ABOUT THE BOOK

Tajikistan is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia with Afghanistan bordering to its south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north and China to the east. Tajikistan also lies adjacent to Pakistan and the Gilgit-Baltistan region, separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Due to its common borders with Afghanistan, Tajikistan has become a strategic frontline in the region being directly affected by the spillover effects of cross-border terrorism, religious extremism and drug trafficking. In 1924, the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created as a part of Uzbekistan, but in 1929 the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik SSR) was made a separate constituent republic. However, the predominantly ethnic Tajik cities of Samarkand and Bukhara remained in the Uzbek SSR. Most of Tajikistan`s population of 8 million people belongs to the Persian-speaking Tajik ethnic group, who share their language, culture and history with Afghanistan and Iran. Soon after its independence in 1991,Tajikistan was plunged into a civil war, which left the country in a state of complete devastation. In 1997, an accord was reached between President Rahmon and opposition parties (United Tajik Opposition). Emomalii Rahmon came to power in 1994, and continues to rule till date. Tajikistan was the poorest republic of the former Soviet Union and remains the poorest country in Central Asia today. With foreign revenue precariously dependent upon exports of cotton and aluminum, the economy is highly vulnerable to external shocks. The primary sources of income in Tajikistan are aluminium production, cotton growing and remittances from migrant workers. Tajikistan has great hydropower potential, and has focused on attracting investment for projects for internal use and electricity exports. It is against this background that this book presents cultural, social, economic and political perspectives on Tajikistan and also its relations with important neighbours particularly India, Afghanistan, Iran, Russia and China. That eminent academics and specialists from Tajikistan and India have contributed to this volume, makes it special.

ABOUT Author

K.Warikoo : Prof. K. Warikoo is Director, Central Asian Studies Programme, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is the Secretary General (Hon`y) of Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, and Founder Editor, Himalayan and Central Asian Studies, a quarterly journal published since 1997. His major publications include Cultural Heritage of Kashmiri Pandits (Co-Editor) (New Delhi, 2009); Himalayan Frontiers of India (Editor) (UK, US and Canada, Routledge, 2009); Cultural Heritage of Jammu and Kashmir (Editor) (New Delhi, 2009); Central Asia since Independence (Editor) (New Delhi, 2004) and Afghanistan: The Challenge (Editor) (New Delhi, 2007); Bamiyan: Challenge to World Heritage (Editor) (New Delhi, 2002); The Afghanistan Crisis: Issues and Perspectives (Editor) (New Delhi, 2002); Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir (Editor) (Bhopal, 2001); Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh: Linguistic Predicament (Co-Editor) (New Delhi 1996); Society and Culture in the Himalayas (Editor) (New Delhi 1995); Central Asia: Emerging New Order (Editor) (New Delhi, 1995); Ethnicity and Politics in Central Asia (Co-Editor) (New Delhi, 1992); Central Asia and Kashmir: A Study in the Context of Anglo-Russian Rivalry (New Delhi, 1989).