In the wake of the on-going NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, many analysts have been speculating how it could affect Central Asia and Tajikistan more specifically. While this is an important question, the “Afghanistan factor” has also tended to overshadow ethno-religious ruptures and local conflicts in Tajikistan that are of the country’s own doing, for example, the conflict in Gorno-Badakhshan, situated along the Afghan border in the eastern part of the republic. Conflict has been simmering in Gorno-Badakhshan since the Tajik civil war (1992-97) and has recently become more intense. Since 2012, violent encounters between government forces from Dushanbe and local Pamiri militia have not only led to scores of casualties, but have also had an impact on how people in the region relate to the state. In this regard, ethnic differences and the Sunni-Shia distinction have become central themes. Based on fieldwork conducted between 2008-2013, this talk takes current events in Gorno-Badakhshan as a starting point to explore the interplay of ethnicity, sectarian difference and development from an anthropological point of view.
Dr Till Mostowlansky is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Bern, Switzerland, where he teaches Central Asian Studies and the Science of Religion. He holds a PhD in Central Asian Studies from the University of Bern (2013) entitled 'Azan on the Moon: Entangling Modernities along Tajikistan’s Pamir Highway'. Till is the author of the monograph 'Islam und Kirgisen on Tour: Die Rezeption “nomadischer Religion” und ihre Wirkung' [Islam and Kyrgyz on Tour: The perception of “Nomadic Religion” and its effects] as well of several articles on local history, modernity and development in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. His current research project focuses on “Shia-based” development organisations in Central and South Asia.
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