FALL OF KABUL : A HISTORIC ROLE REVERSAL IN THE SUBCONTINENT : BUT AT A COST ?
On 15 August 2021, fully armed and vicious hordes , emerging from the plains of Punjab, stormed Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan and occupied it.
Over centuries, Armed invaders from Greece, Arabia, Turkestan Persia and Afghanistan had poured across the Hindu Kush mountains on to the plains of Punjab, the gateway to the rich lands irrigated by many perennial rivers from Indus to Ganga to Brahmaputra.
The valiant armies of the Indo Gangetic plains had won many battles and also lost some. Over the centuries, riches of the plains men continued to beckon endless barbaric hordes from far off lands in the west.
Looters and marauders from Turkestan, Arabia, Persia , Ghori to Ghazni, and the far off lands had poured in for loot and to enslave the people of the plains.
Rarely had the armies of the Indo Gangetic plain ventured across the Hindu Kush mountains to the West to subdue the uncivilised world of barbarians.
The country of Afghanistan with its inhospitable terrain has been occupied by mountainous tribes and was in the pathway of the invading armies. Armies from the Punjab plains had seldom moved to the west to preempt the looters, even it was well known that the invading armies came from that direction.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh’. Probably Lahore. About 1835–40
Winning in Afghanistan
Rakesh Krishnan Simha
It was a rare event when Maharaja Ranjit Singh went on to wrest Kashmir and also defeat Afghan army and added its provinces to the Sikh Empire. In a short time with the defeat of the Sikh army at the hands of the British, Afghanistan became free of onslaughts by Sikhs from the plains of Punjab once again.
English in spite of their attempts could not subdue Afghanistan[1] and had to arrive at a face saving solution in 1893, to protect their colonial territories in the plains of Punjab from the depredations of Afghans, through a treaty with Abdul Rahman, the then Amir of Afghanistan. The English had drawn up a treaty delineating the frontier, a line up to which they would extend their administrative control. They did try and influence the rulers of Afghanistan through gifts and financial enticements from time to time, but they never did manage to occupy Afghanistan militarily in their 100 years of colonisation of the subcontinent.
USSR moved its armies in to Afghanistan in Dec 1979, in support of the communists after the Abdul Taraki’s unpopular communist government fell. (Taraki himself had been killed in the uprising against communists).
[1] “On one notable occasion in 1842 the Afghans massacred a British army numbering over 21,000, allowing one soldier, William Brydon, to go back and tell the story).” https://www.rbth.com/articles/2011/11/17/winning_in_afghanistan_what_the_west_can_learn_from_india_13265
Turning Point : Enter Wahhabism & Jihadi Mindset
It was left to the stratagems of the Pakistani government and its generals post 1979 to take help of Americans who were a superpower at that point of time, to wage war against the Russian forces which had occupied Afghanistan.
USA entered the fray with the help of Pakistan under Zia ul Haq, who having declared martial law in 1987, elevated himself to Presidentship (1988–1998).
Zia ul Haq convinced the Americans that Pakistan was a natural ally, and an Islamic one to boot. Hence was an ideal partner in to push out the godless Russian Communists from Afghanistan.
Zia Ul Haq greatly speeded up the process of islamisation of Pakistan by setting up of hundreds of madrassas, of the Deobandi schools in the border lands of Afghanistan. These were funded by the Saudis, and these madarassas imparted the most rigorous and fanatical Islamic ideas of the Wahhabis. The students, mostly the poorest of the Afghan and Pakistani population, were brainwashed into Jihadism as a way of noble and ideal life. This form of Islamic education continues even today in Pakistan.
This explosion of Wahhabi madrassas in the North western areas spread across Pakistan and misguiding the youth of Pakistan which commenced in 1979 continues even today. Over the last four decades over a million innocent youth have been brainwashed into becoming Jihadis.
These students of madrassas are the recruiting ground of all terrorist groups ( more than 80 on last count) in Pakistan including Taliban, Jaish e Mohammad, Haqqani Network, Lashkar- e-Tayyaba, TTP etc.
Teharike Labbaik Pakistan TLP, which has recently come into prominence is an organisation of the Barelvi school of Islam. This sect has long felt neglected due to Deobandi groups getting support of Pakistani government and the army. They have embarked on a journey of mass protests to display their strength and increase in their share in power and the government handouts.
Russians suffered heavy casualties (over 15,000 dead) and were compelled to leave Afghanistan post collapse of USSR
However peace did not come to Afghanistan even after the vacation by the Russian army. There was much infighting among the armed warlords, calling themselves Mujahideen, and chaos prevailed till 1996.
In 1996 Pakistan army from the plains of Punjab, managed to install a puppet regime of “Taliban”. Unfortunately in 2001, this puppet regime of Taliban incurred the wrath of the most powerful state in the world, namely the United States of America which occupied Afghanistan after driving out the Taliban regime. Leaders and fighters of the Taliban moved to the safe sanctuaries offered by its parent, Pakistan. Since the beginning, these groups were given, official recognition, financial support, and training and arms by Pakistani army and the civilian government.
