Siddharth Joshi, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad
ABSTRACT
The Kite Runner is a story about the radically different lives of two boys and the manner in which they experience their homeland. The book paints a picture of Afghanistan as Amir, the protagonist, perceived it to be. It simultaneously also tells us about the plight of Hassan, who is a Hazara, a heavily persecuted minority, and the horrors he has to suffer. The book also gives us an idea about the manner in which Afghan refugees fled from Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion in 1979 and the lives of the immigrants in America, the challenges which they faced, the aid which was offered to them by government organisations and the ways of socializing for the Afghans in a new environment. After Amir returns to Afghanistan in search of Hassan’s son, he is greeted by a completely unrecognizable scene, as he sees the city of his childhood ravaged by war and it’s people broken by the daily terrors which they face at the hands of the Taliban.
Keywords: Afghanistan, Hazara, Soviet invasion, America, Taliban
