The Story of Afghanistan
My heart goes out to the people of
Afghanistan. Imagine this – Someone more powerful, wealthier, mightier enters
your home and tells you that your home is not how it should be and they will
set your home in order. The first person comes, tries and leaves your home in
shambles. The second person comes and wreaks havoc on the same promise. And so,
does the third person, shattering the peace of your home. Every single time,
you are not consulted or involved. Imagine the humiliation, the sense of
helplessness, the feeling of being violated. That is what the people of
Afghanistan have been enduring for more than two hundred years.
With my very limited knowledge about
the world and its history, I have often wondered as to why Afghanistan is so
very attractive to the mighty powers of the world. It is not a place with too
many natural resources. Neither does it have Oil nor does it have Gold mines.
It is largely arid, mountainous dry land. A bit of reading up and watching up,
one gets to know it is about Afghanistan’s place in the world – literally, its
place, its location on the map.
It appears, as is seen in many pages
of history, the interest in Afghanistan began when Britain was expanding its
empire. India was already colonized by Britain. Soviet Union was an equally
powerful and expanding empire/state. Unfortunately for Afghanistan, it happened
to lie where the British Empire ended, and the Soviet state began. Both the
super powers were worried about each other’s ability and intention to step in
to Afghanistan and thus, start furthering their own self interests.
The British thought if they could
have India bow down to its will, a country so vast and diverse, Afghanistan would
be a small effort. Little did they know about the country and its people. As it
appears and as it would repeat many times over in future, entering Afghanistan
is quite easy. The Afghans although not very welcoming, doesn’t put up a stiff
resistance. But as time goes by, the Afghan resistance starts building up. Britain,
in all its imperial arrogance wanted to change the course of that country with
little knowledge of how the Afghan Psyche worked. What matters the most to
Afghans is their pride, their culture, they religion, their way of being, their
independence and the sense of respect they expect. The British gravely
underestimated these. The British dethroned the then Afghan King and replaced
him with someone of their choice whom the people did not respect. Eventually,
they were driven out of Afghanistan with disastrous loss of lives, money and
resources.
The British came back again and
established their military might. They thought this time around, they had taught
the Afghans a lesson. The same story repeated, and the British decided to leave
after a long thought out process.
For a brief time, it looked as if
there was a ray of hope for Afghanistan. A new king, Amanullah Khan wanted to
modernize his country. His people, although liked him initially did not quite understand
the King’s intentions. In his hasted to modernise his people, they thought he
had become an infidel, drank alcohol and wanted to import the sins of the west.
He had to go in exile.
Then came, the Soviets. For them,
their ideology was supreme and the only one the entire world ought to have embraced
– Communism. The Soviets came in with all their military might and tried
modernizing the people of Afghanistan like a bull in a crockery shop. Initially,
the Afghans gave in. Little did the Soviets know that the Afghans will strike
back and how. The United States found an opportunity here. They supplied arms
and weapons to the Afghans through Pakistan. With those modern weapons and with
the know-how of the Afghan mountains and terrain, they attacked the Soviet
army. Finally, after years of violence, death and monetary loss, the Soviets
decided to move out of Afghanistan.
One would assume now that the Soviets
are out, people of Afghanistan might be able to lead a life of their own
choosing. By then, religious extremism and fanaticism had crept in to Afghanistan.
Thus arose, Taliban and in came, Osama Bin Laden and the likes.
9/11 happened and the United States
got a reason to enter Afghanistan. Not having the humility to go through history,
they thought they can enter Afghanistan and leave in a period of 12 months. The
fact is that the USA is in Afghanistan for close to a decade now!
What is fascinating is that all these
three empires – Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States of America are
making the same mistakes. First, they thought they can leave Afghanistan as
easily as they entered the country. Second, they wanted to make Afghanistan and
its people just like them – “modernize” them. Third, they never made an effort
to understand the Afghani culture - the fact that they are a fiercely
independent lot. They wouldn’t think twice before demolishing the palaces of
indulgence that the invading powers promised them if those palaces were to come
in the way of their independence. Like
mere mortals, what prevented these great empires from stepping away from
Afghanistan were the fear of loss of face, inability to account for the loss of
its soldiers’ lives and unwillingness to let go of the money it had spent
there.
In those mistakes of those great
empires, lies the unfortunate history of Afghanistan and its people.
Source: Afghanistan, the great game
by Rory Stewart on Netflix.
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