Hindu Kush | mountains, Asia | Britannica.com Hindu Kush Afghanistan Hindu Kush, great mountain system of Central Asia . Broadly defined, it is some 500 miles (800 km) long and as wide as 150 miles (240 km). The Hindu Kush is one of the great watersheds of Central Asia, forming part of the vast Alpine zone that stretches across Eurasia from east to west. It runs northeast to southwest and divides the valley of the Amu Darya (the ancient Oxus River) to the north from the Indus River valley to the south. To the east the Hindu Kush buttresses the Pamir range near the point where the borders of China , Pakistani-controlled Kashmir , and Afghanistan meet, after which it runs southwest through Pakistan and into Afghanistan, finally merging into minor ranges in western Afghanistan. The highest peak is Mount Tirich Mir , which rises near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to 25,230 feet (7,690 metres). The Hindu Kush and the Karakoram Range.

It was through the high passes of the Hindu Kush in about 1500 bc that invaders from Central Asia brought their Indo-European language—a forerunner of the Indo-Iranian languages spoken throughout the region today. Historically, the passes have been of great military significance, providing access to the northern plains of India for such conquerors as Alexander the Great , the king of Macedonia; the Mongols Genghis Khan and Timur (Tamerlane); and their descendant Babur, the first Mughal emperor. During the period of British rule in India, the Indian government was keenly concerned with the security both of these passes and of an associated physical feature to the south, the Khyber Pass . The Hindu Kush range has rarely constituted the frontier between major powers but has usually formed part of an intermediate buffer zone. The name Hindu Kush derives from the Arabic for “Mountains of India.” Its earliest known usage occurs on a map published about ad 1000.

Physical features Zagros Mountains The eastern limit of the Hindu Kush is difficult to determine because of a locally complex topography , although the Karambar Pass (14,250 feet [4,343 metres]) between the valleys of the Konar (called the Kunar or Chitral in Pakistan) and Gilgit rivers may be tentatively accepted as the boundary. The western limit also is uncertain, as the mountains lose height and fan out into minor ranges in Afghanistan. Geologists, however, consider the Hindu Kush range to extend much farther west to the Iranian border.

Physiography The Hindu Kush may be divided into three main sections: the eastern Hindu Kush, which runs from the Karambar Pass in the east to the Dorāh (Do Rāh) Pass (14,940 feet [4,554 metres]) not far from Mount Tirich Mir; the central Hindu Kush, which then continues to the Shebar (Shībar) Pass (9,800 feet [2,987 metres]) to the northwest of Kabul ; and the western Hindu Kush, also known as the Bābā Mountains (Kūh-e Bābā), which gradually descends to the Kermū Pass. In its extreme eastern section, between the passes of Karambar and Baroghil (Barowghīl; 12,480 feet [3,804 metres]), the eastern Hindu Kush is not very high and has mountains that often take the form of rounded domes.

Farther to the west the main ridge rises rapidly to Baba Tangi (21,368 feet [6,513 metres]) and becomes rugged, after which, within the space of about 100 miles (160 km), are concentrated the highest mountains of the entire region—about two dozen summits of more than 23,000 feet (7,000 metres) in elevation. A first cluster of high peaks around Urgand (23,094 feet [7,039 metres]), in Afghanistan, is followed farther south by the massif (principal mountain mass) of Saraghrara (24,111 feet [7,349 metres]).

Another line of imposing mountains, which includes Mounts Langar (23,162 feet [7,060 metres]), Shachaur (23,346 feet [7,116 metres]), Udrem Zom (23,376 feet [7,125 metres]), and Nādīr Shāh Zhāra (23,376 feet [7,125 metres]), leads to the three giant mountains of the Hindu Kush, which are Mounts Noshaq (Nowshāk; 24,557 feet [7,485 metres]), Istoro Nal (24,242 feet [7,389 metres]), and Tirich Mir. Most major glaciers of the Hindu Kush—among them Kotgaz, Niroghi, Atrak, and Tirich—are in the valleys of this section. Britannica Stories Sir Isaac Newton Forests cover many southern slopes of the eastern and central Hindu Kush, where there is abundant snowfall in the winter and intermittent precipitation from the summer monsoon.

In the northernmost mountains in Pakistan’s Chitral district and the Gilgit district (Pakistani-controlled Kashmir), precipitation on lower slopes is sparse; hence forest vegetation is limited to occasional juniper and birch. Large stands of deodar cedar and blue pine cloak the eastern and central spurs of the Hindu Kush in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the western Hindu Kush, forest is almost absent, and cultivated fodder trees such as poplar, willow, and Russian olive predominate. Other planted trees in irrigated mountain oases include plane trees and economically valuable species such as mulberry, jujube, and walnut. Meadowland is intermittent, depending on sunny and shady exposure, with substantial pastures found on slopes where snow accumulates; these pastures are occasionally cultivated in the summer by local and transhumant (seasonally migrating) populations. The valleys of the Swat and Dir districts, as well as parts of Chitral, support rice cultivation. Wildflowers blooming in the Hindu Kush in the Chitral district of northern Pakistan. © Brian A.

Vikander Undulating grassland, called pamir , occurs above the tree line in the eastern Hindu Kush, while in the deep valleys barren rock walls are punctuated by brilliant emerald-green oases irrigated by glacial and snowfield meltwater. On the northern slopes, vegetation generally is sparse and limited to summer grazing by valley-dwelling inhabitants. In the inaccessible reaches of Nūrestān , deodar forest is still substantial, but in the western portion of the range, where precipitation is less abundant, the higher slopes support grazing. Animal life Well-adapted species of wildlife are found throughout the mountains. The Siberian ibex and the markhor (both wild goats) negotiate the high crags, while Marco Polo sheep and urial (another wild sheep) occasionally are found in the high pamir. Black and brown bears still exist in isolated valleys, and the Chitral valley wildlife preserve is a domain of the rare snow leopard. The rich birdlife of the mountains includes vultures and eagles. The streams of the northern slope contain brown trout in abundance.

