Great Game & revival of Land Trade Routes
Published in Pakistan Today 21st April 2013
Aamir Riaz
Twists, Tricks and Kabul games: A review of William Dalrymple's book
مہاراجہ رنجیت سنگھ ترے وار برٹش فوجاں نوں اپنی تھاواں توں لنگ کے کابل قندہار قبضے لئی راہ دین توں 1809، 1826 تے 1837 انکار کیتا، دوست محمد خان نے وی زار روس نوں اپنی تھاں توں فوجاں پنجاب تے قبضے لئی لنگھان نہ دتیاں۔
شجاع نوں اوس دے پختون بھراواں پہلے اٹک تے پھیر کشمیر وچ قید کیتا تے اوس نو مہاراجہ ہی چھڈوایا سی پر شجاع دوڑ کے انگریزی ٹٹو بنیا ۔1837 وچ شجاع نوں اقتداری کرن دا انگریز پوگرام بنایا مگر پنجاب انکار کر دتا تے سندھ بلوچستان دے قبائل انگریز دے پراجیکٹ دا حصہ بنے۔1839 وچ شجاع نوں اقتداردوایا تے دوست محمد خان پہلے پنجاب پھیر انگریزاں کول پناہی ہویا۔ اپریل 1842 وچ شجاع قتل ہویا تے دوست محمد خان دو سال لہور تےپنڈی رہیا تے پنجاب دی مدد نال دوبارہ 1844 دی گرمیاں وچ کابل دا بادشاہ بنیا۔پر ایہہ گلاں نہ ڈال ریمپل لکھنیاں جے نہ پختون قوم پرستاں نوں وارے وچ جے۔
ایہہ تبصرہ تے میں اپریل 2013 وچ لکھیا سیپر اج جداں ایس نوں بلاگ تے چڑھا رہیا ہاں تے ترے سال توں کابل تے افغان طالبان امریکہ دے کروائے دوحہ معاہدے پاروں اقتداری ہو چکے جے۔دیل دمپل ہوراں کرذئی تے شجاع نوں ہشیاری نال ملایا سی جو کوئی جوڑ نہیں بندا۔ پر ڈیل رمپل شجاع دے اقتداری ہون مگر پنجاب دی سپورٹ نہ ہون بارے کجھ نہ لکھیا اتے نہ ایہہ دسیا کہ شجاع دے قتل دے دو سال تیک دوست محمد خان کنج پنجاب دی مدد لتی۔ چلو خیر تسی ہن تبصرہ پڑھ لو
In the early twentieth century, the visionary poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal timely criticized the Nation State phenomenon and said:
ان زندہ خداؤں میں بڑا سب سے وطن ہے
جو پیرہن ہے اس کا وہ مذہب کا کفن ہے
The first sentence had prime importance as it deconstructed the myth of Nation State phenomenon based on the enemy construction theory. Yet due to the obvious biases, Iqbal’s secular opponents and religious supporters both, emphasized more on the second line of his verse.
Generally speaking, modern nation states were carved from empires of these last 200 years and the majority of the Nation States were created after WWI and WWII, without toeing into the ideas of common language, common ethnicity or common geographic continuity. They were carved primarily to renegotiate the trade interests of powerful Nation States of those times. In order to secure their trade interests powerful Nation States use wars as a defensive or offensive weapon. If you read the historical documents & accounts from the last 200 years, powerful Nation States used hot, cold and proxy wars extensively against each other not only in Asia & Africa but also in Europe and elsewhere. Smaller nations use the weapon of war against their neighbors while the super powers launch Great Games.
The book under review, “The Return of the King,” also talks of a great game being plays in our region for more than 200 years. William Dalrymple, a British Historian and author of the many other books, recently expanded his authorship by writing on Afghan King & deserter Shah Shuja (1785-1842), grandson of Ahmad Shah Abdali. Shuja got a chance to capture the throne when Kabul was burning in sectarian flames during 1803, but he failed to sustain and was defeated by Shah Mahmud, his half-brother in the Battle of Nimla during 1809. From 1809 till 1842, Shuja tried his luck, unconditionally supported the British forces, and pleased the Maharaja of the Punjab, but to no avail, as he failed to reestablished Sadozai pride of Ahmad Shah Abdali. Barakzai, Sadozai & Hazara tribal infighting along with diverse interests of Qandahar, Herat and Siah-posh Kafirs Afghan society ruined from within during last 200 years. Dalrymple ridiculed the Pathan Punjabi rulers by using minor details as usual and gave selected pieces from valuable Archives. His over emphasis on minor social details & court intrigues would have been justified if he had also used this method while talking about British officers.
