The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is continuing its dance of destruction in Pakistan. After having brought the Pakistani state to its knees with consistent bomb attacks, killings, murders & mayhem, these ‘holy warriors of Islam’ have now found an entirely new and hopelessly vulnerable target: An ancient, ‘pagan’ tribe living in a remote corner of the country, numbering only about 3,500.

On February 2, the TTP released a video in which it announced a new ‘jihad’. The Kalash tribe (which lives in three remote valleys 20 km south of the storied town of Chitral in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province), said the TTP spokesperson, must convert to Islam or prepare for death. The TTP also threatened Muslims of the Shia Ismaili sect in Chitral, especially the activities of their Aga Khan Trust, which it said, was ‘leading boys and girls away from Islam’.

In their long history, never have circumstances been as dire for the Kalash people as they are now, after the TTP’s threat.

The Kalash are an oddity of sorts in Pakistan. Linguistically, they are members of the Dardic sub-family, which is itself a part of the Indo-Iranian family of languages, which in turn are the eastern extension of the great Indo-European language family.

The Dardic languages are spoken in an arc stretching from the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan to the Kashmir Valley in India. Besides the Kalash people, other speakers of these languages include the Nuristanis of Nuristan province in eastern Afghanistan, the people of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and ethnic Kashmiris of the Kashmir Valley in India.

But it is their faith that makes the Kalash so unique. Their religion is very similar to proto Indo-European religion. Scholars have drawn parallels between it and the religion of the Avesta and the Rig Veda. Like these two, the religion of the Kalash has an array of deities, including (and this may be of interest to Indian readers) two deities which are very similar to Lord Indra and Lord Yama of the Hindu pantheon. Indeed, as one expert has stated, the Kalash pantheon of gods and goddesses is the last remaining remnant of Indo-European religion in the world.

The cousins of the Kalash – the Nuristanis, the peoples of Gilgit and Baltistan and ethnic Kashmiris were non-Muslim too, at one time. But they have since adopted Islam.

While the conversion of Kashmiris and Gilgit-Baltistanis began at the start of the Middle Ages, the people of Nuristan held out for quite some time, like their Kalash cousins.

Today, the wilayat of Nuristan is one of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. To its north, it borders Badakshan, while to its south lies Kunar, one end of the fabled ‘Pashtun Crescent’ which extends to Farah bordering Iran. To the east is Chitral.

In the late nineteenth century, Nuristan was known as ‘Kafiristan’ (Land of the non-believers), as its people, like the Kalash had continued to follow a similar faith and had fiercely resisted any attempts by Afghans to conquer their territory.

It were these non-Muslim Kafiristanis, who were the central characters in Rudyard Kipling’s famous novella, ‘The Man Who Would Be King’.

Then, in 1895, Abdur Rahman Khan, the Emir of Afghanistan defeated the Kafiristanis in battle, conquered their territory and converted them to Islam. He also named their land as ‘Nuristan’ (‘Land of light’) since he had converted the non-Muslim natives to Islam.

It is interesting to note that British India had a role to play in this entire affair. After the British drew the Durand Line (named after Mortimer Durand) in 1893 and separated the Pashtun lands of British India and Afghanistan, Kafiristan came under Afghan control. Subsequently, Abdur Rahman Khan began his jihad and conquered the rebellious natives of Nuristan.

The Kalash of Chitral on the other hand, remained in British India. The three valleys that are their home, formed part of the princely state of Chitral, which in turn accepted the suzerainty of the British. Since Chitral was also home to other forms of Islam like Ismailism and the Mehtar rulers were a tolerant lot as well as the fact that their homeland was remote and inaccessible, the Kalash were able to preserve their religion and culture.

1947 changed all that. Chitral acceded to the newly-formed Dominion of Pakistan. In the years to come, while western scientists would come in droves to study the Kalash, the new government would also go on to construct new roads and make access for the outside world to the Kalash’s home easier. Soon enough, the majority of the population in their own valleys became Sunni Muslim.

In the 1970s, there were instances of forced conversions of the Kalash by local Muslims. However, later protection by the federal government in Islamabad and high birth rates ensured that the Kalash were able to survive.

That is, till now. With the TTP passing its ‘edict’ on the Kalash, it is bound to follow up soon on what it has promised. The Pakistani government, which has not been able to protect even its Muslim citizens from TTP attacks, will hardly be able to extend any support to the hapless Kalash.

Recently, parties like the BJP had suggested that India repatriate all Pakistani Hindus to its soil so that they can escape persecution. I can only hope that the BJP also takes note of the Kalash and adds them to its list. After all, the Kalash follow a religion similar to Hinduism and are thus perfect candidates.

Not just India, but the entire international community must make all-out efforts to protect and preserve the Kalash population of Pakistan. Their homeland is already a UNESCO World Heritage site. But that is not enough.

A few years ago, just across the Durand Line, the Afghan counterparts of the TTP had blasted the Buddha statues of Bamiyan, converting to rubble, a priceless piece of history and heritage.

This time though, if the TTP acts well on its threat, the damage would be infinitely greater. The Bamiyan Buddhas can be restored if given a chance. But if the Kalash are forcibly converted or killed, an entire living, human civilization would be lost to history. A people who withstood the invasions of Alexander, Genghis, Timur and Babur, would vanish into the pages of history. It would be nothing short of genocide.