Human depredation has reduced the variety and distribution of wildlife throughout the Hindu Kush, although efforts to create wildlife preserves in unpopulated areas have met with some success. The display of horns at pagan and Muslim religious sites demonstrates the cultic importance of the ibex. A vestige of this cult persists in domesticated animal husbandry, where, by custom, only males may milk goats. People A long and tormented history, together with fragmented topography, has produced a veritable mosaic of peoples in the region. The lower parts of the Vākhān and the higher parts of the Sanglīch and Anjoman valleys, all on the northwestern slopes of the Hindu Kush, are sparsely inhabited by the so-called Pamir or Mountain Tajik , most of whom are Ismāʿīlī Muslims. Other Tajik (who are Sunni Muslims), Uzbek , and some Ḥazāra (Persian-speaking peoples of Central Asian origin) live in the valleys of the central and western parts of the Hindu Kush. Kyrgyz nomads formerly occupied the high pamir but migrated to eastern Turkey in the 1980s during the Afghan War .

Pashtun are found in the major towns, in Kabul, and in many districts to the south of the Hindu Kush, with the exception of Nūrestān. Pashtun nomads range over the western hills and into northern high pastures in Afghanistan. Some Indic Gujar nomadic herders seasonally penetrate the valleys of the southern slopes. On the southeast (Pakistan) side of the Hindu Kush, most people are Kohistani, an ethnic group that shows a marked cultural unity from Kashmir to Kabul. The Kafir of Chitral are an exceptionally interesting people. Their name means “Infidel” or “Non-Muslim” and seems to have been used since the 11th century. Traditionally, they are divided into two groups—the kalasha (“black”) Kafir of Chitral and the kati (“red”) Kafir of Nūrestān. In the past, the Kafir inhabited a much larger area of the Hindu Kush. The Kafir of Nūrestān were forcibly converted to Islam in 1896. Physically, the Kafir do not seem to differ much from their neighbours; they speak a language classed by some as Dardic .

It is in their religion that their ethnic individuality is most strikingly expressed. They practice a form of polytheism; worship consists mainly in the sacrifice of animals. Dancing is important, and shamans practice divination. Prior to modern legal prohibition of the custom, the dead were disposed of, unburied, in heavy wooden coffins. Large wooden statues of ancestors, often on horseback, traditionally stood near graveyards; many of these works now reside in museums. Housing in Chitral and Nūrestān consists of strong rectangular wooden buildings. The economy is based on agriculture and the raising of goats and oxen. Economy Resources Forage, timber, and water are the most heavily exploited resources in the Hindu Kush. Human settlements occur where land can be irrigated. Large seasonal migrations of livestock, driven by herders, fully utilize the pasturelands of remote mountain areas. Each year thousands of sheep and goats from the high pastures of Badakhshān travel through the Anjoman Pass down to the markets of Kabul. Small hydroelectric power plants generate electricity for mountain villages in Pakistan. In the north, hydropower is generated at Pol-e Khomrī and Kondūz.

Many of these are dual-purpose dams, with large downstream irrigation facilities. Small irrigated plots of wheat, barley, millet, corn (maize), potatoes, and peas and beans constitute the region’s agriculture. Orchards of mulberry, walnut, almond, jujube, apricot, and apple are valuable sources of food during drought. Migrants, refugees from Afghanistan, and loggers have depleted much of the tree cover on the southern slopes, with the high forests of Nūrestān and the Hindu Raj remaining inaccessible. Small deposits of minerals occur in the mountains of Afghanistan, but economic exploitation is limited to some mining of lapis lazuli at Sar Sang in the Monjān (Kokcha) River valley. Some beryl is mined in the Konar River valley. Ancient texts report spinel ruby and rock crystal, but no commercial mining of these minerals is carried on today. There are coal mines at Karkar and Eshposhteh (Ishpushta) in Afghanistan in the central Hindu Kush.

The northern plains adjacent to the western Hindu Kush supply natural gas for export to Uzbekistan, while the Bābā Mountains to the south near Hājjī Gak and Paghmān (west of Kabul) and in the north near Feyẕābād contain iron ore deposits. Transportation Motor vehicle roads and tracks serve all the inhabited valleys of the Hindu Kush. Every village in the Pakistan portion of the mountains can be reached by jeep; tracks over such high passes as Shandur and Lawarai in Gilgit and Chitral districts have reduced the isolation of these valleys. Of major importance is the all-weather road through the Sālang Tunnel linking northern and southern Afghanistan. Rough vehicle tracks penetrate the northern valleys, including the Vākhān region, from Feyẕābād in Badakhshān. Short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft intermittently serve remote locations and provide daily service to Chitral and Gilgit. Air service to the Vākhān region and the western Hindu Kush in Afghanistan is infrequent.

Study and exploration General descriptions of the Hindu Kush valleys are found in the ancient records of such pilgrims as the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang , who exited South Asia through the Hindu Kush in the mid-7th century ce, and from scribes who accompanied invaders from Central Asia. Many local toponyms are Turkic in origin. The Venetian traveler Marco Polo and his group is said to have passed along the Hindu Kush through the Badakhshān and Vākhān regions in the 13th century. The central section of the range, known as Kābul Kūhestān (Kohistan), was famous in antiquity as the location of the triodon, three great transmontane routes.

The first of these was either the Khawāk Pass in the Panjshēr River valley, over which Alexander the Great passed northward, or the adjacent Thalle Pass, used by Timur; the second was the Kushān Pass (slightly to the west of the present-day Sālang road tunnel), which Alexander crossed southward; and the third was the Kipchak Pass, used by Genghis Khan in the early 13th century and by Babur in 1504. In the 19th century, political control of the Hindu Kush was contested by tsarist Russia and imperial Britain. With the establishment of Afghanistan in the early 1880s, these two combatants were essentially banished from the territory; hence it was left to other Europeans, especially the Germans, to study and explore the central ranges of the Hindu Kush. The Germans and the French conducted major scientific and archaeological expeditions in Afghanistan in the 1930s. By the end of the 19th century, the British had subdued the dissident principalities in the eastern Hindu Kush. There followed the precise topographical measurement of what became the northwestern frontier of British India.

