| ID | 182832 |
| Title Proper | Ethnicity or religion? the genesis of the taliban movement in Afghanistan |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Borthakur, Anchita ; Kotokey, Angana |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Since the emergence of the Taliban in the national scene of Afghanistan, speculations have abounded around whether to call the movement a Pashtun nationalist movement or should it be termed as a radical Islamic movement having supra ethnic tendencies? It can be viewed that the Taliban movement in Afghanistan neither has its origin directly in the Pashtun tribal culture nor in the tradition of Islam. The leaders of the movement tend to use both these identities voluntarily based on circumstances. Depending on the aims and objectives in a given situation, both these identities are instrumentalized by the Taliban leaders to recruit more fighters and also to carry on with the political aspect of strategic decision making. Moreover, in the post 2001 scenario Afghan Taliban's principal ambition is to fight for national liberation against the presence of foreign forces and their local allies in Afghanistan under the banner of ‘divinely decreed Jihad’. |
| `In' analytical Note | Asian Affairs Vol. 51, No.4; Nov 2020: p.817-837 |
| Journal Source | Asian Affairs Vol: 51 No 4 |
| Key Words | Ethnicity ; Nationalism ; Taliban ; Afghanistan ; Identity ; Pashtun ; Islam |