The Gharmi Tajiks are one of the original regional groups of

Tajiks Tajiks (; ; also spelled ''Tadzhiks'' or ''Tadjiks'') is the name of various Persian-speaking Eastern Iranian groups of people native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Even though the term ''Tajik'' ...

, with origins in the

Rasht Valley The Rasht Valley (; ) is located in Tajikistan and composes a significant portion of the Region of Republican Subordination, including the five districts of Lakhsh, Rasht, Tavildara now Sangvor, Tajikobod and Nurabad. Historically the Rash ...

in central

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

History

From the 1920s to 1955 there was a

Gharm Oblast The Gharm Oblast was an oblast in the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union from the 1920s to 1955. Its capital was Gharm. The population of Gharm were known as Gharmis, a term still used in Tajikistan today. History In the 1920s ...

in Tajikistan, and henceforth people from central Tajikistan were known as Gharmi Tajiks. During the 1950s many Gharmi Tajiks were forced to migrate from central Tajikistan to the Vakhsh River Valley in western Tajikistan. Gharmi Tajiks were largely excluded from government positions, which were dominated by individuals from

Khujand Khujand, sometimes spelled Khodjent and formerly known as Leninabad from 1936 to 1991, is the second-largest city of Tajikistan and the capital of Tajikistan's northernmost Sughd province. Khujand is one of the oldest cities in Central Asia, d ...

and

Kulob Kulob or Khatlon is a city in Khatlon Region in southern Tajikistan. Located southeast of the capital Dushanbe on the river Yakhsu (a right tributary of Panj), it is one of the largest cities in the country. Its population is estimated at 106 ...

. Gharmi Tajiks who settled in

Qurghonteppa Oblast Qurghonteppa Oblast (also known as Kurgan-Tyube Oblast (; )) was an administrative subdivision in Tajikistan until 1992, when it was merged with Kulob Oblast to create Khatlon Province. History Qurghonteppa district was first created in 1924 whe ...

are frequently described as a

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

group that found social niches in education and the marketplace. After Tajikistan became independent in 1991, many Gharmi Tajiks participated in protests against communists and the government. When the Civil War of Tajikistan broke out in 1992 a large number of Gharmi Tajiks joined the DPT- IRP opposition. The organization

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

among others, reported that Gharmi Tajiks were targeted for

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in ...

, disappearances, mass killings, and Gharmi villages were burnt. Dilip Hiro. ''Between Marx and Muhammad'',

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

. (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 1995).

Ahmed Rashid Ahmed Rashid (Urdu:; born 1948 in Rawalpindi) is a Pakistani journalist and best-selling foreign policy author of several books about Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia. Life and career Rashid was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He attende ...

. ''The Resurgence of Central Asia''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. 1994 During the fall and winter of 1992 as many as 90,000 Gharmi Tajiks and

Pamiris The Pamiris are an Eastern Iranian ethnic group, native to Central Asia, living primarily in Tajikistan (Gorno-Badakhshan), Afghanistan ( Badakhshan), Pakistan (Gilgit-Baltistan & Chitral) and China (Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County). They spe ...

were expelled from their homes and found refuge in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

in a campaign described by the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

as a

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

. This was followed by heavy fighting in the Rasht Valley between government and opposition forces that led to the destruction of villages. There is evidence that

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

was used by both sides during this campaign.

Notes

References

Gharmi Tajiks Gharmi Tajiks Gharmi Tajiks {{Tajikistan-stub