Philosophical Study of Third War between Afghan and British

Shirali Samimi¹, Abdul Samad Hekmat²

¹Associate Professor, Department of History, Faculty of Social Science, University of Bamyan, Afghanistan

²Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Social Science, University of Bamyan, Afghanistan

DOI: 10.55559/sjahss.v1i10.58 | Received: 31.10.2022 | Accepted: 10.11.2022 | Published: 16.11.2022

ABSTRACT

The Third war between Anglo-Afghan started on 6th May 1919 and finally ended with an armistice on 8 August 1919. While it was essentially the minority of tactical victory for the British in so much as they were able to repel the regular Afghan forces, but in many ways, it was a strategic victory for the Afghanistan and Shah Amanullah khan. In fact, the beginning of the 20th century is the beginning of the strengthening of the reformist spirit of the governments. Influenced by the libertarian revolutions of the countries of the region, the intellectuals formed rescue groups against the intervention and colonial aggressions and tried to collect the secrets of the rulers in the affairs of the country. The first and second constitutionalists and the zealous youth of Afghanistan rose for the welfare of all from social justice to the formation of a non-authoritarian government. Even they sacrificed their lives for the purpose of realizing all this and were torn apart by the oppressors. They shed blood, sacrificed and left, but the history of the country never forgot them.

Keywords: Independence, Amanullah Khan, British, War, Afghanistan, Habibullah, Reform

Introduction:

Afghans can gain their independence in 1919 after three wars with England. This research is based on the spirit of seeking independence in the period of Shah Amanullah Khan from three aspects. In the process of commemorating the return of the country's independence, the name that has a direct link with freedom and independence is Shah Amanullah Ghazi. No person can be equal to Shah Amanullah Ghazi in terms of philanthropy, love for freedom, pride of his country, and also in terms of opposition to the influence of foreigners in the foreign and domestic affairs of the country. Right-minded people of Afghanistan still mention the name of this great and selfless national figure with deep respect and honor on various occasions, especially in the commemoration ceremony of the anniversary of the return of the country's independence. The high status of this political figure and patriotic Afghan leader after independence can be clearly understood when listening to the memories of elders and white-bearded compatriots and realize his spiritual popularity among the nation. Shah Amanullah Khan Ghazi was an intellectual, sincere person, people-friendly and strongly attached and in love with the country's independence. His behavior and dealings with the people, intellectuals, and change seekers even before reaching the kingdom made him famous and was loved by everyone. The Nobles and Intellectuals surrounded Prince Amanullah Khan, who had friendly interests and friendly relations with them, and took him as the leader of a group that was later called the Afghan youth (second constitutional petitioners). On this occasion, the name of Shah Amanullah Ghazi is inextricably linked with the name of the Afghan youth (the second constitutional petitioners) and anyone who wants to investigate the history of the struggles of the Afghan people in the first three decades of the 20th century, it is inevitable that firstly, constitutional petitioners and secondly, the head of the population (Afghan youth), remember Shah Amanullah as a progressive, patriot and student of the country's independence.

Methods and Materials

The purpose of the current article is to investigate the spirit of independence in Afghanistan by shah Amanullah khan and his impact on the new generation and new reforms made by Afghan kings. Specially, during the last period, the base of reform was inaugurated at the reign of Amir Shirali khan (1868-1879) and his Prime Minister Mr. Sayed Jamal-ud-din Afghani (east reformist). Shah Amanullah khan also brought new changes in the policy of Afghanistan. In this period, in order to strengthen the spirit of independence in the country, a number of people joined to create newspapers and personal libraries through schools. They began to work to bring independence to Afghanistan and to create a constitution. These intellectual people used to gather in different situations in Afghanistan.

Research Background

As far as the scholars may have researched and worked hard for the mentioned purpose and so far, it has not been written any independent book or article in this regard in our own language (Persian language), but it has been written much more materials by foreign historians in different languages specifically, in the English and the French languages about shah Amanullah khan.