Further extensive topographic suveys of the Hindu Kush were carried out in the second half of the 20th century by the Soviet Union, the United States , and Pakistan, leading to the production of highly detailed maps. War disrupted activity in the region during the 1980s and 1990s. Hindu Kush means Hindu Slaughter Hindu Kush means Hindu Slaughter By Shrinandan Vyas All the Encyclopedias and National Geographic agree that Hindu Kush region is a place of Hindu genocide (similar to Dakau and Auschwitz). All the references are given. Please feel free to verify them. ABSTRACT All Standard reference books agree that the name 'Hindu Kush' of the mountain range in Eastern Afganistan means 'Hindu Slaughter' or 'Hindu Killer'. History also reveals that until 1000 A.D. the area of Hindu Kush was a full part of Hindu cradle. More likely, the mountain range was deliberately named as 'Hindu Slaughter' by the Moslem conquerors, as a lesson to the future generations of Indians. However Indians in general, and Hindus in particular are completely oblivious to this tragic genocide.

This article also looks into the reasons behind this ignorance. 21 References - (Mainly Encyclopedia Britannica & other reference books, National Geographic Magazines and standard history books). INTRODUCTION The Hindu Kush is a mountain system nearly 1000 miles long and 200 miles wide, running northeast to southwest, and dividing the Amu Darya River Valley and Indus River Valley. It stretches from the Pamir Plateau near Gilgit, to Iran. The Hindu Kush ranges mainly run thru Afganistan and Pakistan. It has over two dozen summits of more than 23,000 ft in height. Below the snowy peaks the mountains of Hindu Kush appear bare, stony and poor in vegetation. Historically, the passes across the Hindu Kush have been of great military significance, providing access to the northern plains of India. The Khyber Pass constitutes an important strategic gateway and offers a comparatively easy route to the plains of Punjab.

Most foreign invaders, starting from Alexander the Great in 327 BC, to Timur Lane in 1398 AD, and from Mahmud of Ghazni, in 1001 AD, to Nader Shah in 1739 AD attacked Hindustan via the Khyber Pass and other passes in the Hindu Kush (1,2,3). The Greek chroniclers of Alexander the Great called Hindu Kush as Parapamisos or Paropanisos (4). The Hindu name of the Hindu Kush mountains was 'Paariyaatra Parvat'(5). EARLY HISTORY OF HINDU KUSH REGION (UP TO 1000 AD) History of Hindu Kush and Punjab shows that two major kingdoms of Gandhaar & Vaahic Pradesh (Balkh of Bactria) had their borders extending far beyond the Hindu Kush. Legend has it that the kingdom of Gandhaar was established by Taksha, grandson of Bharat of Ayodhya (6). Gandhaar's borders extended from Takshashila to Tashkent (corruption of 'Taksha Khand') in the present day Uzbekistan.

In the later period, Mahabharat relates Gaandhaari as a princess of Gandhaar and her brother, Shakuni as a prince and later as Gandhaar's ruler. In the well documented history, Emperor Chandragupt Maurya took charge of Vaahic Pradesh around 325 BC and then took over Magadh. Emperor Ashok's stone tablets with inscriptions in Greek and Aramaic are still found at Qandahar (corruption of Gandhaar?) and Laghman in eastern Afganistan(3). One such stone tablet, is shown in the PBS TV series 'Legacy with Mark Woods' in episode 3 titled 'India: The Spiritual Empire'. After the fall of Mauryan empire, Gandhaar was ruled by Greeks. However some of these Greek rulers had converted to Buddhism, such as Menander, known to Indian historians as Milinda, while some other Greeks became followers of Vishnav sects (Hinduism)(7). Recent excavations in Bactria have revealed a golden hoard which has among other things a figurine of a Greek goddess with a Hindu mark on its forehead (Bindi) showing the confluence of Hindu-Greek art (8).

Later Shaka and KushaaN ruled Gandhaar and Vaahic Pradesh. KushaaN emperor Kanishka's empire stretched from Mathura to the Aral Sea (beyond the present day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Krygzystan)(9). Kanishaka was a Buddhist and under KushaaN influence Buddhism flourished in Gandhaar. Two giant sandstone Buddhas carved into the cliffs of Bamian (west of Kabul) date from the Kushan period. The larger Buddha (although defaced in later centuries by Moslem invaders) is about 175 ft tall (10,11). The Kushan empire declined by 450 AD. The Chinese traveller Hsuan-Tsang (Xuan-zang) travelled thru the region in 7 th century AD and visited many Buddhist religious centers (3) including Hadda, Ghazni, Qonduz, Bamian (3,10,11), Shotorak and Bagram. From the 5 th thru 9 th cenury AD Persian Sasanians and Hepthalites ruled Gandhaar. During their rule Gandhaar region was again influenced by Hinduism.

The Hindu kings (Shahiya) were concentrated in the Kabul and Ghazni areas. The last Hindu Shahiya king of Kabul, Bhimapal was killed in 1026 AD. The heroic efforts of the Hindu Shahiya Kings to defend the northwestern gates of India against the invaders are described by even al-Biruni, the court historian of Mahmud of Ghazni (12). Some excavated sites of the period include a major Hindu Shahiya temple north of Kabul and a chapel that contains both Buddhist and Hindu images, indicating that there was a mingling of two religions (3). Islamic invasions on Afganistan started in 642 AD, but over the next several centuries their effect was marginal and lasted only a short time after each raid. Cities surrendered only to rise in revolt and the hastily converted returned to their old religion (Hinduism or Buddhism) once the Moslem armies had passed (3). THUS TILL THE YEAR 1000 AD AFGANISTAN WAS A FULL PART OF HINDU CRADLE. HINDU KUSH AND THE HINDU GENOCIDE Now Afganistan is a Moslem country.

