01-08-2004, 02:59 AM
Afghanistan and subcontinent
Aslam Effendi
No country has had such a big impact on the Indo-Pak subcontinent than Afghanistan. <b>The Aryans settled in Afghanistan between 400 BC-300 BC and from here one branch went to Europe and another branch settled in the Indo-Pak subcontinent.</b> Afghanistan was also the route through which many armies invaded the Indo-Pak subcontinent, but all the invaders were not Afghans: some were Greeks; some were Turks; some were White Huns; some were Arabs; some were Mughals. Among the famous invaders were Alexander the Great; Mahmood of Ghazni; Muhammad Ghori, Alauddin Khilji, Zahiruddin Babur; Muhammad bin Qasim; the Lodis; Sher Shah Suri, Nadir Shah Afshar and Ahmad Shah Abdali. The non-Afghan invaders first settled in Afghanistan before invading the Indo-Pak subcontinent and all the invaders made use of Afghan soldiers to carry out their military campaigns. These non-Afghan invaders made use of Afghan soldiers simply because the Afghans were famous for their acts of heroism; and this explains why the original name of <b>Afghanistan was Ashvagan</b>, meaning land of the heroes and from Ashvagan the name evolved into Afghanistan.
Many of the Afghan soldiers who helped the invaders were impressed with the wealth of the subcontinent, so they decided to settle here permanently; many inter-married among the locals and became part of the subcontinentâs soil. <b>A large number of Afghan soldiers settled in the Punjab, inter-married among the Punjabis and so the area in the Punjab between the Beas and the Sutlej came to be known as Chota Afghanistan or mini-Afghanistan</b>. Some of the leading families in the Punjab such as the Nawabs of Mamdot are originally Afghans. <b>Another lot of Afghans settled in other parts of the subcontinent and the more enterprising ones among them became rulers of states such as Bhopal, Rampur, Palanpur. And the Afghan family of Haidar Ali and his son Tipu Sultan established a state in Mysore</b>.
<b>Afghanistan has been the mother of many tribes in the Indo-Pakistan </b>subcontinent: for example, the leading tribes in Balochistan are Afghans: these tribes include the Sheranis, Raisanis, Tarins, Pannis, Achakzais, Kasis etc, etc. And in the NWFP, 70 per cent of the population consists of Pakhtun tribes whose mother is Afghanistan: these tribes include the Mohmands, Masuds, Yousafzais, Barakzais, Waziris, Shinwaris, Afridis, Durranis etc, etc.
<b>Afghanistan is the mother of Hinduism in the subcontinent, as it was in Afghanistan that the most sacred books of Hinduism, the Vedas, were composed</b>; and Afghanistan is the mother of all the Parsees in the subcontinent because the prophet Zoroaster was born here; and Afghanistan is the mother of all those saints and sufis who introduced Islam in the subcontinent. <b>And Afghanistan has some very important and sacred sites for those of the Buddhist faith.</b>
<b>Afghan dynasties such as the Lodis and Suris contributed a lot in the development of the Indo-Pak subcontinent but also worked for Hindu-Muslim unity, so much so that many Hindus were impressed with their behaviour that they voluntarily accepted Islam.</b> <!--emo&:argue--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/argue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='argue.gif' /><!--endemo--> Sher Shah Suri, a remarkable Afghan King, within only five years, measured the entire area of the Indo-Pak subcontinent; he made land reforms, developed a good currency system and built a road from one end to the other end of the subcontinent. It is interesting to note that he became king after dethroning Humayun, a Mughal; but on his premature death, even Humayun was grieved.
Some of the invaders from Afghanistan conquered some parts of the subcontinent but there were a few who conquered the whole of the subcontinent. For example, Alauddin Khilji spread the authority of Afghanistan and its culture throughout the Indo-Pak subcontinent, right up to Cape Comorin. And after defeating the Marhattas in the third Battle of Panipat, Ahmad Shah Abdali brought the whole of the subcontinent under the influence of Afghanistan; and<b> Kashmir also became part of the Afghan empire</b>. Afghanistanâs influence was so great in Kashmir that many Kashmiri Pundits proudly associated their names with various Afghan tribes. It was not unusual to find Kashmir Pundits with such names as Pundit Anand Kaul Banzai or Pundit Omkar Nath Yusufzai. It was because of Afghan influence that Persian became popular among Kashmiris.
