India-Afghan Culture Relations

Afghanistan has been an important trading and craft center for over 2000 years connecting the civilizations of Persia, Central Asia with India. However, over 3 decades of war have undermined Afghanistan’s unique traditions of art and architecture. Today, the biggest challenge for Afghanistan is to rediscover and sustain its ancient art and architectural illegal opium trade and providing employment to the most vulnerable communities, particularly women and the rural people.India and Afghanistan share centuries old cultural heritage with deep rooted linkages in the field of music, arts, architecture, language and cuisine.

* In the field of music, in particular, in the old days, most Afghan musicians were trained in the Patiala Gharana.

* Today, Indian films, songs and TV serials are hugely popular with the masses, contributing significantly to the popularization of Hindi and familiarization of the populace with Indian socio -cultural value system.

* TV serials like Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kasauti Jindagi Ki, Kum Kum and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, Saare-ga-ma-pa, Pratigya, Utran have been dubbed in Dari language. They have the highest overall viewership and shown on prime time slots, both on the national as well as private TV Channels.As part of India’s restructuring programme for Afghanistan, India has aimed to take up projects that will render Afghanistan's cultural heritage sustainable. The Indian cultural centre has also been working towards building o or shared cultural heritage.


Embassy of India Kabul, Afghanistan