Princess India of Afghanistan (

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

/ prs, شاهدخت اندیا ''Shahdukht Hindia'', it, Principessa India d'Afghanistan; born 7 June 1929) is the youngest daughter of

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, ...

and Soraya Tarzi, who were respectively King and Queen 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 ...

in the 1920s. She holds the title of princess of the royal house of Mohammadzai-Tarzi. Princess India was born in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, five months after her father's abdication on 14 January 1929 and named in honor of the country they fled to exile. After an invitation by Queen Elena of Italy, the family eventually settled in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where the princess grew up and continues to make her home. She was educated at Pension Marie-José, Gstaad,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. India visited Afghanistan for the first time in 1968, and started charity work for Afghan children seeking aid. In the 2000s, Princess India formed the Mahmud Tarzi Cultural Foundation (MTCF) in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, where she serves as vice chairman as of 2010. In 2006, Princess India was appointed Cultural Ambassador to Europe by the Afghan President,

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

. She spends her time between Rome and Kabul and holds lectures at conferences throughout Europe. In August 2019, Princess India was invited by the Afghan government to take part in the state's celebrations for Afghanistan's 100th anniversary of independence.

Personal life

Princess India has been married twice and has two daughters (from the first marriage) and a son (from the second marriage). Princess India thinks of her mother as a positive figure in contemporary Afghanistan, calling her achievements "highly regarded by Afghans", and adding her speeches of "how she encouraged Afghan women to become independent, to learn how to read and write." Regarding women's rights in Afghanistan, India thinks that more education is needed for Afghan men to improve the situation. She also said of the burqa that it is "not an Afghan garment and is not even an

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

garment". In September 2011, Princess India of Afghanistan was honored by the Afghan-American Women Association for her work in women's rights. In 2012,

Radio Azadi Radio Azadi (formerly Radio Free Afghanistan) is the Afghan branch of the U.S. government's Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) external broadcast services. It broadcasts 12 hours daily as part of a 24-hour stream of programming in co ...

named her "Person of the Year" for her humanitarian work.

References

External links

Afghanistan, Issues at stake and Viable Solutions: An Interview with H.R.H. Princess India of Afghanistan
by Enrica Garzilli, in
Journal of South Asia Women Studies
', January 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:India, Princess of Afghanistan 1929 births Living people Afghan princesses Barakzai dynasty People from Mumbai Pontifical Gregorian University alumni

Personal life

See also

References

External links