Logically, this means either one or more of the following must have happened: a) original residents of Hindu Kush converted to Islam, or b) they were slaughtered and the conquerors took over, or c) they were driven out. Encyclopedia Britannica (3) already informs us above about the resistance to conversion and frequent revolt against to the Moslem conqueror's rule from 8 th thru 11 th Century AD. The name 'Hindu Kush' itself tells us about the fate of the original residents of Gandhaar and Vaahic Pradesh during the later period of Moslem conquests, because HINDU KUSH in Persian MEANS HINDU SLAUGHTER (13) (as per Koenraad Elst in his book 'Ayodhya and After'). Let us look into what other standard references say about Hindu Kush. Persian-English dictionary (14) indicates that the word 'Kush' is derived from the verb Kushtar - to slaughter or carnage. Kush is probably also related to the verb Koshtan meaning to kill. In Urdu, the word Khud-kushi means act of killing oneself (khud - self, Kushi- act of killing).

Encyclopedia Americana comments on the Hindu Kush as follows: The name Hindu Kush means literally 'Kills the Hindu', a reminder of the days when (Hindu) SLAVES from Indian subcontinent died in harsh Afgan mountains while being transported to Moslem courts of Central Asia (15). The National Geographic Article 'West of Khyber Pass' informs that 'Generations of raiders brought captive Hindus past these peaks of perpetual snow. Such bitter journeys gave the range its name Hindu Kush - "Killer of Hindus"'(10). The World Book Encyclopedia informs that the name Kush, .. means Death ..(16). While Encyclopedia Britannica says 'The name Hindu Kush first appears in 1333 AD in the writings of Ibn Battutah, the medieval Berber traveller, who said the name meant 'Hindu Killer', a meaning still given by Afgan mountain dwellers who are traditional enemies of Indian plainsmen (i.e. Hindus)(2). However, later the Encyclopedia Britannica gives a negationist twist by adding that 'more likely the name is a corruption of Hindu-Koh meaning Hindu mountains'.

This is unlikely, since the term Koh is used in its proper, uncorrupted form for the western portion of Hindu Kush, viz. Koh-i-Baba, for the region Swat Kohistan, and in the names of the three peaks of this range, viz. Koh-i-Langer, Koh-i-Bandakor, and Koh-i-Mondi. Thus to say that corruption of term Koh to Kush occurred only in case of Hindu Kush is merely an effort to fit in a deviant observation to a theory already proposed. In science, a theory is rejected if it does not agree with the observations, and not the other way around. Hence the latter negationist statement in the Encyclopedia Britannica must be rejected. IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT ONE OF THE FEW PLACE NAMES ON EARTH THAT REMINDS US NOT OF THE VICTORY OF THE WINNERS BUT RATHER THE SLAUGHTER OF THE LOSERS, CONCERNS A GENOCIDE OF HINDUS BY THE MOSLEMS (13). Unlike the Jewish holocaust, the exact toll of the Hindu genocide suggested by the name Hindu Kush is not available. However the number is easily likely to be in millions.

Few known historical figures can be used to justify this estimate. Encyclopedia Britannica informs that in December 1398 AD, Timur Lane ordered the execution of at least 50,000 captives before the battle for Delhi, .. and after the battle those inhabitants (of Delhi) not killed were removed (as slaves) (17), while other reference says that the number of captives butchered by Timur Lane's army was about 100,000 (18). Later on Encyclopedia Britannica mentions that the (secular?) Mughal emperor Akbar 'ordered the massacre of about 30,000 (captured) Rajput Hindus on February 24, 1568 AD, after the battle for Chitod' (19). Another reference indicates that this massacre of 30,000 Hindu peasants at Chitod is recorded by Abul Fazl, Akbar's court historian himself (20). These two 'one day' massacres are sufficient to provide a reference point for estimating the scale of Hindu genocide.

The Afgan historian Khondamir records that during one of the many repeated invasions on the city of Herat in western Afganistan, 1,500,000 residents perished (11). Since some of the Moslem conquerors took Indian plainsmen as slaves, a question comes : whatever happened to this slave population? The startling answer comes from New York Times (May-June 1993 issues). The Gypsies are wandering peoples in Europe. They have been persecuted in almost every country. Nazis killed 300,000 gypsies in the gas chambers. These Gypsies have been wandering around Central Asia and Europe since around the 12 th Century AD. Until now their country of origin could not be identified. Also their Language has had very little in common with the other European languages. Recent studies however show that their language is similar to Punjabi and to a lesser degree to Sanskrit. Thus the Gypsies most likely originated from the greater Punjab. The time frame of Gypsy wanderings also coincides early Islamic conquests hence most likely their ancestors were driven out of their homes in Punjab and taken as slaves over the Hindu Kush.

The theory of Gypsie origins in India was first proposed over two centuries ago. It is only recently theta linguistic and other proofs have been verified. Even the Gypsie leadership now accepts India as the country of their origin. Thus it is evident that the mountain range was named as Hindu Kush as a reminder to the future Hindu generations of the slaughter and slavery of Hindus during the Moslem conquests. DELIBERATE IGNORANCE ABOUT HINDU KUSH If the name Hindu Kush relates such a horrible genocide of Hindus, why are Hindus ignorant about it? and why the Government of India does not teach them about Hindu Kush? The history and geography curriculums in Indian Schools barely even mention Hindu Kush. The horrors of the Jewish holocaust are taught not only in schools in Israel and USA, but also in Germany. Because both Germany and Israel consider the Jewish holocaust a 'dark chapter' in the history. The Indian Government instead of giving details of this 'dark chapter' in Indian history is busy in whitewash of Moslem atrocities and the Hindu holocaust. In 1982, the National Council of Educational Research and Training issued a directive for the rewriting of school texts.

