Hindu Kush

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Hindu Kush
Tirich Mir
Countries	Afghanistan, Pakistan
	Northern Areas
Highest point	Tirich Mir
- coordinates	36°14′45″N, 71°50′38″E
- elevation	7,690 m (25,230 ft)

The Hindu Kush, Hindū Kūsh, Hindoo Koosh or Hindukush (Persian: هندوکش, Hindi: हिन्दु कुश) is a mountain range in Afghanistan as well as in the North-West Frontier Province and Northern Areas of Pakistan. It is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the Karakoram Range, and the Himalayas.

Contents 1 Nomenclature 2 Mountains 2.1 Eastern Hindu Kush 3 References 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Nomenclature

The name Hindu Kush is usually applied to the whole of the range separating the basins of the Kabul and Helmand rivers from that of the Amu Darya (or ancient Oxus), or more specifically, to that part of the range to the northwest of Kabul which was called the Caucasus by the historians with Alexander the Great. Many Greeks also referred the range as Caucasus Indicus. It was also referred to by the Greeks as the "Paropamisos."

The origin of the term "Hindu Kush" (and whether it translates as "Killer of Hindu") is a point of contention (Kush means beginning in Sanskrit.^{[citation needed]}) The earliest known use of this name was by the famous Muslim Berber traveller, Ibn Battūta (circa 1334), who wrote: "Another reason for our halt was fear of the snow, for on the road there is a mountain called Hindūkūsh, which means "Slayer of Indians," because the slave boys and girls who are brought from Hind (India) die there in large numbers as a result of the extreme cold and the quantity of snow." In the Persian language of the Sassanian period, Hindu referred to any inhabitant of Indian subcontinent (Hindustan), or Hind, rather than to followers of Hinduism as it does now. At that time inhabitants of India were mostly Hindu, except for in present-day lands of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Kashmir and the Lakshadweep where they were Buddhist.^{[dubious — see talk page]}

There are others who consider this origin to be a "folk etymology", and put forward alternate possibilities for its origin:

1. that the name is a corruption of Caucasus Indicus, a name by which the Hindu Kush range was known in the ancient world after its conquest by Alexander the Great in the Fourth Century BC. Greek rule in the Hindu Kush region lasted over three centuries, and was followed by the rule of a dynasty known, significantly, as the Kushan. In its early period, the Kushan Empire had its capital near modern-day Kabul. The Kushans lost the Hindu Kush and became an Indian kingdom. Later, when the Hindu Kush region became part of the Sassanian Empire, it was ruled by a satrap known as the Kushan-shah (ruler of Kushan). A Fourth century CE Hebrew book, the Talmudic tractate of Megillah, uses the term "Kush Hodu" (Indian Kush), possibly a translation from the Persian words ("Hindu Kush") meaning "Indian Kush".
2. In modern Persian, the word "Kush" is derived from the verb Kushtan - to defeat, kill, or subdue. This could be interpreted as a memorial to the Indian captives who perished in the mountains while being transported to Central Asian slave markets.
3. that the name refers to the last great 'killer' mountains to cross when moving between the Afghan plateau and the Indian subcontinent, named after the toll it took on anyone crossing them.
4. that the name is a corruption of Hindu Koh, from the (modern) Persian word Kuh, meaning mountain. Rennell, writing in 1793, refers to the range as the "Hindoo-Kho or Hindoo-Kush".
5. that the name means Mountains of India or Mountains of the Indus (from the Indus River, the largest river in Pakistan) in some of the Iranian languages that are still spoken in the region; that furthermore, many peaks, mountains, and related places in the region have "Kosh" or "Kush" in their names.
6. that the name is a posited Avestan appellation meaning "water mountains."
7. that the name is a corruption of Hind-o Kushan, containing the name of the Kushan dynasty that once ruled this region for more than three centuries.
8. that the name is a corruption of Hindu-Kusha, where "kusha" in Sanskrit meens "seat".

The mountain peaks in the eastern part of Afghanistan reach more than 7,000 metres. The highest, in Pakistan, is Tirich Mir at 7,690 m (cf. Mount Everest in Nepal which stands 8,848 m high). The Pamir mountains, which Afghans refer to as the "Roof of the World", extend into Tajikistan, China and Kashmir and are among the world’s highest mountains.

[edit] Mountains

The mountains of the Hindu Kush system diminish in height as they stretch westward: toward the middle, near Kabul, they extend from 4,500 to 6,000 meters; in the west, they attain heights of 3,500 to 4,000 meters. The average altitude of the Hindu Kush is 4,500 meters. The Hindu Kush system stretches about 966 kilometers laterally, and its median north-south measurement is about 240 kilometers. Only about 600 kilometers of the Hindu Kush system is called the Hindu Kush mountains. The rest of the system consists of numerous smaller mountain ranges including the Koh-e Baba, Salang, Koh-e Paghman, Spin Ghar (also called the eastern Safid Koh), Suleiman Range, Siah Koh, Koh-e Khwaja Mohammad and Selseleh-e Band-e Turkestan. The western Safid Koh, the Siah Band and Doshakh are commonly referred to as the Paropamisus by western scholars.

Rivers that flow from the mountain system include the Helmand River, the Hari Rud and the Kabul River.

Numerous high passes ("kotal") transect the mountains, forming a strategically important network for the transit of caravans. The most important mountain pass is the Kotal-e Salang (3,878 m); it links Kabul and points south to northern Afghanistan. The completion of a tunnel within this pass in 1964 reduced travel time between Kabul and the north to a few hours. Previously access to the north through the Kotal-e Shibar (3,260 m) took three days. The Salang tunnel at 3,363 m and the extensive network of galleries on the approach roads were constructed with Soviet financial and technological assistance and involved drilling 1.7 miles through the heart of the Hindu Kush.