The Formation of the Spirit of Independence (The First Constitutionalism)

The head of the First Constitutional Movement was Maulvi Mohammad Sarwar Khan Kandahari Al-Kuzai, surnamed Wasif, before the establishment of the Habibiya School and before Abdul Ghani came to Afghanistan, he had the ideas of the development of the society, and he used to discuss with his close friends at night (1:9).

A: In the court of Ghulam Bachagan who were in favor of reforms within the regime, such as: Muhammad Wali Khan Darvazi, and Ghulam Bachagan Khas Amir, Mir Zamanuddin Mamor, Mir Yar Beik Khan Darvazi, Shuja al-Dawlah Khan, Seyyed Jowharshah Khan Ghorbandi, Shah Mir Khan Logari , Nizamuddin Khan Arghandewal, Lal Mohammad Khan Kabuli were to be noted. These warm-blooded youths joined the political circle of the outside democrats of the court; all inside the court studied books and outside journals, and were somewhat interested in political and social issues.

B: Party (Social party of hidden nation), the main centre of democratic intellectuals who, in addition to reform, wished to change the totalitarian regime to a democratic one. One such institution was Habibie High School. In order to achieve their goals, they called for assassinations and coups, and they studied newspapers and interviewed foreign teachers (6: 250).

C: The third group of intellectuals was individuals, who were outside the circle of the court and outside the circle of Habibie High School. These people were active because of friendly political relations. Habibie High School was established in 1903 AD, and it became a political centre. The teachers of the high school established their relations with the outer circles of intellectuals and established their contacts with them. The goals of this party were to transform the totalitarian government into a constitutional government, gain the independence of Afghanistan and spread the new civilization and culture in Afghanistan. They formed circles of ten people, one of whom was placed as the head of the circle and started organizing party meetings. In the evening, various topics were discussed at banquets and personal meetings were held and resolutions were taken, but out of time the public meetings were taken with new resolutions.

The head of the Taj Muhammad Khan Baloch Paghmani party, Jowhar Shah Khan Ghorbandi and his secretary Qasim Khan Laghmani (a teacher at Habibie High School), Najaf Ali Khan and Mohammad Chirag, Maulvi Mohammad Hussain Khan Punjabi (totally teachers of Habibie High School) and Amruddin Khan were the famous members of the circle. The board of directors of the party was in charge of the circles or they were the basic members of the party. It was approved in one of the meetings that due to the efforts of Amir Habibullah Khan, he should be encouraged in spreading the culture and to recognize the members of the party in spreading the new civilization and culture.

Although, it was approved in one of the public meetings, that the members of the party are obliged to have a relief. This written approval was handed over to Taj Muhammad Khan Paghmani. Muhammad Sharif Khan, the brother of Taj Muhammad Khan, was one of the pro-government officials and very strong opponents of the brother and the intellectuals of the time. Sharif Khan who lived in the same house with his brother Taj Mohammad Khan, secretly took his brother's documents with him and presented them to the Shah. On the other hand, in one of the party meetings of Sardar Habibullah Khan, the new idealist Mr. Tarzi said about the changing of regime and recognized the reformation in Afghanistan (8: 718). The approved documents reached the hands of the Amir, in the winter of 1909 AD when Amir Habibullah Khan was in the gardens of Jalalabad. Two of the members of the party (Master Mohammad Azim Khan, the technical contractor of the military force and Mullah Minhajuddin Khan Jalalabadi, the teacher of Mohammad Kabir Khan prepared a list of all the members of the party as far as they could be identified, and Molator presented this list to the Amir and said: ‘The main goal of the secret party is killing the Emir and establishing a constitutional government which becomes a national goal’. But in Kabul, the main driving force behind this revelation was the Indians within the party, such as: Dr. Abdul Ghani and his allies, who hunted down Dokboter's archers. Firstly, they destroyed the first independence movement of Afghanistan's constitutionalism and pushed back the immense efforts of Afghanistan's development. Second, they made the Amir dislike the publication of new encyclopedias and cultures. The total number of the constitutionalist movement reached 47 people. Among them, 4 people, Muhammad Wali Khan Badakhshi, Mirza Amanuddin Badakhshi, Shuja al-Dawlah Ghorbandi and Abdul Aziz Khan Kandahari, were saved by chance (10:466). Other members of the National Secret Party who were convicted were killed and imprisoned.

