nadir shah and the afghans, 1732–47Griesbach’s reports been made public Salisbury would have undoubtedly
faced demands for his resignation and Britain’s Afghanistan policy would
have collapsed, along with its support for ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan.
The situation also created a diplomatic crisis with the Russian Foreign
Ministry complaining to Britain about the Amir’s public allegations that
Russia had encouraged Ishaq Khan’s rebellion. Russia was also unhappy
about the loss of trade resulting from the Amir’s closure of the Russo–
Afghan frontier as well as the refugee crisis, for thousands had fled across
into Russian territory in order to escape persecution and the region’s
economic crisis. When nothing was done about these issues, the Russian
Foreign Ministry lost patience and informed Britain that unless action
was taken to curb the Amir’s ‘excesses’ they would intervene militarily in
order to protect the population.
Britain had invested heavily in Amir ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan, but it was
not prepared to invade Afghanistan and depose the Amir, or risk another
civil war. By 1888 the British government had paid the Amir more than
eighteen lakh rupees per annum and had gifted him an additional 114 lakh
rupees, 25,000 breech-loading rifles, seventy artillery pieces and millions
of rounds of ammunition. The Amir had used these weapons and cash to
crush the internal revolts and keep his army and loyalists happy. The irony
was that Sher ‘Ali Khan had pleaded again and again for Britain to provide
him with a far lower level of subsidy and military assistance, only for his
request to be refused. Had Britain agreed to Sher ‘Ali Khan’s requests and
supported him to the same degree as ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan, there would
have been no need to invade Afghanistan, and the country would have
been ruled by a monarch whose style of government was far more benign
and acceptable to both the Afghans themselves and Britain.
British relations with Amir ‘Abd al-Rahman KhanThe Turkistan Atrocities were just another, albeit public, example of Britain’s
key ally in Asia acting against her interests. For despite the propaganda
about the Amir being the protector of India, behind closed doors British
officials were increasingly frustrated with relations with ‘Abd al-Rahman
Khan and his erratic behaviour. The heart of the issue was the lack of reci-
procity. Britain believed that since it was paying for the piper it had the
right to call the tune, yet again and again the Amir either played the wrong
melody or refused to pipe at all. The Amir even had the temerity to accuse
Britain of parsimoniousness and when Lord Lansdowne, the Viceroy, asked
him for details of troop numbers and their deployment in order to assess