India - Afghanistan relations:
Historic and Cultural ties:
India has strong historic and cultural ties with Afghanistan that go back to the earliest periods of recorded history. They can be traced to the Harappan civilization, one of the earliest urban civilizations of the world. These Indo-Iranian tribes settled in Afghanistan and spread south. It was here that “The Rig Veda” an ancient Indian sacred book and one of the oldest extant texts of any Indo-European language, was composed. The literature gives us clues to trace the process of acculturation in the region. Various Afghanistan tribes can trace their ancestral ties to people in Pakistan and India.
The three countries share a great deal of history; Alexander the Great conquered Afghanistan in (329–327 B.C.) on his way to India. After Alexander's death (323 B.C.) the region became part of the Seleucid empire. In the north, Bactria became independent, and the south was acquired by the Maurya dynasty - a very powerful Indian empire. Indian influence in the region was further cemented with the spread of Buddhism, introduced from the east by the Yüechi, who founded the Kushan dynasty in early 2nd B.C. The Kushan Dynasty spread over present day Afghanistan, Pakistan and North India. The great Mughal Empire which developed a highly sophisticated mixed Indo-Persian culture further strengthened these links.
These historic ties have had a part to play in India’s policy towards Afghanistan in the present day as well. Furthermore, the country has remained in the focus of India’s regional policy because of its geo-strategic location; neighboring Iran, Pakistan, and the Central Asian States (after the disintegration of the Soviet Union). India has enjoyed cordial relations with Afghanistan since 1947; these were strengthened by the signing of the “Friendship Treaty” in 1950. India signed various agreements and protocols with pro-Soviet regimes in Afghanistan to promote co-operation and to enhance Indian influence. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 provided another opportunity for India to further strengthen its relations with Afghanistan. During that period, India increased its investments in developmental activities in Afghanistan by co-operating in industrial, irrigation, and hydro-electric projects.
But the events in Afghanistan during 1979-89 saw the beginning of the present epoch of violent militancy and the birth of the Taliban. To defeat the Soviet-backed government of Afghanistan, massive western resources were channeled to mujahedeen groups through Pakistan. General Zia ul-Haq, the military dictator of Pakistan at the time, promoted a jihad against the Soviet presence in the Afghan motherland, reinforcing the link between events in Pakistan and those in Afghanistan. The rise of the Afghan Mujahideen against the Soviet invasion, the withdrawal of Soviet troops; the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991; and the formation of a government by the Mujahideen after overthrowing the pro-Soviet regime of Najibullah in Afghanistan in April 1992: these were the events that led to the first instance of diplomatic isolation and lessening of Indian influence in Afghanistan India, however, had cordial relations with the ousted pro-Soviet government of Najibullah. Later in 1992, when Burhanuddin Rabbani established a pre-dominantly non-Pashtun government, India again became active in Afghanistan and provided humanitarian and technical assistance to the Afghan government.
The rise of Taliban in Afghanistan and the removal of the Rabbani government in September 1996 again marginalized Indian influence in Afghanistan. India did not recognize the Taliban government, and closed its embassy in September 1996. During this period, the non-Pashtun groups opposing the Taliban regime formed the Northern Alliance and controlled areas in the north of Afghanistan, bordering the Central Asian States of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Thanks to these strong historic links, India has a keen interest in bringing stability to this turbulent region. It also wants to see that the Taliban is defeated, as extremist ideology is seen to be seeping into the fringe elements in India as well, endangering the stability of the Nation. But given the history, India is compelled to formulate its own strategy vis-à-vis its complicated ties in the region with both Pakistan and Afghanistan and not based on extraneous expectations. Ethnic factors also play a role in the strategic decisions in the region.
The Ethnic Factor
It is for this very reason that Pakistan has had a kind of “estranged family” relationship with Afghanistan. Pushtuns are the largest group in Afghanistan. They have a tribal structure, these same Pashtun clans lived on both sides of the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and are the second largest ethnic group after the Punjabis in Pakistan. Pashtuns have been demanding for a “Pashtunistan”, separate from Pakistan, as Afghanistan never recognized the border with Pakistan (The Durand Line). The Pashtuns have considerable influence in the politics, military and government, and have aligned themselves with the Taliban forces. However, the political leanings of these Pushtuns striding the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan are complicated and have evolved over centuries.
