South Asia State of Minorities Report 2019 shaping their social and political life. The members of the dominant ethnic groups have benefited from this, while it has adversely affected the lives of the marginalised groups. Throughout the volatile political history of the country, the minorities have been stripped of their rights. They have been oppressed, forced out of their homelands and even massacred.3 At present too, ethnicity and religious belief remain contentious in Afghanistan. Many civil society organisations are reluctant to work on, or even discuss ethnic issues. In a group discussion organised by us, a participant warned us to be careful while using the terms ‘majority’ and ‘minority’, as they have become politicised. Furthermore, specific data on the population of ethnicities in Afghanistan continues to be disputed. No national census has been conducted in Afghanistan since a partial count in 1979, and years of war and population dislocation have made an accurate count of the population impossible. Hence, current estimates are just rough approximations. According to the US Department of State Country Report of 2010, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan is the Pashtuns, comprising 42 per cent of the Afghans. The Tajiks are the second largest, at 27%, followed by the Hazaras (9%), Uzbeks (9%), Aimaq (4%), Turkmen (3%), Baluch (2%) and other groups that make up the remaining 4%.4 Linguistically, Persian (Dari/Farsi)5 is widely spoken. It is estimated that 50-55 per cent of Afghans speak Dari, followed by Pashto at 35 per cent. Turkish is spoken by 11 per cent of the population and the remaining 4 per cent speak other languages.6 Islam is the official religion of Afghanistan and approximately 99.7 per cent of Afghanistan’s population is Muslim.7 Sect-wise, 3 Shahrani, Nazif, ‘Conflict and peace in Afghanistan: A northern, nonPashtun perspectives’, Accord 27, (June 2018). 4 US State Department, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in 2010, https://www.refworld.org/docid/4da56defa3.html. 5 ‘Persian’ is the English term for Farsi or Dari or Tajiki. In Iran, the language is called Farsi and in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Dari and Tajiki, respectively. 6 ‘South Asia: Afghanistan’, The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, accessed February 19, 2020, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/af.html. 7 US State Department, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2011, 2