Among other things it stipulated that: 'Characterization of the medieval period as a time of conflict between Hindus and Moslems is forbidden'. Thus denial of history or Negationism has become India's official 'educational' policy (21). Often the official governmental historians brush aside questions such as those that Hindu Kush raises. They argue that the British version is the product of their 'divide and rule' policy' hence their version is not necessarily true. However it must be remembered that the earliest reference of the name Hindu Kush and its literal meaning 'Hindu Killer' comes from Ibn Battutah in 1333 AD, and at that time British were nowhere on the Indian scene. Secondly, if the name indeed was a misnomer then the Afgans should have protested against such a barbaric name and the last 660 plus years should have been adequate for a change of name to a more 'civil' name. There has been no effort for such a change of name by the Afgans.

On the contrary, when the Islamic fundamentalist regime of the Mujahadeens came to power in 1992, tens of thousands of Hindus and Sikhs from Kabul, became refugees, and had to pay steep ransom to enter into Pakistan without a visa. In the last 46 years the Indian Government also has not even once demanded that the Afgan Government change such an insulting and barbaric name. But in July 1993, the Government of India asked the visiting Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra to change its name because the word Jerusalem in its name is offensive to Moslem Fundamentalists. CONCLUSION It is evident that Hindus from ancient India's (Hindustan's) border states such as Gandhaar and Vaahic Pradesh were massacred or taken as slaves by the Moslem invaders who named the region as Hindu Kush (or Hindu Slaughter,or Hindu Killer) to teach a lesson to the future Hindu generations of India. Unfortunately Hindus are not aware of this tragic history. The Indian government does not want the true history of Hindu Moslem conflicts during the medieval ages to be taught in schools. This policy of negationism is the cause behind the ignorance of Hindus about the Hindu Kush and the Hindu genocide.

Wikileaf: Hindu Kush Marijuana Strain Information Reviews Overview One of the original landrace strains that precipitated the popularization of cannabis throughout the world, Hindu Kush is a potent pure indica. It is indigenous to the Hindu Kush mountain chain that forms the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The meaning of the word “Kush” is disputed, and has been traced back to a Persian term for “Hindu killer” (in reference to the danger of crossing the inhospitable mountains) as well as to Avestan words meaning simply “water mountain.” In any case, Kush has become a byword for weed and is often used a suffix in the names of different strains, regardless of whether those strains have Hindu Kush in their lineage. Seeds of Hindu Kush -- along with seeds of other Asian landrace varieties like Afghani -- were brought to the U.S.

in the 1960s and 70s by cannabis enthusiasts and explorers who traveled along a route that has come to be known as the “hippie trail.” In time, Hindu Kush has, perhaps inevitably, been crossed with other strains to allow for stability and adaptation to a radically different climate than its mountainous point of origin; as such, “true” Hindu Kush may not be widely available in the Western Hemisphere. Nevertheless, Hindu Kush is a relatively pure strain, simpler and often more potent that the novelty crossbreeds that continue to multiply in today’s competitive cannabis market. It is prized for its heavily sedative, almost narcotic properties and its highly resinous flowers. The THC composition of Hindu Kush is typically measured at between 15% and 20%. Hindu Kush is marked by large, clustered green buds that adhere due to their incredibly sticky consistency. Some phenotypes have shades of purple in the leaves, the result of high concentrations of plant pigments called anthocyanins being activated by cold weather during the vegetative stage.

The densely-packed flowers are famous for their resin (Hindu Kush may have been one of the first strains used to produce hash) and have a heavy coating of silver-white trichomes. The aroma of this strain is very complex, with a simultaneously sweet and musky scent, redolent of spice, sandalwood, pine, and wet earth. The musky odor intensifies when flowers are combusted and smoked. The resulting smoke is harsh and cough-inducing; when exhaled, smoke tastes vaguely like pine. The overall flavor impression of Hindu Kush is one of incense and herbs. Hindu Kush boasts a slowly-mounting high that begins as a sense of physical relaxation and then progresses toward a state of mental fogginess. Users will feel a heavy sensation in the limbs and head and may not want to be especially active. The feeling of couchlock is commonly reported: users may have thoughts or intentions of getting up to perform a task, but will just as happily remain motionless. This immobilization can free up the mind for lazy contemplation and meandering creative thinking. Some psychedelic effects like visual distortions and strange tactile sensations may also be present. Because of its heavy body stone, Hindu Kush is not recommended for active daytime use.

Instead, it works well as a numbing agent for chronic pain, an anti-nausea treatment, and as a way to relieve stress and anxiety. Negative effects include dry mouth and eyes, occasionally accompanied by paranoia and dizziness. A few users have also reported experiencing anxiety from larger doses of this strain. Hindu Kush is particularly helpful for users with insomnia, as large enough doses can induce sleep. The purely indica lineage of Hindu Kush is evident in its stature. Indica plants are much shorter and stockier than their sativa counterparts, and the Hindu Kush strain epitomizes this, hardly ever growing taller than 5 feet. As such, it can be grown indoors, provided that multiple plants are spaced to allow for the strain’s wide lateral branches. Outdoor cultivation tends to be more difficult, as the strain’s native climate is highly variable. However, as noted, certain varieties of Hindu Kush have been stabilized through minor crossbreeding, so some phenotypes may grow well outdoors. Growers may want to trim low-lying branches (which can later be used to grow clones) to allow for easy air circulation. Growers should also trim broad fan leaves to allow light to penetrate to flowering nodes up and down the length of the plant.

When cultivated indoors, Hindu Kush flowers anywhere between 7 to 10 weeks. If grown outside, plants are usually ready for harvest in late October. Hindu Kush can yield up to 1.5 oz per square foot and reach a THC count of up to 20%. Procuring Hindu Kush is a unique encounter for the cannabis novice and connoisseur alike. Shaped over countless generations of natural selection, its aromatic flowers offer a way to experience a piece of botanical and cultural history. The strain’s powerful knockout high may introduce a new kind of respect for nature -- or at the very least, an understanding of why this plant has been selectively bred by humans for centuries. A true nighttime smoke, Hindu Kush is well-suited to solo use or to small intimate gatherings. THC Content - 20.0% Highest Test Average Indica What does Hindu Kush mean?

definition, meaning and pronunciation (Free English Language Dictionary) chain ; chain of mountains ; mountain chain ; mountain range ; range ; range of mountains (a series of hills or mountains) Meronyms (parts of "Hindu Kush"): Khyber Pass (a mountain pass of great strategic and commercial value in the Hindu Kush on the border between northern Pakistan and western Afghanistan; a route by which invaders entered India) Tirich Mir (a mountain in the Hindu Kush in Pakistan (25,230 feet high)) Holonyms ("Hindu Kush" is a part of...): Afghanistan ; Islamic State of Afghanistan (a mountainous landlocked country in central Asia; bordered by Iran to the west and Russia to the north and Pakistan to the east and south) Islamic Republic of Pakistan ; Pakistan ; West Pakistan (a Muslim republic that occupies the heartland of ancient south Asian civilization in the Indus River valley; formerly part of India; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947) Learn English with...

