A POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY OF KING AMANULLAH KHAN DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF iJlajSttr of ^Ijiloioplip IN 3 *Kr HISTORY • I. BY MD. WASEEM RAJA UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF DR. R. K. TRIVEDI READER CENTRE OF ADVANCED STUDY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDU) 1996 J :^ ... \ . fiCC i^'-'-. DS3004 CENTRE OF ADVANCED STUDY r.u Ko„ „ S External ; 40 0 146 I Internal : 3 4 1 DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSTTY M.IGARH—202 002 fU.P.). INDIA 15 October, 1996 This is to certify that the dissertation on "A Political Biography of King Amanullah Khan", submitted by Mr. Waseem Raja is the original work of the candidate and is suitable for submission for the award of M.Phil, degree. 1 /• <^:. C^\ VVv K' DR. Rij KUMAR TRIVEDI Supervisor. DEDICATED TO MY DEAREST MOTHER CONTENTS CHAPTERS PAGE NO. Acknowledgement i - iii Introduction iv - viii I THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE 1-11 II HISTORICAL ANTECEDANTS 12 - 27 III AMANULLAH : EARLY DAYS AND FACTORS INFLUENCING HIS PERSONALITY 28-43 IV AMIR AMANULLAH'S ASSUMING OF POWER AND THE THIRD ANGLO-AFGHAN WAR 44-56 V AMIR AMANULLAH'S REFORM MOVEMENT : EVOLUTION AND CAUSES OF ITS FAILURES 57-76 VI THE KHOST REBELLION OF MARCH 1924 77 - 85 VII AMANULLAH'S GRAND TOUR 86 - 98 VIII THE LAST DAYS : REBELLION AND OUSTER OF AMANULLAH 99 - 118 IX GEOPOLITICS AND DIPLCMIATIC TIES OF AFGHANISTAN WITH THE GREAT BRITAIN, RUSSIA AND GERMANY A) Russio-Afghan Relations during Amanullah's Reign 119 - 129 B) Anglo-Afghan Relations during Amir Amanullah's Reign 130 - 143 C) Response to German interest in Afghanistan 144 - 151 AN ASSESSMENT 152 - 154 BIBLIOGRAPHY 155 - 174 APPENDICES 175 - 185 **** ** ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The successful completion of a work like this it is often difficult to ignore the valuable suggestions, advice and worthy guidance of teachers and scholars. The realisation was more pronounced during the preparation of this work, as their advice had really been helpful and inspiring. I have received help from many people- I acknowledge their help and contribution with gratitude. Deep appreciation is due to my very dear teacher, guide, who has been a source of immense inspiration and insight. Dr. Raj Kumar Trivedi, of the Centre of Advanced Study in the Department of History, A.M.U. Aligarh due to his supervision that this work has been completed. My grateful and sincere thanks are due to the Chairman and Cordinator, Prof- Iqtidar Husain Siddiqi for his encouragement and help. Prof. Irfan Habib is also acknowledged for his suggestion to work on the Biography of Amir Amanullah Khan- Prof- D. Long of the Department of History and Philosophy of the Eastern Michigan University, USA during his Aligarh visit in September 1996, offered valuable advice and suggestion which enabled me to give a new shape to my work. I am immensely indebted to him. My thanks are also due to my teachers of the Department of History in particular, Mr. Kaiser Zaman and 11 Mr. Iftikhar Ahmad Khan who taught me the M.Phil, papers offered by me. Acknowledgements are also due to the Dy% Directors of National Archives of India, New Delhi, Dr. P.C. Pradhan, Dr. Sanjay Garg and others who always helped me through their suggestions and guidance. I can not forget my former colleagues of the A.M.U. City High School for their suggestions and encouragement. My friends at Aligarh and elsewqhere have stood by my side during my hours of trials and tribulations, are duly acknowledged with thanks, among them Mr. Parvez Nazir, Mr. M.K. Pundhir, Mr. Reyaz Ahmad, Mr. Rajiv Bargoti, Mr. Irshad Azam, Mr. Muzaffar Husain, Mr. Inayatullah Siddiqui are simmply unforgettable. My grateful acknowledgement is due to the Library staff of the Department of History, Mr. Aijaj Sb., Mr. Yousuf Sb., Mr. Arshad including other attendants. I thank the staff of the Maulana Azad Library, and the West Asian Studies Centre, Department of Islamic Studies, Aligarh Muslim University for their ready help and assistance at every stage of my research. I thank the Cartographic Section of the Department of History for preparing the map of Afghanistan. I thank Mr. H.K. Sharma for typing the thesis with care and efficiency and Mr. Shafatullah Khan for binding the thesis so nicely. IIX My parents and other family members have borne with patience and forebearance the alienation of many months which I should have spent with them but which I choose selfishly to spend in the preparation of this thesis. I have no words to express my regard and love for them. While preparing this work the only face to which my mind was stuck was of my dearest mother whose ocean full of love and affection, l was deprived of during those days. This work is reveredly dedicated io