Amir Habibullah Khan did not take any interest after torturing the families of the constitutionalists, and with the passing of time, they released some of the prisoners, such as Sardar Abdul Rahman Khan Mohammad Zaei, Sardar Habibullah Khan Mohammad Zaei, Sardar Mohammad Rasool Khan Mohammad Zaei and many others. In 1909 AD, suddenly they shifted all of the prisoners from the Royal Citadel prison to Shirpur prison.

The Second Constitutionalism

Mahmoud Tarzi spent some time outside the country due to internal pressures and those trips made him stronger in the awakening and the discovery of his country. The existence of Seyed Jamaluddin Afghani was influential. Mahmoud Tarzi hated the actions of the British since his childhood, and at the same time, the tyranny and oppression of some rulers was no less than the British. Mahmoud Tarzi wondered how the country would be saved from the tyranny of Amir Abd al-Rahman and his son Amir Habibullah. He said to the youth of the country, ‘Be awake so that you do not lose the independence of the country (5:67)’. In the second stage of his struggle, he played an effective role in enlightening people's minds with the publication of ‘Siraj Al-Akhbar’ newspaper and its ultimate goal was to establish a constitutional system, to draft a constitution, to acquire political independence, and to establish the Council of People's Representatives. He allowed the publication of the journal called ‘Siraj Al-Akhbar’ in Shahr-Ziba, Kabul, under the guidance of Maulvi Abdul Raoof Khan, the teacher of the Shahi School of Kabul, but it was stopped after its first issue. In 1911 A.D, his activity was started under the leadership of Mahmoud Tarzi with new publications ‘Political Literature’ which opened the eyes of the readers with the lens of modern world life. In this journal, there was a voice of opposition to the independence of Afghanistan and the influence of the British colonial government (1:13). For this reason, he became the centre of the freedom seekers and reformers of the country because the government's tyranny had reached its peak. He wrote about it from time to time in the continued publication of the newspaper. Among the young colleagues of the newspaper ‘Siraj al-Akhbar’,the main hero was Abdul Hadi Dawi, who was born in Kabul in 1895, and studied at Habibie High School. His works were published in ‘Saraj Al-Akhbar’ (11: 4). In 1919, he started working as the editor of a new newspaper ‘Aman Afghan’. The court reformers could not do anything alone but they had to gather around one of the influential and powerful people of the royal family in order to be able to work as the tyranny of Amir Habibullah Khan was reaching its peak day by day. Definitely, the suffering and torture of the reformists were increasing, so they chose Sardar Nasrullah Khan as the viceroy, who was not a great person. It was against the sovereignty of the British government. Therefore, the only person who was noticed by the court liberals in the Shah's family was Ain al-Dawlah Amanullah Khan, because he was an opinionated, well-behaved, hardworking and freedom-loving young man. So, he was placed as the head of this circle as well as among elites of the country and the court (9: 726).

The Spirit of Seeking Independence Abroad

Amir Habibullah Khan, as the absolute ruler of Afghanistan, completely obeyed the British government in carrying out of the foreign affairs and did not deviate from the British orders, and respected the agreements of his father's time with the British, and even during the First World War, he did not act against the interests of the British with the provocations of the Germans and the Turks. (1: 6). The formation of pro-democracy movements in the countries under the colonial rule of England accelerated the independence movement. On the other hand, Wilson's 14-article peace treaty also paved the way for independence in countries under colonial rule. In this treaty, the Americans chanted the slogans of peace, equality and freedom and said that all countries should join an international union to protect world peace. The beginning of freedom movements in India was certainly an important factor for historians. Britain has gone to war with Afghanistan three times, and has failed in all its wars. There were others that the independence of Afghanistan was recognized. Afghanistan's foreign policy was completely subservient to the British government (9:428). The British were afraid if an uprising against them would take place inside India or in the neighboring areas. If it happened, then it would give its way to the independence of Afghanistan.