Proverbs of the week "New broom sweeps clean." (English proverb) "Every animal knows more than you do." (Native American proverb, Nez Perce) "Don't take any wooden nickels." (American proverb) "After a battle, everyone is a general." (Czech proverb) HINDU KUSH: related words searches HINDU KUSH – Encyclopaedia Iranica Tags HINDU KUSH the name given to the southwest range of the massive middle and south Asiatic mountain complex lying partly in Afghanistan and partly in Pakistan. HINDU KUSH, the name given to the southwest range of the massive middle and south Asiatic mountain complex lying partly in Afghanistan and partly in Pakistan. The border with the Karakoram and the Hindu Raj is marked in the east by the deep saddle of the Baroghil (Bāruḡil) Pass (3,804 m) and the valleys of the Yarḵun, Mastuj, and Chitral (q.v.), which run from there towards the southwest.

In the north the Hindu Kush is separated from the mountains of northern Badaḵšān by the valley of the Kokča and from the Pamir by the valley of the Panj or Āmu Daryā (q.v.). In the west the Hindu Kush stretches into the highlands of central Afghanistan, where the Shibar Pass and the deep gorge of Darra-ye Šekāri are to be seen as borders (Grötzbach, 1990, p. 241). The name Hindu Kush is, from a historical point of view, quite young. It is missing from the accounts of the early Arab geographers and occurs for the first time in Ebn Baṭṭuṭa (ca. 1330; tr., p. 53; Le Strange, Lands, p. 350). Ẓahir-al-Din Bābor’s list of the Hindu Kush passes indicates that the name was restricted to the high mountain range north of Kabul, meaning the west Hindu Kush, over which important trade routes ran from India or Kabul to Qaṭaḡan or Turān (Bābor-nāma, foll.

130a-31a, 272b. tr. Beveridge, pp. 204-5, 485). Ebn Baṭṭuṭa sees the origin of the name Hindu Kush (Hindu-killer) in the fact that numerous Hindu slaves fell victim to the dangers of the unknown world of the high mountain range while crossing the pass on their way from India to Turkestan. Later the name spread to the east; in the 19th century it was used for the whole range up to the Baroghil Pass (Yule, p. LXII). The Hindu Kush can be divided orographically into four parts (Grötzbach, 1990, pp. 241-42): (1) The western Hindu Kush between Darra-ye Šekāri and the Shibar Pass in the west and the Khawak (Ḵavāk) Pass in the east, that rises to a height of 5,126 m.

(2) The middle or central Hindu Kush, which includes the main ridge and all of the numerous spurs between the Khawak Pass in the east and the Dorah (Durāh) Pass in the west and reaches heights up to 6,843 m. (3) The eastern Hindu Kush from the Dorah Pass to the Baroghil Pass, over whose main ridge the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan runs, with several peaks over 7,000 m. The highest point of the whole mountain range is Tirich Mir (7,706 m), on a side ridge jutting out into Chitral. (4) The Ḵᵛāja Moḥammed Range, stretching with its various side ridges from the Khawak Pass north as far as Badaḵšān and is over 5,800 m high. The mountain environment. In geological tectonic terms, the Hindu Kush is part of the young Eurasian mountain range complex, which has risen since the late Tertiary period.

In the main it consists of metamorphic rocks (schist, gneiss, marble, etc.), but also of intrusives (granite, diorite, etc.) of varying age and size. The youth of the mountains can be seen in the frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes, particularly in Badaḵšān. The Hindu Kush also contains several mineral reserves, some of historical and some of contemporary importance. The lapis lazuli (lasurite) deposits in the area of Yamgān on the upper Kokča are renowned and have been mined since prehistoric times. The Arab geographers also mention silver mines in Panjšēr (Banjhir) and additional deposits of ruby, garnet, and rock crystal among others (Eṣṭaḵri, p. 280; Ebn Ḥawqal, p. 449, tr. Kramers and Wiet, pp. 334-35; Moqaddasi, pp. 303, 326; Yule; Le Strange, Lands, p. 350); today they have no economic value, however.

The climate of the Hindu Kush is marked by the transition from the west to the south Asiatic climatic type, that is, from the area with winter and spring rains to the area of summer monsoons. This can be seen in the natural vegetation. The south side of the mountains (Nuristan, south Chitral) lies on the fringe of the Indian summer monsoon, which has produced (sometimes thick) forest vegetation above a certain elevation. From about 1,300 to 2,300 m sklerophyllous forests are predominant with Quercus and Olea (wild olive); above that up to a height of about 3,300 m one finds coniferous forests with cedars, Picea, Abies, Pinus, and junipers. The north and northwest sides of the mountains receive less rain, which falls mainly in winter and spring. Here there are sparse juniper forests from around 1,500 m to 3,000 m. The inner valleys of the Hindu Kush are in the rain shadow and display desert vegetation apart form surface-water shrubs along rivers and streams.

