The Life of Abdur Rahman, Amir of Afghanistan Vol. 2

335 Pages·2016·9.52 MB·English

by  Abdur Rahman.

THE LIFE OF ABDUR RAHMAN
AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN

THE LIFE OF'
A B D U R R A H M A N
AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN
G.C.B., G.C.S.I.
EDITED BY MIR MUNSHI
SULTAN MAHOMED KHAN
ADVANCED STUDENT OF c H ~ ' SCO LLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
BECRETABY OF STATE OF AFC3EWISTAN; BABRISTER-AT-LbW
WITH PORTRAIT, MAPS, AND ILLU8TRATlONO
IN TWO VOLUMES
-
VOL I1
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET
190,q-
ASTOR, LENOX ANG
TILDE N FOUNDATIONS.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAO.
.
MY SUCCE860B TO THE THRONE OF KABUL 1
CHAPTER I1
THE MEANS I TOOK FOR THE ENCOUBAQEMErPT OF PBOQRXW IN
.
CQ - INDUSTBIEB, AND ART8 . 14
CHAPTER 111
. .
QOVEILNMENT DEPbBTMENTB 49
CHAPTER IV
. .
A ETS' DETAIL8 IN MY DAILY LIFE 79
v
CHAPTER
. .
ANQLO-AWHAN RELATIONS 111
CHAPTER VI
THE BOUNDABIES OF UQHANIBTAN AND THE DUBAND IMBBION 145
CHAPTER VII
.
THE FUTURE OF AFGHANISTAN 165
CHAPTER VIII
. .
ENGLAND, RUSSIA, AND AFQHANISTAN a59
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
.
DUBBAR AT THE BAQH-I-BALA, KABUL FrontMpicce
OLD AFGHAN Am5 AND ABMOUR . . TO face page 20
.
UNIFORM OF BOYAL INFANTBY 3s 56
AFGHANBATDINNEB . 1, 94
UNIFOBM OF ROYAL CAVALRY . ,, 192
. .
GENERAL MAP OF AWHANIBTAN At end
THE AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN
CHAPTER I
MY BUCCB9508 TO THE THRONE OF KABUL
1
THEREis much criticism and difference of opinion as to
who will be my successor to the throne of Kabul;
many guesses are made, and people wonder why I do
not openly and publicly declare my successor. On
this question, however, not only are foreigners kept
in the dark, but even my own countrymen and relatives
have not been told my intentions. Some people con-
jecture that my eldest son, Habibullah Khan, whom
they consider the rightful heir, will be the fortunate
person; others mention Naarullah Khan, my second
son, because he was chosen by me to go to England
upon a visit to Her Majesty, Queen Victoria ; this, they
say, is a clear sign that I shall appoint him to succeed
me. Others, again, held the opinion, before the death
of Hdizullah, my dearest and most beloved son, who
was so handsome and such a favourite, that he was
the heir in my mind. Others say, No, Mahomed
Omar, whose mother is one of my most influential
wives, will be the heir. I have reasons for not
making any public declaration on this question to
VOL 11. A 1
2 MY SUCCESSOR TO THE KABUL THRONE
[CHAP.
ignorant uncivilised people, but for the information
of those who are @d with wisdom, diplomacy, and
common - sense, I have given out very plainly and
publicly who is to be my heir, by my actions and
the practical work of administration of the public
affairs of the kingdom. There are numerous reasons
why I do not wish to make any public declaration. I
will mention a few :
(1) It has frequently happened in the past that the life of
. ,
the heir has been endangered; and, consequently, I prefer to
conceal my intentions aa long and aa far as I can.
(2) The troublee that came to my predecessor, Shere Ali,
who appointed Abdullah Jan as his successor, are quite sufficient
to deter me from following his example; for his other sons
rebelled against him.
(3) Of course the throne is the property of the Almighty
King of kings, our Creator, who appoints kings as shepherds to
guard Hie flock, and into whose care He confides the creatures of
His hands. I therefore lave it unto Him to elect that one of
my eons to be the future Amir who proves by his merits to be
the most worthy of the honour.
(4) To those who are acquainted with the history and affairs
of Afghanistan, it is well known that the kingdom is ruled on
constitutional principles, namely, the people have full authority
to choose their king ; and kings, who have been forced upon the
people against their wish, have lost not only the kingdom but
their heads as well! It would, therefore, be ridiculous to
force one of my sons upon them against their wish; it is
better to leave it to the people to decide who shall be their
ruler.
(6) Examplea are not wanting in history where heirs, after
being nominated aa such by the reigning monarch, have tried to
put an end to the lives of their own fathers to hasten on their
own time for ruling. Though I am proud of the good dieposi-
11 AHMAD SHAH AND HIS SUCCESSORS 3
tion of my sons, at the same time I know the bad dispoeition
of the people of Afghaniatan, who have so often stirred up
brothere againat brothem and sow against their fathera.
(6) I do not like to cause disputes, quarreh, and annoyances
amongst my own family during my lifetime ; if they will only
be wiee, and stick to one of my eons and be united and one-
hearted amongst themselves, there will be no fear of the public
peace being disturbed. But if they do quarrel it will be just
aa well that they should be punished for their bad behaviour in
not listening to my advim
I need not give any more reasons for not publicly
nominating my successor ; I will only mention here
that I have shown very plainly to the Afghan people,
and others outside Afghanistan, which of my sons
I consider to be the rightful heir to my throne. Before
proceeding further, however, I must contradict the
statements of those who, either from ignorance or
selfish and mercenary motives, are trying to get money
from my wives and sons by flattering them that they
will be the heirs to my throne. I should think it
unwise to give full details on this point, on which it
is more politic to be as guarded as possible. But all
these people who spread such rumours' abroad are
simply ignorant of my intentions in this respect.
The policy which I have adopted concerning my
successor requires that some reference be made to the
history of Afghanistan, and although this has been
treated more in detail in another part of my book,
I will give a few words here relating to such policy.
The first King of the Durani dynasty, to which I
belong, was Ahmad Khan, better known as Ahmad Shah
Durani, or Abdali, who succeeded to the throne of
4 MY SUCCESSOR TO THE KABUL THRONE [mu.
Afghanistan in AD. 1748, corresponding to 1061
Hijira (the year of Mahomed's fight). He was a
constitutional monarch, and waa proclaimed king by
the chiefs and representatives of various tribes who,
being tired of the troubled state of the country, wanted
to have one king at their head for the sake of peace.
Ahmad Shah, acting on the advice of the representatives
of these tribes, was a very popular ruler. He also con-
quered India and became one of the greatest Emperors
in the East. After Ahmad Shah's death, history records
in full detail how his sons, owing to discords between
them and their endeavours to break down the constitu-
tional system of Government, lost the kingdom. The
last King, named Shah Shujah, whom the English
wished to force upon the people against their wish,
was killed by the Afghans together with many English
also who supported him.
My grandfather, Dost Mahomed Khan, himself found
that the principal cause which led to the ruin of Ahmad
Shah's dynasty was that Timur, in his lifetime, divided
his kingdom into provinces, appointing his sons to be
Governors of the various provinces. Each son had his
separate revenue as well as his own army, and after
the death of their father, which happened in 1793,
they fought amongst themselves, thereby greatly reduc-
ing the strength of the kingdom. I need not relate in
detail here, how my grandfather, Dost Mahomed Khan,
succeeded to the throne, owing to the quarrels between
Timur's sons. He also made the same mistake by
dividing the kingdom of Afghanistan among his sons,
and giving to every one of them a separate army. In
consequence of this policy the sons were placed by their