Pushtuns in Kandahar area are involved in different trades while Pushtun settlers in northern areas are sedentary farmers. The two Pushtuns tribal confederacies, Durrani and Ghilzai have mutual hostility going back centuries. The ruling Durrani elite residing in Kabul are more urbanized and educated. In the power structure in Kabul, the newly educated Pushtun youth were influenced by Communist ideology and were the nucleus of the nascent socialist minority. Pushtuns dominated the two factions of the communist party, Khalq and Parcham. After the Soviet invasion in 1979, the tribal Pushtuns fought to protect their autonomy against an expanding central government influenced by an alien ideology and became staunch antagonists of their ethnic kin who were ruling from Kabul. There was an exodus of people during the Soviet invasion and an overwhelming majority of the refugees were Pushtun. In addition, in the civil war in 1990s and ethnic massacres resulted in migration of large number of Pushtuns from northern Afghanistan to east and south.
There is a large number of Pashto speaking Pakhtoons living in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. But politically India has not had cordial relations with the Pushtuns of Afghanistan and has supported the Northern Alliance whose support base is mainly the minority Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara. A good majority of Tajiks speak Dari and most of them are Sunni Muslims. The educated elite was concentrated in Kabul, therefore a large number of them were working in different government departments. The Hazaras live in the inhospitable central mountainous area of Afghanistan, where they are involved in herding and some agriculture. Some Hazaras moved to Kabul and were performing menial jobs with lower socio-economic status. Most of them are Shia (mostly Imami but some Ismaili) and speak a dialect of Dari. Hazara have been sufficiently alienated from the Pushtun dominated central government due to widespread discrimination and were one of the first groups to fight the central government in 1978-79. They liberated their area in early part of the struggle and later used their success in negotiating a better deal with governments in Kabul. The Turkic group consists of Uzbeks, Turkeman and Kirghiz. Uzbeks are concentrated in areas north of Hindu Kush mountains.
Current scenario:
India remained at the forefront of international efforts to assist Afghanistan in building a stable democratic and pluralistic society. Following the 9/11 attacks and the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan that resulted, ties between India and Afghanistan grew strong once again. India has restored full diplomatic relations, and has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for Afghanistan's reconstruction and development. India seeks peace and tranquillity across the Durand Line. India’s interests are three-fold: trade, transit, and security.
Since 2001, India has offered $1.2 billion for Afghanistan's reconstruction, making it the largest regional donor to the country. According to Indian officials, there are currently about four thousand Indian workers and security personnel working on different relief and reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. Since 2006, following increased incidents of kidnappings and attacks, India has sent the country's mountain-trained paramilitary force to guard its workers; there are about five hundred police deployed in Afghanistan currently. India is involved in a wide array of development projects in Afghanistan: In January 2009, India completed construction of the Zaranj-Delaram highway in southwest Afghanistan near the Iranian border (The Zaranz-Delaram road giving Afghanistan access to the sea was formally inaugurated on 22nd January, 2009. It is a new highway that was built between Zaranj and Delaram by the Indian Government's Border Roads Organization at a cost of about US $136 million to open up a link between the deep sea port at Chabahar in Iran to Afghanistan's main ring road highway system) ; it is building Afghanistan's new parliament building set for completion by 2011; it is constructing the Salma Dam power project in Herat Province; it has trained Afghan police officers, diplomats and civil servants; and it has provided support in the areas of health, education, transportation, power, and telecommunications .The scheme of ICCR Scholarships and ITEC training programmes for Afghan nationals and the execution of community based, small development projects in the fields of agriculture, rural development, sanitation, vocational training, etc. is progressing. India continued to contribute for the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund and pledged a sum of US $ 1 million to the UNDP election fund. India has also pledged an additional US $ 450 million (over the US$ 750 million earlier committed) to effectively meet the requirements of our ongoing and future projects.
Bilateral trade between India and Afghanistan has been on the rise, reaching $358 million for the fiscal year April 2007 to March 2008. The Preferential Trade Agreement where India and Afghanistan signed on March 6, 2003 in New Delhi remains in force. But soft power is "India's greatest asset" in Afghanistan, Indian television soaps and Indian films are very popular in Afghanistan.
From a security point of view, while supporting the U.S.-led military intervention in Afghanistan, India has always held that the only force capable of stabilising the situation and maintaining peace and stability over the long haul is the Afghan National Army (ANA) and police. The Indian government is one of the largest providers of civilian assistance to Afghanistan and is also involved in training the Afghan police.
Therefore India and Afghanistan have a long history that invariably includes Pakistan as well. It has been said that it is the trilateral relationship between these nations that shall define the future of South Asia.
