The cultural heritage of a country is a fundamental factor in forming and shaping the identity of a nation. It becomes more significant in the context of a war-torn nation like Afghanistan. Afghanistan has been experiencing a war-like condition for the last four decades that proved disastrous for its centuries-old historical heritage. The first phase of the Taliban government in Afghanistan was a dark period for Afghan cultural heritage. However, it has been observed that Taliban 2.0 presents a different approach towards Afghanistan’s cultural heritage and its preservation. It seems that Taliban 2.0 is comparatively different towards heritage and is ready to allow preservation activities in the country. This approach of the new Taliban regime could be seen as a turning point for protecting and preserving the country’s cultural heritage.
Recently, the meeting of India’s foreign secretary with the Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan in Dubai seems to have opened a new arena in the policy of interaction with the Taliban Government in Afghanistan. Maybe the comparative difference in the Taliban 2.0’s approach, India has decided to give preference to realpolitik policy. Here, the global community have an opportunity to save the cultural treasures of humanity and provide the people of Afghanistan with better economic opportunities. Such a change in approach is significant for India, too, as in addition to its humanitarian assistance, it can provide immediate financial and technical support to save Afghanistan’s and India’s shared cultural heritage.
The perception of Afghanistan among the general global audience is affected by political turmoil, violence, terrorism and ethnic conflict. The takeover of political power by the Taliban administration in August 2021 further strengthened the image of the country. Afghanistan has been famous as a “crossroad of cultures and civilisations” that shaped its society of multicultural and syncretic identities. This “crossroad of cultures” has evolved because of its geographical location and accompanying interactions with nearby cultures. Communities from West Asia (the Persian Empire), Central Asia (Bactrian cities of the Bronze Age), South Asia (Colonies of Alexander and his Indo-Greek successors, the Kushan Empire, the Islamic Empires of Ghaznavids, Timurid Empire and Mughal Empire) and China (cultures along the Silk Route) have met in this region and communicated with each other over centuries via multiple means such as trade, commerce, migration, religious missionaries and periodic conflicts between the regional powers.
Centuries of multifaceted interactions of hugely diverse cultures have led to the creation of significant and exciting treasures such as art pieces, architectural and literary developments, and archaeological sites. These heritages are of both national and international importance. Whether it is a statue of Buddha found in the Afghan land or the remains of architectural geniuses of Timurid styles, cultural symbols like these form an identity of Afghanistan. The cultural heritage of Afghanistan’s pre-Islamic is present before us as a living example of its rich and glorious past.
Taliban 1.0 regime’s destructive approach towards Cultural Heritage
However, there must be caution in moving forward, keeping in mind that the Taliban is an ultraconservative religious and political group that emerged in the mid-1990s after the withdrawal of the Soviet forces in 1989 from Afghanistan. It literally means “students” in the Persian language, which is generally referred to denote this political group. The Taliban were former fighters from the mujahideen groups organised to resist the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The withdrawal of the Soviet forces in 1989 led to political instability, resulting in the Civil war between the mujahideen factions. One such faction was organised as the Taliban in 1994, which later took control of the Afghan administration. The Taliban regime was led by Mullah Muhammad Umar, whose power base was in Qandahar. Taliban had applied the extreme interpretation of Islamic laws in the name of bringing peace and stability to the region. The guerrilla wars of the 1980s by the Mujahedin groups against the Soviets, the Civil war of the 1990s and the fundamentalist and extremist regime of the Taliban till 2001 have contributed to the destruction of the country’s age-old cultural heritage, which became the soft targets to gain finance and to give political messages to the global and domestic audiences.
The rise of the Taliban government in 1996-2001 CE was the worst period for the Afghan cultural heritage, at least in the last century. Afghanistan witnessed the regime of the Taliban, which promoted the monoculture idea of Afghanistan primarily guided by their agenda of radical Islamist understanding. The excesses of the fundamentalist regime were evident when the Taliban proceeded with the destruction of the colossal statues of the Buddhas of the Bamiyan valley that had been standing there since the 2nd-4th century CE. This was despite massive opposition at the global level. The Taliban had attacked and destroyed artefacts kept in National Museum at Kabul, and several archaeological remains of the Buddhist Monastery sites such as Hadda, where the statue of Kushan emperor Kanishka reigned in this region during the 1st century CE, was destroyed. The first phase of the Taliban regime was primarily guided by its mono-cultural understanding of Afghan culture and considered the pre-Islamic Buddhist artefacts do not belong to Afghanistan’s cultural heritage.