Occupation Afghanistan by a new set of invaders, theAmericans and Europeans under the guise of United Nations was resented by the people of Afghanistan many of whom had migrated to Pakistan.
Once again the people of the plains, the Pakistani army and the leaders in Pakistan managed to fool the occupational forces and the foreign powers.
Even while talking of support, Pakistan trained, armed, and incited tribes in Afghanistan to continue their covert operations against the occupation forces of the Americans and the Europeans. This deception by Pakistani army continued for a long period of almost 20 years.
In the mean time the superpower that is the United States of America had grown weary and tired of drain on their economy due to the continuous unending warfare in which its troops were engaged.
USA wisely, though belatedly, decided to leave Afghanistan to its fate. Over two decades Pakistani army had manoeuvred in such a manner, that the occupation forces of the Western nations were forced to flee abandoning their arms and equipment and even many of their personnel at the mercy of the hordes that poured into Afghanistan from the plains of Punjab. The army of Pakistan which aided the local commanders of Afghan volunteers, managed to install a government dominated by a Pakistani group, the Haqqani Network.
Today Pakistani army, and the state of Pakistan have have not only driven out the foreign invaders from Afghanistan but also set up a puppet government.
This occupation of Afghanistan by the armies from the plains of Punjab is a momentous mark in the history of the Subcontinent.
It is almost as if the scale of justice have prevailed in that the conquerors who have subjugated the peaceful people of the plains have been pushed back. How long this occupation of Afghanistan will last only time will tell, but it is definitely heartening that the people of the plains are in no way less martial or inferior to any of the armies that have descended from the Western mountains .
This is a clear case of the armies of the plains overcoming for stronger armies from the West and should give courage to the people of the subcontinent of how they have been able to with stand the many attacks on their homeland and culture but have managed to survive over the centuries.
Pakistani Military Adventurism
Professor Ishtiaq Ahmad calls Pakistan a ‘Garrisons State’, Madeleine Albright a former Secretary of State of USA called out Pakistan for being an international migraine. Pakistan is a state owned and operated by an all powerful army that determines its every move. Pakistani army decides on all major political appointees from Prime Minister downwards, controls its legislature, judiciary and all the policies within the country and the international relations.
Pakistani history is replete with the misadventures of its generals from its inception. Pakistani army has self induced images of grandeur and hallucinations of victories.
Lurking Danger : COST : EXPANDING ISLAMIC EXTREMISM
Subjugation of Afghanistan by Pakistani army and its installation of a puppet regime in Afghanistan has come at a cost.
Pakistan since its formation in 1947, has been trying to establish an identity divorced from the geography and culture of the land it occupies. Pakistani elite has been working hard to justify the formation of a purely Islamic Mohammedan state completely separate from Hindus who were the original inhabitants of the subcontinent.
Even though the territory of Pakistan lay in the Indian subcontinent, and its people had been converts into Islam , and living cheek and jowel with the Hindus over centuries, Pakistani elite drew up constitutions emphasising solely on its Islamic religious identity.
Over time, influence of mullahs, ie Muslim religious teachers increased, to such an extent that the laws of the land in Pakistan were amended repeatedly to make the country more and more theocratic and rigid in its outlook.
Political elites past and present , Jinnah , Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and even the current prime minister Imran Khan have never had any qualms in using and misusing Islam to undermine their political opponents. Pakistani army and its generals, Ayub Khan, Zia Ul Haq, Musharraf, who were the virtual rulers of Pakistan have used the Islamic card over decades and have no hesitation to labelling themselves as Jihadis.
Over the past seven decades, Educational institutions and systems were tampered with, new versions of official history, and even text books on science, slanted in their approach were introduced in the curriculum. Distortions of facts and colouring of historical events continues till date.
This has lead to three generations of Pakistani citizens being brainwashed with extremist ideas and ideals. Today Pakistani society is highly communalised, extremely harsh in its approach towards members of other religions and actively suppresses any one identified as a non Muslim. Blasphemy laws, and legislation’s declaring Ahmedias as non Muslims are just a couple of examples of the highly negative outlook of the Pakistani society.
TTP, TLP and the Government of Pakistan
Talibanization of Pakistani society is moving forward at a very fast pace. The latest agreements and understanding that the Imran Khan government has arrived at with TTP and TLP in November 2021, has resulted in legitimising the two groups that are openly extremist and call for imposition of Shariah laws in Pakistan. These two organisations are among those that were banned for indulging in terrorism.
Pakistan has crossed the point of no return. World should be aware of the dangers of a Talibanised Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Indian options have been whittled down. To whom does India talk to ?There is no mature or ‘ Normal’ politician or political party that India can deal with. India will need to work out all its options with the clear understanding that it will be dealing with Islamic radicals and extremists.
