dreams melted into air, 1919–29modernizers, who have returned again and again to his unfinished project,
only to succumb to their own blind spots and collapse in their own ways.’ 64
Unfortunately, harking back to this ‘unfinished project’ has become
very much the theme of ‘modernizers’ since 2001 who, like the Young
Afghans, feel they too face the forces of Islamic obscurantism. Exiles and
refugees who have returned to the country, many of whom belonged to
the pre-1978 Establishment under King Zahir Shah or are descendants
of these officials, have done their best to turn the clock back to an era of
presumed progress and democracy, which existed only in their imagination
and that of their parents. Indeed, President Ghani himself is guilty of falling
into the same trap. Very few have a coherent plan for the future develop-
ment of Afghanistan other than continued reliance on foreign subsidies.
Ir onically, it is radical Islamist groups such as the Taliban that have a far
clearer idea about Afghanistan’s direction, even though their vision too is
equally idealized and backward-looking.