Hazaras and the Tajiks. A rivalry devoid of historical and identity bases and, unfortunately, fueled by some educated and elitist figures on both sides who are oblivious to its dangerous implications. In practice, this rupture is entirely to the advantage of the Afghan ethnic power.
As a concerned Persian-speaking person, searching for his identity not only in the name of origin, but also in language, culture, and historical memory, I strongly warn against this created situation: we must not remain silent in the face of this deadly and "planned" rupture!
History has shown time and again that intra-group hostility among Persian-speaking ethnic groups has always been an effective tool in the hands of totalitarian rulers and their structured ideology of Afghanism/Pashtunism. Now that the Taliban - a brutal and sophisticated instrument of this ideology - rules the false geography of Afghanistan, any rupture between Tajiks and Hazaras means strengthening the position of the same repressive apparatus.
Common Root - Common Pain
The rupture between Tajiks and Hazaras has become more acute than ever in recent years, driven by both external forces and internal deviant projects. This gap does not come from the essence of identity, but from false political and historical narratives. These narratives become a serious obstacle to the formation of a united Persian-speaking front, a front that can and must play its historical role in the fight against ethnic fascism.
Tajiks and Hazaras, although different in some historical, religious, or traditional areas, stand on a common platform of language, culture, and historical memory. Both are of Iranian origin, their language is Persian, their culture is Khorasani, and their anger stems from the same source: the dominance of the Pashtun tribal structure, which tried to destroy our identity with the tools of religion, violence, distortion, and destruction.
The rise of sectarian and anti-Persian discourses and the ignorance of similar and even common historical pains not only distances us from each other but also destroys the possibility of forming any political and cultural coalition for liberation and justice. The only way out of this situation is through a conscious, critical, and just unity among Persian speakers—a unity based on accepting differences and focusing on the deeper connections rather than ignoring them.
Persian language - a factor of our connection and strength
The Taliban movement is more than just a religious movement; at its core, it is a movement to strengthen Pashtunism. They not only use talibani Sharia law, but also use their own linguistic, cultural, and civilizational logic to remove any trace of Persianism from this land. In such a situation, the conflict between Hazaras and Tajiks ends in favor of the same enemy that humiliates our language, chains our daughters in their homes, and erases our historical memory.
The antidote to the “last Afghan project” is nothing less than our conscious solidarity and coexistence. The Persian language is the foundation of our common identity. If we focus on this platform, we can build a common narrative of pain and the future. Being a native Persian speaker is in itself a powerful political and cultural base. An origin that should be taken seriously as the basis for deep unity.
What are the ways out of this explosive impasse?
I believe that to overcome this dangerous situation, it is necessary to rely on several basic principles:
1 - Recognizing a common language and culture as an axis of unity;
The Persian language and culture of Iranshahri and Khorasani have been and remain the basis of the historical unity of Tajiks and Hazaras. It is necessary to honestly rely on these common features, and not on differences that can be overcome.
2 - Breaking the silence on provocateurs on both sides;
Those who seek to gain points at the expense of a third enemy by spreading hatred against another ethnic group in cyberspace or the media must be exposed. These people, consciously or unconsciously, serve the project of Afghanization and tribalism.
No human rights movement is built on hatred and humiliation of another!
3 - Reconstructing political discourse based on the Persian language, not ethnicity;
Neither being Tajik nor being Hazara alone is the path to our liberation. The only identity that can lead us to strategic unity is “being Persian-speaking,” an identity in which religion, ethnicity, and faith are part of legitimate differences and not instruments of division and exclusion.
We must move beyond closed ethnic frameworks and rethink our identity based on language, culture, and a common future. The unity of Persian-speaking people – whether in the north, west, or center – will be the cornerstone of our just and multi-ethnic social contract of tomorrow.
4 – Focus on the common enemy: Afghanism/Pashtunism in its varieties;
If Persian-speaking political and social forces, instead of criticizing and discrediting each other, direct their energies to studying and containing the Afghanism project, a bright future awaits them.
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Every conscious and suffering person must say “no” to everything that divides. We must not forget that what unites us is deeper, more rooted, and nobler than what divides us.
If Tajiks and Hazaras dwell on differences and continue to fight, they will both lose, but if they stand based on a common language, culture, and suffering, they can change history.
Instead of denying each other, we need harmony, instead of division - a solution!
Our destinies are intertwined: if today the Tajiks are the target, tomorrow it will be the Hazaras’ turn, and if today the Hazaras are marginalized, tomorrow the Tajiks will become the new victims. This is the rule of the game of Pashtunism: divide and destroy!
Now is the time to free ourselves from this trap and build a future in which being a native Persian speaker will be our pride and support. If we do not rebuild the bridges of dialogue, understanding, and solidarity now, there will be none of us left tomorrow. Both ethnic groups will fall victim to the Afghan repressive machine one after the other. As history has taught us time and again.
Let us remain true to our common language, culture, and pain before it is too late!
Let us remain Persian-speaking, recognize our common enemy – Pashtunism, and stand together for liberation, justice, and human dignity.
Division is a dead end, and unity is the only way to victory!
