Despite its flaws, the book helps us understand Afghanistan better, says Alok Bansal
Afghan Rumour Bazaar
Author: Nushin Arbabzadah
Publisher: Hachette, Rs 399
As the United States is all set to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, the interest in the country is increasing and the prophets of doom are busy making predictions. The US wants a face-saver before the 2014 withdrawal as the global community looks with bated breath at every American move. Most of the writings on Afghanistan emanate from the West and forecast doom and gloom, as if US withdrawal from Kabul would be akin to the fall of Saigon. This view has primarily emanated from the Western ignorance about the Oriental mindset; most of the authors have at best a perfunctory knowledge of the situation in Afghanistan. To fill in the void, many Afghan writings have started emerging and have gone a long way in educating the world. The credit must go to Khalid Hosseini, whose three books have brought Afghanistan to the Western homes. Through this book, Nushin Arbabzadah, who has lived in the West after leaving Afghanistan during the Communist rule, tries to follow in his footsteps.
Unlike, Hosseini, who used fiction to enliven Afghanistan, Arbabzadah has come up with what she calls ‘non-fiction’. In reality, it is difficult to describe the genre of the book; it is a potpourri of all — a travelogue, a biography, an analysis of Afghan society, its ailments and its history. The problem is that Arbabzadah is neither Hosseini nor an objective analyst. The book is highly opinionated and makes several contemptuous remarks about Afghanistan, its people and society. If a Western author without much understanding of Afghanistan had written it, he would have been branded a racist, but Arbabzadah being a daughter of the soil gets away with it.
The book is divided in three parts, which appear to have been written at different points of time. The first part is autobiographical. Not that personal experiences and anecdotes are missing from other parts, but this one describes her life under the Communist rule and how the author’s family escaped from Afghanistan. This has probably shaped her strong anti-communist views, which are evident throughout the book. This part also deals with the author’s interactions with expatriate Afghans and her subsequent visits to Afghanistan. It gives an insight into the current state there, but her tendency to generalise things limits its analytical content. Her one-liners make interesting reading, but fail to depict the situation clearly, which would be expected of an author born in Afghanistan, even if she has spent all her adult life in the West.
Consequently, her narrative is gloomy. “Kabul’s air is famously filled with shit particles floating about, courtesy the inadequate sewage system. Everyone who can leave the city for a while leaves it — sometimes just to remember that there is something called fresh air in this world.” She goes on to sum up the new Afghanistan as “a country without a nation” and its society as “directionless, diverse and dynamic”. In the process, she proves that one does not become a good analyst of a country just because he/she was born there.
The second part deals with state of religion in Afghanistan. It covers numerous incidents and shows that beneath the façade of a deeply religious state remains buried numerous faultlines. It brings out the society’s hypocrisy as far as women and gays are concerned. It covers Afghan society’s response to diverse issues like love, education, ethnic conflict and even corruption. The book highlights that ethnicity has always been a dominant factor in Afghanistan, besides showcasing how Afghans are obsessed with linguistic distinctiveness.
The book gives rare insight into Afghanistan’s religious minorities and the growing trend of secret conversion to Christianity. The book, however, fails to cover adequately the growing sectarian schism in Afghan society — between Shias and Sunnis. This part also delves into history, which is definitely not the author’s forte. Consequently, she talks about mujahideen turning to foreign sponsors to match the Red Army, where as in reality the Western support to them started much before the Red Army marched into Afghanistan. This part has some rare nuggets of information, even though one might disagree with the author’s assertion that “Afghan nationalism has always been inseparable from Islam” and obvious errors like demand for burial rights by Afghan Sikhs.
The third part chronicles the ongoing developments in Afghanistan. It deals with numerous experiments with democracy and attempts to co-opt Taliban into the Government. The author criticises the current Obama policy of pulling out as against the promises “that they were not going to abandon Afghanistan as they did after the Soviet withdrawal”. She rightfully treats it as “surrender before defeat”. The author says, “There was pressure on Kabul to negotiate with the Taliban so that the foreign troops could leave without losing face.” She elaborates as to how this premature withdrawal could put into jeopardy many programmes that have been going on for socio-economic development of Afghans and the people associated with them. The author also looks into Afghan politics, elections and its impact on society; however, her prognosis appears to be dated, as the narrative stops soon after the last polls in Afghanistan.
The book does not flow logically and, therefore, requires efforts to read; there are some repetitions, including statements repeated verbatim in different parts. There are some contradictions as well, with diametrically opposite statements being made at different places. The author’s narrative definitely exhibits her personal biases, but also shows her keen sense of observation and eye for detail. This being her maiden effort, one should see her writing improve in future. Undoubtedly, the book offers a student of Afghanistan some rare insights; coming from someone, who has lived in Afghanistan and speaks its lingua franca, these are extremely valuable. The book
is a treasure-trove of one-liners, which have been used liberally. Despite its flaws, the book helps the reader understand Afghanistan and recent developments in the war-torn country.
The reviewer is a leading South Asian analyst