Pashtunistan ( Pashto : پښتونستان , lit. 'land of the Pashtuns ')or Pakhtunistan is a historical region on the crossroads of Central and South Asia , located on the Iranian Plateau , inhabited by the Pashtun people of southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan , wherein Pashtun culture , the Pashto language , and identity have been based. Alternative names historically used for the region include Pashtūnkhwā or Pakhtūnkhwā ( پښتونخوا ), Pathānistān, or simply the Pashtun Belt .
205-769: During British rule in India in 1893, Mortimer Durand drew the Durand Line , fixing the limits of the spheres of influence between the Emirate of Afghanistan and British India during the Great Game and leaving about half of historical Pashtun territory under British colonial rule; after the partition of British India , the Durand Line now forms the internationally recognized border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The traditional Pashtun homeland stretches roughly from
410-410: A Jirga , summoning all tribal leaders who unanimously selected Ahmad Shah as king. A piece of wheat or barley was then placed on Ahmad Shah's turban. Singh cites this account, despite there being no contemporary evidence to suggest this occurred. In reality, Ahmad Shah was brought to power through a nine man military council. Ahmad Shah's accession was further disputed by Jamal Khan, the leader of
615-605: A Pashto TV channel in Pakistan . Pashto cinema is based out of the Pakistani city of Peshawar . The Pakistani city of Karachi is believed to host the largest concentration of Pashtuns. There are more than 19 million Pashtuns in Afghanistan, constituting 48% of the population. Other sources say that up to 60% of Afghanistan's population is made up of ethnic Pashtuns, forming the largest ethnic group in that country. Pashto
820-688: A founding member of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945 . India was a participating state in the Summer Olympics in 1900 , 1920 , 1928 , 1932 , and 1936 . The British Raj extended over almost all present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, except for small holdings by other European nations such as Goa and Pondicherry . This area is very diverse, containing the Himalayan mountains, fertile floodplains,
1025-578: A loya jirga was held in Afghanistan after a military aircraft from the Pakistan Air Force bombed a village on the Afghan side of the Durand Line. As a result of this violation, the Afghan government declared that it recognized "neither the imaginary Durand nor any similar line" and that all previous Durand Line agreements were void . Bacha Khan when took an oath of allegiance to Pakistan in 1948 in legislation assembly and during his speech he
1230-491: A regiment of Durrani tribesmen. Ahmad Shah's forces committed massacres and sacked Delhi alongside Nader Shah's forces in 1739. According to legend, Nizam ul-Mulk , the Mughal governor of Hyderabad , who was an expert in physiognomy , predicted that Ahmad Shah would become king. Nader Shah took notice of this and also believed in the prophecy, supposedly clipping a piece of Ahmad Shah's ears, and remarking "When you become
1435-547: A European woman, and ordinarily more problematic to imprison, was arrested in 1917. Now, as constitutional reform began to be discussed in earnest, the British began to consider how new moderate Indians could be brought into the fold of constitutional politics and, simultaneously, how the hand of established constitutionalists could be strengthened. However, since the Government of India wanted to ensure against any sabotage of
1640-631: A Railway Board; irrigation reform; reduction of peasant debts; lowering the cost of telegrams; archaeological research and the preservation of antiquities; improvements in the universities; police reforms; upgrading the roles of the Native States; a new Commerce and Industry Department; promotion of industry; revised land revenue policies; lowering taxes; setting up agricultural banks; creating an Agricultural Department; sponsoring agricultural research; establishing an Imperial Library; creating an Imperial Cadet Corps; new famine codes; and, indeed, reducing
1845-607: A champion of the emancipation of Indian women, took up the cause of widow remarriage, especially of Brahmin widows, later converted to Christianity. By 1900 reform movements had taken root within the Indian National Congress. Congress member Gopal Krishna Gokhale founded the Servants of India Society , which lobbied for legislative reform (for example, for a law to permit the remarriage of Hindu child widows), and whose members took vows of poverty, and worked among
2050-511: A commitment towards provincial autonomy for Pashtuns, which was already guaranteed by Pakistan's Constitution, but stripped by the Bhutto government when the One Unit scheme was introduced. Bacha Khan who previously strived greatly for Pashtunistan later on in 1980 during an interview with an Indian journalist, Haroon Siddiqui said that the "idea of Pashtunistan never helped Pashtuns. In fact it
2255-470: A committee chaired by a British judge, Sidney Rowlatt , and was tasked with investigating "revolutionary conspiracies", with the unstated goal of extending the government's wartime powers. The Rowlatt Committee comprised four British and two Indian members, including Sir Basil Scott and Diwan Bahadur Sir C. V. Kumaraswami Sastri , the present and future Chief Justices of the High Court of Bombay and
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#17327732207342460-564: A demand for Purna Swaraj ( Hindustani language : "complete independence"), or Purna Swarajya. The declaration was drafted by the Congress Working Committee , which included Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, and Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari . Gandhi subsequently led an expanded movement of civil disobedience, culminating in 1930 with the Salt Satyagraha , in which thousands of Indians defied the tax on salt, by marching to
2665-516: A force to halt the Afghans. As a result, Ahmad Shah led his forces to Tun and then Farah , where they defeated an army sent by Adel Shah. With Farah under his control, the Afghans proceeded to Grishk , and then Kandahar. While on-route to Kandahar, Ahmad Shah recovered a military convoy that contained the annual tribute from Sindh . The value of the treasure is disputed, but it's given within an estimate of 3,000,000–260,000,000 rupees. The convoy
2870-522: A king, this will remind you of me". Nader Shah also requested that Ahmad Shah be generous with his descendants. Nejatie is skeptical of the account. In 1744, Ahmad Shah was promoted to a personal staff of Nader Shah. In a campaign against the Ottomans , Ahmad Shah distinguished himself and was allowed to raise a contingent of 3–4,000 Durrani tribesmen by Nader Shah. Ahmad Shah's contingent became one of Nader Shah's most trusted, utilizing them to shatter
3075-629: A loyal supporter of Gandhi and go on to play a prominent role in the Indian independence movement. When Gandhi was ordered to leave by the local British authorities, he refused on moral grounds, setting up his refusal as a form of individual Satyagraha . Soon, under pressure from the Viceroy in Delhi who was anxious to maintain domestic peace during wartime, the provincial government rescinded Gandhi's expulsion order, and later agreed to an official enquiry into
3280-484: A more radical resolution which asked for the British to declare that it was their "aim and intention ... to confer self-government on India at an early date". Soon, other such rumblings began to appear in public pronouncements: in 1917, in the Imperial Legislative Council , Madan Mohan Malaviya spoke of the expectations the war had generated in India, "I venture to say that the war has put
3485-567: A new Iranian ruler; the military genius and commander Nader Shah . Besides Persian, Turkmen, and Caucasian forces, Nader was also accompanied by the young Ahmad Shah Durrani , and 4,000 well trained Abdali Pashtun troops from what is now Afghanistan. After the death of Nader Shah in 1747 and the disintegration of his massive empire, Ahmad Shah Durrani created his own large and powerful Durrani Empire , which included all of modern-day Afghanistan, North east Iran, Sindh, Punjab, Baluchistan and Kashmir. The famous couplet by Ahmad Shah Durrani describes
3690-402: A practical strategy adopted by the weak in the face of superior force; Satyagraha , on the other hand, was for him the "last resort of those strong enough in their commitment to truth to undergo suffering in its cause". Ahimsa or "non-violence", which formed the underpinning of Satyagraha , came to represent the twin pillar, with Truth, of Gandhi's unorthodox religious outlook on life. During
3895-572: A result of his civil liberties protests on behalf of the Indians in South Africa, Gandhi followed the advice of his mentor Gopal Krishna Gokhale and chose not to make any public pronouncements during the first year of his return, but instead spent the year travelling, observing the country at first hand, and writing. Earlier, during his South Africa sojourn, Gandhi, a lawyer by profession, had represented an Indian community, which, although small,
4100-658: A result of the reunification of Bengal in 1911, a decision that was seen as ill-disposed to Muslims. In the Lucknow Pact , the League joined the Congress in the proposal for greater self-government that was campaigned for by Tilak and his supporters; in return, the Congress accepted separate electorates for Muslims in the provincial legislatures as well as the Imperial Legislative Council. In 1916,
4305-560: A result, he chose to adopt a government style similar to the Mughals and Safavids , with his main idea of a government based off an absolute monarchy . A tribal council ruled in hand with Ahmad Shah as well, serving as a form of cabinet . However, Ahmad Shah had made the positions of his cabinet hereditary , thus making it difficult to dismiss advisors without causing conflict. Their roles, however, were mostly purely de-jure , and tasks were delegated to subordinates. The civil service of
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#17327732207344510-538: A result, the Afghans promised Shah Nawaz the position of governor of the Punjab if he accepted Durrani suzerainty. Shah Nawaz accepted this before the Mughal vizier promised to confirm him as governor if he opposed the Afghan invasion instead, which Shah Nawaz accepted. The betrayal saw Ahmad Shah dispatch Sabir Shah to try and convince Shah Nawaz once again. However, after diplomatically insulting Shah Nawaz, Sabir Shah
4715-598: A watershed in the imperial relationship between Britain and India. Shortly before the outbreak of war, the Government of India had indicated that they could furnish two divisions plus a cavalry brigade, with a further division in case of emergency. Some 1.4 million Indian and British soldiers of the British Indian Army took part in the war, primarily in Iraq and the Middle East . Their participation had
4920-545: A wider cultural fallout as news spread of how bravely soldiers fought and died alongside British soldiers, as well as soldiers from dominions like Canada and Australia. India's international profile rose during the 1920s, as it became a founding member of the League of Nations in 1920 and participated, under the name "Les Indes Anglaises" (British India), in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. Back in India, especially among
5125-464: Is also called Crown rule in India , or Direct rule in India . The region under British control was commonly called India in contemporaneous usage and included areas directly administered by the United Kingdom , which were collectively called British India , and areas ruled by indigenous rulers, but under British paramountcy , called the princely states . The region was sometimes called
