The history of a country, together with its tangible and intangible heritage is a precious treasure and the legacy of our ancestors. It is evident that the study, research, and deeper understanding of historical events lead to increased experience and a clearer understanding of a society’s future path of development. By studying the past, one can better envision the future. Those who learn from history make fewer mistakes. Recognizing and articulating a nation’s historical identity, attaining scholarly awareness of the distant and recent past, and developing a documented understanding of major historical events their causes and consequences are essential necessities for the people of every country and nation.
However, for more than thirty years, certain efforts have been underway to sow doubt and uncertainty about the historical identity of the people and the state of Afghanistan, under the deceptively appealing title of “revising national history.” As part of these misguided activities, attempts have been made to attack the works of prominent Afghan historians such as Faiz Mohammad Katib Hazara, Allama Abdul Hai Habibi, Ahmad Ali Kohzad, Mir Ghulam Mohammad Ghubar, Mohammad Sediq Farhang, and others, by labeling their writings as “state-sponsored histories” and thereby calling into question their scholarly and historical value.
Fortunately, responsible, informed, and patriotic Afghan scholars and researchers have been able to confront and neutralize these hostile, anti-national efforts, which are based on distorted narratives and the fabrication of history drawn from biased foreign sources. At the same time, scientific advances and new, illuminating achievements in the human sciences including archaeology, human genetics, population and migration studies, linguistics, ethnography, political economy, human geography, and related fields have provided our historians and scholars with new opportunities to present a well-documented account of the country’s distant and recent history opportunities that were not available to earlier generations of historians.
Regrettably, the events of the past forty years in Afghanistan have created a significant gap in historical and human-sciences research. On the other hand, far richer sources and references are now available than in the past, and in light of these resources, further writings and research must be undertaken. With this in mind, a group of researchers and writers have jointly decided to establish an institution under the name “Afghan History Cultural Society” (also known as Anjuman-e Tārikh-e Afghanistan / Da Afghanistan da Tārikh Tolana) to serve the country by presenting a documented and scholarly account of Afghanistan’s history and by promoting its national historical identity.

Name of the Society (AHCS)

1. The official name of the Society in Dari, Pashto, and English is: Anjuman-e Tārikh-e Afghanistan (دری) / Da Afghanistan da Tārikh Tolana (پښتو) / Afghan History Cultural Society.
2. Hereafter, this charter may refer to it simply as “AHCS”

Legal Status

1. The Society is a non-profit, non-political, independent educational, research, scholarly, and professional institution.
2. AHCS is formed through the voluntary association of scholars in the human sciences and the field of history residing inside and outside the country, as well as other knowledgeable individuals.

Our mission

1. To study and conduct research on the history of Afghanistan and related fields in the human sciences, including archaeology, art history, historiography, linguistics, literary studies, ethnography, demography, political economy, human genetics, anthropology, and related disciplines.
2. To encourage research on the application of these fields for a deeper understanding of Afghanistan’s history.
3. To enhance the academic capacity of Afghan youth through teaching by members of AHCS at universities and other higher-education institutions, either in person or virtually.
4. To promote and establish AHCS as a credible and authoritative scholarly reference on matters related to the history and civilization of Afghanistan at national and international levels.
5. To collect and publish documents, written and unwritten texts, and records related to all periods of Afghanistan’s history.
6. To compile and publish biographies and achievements of Afghanistan’s historical figures.
7. To research folklore and collect information, narratives, legends, and stories related to popular traditions.
8. To establish and strengthen connections among specialists in history and human studies and cultural institutions and academic centers, both domestic and international.
9. To publish research findings through periodical publications (journals) and non-periodical publications (books), in both print and digital formats.

Types of Activities

1. AHCS encourages and facilitates teaching and scholarly research on Afghan history and human sciences by its members.
2. AHCS publishes and disseminates research findings of its members and other scholars through a journal titled “History and Civilization of Afghanistan”, and organizes an annual conference under the same name.
3. When necessary, AHCS also disseminates the results of its activities through its website, in-person and virtual meetings, workshops, interviews, seminars, and other mass communication channels.

Standards of Activity

AHCS applies internationally recognized scientific and academic standards in all its research activities.

Membership

1. AHCS’s membership consists of full members and honorary members.
2. Volunteer applicants are admitted upon acceptance of the charter through a written application and the endorsement of two existing members, subject to approval by the leadership body.
3. Founding members and accepted volunteers are considered full members with voting rights.
4. Full members must hold Afghan citizenship by birth in Afghanistan, by descent from Afghan parents, or by naturalization.
5. Advisory members may be appointed by the leadership body; they are not required to hold Afghan citizenship and do not have voting rights.
6. Honorary members are invited by AHCS’s president and do not have voting rights.
7. AHCS may have an unlimited number of members.

Organizational Structure

1. AHCS’s organizational structure consists of the General Assembly, the Leadership Council, the Scientific Review and Evaluation Committee, the Administrative Board, and specialized committees.
2. The General Assembly convenes ordinarily once a year, with all full members participating on equal terms.
3. The Scientific Review and Evaluation Committee is elected by the General Assembly from among academic members and researchers, has a chair and a secretary, and meets once a month.
4. The chair of the Scientific Review and Evaluation Committee also serves as the president of AHCS.
5. The Administrative Board consists of AHCS’s administrative deputy, treasurer, and secretary, and is responsible for managing day-to-day affairs and preparing AHCS’s audited annual financial report; it meets at least monthly.
6. The Leadership Council consists of the chairs and members of the Scientific Review and Evaluation Committee and the Administrative Board, meets quarterly under the chairmanship of AHCS’s president, and establishes specialized committees as needed.