Afghanistan

by A. Hamilton

“I read your letter in order to acquaint myself with the circumstances concerning Sipah Salar Ghulam Haidar Khan and the people under the jurisdiction of Jelalabad about which you have written. I now write to say that, as regards Sipah Salar Ghulam Haidar Khan and the regular Afghan army, not a single man is or will be with the followers of Mullah Najm-ud-din, and hereafter, too, none will accompany him. As regards tribesmen you know yourself that for fear of me they can never openly join such a movement; if any one has come, he must have gone secretly. You are aware yourself that a few years ago Mullah Najm-ud-din fled from Kabul and settled at Jarobi in the Peshawar district, that the trusted officers of the British Government summoned him to their presence on several occasions, and, though he did not attend on them, he was keeping up correspondence with them and had fled from my country. On account of the evil acts he had committed, and the many disturbances which he had created among the people, he was so much frightened at his own misdeeds that he took refuge near Peshawar. The Mohmands and the people of Jelalabad and of the mountain districts of Jelalabad look upon him as their prophet, and at his bidding and the bidding of the Mullah of Manki thousands of men are their devoted disciples. Just as in old days in Europe the Popes used to profess to be the sole disposers of heaven and hell, and the people also accepted the word of worthless priests, so, too, these Mullahs claim to possess the same power; and during these last few years they have stirred up my own Afghan subjects to rebel against me, so that in every rising, whether at Kandahar or in the case of Mullah Mushk-i-Alam or in the case of the Uzbeg Mullahs who joined Ishak in Balkh, it was the Mullahs on every occasion who created the disturbance. There is a village called Hadda, which is inhabited by Chumars, or leather-tanners, but because it is the residence of this mischievous Mullah Najm-ud-din, his disciples have named this impure village Hadda Sharif, that is to say, Hadda the noble, and his pupils and disciples regard him as a prophet. What calamities are there that they have not suffered, and what blood is there that they have not shed by his senseless commands? He has now taken up his abode in a country which is independent of Kabul and in the neighbourhood of Peshawar, and has made himself a notable personage. Under these circumstances, let the trusted officers of the British Government themselves look at the matter impartially and say in what way I could deal with him, and how am I to arrange for him and his disciples, who regard him as a prophet and gather round him secretly? Every Mullah for many years denounced me in various ways as a Kafir, and at their bidding their disciples fought against me, and their houses were destroyed and they themselves were killed. For fourteen years they raised every part of Afghanistan against me, both in the plain country and in the hills, till thousands of men perished on both sides, and several of the Mullah agitators themselves were killed with thousands of the disciples of these turbulent priests. Every Mullah raised the people against me as long as he could, and when he had failed he used to take shelter within the limits of the British Government, and, by the magnanimity of that Government, a morsel of bread used to be given him, upon which these Mullahs used to maintain themselves. These now are the very same Mullahs who have fled from me and have settled in territory which is independent of me near Peshawar. In what way, then, can I manage them? As regards the Sipah Salar and the regular army, you may rest assured that no such hostile act shall ever be committed by them, but as it has been or may have been reported to you that the regular army or the Sipah Salar Ghulam Haidar Khan is taking part in this disturbance, this is all a fabrication, and I myself take oath that neither the troops nor the trusted officers of Afghanistan have any part in this matter. Every word that may have reached the ears of the trusted officers of the British Government is without foundation. On account of the proximity to you of these Mullahs who are close to your country, and have now according to the boundary demarcation fallen within the limits of the British Government, what more can I add in this matter to these arguments? For the rest, by the grace of God, all is well. May the days of honour be perpetual.”

From His Highness the Amir of Afghanistan and its Dependencies to the Address of His Excellency the Viceroy, dated the 19th Rabi-ul-Awal, 1315 H., corresponding to the 19th August 1897.

(After compliments.)

“I have the honour to inform your Excellency that I have received a friendly letter from Mr. R. Udny, Commissioner, Peshawar, dated the 13th August 1897 (corresponding to the 13th Rabi-ul-Awal, 1315 H.).

“When I received the Commissioner’s letter, I wrote in reply to him giving true particulars, and writing them to him in a very sincere and friendly manner....

“If the false utterances and fabricated reports of self-interested persons be investigated in a friendly manner, God be pleased, the relations of union and friendship between these two Governments will always be considerably strengthened.

“Further, I have to state that I have secured a letter, written by Mullah Najm-ud-din (of Hadda), which he has issued as a notification to the people of Ningrahar, and which is one of the letters of a similar kind which he has sent to tribesmen in other parts of the country. I send the original letter of notification issued by the Mullah in a separate envelope, which is closed and bears on it my handwriting, enclosed in this friendly letter to your Excellency. My kind friend, no doubt he has sent such letters, perhaps hundreds of them, to his disciples among the tribesmen in Afghanistan. The people also regard him as holding the position of their Prophet. Such are the particulars of the Mullah and his disciples.”

From His Excellency the Viceroy and Governor-General of India to His Highness the Amir of Afghanistan, G.C.B., G.C.S.I., dated Simla, August 30, 1897.

(After compliments.)

“It gave me pleasure to read the letter of your Highness to the Commissioner of Peshawar, dated the 18th Rabi-ul-Awal, 1315 H. corresponding to the 18th August 1897. The denial which your Highness has clearly expressed therein, of any complicity on the part of your Highness’s officials and sepoys of the regular army, was made in a still more marked manner by the public utterances of your Highness at the Durbar held on the previous day. Your Highness may rest assured that I should not have suggested the possibility of so grave a breach of the relations that must subsist between friendly allies had I not had reason to think that the complaints made to me were well founded. That your Highness has taken thus early the opportunity to make public an emphatic repudiation, on behalf of yourself and your officials, of any complicity with the actions of the Mullahs, who have been stirring up strife on the borders of India, justifies the hope that the charges made can be disproved, and that for the future no doubt will arise of the loyalty of your Highness’s subjects and servants to the alliance with the British Government which your Highness has again so openly professed.