Behsudi (Hazara tribe)

For other uses, see Behsud.

Behsudi or Behsud (Dari: بهسودی) are one of the major tribes of the Hazaras in Afghanistan.

Distribution

They inhabit the Markaz Behsud, Hisa-I-Awali Behsud & Hisa-i-Duwum, Jalrez, Dai Mirdad and Chak Districts of Wardak Province, Nawur and Jeghatoo District of Ghazni province and Panjab and Waras Districts of Bamyan Province.

History

The notable history of the Behsud tribe starts from the 19th-century when the 19th-century Behsud chieftain Mir Yazdan Bakhsh was one of the first Hazara chiefs, who tried in vain to unify all Hazaras.

In the Hazara resistance against the Soviet Union and later the Taliban most of the modern Hazara political leadership has emerged from the Behsuds. Afghan leaders from the Behsud tribe include Sultan Ali Keshtmand, the Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1981 to 1989.

Notable people

• Karim Khalili, former vice president of Afghanistan.
• Sultan Ali Keshtmand, the communist Prime Minister of Afghanistan (1981–1990).
• Mir Yazdan Bakhsh, an early 19th-century Hazara chieftain.
• Sharbat Ali Changezi, Air Marshall Pakistan Air Force.
• Haji Kazim Yazdani, historical researcher and writer.
• Rohullah Nikpai, Taekwondo practitioner and two-time Olympic bronze medalist.

See also

• List of Hazara tribes
• Hazara people

Sources

• The Hazaras by Hassan Poladi
• The Hazaras of Afghanistan by Sayd Askar Musavi
• Hazaras of Afghanistan by Taimor Khanov, translated in Urdu by Hasan Raza Changazi