There is no doubt that the list of archival records he used is extensive and smartly arranged, but he failed to mention some basic shifts in Afghan politics during the first half of the 19th Century. It was Taimur Shah, the son of Ahmad Shah Abdali who shifted the capital of the empire from Qandahar to Kabul; this shift, lead not only to the gradual fall of the Sadozai, but also strengthened the Qizalbash and Barakzai tribes. Dost Muhammad Khan, son of a Qizalbash lady was the product of that new nexus.
A major part of the book covers the unsuccessful British Campaign of 1839-42 in Afghanistan. As an unofficial diplomat, Dalrymple tries to compare that defeat with the post 9/11 Afghanistan.
‘The parallels between the two invasions I came to realise were not just anecdotal, they were substantive. The same tribal rivalries and the same battles were continuing to be fought out in the same places 170 years later under the guise of new flags, new ideologies and new political perspectives’
By comparing characters and forces involved in both wars we can easily dismiss this novel idea.
1839 | 2001 | |
Foreign Forces | British Forces : | Nato Forces (consist of 30 countries) |
Ruler of Kabul | Amir Dost Khan | Mulah Umar |
Replacement | Shah Shuja | Hamid Karaizai |
Strong Neighboring State | The Punjab (neutralized state) | Pakistan Frontline state) |
By reading this table, readers can easily determine the difference by themselves.
On the 7th of August 1839, British forces annexed Kabul and installed Shuja as the head. From this day till his planned killing by the Barakzais in April 1942, even Dost Muhammad had escaped but Kabul remained more tense and fragile. No one considered regional strategic considerations before launching a war. Even though the supply line of the British forces was from the Punjab it often faced ambushes. There was news that Rawalpindi and Lahore were actively sheltering rebel Barakzais, meaning that the Punjab was not supporting Shuja and British forces at that time. As par Maharaja’s legacy, Punjab had no interest in regime change politics at Kabul nor Britishers engaged Lhore Darbar properly, primarily due to a divided opinion regarding support of Shuja at London. If Britishers had clear understanding of regional strategic reservations, they did not launch a war. But a group of security personals like Major Claude Wade was heavily involved in Russo -phobia campaign especially after Waterloo (1815). Even Lord Macaulay in his famous minutes of 1835 mentioned rise of Russia yet in our typical anti-colonial syndrome south Asian historians and intellectuals still fails to analyze his minutes. Unlike Lawrence like balanced British officers, camp followers of Russo -phobia wanted to capture the Punjab and Afghanistan at any cost. For this they use ethnicity and religion extensively. After the death of Punjabi Maharaja, Ranjit Singh (27 June 1839), they launched the war in haste. They captured Kabul in August 1839. The writer mentioned the policy rift at London yet as usual remains reluctant to analyses it.
Till 1840, Iran had also joined the Anti-Shuja/Anti-Britain nexus. There were intense rebellions in Herat and Qandhar against Shuja. Finally Shuja was killed in 1842 and in the summer of 1844 Amir Dost Muhammad Khan became the ruler of Kabul again, but this time with the help of the British Punjabi support. He was in British custody but in the post-Shuja scenario he got a chance, after which he stayed at Lahore from where he went Pindi for few months and finally landed at Kabul.
The Book is written in the background of a great game between the Tsarist Russia (Soviet Union) and Great Britain, which according to author started in 1823 when a British officer interpreted a letter from a Russian foreign minister to the Maharaja of the Punjab. The author however, failed to mention Charles Metcalfe who wanted to take the logistic support from Punjab against Kabul in 1809, much earlier, but was smartly denied by the Punjabi Maharaja. From 1803 till 1880s Britishers wanted to annexed the Punjab and Afghanistan due to historic land trade routes yet after rise of Germany and Tsarist Russia in early 1890s, they postponed it and to abandoned land trade routes they carved Durand line which virtually baron road to Europe .
Our region has been the victim of great games for more than two centuries due to the strategic trade links and the book reminds us of it again. Without peace, friendship, modernity & regional trade vision we cannot revive & exploit those trade links nor will anyone rescue us because every State has its own interests and game plans. Keeping in view that NATO forces are to leave in 2014, we need a clear policy which has been discussed and approved by the parliament, for only in a situation where the people and the State act in consensus, no outer force can dictate. That is the lesson and it is a nut shell which needs little care and vision.
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