Article By: Ms.Lavanya Suresh
Editorial Team: Dr.Mani, Prof.Vaishnav.& Ms.Lavanya Suresh
Historic and Cultural ties:
India has strong historic and cultural ties with Afghanistan that go back to the earliest periods of recorded history. They can be traced to the Harappan civilization, one of the earliest urban civilizations of the world. These Indo-Iranian tribes settled in Afghanistan and spread south. It was here that “The Rig Veda” an ancient Indian sacred book and one of the oldest extant texts of any Indo-European language, was composed. The literature gives us clues to trace the process of acculturation in the region. Various Afghanistan tribes can trace their ancestral ties to people in Pakistan and India.
The three countries share a great deal of history; Alexander the Great conquered Afghanistan in (329–327 B.C.) on his way to India. After Alexander's death (323 B.C.) the region became part of the Seleucid empire. In the north, Bactria became independent, and the south was acquired by the Maurya dynasty - a very powerful Indian empire. Indian influence in the region was further cemented with the spread of Buddhism, introduced from the east by the Yüechi, who founded the Kushan dynasty in early 2nd B.C. The Kushan Dynasty spread over present day Afghanistan, Pakistan and North India. The great Mughal Empire which developed a highly sophisticated mixed Indo-Persian culture further strengthened these links.
These historic ties have had a part to play in India’s policy towards Afghanistan in the present day as well. Furthermore, the country has remained in the focus of India’s regional policy because of its geo-strategic location; neighboring Iran, Pakistan, and the Central Asian States (after the disintegration of the Soviet Union). India has enjoyed cordial relations with Afghanistan since 1947; these were strengthened by the signing of the “Friendship Treaty” in 1950. India signed various agreements and protocols with pro-Soviet regimes in Afghanistan to promote co-operation and to enhance Indian influence. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 provided another opportunity for India to further strengthen its relations with Afghanistan. During that period, India increased its investments in developmental activities in Afghanistan by co-operating in industrial, irrigation, and hydro-electric projects.
But the events in Afghanistan during 1979-89 saw the beginning of the present epoch of violent militancy and the birth of the Taliban. To defeat the Soviet-backed government of Afghanistan, massive western resources were channeled to mujahedeen groups through Pakistan. General Zia ul-Haq, the military dictator of Pakistan at the time, promoted a jihad against the Soviet presence in the Afghan motherland, reinforcing the link between events in Pakistan and those in Afghanistan. The rise of the Afghan Mujahideen against the Soviet invasion, the withdrawal of Soviet troops; the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991; and the formation of a government by the Mujahideen after overthrowing the pro-Soviet regime of Najibullah in Afghanistan in April 1992: these were the events that led to the first instance of diplomatic isolation and lessening of Indian influence in Afghanistan India, however, had cordial relations with the ousted pro-Soviet government of Najibullah. Later in 1992, when Burhanuddin Rabbani established a pre-dominantly non-Pashtun government, India again became active in Afghanistan and provided humanitarian and technical assistance to the Afghan government.
The rise of Taliban in Afghanistan and the removal of the Rabbani government in September 1996 again marginalized Indian influence in Afghanistan. India did not recognize the Taliban government, and closed its embassy in September 1996. During this period, the non-Pashtun groups opposing the Taliban regime formed the Northern Alliance and controlled areas in the north of Afghanistan, bordering the Central Asian States of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Thanks to these strong historic links, India has a keen interest in bringing stability to this turbulent region. It also wants to see that the Taliban is defeated, as extremist ideology is seen to be seeping into the fringe elements in India as well, endangering the stability of the Nation. But given the history, India is compelled to formulate its own strategy vis-à-vis its complicated ties in the region with both Pakistan and Afghanistan and not based on extraneous expectations. Ethnic factors also play a role in the strategic decisions in the region.
The Ethnic Factor
It is for this very reason that Pakistan has had a kind of “estranged family” relationship with Afghanistan. Pushtuns are the largest group in Afghanistan. They have a tribal structure, these same Pashtun clans lived on both sides of the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and are the second largest ethnic group after the Punjabis in Pakistan. Pashtuns have been demanding for a “Pashtunistan”, separate from Pakistan, as Afghanistan never recognized the border with Pakistan (The Durand Line). The Pashtuns have considerable influence in the politics, military and government, and have aligned themselves with the Taliban forces. However, the political leanings of these Pushtuns striding the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan are complicated and have evolved over centuries.