Throughout history the Afghans had been invading the Indo-Pak subcontinent but then a day came when Afghanistan herself became a victim of foreign invasions. A number of times the British tried to establish their rule in Afghanistan but every time they failed. <b>The political leaders in the Indo-Pak subcontinent were witnessing how a small, poorly armed country, was able to challenge the mighty British empire.</b> These political leaders thought that if a small country could challenge British authority, why could a huge subcontinent not do the same. And so Afghanistan provided inspiration to the political leaders of the Indo-Pak subcontinent to fight for their political freedom which they eventually won in 1947.
Today no country offers better investment opportunity to investors in the Indo-Pak subcontinent, than Afghanistan. Besides this, the oil and gas pipeline projects from Central Asia via Afghanistan can have a big impact on the lives of the people of the Indo-Pak subcontinent. But all this will remain a dream unless there is stability in Afghanistan. And this is only possible if those interested in solving Afghanistanâs problems realise that Afghanistan is the worldâs largest tribal society and in such a society, all big and small decisions are made by tribes and not individuals. Century after century, right from the Aryan period, the jirga system has been used to solve the problems of the country. To change such an ancient system overnight is just like changing horses in mid-stream. Those who have recently drafted the constitution for Afghanistan have overlooked the fact that Afghanistan, for the last so many centuries, enjoyed stability because of following the tribal system, its most vital components being a king whose role was to unite all the tribes; a prime minister (Sadar-i-Azam) whose job was to administer the country; and a Loya Jirga whose job was to elect a king, draft constitutions, decide vital issues. Those who have drafted the present constitution of Afghanistan have not given option to the tribes whether they desire their centuries old tribal system of monarchy with which they are familiar or the unfamiliar system of western republicanism which has repeatedly failed to restore stability after the monarchy was derailed. Anything short of this arrangement will never restore stability in Afghanistan and instead of the country proving a blessing for the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, it can create only problems for it and for the US.
<b>The writer is great grandson of late Afghan King Dost Muhammad Khan, founder of the Muhammadzai Dynasty</b>
effendi pak@yahoo.com
Aslam Effendi
No country has had such a big impact on the Indo-Pak subcontinent than Afghanistan. <b>The Aryans settled in Afghanistan between 400 BC-300 BC and from here one branch went to Europe and another branch settled in the Indo-Pak subcontinent.</b> Afghanistan was also the route through which many armies invaded the Indo-Pak subcontinent, but all the invaders were not Afghans: some were Greeks; some were Turks; some were White Huns; some were Arabs; some were Mughals. Among the famous invaders were Alexander the Great; Mahmood of Ghazni; Muhammad Ghori, Alauddin Khilji, Zahiruddin Babur; Muhammad bin Qasim; the Lodis; Sher Shah Suri, Nadir Shah Afshar and Ahmad Shah Abdali. The non-Afghan invaders first settled in Afghanistan before invading the Indo-Pak subcontinent and all the invaders made use of Afghan soldiers to carry out their military campaigns. These non-Afghan invaders made use of Afghan soldiers simply because the Afghans were famous for their acts of heroism; and this explains why the original name of <b>Afghanistan was Ashvagan</b>, meaning land of the heroes and from Ashvagan the name evolved into Afghanistan.
Many of the Afghan soldiers who helped the invaders were impressed with the wealth of the subcontinent, so they decided to settle here permanently; many inter-married among the locals and became part of the subcontinentâs soil. <b>A large number of Afghan soldiers settled in the Punjab, inter-married among the Punjabis and so the area in the Punjab between the Beas and the Sutlej came to be known as Chota Afghanistan or mini-Afghanistan</b>. Some of the leading families in the Punjab such as the Nawabs of Mamdot are originally Afghans. <b>Another lot of Afghans settled in other parts of the subcontinent and the more enterprising ones among them became rulers of states such as Bhopal, Rampur, Palanpur. And the Afghan family of Haidar Ali and his son Tipu Sultan established a state in Mysore</b>.
