dreams melted into air, 1919–29chief adviser, positions that meant he was now able to influence the young
and highly impressionable Amir and implement his dream of transforming
Afghanistan into a modern, Europeanized, nation state.
The declaration of independence and the Third Anglo-Afghan WarOn 27 February 1919, just a week after taking power, ’Aman Allah Khan held
a second darbar where he declared he intended to rule Afghanistan as a
fully independent nation and ordered the assembled tribal leaders to return
home and gather their forces for a jihad against India. The Amir then wrote
to the Viceroy in the name of ‘our independent and free government of
Afghanistan’, a declaration that signalled the end of the Anglo-Afghan alli-
ance. 5 ’Aman Allah Khan’s declaration of independence and his subsequent
war with Britain also diverted attention from the coup d’état and won over
governors, military commanders and tribal and religious leaders who had
yet to pledge their allegiance. Tarzi and the Indian revolutionaries, who had
already been covertly inciting tribal unrest in the Northwest Frontier, also
convinced the Amir that if he invaded India there would be a mass revolt
in the Punjab, which would force Britain to recognize Afghanistan’s inde-
pendence and make territory concessions. It was a serious misjudgement,
the first of many in a reign marred by poor political decisions.
Another reason for declaring independence and going to war was the
perceived failure of Britain to reward Afghanistan for remaining neutral
during the Great War. In March 1916, shortly before signing the Afghan-
German Treaty, Amir Habib Allah Khan had written to the Viceroy, Lord
Chelmsford, requesting a seat on any post-war peace conference, only for
his petition to be rejected. Three weeks before his assassination, and with
the Paris Peace Conference imminent, Habib Allah Khan again wrote to
the Viceroy asking for him to recognize the ‘absolute liberty, freedom of
action, and perpetual independence’ of Afghanistan, 6 only for his request
to again be denied. By the time the Viceroy’s reply reached Kabul, Habib
Allah Khan was dead and it was Amir ’Aman Allah Khan, advised by
Mahmud Tarzi, who replied to the Viceroy’s letter. The new Amir made it
clear that the continuation of the Anglo-Afghan alliance was conditional
on Britain’s formal recognition of Afghanistan as an ‘independent and free’
nation. 7 ’Aman Allah Khan then proceeded to emphasize his independence
by dispatching envoys to Moscow, Turkey, various European countries and
even the United States without seeking Britain’s prior approval.
The death of Habib Allah Khan, ’Aman Allah Khan’s declaration of
independence and jihad against India caught British officials off guard.