Nuristan, also spelled as Nurestan or Nooristan (

Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī � ...

: ; Kamkata-vari: ), is one of the 34

provinces of Afghanistan Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces (, '' wilåyat''). The provinces of Afghanistan are the primary administrative divisions. Each province encompasses a number of districts or usually over 1,000 villages. Provincial governors played a cr ...

, located in the eastern part of the country. It is divided into seven

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

and is Afghanistan's least populous province, with a population of around 167,000.

Parun Pârûn (Persian: پارون), also called Prasûn and Prasungul, is a small town and administrative center of Nuristan Province and its Parun District in Afghanistan. The city of Parun has a population of 1,647. It has 1 district and a tot ...

serves as the provincial capital. Nuristan is bordered on the south by Laghman and Kunar provinces, on the north by

Badakhshan province Badakhshan Province (Persian/ Uzbek: , ''Badaxšān'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan in the north and the Pakistani regions of Lower ...

, on the west by

Panjshir province Panjshir (Dari: , literally "Five Lions," also spelled as Panjsher) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country containing the Panjshir Valley. The province is divided into seven district ...

. The origins of the Nuristani people traces back to the 4th century BC. Some Nuristanis claim being descendants of the Greek occupying forces of Alexander the Great. It was formerly called

Kafiristan Kāfiristān, or Kāfirstān ( ps, کاپیرستان, prs, کافرستان), is a historical region that covered present-day Nuristan Province in Afghanistan and Chitral District of Pakistan. This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises ...

( ps, ) ("Land of the Infidels") until the inhabitants were forcibly converted from an

animist Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...

religion; a form of

ancient Hinduism The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subco ...

infused with local variations, to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

in 1895, and thence the region has become known as Nuristan ("land of illumination", or "land of light"). The region was located in an area surrounded by Buddhist civilizations which were later taken over by Muslims. The origin of the local

Nuristani people The Nuristanis, formerly known as Kafiristanis, are an ethnic group native to the Nuristan Province of northeastern Afghanistan and Chitral District of northwestern Pakistan. Their languages comprise the Nuristani branch of Indo-Iranian langua ...

has been disputed, ranging from being the indigenous inhabitants forced to flee to this region after refusing to surrender to invaders, to being linked to various ancient groups of people and the

Turk Shahi The Turk Shahis or Kabul Shahis were a dynasty of Western Turk, or mixed Turko- Hephthalite, origin, that ruled from Kabul and Kapisa to Gandhara in the 7th to 9th centuries AD. They may have been of Khalaj ethnicity."The new rulers of Kabu ...

kings. The primary occupations are agriculture, animal husbandry, and

day labor Day labor (or day labour in Commonwealth spelling) is work done where the worker is hired and paid one day at a time, with no promise that more work will be available in the future. It is a form of contingent work. Types Day laborers (also kn ...

. Located on the southern slopes of the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Provinc ...

mountains in the northeastern part of the country, Nuristan spans the basins of the Alingar, Pech, Landai Sin, and Kunar rivers. Most of Nuristan is covered by mountainous

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s and it has a rich biodiversity with a domestically unique

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

climate by air coming from the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. As of 2020, the entirety of Nuristan is now a protected

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

History

Early history

The surrounding area fell to

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

in 330 BC. It later fell to

Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an empi ...

. The

Mauryas The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

introduced

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

to the region, and were attempting to expand their empire to Central Asia until they faced local Greco-Bactrian forces. Seleucus is said to have reached a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...

with Chandragupta by giving control of the territory south of the Hindu Kush to the Mauryas upon intermarriage and 500 elephants. Before their conversion to Islam, the Nuristanis practiced a form of

infused with locally developed accretions. They were called "

kafir Kafir ( ar, كافر '; plural ', ' or '; feminine '; feminine plural ' or ') is an Arabic and Islamic term which, in the Islamic tradition, refers to a person who disbelieves in God as per Islam, or denies his authority, or rejects ...

s" due to their enduring paganism while other regions around them became Muslim. However, the influence from district names in Kafiristan of Katwar or Kator and the ethnic name

Kati KATI (94.3 FM), branded as 94.3 KAT Country, is a radio station which broadcasts country music and St. Louis Cardinals baseball. Licensed to California, Missouri, the station serves the Jefferson City area and is owned by the Zimmer Radio Group ...

has also been suggested. The area extending from modern Nuristan to

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

was known as "Puritan", a vast area containing a host of "Kafir" cultures and Indo-European languages that became Islamized over a long period. Earlier, it was surrounded by Buddhist areas. The Islamization of the nearby

Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...

began in the 8th century and Peristan was surrounded by Muslim states in the 16th century with the Islamization of

Baltistan Baltistan ( ur, ; bft, སྦལ་ཏི་སྟཱན, script=Tibt), also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet ( bft, སྦལ་ཏི་ཡུལ་།, script=Tibt), is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilg ...