Pushtuns in Kandahar area are involved in different trades while Pushtun settlers in northern areas are sedentary farmers. The two Pushtuns tribal confederacies, Durrani and Ghilzai have mutual hostility going back centuries. The ruling Durrani elite residing in Kabul are more urbanized and educated. In the power structure in Kabul, the newly educated Pushtun youth were influenced by Communist ideology and were the nucleus of the nascent socialist minority. Pushtuns dominated the two factions of the communist party, Khalq and Parcham. After the Soviet invasion in 1979, the tribal Pushtuns fought to protect their autonomy against an expanding central government influenced by an alien ideology and became staunch antagonists of their ethnic kin who were ruling from Kabul. There was an exodus of people during the Soviet invasion and an overwhelming majority of the refugees were Pushtun. In addition, in the civil war in 1990s and ethnic massacres resulted in migration of large number of Pushtuns from northern Afghanistan to east and south.
There is a large number of Pashto speaking Pakhtoons living in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. But politically India has not had cordial relations with the Pushtuns of Afghanistan and has supported the Northern Alliance whose support base is mainly the minority Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara. A good majority of Tajiks speak Dari and most of them are Sunni Muslims. The educated elite was concentrated in Kabul, therefore a large number of them were working in different government departments. The Hazaras live in the inhospitable central mountainous area of Afghanistan, where they are involved in herding and some agriculture. Some Hazaras moved to Kabul and were performing menial jobs with lower socio-economic status. Most of them are Shia (mostly Imami but some Ismaili) and speak a dialect of Dari. Hazara have been sufficiently alienated from the Pushtun dominated central government due to widespread discrimination and were one of the first groups to fight the central government in 1978-79. They liberated their area in early part of the struggle and later used their success in negotiating a better deal with governments in Kabul. The Turkic group consists of Uzbeks, Turkeman and Kirghiz. Uzbeks are concentrated in areas north of Hindu Kush mountains.
Current scenario:
India remained at the forefront of international efforts to assist Afghanistan in building a stable democratic and pluralistic society. Following the 9/11 attacks and the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan that resulted, ties between India and Afghanistan grew strong once again. India has restored full diplomatic relations, and has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for Afghanistan's reconstruction and development. India seeks peace and tranquillity across the Durand Line. India’s interests are three-fold: trade, transit, and security.
Since 2001, India has offered $1.2 billion for Afghanistan's reconstruction, making it the largest regional donor to the country. According to Indian officials, there are currently about four thousand Indian workers and security personnel working on different relief and reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. Since 2006, following increased incidents of kidnappings and attacks, India has sent the country's mountain-trained paramilitary force to guard its workers; there are about five hundred police deployed in Afghanistan currently. India is involved in a wide array of development projects in Afghanistan: In January 2009, India completed construction of the Zaranj-Delaram highway in southwest Afghanistan near the Iranian border (The Zaranz-Delaram road giving Afghanistan access to the sea was formally inaugurated on 22nd January, 2009. It is a new highway that was built between Zaranj and Delaram by the Indian Government's Border Roads Organization at a cost of about US $136 million to open up a link between the deep sea port at Chabahar in Iran to Afghanistan's main ring road highway system) ; it is building Afghanistan's new parliament building set for completion by 2011; it is constructing the Salma Dam power project in Herat Province; it has trained Afghan police officers, diplomats and civil servants; and it has provided support in the areas of health, education, transportation, power, and telecommunications .The scheme of ICCR Scholarships and ITEC training programmes for Afghan nationals and the execution of community based, small development projects in the fields of agriculture, rural development, sanitation, vocational training, etc. is progressing. India continued to contribute for the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund and pledged a sum of US $ 1 million to the UNDP election fund. India has also pledged an additional US $ 450 million (over the US$ 750 million earlier committed) to effectively meet the requirements of our ongoing and future projects.
Bilateral trade between India and Afghanistan has been on the rise, reaching $358 million for the fiscal year April 2007 to March 2008. The Preferential Trade Agreement where India and Afghanistan signed on March 6, 2003 in New Delhi remains in force. But soft power is "India's greatest asset" in Afghanistan, Indian television soaps and Indian films are very popular in Afghanistan.
From a security point of view, while supporting the U.S.-led military intervention in Afghanistan, India has always held that the only force capable of stabilising the situation and maintaining peace and stability over the long haul is the Afghan National Army (ANA) and police. The Indian government is one of the largest providers of civilian assistance to Afghanistan and is also involved in training the Afghan police.
Therefore India and Afghanistan have a long history that invariably includes Pakistan as well. It has been said that it is the trilateral relationship between these nations that shall define the future of South Asia.
Article By: Ms.Lavanya Suresh
Editorial Team: Dr.Mani, Prof.Vaishnav.& Ms.Lavanya Suresh
