After the close of the speech and prayer I too with the Throne’s usual kindness and munificence accepted their oath of allegiance and request; and I have given them such entire satisfaction as lies in my power. On that very day all of our brothers took their oath of allegiance and after them all the members of the House Royal and persons of the noble families of Mahommed Zai and other tribes, saids, priests, gentry and all officials of state, civil and military, took the oath; and I too for my reign and time acknowledged the oath. Then all offered up their prayers for the late monarch (may his abode be in Paradise) and gave thanks to God for my reign. After the dismissal and breaking up of all the aforesaid proceedings the officials of state, civil as well as military, and all those who could afford and spare time from matters temporal took their road to Kala Bagh and, together with those who were already present, joined the funeral procession of the late ruler (Light of the Country and Religion). The blessed corpse of that august and potent king, according to his will, was carried to the royal cemetery with great pomp and honour; and he was interred in the ground and placed in the place which is the real and ultimate abode for man. That august and potent monarch, that king of pleasing and praiseworthy manners, expired and sank in the depth of the kindness of God (may his abode be in Heaven).
His Excellency is now informed of all that has happened. He is given an account for his full information; and a separate report is despatched to His Excellency the Viceroy of India on account of the alliance that exists between us.
A second Durbar was held on the 6th, when the commander-in-chief, the principal military officers, the tribal chiefs then in Kabul, the leading nobles and the chief mullahs renewed publicly their agreement, made with the late Amir in the autumn of 1900, regarding the succession of Habib Ullah. With the Koran before them they affixed their seals to an oath which ran as follows:
We, all military officers, together with the army, all Afghan tribal chiefs, sirdars, mullahs and other followers of Islam in Afghanistan, do swear by the Koran to accept Amir Habib Ullah as our King of Islam.
Habib Ullah replied:
You have appointed me as your king and I accept the office. Please God I will be always a follower of the religion of Mahomet the Prophet of God (may peace be on him) and I will be guardian of the Mussalmans of Afghanistan who will obey me as King of Islam.
The thousands of people assembled on the occasion of this Durbar solemnly removed their turbans, loudly acclaiming Habib Ullah as their new ruler. The leading Hindus of Kabul, headed by Dewan Harinjan, afterwards presented their agreement to the Amir, who graciously accepted it with the assurance that they should continue to live in peace and quietude, and promising a reduction of the taxes hitherto levied on their community. In Kabul on October 8, yet another Durbar was held, whereat Sirdar Nasr Ullah Khan brought the Koran, the sword and the flag belonging to the late Amir. Habib Ullah rose on the approach of his brother. Placing the Koran upon his head and fastening the sword round his waist, he raised the flag and took the oath to rule Afghanistan as a true Mahommedan. He said his brothers, the whole army and the people had appointed him king. He accepted the office and publicly asked God to pardon all his sins. The Amir then declared that he confirmed his brother, Nasr Ullah Khan, in the offices which he had held under the late Amir, at the same time appointing Omar Khan to take charge of the Revenue Department and Amin Ullah Khan to preside over the Judicial Department.
Simultaneously with these announcements several acts of clemency and generosity were proclaimed. In each of the important centres prisoners, confined for minor offences, were released; while various sums of money for charitable distribution, in all aggregating one lakh of rupees, were remitted to the local authorities. Kabul naturally came in for especial marks of grace. The trading community was advised of the remission of the more oppressive taxes, and certain guilds were notified that Treasury grants would be made to them. Five hundred prisoners in the capital province were also set at liberty. In a general way, since Abdur Rahman’s scheme of taking one able-bodied man in eight for military service had given rise to discontent, Habib Ullah advanced the pay of all ranks in the Regular and Irregular establishments. The pay of the cavalry was increased from twenty rupees to twenty-five rupees per month, the infantry from eight rupees to ten rupees per month, and the levies from six rupees to eight rupees per month. The officers enjoyed a proportionate increment. These evidences of consideration secured the tranquillity of the people at a change of ruler, although the perspicacity of the late Amir, in arranging matrimonial alliances for Habib Ullah with the leading families in the army and priesthood, had already secured the allegiance to his successor of these two important factors in the state. The accession, therefore, was undisturbed; and, while couriers bore the news far and wide to officials, the issue of a fresh coinage, bearing the impression in Turkish characters “Amir Habib Ullah Khan, Amir of Kabul, the Seeker of God’s Help,” carried conviction in the market-place. At the same time in India, October 14, was observed as an official Day of Mourning, and Habib Ullah was informed that a Mahommedan deputation, charged with the condolences of the Government of India and the personal greetings of the Viceroy, would immediately set out for Kabul. A few days later Habib Ullah’s preoccupation with the affairs of state passed from the civil to the spiritual side, when the new ruler of Afghanistan gave an ominous sign of that bigotry which has since distinguished him. For the first time in the country’s history the head of the state publicly performed the priestly functions in celebrating the Id at the Idgah Mosque. The chief priest of Kabul immediately proclaimed Habib Ullah to be the successor of Mahommed, whereupon the Amir of Afghanistan delivered an address inspired throughout by a spirit of intolerant ecclesiasticism. Among other things, he laid down that a fine not exceeding ten Kabuli rupees would be inflicted on all who did not offer prayers night and morning in the mosques. A register of the daily attendance of all individuals in the various quarters was to be kept; and a “box of justice” set up in each into which secret reports, upon any who neglected their religious duties, could be dropped.
