afghanistan
When Keane reached the outskirts of Kabul four days after the Amir’s
flight, he was surprised to find that Ghulam Khan Popalzai, Mir Hajji and
Hafijzi had occupied the capital the day before – a situation that placed
Ghulam Khan Popalzai and Mir Hajji in a strong position to dictate terms
to the king. The following day Shah Shuja‘ entered Kabul mounted on a
ceremonial elephant and resplendent in robes sparkling with pearls and
jewels. Macnaghten, Burnes and the senior officers rode beside him in full
dress uniform. As the procession wound though Kabul’s Shor Bazaar and
into the Bala Hisar the shopkeepers stared in sullen silence and made the
occasional disparaging witticism. Further disappointment was to follow.
The fine Mughal buildings that Shah Shuja‘ remembered from thirty years
before were now in ruins and his nostalgic vision of Kabul as an earthly
paradise, exaggerated by three decades of exile, were shattered. The British,
though, had achieved their goal of political and military domination of
the Indus States, but the battle for the hearts and minds of the Afghan
population had only just begun. It was a battle that they were already losing.
nandana
(Nandana)
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