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Books
The Great Game and the revival of land trade routes ‘The Return of a King’ also talks of a great game that is being played in our region for over 200 years By Aamir Riaz
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n the early twentieth century, the visionary poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal penned: Inn taa’za khudaon mein barra sab sey wattan hey/ Jo pa’erhan iss ka hey woh mazhab ka kafan hai. The first line has prime importance as it deconstructs the myth of the Nation State based on the enemy construction theory. Yet due to the obvious biases, Iqbal’s secular opponents and religious supporters emphasized more on the second line of his verse. Generally speaking, modern nation states were carved from empires in the last two hundred years and the majority of the nation states were created after WWI and WWII, without paying much attention to common language, common ethnicity or common geography. They were created primarily to renegotiate the trade interests of the superpowers of those times. In order to secure their trade interests powerful nation states use wars as a defensive/offensive mechanism. If you read the historical documents and accounts from the last 200 years, powerful nation states used hot,
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cold and proxy wars extensively against each other not only in Asia and Africa but also in Europe and the East. Smaller nations use war as a weapon against their neighbors while the super powers launch Great Games. The book under review, ‘The Return of a King,’ also talks of a great game that is being played in our region for over 200 years. William Dalrymple, a British historian and author of the many best-selling books, recently expanded his authorship by writing on the Afghan King and deserter, Shah Shuja (1785-1842), grandson of Ahmad Shah Abdali. Shuja The Return of a King: Shah Shuja and the First Battle got a chance to capture for Afghanistan, 1839-42 the throne when By William Dalrymple Kabul was burning Publisher: Bloomsbury, London – 2013 in sectarian flames Pages: 618 Price: Rs1395/in 1803, but he failed Available at Readings to maintain control and was defeated by luck, unconditionally supported Shah Mahmud, his half-brother in the Battle of Nimla (1809). From the British forces, and pleased the 1809 till 1842, Shuja tried his Maharaja of the Punjab— to no
that the Punjab was not supporting Shuja and British forces at that time. Upholding the Maharaja’s legacy, Punjab had no interest in regime changes in Kabul nor. As the British had clear understanding of regional politics, they did not launch a war. But a group of security personals like Major Claude Wade were heavily involved in the Russo -phobia campaign especially after Waterloo (1815). Lord Macaulay in his famous minutes of 1835 mentioned the rise of Russia, yet, infected by our typical anti-colonial syndrome, South Asian historians and intellectuals still fail to analyze his minutes. Unlike Lawrence, the camp followers of Russo-phobia wanted to capture the Punjab and Afghanistan at any cost. For this they used the religion angle extensively. After the death of Punjabi Maharaja Ranjit Singh (27 June 1839), they launched the war in haste and managed to capture Kabul in August 1839. Dalrymple mentioned the policy rift at London yet he remains reluctant to analyse it. Till 1840, Iran had also joined the anti-Shuja/antiBritain nexus. There were intense rebellions in Herat and Kandhar against Shuja and he was finally killed in 1842. In the summer of 1844, Amir Dost Muhammad Khan became the ruler of Kabul again, but this time with the help of British and the Punajbis. The book is written, keeping in mind the great game between the Tsarist Russia (Soviet Union) and Great Britain, which, according to author started in 1823, when a British officer interpreted a letter from a Russian foreign minister to the Maharaja of the Punjab. The author however, failed to mention Charles Metcalfe who wanted to take the logistic support from Punjab against Kabul in 1809 much earlier but was denied by wily the Punjabi Maharaja. From 1803 till 1880s, the British wanted to annex the Punjab and Afghanistan for its historic land trade routes value yet after the rise of Germany and the Tsarist Russia in the early 1890s, they postponed their plans. 