5330-529: Is checked via military and has become much less common in comparison to the past. Depending on the source, the ethnic Pashtuns constitute 42-60% of the population of Afghanistan . In neighboring Pakistan they constitute 15.42 percent of the 200 million population , which does not include Pashtun diaspora in other Pakistani cities and provinces. In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan, Pashto speakers constitute above 73 percent of
5535-808: Is one of the official languages of Afghanistan , the Afghan National Anthem is recited in Pashto language and the Pashtun dress is the national dress of Afghanistan. Since the late 19th century, the traditional Pashtunistan region has gradually expanded to the Amu River in the north. However, most Pashtun living in north of the Helmand River tend to speak Dari instead of Pashto . Important government positions in Afghanistan have historically been held by Pashtuns. The Afghan Armed Forces
5740-641: The Afghan military across the poorly-demarcated Durand Line into the Pakistani Bajaur Agency in order to manipulate events in the region and press the Pashtunistan issue; these plans ultimately came to nothing after the Afghan troops were defeated by Pakistani irregular forces. In support of the quasi-invasion, the Afghan government engaged in an intense propaganda war via radio broadcasts. Pakistani government decided to retaliate against
5945-664: The Bannu Resolution , demanding that the Pashtuns be given a choice to have an independent state of Pashtunistan composing all Pashtun majority territories of British India, instead of being made to join the new state of Pakistan. However, the British Raj refused to comply with the demand of this resolution. The NWFP joined the Dominion of Pakistan as a result of the 1947 NWFP referendum , which had been boycotted by
6150-684: The Barakzai tribe. The Barakzai were the most powerful clan of the Durranis centered in the Kandahar and Helmand regions. The dispute over accession continued until an agreement was made where Jamal Khan would submit to Ahmad Shah as king, while Ahmad Shah would make Jamal Khan and his descendants Wazir . With an agreement reached, Sabir Shah, Ahmad Shah's advisor, took a piece of greenery or stalk and attached it to Ahmad Shah's cap, officially crowning him. Scholars state that Ahmad Shah's rise to power
6355-654: The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 added to the general jitters; the former among the population already experiencing economic woes, and the latter among government officials, fearing a similar revolution in India. To combat what it saw as a coming crisis, the government now drafted the Rowlatt committee's recommendations into two Rowlatt Bills . Although the bills were authorised for legislative consideration by Edwin Montagu, they were done so unwillingly, with
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6560-639: The Census of British India in 1871, which had for the first time estimated the populations in regions of the Muslim majority (for his part, Curzon's desire to court the Muslims of East Bengal had arisen from British anxieties ever since the 1871 census—and in light of the history of Muslims fighting them in the 1857 Mutiny and the Second Anglo-Afghan War —about Indian Muslims rebelling against
6765-637: The Durand Line Agreement was signed between Afghan "Iron" Amir Abdur Rahman and British Viceroy Mortimer Durand . In 1905, the North-West Frontier Province (today's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ) was created and roughly corresponded to Pashtun majority regions within the British domain. The FATA area was created to further placate the Pashtun tribesmen who never fully accepted British rule and were prone to rebellions, while
6970-634: The Government of India Act 1935 , which authorised the establishment of independent legislative assemblies in all provinces of British India, the creation of a central government incorporating both the British provinces and the princely states, and the protection of Muslim minorities. The future Constitution of independent India was based on this act. However, it divided the electorate into 19 religious and social categories, e.g., Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Depressed Classes, Landholders, Commerce and Industry, Europeans, Anglo-Indians, etc., each of which
7175-679: The High Court of Madras . It presented its report in July 1918 and identified three regions of conspiratorial insurgency: Bengal , the Bombay presidency , and the Punjab . To combat subversive acts in these regions, the committee unanimously recommended that the government use emergency powers akin to its wartime authority, which included the ability to try cases of sedition by a panel of three judges and without juries, exaction of securities from suspects, governmental overseeing of residences of suspects, and
7380-705: The Indian Empire , though not officially. The area of British India contained much of the present-day states of Pakistan , India , Bangladesh , and Myanmar (Burma) . This system of governance was instituted on 28 June 1858, when, after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , the rule of the East India Company was transferred to the Crown in the person of Queen Victoria (who, in 1876, was proclaimed Empress of India ). It lasted until 1947, when
7585-614: The Indo-Gangetic Plain , a long coastline, tropical dry forests, arid uplands, and the Thar Desert . In addition, at various times, it included Aden (from 1858 to 1937), Lower Burma (from 1858 to 1937), Upper Burma (from 1886 to 1937), British Somaliland (briefly from 1884 to 1898), and the Straits Settlements (briefly from 1858 to 1867). Burma was separated from India and directly administered by
7790-561: The Khudai Khidmatgar , started using the word "Pathanistan" to refer to the region, and later, the word "Pashtunistan" became more popular. The native or indigenous people of Pashtunistan are the Pashtuns (also known as Pakhtuns, Pathans and historically as ethnic Afghans ), an Iranic ethnic group. They are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and the second largest in Pakistan. The Pashtuns are concentrated mainly in
7995-557: The Minto–Morley Reforms , and more recently of the Congress-Muslim League Lucknow Pact, was reaffirmed, with seats being reserved for Muslims, Sikhs , Indian Christians , Anglo-Indians , and domiciled Europeans, in both provincial and Imperial legislative councils. The Montagu–Chelmsford reforms offered Indians the most significant opportunity yet for exercising legislative power, especially at
8200-542: The Musulmans of the Kohistan (the mountains), and how matters stood there, they said, "Don't call it Kohistan, but Afghanistan ; for there is nothing there but Afghans and disturbances." Thus it is clear that for this reason the people of the country call their home in their own language Afghanistan, and themselves Afghans . But it occurs to me, that when, under the rule of Muhammadan sovereigns, Musulmans first came to
8405-751: The Niedermayer–Hentig Mission , to join the Central Allies on behalf of the Caliph in a Jihad ; some revolutionaries, tribals, and Afghan leaders including a brother of the Amir named Nasrullah Khan were in favour of the delegation and wanted the Amir to declare Jihad. Kazim Bey carried a firman from the Khalifa in Persian. It was addressed to "the residents of Pathanistan ." It said that when
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8610-575: The Partition of Bengal , which was a strategy set out by Lord Curzon to weaken the nationalist movement, Tilak encouraged the Swadeshi movement and the Boycott movement. The movement consisted of the boycott of foreign goods and also the social boycott of any Indian who used foreign goods. The Swadeshi movement consisted of the usage of natively produced goods. Once foreign goods were boycotted, there
8815-688: The Second Anglo-Afghan War ) and the attempts to control the vernacular press (e.g. in the Vernacular Press Act of 1878 ). It was, however, Viceroy Lord Ripon 's partial reversal of the Ilbert Bill (1883), a legislative measure that had proposed putting Indian judges in the Bengal Presidency on equal footing with British ones, that transformed the discontent into political action. On 28 December 1885, professionals and intellectuals from this middle-class — many educated at
9020-438: The Soviet Union and economic downturn caused by the blockade imposed by Pakistan, Daoud Khan was forced to resign by King Zahir Shah . Under King Zahir Shah rule, relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan improved and Pakistan opened its border with Afghanistan. However, later on in 1973, Daoud Khan seized power from King Zahir Shah in a military Coup d'état and declared himself the first president of Afghanistan. After seizing
9225-478: The Soviet-Afghan War in Afghanistan, millions of Afghans including non-Pashtun people fled to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa . Pashtuns in Pakistan make up the second largest ethnic group after Punjabis with about 16% of the population, totaling over 30 million. This figure only includes the native Pashto speaking inhabitants of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Northern Balochistan, and does not include the Pathans settled in Punjab and Sindh who make up significant numbers alongside
9430-436: The Viceroy and the central government in New Delhi, other departments like public health, education, land-revenue, local self-government were transferred to the provinces. The provinces themselves were now to be administered under a new diarchical system, whereby some areas like education, agriculture, infrastructure development, and local self-government became the preserve of Indian ministers and legislatures, and ultimately
9635-449: The Yusufzai , Afridi , and Khattak . With Nasir Khan overwhelmed, he completely withdrew from Peshawar and fled to Delhi. Shah Nawaz Khan, the Mughal governor of the Punjab , opened correspondence with the Afghans after they had seized Peshawar. Shah Nawaz, having toppled his brother from power to assume control over the Punjab itself, was opposed by the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah , who refused to recognize him as governor. As
9840-473: The regent in Kandahar while he left on campaign, Ahmad Shah marched his army toward Ghazni only to be halted at Qalati Ghilji by his former allies, the Tokhi Ghilzai . Ahmad Shah stormed the fortress of Qalat, bringing the Tokhis to submission and annexing their lands over the following decades. Ahmad Shah continued to Ghazni, defeating the governor established there and conquering it with little opposition. Before advancing on Kabul, Ahmad Shah garnered
10045-447: The untouchable community . By 1905, a deep gulf opened between the moderates, led by Gokhale, who downplayed public agitation, and the new "extremists" who not only advocated agitation, but also regarded the pursuit of social reform as a distraction from nationalism. Prominent among the extremists was Bal Gangadhar Tilak , who attempted to mobilise Indians by appealing to an explicitly Hindu political identity, displayed, for example, in
10250-449: The " Now or Never " pamphlet stands for the second letter in "P a kistan". However, this name has failed to capture political support in the province. There was support, however, to rename North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) as Pakhtunkhwa (which translates as "area of Pashtuns"). Nasim Wali Khan (the wife of Khan Abdul Wali Khan) declared in an interview: "I want an identity. I want the name to change so that Pathans may be identified on