<b>Afghanistan has been the mother of many tribes in the Indo-Pakistan </b>subcontinent: for example, the leading tribes in Balochistan are Afghans: these tribes include the Sheranis, Raisanis, Tarins, Pannis, Achakzais, Kasis etc, etc. And in the NWFP, 70 per cent of the population consists of Pakhtun tribes whose mother is Afghanistan: these tribes include the Mohmands, Masuds, Yousafzais, Barakzais, Waziris, Shinwaris, Afridis, Durranis etc, etc.
<b>Afghanistan is the mother of Hinduism in the subcontinent, as it was in Afghanistan that the most sacred books of Hinduism, the Vedas, were composed</b>; and Afghanistan is the mother of all the Parsees in the subcontinent because the prophet Zoroaster was born here; and Afghanistan is the mother of all those saints and sufis who introduced Islam in the subcontinent. <b>And Afghanistan has some very important and sacred sites for those of the Buddhist faith.</b>
<b>Afghan dynasties such as the Lodis and Suris contributed a lot in the development of the Indo-Pak subcontinent but also worked for Hindu-Muslim unity, so much so that many Hindus were impressed with their behaviour that they voluntarily accepted Islam.</b> <!--emo&:argue--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/argue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='argue.gif' /><!--endemo--> Sher Shah Suri, a remarkable Afghan King, within only five years, measured the entire area of the Indo-Pak subcontinent; he made land reforms, developed a good currency system and built a road from one end to the other end of the subcontinent. It is interesting to note that he became king after dethroning Humayun, a Mughal; but on his premature death, even Humayun was grieved.
Some of the invaders from Afghanistan conquered some parts of the subcontinent but there were a few who conquered the whole of the subcontinent. For example, Alauddin Khilji spread the authority of Afghanistan and its culture throughout the Indo-Pak subcontinent, right up to Cape Comorin. And after defeating the Marhattas in the third Battle of Panipat, Ahmad Shah Abdali brought the whole of the subcontinent under the influence of Afghanistan; and<b> Kashmir also became part of the Afghan empire</b>. Afghanistanâs influence was so great in Kashmir that many Kashmiri Pundits proudly associated their names with various Afghan tribes. It was not unusual to find Kashmir Pundits with such names as Pundit Anand Kaul Banzai or Pundit Omkar Nath Yusufzai. It was because of Afghan influence that Persian became popular among Kashmiris.
Throughout history the Afghans had been invading the Indo-Pak subcontinent but then a day came when Afghanistan herself became a victim of foreign invasions. A number of times the British tried to establish their rule in Afghanistan but every time they failed. <b>The political leaders in the Indo-Pak subcontinent were witnessing how a small, poorly armed country, was able to challenge the mighty British empire.</b> These political leaders thought that if a small country could challenge British authority, why could a huge subcontinent not do the same. And so Afghanistan provided inspiration to the political leaders of the Indo-Pak subcontinent to fight for their political freedom which they eventually won in 1947.
Today no country offers better investment opportunity to investors in the Indo-Pak subcontinent, than Afghanistan. Besides this, the oil and gas pipeline projects from Central Asia via Afghanistan can have a big impact on the lives of the people of the Indo-Pak subcontinent. But all this will remain a dream unless there is stability in Afghanistan. And this is only possible if those interested in solving Afghanistanâs problems realise that Afghanistan is the worldâs largest tribal society and in such a society, all big and small decisions are made by tribes and not individuals. Century after century, right from the Aryan period, the jirga system has been used to solve the problems of the country. To change such an ancient system overnight is just like changing horses in mid-stream. Those who have recently drafted the constitution for Afghanistan have overlooked the fact that Afghanistan, for the last so many centuries, enjoyed stability because of following the tribal system, its most vital components being a king whose role was to unite all the tribes; a prime minister (Sadar-i-Azam) whose job was to administer the country; and a Loya Jirga whose job was to elect a king, draft constitutions, decide vital issues. Those who have drafted the present constitution of Afghanistan have not given option to the tribes whether they desire their centuries old tribal system of monarchy with which they are familiar or the unfamiliar system of western republicanism which has repeatedly failed to restore stability after the monarchy was derailed. Anything short of this arrangement will never restore stability in Afghanistan and instead of the country proving a blessing for the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, it can create only problems for it and for the US.
<b>The writer is great grandson of late Afghan King Dost Muhammad Khan, founder of the Muhammadzai Dynasty</b>
effendi pak@yahoo.com