dreams melted into air, 1919–29Khan Zikriya, head of the sycophantic Royalist Party, as Prime Minister,
and Ghulam Siddiq Charkhi, a ‘hot headed radical’, 49 as Foreign Minister
in the place of Tarzi. So unpopular were these appointments that most of
the existing ministers resigned.
At the end of August around a thousand delegates, uncomfortably
dressed in frock coats, assembled for the Loya Jirga. ’Aman Allah Khan then
proceeded to outline his plans, declaring that ‘the great secret of pro gress
lies in discarding old, outworn ideas and customs, and... march[ing] with
the times.’ 50 ‘Progress’, according to ’Aman Allah Khan, meant changing
traditional symbols of state, as well as reinstating compulsory primary
education and all of the constitutional provision that had been overturned
four years earlier. The black flag of the Durranis, which harked back to the
banner of ‘Abbasid Caliphs, was replaced by a tricolour flag consisting of
three vertical stripes of black, red and green, which was modelled on the
flags of France, Belgium and Italy. The Islamic motifs of a star, mosque and
crossed swords were replaced by a sheaf of wheat enclosing mountains and
a rising sun with a star at the apex. The jirga, which government ministers
had ensured was loaded with royalist supporters, also passed a law on
women’s rights and established the Society for the Protection of Women,
while the king publicly stated his opposition to veiling and parda. Other
measures passed by the jirga included restrictions on the role of mullahs
in education and the judiciary.
Despite rubber-stamping the king’s proposals, many delegates were
unhappy about the king’s intentions and shared their concerns once back
in their homes. In Kabul there were riots, which the army put down with
brute force; several mullahs in Qataghan refused to recite the king’s name in
the khutba; while Gul Agha Mujadidi, brother of the Hazrat of Shor Bazaar,
and Akhundzada Hamid Allah Safi, the Mullah of Tagab, drew up a fatwa
condemning the king’s plans, which was signed by four hundred members
of the religious establishment. When Gul Agha presented the fatwa to
the king, ’Aman Allah Khan accused the Hazrat’s family of being British
agents and threw them in prison. 51 The king also denied an audience to
influential tribal and religious leaders from Nangahar who had travelled
to Kabul to greet the king on his return and who wanted to express their
concerns at his proceedings. Queen Soraya then pushed the boundaries
even further, appearing in public wearing only a light veil and publishing
a series of articles in the ’Aman-i Afghan arguing that neither the Qur’an
nor Hadith forbade women’s education or demanded full veiling. Anis,
another influential newspaper, also ran a series of strongly worded attacks
on mullahs and pirs.