10455-566: The "Red Shirts") were members of a civil rights movement . Its leader Bacha Khan claimed to have been inspired by the Indian activist Mahatma Gandhi . While the Red Shirts were willing to work with the Indian National Congress from a political point of view, the Pashtuns living in the NWFP desired independence from India. However, the Bacha Khan wanted the Pashtuns areas in British India to remain part of United India instead of gaining independence. In June 1947, Mirzali Khan (Faqir of Ipi), Bacha Khan , and other Khudai Khidmatgars declared
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#173277322073410660-499: The "greatest general of Asia of his time". His birth name was Ahmad Khan, born into the Abdali tribe. After his accession to power in 1747, he became known as Ahmad Shah . His tribe also changed the name from Abdali, instead becoming the Durrani. Afghans often call him Ahmad Shāh Bābā , meaning "Ahmad Shah the Father ". In historical sources, his tribe name is interchangeably used between Abdali and Durrani, with other common names for him being Ahmad Shah Abdali. Ahmad Shah
10865-406: The 1942 Cripps Mission , and 1946 Cabinet Mission to India , the Afghan government made repeated attempts to ensure that any debate about the independence of India must include Afghanistan's role in the future of the NWFP . The British government wavered between reassuring the Afghan to the rejection of their role and insistence that NWFP was an integral part of British India. During World War II,
11070-401: The 7th century and began introducing Islam to the native Pashtun people. The Pashtunistan area later fell to the Turkish Ghaznavids whose main capital was at Ghazni , with Lahore serving as the second power house. The Ghaznavid Empire was then taken over by the Ghorids from today's Ghor , Afghanistan. The army of Genghis Khan arrived in the 13th century and began destroying cities in
11275-438: The Afghan army was routed with heavy casualties. Several Afghan army soldiers were also captured by Pakistani soldiers and they were paraded in front of international media which in turn caused embarrassment for Daoud Khan. As a consequence of Daoud Khan's actions, Pakistan closed its border with Afghanistan which caused economic crisis in Afghanistan. Because of continued resentment against Daoud's autocratic rule , close ties with
11480-399: The Afghan government's Pashtunistan policy by supporting Non-Pashtun opponents of the Afghan government including future Mujaheddin leaders like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Ahmad Shah Massoud . This operation was remarkably successful, and by 1977 the Afghan government of Daoud Khan was willing to settle all outstanding issues in exchange for a lifting of the ban on the National Awami Party and
11685-415: The Afghans, the Mughals were utterly defeated, and Shah Nawaz fled to Delhi . With the defeat of the Mughals, the Afghans entered Lahore , plundering and massacring the city. Thousands were also conscripted into the Afghan army, while the Mughals began mobilizing a larger army. Ahmad Shah left Lahore on 19 February with his army, beginning to advance on Delhi . The Afghans captured Sirhind and pressed
11890-547: The Afghans, while Pashtunistan is a reference to this land by its language. Mention of this land by the name of Afghanistan predates mention by the name of Pashtunistan, which has been mentioned by Ahmad Shah Durrani in his famous couplet, by 6th-century Indian astronomer Varāhamihira , 7th-century Chinese pilgrim Hiven Tsiang , 14th-century Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta , Mughal Emperor Babur , 16th-century historian Firishta and many others. The men of Kabull and Khilj also went home; and whenever they were questioned about
12095-418: The British Crown from 1937 until its independence in 1948. The Trucial States of the Persian Gulf and the other states under the Persian Gulf Residency were theoretically princely states as well as presidencies and provinces of British India until 1947 and used the rupee as their unit of currency. Among other countries in the region, Ceylon , which was referred to coastal regions and northern part of
12300-418: The British Raj was partitioned into two sovereign dominion states: the Union of India (later the Republic of India ) and Pakistan (later the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ). Later, the People's Republic of Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan. At the inception of the Raj in 1858, Lower Burma was already a part of British India; Upper Burma was added in 1886, and the resulting union, Burma ,
12505-456: The British and Indians—not just between British army officers and their Indian staff but in civilian life as well. The Indian army was completely reorganised: units composed of the Muslims and Brahmins of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh , who had formed the core of the rebellion, were disbanded. New regiments, like the Sikhs and Baluchis, composed of Indians who, in British estimation, had demonstrated steadfastness, were formed. From then on,
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#173277322073412710-419: The British as independent states. The Kingdom of Sikkim was established as a princely state after the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of 1861; however, the issue of sovereignty was left undefined. The Maldive Islands were a British protectorate from 1887 to 1965, but not part of British India. Although the Indian Rebellion of 1857 had shaken the British enterprise in India, it had not derailed it. Until 1857,
12915-408: The British subsequently widened participation in legislative councils with the Indian Councils Act of 1892 . Municipal Corporations and District Boards were created for local administration; they included elected Indian members. The Indian Councils Act 1909 , known as the Morley-Minto Reforms ( John Morley was the secretary of state for India, and Minto was viceroy)—gave Indians limited roles in
13120-476: The British were defeated, "His Majesty the Khalifa, in agreement with allied States, will acquire guarantee for independence of the united state of Pathanistan and will provide every kind of assistance to it. Thereafter, I will not allow any interference in the country of Pathanistan." (Ahmad Chagharzai; 1989; pp. 138–139). However the efforts failed and the Afghan Amir Habibullah Khan maintained Afghanistan's neutrality throughout World War I. Similarly, during
13325-459: The British, especially under Lord Dalhousie , had been hurriedly building an India which they envisaged to be on par with Britain itself in the quality and strength of its economic and social institutions. After the rebellion, they became more circumspect. Much thought was devoted to the causes of the rebellion and three main lessons were drawn. First, at a practical level, it was felt that there needed to be more communication and camaraderie between
13530-444: The British, such as the Punjab region and the Balochistan region . The Anglo-Afghan Wars were fought as part of the overall imperialistic Great Game that was waged between the Russian Empire and the British. Poor and landlocked, newly born Afghanistan was able to defend its territory and keep both sides at bay by using them against each other. In 1893, as part of a way for fixing the limit of their respective spheres of influence,
13735-497: The Congress primarily debated British policy toward India. Its debates created a new Indian outlook that held Great Britain responsible for draining India of its wealth. Britain did this, the nationalists claimed, by unfair trade, by the restraint on indigenous Indian industry, and by the use of Indian taxes to pay the high salaries of the British civil servants in India. Thomas Baring served as Viceroy of India 1872–1876. Baring's major accomplishments came as an energetic reformer who
13940-415: The Crown). In the three decades since, Muslim leaders across northern India had intermittently experienced public animosity from some of the new Hindu political and social groups. The Arya Samaj , for example, had not only supported Cow Protection Societies in their agitation, but also—distraught at the 1871 Census's Muslim numbers—organized "reconversion" events for the purpose of welcoming Muslims back to
14145-643: The Frontier tribes and has every intention of treating them generously, provided they abstain from outrages against the people of India." The Durand Line and Pashtunistan issues have been raised by different Afghan regimes in the past. However, it may no longer be a concern. Pashtuns are now so well integrated in Pakistani society that the majority will never opt for Pashtunistan or Afghanistan. Afghan-Pashtun refugees have been staying in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for more than 30 years. Threat perceptions about Afghanistan need re-evaluation so that suitable changes are made in our Afghan policy. Prominent 20th century proponents of
14350-545: The Government of India reporting 379 dead, with 1,100 wounded. The Indian National Congress estimated three times the number of dead. Dyer was removed from duty but he became a celebrated hero in Britain among people with connections to the Raj. Historians consider the episode was a decisive step towards the end of British rule in India. In 1920, after the British government refused to back down, Gandhi began his campaign of non-cooperation , prompting many Indians to return British awards and honours, to resign from
14555-470: The Hindu fold. In 1905, when Tilak and Lajpat Rai attempted to rise to leadership positions in the Congress, and the Congress itself rallied around the symbolism of Kali, Muslim fears increased. It was not lost on many Muslims, for example, that the rallying cry, "Bande Mataram", had first appeared in the novel Anand Math in which Hindus had battled their Muslim oppressors. Lastly, the Muslim elite, and among it Dacca Nawab , Khwaja Salimullah , who hosted
14760-463: The Indian National Congress surprised Raj officials, who previously had seen the Congress as a small elitist body. The British separated Burma Province from British India in 1937 and granted the colony a new constitution calling for a fully elected assembly, with many powers given to the Burmese, but this proved to be a divisive issue as a ploy to exclude Burmese from any further Indian reforms. With
14965-517: The Indian army was to remain unchanged in its organisation until 1947. The 1861 Census had revealed that the English population in India was 125,945. Of these only about 41,862 were civilians as compared with about 84,083 European officers and men of the Army. In 1880, the standing Indian Army consisted of 66,000 British soldiers, 130,000 Natives, and 350,000 soldiers in the princely armies. Second, it
15170-422: The Indian electorates, while others like irrigation, land-revenue, police, prisons, and control of media remained within the purview of the British governor and his executive council. The new Act also made it easier for Indians to be admitted into the civil services and the army officer corps. A greater number of Indians were now enfranchised, although, for voting at the national level, they constituted only 10% of
15375-531: The Khudai Khidmatgar movement, including Bacha Khan and then-chief minister Dr. Khan Sahib, as they were ditched by the leadership of Congress. About (99.02%) of the votes were cast in favor of Pakistan and only 2,874 (0.98%) in favor of India. The concept of Pashtunistan has varying meanings across Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, Pashtun nationalists look after the interests of the Pashtun ethnic group and have support only from them. They favor
