Wikipedia Trail: From Indra to the Durand Line

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I began my Wikipedia trail on Indra in order to learn more about the god. Indra was mentioned as bowing down to Krishna, and I was curious to see how powerful the god was. Indra is an ancient deity in Hinduism, and his role parallels other Indo-European deities, such as Zeus, Thor, and Jupiter. He's considered the king of heaven, lightning, thunder, storms, and rain. He's celebrated for his powers and his defeat of evil, which is represented by Vritra. The article mentioned that Indra is worshiped by the Kalasha religion, which led me to the second Wikipedia page on the Kalash people. The Kalash people are the smallest ethnoreligious group in Pakistan and practice a religion that's classified as ancient Hinduism. They're considered an indigenous group to Asia, with their ancestors migrating from the Chitral valley. The neighboring group once practiced a culture similar to the Kalash people, and they were called the Nuristani people in Afghanistan. This led me to my third Wikipedia page on the Nuristanis. The Nuristanis are an ethnic group in northeastern Afghanistan, and their language is connected to the Indo-Iranian language branch. At one point, the Nuristani people practiced a form of ancient Hinduism, but a military campaign in the mid-1980's caused many to convert to Islam. The article mentioned the establishment of the Durand Line that triggered this event, which led me to the fourth Wikipedia page. This line was established originally in 1893 between British India and the Emirate of Afghanistan. Now, it's the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The border divided the ethnic Pashtuns, and it's now classified as one of the most dangerous borders in the world due to the smuggling of weapons and terrorist groups. Although the line is recognized internationally, various leaders in Afghanistan refuse to recognize its legitimacy.

A map showing the Durand Line. Source: Wikipedia


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