How and by whom was Amanullah's rule weakened?
Author: Mohammad Akram Andeshamand
How was the legitimacy of Amanullah's government and rule undermined, and how was the ground laid for his defeat and escape from Afghanistan? What does Shah Amanullah himself say about this?
Read these interesting facts from history:
1 - The first armed uprising in early 1924 against Shah Amanullah and his rule in the south was carried out by the Mangala tribes. Then the Ahmadzai, Jaji, and Sulaimankhel tribes also rebelled. The uprising continued until the beginning of the following year. Amanullah routed the rebels after fighting that spread to Ghazni and Logar and suppressed the uprising by arresting and executing some of the rebels in May 1925. Amanullah listed the reasons for executing the rebels and told them before their execution:
"You are the real Afghans. Forgive me if I am violent and cruel towards you, the citizens of Afghanistan, and my children. You are no longer my children because you have rebelled against me. You have pointed the finger of discontent at my sincere actions. They are as follows:
I have established schools. Do you think I opened these schools for myself? I opened them only for your children. You wanted me to close new and existing schools for girls, and I did. Now scholars from all over the world are writing to me that school is vital for girls.
I have implemented an irrigation project. I did not do it for myself but for you and your children. You have called me a Qadiani (an Ahmadiyya, an artificially created Islamic movement by the British), but I am not a Qadiani. You have said that my new rules are contrary to the Holy Quran. I asked you to come to me and discuss and agree on this issue, but you did not come. Instead, you went for an adventurer and terrorist like Abdulkarim. You have rebelled against me and strangled me. You have killed a large number of my soldiers and children, so I cannot forgive you. So you must be killed."
2 - The second rebellion against Shah Amanullah and his reforms began in 1927. After the Shah toured Europe in 1928 and the Paghman Loya Jirga, Mohammad Sadiq Mojaddadi and his nephew Mohammad Masum Mojaddadi went south to rebel against the Shah. However, the rebellion failed and several rebels were imprisoned and executed.
3 - The third rebellion in the east arose from the Shinwar tribe. The eastern rebels were led by Mohammad Alamkhan Shinwari and Mohammad Afzalkhan, who attacked the city of Jalalabad and burned the British consulate and the Siraj-ul-Imarat palace.
4 - The fourth step, which shook and weakened the foundations of the legitimacy and stability of the monarchy and the government of Amanullah more than the armed uprisings, was the letter or declaration and demand of the religious scholars of Kandahar at the same time as the Mashriqi uprising. This letter stated that all the reforms of the Shah were contrary to the Islamic Sharia and asked the Shah to stop and renounce them.
5 - The fifth uprising, which was a continuation of the Mashriqi uprising, began in Tagab under the leadership of Akhundzada Tagab, who had previously received the title of "Fakhrulmashaih" from the Shah, against Shah Amanullah and his government.
6 - The sixth uprising against the Shah and the Tagab rebellion spread to Kuhistan and Kohdaman and these uprisings were led by Habibullah Kalakani. At that time, Habibullah Kalakani was an exemplary soldier in the first rebellions during the reign of Amanullah and fought to strengthen the foundations of Amanullah’s government. But then, due to the mistakes of Shah Amanullah and his entourage, which is also explained in the book “Ayare Khorasan” by Ustad Khalilullah Khalili, Habibullah Kalakani rebelled against his monarchy. He, who was in the north of the capital and closer to it than all the other tribes and rebel groups, took advantage of the unstable situation in the country to attack the capital. On January 15, 1929, in Bagh-e Mehmankhana, his supporters and soldiers proclaimed him Amir Habibullah – “the servant of the religion of the Prophet”.