Britain's confrontation with the Ottoman Empire provided the basis for Afghanistan to gain independence, because if Britain had waged war against the Afghans, the Islamic countries under the British colonial rule would rise against this country. At one time, England recognized the independence of Afghanistan as they were facing pressure from Europe and India. In the 18th century, the East India Company was established by the British to secure political and commercial relations in India. The colonialists were busy to create situations for exploitation, the people from the British side were working hard and the dissatisfaction among the people of India was reaching its peak day by day (6: 206).

Politically, anti-British movements were growing in India, and they were sending their publications from Kabul, and on the other hand, there were uprisings against the British in border areas such as Chitral. The general strike spread all over the country in Mumbai, Lahore, Delhi and other cities of India. There were riots and clashes with the policemen and colonialist soldiers. On April 13, the city of Amritsar witnessed the worst nightmare as thousands were dead and several thousand were wounded. The hundreds of millions of famine-stricken masses of India supported the activities and demands of workers and professionals. The National Congress Party and the Muslim League Party and the activities that took place in Bengal, all caused Britain to finally come to terms with Amanullah Khan and to recognize the independence of Afghanistan. The First World War caused England to use all its military power to confront its European rivals, especially Germany. Because of this, the British did not have the power to start another war in Afghanistan. In Europe, countries had seen war and millions of people lost their lives. On the other hand, Hitler came to power in Germany, and Britain no longer had the ability to come and start a war in Afghanistan. Freedom movements inside Afghanistan, anti-British uprisings in India and the prevailing conditions in Europe went hand in hand, which led to the independence of Afghanistan. The rise of Germany after the First World War and the competition of this country with Britain was one of the other effective reasons for the return and independence of Afghanistan. The emergence of a newly established power (Germany) increases the pressure on England. Though England was considered as an important naval power at that time, but Germany started competing with it. So, it could not fight two wars at the same time (2: 9). Accepting the independence of Afghanistan from the British was based on their compulsion, not their consent because Germany was thinking of having countries like Afghanistan on its side in order to use these countries for its own benefits specially during other wars in the future in the union. Internal and external libertarians had caused them for protection in India, to make peace with Afghanistan and to recognize its independence.

Shah Amanullah Khan and the Spirit of Seeking Independence

If Shah Amanullah Khan did not invite the people to revolt and jihad against the British for the sake of his country's independence, and like his predecessors, if he got along with the British and followed the British orders in the affairs of the state, he would have remained the king of Afghanistan as long as he was alive. But he, who loved the independence and pride of his country and the freedom of his people, put this kingdom and throne at the foot of the freedom and independence of his country, and in the first week of his coronation and in his first speech of several hours, he addressed the officers and honorable citizens of Kabul, in the Grand Mosque which named the Eidgah masjid, and called for the general and complete independence of Afghanistan and said: ‘First of all, I announce this to all the subjects of my noble nation that I have placed the crown of the Afghan monarchy in the name of independence and internal and external sovereignty of Afghanistan (3: 10)’. Then he asked the free Afghan people to help him in realizing this great national goal. Amanullah Khan, in another speech in the Eidgah Mosque, addressed to the soldiers, officers and citizens of Kabul, while wearing a travel dress, said: ‘My dear nation! I will not take off this military uniform until I wear the independence uniform for my mother. I will not build a homeland! I will not put this sword in its scabbard until I put the usurpers of my nation's rights in their place! Dear nation and my devoted soldiers! Bring your last existence to save the homeland!’Shah Amanullah Khan, who saw that the British did not respond to his letter based on the recognition of Afghanistan as a free and independent country with equal rights to other independent countries, gave a speech at the Kabul court on 13 April 1919, while the British ambassador was present at that meeting and said: ‘I declared myself and my country completely free and independent internally and externally. After this, our country, like other countries and powers of the world, is free and no force, even a hair's breadth, is allowed to interfere in the affairs Afghanistan's interior and exterior matters, and if anyone does such a thing, I will cut his neck with this sword. And then he turned to the British ambassador and asked: ‘Did you understand what I said!’ The British ambassador answered with respect and reverence (Yes, I understood). (7:237). in another speech to the people of Kandahar about national unity, Shah Amanullah said: ‘We do not have Hindus, Hazara, Shias, Sunnis, Ahmadzai or Populzai, but we are all one nation and that is Afghan. To me, all Afghans are brothers. It is clear from this that honorable Ghazi Amanullah Khan was a strong supporter of national unity and peace in the country.

