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7 days ago
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- Scroll.in
As Afghanistan warmed up to India in the late 1940s, strains with Pakistan began to emerge
In November 1949, India's ambassador to Afghanistan sent a letter to the foreign secretary, celebrating the positive shifts in the chilly relations between the two nations. 'As you are aware, the Indian consulates both at Kandahar and Jalalabad have started functioning,' Ambassador Rup Chand wrote. 'I have received reports from the respective Vice-Consuls and it is apparent that the prestige of India has gone high in the eyes of Afghans.' The thaw in the relations began after India became free. Until then, many Afghans had viewed India with hostility owing to the participation of British-Indian forces in the three Anglo-Afghan Wars. In the second of these conflicts, lasting from 1878 to 1880, Afghanistan lost control of the Khyber Pass and many Pashtun areas, which were handed to undivided India. India's independence and partition changed two things. It dehyphenated India from Britain. And it transferred the areas seized in the Second Anglo-Afghan War from India to Pakistan, changing the object of Afghans' animosity. So bitter were Afghans over Pakistan's control of the North West Frontier Province, which is dominated by Pathans, that they tried to keep the country out of the United Nations. 'Afghanistan cast the only vote against Pakistan's admission to the United Nations and Pakistan's leaders are inclined to couple this unfriendly act with Russia's coldness,' The New York Times reported on October 13, 1947. 'Afghanistan also has been bold in advancing her claim to Northwest frontier territories on the ground that Pathans inhabiting these areas on Afghanistan's border are racial brothers of Afghans.' India's ambassador in Kabul told the vice-consuls in Jalalabad and Kandahar, Narendra Nath and Ram Chand Kalra, to closely monitor Afghanistan's ambitions for the North West Frontier Province. Following the direction, both diplomats dispatched regular reports covering socio-economic and political issues, including the ways Afghans perceived India and Indians. American involvement To read their despatches today is to see the historic roots of some of the contemporary events in South Asia. In his letters, for instance, Kalra observed the growing American interest in Afghanistan. Kandahar at the time had a small American community, consisting mainly of employees of the civil engineering company Morrison-Knudsen. 'They are making roads, dams and other public works,' Kalra wrote. 'This is not exactly known on what terms they are working. It is said they charge a certain percentage over and above the actual expenditure and then the Afghan Government shares a certain portion of the net profit which the company gets in the long run.' Kalra picked up on a possible link between the American activities in Afghanistan and the Cold War. 'There is a fairly good deal of rumour going round that the object of the Americans is not just commercial but they have political ends in view, i.e. the Americans want to know the strategic points from the military point of view which should stand them in good stead in the event of war with Russia,' he wrote. 'Some go to the length of saying that U.S.A. are financing the Afghan Government for these projects and that there is some understanding on the part of U.S.A. of advancing Afghanistan some loan.' Kalra said it was 'difficult to get at the truth but one thing is certain that the Americans want to increase their influence in Afghanistan vis-a-vis the other countries, especially their greatest rival, Russia'. Kalra's reports suggested that Americans had a friendly attitude towards Indians. They seemed to be genuinely happy, he said, when Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru went on his first visit to the United States. Trade barrier Not just the Americans, in Kalra's telling, Afghans too were pleased with Indians. When independent India's first diplomatic mission opened in Kandahar, locals welcomed it. 'The Afghans expressed great pleasure on the opening of our Consulate when they came to attend the party given on the 1st instant,' he wrote in an October 1949 report. 'The function was well attended. The Americans with their ladies added to the elegance of the show.' In the same report, Kalra said Afghans had hopes from India. 