. The Buddhist states temporarily brought literacy and state rule into the region. The decline of Buddhism resulted in it becoming heavily isolated. There have been varying theories about the origins of Kafirs including the Arab tribe of

Quraish The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qu ...

, or Gabars of Persia, the Greek soldiers of Alexander as well as the Indians of eastern Afghanistan.

George Scott Robertson Sir George Scott Robertson, (22 October 1852 – 1 January 1916) was a British soldier, author, and administrator who was best known for his arduous journey to the remote and rugged region of Kafiristan in what is now northeastern Afghanistan an ...

considered them to be part of the old Indian population of Eastern Afghanistan and stated they fled to the mountains after the Muslim invasion in the 10th century. He added they probably found other races there whom they killed off and enslaved or amalgamated with them. Oral traditions of some of the Nuristanis place themselves to be at the confluence of Kabul River and

Kunar River The Kūnaṛ River ( ps, د کونړ سيند), also known in its upper reaches as the Mastuj ( ps, مستوج سين), Chitral ( khw, کونڑ سين; ur, دریائے کونڑ), or Kama River ( khw, کامې سين), is about long, located ...

a millennium ago. These traditions state they were driven off from

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

to Kabul to Kapisa to

Kama ''Kama'' (Sanskrit ) means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsकाम, kāmaMonier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp 271, see 3rd column Kama often connotes sensual pleasure, sexual ...

with the Muslim invasion. They identify themselves as late arrivals in Nuristan, being driven by

Mahmud of Ghazni Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...

who after establishing his empire forced the unsubmissive population to flee. The name Kator was used by Lagaturman, last king of the Turk Shahi. Apparently due to its usage by the last Turk-Shahi ruler, it was adopted as a title by the ruler of the north-west region of the Indian subcontinent, comprising Chitral and Kafiristan. The title "Shah Kator" was assumed by

Chitral Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...

's ruler Mohtaram Shah who assumed it upon being impressed by the majesty of the erstwhile pagan rulers of Chitral. The theory of Kators being related to Turki Shahis is based on the information of '' Jami- ut-Tawarikh'' and '' Tarikh-i-Binakiti''. The region was also named after its ruling elite. The royal usage may be the origin behind the name of Kator. The high god of the pre-Islamic Nuristani religion was the god ''Imra'', derived from the Hindu god

Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities ...

, and was also called '' Mara''. Another god was Indr, derived from

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

. He was seen as the brother of the god Gisht and father of Pano and the goddess Dishani. There were also many other minor gods worshiped in the region. The region was invaded by forces of Afghan Amir

Abdur Rahman Khan Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto/Dari: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Ag ...

in 1896 and most of the people were converted either by choice or did so to avoid the ''

jizya Jizya ( ar, جِزْيَة / ) is a per capita yearly taxation historically levied in the form of financial charge on dhimmis, that is, permanent Kafir, non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The jizya tax has been unde ...

'': The region was renamed Nuristan, meaning ''Land of the enlightened'', a reflection of the "enlightening" of the

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

Nuristani by the "light-giving" of Islam. Nuristan was once thought to have been a region through which Alexander the Great passed with a detachment of his army; thus the

folk legend Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging fro ...

that the Nuristani people are descendants of Alexander (or "his generals"). In the 19th century, the

Emirate of Afghanistan The Emirate of Afghanistan also referred to as the Emirate of Kabul (until 1855) ) was an emirate between Central Asia and South Asia that is now today's Afghanistan and some parts of today's Pakistan (before 1893). The emirate emerged from th ...

incorporated Nuristan into its territory via military conquest; this occurred around the same time as the beginning of

European influence in Afghanistan European influence in Afghanistan has been present in the country since the Victorian era, when the competing imperial powers of Britain and Russia contested for control over Afghanistan as part of the Great Game. Rise of Dost Mohammad Khan A ...

