Why is the denial of Tajik ethnic identity an unscientific claim?
Author: Suraya Baha, writer, especially for Sangar
Tajiks in Afghanistan are not “simply a cultural identity,” but a historical-social community with their own language, collective memory, defined geographical continuity, and a distinct civilizational heritage.
Afghanistan is a multiethnic society with an ancient history: four major ethnic groups and some other peoples, each possessing its own language, historical memory, and social structure. In this context, an unscientific and biased assertion is sometimes advanced claiming that “Tajiks are not a people or an ethnic group, but merely a cultural-civilizational identity,” and that the Persian language is their only unifying factor. From a scientific, historical, and anthropological perspective, this claim is erroneous and reductionist.
First, it must be clarified that in the social sciences and anthropology, the terms “people” or “ethnos” do not necessarily imply tribal organization, nomadism, or clan-based social structures. Many recognized peoples of the world—including Germans, French, Iranians, and Egyptians—do not maintain active tribal systems, yet are unquestionably regarded as ethnic groups with historical identities. Therefore, urbanization or the absence of tribal structures does not negate ethnic belonging; in many cases, it reflects the historical and civilizational development of a people.
Tajiks in Afghanistan possess the fundamental characteristics of a distinct ethnic group:
- A common language (Dari, a variety of Persian), which is not merely a means of communication but a bearer of historical memory, mythology, literature, and a conceptual framework;
- Historical continuity within a defined geography—from Balkh and Badakhshan to Herat, Kabul, Panjshir, and Takhar;
- A shared collective memory encompassing historical, cultural, and political narratives;
- A significant role in the formation of civilization, statehood, scholarship, literature, and the culture of the region.
The claim that Tajiks are “only” a cultural identity is, in essence, an attempt to deprive a historical community of its right to ethnicity, history, and political representation. Such narratives typically emerge in contexts of power competition and aim not at scholarly clarification, but at redefining ethnic hierarchies in favor of a dominant framework. Although Persian has indeed functioned—and continues to function—as an interethnic and civilizational language in Afghanistan, this does not negate Tajik ethnic identity—just as the interethnic use of Arabic has not eliminated Arab ethnic identity.
Moreover, if Tajiks are regarded merely as a “cultural identity,” one must ask: which people in Afghanistan lack a cultural and civilizational dimension? Culture and civilization do not negate ethnicity; rather, they are the result of its historical development. Reducing Tajiks to a “cultural label” effectively amounts to denying the existence of a historical ethnic group that, for centuries, has played a central role in shaping the language, statehood, urban life, science, and arts of this land.
Thus, from a scientific and logical standpoint, Tajiks constitute a historical-social ethnic group which, due to urbanization, their civilizational role, and the widespread use of their language, has moved beyond tribal structures—not one that lacks an ethnic foundation altogether. Denial of this reality is not scholarly analysis, but an ideological and political interpretation of identity that is inconsistent with historical, linguistic, and anthropological evidence.