'While the top Government officials eulogise the Indian Government and its officers, the middle class is looking to India for rendering them some good in the field of trade whereby the living conditions of Afghan masses would be ameliorated.' One of the major obstacles to increased trade between the two countries was Pakistan. The military commander of Kandahar told Kalra that Pakistan was not letting Afghan traders send goods to India through its territory. 'The smoothness of trade prevailing in the pre-partition days has been disturbed,' Kalra wrote. 'The difficulties according to some of the traders, I have seen, are manifold. In the first place they have to spend time and money in getting a permit from Karachi.' Next, the authorities in Karachi tried to convince Afghans to sell their products to Pakistani middlemen, who wanted to monopolise trade from Afghanistan to India. 'The other main difficulty is that the consignments between Afghanistan and India in the names of Hindu traders are often tampered with on the way and the latter have to get them booked in the name of other fictitious traders,' Kalra wrote. Trade between the countries was also affected by the devaluation of the Indian rupee. Pakistan, which refused to do the same to its currency, created what Kalra called 'anxieties' and 'misunderstandings' through the rumour mill in Kandahar. 'The reported devaluation of Indian currency along with the anti-India propaganda gave impetus to trading with Pakistan,' Kalra said, adding however that this was a temporary phenomenon. A month after India devalued the rupee, Afghanistan followed suit and trade once again picked up. Secessionist sentiment Under King Mohammed Zahir Shah, Afghanistan became a supporter of the right to self-determination of Pashtun people. When Pakistan put Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who had made the demand for Pashtunistan, under house arrest, there were protests in parts of Afghanistan. Kalra kept track of rallies and statements from Afghan leaders in support of the self-determination movement. 'The Pashtunistan issue continues to dominate the political sphere and the movement had made further headway in the fortnight under report,' he wrote. 'A big Jirga of Khanzadgan, Safi and Shinwaris was held at Sheikh Baba Ziarat, in which Mohd. Shueb Jan, after hoisting the Pashtun national flag, delivered a speech on the unscrupulous treatment of Pakistan and their determination to achieve liberation from their domination at all costs.' This was the time Pakistan began accusing the Indian government of fanning the demand for Pashtunistan. While the correspondence between Indian diplomats in Afghanistan in 1949 seems to suggest that New Delhi was merely observing the situation, it is true that there was support for the cause among ordinary Pashtuns in India. 'The Pathans of Ahmedabad in India held a meeting under Maulana Mohd. Akbar in which all the participants expressed their readiness to do their utmost for the attainment of Azad Pashtunistan,' Kalra wrote in a December 1949 report. 'They also decided to request all the other countries to recognise Azad Pashtunistan. This progress has naturally perturbed the Pakistani authorities.' A similar meeting was held by Indian Pashtuns at the historic Fatehpuri Mosque in Old Delhi, where it was decided to garner support for the Pashtunistan movement. Pakistan used the news of these gatherings to step up claims that India was actively supporting the Pashtunistan movement. In its information campaign, a despatch says, Pakistan also spread the rumour that an official named Meher Chand was recruiting for the Indian Army in Afghanistan's border areas with the North West Frontier Province. 'It appears Pakistan will now step up its anti Indo-Afghan propaganda drive in an attempt to turn the Muslim world against Afghanistan for having this friendship with India,' Kalra wrote. At this tense moment, Indian diplomats in Kandahar, Jalalabad and Kabul looked for signs of military build-ups to see whether Afghanistan would use force to settle the Pashtunistan question. The situation was particularly tense in January 1950 when Afghanistan and Pakistan exchanged strong words. 'Mutual recrimination has almost become an obsession, each calling the other not only undemocratic but also unislamic,' Kalra wrote. The vice consul added that 'while Pakistan's mainstay is their criticism of Afghans' economic structure and autocratic rule, the Afghans find fault with Pakistan's policy of putting several thousand innocent Pashtuns in jail for their only fault of demanding independent Pashtunistan. In this cold war, there is naturally an influx of wrong and fabricated news items.' In 1950, Afghanistan was not really in a position to wage a war against Pakistan. So instead it gave moral support to the Pashtunistan cause, with regular radio broadcasts in Pashto, Urdu and Dari calling for self-determination for those living east of the Khyber Pass. 