. During this period, one of the most well known Afghan generals from this period, Abdul Wakil Khan, was born in Nuristan. He fought against the insurgent forces of

Habibullāh Kalakāni Habibullah Kalakani ( prs, , 19 January 1891 – 1 November 1929), also known by his nickname "Bacha-ye Saqao" (also romanized Bachai Sakao; literally ''son of the water carrier'') was the ruler of Afghanistan from 17 January to 13 October 1929 ...

and was buried on the same plateau where Afghan king

Amanullah Khan Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, ...

is buried.

Recent history

Since the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Afghan politicians (particularly

Mohammed Daoud Khan Mohammed Daoud Khan ( ps, ), also romanized as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan (18 July 1909 – 28 April 1978), was an Afghan politician and general who served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the 1973 Afghan coup ...

) have been focused on re-annexing

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

and the

Federally Administered Tribal Areas , conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas , nation = Pakistan , subdivision = Autonomous territory , image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg , image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...

of what is now Pakistan. This has led to militancy on both sides of the

Durand Line The Durand Line ( ps, د ډیورنډ کرښه; ur, ), forms the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, a international land border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to th ...

. Nuristan was the scene of some of the heaviest guerrilla fighting during the 1980s

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

. The province was influenced by

Mawlawi Afzal Mawlawi Mohammad Afzal (born – 2012) was a Panjpiri-educated Afghan clergyman of the Kam tribe from Barg-i-Matal, Nuristan Province. He studied in Deoband, and later at Akora, Pakistan, before teaching at a madrassa in Karachi, and then in hi ...

Islamic Revolutionary State of Afghanistan The Islamic Revolutionary State of Afghanistan ( fa, دولت انقلابی اسلامی افغانستان) was a small Salafist Islamic state located in the north of Bashgal Valley, Nuristan Province. It was founded by Mawlawi Afzal during the n ...

, which was supported by Pakistan nationalists and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. It dissolved under the

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

(Taliban rule) in the late 1990s. Nuristan is one of the poorest and most remote provinces of Afghanistan. Few

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

's operate in Nuristan because of the

Taliban insurgency {{Infobox military conflict , partof = the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the Afghanistan conflict , image = 2021 Taliban Offensive.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Map of the 2021 Taliban o ...

and the lack of safe roads. Some road construction projects were launched linking Nangarej to Mandol and Chapa Dara to Titan Dara. The Afghan government also worked on a direct road route to

Laghman province Laghman (Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It has a population of about 502,148, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. Laghman hosts a large number of historical landmarks, m ...

, in order to reduce dependence on the road through restive

Kunar province Kunar (Pashto: ; Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. Its population is estimated to be 508,224. Kunar's major political groups include Wahhabis or Ahl-e- Ha ...

to the rest of Afghanistan. Other road projects were started aimed at improving the primitive road from

Kamdesh Kāmdēsh ( ps, کامدېش, fa, کامدیش), or Kamdeish, is a town in the Landai Sin Valley, and the center of the Kamdesh District in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan. It is located at the general area of Yurmir () which is beside the meetin ...

to Barg-i Matal, and from Nangalam in Kunar province to the provincial center at Parun. Since Nuristan is a highly ethnically homogeneous province, there are few incidents of inter-ethnic violence. However, there are instances of disputes among inhabitants, some of which continue for decades. Nuristan has suffered from its inaccessibility and lack of infrastructure. The government presence is under-developed, even compared to neighboring provinces. Nuristan's formal educational sector is weak, with few professional teachers. Due to its proximity to Pakistan, many of the inhabitants are actively involved in trade and commerce across the border. A map from the Afghan Ministry of the Interior produced in 2009 showed the western region of Nuristan to be under "enemy control". There have been numerous conflicts between militants and U.S.-led Afghan security forces. In April 2008 members of the 3rd Special Forces Group led Afghan soldiers from the Commando Brigade into the Shok valley in an unsuccessful attempt to capture warlord

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ( ps, ګلب الدين حكمتيار; born 1 August 1949) is an Afghan politician, former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so calle ...

