Anglo-Afghan Power and Politics, 1893-1947

The Durand Line, an enduring symbol of colonial imposition dividing British India and Afghanistan since 1893, and Afghanistan and Pakistan since 1947, fuels relentless regional instability and geopolitical strife. This book amplifies silenced Afghan voices and shatters long-held imperial narratives with new historical evidence. Through groundbreaking analysis, the author's research uncovers the Durand Line's unlawful and unscrupulous beginnings, its deliberately skewed history, and its unceasing, devastating human consequences, laying bare a persistent legacy of colonial injustice. By exposing untold truths, this book forges essential pathways toward genuine reconciliation, making it an essential read for scholars of South Asian history and the British Empire.

Offers a much-needed reinterpretation of the Durand Line dispute, bringing the Afghan perspective to the fore Draws from interviews with Afghanistan's former President, Afghan and Pakistani ministers, scholars, and politicians Highlights the historical urgency of the Durand Line, and its political implications for the rest of the world

Autorentext

Nabi Sahak is an independent researcher based in the USA. A former BBC reporter, Rotary Peace Fellow, and Fulbright Scholar, Nabi has studied at George Mason University in the USA, the University of Queensland in Australia, and King's College London in the UK.

Klappentext

"Unilaterally imposed by the British in the nineteenth century and accepted by Pakistan but never by Afghanistan, the Durand Line continues to be contested by the two states. In the literature dealing with the dispute, the Pashtun view has been missing. Now, at last, Nabi Sahak has filled this gap in an original book of real authority. We should all be in his debt."

– James Mayall, Emeritus Professor of International Relations, University of Cambridge

"The first comprehensive study of the making of the Durand Line, which has marked one of the great geopolitical fractures of the world since the nineteenth century, Sahak's book makes use of hitherto unknown Afghan sources to give a wholly original account of this crucial boundary. It will be of interest to historians as well as policymakers."

– Faisal Devji, Professor of Indian History, University of Oxford

The Durand Line, an enduring symbol of colonial imposition dividing British India and Afghanistan since 1893, and Afghanistan and Pakistan since 1947, fuels relentless regional instability and geopolitical strife. This book amplifies silenced Afghan voices and shatters long-held imperial narratives with new historical evidence. Through groundbreaking analysis, the author’s research uncovers the Durand Line's unlawful and unscrupulous beginnings, its deliberately skewed history, and its unceasing, devastating human consequences, laying bare a persistent legacy of colonial injustice. By exposing untold truths, this book forges essential pathways toward genuine reconciliation, making it an essential read for scholars of South Asian history and the British Empire.

Nabi Sahak is an independent researcher based in the USA. A former BBC reporter, Rotary Peace Fellow, and Fulbright Scholar, Nabi has studied at George Mason University in the USA, the University of Queensland in Australia, and King's College London in the UK

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2. The Origins of Anglo-Afghan Relations, 1761-1839.- 3. Anglo-Afghan Relations, 1839-1893: The First and Second Anglo-Afghan Wars.- 4. The Original Purpose of the Durand Line Agreement.- 5. Afghanistan's Arguments regarding the Invalidity of the Durand Line Agreement.- 6. Primary Source Materials on the Durand Line.- 7. The Demarcation of the Durand Line and the 1897 Pashtun Rebellion.- 8. The Durand Line from 1901 to 1919.- 9. The Durand Line from1919 to 1947.- 10. Conclusion: Why the Durand Line is an Impossible Knot to Untie.