Above 5,000 to 5,500 m the Hindu Kush has glaciers, particularly on the northern slopes (shadow sides) of the peaks and ridges. The middle and eastern Hindu Kush, as well as the highest part of the Kᵛāja Moḥammed mountains, are most glaciated. The glaciers represent here an important natural resource, providing water for irrigation and energy all year round. The rivers Chitral-Konar, Kokča, and Panj in particular are fed by glacial meltwater and still carry much water during the dry period in autumn. The population and its ethnic composition. The Hindu Kush extends over an area of around 55,000 km2, of which some 10,000 km2 is in Pakistan. Ca. 1980 almost 1 million people lived in the whole area, including the bordering valleys, of which 200,000 were in the Pakistani section. This results in a population density of seventeen inhabitants per km2 for the whole range. This average, however, obscures large regional differences.

The population is concentrated in a number of main valleys (Chitral-Konar, Panjšēr, Andarāb, Varsaj-Farḵār), but in some of the arid inner valleys there are as few as one or two inhabitants per km2 (Korān, Monjān, Zēbāk). The population density reaches as many as several hundred inhabitants per km2, however, in the agricultural areas, indicating the extent of over-population in the Hindu Kush. The population of the Hindu Kush is strongly differentiated according to ethnicity, language, and religion. A generalizing overview may differentiate between three cultural areas, each of which is dominated by a different ethnic group: The west, northwest, and north of the area is marked by Persian-speaking Tajiks and groups related to them (Mountain or Pamir Tajiks), who speak various northeast Iranian languages such as Munji/Monjāni, Eškāšemi (q.v.), Waḵi/Waḵāni, etc. (see AFGHANISTĀN v.). These small communities are Ismaʿili Shiʿites, whereas the Tajiks are Sunnites.

The south of the Hindu Kush is inhabited by Nuristanis and Pašais, who, particularly the former, are different from the other ethnic groups. The Nuristani languages form their own Indo-Iranian language group, whereas Pašai belongs to the Dardic languages. Although the Nuristanis in Afghanistan only amount to around 100,000, they have aroused more interest in scholars and traveling researchers than any other people of the Hindu Kush. This can be explained by the fact that they have retained many features of their traditional, independent culture, having been annexed to the Afghan state only after the first winter campaign by Amir ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān in 1895-96, which resulted in the compulsory conversion of the people to Sunni Islam (Kakar, pp. 181-209). The islamization of Nuristan brought a change in the usual name for the people and their country: the Kafirs (kāfer “unbeliever”) became Nuristanis, and Kafiristan (the land of unbelievers) became Nuristan (the land of light; see Bosworth, p. 409).

The Kafirs practiced a religion in which belief in spirits and shamanism was subordinate to a pantheon reminiscent of that of the ancient Oriental cultures of west Asia (Degener; Jettmar et al., 1975, p. 464). Small groups of Kafirs who in 1896 fled into neighboring British India still live, together with Kalash, in a few valleys of lower Chitral close to the Afghan border. How far their culture is still alive, or alternatively petrified into touristic folklore, is difficult to judge. In the Pakistani eastern Hindu Kush the Kho are the predominant population, who speak the Dardic language Khowar. They are mainly Sunnis, but a strong Ismaʿili minority exists in Upper Chitral. Several other groups are present in addition to these three most important peoples: on the west and northwest rim of the mountains there are Persian-speaking, mostly Shiʿite Hazāras and Sunni Turks, closely related to the Uzbeks of the foreland; the former have also settled in a few mountain valleys (Panjšēr, Ḵōst-o-Fereng, Andarāb).

The simple construction of their farms and the insignificance of fruit cultivation show that these groups moved here in more recent times, before which they pursued a nomadic way of life. Small groups of Waḵi (from Waḵān, the upper course of the Panj or Āmu Daryā) have also moved to Upper Chitral, Hunza, and Tāšqorḡān (Sinkiang/Xinjiang; see Kreutzmann, pp. 83-129). Among the most recent population groups in the Afghan Hindu Kush are the Pashtun nomads, who received large mountain pastures from the Afghan government at the end of the 19th century, as well as the Gujars, who started moving up from formerly British India to the northwest edge of the Hindu Kush in the 1930s and occupied small ecological niches there. Agriculture and worker migrations. Agriculture uses all of the available resources, which are very restricted in the high mountains.

Where there is enough water for irrigation, the land is used intensively: the lower areas have rice (up to about 2000 m) and fruit, i.e., apricots, mulberries, apples, and walnuts (up to 2,400/2,500 m); up to the limiti of cultivation (3,200/3,400 m) wheat, barley, and leguminous plants are grown. Cattle are also kept in varying numbers on the high pastures up to the glaciers. They are of particular importance in the highest villages. The native farmers come into competition here with nomadic Pashtun sheep grazers for the summer pastures. The Tajiks, Kho, and Hazāra entrust the care of the cattle and the processing of the milk on the high pastures mainly to the women, whereas the Nuristani assign it to the men (Scheibe, ed., p. 132; Edelberg and Jones, p. 50; Grötzbach, 1972, p. 110).

Despite the high expenditure of labor, the agricultural production in many villages of the Hindu Kush is not enough to make them self-sufficient. The deficit has to be filled by other earnings and by buying food. Within the mountain area, however, non-agricultural trades hardly exist, for which reason temporary and seasonal work in the forelands is very common. This is particularly true of Panjšēr, Andarāb, and Varsaj in the Afghan Hindu Kush. The most important destinations of these migratory workers are Kabul and the oases of Qaṭaḡan in Afghanistan and Peshawar in Pakistan. Traffic and settlements. The central and eastern Hindu Kush have only two passes (Dorah and Baroghil) that possessed any small significance for long-distance travel. The western Hindu Kush is much more easily traversable. This high, southwestern range of the inner Asian mountains renders it possible to cross the mountain barrier in relatively short but steep climbs and descents.

Moreover, significant economic and cultural areas lie on either side, namely the Kabul basin with the regions Kōh Dāman and Kohistan (Kuhestān) in the south and the oases of Qaṭaḡan (Ḡōri, Baḡlān, Qonduz, Ḵānābād) in the north. For this reason most of the long-distance trade between India and Turan/Bactria went over the passes of the western Hindu Kush or on the Bāmiān-Balḵ route somewhat farther west. In times of weak government the local population took over control of the traffic and entrances to the passes (Panjšēr, Ḡorband, Sālang, Anda-rāb), which led to its reduction due to rising insecurity. Ebn Hawqal (p. 449, tr. Kramers and Wiet, p. 435) called the Panjšēri stupid and corrupt, a reputation that followed them deep into the 19th century (Wood, p. 276). It was only under the Amir ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān (r.

