Shindand, Herat
Encyclopedia
Shindand is a town and the center of the Shindand District
, Herat Province
, Afghanistan
. It is located at 33.3036°N 62.14°E at 1066 m Altitude. Near the town is Shindand Airbase
(a military and civil airport).
During the Soviet war in Afghanistan
, 1979-1987, the 5th Guards Motor Rifle Division
was headquartered in the town.
name Sabzavār ("green fields"). During the era of Mohammed Daoud Khan
, due the his Pashtunization
policy the name was changed to Shindand which means "green pond" in Pashto
.
, Chahar Aimaks (a sub-group of Tajiks
) and Balochs
. The famous warlord and former Mujaheddin leader, Ismael Khan, an ethnic Tajik, comes from Shindand.
, currently occupied by Afghan, US and Italian forces of the Anti-Taliban International Security Assistance Force
coalition. The airfield is a former Soviet airfield, repaired by U.S. forces. The area is flat and arid, with foothills to the north and west. Cell phone towers, controlled by Iranians go off the air at 6 pm daily. The town is adjacent to Highway 1 (the Ring Road
), the only paved highway in all of western Afghanistan. A free medical clinic supported by the Afghan National Army
provides free medical care for the population of the town.
The town is at the northern end of Zirko Valley, which is one of main centers of poppy production in Western Afghanistan as well as a confirmed Taliban government. Shindand is located south of Adriskan, where a large police training facility exists.
Shindand District
Shindand , is one of the 16 districts of Herat Province, in western Afghanistan, and is situated in the southern part of that province. It borders Adraskan District to the north, Ghor Province to the east and Farah Province to the south and west. The population was 151,900 . The district center is...
, Herat Province
Herat Province
Herat is one the 34 provinces of Afghanistan; together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces, it makes up the South-western region of the country...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. It is located at 33.3036°N 62.14°E at 1066 m Altitude. Near the town is Shindand Airbase
Shindand Airbase
Shindand Air Base is located in the western part of Afghanistan in the Herat province, 7 miles northwest of the city of Sabzwar. The runway has a concrete surface...
(a military and civil airport).
During the Soviet war in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
, 1979-1987, the 5th Guards Motor Rifle Division
5th Guards Motor Rifle Division
The 5th Guards Zimovnikovskaya order Kutuzov II degree Motor Rifle Division , named on the 60th anniversary of the USSR, was a military formation of the Soviet Ground Forces. It traces back to the 6th Mechanised Corps created in 1940, and destroyed in 1941 in the beginning of Operation Barbarossa...
was headquartered in the town.
Etymology
Until the 1970s, the city was known by the PersianPersian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
name Sabzavār ("green fields"). During the era of Mohammed Daoud Khan
Mohammed Daoud Khan
Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan or Daud Khan was Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and later becoming the President of Afghanistan...
, due the his Pashtunization
Pashtunization
Pashtunization is a process of cultural or linguistic change in which something non-Pashtun becomes Pashtun Pashtunization (also called Afghanization) is a process of cultural or linguistic change in which something non-Pashtun becomes Pashtun Pashtunization (also called Afghanization) is a...
policy the name was changed to Shindand which means "green pond" in Pashto
Pashto language
Pashto , known as Afghani in Persian and Pathani in Punjabi , is the native language of the indigenous Pashtun people or Afghan people who are found primarily between an area south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and...
.
Ethnography
The city is mainly inhabited by Pashtuns and a small number of other ethnic groups like SayidsSayyid
Sayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...
, Chahar Aimaks (a sub-group of Tajiks
Tajiks
Tajik is a general designation for a wide range of Persian-speaking people of Iranic origin, with traditional homelands in present-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan...
) and Balochs
Baloch people
The Baloch or Baluch are an ethnic group that belong to the larger Iranian peoples. Baluch people mainly inhabit the Balochistan region and Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast corner of the Iranian plateau in Western Asia....
. The famous warlord and former Mujaheddin leader, Ismael Khan, an ethnic Tajik, comes from Shindand.
Location and infrastructure
The town is bordered on the north by Shindand AirbaseShindand Airbase
Shindand Air Base is located in the western part of Afghanistan in the Herat province, 7 miles northwest of the city of Sabzwar. The runway has a concrete surface...
, currently occupied by Afghan, US and Italian forces of the Anti-Taliban International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
coalition. The airfield is a former Soviet airfield, repaired by U.S. forces. The area is flat and arid, with foothills to the north and west. Cell phone towers, controlled by Iranians go off the air at 6 pm daily. The town is adjacent to Highway 1 (the Ring Road
Ring road
A ring road, orbital motorway, beltway, circumferential highway, or loop highway is a road that encircles a town or city...
), the only paved highway in all of western Afghanistan. A free medical clinic supported by the Afghan National Army
Afghan National Army
The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
provides free medical care for the population of the town.
The town is at the northern end of Zirko Valley, which is one of main centers of poppy production in Western Afghanistan as well as a confirmed Taliban government. Shindand is located south of Adriskan, where a large police training facility exists.
Literature
- Louis DupreeLouis Dupree (professor)Professor Louis Duprée was an American archaeologist, anthropologist, and scholar of Afghan culture and history. He was the husband of Nancy Hatch Duprée, who is the Board Director of the Afghanistan Center at Kabul University in Afghanistan and author of five books about Afghanistan...
, Afghanistan. 1st Edition: 1973; Ludwig W. Adamec, Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan, 3rd ed., 2003. - S.I. Bruk, Narody Peredney Azii (1960); S.I. Bruk, and V. S. Apenchenko, Atlas Narodov Mira (Moscow: Academy of Science, 1964) A. Gabriel, Religionsgeographie von Persien (Vienna, 1971).
External links
- photo of Shindand market vendor Robert Lankenau, 2005-03-26