Afghanistan

by A. Hamilton

(Translation.)

[40]The proclamation is addressed: “To the loyal-hearted nobles, to high and low, to all my subjects of the clans of Hazara.” After reminding the clansmen at some length that formerly they displayed some opposition and rebellion towards the State, the edict goes on to state the terms of the Amir’s clemency, which are as follow:

First. As regards your lands which have till now been given to Afghans who have left their own districts for yours, I direct that hereafter your lands which are in your possession and which are cultivated and constitute your agricultural land are not to be given to alien immigrants.

Secondly. Persons who have been banished from this God-given kingdom and have fled to other parts are all hereby permitted and commanded to return to their own proper homes, and let them come with confidence. Let all of these absentees as are of good position (Mir), or the descendants of such, come before me that I may see them and that their dwelling-place and that their means of living and residence may be well and appropriately arranged for. Let all ranks of landlords and tenants be present at their homes. If their land has not yet been given to aliens, We direct that after this it shall not be given. Let them hold their own lands in peace and comfort. And to as many persons as have, previous to this order, transferred their lands to aliens and have not taken them back, in place of these transferred lands State lands of culturable quality will be granted from the area watered by the new canal, so that they may, please God, settle down in peace and comfort.

We also notify to those who have absconded beyond the frontiers of this God-given kingdom that if by the last month of this year they do not return to their homes, we shall not allow their lands to lie uncultivated. We direct that they shall be given over to alien cultivators.

This order applies to all clans of the Hazara. But if the men of the three villages of Sheik Ali, Koh (namely, of Talah, in Barfak), and men of Chahar Sadah and the clan of Sultan who have absconded from this God-given State return home, we are pleased to bestow on them allotments of cultivated land in another place. In these three villages named above land will not be given to them.

For the rest, for all the inhabitants of my kingdom I pray the Glorious God to grant a daily increase of peace and prosperity.

Given on Saturday, the 12th of Ramzan-ul-Mobarik, 1322, Hijreh (about the 17th of December, 1904).

Ultimately, there is some prospect of a struggle for the throne taking place between the uncle and his nephew. Each is a young man; but, although time may not temper their discretion, it does lie within the power of Habib Ullah to place the rights of his son beyond the reach of this particular rival candidate. In any case, and it is of interest to note it, Habib Ullah has gone out of his way to consolidate the position of his eldest son, Inayat Ullah. This he did by despatching him on the recent mission to India and appointing him Governor of Kabul, while Mahommed Omar shares the restricted liberty of his mother, and Hayat Ullah, born in 1890, the son of a Badakshi slave-girl and half-brother to Inayat Ullah, the heir-apparent, has been appointed to Badakshan as Governor of the province. These facts are in reality only eddies showing the way that the current runs in Kabul, where from its complex nature the position may be described as shifting, delicate and treacherous as any quicksand. None the less the policy of the new Amir has been markedly benevolent; and his remission of certain taxes, his many acts of clemency to Afridi fugitives and his invitations[41] to Afghan refugees of noble or tribal families to return, reveal a great change in the controlling forces in Afghanistan. It is to us not a matter of gratification altogether, for it merely shows that the tribal leaders of noble families have lost their influence, that they can no more sway factions or parties in the population, and that power in Afghanistan is being gradually centralised around the Amir in a circle of officials which is controlled by the mullahs. The invitation to the refugees to come back is not out of any generosity of feeling; it arises from pride—and a desire to appear to be indulgent to those who are helpless and who are now impotent. In fact it is political charity, intended to spread the good name of the new ruler of Afghanistan in India, and to impress the British Government. It is a certain indication too, that, in the event of complications in the future with Afghanistan, the assistance of dissatisfied Sirdars will be of little value, for, in a few years if not very soon, the only elements will be the officials, the bureaucracy and the mullahs. At the same time the power of the Amir himself has been reduced and transferred to the officials. The measures of Abdur Rahman prepared the way for this change. He either killed or frightened out of Afghanistan every rival or every individual likely to acquire influence. His declaration and boast was that his God-granted Government ruled for the benefit of the people and the glory of religion, that he had no object but the good of the country and no secrets from the people as he had no interests but theirs to serve. There is not amongst any class of Afghans the feeling of reverence for the throne which exists in Turkey or in Persia. The Amir is the highest official of a tribe, that has seized power; and Afghanistan is gradually evolving a bureaucratic Government controlled by priestly influence, whose policy will not always be measured by the interests of the country, but by whatever interpretations of the “Sheriat” some powerful mullah may conjure up.