1839 2001 Our region has been the victim of great games for more than two centuries Foreign Forces British Forces The Nato Forces (consisting of 30 due to our geographically strategic trade routes and nations) the book serves to remind us of this. Without vision Ruler of Kabul Amir Dost Khan Mullah Umar of peace, friendship, modernity and trade we Replacement Shah Shuja Hamid Karzai cannot revive and exploit those trade links nor will anyone rescue us because every State has its own Strong Neighboring The Punjab (Neutralized state) Pakistan (Frontline state) interests and game plans. State Keeping in view that NATO forces are to leave in On the 7th of August 1839, British forces annexed 2014, we need a clear policy which should be discussed Kabul and installed Shuja as the head. From this day and approved by the parliament, for only in a situation until Shuja’s planned murder by the Barakzais in April where the people and the state act in consensus, no 1842, even Dost Muhammad had escaped, but Kabul outer force can dictate. That is the lesson and it is one became more tense and fragile. Regional strategic that requires some care and vision. considerations were not taken into account before Writer is a Lahore based researcher and can be reach at launching a war. There was news that Rawalpindi and newline2100@yahoo.co.uk Lahore were actively sheltering rebel Barakzais, meant avail, as he failed to reestablish Sadozai pride of Ahmad Shah Abdali. The tussle between the Barakzai, Sadozai and Hazara tribes along with diverse interests of Kandahar, Herat and Siyahposh Kafirs , Afghan society was dismantled from within during the last 200 years. Dalrymple ridiculed the Pathan-Punjabi rulers by using minor details as usual and provided selected evidence from valuable archives. His over-emphasis on minor social details and court intrigues would have been justified if he had also used this method of analysis while talking about the British officers. There is no doubt that the list of archival records he used is extensive and smartly arranged, but he failed to mention some basic shifts in Afghan politics during the first half of the 19th Century. It was Taimur Shah, the son of Ahmad Shah Abdali who shifted the capital of the empire from Qandahar to Kabul; this shift, lead not only to the gradual fall of the Sadozai, but also strengthened the Qizalbash and Barakzai tribes. Dost Muhammad Khan, the son of a Qizalbash lady was the product of that new nexus. A major part of the book covers the unsuccessful British Campaign of 1839-42 in Afghanistan. As an unofficial diplomat, Dalrymple tries to compare that defeat with the post 9/11 Afghanistan. ‘The parallels between the two invasions I came to realise were not just anecdotal, they were substantive. The same tribal rivalries and the same battles were continuing to be fought out in the same places 170 years later under the guise of new flags, new ideologies and new political perspectives’ By comparing characters and forces involved in both wars we can easily dismiss this novel idea. By reading the table accompanying this article, readers can easily determine the difference by themselves.
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Trend Tips and Facts By Aleena & Fareena
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Q: What is the one trend that is here to stay? A: Long shirts Q: Color blocking, in or out next season? A: Contrast color blocking will remain in style. Q: Neon handbags, in or out? A: They are in & I love them Q: Statement jewelry or vintage? A: Both Q: Trendiest outfit? A: Jumpsuits. Q: Color of summer? A: Lime green and pale blue. Q: Who do you consider as your design icon? A: Misbah Shafqat, who has been a designer for 20 years and has helped and guided us all the way through. Q: What is your style aesthetic? A: Our ability to create a unique mix of colours. Q: What drew you to fashion and inspired you to start your own line? A: Nothing can draw you to fashion, it comes from within you.
Q: Nail trend of the season? A: Buffed or manicured . Q: fashion statement of the season? A: Go tangerine this summer. Q: Summer accessory? A: Loud, colored handbags are our accessories.
go-to statement
Q: Summer makeup essentials? A: Skin protection with rosy lips gives you a fresh look.
Q: What is the best perk of being a fashion designer? A: The best feeling is that there are no boundaries for creativity. Q: What do you wish people would understand about working in the fashion industry? A: I wish people would understand that in order to be different and outstanding one should create cuts and styles that would remain relevant for more than a year. . Q: What excites you the most about your new collections? A: We enjoy replenishing our wardrobes with new designs. Q: What is the one city in the world that you would showcase your designs in? A: Paris, fashion capital of the world Q: What do you wish you had known before entering the fashion industry? A: That it is very time consuming! Each and every design requires your attention and you have to be mindful of the finest details. Q: What are some major trends for 2013? A: We think that in 2013 the shirts will be shorter with sleek damaans. Fashion is diverting towards straighter lines.
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