her. Aligarh MD. WASEEM RAJA 12 Oct. 1996 XV INTRODUCTION The Amir Amatmllah was fascinating personality of the kingdom of Afghanistan. The present work deals with the life and career of Amanullah, an ill-fated champion of modernization in Afghanistan during the 1920's. He is remembered for his endeavours to reform Afghanistan and change it from a "medieval looking and tribal oriented country" into a modern state. Afghanistan could not have lived in isolation from what had been taking place in other parts of the world in particular in the Muslim countries of West Asia. He was inspired by enlightened ideas. We seek to examine all the aspects of his great and mysterious personality, a revolutionary in thinking who challenged the existing norms and custom of a tribal society. In the first chapter, on the land and the people, We have discussed the geographical features and principle regions of Afghanistan. In such a setting lived the - heterogenous tribal group that comprised the Afghanistan. The inhospitable terrains, inaccessible mountains the principal rivers and lakes which shapes Afghanistan's topography as quite a distinct land unlike the other central Asian region, where a particular race dominated the region compared to them Afghanistan was inhabited by variety of ethno-lingual races, quite distinct from one other and made Afghanistan turbulent country. There have been intermittent struggle amongst themselves. Further study of Afghanistan's geography is also important from the point of view of understanding its geopolitics; as the region had emerged as one of the hottest-battle ground in history. Afghanistarfslocation is quite strategic and thus a lure for the expansionists designs of Russia and the British. The second chapter attempts to have a glimpse of the past history of Afghanistan from the time of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the founder of modern Afghanistan in 1747. The two hundred years history enables us to understand that it had never been easy for Afghan rulers to rule this country and enjoy the loyalty and support of his subjects. There have been challenge to the rulers and its culmination could be seen in the life and times of Amanullah. The feudal tribal structure of the society and state overthrew him, visualising threat to their vested interests through the reforms and changes introduced by him. The third chapter is a study of Amanullah^ as a person and attempted to scan the paradoxial personality of the Amir. There is dearth of reliable source material on the early life of Amanullah. We have relied upon the VI available sources and documents to weave a fair fabric of his life and times to enable us to draw conclusions from a distance and in proper prespective. The fourth chapter deals with the years of Amir Amanullah in power and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. Amanullah had to make himself secure on the throne after the assassination of Amir Habibullah in 1919. We have discussed the family lineage and the domination of the few tribes in the Afghan power structure. Amanullah achieved initial success in stablizing himself and embarked upon the mission of liberating the country from the British tuteleage, something which the earlier Afghan rulers had not been able to achieve rather had never tried to secure it. We have discussed the Anglo-Afghan War and the diplomatic victory over the British in Peace negotiations. The chapter on "Reform Movement" enumerates all possible details and analysis regarding its ideas and actual implementation. The viability of such dynamic reforms in the feudal-tribal society and its possible impact on the conservative subjects. These reforms led to final rebellion and the ouster of Amanullah. We have discussed the Khost Rebellion of 1924 in the next chapter. It offers a critical and analytical description of the measures taken by Amanullah to deal with the situation. Vll The "Grand Tour" of Amanullah is the theme of my seventh chapter. The visit to a number of European countries and modern Asian countries, was an eye opener to the reforming and revolutionary zeal of Amanullah. The tour had a lasting impact on Amir and in a way acted as catalyst to undertake similar reforms in his country. He was impressed by the advanced and industrialised west and the developing East. He was prompt to emulate those ideas and transform his own country. The tour had added a new dimension to his reform. The chapter on Rebellion and final ouster "takes note of Amanullah's last days, how he faced the rebellion by his own people, led by the religious groups and the tribal chiefs. We have endeavoured to examine the role played by the foreign elements and their complicity in the overthrow of Amanullah. In a separate chapter, we have surveyed and analysed the diplomatic ties of Afghanistan during Amanullah's time.