1880-1901) that the passes were made safe and the routes over the Khawak Pass through the Panjšēr valley, and over the Sālang and Shibar Pass, acquired new significance. In 1933 the first motor road over the Hindu Kush was opened, crossing the mountains at the Shibar Pass (2,936 m). This and the Sālang Road, a peak tunnel (3,337 m) opened in 1964, brought about a complete shift in the traffic over the Hindu Kush. Thereafter the transit traffic was concentrated on the new road, whereas the other passes crumbled or retained a merely local significance. The traffic system was changed once again by the Afghan civil war (1978-2001) and the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Many previously abandoned side roads were reactivated by the Mojāhedin, and a roadway has even been laid between Chitral and Zēbāk in Badaḵšān over the Dorāh Pass. The settlements of the Hindu Kush are almost completely rural in character, but show clear regional differences in construction and arrangement.

Characteristic for Nuristan and south Chitral, where there are large wood resources, is a kind of timber frame house. In the rest of the Hindu Kush stone houses (fewer clay houses) are the rule. In the southern Hindu Kush, but also in other parts of the mountains, many villages outside the irrigated land are positioned on the slope of the valley in such a way that the roof of a lower-lying house functions as the terrace of the one above. In the Sālang valley many villages and hamlets are built like a fortress onto the slope. Also like forts are the seats of the old country aristocracy, which are often isolated farms. Although the style of settlement in the Hindu Kush is loose, individual houses are rather rare and mostly recent, that is, since the pacification of the land under Amir ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān or the British occupation (Grötzbach, 1972, p. 246; Haserodt, 1989, p. 90; Kussmaul, p. 29). A remarkable feature of the settlement structure is the amount of seasonal settlements, the number of which increases with the altitude.

Villages that are inhabited the whole year occur in isolated instances up to an altitude of about 3,300 m. Then there are summer settlements on the high-lying summer pastures, spring and autumn settlements that are inhabited for sowing and harvest on the remote mountain fields, and winter villages, that are completely abandoned in the summer. Moreover, there are the black tents of the Pashtun nomads on their summer pastures. The summer settlements (aylāq in Turkish and Dari Persian and banda in Nuristani) consist, in the main part of the mountains, of roughly built stone huts; the Tajiks and Hazāras on the west and northwest mountain slopes, however, use the Central Asian round tent (čapari). Real towns are completely non-existent in the Hindu Kush. Even the largest urban settlements such as Chitral Town (11,000 inhabitants) have partly rural features; the irrigated fields often begin behind the shop fronts of the bāzārs. Most small bāzār locations in the area were only built in the 20th century and have no urban character.

Regional Information 189 97 Sources: (1) Population Reference Bureau, 2007 World Population Data Sheet. (2) Estimated based on data and information from Population Reference Bureau, 2007 World Population Data Sheet and Banskota, m. 2004. The Hindu Kush Himalayas: Searching for Viable Socioeconomic and Environmental Options, pp. 57-105, In: Banskota et al. (eds.) Growth, Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Resource Management in the Mountain Areas of South Asia, ICIMOD, Nepal. (3) Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2004. (4) China Population Information and Research Centre (CPIRC): (accessed on 5 June, 2008). (5) Census of India, Population Projection, 2007.

[HKH region and adjacent mountain areas include: Afghanistan – all provinces except Kandahar, Helmand, Nimroz, Farah, and Herat; Bangladesh – Chittagong Hill Tracts; Bhutan – whole country; China – parts of Yunnan (Diqing, Nujiang, Dali prefectures), Sichuan (Ganzi, Aba, Liangshan prefectures), Gansu (Gannan, Wuwei, Zhangye prefectures), Xinjiang (Kashigar, Kezilesu, Hetian, Altai prefectures), whole of Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai; India – the 11 mountain states (Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand; Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura) and Darjeeling district of West Bengal; Myanmar – the states of Kachin, Chin, Shan and Rakkhain; Nepal – whole country; Pakistan – North Western Frontier Province (NWFP), Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Northern Areas, Ajad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and 12 districts of Baluch

istan] Major mountain ranges and peaks Ten highest mountain peaks in the region Name Hindu Kush | Define Hindu Kush at Dictionary.com Hindu Kush noun 1.

a mountain range in S Asia, mostly in NE Afghanistan, extending W from the Himalayas. Highest peak, Tirich Mir, 25,230 feet (7690 meters). Expand Also called Hindu Kush Mountains. Dictionary.com Unabridged Examples from the Web for Hindu Kush Expand Contemporary Examples And so, the American military leadership is left holding the bag, wondering how they got so lost in Hindu Kush. How to Sound Smart on Thanksgiving Samuel P. Jacobs November 22, 2010 It now seems that the Defense Department can project American power of a sort into the Hindu Kush but not Pikes Peak. Colorado Blazes Remind Us That National Policy on Fire Needs a Fix Stephen J. Pyne June 28, 2012 Historical Examples Among the Kafirs of the Hindu Kush it is the custom to erect an effigy to the memory of every adult one year after his decease. In the Oxus valley north of the Hindu Kush the period is extended to forty days. Taboo and Genetics Melvin Moses Knight, Iva Lowther Peters, and Phyllis Mary Blanchard The avowed object was to ultimately secure the effectual command of the passes of the Hindu Kush.

British Dictionary definitions for Hindu Kush Expand plural noun 1. a mountain range in central Asia, extending about 800 km (500 miles) east from the Koh-i-Baba Mountains of central Afghanistan to the Pamirs. Highest peak: Tirich Mir, 7690 m (25 230 ft) Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 People invent new words all the time, but which ones actually make it? Word of the Day

Question: What is the Hindu Kush?
Answer: Mountain range