Before the Salang road was constructed, the most famous passes in the Western historical perceptions of Afghanistan were those leading to the Indian subcontinent. They include the Khyber Pass (1,027 m), in Pakistan, and the Kotal-e Lataband (2,499 m) east of Kabul, which was superseded in 1960 by a road constructed within the Kabul River's most spectacular gorge, the Tang-e Gharu. This remarkable engineering feat reduced travel time between Kabul and the Pakistan border from two days to a few hours.

The roads through the Salang and Tang-e Gharu passes played critical strategic roles during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and were used extensively by heavy military vehicles. Consequently, these roads are in very bad repair. Many bombed out bridges have been repaired, but numbers of the larger structures remain broken. Periodic closures due to conflicts in the area seriously affect the economy and well-being of many regions, for these are major routes carrying commercial trade, emergency relief and reconstruction assistance supplies destined for all parts of the country.

There are a number of other important passes in Afghanistan. The Wakhjir (4,923 m), proceeds from the Wakhan Corridor into Xinjiang, China, and into Northern Areas of Pakistan. Passes which join Afghanistan to Chitral, Pakistan, include the Baroghil (3,798 m) and the Kachin (5,639 m), which also cross from the Wakhan. Important passes located farther west are the Shotorgardan (3,720 m), linking Logar and Paktiya provinces; the Bazarak (2,713 m), leading into Mazari Sharif; the Khawak (3,550 m) in the Panjsher Valley, and the Anjuman (3,858 m) at the head of the Panjsher Valley giving entrance to the north. The Hajigak (2,713 m) and Unai (3,350 m) lead into the eastern Hazarajat and Bamyan Valley. The passes of the Paropamisus in the west are relatively low, averaging around 600 meters; the most well-known of these is the Sabzak between the Herat and Badghis provinces, which links the western and northwestern parts of Afghanistan.

These mountainous areas are mostly barren, or at the most sparsely sprinkled with trees and stunted bushes. Very ancient mines producing lapis lazuli are found in Kowkcheh Valley, while gem-grade emeralds are found north of Kabul in the valley of the Panjsher River and some of its tributaries. The famous 'balas rubies' or spinels, were mined until the 19th century in the valley of the Ab-e Panj or Upper Amu Darya River, considered to be the meeting place between the Hindu Kush and the Pamir ranges. These mines now appear to be exhausted.

[edit] Eastern Hindu Kush

The Eastern Hindu Kush range, also known as the Low Hindu Kush range, is mostly located in northern Pakistan and the Nuristan and Badakhshan provinces of Afghanistan. The Chitral district of Pakistan is home to Tirich Mir, Noshaq, and Istoro Nal, the highest peaks in the Hindu Kush. The range also extends into Ghizar, Yasin Valley, and Ishkoman in Pakistan's Northern Areas.

Chitral is considered to be the pinnacle of the Hindu Kush region. The highest peaks, as well as countless passes and massive glaciers, are located in this region. The Chiantar, Kurambar, and Terich glaciers are amongst the most extensive in the Hindu Kush and the meltwater from these glaciers form the Kunar River, which eventually flows south into Afghanistan and joins the Bashgal, Panjsher, and eventually the much smaller Kabul River.

The jazz musician Katie Melua wrote a song called "Halfway Up the Hindu Kush", probably because in the 1960s and 70s Afghanistan was depicted in the media as the romantic haven of nomads and a resort for hashish-smoking hippies.

[edit] References

• Frederic Drew. 1877. “The Northern Barrier of India: a popular account of the Jammoo and Kashmir Territories with Illustrations.” Frederic Drew. 1st edition: Edward Stanford, London. Reprint: Light & Life Publishers, Jammu. 1971.
• Gibb, H.A.R., 1929. Ibn Battūta: Travels in Asia and Africa, 1325-1354. Translated and selected by H.A.R. Gibb. Reprint: Asian Educational Services, New Delhi and Madras, 1992.
• T. E. Gordon, 1876. The Roof of the World: Being the Narrative of a Journey over the high plateau of Tibet to the Russian Frontier and the Oxus sources on Pamir. Edinburgh. Edmonston and Douglas. Reprint: Ch’eng Wen Publishing Company. Tapei. 1971.
• Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, 1890. Dardistan in 1866, 1886 and 1893: Being An Account of the History, Religions, Customs, Legends, Fables and Songs of Gilgit, Chilas, Kandia (Gabrial) Yasin, Chitral, Hunza, Nagyr and other parts of the Hindukush, as also a supplement to the second edition of The Hunza and Nagyr Handbook. And An Epitome of Part III of the author's “The Languages and Races of Dardistan. First Reprint 1978. Manjusri Publishing House, New Delhi.
• Yule, Henry and Burnell, A. C. 1886. Hobson-Jobson: The Anglo-Indian Dictionary. 1996 reprint by Wordsworth Editions Ltd. ISBN 185326363X
• This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain. - Afghanistan
• 'Halfway up the Hindu Kush' a song by Katie Melua on her second album "Piece by Piece".

[edit] See also

• Mountain ranges of Pakistan
• List of mountain ranges
• List of highest mountains (a list of mountains above 7,200m)
• Khyber Pass

[edit] External links

• Hindu Kush entry in the Encyclopedia Iranica
• Trekking in Hindukush Gateway
• Northern Areas Development Gateway

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Coordinates: 35°00′N, 71°00′E