15580-519: The League's first meeting in his mansion in Shahbag , was aware that a new province with a Muslim majority would directly benefit Muslims aspiring to political power. The first steps were taken toward self-government in British India in the late 19th century with the appointment of Indian counsellors to advise the British viceroy and the establishment of provincial councils with Indian members;
15785-530: The Muslim League had anywhere between 500 and 800 members and did not yet have the wider following among Indian Muslims that it enjoyed in later years; in the League itself, the pact did not have unanimous backing, having largely been negotiated by a group of "Young Party" Muslims from the United Provinces (UP), most prominently, two brothers Mohammad and Shaukat Ali , who had embraced
15990-474: The Pakistani government and military, thereby integrating Pashtuns into the Pakistani state and severely weakening secessionist sentiments to the point that by the mid-1960s, popular support for an independent Pashtunistan had all but disappeared. An important development in Pakistan during the Ayub period (1958–1969) was the gradual integration into Pakistani society and the military-bureaucratic establishment. It
16195-489: The Pan-Islamic cause; however, it did have the support of a young lawyer from Bombay, Muhammad Ali Jinnah , who was later to rise to leadership roles in both the League and the Indian independence movement. In later years, as the full ramifications of the pact unfolded, it was seen as benefiting the Muslim minority élites of provinces like UP and Bihar more than the Muslim majorities of Punjab and Bengal; nonetheless, at
16400-644: The Pashtun areas on the ground that it served as the Pashtun seat of power since 1709 with the rise of the Hotaki dynasty followed by the establishment of the Durrani Afghan Empire . According to historic sources, Afghan tribes did not appear in Peshawar valley until after 800 AD, when the Islamic conquest of this area took place. Agreements cited by the Afghan government as proof of their claim over
16605-488: The Pashtun tribes include Article 11 of the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1921 , which states: "The two contracting parties, being mutually satisfied themselves each regarding the goodwill of the other and especially regarding their benevolent intentions towards the tribes residing close to their respective boundaries, hereby undertake to inform each other of any future military operations which may appear necessary for
16810-611: The Pashtunistan cause have included Khan Abdul Wali Khan and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan . Ghaffar Khan stated in the Pakistan Constituent Assembly in 1948 that he simply wanted "the renaming of his province as Pashtunistan same like Punjab , Sindh and Baluchishtan are the names of provinces of Pakistan as ethno-linguistic names, Another name mentioned is Afghania where the initial "A" in Choudhary Rahmat Ali Khan's theory stated in
17015-591: The Pashtunistan region around Peshawar was invaded by Ranjit Singh and his Sikh army in the early part of the 19th century, but a few years later they were defeated by the British Raj , the new powerful empire which reached the Pashtunistan region from the east. Following the decline of the Durrani dynasty and the establishment of the new Barakzai dynasty in Afghanistan, the Pashtun domains began to shrink as they lost control over other parts of South Asia to
17220-580: The Pashtunistan wound". In 1979 under General Secretary Nur Muhammad Taraki the Khalqists regime in Afghanistan changed the official map to include NWFP and Balochistan as new "frontier provinces" of the DRA . The Khalqist regime also sought to make Pashto the sole language of the Afghan government and the lingua franca, they did so by undermining Dari . The Afghan anthem under the communist regime
17425-581: The Pashtuns are politically separated by the Durand Line between Pakistan and Afghanistan, many Pashtun tribes from the FATA area and the adjacent regions of Afghanistan, tend to ignore the border and cross back and forth with relative ease to attend weddings, family functions and take part in the joint tribal councils known as jirgas . Though this was common before the war on terror but after several military operations conducted in FATA, this cross border movement
17630-594: The Persian Safavids as their easternmost provinces. During the early 18th century, Pashtun tribes led by Mirwais Hotak successfully revolted against the Safavids in the city of Kandahar. In a chain of events, he declared Kandahar and other parts of what is now southern Afghanistan independent. By 1738 the Mughal Empire had been crushingly defeated and their capital sacked and looted by forces of
17835-466: The Province by the end of the 1960s. Afghanistan and Pashtun nationalists did not exploit Pakistan's vulnerability during the nation's 1965 and 1971 wars with India, and even backed Pakistan against a largely Hindu India. Further, had Pakistan been destabilized by India, nationalists would have had to fight against a much bigger country than Pakistan for their independence. Sardar Daoud Khan , who
18040-648: The Qizilbash by giving them districts in Chindawol and Murad Khani . With Kabul under his control, Ahmad Shah dispatched his Commander-in-chief , Jahan Khan, toward Peshawar with the intention of advancing as far as Attock . Jahan Khan quickly overran Jalalabad , and Nasir Khan was unable to create a significant defense at the Khyber Pass , forcing him to flee. The Afghan armies approached Peshawar, prompting many Pashtun tribes to declare for them, such as
18245-852: The Safavids in Loy Kandahar . The Pashtuns later achieved unity under the leadership of Ahmad Shah Durrani , who founded the Durrani dynasty and established the Afghan Empire in 1747. In the 19th century, however, the Afghan Empire lost large parts of its eastern territory to the Sikh Empire and later the British Empire . Many famous Indian independence activists emerged from the region include Abdul Ghaffar Khan and his anti colonial Khudai Khidmatgar movement to free
18450-518: The United Nations and the Food and Agricultural Organisation well into the 1970s. By 1880, a new middle class had arisen in India and spread thinly across the country. Moreover, there was a growing solidarity among its members, created by the "joint stimuli of encouragement and irritation". The encouragement felt by this class came from its success in education and its ability to avail itself of
18655-473: The United Provinces had been undertaken, had shown disloyalty, by, in many cases, fighting for their former landlords against the British. Consequently, no more land reforms were implemented for the next 90 years: Bengal and Bihar were to remain the realms of large land holdings (unlike the Punjab and Uttar Pradesh ). Third, the British felt disenchanted with Indian reaction to social change. Until
18860-466: The accompanying declaration, "I loathe the suggestion at first sight of preserving the Defence of India Act in peacetime to such an extent as Rowlatt and his friends think necessary." In the ensuing discussion and vote in the Imperial Legislative Council, all Indian members voiced opposition to the bills. The Government of India was, nevertheless, able to use of its "official majority" to ensure passage of
19065-478: The administration of the empire. This was further exasperated by Ahmad Shah when he gave the right of revenue collection to the highest bidder. The victors of these auctions, typically members of Ahmad Shah's own tribe, were completely free in taxing as much as they wished. While members of the Durrani tribe rapidly became rich, some landholders were forced into complete debt, forcing many to sell their lands or flee
19270-439: The advance, outmaneuvering Mughal forces until they were caught at Manupur , where they battled. The Afghan army pressed the attack until a catastrophe occurred in the form that the ammunition stores of the Afghan army caught fire and exploded, incinerating 1,000 men, and forcing a complete withdrawal from the battlefield. The Mughals did not pursue the Afghan army due to the death of Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah , and turmoil in
19475-540: The aim of reunification of Pashtuns areas was to increase the population of Pashtuns in Afghanistan. As a result, Daoud Khan was extremely unpopular with Non-Pashtun Afghans. Bacha Khan stated that "Daoud Khan only exploited the idea of reunification of Pashtun people to meet his own political ends". In 1960 and later in 1961, Daoud Khan made two attempts to capture Bajaur District in Khyber Pakthunkhwa , Pakistan. However, all of Daoud Khan attempts failed as
19680-487: The annual public Ganapati festivals that he inaugurated in western India. The viceroy, Lord Curzon (1899–1905), was unusually energetic in pursuit of efficiency and reform. His agenda included the creation of the North-West Frontier Province ; small changes in the civil services; speeding up the operations of the secretariat; setting up a gold standard to ensure a stable currency; creation of
19885-515: The areas south of the Amu River in Afghanistan to the areas west of the Indus River in Pakistan; it predominantly comprises the southwestern, eastern and some northern and western districts of Afghanistan, as well as most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Balochistan in Pakistan. The region is bordered by Punjab to the east, Balochistan to the south, Kohistan and Chitral to the north, and Hazarajat and Tajik-inhabited territory to
20090-401: The association the people have with the regional city of Kandahar: "Da Dili takht herauma cheh rayad kam zama da khkule Pukhtunkhwa da ghre saroona". Translation: "I forget the throne of Delhi when I recall the mountain peaks of my beautiful Pukhtunkhwa." The last Afghan Empire was established in 1747 and united all the different Pashtun tribes as well as many other ethnic groups. Parts of
20295-522: The benefits of that education such as employment in the Indian Civil Service . It came too from Queen Victoria's proclamation of 1858 in which she had declared, "We hold ourselves bound to the natives of our Indian territories by the same obligation of duty which bind us to all our other subjects." Indians were especially encouraged when Canada was granted dominion status in 1867 and established an autonomous democratic constitution. Lastly,
20500-557: The bills early in 1919. However, what it passed, in deference to the Indian opposition, was a lesser version of the first bill, which now allowed extrajudicial powers, but for a period of exactly three years and for the prosecution solely of "anarchical and revolutionary movements", dropping entirely the second bill involving modification the Indian Penal Code . Even so, when it was passed, the new Rowlatt Act aroused widespread indignation throughout India, and brought Gandhi to
20705-410: The burgeoning Indian markets. Unlike Britain, where the market risks for the infrastructure development were borne by private investors, in India, it was the taxpayers—primarily farmers and farm-labourers—who endured the risks, which, in the end, amounted to £50 million. Despite these costs, very little skilled employment was created for Indians. By 1920, with the fourth largest railway network in
20910-403: The camp. Withdrawing to Lahore, Ahmad Shah became aware that his nephew, Luqman Khan, who had been left as regent in Kandahar while he embarked on campaign, had revolted. Ahmad Shah immediately returned to Afghanistan , and marched on Kandahar. Durrani wrote a collection of odes in his native Pashto. He was also the author of several poems in Persian. One of his most famous Pashto poems
