Deconstructing Afghan Historiography: A Case Study of Hazara History Writing

Abstract

This article examines Hazara history writing, exploring how Hazara authors highlight the community’s formerly low socio-economic status and stigma attached to “being” Hazara. It also shows how in the 1980s and 1990s a shift in ethnic consciousness among Hazaras led to a new sense of pride and confidence, which continues to the present. The analysis focuses on two websites, Hazara.net and Hazara International, which are key social spaces for engagement with Hazara historiography. These websites are central to the ongoing production of an indigenous community history. These online spaces allow for the documentation, preservation, and propagation of Hazara history from a community-oriented lens.