'Some little hope for reconciliation, which Pakistan cherished on grounds of religion, is gone and the gulf has grown too wide to be easily bridged,' Kalra said. He added that Pakistani Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan's statement that the country 'would not surrender an inch of land east of the Durrand line,' did not go down well in Afghanistan. Friendship treaty While the ties between Kabul and Karachi were in a freefall, Afghanistan's relationship with India continued to thrive. On January 4, 1950, the two signed a five-year friendship treaty, mutually recognising each other's independence, agreeing to build cultural relations, and furthering cooperation in industry and agriculture. 'The news was received by the Afghan masses with joy and enthusiasm, but has aroused jealousy and suspicion in Pakistani circles,' Kalra wrote. Soon after the treaty was signed, a radio telegraph service between India and Afghanistan became operational, with their ministers of communication exchanging messages. A few weeks later, when India became a republic on January 26, 1950, Afghanistan welcomed the event, with Prime Minister Shah Mahmud Khan sending a congratulatory telegram to Nehru and Kabul Radio broadcasting a special programme. The next day, a celebration was held in Kandahar for the upper classes and important traders. 'Sentiments of pleasure were expressed by one and all on the auspicious occasion,' Kalra observed. A daily newspaper, Talu-i-Afghan, marked the event with a front page editorial headlined 'India Becomes Republic' that read: 'We have sanguine hopes that the new constitution, which is based on equality and unity will give 32 crores of people of all religions- Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian etc., equal rights, and as is clear from the lives of their leaders, everyone will have rights of all kinds of freedom.' The editorial said that 'India has the right type of leaders like Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Abdul Kalam Azad, Sardar Patel and others, it has also vast resources and in a short span of its independent life it has succeeded in creating friendly relations with all the Islamic countries of the East'. These sentiments guided the India-Afghanistan relationship, keeping them strong and friendly, until the 1970s, when Afghanistan became a major Cold War flashpoint between the United States and the Soviet Union.
India Today
15-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
The ABCD of Operation Sindoor Pakistan needs to learn, and recite
In the lexicon of geopolitics, the phrase 'Operation Sindoor' will be written like a bold statement in red, emblazoned with the hues of India's pride, resolve and retribution. But 'Operation Sindoor' will also have a different meaning for our nefarious neighbour. Here is the ABCD of 'Operation Sindoor' for Pakistan to recite and remember.A for General Asim Munir,Pakistan's current Meer and Peer;Trained to be a mad mullah,He became Pak's head thulla,By stabbing his mentor in the back,After getting an unceremonious over from Bajwa,Dreaming of a ghazwa,Burning with the fever of jihad,The Jarnail landed in Islamabad,To rule through a puppet not-so-Sharif,Turning Pakistan into his the Balochs had him, his bullies,By their short and curlies;Buried deep inside these dorks,The Pathans had their forks;To save himself, Munir and his morons,Played with fire, missiles and sent terrorists to Pahalgam,Putting in danger their own awaam,Ignorant of India's pride in Sindoor,They cooked Pak in a royal tandoor,Well, Munir did what all cowards do,For his folly, now Pak's all read this in interactive format, click hereB for Bilawal Bhutto, Pak's head nepo kidOf whom the country is eager to get rid,Like a baboon he jumps in the Assembly,Bringing shame to the Bhutto family,Proving to the world cent per cent,He is the son of Mr 10 per mom dreamt of bleeding India,With a war to last a millennia,But four days Pak couldn't fight,Got pounded left, right, day, night.C for China, Pak's real aaka,To whom it begs, 'save me paw-paw',Not forgetting the lessons of Dhaka,If India hits, it's the end of their saga.D for dolts, the Pakistanis are,For allowing this insane war,The Generals wage on the wrong enemy,When the real foe is their economy;How long will they survive on alms,Can't they feel these snakes biting their palms?E for the e in JeM, in LeT,Progenies of Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar,Very soon they'll become extinct,And even in hell their carcass would stink.F for WTF, the word on Pak's mouth,When India hit terror infra from north to south.G for GTH, you fidayeens,Whom Indian missiles blew into smithereens. H for the promised horror that awaits,In the illusory after-life, right at its gates,Because on earth you acted like a rat,The fires of hell will burn your putrid fat.I, a no-brainer, only for IndiaSynonymous in world's Wikipedia,With peace, ahimsa of Buddha,Mess with it, you'll see Lord Rudra;In its two eyes you'll see love and empathy,But in its third, no mercy, no sympathy.J for Jammu and K for Kashmir,A dream that makes comatose Pakistan stir,Seven wasted decades, four lost wars later,It goes rabid, not finding Valley on its L for Lahore, M for Muridke,Where India struck on the morning of Wednesday,Should make Pakistan vet its silly dream,Why fantasise, when all of Punjab-Sindh India can cream?advertisementN for Night, Pak will remember,When its pride it had to surrender;N for Nur Khan, where missiles fell,Making its nuke-command rush pell-mell,Its Air Force (AF) got a rude wake-up,It realised Pak-AF is just a royal Fak-Ap;N for Nawaz, the old boy from Lahore,Berating his bro--"mat marwa Pak nu hor;"If only Shahbaz were ballsy down under,Op Sindoor wouldn't have followed Op Operation Sindoor is the big O,Making Pakistan go oh, oh, oh with woe,India hit them hard and deep,The port of Karachi overflows as Pakis weep;A pain so severe that it can't be shared,A wound so deep, it can't be bared,So Pakistan fakes a pleasure so weird,In a victory whose claims like a goat can be sheared.P for Pakistan, a synonym for terror,A land its founders would berate as error,Because they called it Pak, the pure and pristineBut it turned out to be a den of such philistines!Q for Quetta, the land of BalochsPak's grip so fragile that it's just bollocks,Yet it feigns to have cojones of steel,When even a tickle makes them for Rafale, the jet Pak claims to have aced,What about Nur Khan, Sargodha-air bases that were erased?A loss so big that Islamabad hid in bunkers,Reciting prayers for mercy from Indian hunters.S for Shahbaz Sharif, the puppet Munir chose on a whim,Because he wanted to jail his rival, 'I'm the Dim';This nominated PM stands with terrorists,Selling his soul for a job that was never his.T for terror, Pakistan is warned not to promoteHenceforth, it will be an act of war from land remote,Which will invite India's wrath and rage,That shall send this blighted land to Old Stone Age.U for the understanding India has arrived at,Be grateful, the ceasefire isn't something to sneer at,V for vanquished Pakistan will be like W,X,Y,Z,So, behave, learn this ABC before BrahMos sets you InMust Watch
India Today
14-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
The ABCD of OP Sindoor Pakistan needs to learn, and recite
In the lexicon of geopolitics, the phrase 'Operation Sindoor' will be written like a bold statement in red, emblazoned with the hues of India's pride, resolve and retribution. But 'Operation Sindoor' will also have a different meaning for our nefarious neighbour. Here is the ABCD of 'Operation Sindoor' for Pakistan to recite and remember Pakistan's current Meer and Peer; Trained to be a mad mullah, He became Pak's head thulla, By stabbing his mentor in the back, After getting an unceremonious sack. Taking over from Bajwa, Dreaming of a ghazwa, Burning with the fever of jihad, The Jarnail landed in Islamabad, To rule through a puppet not-so-Sharif, Turning Pakistan into his fief. Soon, the Balochs had him, his bullies, By their short and curlies; Buried deep inside these dorks, The Pathans had their forks; To save himself, Munir and his morons, Played with fire, missiles and drones. They sent terrorists to Pahalgam, Putting in danger their own awaam, Ignorant of India's pride in Sindoor, They cooked Pak in a royal tandoor, Well, Munir did what all cowards do, For his folly, now Pak's all boo-hoo-hu. Of whom the country is eager to get rid, Like a baboon he jumps in the Assembly, Bringing shame to the Bhutto family, Proving to the world cent per cent, He is the son of Mr 10 per cent. His mom dreamt of bleeding India, With a war to last a millennia, But four days Pak couldn't fight, Got pounded left, right, day, night. To whom it begs, 'save me paw-paw,' Not forgetting the lessons of Dhaka, If India hits, it's the end of their saga. For allowing this insane war, The Generals wage on the wrong enemy, When the real foe is their economy; How long will they survive on alms, Can't they feel these snakes biting their palms? Progenies of Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, Very soon they'll become extinct, And even in hell their carcass would stink. When India hit terror infra from north to south, Whom Indian missiles blew into smithereens, In the illusory after-life, right at its gates, Because on earth you acted like a rat, The fires of hell will burn your putrid fat. Synonymous in world's wikipedia, With peace, ahimsa of Buddha, Mess with it, you'll see Lord Rudra; In its two eyes you'll see love and empathy, But in its third, no mercy, no sympathy. A dream that makes comatose Pakistan stir, Seven wasted decades, four lost wars later, It goes rabid, not finding Valley on its platter. Where India struck on the morning of Wednesday, Should make Pakistan vet its silly dream, Why fantasise, when all of Punjab-Sindh India can cream? When its pride it had to surrender; N for Nur Khan, where missiles fell, Making its nuke-command rush pell-mell, Its Air Force (AF) got a rude wake up, It realised Pak-AF is just a royal Fak-Ap; N for Nawaz, the old boy from Lahore, Berating his bro-–'mat marwa Pak nu hor;' If only Shahbaz were ballsy down under, Op Sindoor wouldn't have followed Op Bandar. Making Pakistan go oh, oh, oh with woe, India hit them hard and deep, The port of Karachi overflows as Pakis weep; A pain so severe that it can't be shared, A wound so deep, it can't be bared, So Pakistan fakes a pleasure so weird, In a victory whose claims like a goat can be sheared. A land its founders would berate as error, Because they called it Pak, the pure and pristine But it turned out to be a den of such philistines! Pak's grip so fragile that it's just bollocks, Yet it feigns to have cojones of steel, When even a tickle makes them squeal. What about Nur Khan, Sargodha–air bases that were erased? A loss so big that Islamabad hid in bunkers, Reciting prayers for mercy from Indian hunters. Because he wanted to jail his rival, 'Im the Dim'; This nominated PM stands with terrorists, Selling his soul for a job that was never his. Henceforth, it will be an act of war from land remote, Which will invite India's wrath and rage, That shall send this blighted land to Old Stone Age. Be grateful, the ceasefire isn't something to sneer at, So, behave, learn this ABC before BrahMos sets you free. x Images: Generative AI by Vani Gupta and Ayushi Srivastava
The Guardian
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Archive, 1947: Armed revolt in Kashmir
Srinagar (Kashmir), 24 October Friction between Kashmir state, with its Hindu ruler and predominantly Hindu administration on the one hand, and its mainly Muslim population backed by public opinion in the adjoining Pakistan Dominion on the other, has in recent weeks taken the form of armed rebellion. The Muslim peasantry of the western districts of Poona province have risen against the maharajah and within the last two days the main road link between Kashmir and Pakistan, leading from Srinagar (the capital of Kashmir) to Rawalpindi, has been cut. According to reports in Srinagar today, rebellious Muslims have been aided and armed by Pakistan from across the Jhelum River, which here forms the border between Kashmir and Pakistan. India: the British Raj is dead - archive, 15 August 1947 Consequently the rebels have succeeded in forcing Kashmir state troops (mainly Hindu dogras) to withdraw eastwards. The rebels are said also to have raided armouries and seized several hundred rifles and to have chased out the minority communities of Hindus and Sikhs who had earlier sought refuge in Kashmir territory from the communal troubles in the Rawalpindi division. The latest and most serious development, however, which has hitherto lacked confirmation, is the report that within the last two days the adjacent district of Muzafarabad has likewise passed into the control of rebel peasantry, who in this case are said to be supported by armed raiders consisting of several hundred Pathans from Hazara. According to official sources here these Pathans from across the Pakistan border are running amuck in Muzafarabad district, burning and looting villages without much dis-crimination. All these troubles are of course a direct repercussion of the accession controversy which has been exercising men's minds ever since British suzerainty over Kashmir ceased on 15 August. Because Kashmir's population is more than 80% Muslim, and because its geographical and economic position make it dependent upon Pakistan, Muslims feel that the State must accede to Pakistan. But the union of India has been taking lively interest in the subject and indications are that the Hindu maharajah Sir Hari Singh, has been influenced by representations made by Mr Gandhi and other Congress leaders.
NDTV
04-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"Country So Poor...": Asaduddin Owaisi's "Failed Nation" Jab At Pakistan
New Delhi: In his fresh attack against Pakistani leaders over the war rhetoric in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has said those speaking "nonsense" in Pakistan "don't know Islam". He also called the neighbouring country a "failed nation". Addressing Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir, known to make provocative remarks, Mr Owaisi said that Indian Muslims decided to stay back during the Partition in 1947. "I want to tell him that we decided in 1947 that we won't leave India, we rejected (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah's message. India was our land, it is our land and Inshallah, will remain our land. Those speaking nonsense in Pakistan, I want to tell them you don't know Islam, you are deprived of its teachings," Mr Owaisi said. The AIMIM leader pointed to discrimination in Pakistan against Muhajirs -- those who migrated from India in 1947 -- and social groups like Pathans. "You are in a country where people are called Muhajir, Pathans. Your country is so poor that people are worried, you have differences with Afghanistan and a border dispute with Iran. Pakistan is a failed nation," he said. पाकिस्तान एक नाकाम मुल्क है — Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) May 3, 2025 The Hyderabad MP, who has made headlines for his strong responses to Pakistan leaders' rhetoric amid the tension in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, said some powers will never let India stay in peace. "It is time for us to give them a definite response so that this poison of terrorism is put to an end," he said. पहलगाम हमले पर हिंदू-मुस्लिम करने वाले भारत को कमज़ोर कर रहे हैं — Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) May 3, 2025 Mr Owaisi also said the Pahalgam terror attack has shaken the entire nation, cutting across classes and communities. "We must remain united. Those who are trying to divide Hindus and Muslims at this time, I want to tell them that they are making India weak. If you do Hindu-Muslim after such a terror attack, you must remember that ISI and terrorists in Pakistan will be happy," he said. The AIMIM chief, counted among Opposition leaders who do not mince words to criticise the government, has pledged full support to the Centre in any action against Pakistan in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack in which 26 innocents were killed in cold blood. From distributing black armbands before Friday prayers to giving apt replies to Pakistan politicians' war rhetoric, the AIMIM chief has won praise even from his harsh critics for his actions in the wake of the terror attack. Amid reports that Islamabad is vacating terror launchpads in Pakistan Occupied-Kashmir (POK) as it fears Indian retaliation, Mr Owaisi said, "If they have vacated, we must go and sit there and stay. If they are taking any action this time, toh ghar mein ghus ke baith jana, khatam (enter the house and stay, that's it)." Earlier, slamming Pakistan leaders' nuclear threats, he said, "Pakistan always talks about being a nuclear power; they need to remember that if they enter a country and kill innocent people, that country will not sit quietly. No matter the government, by killing our people on our land, and targeting them based on religion, what 'deen' are you talking about? You have acted like ISIS." He had also slammed Pakistan politician Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for the outbursts against India. Mr Owaisi has said the Pakistan People's Party leader must remember that terrorism killed his mother and former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. He has also said that Pakistan was not just an hour behind but half a century behind India.