Under the honest leadership and patriotic leadership of Shah Amanullah Khan Ghazi, the political independence of Afghanistan was achieved and Afghanistan regained its lost dignity and prestige and was placed in the ranks of the free nations of the world (28 Asad 1298 AH according to 18th August 1919) and the Afghans, since then recognized this same day, August 18th, corresponding to 28 Asad, as the day of the return of the country's independence.

Conclusion

The first Afghan-British war took place in 1839-1842 AD, which caused the defeat of the Indian aggressors. The second Afghan-British war took place in the years 1878-1880, when the British were defeated for the second time and Abdul Rahman Khan entered the scene as the new Amir and a new page of friendship between Afghanistan and England was born. In 1901, Habibullah, the son of Abdul Rahman Khan, sat on the throne instead of his father. In the first three years of his rule, Amir Habibullah Khan used a policy of disregard towards the British. Finally, the political delegation of the British Indian government entered Afghanistan in 1905. It was signed by Allah that they should not act in Afghanistan's domestic and foreign policy without consulting the British. Amir Habibullah Khan handed over the external independence of Afghanistan to the British. In front of England, he promised to protect Afghanistan against Russia and Iran. Habibullah Khan was killed on 20 February 1919 while hunting in Laghman province. His brother Nasrullah Khan took power. But his government did not last more than a week and Amanullah Khan imprisoned Habibullah Khan's third son Nasrullah Khan and took its power himself. The Afghan freedom-loving people, the suffering and honorable people of Afghanistan gathered around him for securing rights and justice. They had fought against oppressors and aggressors for their social development and political destiny in a sustainable way, and had protected their independence and territorial integrity. These brave men of the national liberation movement ended the British political domination more than hundred years ago. After the third war between Afghanistan and Britain, Britain handed over the control of Afghanistan's foreign relations to the Afghans in 1921. With the victory of the people of Afghanistan, they entered a new stage of political, social and economic life and took their destiny in their own hands. 

References

Afzali, Mohammad Aslam, (1368). The Freedom Movement and the Nature of the State, but not. Kabul: publication of science academy Republic of Afghanistan.

Bagheri, Hassan Ali, (1394). World War I. Tehran: Kitab Sabz Publications.

Habib, Asadullah, (1368). Amani Period. Kabul: Publications of Sciences Academy, Government Press.

Habibi, Abdul Hai, (1999). Constitutionalism Movement in Afghanistan. Kabul: Afghan Muslim Immigrants Organization Publications.

Darizh, Aminullah, (2001). Afghanistan in the 20th Century. Peshawar: Danish bookstore.

Rasouli, Sima, (1390). Afghanistan during the reign of Amir Habibullah Khan in 1901. 1919 Kabul: Azadi Press Publications.

Ataei, Mohammad Ibrahim, (1384). Contemporary History of Afghanistan. Translator, Jamilur Rahman, Kamgar, Kabul: Danish Publications.

Ghubar, Mirgholam Mohammad, (1366). Afghanistan on the Path of History. Kabul: Revolution Publishing Center with the cooperation of the Republic.

Farrokh, Seyyed Mehdi, (1371). Political History of Afghanistan. Volume 1, Tehran: Majlis Printing Press.

Farhang, Mir Mohammad Sadiq, (1371). Afghanistan in the Last Five Centuries. Volume 1, Tehran: Publications of Ismailian Press Institute.

Vitch Kargon, Victor Grigo, (1365). Afghanistan in the Two Decades of the 20th Century. Translator, Jalaluddin Siddiqui. Kabul: Government Printing Press.