21115-662: The capital of his empire, and instead pursued military campaigns, returning only to restore stability after conflict. By the end of his reign, Ahmad Shah committed to over fifteen military campaigns, Nine of them being centered in India, three in Khorasan , and three in Afghan Turkestan . Weeks after Ahmad Shah's accession, Nasir Khan, the governor of Kabul , Ghazni , and Peshawar revolted against him. Ahmad Shah previously imprisoned Nasir Khan and ransomed him for an annual tribute of 500,000 rupees, and while Nasir Khan
21320-525: The case. Although the British planters eventually gave in, they were not won over to the farmers' cause, and thereby did not produce the optimal outcome of a Satyagraha that Gandhi had hoped for; similarly, the farmers themselves, although pleased at the resolution, responded less than enthusiastically to the concurrent projects of rural empowerment and education that Gandhi had inaugurated in keeping with his ideal of swaraj . The following year Gandhi launched two more Satyagrahas—both in his native Gujarat —one in
21525-462: The central and provincial legislatures. Upper-class Indians, rich landowners and businessmen were favoured. The Muslim community was made a separate electorate and granted double representation. The goals were quite conservative but they did advance the elective principle. The partition of Bengal was rescinded in 1911 and announced at the Delhi Durbar at which King George V came in person and
21730-433: The city of Patna , and dwelt there, the people of India (for that reason) called them Patans—but God knows! The Pashto name Pakhtunistan or Pashtunistan ( Pashto : پښتونستان ( Naskh ) ) evolved originally from the Indian word "Pathanistan" ( Hindustani : پٹھانستان ( Nastaleeq ) , पठानिस्तान ( Devanagari ) ). The concept of Pashtunistan was inspired by the term " Pakhtunkhwa ". British Indian leaders, including
21935-487: The city of Peshawar was directly administered as part of a British protectorate state with full integration into the federal rule of law with the establishment of civic amenities and the construction of railway, road infrastructure as well as educational institutes to bring the region at par with the developed world. During World War I, the Afghan government was contacted by the Ottoman Turkey and Germany , through
22140-581: The civil services, and to again boycott British goods. In addition, Gandhi reorganised the Congress, transforming it into a mass movement and opening its membership to even the poorest Indians. Although Gandhi halted the non-cooperation movement in 1922 after the violent incident at Chauri Chaura , the movement revived again, in the mid-1920s. The visit, in 1928, of the British Simon Commission , charged with instituting constitutional reform in India, resulted in widespread protests throughout
22345-412: The clock ... fifty years forward ... (The) reforms after the war will have to be such, ... as will satisfy the aspirations of her (India's) people to take their legitimate part in the administration of their own country." The 1916 Lucknow Session of the Congress was also the venue of an unanticipated mutual effort by the Congress and the Muslim League, the occasion for which was provided by
22550-628: The continuing distrust of Indians resulted in a declining base in terms of quality and quantity. By 1945 Indians were numerically dominant in the ICS and at issue was divided loyalty between the Empire and independence. The finances of the Raj depended on land taxes, and these became problematic in the 1930s. Epstein argues that after 1919 it became harder and harder to collect the land revenue. The Raj's suppression of civil disobedience after 1934 temporarily increased
22755-729: The country, but especially in the Madras Presidency and in regions like Sind and Gujarat that had hitherto been considered politically dormant by the Congress. Both leagues rapidly acquired new members—approximately thirty thousand each in a little over a year—and began to publish inexpensive newspapers. Their propaganda also turned to posters, pamphlets, and political-religious songs, and later to mass meetings, which not only attracted greater numbers than in earlier Congress sessions, but also entirely new social groups such as non- Brahmins , traders, farmers, students, and lower-level government workers. Although they did not achieve
22960-593: The country. Earlier, in 1925, non-violent protests of the Congress had resumed too, this time in Gujarat, and led by Patel, who organised farmers to refuse payment of increased land taxes; the success of this protest, the Bardoli Satyagraha , brought Gandhi back into the fold of active politics. At its annual session in Lahore , the Indian National Congress, under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru , issued
23165-419: The delineated Pashtunistan region is Pashto. Depending on the region other languages are also spoken such as Dari in Afghanistan and Gujari , Balochi , Hindko , and Urdu in Pakistan. The Pashtuns practice Pashtunwali , the indigenous culture of the Pashtuns, and this pre-Islamic identity remains significant for many Pashtuns and is one of the factors that have kept the Pashtunistan issue alive. Although
23370-507: The direct administration of India by the British crown and the technological change ushered in by the industrial revolution, had the effect of closely intertwining the economies of India and Great Britain. In fact many of the major changes in transport and communications (that are typically associated with Crown Rule of India) had already begun before the Mutiny. Since Dalhousie had embraced
23575-470: The effect of approximately doubling the index of overall prices in India between 1914 and 1920. Returning war veterans, especially in the Punjab, created a growing unemployment crisis, and post-war inflation led to food riots in Bombay, Madras, and Bengal provinces, a situation that was made only worse by the failure of the 1918–19 monsoon and by profiteering and speculation. The global influenza epidemic and
23780-750: The empire was dominated by the Qizilbash , as most of the Durrani elite were illiterate . The Qizilbash also significantly formed the major port of Ahmad Shah's bodyguard , counterbalancing other Durrani leaders and tribes. The complications and effectively divided government made the administration difficult to function, and caused ethnic tension between the Qizilbash and tribal council of Ahmad Shah. Further complications erupted in Ahmad Shah's administration over exempting his own tribe from taxation. Other Afghan tribes and ethnicities were discontent from such, as they were also devoid of being allowed to serve in
23985-418: The encouragement came from the work of contemporaneous Oriental scholars like Monier Monier-Williams and Max Müller , who in their works had been presenting ancient India as a great civilisation. Irritation, on the other hand, came not just from incidents of racial discrimination at the hands of the British in India, but also from governmental actions like the use of Indian troops in imperial campaigns (e.g. in
24190-544: The face of new strength demonstrated by the nationalists with the signing of the Lucknow Pact and the founding of the Home Rule leagues , and the realisation, after the disaster in the Mesopotamian campaign , that the war would likely last longer, the new viceroy, Lord Chelmsford , cautioned that the Government of India needed to be more responsive to Indian opinion. Towards the end of the year, after discussions with
24395-572: The forefront of the nationalist movement. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre or "Amritsar massacre", took place in the Jallianwala Bagh public garden in the predominantly Sikh northern city of Amritsar . After days of unrest Brigadier-General Reginald E.H. Dyer forbade public meetings and on Sunday 13 April 1919 fifty British Indian Army soldiers commanded by Dyer began shooting at an unarmed gathering of thousands of men, women, and children without warning. Casualty estimates vary widely, with
24600-563: The form predominantly of the Swadeshi ("buy Indian") campaign led by two-time Congress president, Surendranath Banerjee , and involved boycott of British goods. The rallying cry for both types of protest was the slogan Bande Mataram ("Hail to the Mother"), which invoked a mother goddess, who stood variously for Bengal, India, and the Hindu goddess Kali . Sri Aurobindo never went beyond
24805-533: The founding of the All-India Muslim League in Dacca . Although Curzon, by now, had resigned his position over a dispute with his military chief Lord Kitchener and returned to England, the League was in favour of his partition plan. The Muslim elite's position, which was reflected in the League's position, had crystallized gradually over the previous three decades, beginning with the revelations of
25010-401: The full control of their hereditary rulers, with no popular government. To prepare for elections Congress built up its grass roots membership from 473,000 in 1935 to 4.5 million in 1939. In the 1937 elections Congress won victories in seven of the eleven provinces of British India. Congress governments, with wide powers, were formed in these provinces. The widespread voter support for
25215-565: The government in London, he suggested that the British demonstrate their good faith—in light of the Indian war role—through a number of public actions, including awards of titles and honours to princes, granting of commissions in the army to Indians, and removal of the much-reviled cotton excise duty, but, most importantly, an announcement of Britain's future plans for India and an indication of some concrete steps. After more discussion, in August 1917,
25420-644: The government of Nazi Germany proposed an alliance with neutral Afghanistan in order to destabilize British control over the north-west of its domain in India. In return, the Afghans sought that NWFP and the Port of Karachi would be ceded to the Kingdom of Afghanistan with German military aid, so that it could gain valuable access to the Arabian Sea . Such a plan would require annexation of NWFP, Baluchistan and Sindh provinces. The Khudai Khidmatgars (also known as
25625-434: The governor of Kandahar and Ahmad Shah's uncle to secure complete power over the Durrani regiments. With the dispute over leadership concluded, Ahmad Shah commanded a force of over 6,000 Afghans. Following this, Ahmad Shah moved through Khabushan , advancing to Kashmar . While on-route, Ahmad Shah accumulated supplies for his army and proceeded toward Torbat-e Heydarieh , where they received news that Adel Shah had sent
25830-547: The ideas of Lōy Afghānistān or "Greater Afghanistan", and maintain an irredentist claim on the entire Pashtun-populated region. The Pashtunistan demand also served the cause of domestic Afghan politics, where several successive governments used the idea to strengthen "Pashtun ethnic support" for the state. This policy intensified ethno-linguistic rivalry between Pashtuns and non-Pashtuns in the country. These claims are contested in Pakistan, where Pashtun politics centers on political autonomy rather than irredentist politics. Since
26035-455: The indigenous culture of the Pashtuns, and this remains significant for many Pashtuns. Although the Pashtuns are politically separated by the Durand Line between Pakistan and Afghanistan, many Pashtun tribes from the FATA area and the adjacent regions of Afghanistan, tend to ignore the border and cross back and forth with relative ease to attend weddings, family functions and take part in the joint tribal councils known as jirgas . Depending on