. In July 2008 approximately 200 Taliban guerrillas attacked a NATO position just south of Nuristan, near the village of Wanat in the Waygal District, killing 9 U.S. soldiers. In the following year, in early October, more than 350 insurgents backed by members of the

Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin The Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin ( fa, حزب اسلامی گلبدین; abbreviated HIG), also referred to as Hezb-e-Islami or Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), is an Afghan political party and former militia, originally founded in 1976 as Hezb-e-Is ...

and other militia groups fought U.S.-led Afghan security forces in the

Battle of Kamdesh The Battle of Kamdesh took place during the war in Afghanistan. It occurred on October 3, 2009, when a force of 400 Taliban assaulted the American Combat Outpost ("COP") Keating near the town of Kamdesh in Nuristan Province in eastern Afghanist ...

at Camp Keating in Nuristan. The base was nearly overrun; more than 100 Taliban fighters, eight U.S. soldiers, and seven members of the Afghan security forces were killed during the fighting.Eight U.S. Troops Die in Attack on Afghan Outpost
Joshua Partow, Washington Post, 2009-10-04Heavy US losses in Afghan battle
Martin Patience, BBC News, Kabul, 4 October 2009 Four days after the battle, in early October 2009, U.S. forces withdrew from their four main bases in Nuristan, as part of a plan by General

Stanley McChrystal Stanley Allen McChrystal (born August 14, 1954) is a retired United States Army general best known for his command of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) from 2003 to 2008 where his organization was credited with the death of Abu Musab al-Zarq ...

to pull troops out of small outposts and relocate them closer to major towns. The U.S. has pulled out from some areas in the past, but never from all four main bases. A month after the U.S. pullout the Taliban was governing openly in Nuristan. According to ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'', Nuristan is "a place so tough that NATO abandoned it in 2010 after failing to subdue it." In 2021, the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

gained control of the province during the

2021 Taliban offensive A military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and other allied militants led to the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan based in Kabul and marked the end of the nearly 20-year-old War in Afghanistan, that had begun following the ...

Healthcare

The percentage of households with clean drinking water increased from 2% in 2005 to 12% in 2011.Archive, Civil Military Fusion Centre
The percentage of births attended by a skilled birth attendant increased from 1% in 2005 to 22% in 2011.

Education

In 2002 the first gender assessment of women's conditions in Nuristan was completed. The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) fell from 17.7% in 2005 to 17% in 2011. The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) increased from 8.7% in 2005 to 45% in 2011.

Demographics

US Army ethnolinguistic map of Afghanistan -- circa 2001-09

As of 2021, the total population of the province is about 166,676. According to the

Naval Postgraduate School The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...

, 87% are

Nuristanis The Nuristanis, formerly known as Kafiristanis, are an ethnic group native to the Nuristan Province of northeastern Afghanistan and Chitral District of northwestern Pakistan. Their languages comprise the Nuristani branch of Indo-Iranian langu ...

, 10% Pashtuns and less than 3%

Gujars Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tradit ...

and ethnic

Tajiks Tajiks ( fa, تاجيک، تاجک, ''Tājīk, Tājek''; tg, Тоҷик) are a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajiks are the largest ethnicity in Tajik ...

.Nuristan Tribal Map on nps.edu
/ref> Approximately 90% of the population speak the following five

Nuristani languages The Nuristani languages, formerly known as Kafiri languages, are one of the three groups within the Indo-Iranian language family, alongside the much larger Indo-Aryan and Iranian groups. They have approximately 130,000 speakers primarily in ea ...

, as well as one

Indo-Aryan language The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily concentrated in India, Pa ...

:Nuristan provincial profile
profile compiled by the National Area-Based Development Programme (NABDP) of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) *

Askunu language ''Âṣkuňu'' (') is a language of Afghanistan spoken by the Ashkun people – also known as the Âṣkun, Ashkun, Askina, Saňu, Sainu, Yeshkun, Wamas, or Grâmsaňâ – from the region of the central Pech Valley around Wâmâ and in some east ...

Kamkata-viri language Kamkata-vari (') is the largest Nuristani language. It contains the main dialects Kata-vari, Kamviri and Mumviri. Kata-vari and Kamviri are sometimes erroneously reckoned as two separate languages, but according to linguist Richard Strand they ...

* Vasi-vari language *

Tregami language Tregami (Trigami), or ''Katar Gambiri'', is a language spoken in the villages of Gambir, Kaṭâr, and Devoz in the Tregâm Valley off the lower Pech River in the Watapur District of Kunar Province in Afghanistan. The area is in the Hindu Kush ...