Taliban 2.0 and its pragmatic Approach
The experience of the first phase of the Taliban policies towards cultural heritage brought a general belief among the people globally that the re-emergence of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan could further destroy its cultural heritage monuments. However, the approach of Taliban 2.0 since 2021 should be perceived differently. Taliban 2.0 is comparatively more prepared, more inclusive of the different ethnic tribal groups, etc., than the previous regime. Taliban 2.0 has recently started negotiations with UNESCO regarding restoring and protecting historical monuments and providing security to the state Museums and archaeological sites like Bamiyan (Bakhtar News Agency, 2023). Taliban 2.0 transcend its fundamentalist mono-cultural idea about cultural heritage and shows a comparatively inclusive approach, particularly towards the pre-Islamic Buddhist heritage of the country.
It is argued that the major objective guiding the Taliban state towards this protective approach about the cultural monuments is to gain a sense of acceptance among the global community. Such an image of inclusive Afghanistan could provide them with much-needed international political and financial assistance, which was stopped in August 2021 because the Taliban regime is not yet recognised by any nation and United Nations Organisation (UNO).
Global Response
Despite the opening of limited diplomatic channels with Pakistan, Russia, Qatar etc., Taliban 2.0 is generally facing international isolation. The Taliban Administration in Afghanistan is continuously trying to get recognition as a legitimate government from the other nations and on the international forums. It is noteworthy that the economy of Afghanistan, even before the Taliban, was primarily based on international assistance, and due to the Taliban’s control since August 2021, all such aid/assistance was stopped. Such a condition has broken down Afghanistan’s economy. Since then, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has had to work under its planning document for the Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF). This assistance is limited to providing humanitarian support and technical support to the preservation activities due to the non-recognition of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
It is observed that the cultural heritage is again under severe threat of destruction because of negligence and lack of scientific preservation due to halted international financial and technical support. This time, it is not the policy of the Taliban regime but the inaction of the global community responsible for the negligence. The global community must understand that the heritage of Afghanistan is a heritage of humanity whose diverse cultures interacted with each other in the past to develop such art marvels.
The policies of Taliban 2.0 should be seen in the larger context as present Afghanistan is not the same as the last Taliban regime (1996-2001). Society and the economy have changed in comparison to the first Taliban regime. People are now more educated, capable, and conscious of their identity. It is also true that the Taliban compromised the democratic principles of the Western world due to its conservative and fundamental understanding of culture. However, the global community should also understand and utilise the changed approach of Taliban 2.0 towards their cultural heritage and be ready to provide security and support to international organisations in the process of preservation of cultural monuments.
The cultural heritage monuments can’t wait for long as they are facing not just natural degradation but also illegal exploitation. Such degradation and exploitation would lead to the vanishing of the centuries-old heritage of humanity. International organisations should act proactively and catch the low-hanging fruits by providing financial and technical support despite the non-recognition of the Taliban regime, which Taliban 2.0 is already welcoming.
An Opportunity for India
India is a growing power not just in the region but globally. India’s policy towards Afghanistan had been guided by soft power and mutual friendship. The re-emergence of the Taliban regime in 2021 brought a break in their friendly relations. The current relationship between India and Afghanistan may be considered a complex one. This is because India has not yet recognised the Taliban regime as a legitimate government of Afghanistan. Still, simultaneously, the diplomatic channels between them are continuous and limited, and the recent meeting of India’s foreign secretary with Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister is a positive sign.
Interestingly, the cultural heritage of Afghanistan could be understood as the shared heritage of India, too. The ancient past and history of both these countries are common because both belong to one cultural geography: the Indic civilisation zone, the Sapt Saindhava-Saraswati civilisation, and the Gandhara Buddhism in South Asia. The remains of this shared Buddhist culture of both these countries are spread in Afghanistan, facing the threat of destruction. Therefore, if India decides to support Afghanistan in preserving its cultural heritage, India is indirectly saving its own heritage. India should grab this opportunity to help the people of Afghanistan by providing financial and technical support in the field of cultural heritage preservation in addition to its humanitarian assistance, which India is currently providing to Afghanistan.
* Anand Gupta (PhD) is teaching at Dr Ambedkar Centre of Excellence, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab, India. Email: [email protected]