Afghanistan is a very lovely land. Russia lies towards its north, China to the north-west, Pakistan towards the south, and Iran towards the west. In ancient times Afghanistan and Iran have been changing frontiers quite often. The old Afghanistan was divided into four parts, namely, Takhristan, Zabal, Ghaur, and Siestan.
Afghanistan's history and civilization are very old. From times immemorial this charming country has been a target of invaders from diverse directions which include Iranians, Greeks, Turks, and Mongols. Alexander, the Great conquered it in the fourth B.C.
After that Afghanistan was under the autonomous Bakhtar rule for about two hundred years. Buddhism also got its firm footing here once.
Afghanistan became a part of the Islamic state during Hadrat Umar's period. Ever since the seventh century Islam has been dominant in Afghanistan.
Wars, Reforms and Chaos
Afghanistan fought three wars against the British for its independence. The first war was fought from 1839 to 1842. During this war, the brave Afghans routed the invading British troops. The second war started in 1878 and ended in 1881. In this war the British captured Kabul. They forcibly imposed truce terms of their own choice over the defeated Afghans. The third brief war was fought at Tal in 1919. General Nadir was the hero of that war.
On March 1, 1919, Amir Amanullah Khan came to rule Afghanistan. The British suffered their last conclusive defeat during his reign. Following in the footsteps of Ata Turk Mustafa Kamal Pasha of Turkey Amir Amanullah Khan was also fond of turning Afghanistan into a progressive state through modern measures.
He introduced many constructive reforms. A fundamental constitution was framed for Lui Jirga. Afghan army was recognized. The series of internal reforms included:
- Banning of slavery
- War on illiteracy and ignorance
- Inauguration of national press
- Publication of newspapers
- Establishment of local bodies
- Constitution of the national assembly
- Declaring freedom of opposition
- Construction of roads, canals, and bridges
- Extention in postal, telephone, telegraph systems, etc
The conservative Afghan elements were already allergic to his progressive measures and reforms. Accordingly, a Tajik dacoit, Bacha Saqa, was engaged by the British conspirators to render the needful "services".
Bacha Saqa marched from Koh-e-Daman and occupied Kabul in January 1929. Amanullah was exiled. Complete confusion and Chaos prevailed in the whole of the country. The national representatives then declared General Muhammad Nadir Khan as the King.
Bacha Saqa was executed. In 1933 General Nadir was shot dead and his nineteen years old son was formally declared as the king.
Barbarous Russian Offensive
For quite some time during the past both Britain and Russia had been eyeing Afghanistan with greedy intentions. Britain intended to capture Afghanistan with force and power. Russia, on the other hand, conspired to achieve the same objective through its typical techniques and powerful propaganda, persuasion, indoctrination, and the like.
As time went by, Russian propaganda had started to penetrate fairly deep into the political, cultural, and educational roots of Afghanistan. In order to give the final, logical touch to their sweeping ideological offensive they prepared a regular plan of completing the conquest of Afghanistan through military action. The year 1979 is considered to be the most ominous in the whole history of Afghanistan.
On the night of December 27, 1979, Russian forces forced their entry into Afghanistan. They embarked upon a series of the most ruthless raids through land and air. Large-scale massacre of civilians, arson, and plunder was started in the home and streets of Afghanistan.
The Russian brutalities soon made people understand the real purpose behind the ghastly game. They began to realize that the Russian military intervention into Afghanistan had the specific purpose of replacing Islam with communism and their freedom by abject slavery.
Accordingly, a well-organized resistance movement was launched by the Mujahidin. They had to fight against the Soviet invaders on the one hand and the internal agents and communist puppets on the other. The rising tempo of the Afghan jihad almost paralyzed the Russian military might and war machinery. Russia continued her bloody game for full ten years. But the Mujahideen kept on battling against them in the most heroic manner. Although the Russian failed to achieve their targets, they nevertheless imperilled the security and safety of the entire region. At times even world peace looked seriously endangered. Peace-loving people all over the world had all along been expressing extreme resentment over the deeds and doing of the Russian invaders.
Bibliography:
Illustrated History of Islam by Dr. Abdur Rauf
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