* Kalasha-ala language *

Pashayi languages Pashayi or Pashai (زبان پشه‌ای) is a group of Indo-Aryan languages spoken by the Pashai people in parts of Kapisa, Laghman, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunar and Kabul ( Surobi District) provinces in Northeastern Afghanistan Afg ...

are used by about 15% of the population. The main Nuristani tribes in the province are: *

Kata ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements made to be practised alone. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practised ...

or Katta (38%) *

Waigali Waigali (') is a language spoken by about 10,000 Nuristani people of the Waigal Valley in Afghanistan's Nuristan Province. The native name is ''Kalaṣa-alâ'' 'Kalasha-language'. "Waigali" refers to the dialect of the Väy people of the upp ...

or Kalasha (30%) *

Ashkun The Nuristanis, formerly known as Kafiristanis, are an ethnic group native to the Nuristan Province of northeastern Afghanistan and Chitral District of northwestern Pakistan. Their languages comprise the Nuristani branch of Indo-Iranian langua ...

or Wamai (12%) * Kam or Kom (10%) *

Satra Satra Corporation was a US trading and metal processing company. It is primarily known in the United Kingdom for its Satra Motors Limited subsidiary, which was the official importer and distributor of Soviet Union cars and motorcycles in that co ...

(5%) * Wasi or Parsoon (4%)

/Pashto are used as second and third languages in the province.

Districts

In popular culture

*Nuristan is the subject of the book '' A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush'' by the British travel writer

Eric Newby George Eric Newby (6 December 1919 – 20 October 2006) was an English travel writer. His works include '' A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush'', ''The Last Grain Race'' and '' A Small Place in Italy''. Early life Newby was born in Barnes, London, ...

. *Nuristan was the location of three of the missions in ''

Hitman Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...

2: Silent Assassin''. *

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

's short story ''

The Man Who Would Be King "The Man Who Would Be King" (1888) is a story by Rudyard Kipling about two British adventurers in British India who become kings of Kafiristan, a remote part of Afghanistan. The story was first published in '' The Phantom Rickshaw and other Ee ...

'' and the

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

inspired by it are set in "Kafiristan" (the earlier name of pre-Islamic Nuristan). *Nuristan is the setting of the book ''Red Platoon'' by

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient

Clinton Romesha Clinton LaVor Romesha (//; born August 17, 1981) is a retired United States Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Kamdesh in 2009 during the War in Afghanistan. Born into a family with a strong milita ...

. *Nuristan is where three young diplomats, American, English, and German visited in 1960 "...to penetrate a land that few westerners had set eyes on." Their book is '' A Passage to Nuristan: Exploring the Mysterious Afghan Hinterland'' by Joseph T. Kendrick (Author), Nicholas Barrington (Author), Reinhard Schlagintweit (Author), Sandy Gall (Foreword).

Notable people from the province

* Gen. Abdu Wakil Khan *

Gen. Ghorzi The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; Hebrew language, Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its i ...

* Ex. Mayor of Kabul Akbar * Mohammad Qassim Jangulbagh * Tamim Nuristani Nuristani * Jamaluddin Bader * Hafeez Nuristani Nuristani *

Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani Dr. Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani is a former politician from Afghanistan. He has served as governor of Herat province from January 2009 to August 2010. In September 2018, President Ashraf Ghani appointed Nuristani to the Meshrano Jirga, the upper body of ...

Abdul Qadir Nuristani Abdul Qadir Nuristani (died 29 April 1978) was an Afghan Minister of the Interior during the Republic of Afghanistan. Abdul Qadir had previously been a Chief of Police noted for his strict adherence to his principles and beliefs. He replaced mi ...

* Mohammed Nadir Atash * Col. Issa Khan Nuristani *

Khalilullah Nuristani Khalil Allah or Khalilullah ( ar, خليل الله‎, , Friend of God, link=no) is an Arabic name, usually associated with Abraham. It can also refer to: * Khalilullah I (d. 1465), King of Shirvan * Khalilullah II (d. 1535), King of Shirvan * ...

* General Sarwar Khan Nuristani * Col. Noorullah Khan * Col. Din Mohammad Khan *

Col. Haroon Khan Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel wa ...

* Col. Jan Gul Khan * Col. Jan Muhammad Khan * Lt. Col. Nazar Muhammad Khan
Abdul Wahid Nuristani

Notes

References

External sources

Nuristan Province
by the

(NPS)
Nuristan Province
by the

Institute for the Study of War The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is a United States–based think tank founded in 2007 by Kimberly Kagan, providing research and analysis regarding issues of defense and foreign affairs. It has produced reports on the Syrian War, the War ...

(ISW) {{Authority control Provinces of Afghanistan History of Nuristan Province Hindu Kush States and territories established in 2001 2001 establishments in Afghanistan Provinces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan