Under the absolute Amir

From the beginning of his reign, it was the policy of Amir Abdur Rahman to get rid in one way or another of those men who had much influence in the country, and could, by attaching to themselves a following, become a menace to his interests. It was not politic to do this openly, nor to get rid of many at one time, but gradually all who were likely to cause him trouble were disposed of. The last influential man left in the country was Ghulam Hyder, the commander-in-chief, and during the latter part of the Amir’s reign he was often invited to Kabul, but always evaded the invitation on one pretext or another. He at last died at his post near the Indian frontier, and invidious remarks were made when the native doctor, who had been his hakeem, and attended him in his last sickness, was sent for to Kabul, where the Amir raised him to the rank of colonel, and gave him money and presents, and generally made much of him.

One of the Amir’s methods of getting rid of those men who caused him any anxiety was described to me by one who said he had been appointed to do the work on several occasions. This man was not a Mussulman, and it was one evening, after drinking a good deal of my whisky, that he related his experiences, otherwise I doubt if he would have had the courage to say anything about the matter. Instead of mentioning the man’s name I will call him Y. Y. said the Amir sent for him late one night, and asked if he knew a certain man. This man was of high rank, and on saying that he knew him, Y. was told to go to the Captain of the Guard, and get twelve soldiers, as was written in the order now given him, after which he was to go to the man’s house and, on the pretext that the Amir wanted him privately on some urgent business, take him to a certain part of the old city which is in ruins, and when he got the man there he was to act according to instructions which were written on another paper the Amir gave him. Y. accordingly went to the man’s house, taking the twelve soldiers with him, and leaving them outside, went to the inner gate and waited, as is the etiquette of the country, while the door-keeper told the master of the house that Y. wished to see him on some urgent business. Receiving permission, he followed the servant up to the room where the man was sitting, together with several friends and relations, drinking tea. When the man saw Y., he called out and asked him to come and sit by him, and drink tea with them. Y. did as he was asked, and then whispered in the man’s ear that the Amir Sahib wanted him on some very important matter, and it was best that the Amir should not be kept waiting. The man said he would go into the harem and tell his family he was going out, and would not be back till late, but Y. told him not to delay even to do that, as the Amir was very urgent on his going at once, and soon they were outside together. When they got outside the gate the soldiers surrounded them, and the man wanted to know why these men came round them, but Y. told him that the Amir had sent a guard in his honour for the hour was late, so they went on, the soldiers walking on both sides, until they came to the bridge which spans the river, and here they turned to cross it, for the old part of the city to which Y. had been ordered to take the man lay in that direction. The man, however, got suspicious, and asked why they were going away from the palace, instead of towards it, and he seemed inclined to break away; but the soldiers gathered round closer, and Y. made an excuse that the Amir had ordered them to go that way, as he did not wish others to see them going towards the palace, and that they were to re-cross the river lower down, and reach their destination that way. The man said no more, and they went on, but when the road led them still further away from the palace he refused to go further; but on Y. telling him that it was the Amir’s orders, and perhaps seeing that it was useless to resist doing as he was told, he went on with them. When they at last arrived at a place in the ruins where there was an old disused well, the soldiers were signalled to seize the man, who, realizing what was intended, struggled fiercely, but was eventually overpowered, and held down on the ground. The officer of the men then came up and asked what was to be done further, so taking the paper given him by the Amir, Y. lighted a match, and after reading it told the officer that the man’s head was to be severed from the body. The officer then walked back to his men, taking out his sword as he went, and while the man was held down, cut through the throat, and at last finished the job, but the man’s violent struggles rendered it difficult to do what was ordered, until a gash had been made in the throat, and loss of blood weakened him. The head and body were then cast into an old well, and earth thrown on top to hide all traces, and they returned to the palace, and on arrival there Y. went to the Amir and reported that he had done as was ordered; the Amir said, “It is good,” and told him he had leave to go home.

Y. said that night, after going to bed, every time he shut his eyes he could see the man’s head as it was when it was at last severed from the body, and that it was several nights before he could sleep without starting up again thinking he saw the same thing. A few weeks after this had happened, the dead man’s son went to the Amir, and said that Y. had called for his father late one night, intimating that the Amir Sahib wanted him, and the two of them had gone out together, and since then his father had not been seen. The Amir told him it was true, but to keep his mind at rest, for his father had been sent a long journey on a special mission and, God willing, he would come back. The relatives of men got rid of in this way, however, soon guessed the fate of those missing, and for their own sakes kept quiet lest they too should be taken away and never return.

The Amir’s object in getting rid of men who might cause disturbance was not only to prevent trouble during his own reign, but also to prepare the way for the peaceful accession of his son to the throne, and his thoroughness in carrying out all he did has made it very unlikely that if Ayoob Khan or Yakoob Khan returned to their country they could get together a following of sufficient numbers to cause any serious trouble. It was to prevent disturbances after his death that the Amir kept all his sons in Kabul, and put them in charge of various official departments, instead of making them governors of different provinces as former Amirs had done, for that was the cause of the fighting among the sons for supremacy and rule when the father died, because each son as the governor of a province had money and an army to help him in a struggle for the throne, and as each brother wanted it a good deal of fighting always ensued, and caused much bloodshed and misery in the country from time to time.

The history of Afghanistan shows how brother fought brother, and sons their father, one killing or blinding the other in a fierce desire to rule supreme, and the foresight of the Amir prevented a repetition of these horrors on his death. When that occurred there was no one but Sirdar Habibullah who had any chance as a candidate for the throne, and having been the head Sirdar for many years, and having also represented his father, who was seldom in good health, on many official occasions, he was looked upon by the leading men of the country as the one to succeed to the throne, and consequently received their support. This, together with his immediate occupation of the fortified palace of Arak, whereby he gained control of the treasury and the stores of modern arms and ammunition as soon as his father was dead, made him master of the situation, and there was no one likely to give him trouble except the Queen-Sultana, the mother of his half-brother, Mahomed Omar Khan, who was then about twelve years of age, and she was at once shut out of Arak, where she usually occupied the harem-serai built for the use of the Amir’s chief wife, and had to live in her private palace, Gulistan serai, which is situated on the Deh Afghanan side of the city. Here she was kept nominally in great honour as the chief wife of the late Amir, but practically a prisoner, for all her chief and confidential servants were taken from her and others in the Amir’s pay sent in place of them, and no one was allowed to go and see her, while all entrances to her palace, excepting the principal gate, were bricked up. The Amir and Sirdar Nasrullah Khan were particularly urgent in their orders to Mrs. Daly, the lady doctor in Kabul, that she should not visit the Queen-Sultana or hold communication with her, and they apparently feared that she might be induced to take or send a letter from the queen to the Indian Government, asking for aid in placing her own son on the throne; and, though the Indian Government might not take any notice of her letter, yet such action might prejudice the new Amir in their eyes. Also those officials and army officers who were possessed of any influence, and were inclined to side with the Queen-Sultana, were bought over by the new Amir, and were raised to higher rank.

The army, however, was seething with discontent, and a rising was feared and indeed imminent; but a promise, which was afterwards ratified, of an increase of pay all round kept them from any open act of insubordination, although there was a good deal of muttering for a long time, and the soldiers freely expressed their opinions and said they wanted any other government but that of the reigning family. The want of reliance in the Government among the people was shown by open acts of robbery with violence in different parts of the country, the like of which had been unknown for many years, and it expressed the indifference of the people to the constituted authority. This want of reliance in, or objection to, the existing Government was further shown by the attacks on the Europeans resident in the country, one of whom was shot from behind and killed by the officer of his escort for a slight so trivial as to induce a doubt as to whether the man acted entirely on his own initiative, or had been prompted by those who hoped thereby to cause complications with other powers prejudicial to their own Government.

At the time I left Kabul, the revenue of the country was barely sufficient to pay for the army, and it has been for many years gradually dwindling in amount, and the Amir was in great need of money. Also no arrangement had been come to with the Indian Government regarding the continuance of the subsidy which was paid the former Amir, and the present ruler, for fear of refusal, dared not ask for it prior to arrangements being made for the continuance with himself of the terms of alliance made with his father. Lord Curzon was insistent in his requests for the Amir to visit him in Peshawar, in order to settle all matters in a personal interview; but with the people in a state of unrest, and so many matters of importance to the internal government of the country requiring immediate settlement and action, the danger of leaving Kabul at that time was too great for the Amir to risk. The Russian Government offered to present him with many field-guns, rifles, and ammunition, but the offer was declined, for the Russians are feared and distrusted, and their encroachment on Afghan territory is greatly resented. Some of the officials, however, appeared to be in favour of Russian help, for they said that if the English Government did not help the country there were others who would, and there were those who endeavoured to persuade the Amir into accepting Russian help.

About this time an Afghan general came in from the Russian frontier, and it was generally said that he brought with him two Russians, dressed like Afghan slave boys, of high family. Nothing was definitely known of this; but at the time it was said that these Russians were in Kabul, the Amir went to stop a week or two at his summer palace at Hindeki, some six miles south of the city, taking with him none but a few trusted officials and friends, and it was peremptorily ordered that while there he was to be left undisturbed, and no one but those who were sent for were to go to him. This general afterwards changed a large amount of Russian money in the city, and from that time Russian notes could be bought in the bazar, and as it was the first time since his accession to the throne that the Amir had stayed at Hindeki, or any other place except in the Arak stronghold, and as nothing definite was publicly known of what transpired, or indeed anything at all of what the Amir did while he was at Hindeki, it was all very unusual, for all that the Amir does, except when in his harem, is commonly known and discussed, and a good deal is known of what he does there.

It will be seen that the Amir’s position for some time after his succession was a difficult one, and there are still many elements of danger to be overcome. He has neither the experience nor self-reliance of his father, and what he may do in a critical time, or how he would emerge from the test of danger and adversity, cannot be forecast; but as the ingredients which go towards the making of anarchy and rebellion are not wanting in the country, time will probably give the answer.

Afghanistan is frequently described as a buffer state between India and Russia, but it is a buffer which the rolling forward of either power would readily crush. The bulk of the people are in a discontented condition, for with high taxation driving them from their lands to seek work as coolies, food yearly growing dearer, and epidemics common, it is likely enough that they would welcome any change as a change for the better, and until the Amir has a grasp on the people equal to that of his father, an invading power would not have an altogether combined Afghanistan to contend against, in spite of the Amir’s widely distributed pamphlets on Jihad.

The Amir, and those with him, rely a good deal on Jihad (religious war), which is to be preached by the mullahs in case an invading army crosses the frontier, and pamphlets on the subject have been printed and distributed all over the country. But as matters now stand, the people, although extremely fanatical, can hardly be relied on to fight very vigorously, or for any length of time. The army is supplied with modern field-guns, rifles, and ammunition, but, although of a modern pattern, they are few in number, and are not equal to those of other countries in range and accuracy. The army is also wholly untrained as compared with the troops of the two great powers on either side of them, and its officers have no more knowledge of modern warfare than the rank-and-file. It is only in the natural difficulties offered by the mountainous description of country to the effective movement of troops and transport of heavy guns that the Amir could hope to offer any serious opposition to an invading army, and it is unlikely that after the first stand made against the invader they would risk further battle. They would be more likely to resort to the guerilla methods common to them, cutting up small detachments and harassing the rear and lines of communication; but the larger the invading army, the less effective would these methods be.

As a means of keeping unruly tribes in order, the Afghans are best left to govern themselves. Their methods of quelling rebellion and disorder are more ruthless, and therefore more effective and lasting, for the description of people dealt with than are the humane methods of other people. Amir Abdur Rahman, after killing off the bulk of a nation (men, women, and children) for rebelling against his authority, has had the remainder transported to a distant part of the country, where, rid of former associations and by intermarriage with other people, they have lost their old traditions, and settled down quietly to the new order of things. Should the English (or other power) occupy the country, the cost of an army of occupation, which would be necessary to keep the people in order, would probably equal that of the Indian army, until a new generation had grown up, more adaptable and willing to accept the altered condition of affairs.

If it was intended that the Afghans should be used as a means of checking Russian aggression, it would no doubt be better that they were well supplied with the best modern arms; but on the other hand, there is always the chance of such arms being used against the English, for the Afghans look upon all who are not of their own country and religion as enemies, and it is unlikely that any existing treaty would be considered or have the effect of making them hesitate to take advantage of an occasion which gave them an opportunity for extending their country, or of benefiting themselves otherwise. When the border tribes rose and necessitated the Tirah campaign, the late Amir had some thousands of transport animals collected near Kabul, at the back of the mountains, and though a rising on his frontier no doubt necessitated precautionary measures in case his own interests were menaced, yet, had the British been driven beyond the Indus as was expected, and which was reported in the bazars as accomplished shortly after the rising started, the temptation to retake the Peshawar district would perhaps have been a powerful one, for that district is always claimed as part of the Afghan territory which was stolen from them by the British.

Generally the sympathies of the people lie towards the justice and equality of the British rule, and this is due mostly to the stories related of the freedom of life in India by the people who have lived there; but the authorities deal severely with those who show a liking for the English, and as they fear to let any information of their doings reach the British Government, a spy truly or falsely convicted of reporting to the English is an offender, who is summarily and finally dealt with.

The British agent in Kabul, and those with him, are little better than prisoners, for they see no one, and cannot themselves mix with the people, and have to confine their peregrinations to the boundaries of Kabul. All who are found visiting the British agent are imprisoned, and many hundreds have been killed merely on suspicion of giving him reports of the doings of the Government; and an Afghan spy, ostensibly doing a trade as a tea-seller, is stationed on the road opposite the gate of the agent’s house (the house lies a little back from the road) for the purpose of noting those who go there, and if any man passes even within a few yards of the gate, he is reported to the Kotwal; but the fear of the people of being seen anywhere near the house is now such that all give it a wide berth in passing by, and no man who values his life would dare to be seen talking to any of the agent’s men whom he met in the bazar.

All this would seem to point to a good deal happening which is detrimental to the interests of the British Government which the Afghan ruler fears may come to their knowledge, but from what I saw and heard in the country, it is only occasionally that anything happens which would interest the Indian Government, and then only mildly. It may be, however, to prevent news of these occasional happenings leaking out that the Afghan rulers consider it necessary to make the people afraid of giving news of any sort to the enemies of their country; for so they look upon all those who are not of themselves.

They certainly have occasion to fear their prison system becoming known publicly, for cruelty of all sorts is common in the way of torture. Imagine a prison where the limbs which have been hacked off men are left lying about, together with the dismembered bodies of those dead, of the suffering inflicted on them, until the whole place reeks of decomposing flesh, and then consider the frame of mind of hundreds who are imprisoned without trial, unknowing of what their own punishment is to be, who daily live in the midst of these horrors. If the truth about the Kabul prisons were generally known, other countries would probably unite in insisting on such barbarity being stopped.

The common people, who have their own way of looking at everything, attribute the large numbers of men killed in prison without any generally known reason for their execution to the British Government, and say that as the British were unable to conquer them by fighting, they now pay the Amir large sums of money monthly (the subsidy) to kill them in other ways. The people also say of the Bala Hisar (high fort) in Kabul, which Lord Roberts rased to the ground in 1880 after the massacre of Cavagnari and his men, and which still remains in ruins, that the Amir has been ordered by the British Government not to rebuild it, as one of the conditions of his occupying the throne. The opinion of these people, however fallacious, is still the opinion of those who comprise the bulk of the population, and although they are ignorant and uninformed their opinion ought not to be altogether neglected.

Amir Abdur Rahman, on one of the occasions when he favoured me with remarks on political affairs, told me he had received a letter from one of his spies in Russia, and he would read it to me. His object in doing so, of course, was not that he wished me to keep the information to myself, but I was leaving for India the following day, and it was a matter the Amir could not very well make the occasion of a letter to the Indian Government. The spy wrote that he had it from a Russian official in high authority that his Government intended, so long as Amir Abdur Rahman lived, to leave Afghanistan untouched, but that after his death they would seize it; and when the Amir had read this to me he remarked that if it was true that such was their intention, although he would be dead when they endeavoured to take his country, it was, nevertheless, a matter of importance to him, for he had for many years been striving to unite and raise his country to such position that it could hold its own among the nations and remain always an independent kingdom, and if at the time of his death his object might not be altogether accomplished, still, what he had done would form a foundation on which it was his greatest desire that his sons and their descendants would build the wall which was to keep the country intact and prevent foreign aggression.

On all occasions when Amir Abdur Rahman spoke to me on such matters he showed that he had the good of his country at heart, and at times he even shed tears when he reflected on his failure to imbue the whole of his people with his ambitions, and that all his efforts, even punishing and killing to the extent he had done, failed to induce them to forego those habits which prevented the union and strength he prayed for.

On the occasion mentioned above, the Amir threw some light on his aversion to having railways in Afghanistan. He said he had powerful neighbours on both sides of him. Each power was anxious to extend their railways into his country, and, failing that, they were always trying to persuade him to construct them himself for the benefit and improvement of his people. But supposing he did as they wanted and laid railways over his country, then they would point out that unless his system communicated with theirs they would be of little advantage to him, and he himself could see that too. And then if he joined up his railways with one power, the other power would claim a like concession and he would have to give it to risk friction and war, and yet England as his ally would expect to be the only one so favoured. Therefore, he said, it is better that the country should go without railways, however much it loses in its trade and development by so doing.

Amir Abdur Rahman never favoured me with any remarks which would throw a light on his apparently culpable neglect in working the rich mines of his country. Instead, he often mentioned the benefit to his country which the working of these mines would occasion, and soon after my appointment he gave me written orders to build the necessary works for smelting the copper ores which have been found in the neighbourhood of Kabul. When the work was about half completed, however, he sent instructions to me to postpone work on it until further orders, and thereafter let the matter rest in abeyance, so that the work still remains uncompleted. He avoided any mention to me of his reason for stopping a work on which he had been so keen to begin, and it can only be supposed that he was fearful of adding an incentive to interference with his country on the part of his neighbours by showing the riches it contained.

Amir Habibullah, who follows his father’s policy in all things, has done nothing towards developing the resources of the country beyond ascertaining the position and value of its various mineral deposits. Amir Habibullah is, however, desirous of obtaining a strip of country from the west of Afghanistan to the coast on the Beloochistan side, in order to obtain a seaboard which would enable him to deal direct with other countries and obviate the necessity of going through the territories of his neighbours—permission for which depends always on their goodwill. With such a seaboard they would be independent, could develop the country, and sell the produce of their mines and other exports direct, and with the proceeds of such trade could import whatever war material or other goods they required, and strengthen themselves without the knowledge of or interference from their neighbours.

The Afghan rulers have spies and others in India as well as in European countries who give them information on all subjects which affect Afghanistan either directly or indirectly, and the Amir and his intimates take the utmost interest in the doings of those who rule the destinies of other nations, and they watch all that goes on between the different powers. But, excepting these few in authority, the people are shut off from news of the outer world, for there are no newspapers in the country, and the newspapers of other countries they are unable to read; and as their Government objects to foreigners entering the country and allows none such to do so except on business, and then only by special permission from the Amir, and as very few of their own people are allowed to travel on business across the border, the bulk of the Afghans are ignorant of everything except that which happens within their own limited sphere.

The Afghan rulers also in their conduct of the internal affairs of the country make a point of keeping it secluded and out of touch with the other countries around them, and British officers who have crossed the border either knowingly or otherwise, have been made prisoners and kept so until the Amir’s orders were received. The intercourse of the people with other nations would no doubt tend to civilize them, and by broadening their views do away with much of their present fanatical prejudice against all other people, which is due principally to the secluded life they are forced to lead, practically cut off from the rest of the world. It is this thought which directs the policy of seclusion of their rulers, for they make a practice of working upon the ignorance and religious superstition of the people to influence them in any required direction.