26240-482: The instance of the remarriage of Hindu child widows). This was exemplified further in Queen Victoria's Proclamation released immediately after the rebellion. The proclamation stated that 'We disclaim alike our Right and Desire to impose Our Convictions on any of Our Subjects'; demonstrating official British commitment to abstaining from social intervention in India. In the second half of the 19th century, both
26445-487: The island at that time (now Sri Lanka ) was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens . These coastal regions were temporarily administered under Madras Presidency between 1793 and 1798, but for later periods the British governors reported to London, and it was not part of the Raj. The kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan , having fought wars with the British, subsequently signed treaties with them and were recognised by
26650-422: The kingdom, likely being bought up by the Durranis who had driven them to bankruptcy . Ahmad Shah instead focused on seeing himself as the successor of Nader Shah . Instead of establishing a capable administration, Ahmad Shah focused on wars and military campaigns to supply his treasury, with any downturns easily being covered by the treasures of war. Throughout his reign, he rarely spent his time in Kandahar ,
26855-499: The late 1940s with the dissolution of British India and independence of Pakistan , some rigid Pashtun nationalists proposed merging with Afghanistan or creating Pashtunistan as a future sovereign state for the local Pashtun inhabitants of the area. At first, Afghanistan became the only government to oppose the entry of Pakistan into the United Nations in 1947, although it was reversed a few months later. On July 26, 1949, when Afghanistan–Pakistan relations were rapidly deteriorating,
27060-545: The law when he edited the Bande Mataram magazine; it preached independence but within the bounds of peace as far as possible. Its goal was Passive Resistance. The unrest spread from Calcutta to the surrounding regions of Bengal when students returned home to their villages and towns. Some joined local political youth clubs emerging in Bengal at the time, some engaged in robberies to fund arms, and even attempted to take
27265-548: The leaders of the Indian National Congress , the war led to calls for greater self-government for Indians. At the onset of World War I, the reassignment of most of the British army in India to Europe and Mesopotamia , had led the previous viceroy, Lord Harding , to worry about the "risks involved in denuding India of troops". Revolutionary violence had already been a concern in British India; consequently, in 1915, to strengthen its powers during what it saw
27470-412: The lives of Raj officials. However, the conspiracies generally failed in the face of intense police work. The Swadeshi boycott movement cut imports of British textiles by 25%. The swadeshi cloth, although more expensive and somewhat less comfortable than its Lancashire competitor, was worn as a mark of national pride by people all over India. The overwhelming, but predominantly Hindu, protest against
27675-561: The magnitude or character of a nationwide mass movement, the Home Rule leagues both deepened and widened organised political agitation for self-rule in India. The British authorities reacted by imposing restrictions on the Leagues, including shutting out students from meetings and banning the two leaders from travelling to certain provinces. The year 1915 also saw the return of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to India. Already known in India as
27880-528: The maintenance of order among the frontier tribes residing within their respective spheres before the commencement of such operations." A supplementary letter to the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1921 reads: "As the conditions of the Frontier tribes of the two governments are of interest to the Government of Afghanistan. I inform you that the British government entertains feelings of goodwill towards all
28085-569: The map of Pakistan..." On 31 March 2010, Pakistan's Constitutional Reform Committee agreed that the province be named and recognized as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa . This is now the official name for the former NWFP. British Raj The British Raj ( / r ɑː dʒ / RAHJ ; from Hindustani rāj , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent , lasting from 1858 to 1947. It
28290-645: The native communities of these two provinces. In addition, there are 1.7 million Afghan refugees of whom majority are Pashtuns. These refugees, however, are expected to leave Pakistan and settle in Afghanistan in the coming years. Three Pakistani presidents belonged to the Pashtun ethnic group. Pashtuns continue to occupy important places in the military and politics, with the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan who leads Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Awami National Party led by Asfandyar Wali . In addition to this, some Pashtun media, music and cultural activities are based out of Pakistan, with AVT Khyber being
28495-429: The new British-founded universities in Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras, and familiar with the ideas of British political philosophers, especially the utilitarians assembled in Bombay — founded the Indian National Congress . The 70 men elected Womesh Chunder Bonerjee as the first president. The membership consisted of a westernised elite, and no effort was made at this time to broaden the base. During its first 20 years,
28700-482: The new Liberal secretary of state for India, Edwin Montagu , announced the British aim of "increasing association of Indians in every branch of the administration, and the gradual development of self-governing institutions, with a view to the progressive realisation of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British Empire". Although the plan envisioned limited self-government at first only in
28905-629: The newly canalled Punjab, led to increased food production for internal consumption. The railway network provided critical famine relief, notably reduced the cost of moving goods, and helped nascent Indian-owned industry. After, the Great Famine of 1876–1878 , The Indian Famine Commission report was issued in 1880, and the Indian Famine Codes , the earliest famine scales and programmes for famine prevention, were instituted. In one form or other, they would be implemented worldwide by
29110-596: The north while the Pashtun territory was defended by the Khalji dynasty of Delhi . In the 14th and 15th century, the Timurid dynasty was in control of the nearby cities and towns, until Babur captured Kabul in 1504. During the Delhi Sultanate era, the region was ruled by mainly Afghan and various, largely Sunni, Hanafi-jurisprudential driven Turkic dynasties from Delhi , India. An early Pashtun nationalist
29315-548: The outbreak of World War II in 1939, the viceroy, Lord Linlithgow , declared war on India's behalf without consulting Indian leaders, leading the Congress provincial ministries to resign in protest. The Muslim League, in contrast, supported Britain in the war effort and maintained its control of the government in three major provinces, Bengal, Sind and the Punjab. Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( Pashto : احمد شاه دراني ; Persian : احمد شاه درانی ), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī ( Pashto : احمد شاه ابدالي ),
29520-474: The partition of Bengal and the fear in its wake of reforms favouring the Hindu majority, led the Muslim elite in India to meet with the new viceroy, Lord Minto in 1906 and to ask for separate electorates for Muslims. In conjunction, they demanded proportional legislative representation reflecting both their status as former rulers and their record of cooperating with the British. This led, in December 1906, to
29725-511: The population as of 1998. Since the 2nd millennium BC , the region now inhabited by the native Pashtun people had been conquered by Ancient Iranian peoples , the Medes , Achaemenids , Greeks , Mauryas , Kushans , Hephthalites , Sasanians , Arab Muslims , Turks , Mughals , and others. In recent age, people of the Western world have nominally explored the area. Arab Muslims arrived in
29930-483: The power for provincial governments to arrest and detain suspects in short-term detention facilities and without trial. With the end of World War I, there was also a change in the economic climate. By the end of 1919, 1.5 million Indians had served in the armed services in either combatant or non-combatant roles, and India had provided £146 million in revenue for the war. The increased taxes coupled with disruptions in both domestic and international trade had
30135-409: The power of his other commanders due to his perception that they were planning to rebel or kill him. In June 1747, Nader Shah was convinced that his personal guard intended to assassinate him. As a result, he summoned Ahmad Shah and other loyal commanders. Nader Shah ordered Ahmad Shah to assemble his Durrani regiments, and to arrest his personal guard. If the personal guard resisted, Ahmad Shah
30340-577: The power of the revenue agents but after 1937 they were forced by the new Congress-controlled provincial governments to hand back confiscated land. Again the outbreak of war strengthened them, in the face of the Quit India movement the revenue collectors had to rely on military force and by 1946–47 direct British control was rapidly disappearing in much of the countryside. In 1935, after the Round Table Conferences, Parliament passed
30545-651: The power, the Daoud Khan's government started proxy war against Pakistan. Daoud Khan's government established several training camps for anti-Pakistani militants in Kabul and Kandahar with the aim of training and arming those militants to carry out their activities against Pakistan. On the other hand, Mirzali Khan and his followers continued their guerilla war against the Pakistani government from their base in Gurwek . In 1960, Afghan Prime Minister Mohammed Daoud Khan sent
30750-427: The provinces—with India emphatically within the British Empire—it represented the first British proposal for any form of representative government in a non-white colony. Montagu and Chelmsford presented their report in July 1918 after a long fact-finding trip through India the previous winter. After more discussion by the government and parliament in Britain, and another tour by the Franchise and Functions Committee for
30955-515: The provincial level; however, that opportunity was also restricted by the still limited number of eligible voters, by the small budgets available to provincial legislatures, and by the presence of rural and special interest seats that were seen as instruments of British control. Its scope was unsatisfactory to the Indian political leadership, famously expressed by Annie Besant as something "unworthy of England to offer and India to accept". In 1917, as Montagu and Chelmsford were compiling their report,
31160-494: The purpose of identifying who among the Indian population could vote in future elections, the Government of India Act 1919 (also known as the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms ) was passed in December 1919. The new Act enlarged both the provincial and Imperial legislative councils and repealed the Government of India's recourse to the "official majority" in unfavourable votes. Although departments like defence, foreign affairs, criminal law, communications, and income-tax were retained by
31365-401: The rebellion, they had enthusiastically pushed through social reform, like the ban on sati by Lord William Bentinck . It was now felt that traditions and customs in India were too strong and too rigid to be changed easily; consequently, no more British social interventions were made, especially in matters dealing with religion, even when the British felt very strongly about the issue (as in
31570-464: The reform process by extremists, and since its reform plan was devised during a time when extremist violence had ebbed as a result of increased governmental control, it also began to consider how some of its wartime powers could be extended into peacetime. After the 1906 split between the moderates and the extremists in the Indian National Congress , organised political activity by the Congress had remained fragmented until 1914, when Bal Gangadhar Tilak
31775-453: The region from British control. In 1969, the autonomous princely states of Swat , Dir , Chitral , and Amb were merged into the Pakistani NWFP. In 2018, the Pashtun-majority Federally Administered Tribal Areas , formerly an autonomous buffer zone with Afghanistan, were also merged into the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (previously known as the NWFP), fully integrating the region with Pakistan proper. The Pashtuns practice Pashtunwali ,
31980-414: The removal of untouchability from Indian society; and the exercise of swadeshi —the boycott of manufactured foreign goods and the revival of Indian cottage industry . The first two, he felt, were essential for India to be an egalitarian and tolerant society, one befitting the principles of Truth and Ahimsa , while the last, by making Indians more self-reliant, would break the cycle of dependence that
32185-425: The royal enclosure and entered Nader Shah's tent, assassinating him. Chaos ensued following the assassination, and plans to coverup by the conspirators failed. They resorted to pillaging the royal enclosure while news of Nader Shah's death rapidly spread. The next morning, the royal guard attacked Ahmad Shah's forces, who despite being heavily outnumbered, drove the Persians and Qizilbash off. Ahmad Shah then entered
32390-450: The rural Kaira district where land-owning farmers were protesting increased land-revenue and the other in the city of Ahmedabad , where workers in an Indian-owned textile mill were distressed about their low wages. The satyagraha in Ahmedabad took the form of Gandhi fasting and supporting the workers in a strike, which eventually led to a settlement. In Kaira, in contrast, although the farmers' cause received publicity from Gandhi's presence,
32595-409: The satyagraha itself, which consisted of the farmers' collective decision to withhold payment, was not immediately successful, as the British authorities refused to back down. The agitation in Kaira gained for Gandhi another lifelong lieutenant in Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel , who had organised the farmers, and who too would go on to play a leadership role in the Indian independence movement. In 1916, in
32800-430: The sea and making their own salt by evaporating seawater. Although, many, including Gandhi, were arrested, the British government eventually gave in, and in 1931 Gandhi travelled to London to negotiate new reform at the Round Table Conferences . In local terms, British control rested on the Indian Civil Service (ICS), but it faced growing difficulties. Fewer and fewer young men in Britain were interested in joining, and
33005-524: The service of Nader Shah. Accompanying him on his invasion of India , Ahmad Shah was later resettled in Mazandaran alongside his brother. Iranica states that Ahmad Shah may have become the governor of Mazandaran. After the death of his brother, Ahmad Shah enlisted in the Afsharid military in 1742. Some sources suggest that it was only Zulfiqar Khan that left for Mazandaran, while Ahmad Shah remained in Nader Shah's service as an officer. During Nader Shah's invasion of India, Ahmad Shah personally commanded
33210-442: The smoke nuisance in Calcutta. Trouble emerged for Curzon when he divided the largest administrative subdivision in British India, the Bengal Province , into the Muslim-majority province of Eastern Bengal and Assam and the Hindu-majority province of West Bengal (present-day Indian states of West Bengal , Bihar , and Odisha ). Curzon's act, the Partition of Bengal , had been contemplated by various colonial administrations since
33415-430: The source, the ethnic Pashtuns constitute 42-60% of the population of Afghanistan . In neighboring Pakistan they constitute 18 percent of over the 241 million population , which does not include Pashtun diaspora in other Pakistani cities and provinces. The name used for the region during the Middle Ages and up until the 20th century was Afghanistan . Afghanistan is a reference to this land by its ethnicity, which were
33620-433: The south and east of Afghanistan but also exist in northern and western parts of the country as a minority group. In Pakistan they are concentrated in the west and north-west, inhabiting mainly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Balochistan . In addition, communities of Pashtuns are found in other parts of Pakistan such as Sindh , Punjab , Gilgit-Baltistan and in the nation's capital, Islamabad . The main language spoken in
33825-399: The superiority of this new form of organised agitation, which had achieved some success in the Irish home rule movement , over the political violence that had intermittently plagued the subcontinent during the years 1907–1914. The two Leagues focused their attention on complementary geographical regions: Tilak's in western India, in the southern Bombay presidency , and Besant's in the rest of
34030-410: The support of the Suleimankhel tribes in the region, while Taqi Khan managed to procure the defection of the Qizilbash garrison in Kabul, so that once the Afghan army would arrive, they'd hand over the city. The acceptance of these terms forced Nasir Khan to flee to Peshawar, and when Ahmad Shah arrived at Kabul in October 1747, the Qizilbash handed over the Bala Hissar fortress. Ahmad Shah awarded
34235-475: The technological change then rampant in Great Britain, India too saw the rapid development of all those technologies. Railways, roads, canals, and bridges were rapidly built in India, and telegraph links were equally rapidly established so that raw materials, such as cotton, from India's hinterland, could be transported more efficiently to ports, such as Bombay , for subsequent export to England. Likewise, finished goods from England, were transported back for sale in
34440-419: The tent of Nader Shah, taking the Koh-i-Noor diamond and a signet ring from his body. Having driven off the Persians and Qizilbash, Ahmad Shah departed for Kandahar with his regiments, and his Uzbek ally , Hajji Bi Ming. Ahmad Shah first settled the dispute of leadership, asserting himself as the leader of Durrani tribesmen by forcing the former leader to step down. Ahmad Shah also killed 'Abd al-Ghani Khan,
34645-442: The then president of Afghanistan, Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan recognised Durand Line as international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He made this declaration while he was on an official visit to Islamabad , Pakistan . Daoud would be overthrown by Khalqist military officers in 1978 leading to the formation of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan which was dominated by Pashtun Khalqists who would go on to "reopen
34850-405: The time of Lord William Bentinck, but was never acted upon. Though some considered it administratively felicitous, it was communally charged. It sowed the seeds of division among Indians in Bengal, transforming nationalist politics as nothing else before it. The Hindu elite of Bengal, among them many who owned land in East Bengal that was leased out to Muslim peasants, protested fervidly. Following
35055-417: The time, the "Lucknow Pact" was an important milestone in nationalistic agitation and was seen as such by the British. During 1916, two Home Rule Leagues were founded within the Indian National Congress by Tilak and Annie Besant , respectively, to promote Home Rule among Indians, and also to elevate the stature of the founders within the Congress itself. Besant, for her part, was also keen to demonstrate
35260-541: The total adult male population, many of whom were still illiterate. In the provincial legislatures, the British continued to exercise some control by setting aside seats for special interests they considered cooperative or useful. In particular, rural candidates, generally sympathetic to British rule and less confrontational, were assigned more seats than their urban counterparts. Seats were also reserved for non-Brahmins, landowners, businessmen, and college graduates. The principal of "communal representation", an integral part of
35465-411: The wartime partnership between Germany and Turkey. Since the Turkish Sultan , or Khalifah , had also sporadically claimed guardianship of the Islamic holy sites of Mecca , Medina , and Jerusalem , and since the British and their allies were now in conflict with Turkey, doubts began to increase among some Indian Muslims about the "religious neutrality" of the British, doubts that had already surfaced as
35670-461: The west. The 16th-century revolutionary leader Bayazid Pir Roshan of Waziristan and the 17th-century "warrior-poet" Khushal Khan Khattak assembled Pashtun armies to fight against the Mughal Empire in the region. During this time, the eastern parts of Pashtunistan were ruled by the Mughals while the western parts were ruled by Safavid Iran . Pashtunistan first gained an autonomous status in 1709, when Mirwais Hotak successfully revolted against
35875-494: The whims of those markets, lost land, animals, and equipment to money-lenders. The latter half of the 19th century also saw an increase in the number of large-scale famines in India . Although famines were not new to the subcontinent, these were particularly severe, with tens of millions dying, and with many critics, both British and Indian, laying the blame at the doorsteps of the lumbering colonial administrations. There were also salutary effects: commercial cropping, especially in
36080-418: The world and a history of 60 years of its construction, only ten per cent of the "superior posts" in the Indian Railways were held by Indians. The rush of technology was also changing the agricultural economy in India: by the last decade of the 19th century, a large fraction of some raw materials—not only cotton, but also some food-grains—were being exported to faraway markets. Many small farmers, dependent on
36285-521: The world, زما به هېر نه سي دا ستا ښکلي باغونه I will never forget your beautiful gardens د ډیلي تخت هېرومه چې را ياد کړم I forget the throne of Delhi when I remember, زما د ښکلي پښتونخوا د غرو سرونه The mountain tops of my beautiful Pashtunkhwa د فريد او د حميد دور به بيا سي The eras of Farid [Sher Shah Suri] and Hamid [Lodi] will return, چې زه وکاندم پر هر لوري تاختونه When I launch attacks on all sides که تمامه دنيا يو خوا ته بل خوا يې If I must choose between
36490-444: The years 1907–1914, Gandhi tested the technique of Satyagraha in a number of protests on behalf of the Indian community in South Africa against the unjust racial laws. Also, during his time in South Africa, in his essay, Hind Swaraj , (1909), Gandhi formulated his vision of Swaraj , or "self-rule" for India based on three vital ingredients: solidarity between Indians of different faiths, but most of all between Hindus and Muslims;
36695-432: Was Love of a Nation : ستا د عشق له وينو ډک سول ځيګرونه By blood, we are immersed in love of you ستا په لاره کښې بايلي زلمي سرونه The youth lose their heads for your sake تا ته راسمه زړګی زما فارغ سي I come to you and my heart finds rest بې له تا مې اندېښنې د زړه مارونه Away from you, grief clings to my heart like a snake که هر څو مې د دنيا ملکونه ډېر سي Whatever countries I conquer in
36900-466: Was a gap which had to be filled by the production of those goods in India itself. Bal Gangadhar Tilak said that the Swadeshi and Boycott movements are two sides of the same coin. The large Bengali Hindu middle-class (the Bhadralok ), upset at the prospect of Bengalis being outnumbered in the new Bengal province by Biharis and Oriyas, felt that Curzon's act was punishment for their political assertiveness. The pervasive protests against Curzon's decision took
37105-415: Was a period of Pakistan's political history which saw a large number of ethnic Pashtuns holding high positions in the military and the bureaucracy. Ayub himself was a non-Pashto speaking ethnic Pashtun belonging to the Tarin sub-tribe of the Hazara District in the Frontier. The growing participation of Pashtuns in the Pakistani Government resulted in the erosion of the support for the Pashtunistan movement in
37310-427: Was a time of increased vulnerability, the Government of India passed the Defence of India Act 1915 , which allowed it to intern politically dangerous dissidents without due process, and added to the power it already had under the Indian Press Act of 1910 to imprison journalists without trial and to censor the press. It was under the Defence of India act that the Ali brothers were imprisoned in 1916, and Annie Besant ,
37515-422: Was administered as an autonomous province until 1937, when it became a separate British colony, gaining its own independence in 1948. It was renamed Myanmar in 1989. The Chief Commissioner's Province of Aden was also part of British India at the inception of the British Raj, and became a separate colony known as Aden Colony in 1937 as well. As India , it was a founding member of the League of Nations , and
37720-405: Was also felt that both the princes and the large land-holders, by not joining the rebellion, had proved to be, in Lord Canning's words, "breakwaters in a storm". They too were rewarded in the new British Raj by being integrated into the British-Indian political system and having their territories guaranteed. At the same time, it was felt that the peasants, for whose benefit the large land reforms of
37925-498: Was also traditionally dominated by Pashtuns however the fall of the Najibullah regime in 1992 led to the creation of the Tajik dominated Islamic State of Afghanistan . The majority of the Afghan Taliban are ethnic Pashtuns, with past Pashtun leaders such as Mullah Mohammed Omar , Mohammad Rabbani and Jalaluddin Haqqani . The current leaders of the Taliban include Pashtuns such as Abdul Kabir , Hibatullah Akhundzada and Sirajuddin Haqqani . Afghanistan makes its claim on
38130-426: Was asked by PM Liaquat Ali Khan about Pashtunistan to which he replied that it's just a name to the Pashtun province in Pakistan same like Punjab , Bengal , Sindh and Baluchishtan are the names of provinces of Pakistan as ethno-linguistic names, contrary to what he believed and strived for Pashtunistan an independent state. During the 1950s to the late 1960s, Pashtuns were promoted to higher positions within
38335-488: Was attempting to raise this amount, the Ghilzai tribes refused to pay their taxes toward the Durranis , and only wished to do so to their Mughal sovereign, Muhammad Shah . With a growing Ghilzai revolt, Nasir Khan declared his independence from Durrani suzerainty and began raising an army of Uzbeks and Hazaras , while also frantically asking Muhammad Shah for aid. In Autumn of 1747, Ahmad Shah began his campaign against Nasir Khan. Appointing his nephew Luqman Khan as
38540-426: Was born between 1720–1722 in either Herat , Afghanistan , or Multan , Pakistan . Sources are disputed on where he was born. Contemporary scholarship came to the consensus that Ahmad Shah was born in Multan, but this is disputed by Nejatie, who states that the majority of sources from Ahmad Shah's time state that he was born in Herat, rather than Multan, including the Tarikh-i Ahmad Shahi . His father, Zaman Khan,
38745-455: Was crowned Emperor of India . He announced the capital would be moved from Calcutta to Delhi. This period saw an increase in the activities of revolutionary groups , which included Bengal's Anushilan Samiti and the Punjab's Ghadar Party . However, the British authorities were able to crush violent rebels swiftly, partly because the mainstream of educated Indian politicians opposed violent revolution. The First World War would prove to be
38950-461: Was dedicated to upgrading the quality of government in the British Raj. He began large scale famine relief, reduced taxes, and overcame bureaucratic obstacles in an effort to reduce both starvation and widespread social unrest. Although appointed by a Liberal government, his policies were much the same as viceroys appointed by Conservative governments. Social reform was in the air by the 1880s. For example, Pandita Ramabai , poet, Sanskrit scholar, and
39155-526: Was effectively a military coup , rather than an election. Following his accession, Ahmad Shah adopted the epithet "Durr-i Durrān", meaning "Pearl of Pearls", also changing his tribes name from Abdali to Durrani . At the beginning of his rule, Ahmad Shah's empire consisted of Kandahar , Helmand , and Farah . The Hazaras of the Bala Murghab and Nasir Khan I of Kalat also rested under Afghan suzerainty. However, Ahmad Shah had no administrative experience, nor did much of his closest advisors. As
39360-601: Was escorted by Mohammad Taqi Khan Shirazi , a disgruntled former officer of Nader Shah, and Nasir Khan, the governor of Kabul and Peshawar . Taqi Khan joined Ahmad Shah and divided the wealth, while Nasir Khan refused and was imprisoned. Later, he was ransomed on the conditions of an annual tribute of 500,000 rupees, and that he would enter Ahmad Shah's suzerainty. The army of Ahmad Shah grew to over 18,000 men, also including war elephants . Upon reaching Kandahar, Ahmad Shah established camp in Naderabad and prepared to be crowned as King. According to legend, Ahmad Shah declared
39565-427: Was given permission to kill them all. He was ordered to do this at first light. Nader Shah then chose to sleep with his favorite wife, but did so outside the royal tent, where the same guards he accused of treachery presumed night duty , while Ahmad Shah with his regiments were established at the defenses of the camp. News of Nader Shah's plan leaked, with the conspirators being forced to act. Four conspirators entered
39770-474: Was given separate representation in the Provincial Legislative Assemblies. A voter could cast a vote only for candidates in his own category. The 1935 Act provided for more autonomy for Indian provinces, with the goal of cooling off nationalist sentiment. The act provided for a national parliament and an executive branch under the purview of the British government, but the rulers of the princely states managed to block its implementation. These states remained under
39975-399: Was imprisoned and executed, and Shah Nawaz began marching against the Afghan army. Ahmad Shah crossed the Ravi River on 10 January, and established himself at the Shalimar Gardens , outside of Lahore . The armies of Shah Nawaz and Ahmad Shah began battle on 11 January, and as the battle began, the Afghan regiments of Shah Nawaz's army defected. Despite commanding a much larger army then
40180-403: Was invited by a group of disgruntled tenant farmers who, for many years, had been forced into planting indigo (for dyes) on a portion of their land and then selling it at below-market prices to the British planters who had leased them the land. Upon his arrival in the district, Gandhi was joined by other agitators, including a young Congress leader, Rajendra Prasad , from Bihar, who would become
40385-431: Was never a reality". He further said that "successive Afghan governments have exploited the idea for their own political ends". It was only towards the end of Mohammed Daoud Khan regime that he stopped talking about Pashtunistan. Later on, even Nur Muhammad Taraki also talked about the idea of Pashtunistan and caused trouble for Pakistan. He also said that "Pashtun people greatly suffered because of all this." In 1976,
40590-406: Was only in Pashto and not Dari with non-Pashtuns being required to sing it in Pashto . Up until the overthrow of Dr Najibullah's Homeland Party regime in 1992, Afghan governments had favored Pashto in the media and over 50% of Afghan media was in Pashto. After 1992 with the formation of the Tajik led Islamic State of Afghanistan , this number dropped drastically. Following the outbreak of
40795-420: Was perpetuating not only the direction and tenor of the British rule in India, but also the British commitment to it. At least until 1920, the British presence itself was not a stumbling block in Gandhi's conception of swaraj ; rather, it was the inability of Indians to create a modern society. Gandhi made his political debut in India in 1917 in Champaran district in Bihar , near the Nepal border, where he
41000-420: Was released from prison and began to sound out other Congress leaders about possible reunification. That, however, had to wait until the demise of Tilak's principal moderate opponents, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Pherozeshah Mehta , in 1915, whereupon an agreement was reached for Tilak's ousted group to re-enter the Congress. In the 1916 Lucknow session of the Congress, Tilak's supporters were able to push through
41205-425: Was sufficiently diverse to be a microcosm of India itself. In tackling the challenge of holding this community together and simultaneously confronting the colonial authority, he had created a technique of non-violent resistance, which he labelled Satyagraha (or Striving for Truth). For Gandhi, Satyagraha was different from " passive resistance ", by then a familiar technique of social protest, which he regarded as
41410-420: Was the "Warrior-poet" Khushal Khan Khattak , who was imprisoned by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb for trying to incite the Pashtuns to rebel against the rule of the Mughals. However, despite sharing a common language and believing in a common ancestry, the Pashtuns first achieved unity in the 18th century. The eastern parts of Pashtunistan were ruled by the Mughal Empire , while the western parts were ruled by
41615-460: Was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan . Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought over fifteen major military campaigns. Nine of them being centered in India, three in Khorasan , and three in Afghan Turkestan . A brilliant military leader and tactician, Ahmad Shah is typically compared to rulers such as Mahmud of Ghazni , Babur , and as well as Nader Shah . He has also been referred to as
41820-591: Was the ruler of the Sadozai Sultanate of Herat . Zaman Khan had died in 1721, leading to Ahmad Shah being raised alongside his brother Zulfiqar Khan in Shindand and Farah . In the mid 1720s, Zulfiqar Khan was invited to rule Herat. Nothing else is heard of Ahmad Shah until 1731–1732, when Zulfiqar Khan was defeated by Nader Shah , forcing both Zulfiqar Khan and Ahmad Shah to flee to Kandahar , where they remained political prisoners of Hussain Hotak . After Nader Shah conquered Kandahar , Ahmad Shah and Zulfiqar Khan were freed. Ahmad Shah spent much of his early life in
42025-429: Was the-then prime minister of Afghanistan supported a nationalistic reunification of the Pashtuns in Pakistan with Afghanistan. He wanted Pashtun-dominated areas like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baloch-dominated areas like Balochistan to become part of Afghanistan. However, his policy of reunification of Pashtuns antagonized Non-Pashtuns like Tajiks , Uzbeks and Hazaras living in Afghanistan. Non-Pashtuns believed that
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