Scrapbook of newspaper cuttings about Afghanistan [‎148v] (305/312)

Tho i'sge/tlii'own down by Kussia must be
ansv.- /' ^ in sucti a way as to leave the issue
indisputable. Those responsibilities of empire
which we have shirked for twenty years must
be accepted and redeemed, or the penalty entailed
will be severe. It is now not a question of the
weakness or strength of a frontier in a military !
I point of view. So long as no enemy was at ;
| hand the existing line sufficed, and we could bear >
iita inconveniences; but no sensible person ever
pretended that we could put up with its disad
vantages on the supposition that a " positive,
active, and aggressive" foe was permitted to
absorb the whole political influence beyond its
j bounds, and, under cover of our com-
i placent inactivity, prepare and accumulate at
t leisure what means and combinations he pleased, i
J Smce we have permitted the elements of mis-
| chief to gather under our eyes, the political
overtops the purely military considerations
| which should govern our course. What we
I have now to secure is the certainty that the
I country south of the Oxus and east of the
Caspian, that the valleys of Khorassan and
the mountain block of Afghanistan, shall not
serve as a gathering ground for hostile forces, [ *
and that can only be done by establishing our
political influence on an impregnable basis. ; ;
. Whatever measures may be needful, the end to p'
| be steadfastly kept in view is the exclusion of the
| Russians from Afghanistan and the attain-
j ment of satisfactory relations with the Afghan
s people. How far it may be necessary to pro-
. ceed in order to accomplish these objects, Indian
statesmen should be best able to determine ; but
the duty and prudence of accomplishing them
is at this moment placed beyond all doubt. If y
I the first thing to be done is to efface the affront . -
| put on the Q ueen's representative, the second
and principal business is to arrest effectually the ,
| persistent encroachments of Russia. While these >•
are natural to her, resistance is equally natural ^
to us ; and, while she is " impelled" to advance, ^
so are we, if faithful to our country, impelled ^
'■ to lay down limits which, at the risk of instant
i opposition, she shall not transcend. We did j
not seek her ; she sought us to do us hurt, and |
upon her Sovereigns and statesmen must rest the |
grave responsibilities of a rivalry which they 1
have courted, and we have shunned.
•IW M
AFGHANISTAN.
DARJEELING, O ct. 18.
Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Gholam Hussein, the Viceroy's Envoy,
has returned safely from Cabul to British territory.
BERLIN, O ct. 18.
The St. Petersburg JRushi Mir says that General
Stoletoff, on his return to Tashkend on September
15, was accompanied by an Afghan Embassy,
headed by Munshi A term used in the Middle East, Persia and South Asia to refer to a secretary, assistant or amanuensis. Munshis were employed in the British administration in the Gulf. Mahammed Hassan Khan,Shere
AJi's Minister of the Interior. On the 22d of
September General Stoletoff left Tashkent for
Livadia. The Afghan Minister remained at Tash
kend, awaiting General StoletofTs return from the
Crimean Palace of the Czar. In all probability
General Stoletoff by this time is back at Tashkend. |
NA WAB QEOLAM HUSSBIN KSAN, 0.8.1.
It may be interesting at the present crisis to give
a sketch of the career of Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Gholam Hussein
1 Khan, the native gentleman deputed by Lord
1 Lytton to announce to Shere Ali Sir Neville
Chamberlain 's intended Mission. It tends to
illustrate the unswerving loyalty displayed by
certain sections of our Pathan fellow-subjects—
loyalty, unfortunately, not rewarded as it should
be—and certainly shows that in no part of Her
Majesty 's dominions has more unshaken devotion
been shown than along the Punjab border.
Gholam Hussein Khan, whose clan, the Alizae
Pathans, have, according to their own traditions,
been settled in the Derajat for upwards of 1,000
years, is the eldest son of one Ashik Mahomed
Khan, who was ruler of the Tank subdivision of
the Dera Ismail Khan district under the Maharajah
Runjeet Singh. The country was held under a
military tenure by which Ashik Mahomed was
allowed the whole revenue of the province, he
guaranteeing to furnish the Sikh Maharajah a
certain contingent in time of war. On the death of
his father, Gholam Hussein Khan went to Lahore,
and in 1847, under the orders of the late Sir
Frederick Currie, then resident at the Sikh capital,
he, together with other Mahomedan chiefs,
attacked the rebellious Bhai Maharajah Singh, com
pletely dispersing his band. The handsome rewards
and warm thanks of the British officer apparently
won the heart of the Alizae chief, for we find
Gholam Hussein Khan a few weeks later earning
the approbation of Major R. Napier, chief engineer
at the siege of Mooltan. No sooner was that
fortress captured than Sir Herbert Edwardes
despatched the Tank Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. to Dera Ismail Khan
with the order to hold the country against the Sikh
troops then in open rebellion in Bannu. Their
loyal assistance to Lieutenant Reynell Taylor
enabled that officer, with a few untrained levies
and two old cannon—the only shot for which were
stones—to reduce by siege the fort of Laki ? which
was defended by 500 men and 10 guns. This little
known exploit is, perhaps, one of the finest mili
tary achievements in our Indian history. During the
siege Azim Khan, Dost Mahomed's son, marched
down from Cabul with a strong force and en
deavoured to seduce the Alizae chiefs from their
allegiance, but it was of no avail ; and on finding
that he could expect no support from his co
religionists in the Derajat, Azim Khan fell back.
From 1851 to 1857 Gholam Hussein remained
at or near Bannu, aiding his old chief. Major
Reynell Taylor, in the civil duties of the place ; but
on the outbreak of the Mutiny he once more placed j
his sword at the disposal of the British, and was
directed by Sir Herbert Edwardes to raise a body
of Horse for service in the Derajat, so that the
regular garrisons might be detached for service in
Hindostan. In a few weeks Gholam Hussein had
raised 2,000 men, who were the mainstay of the
District Officer on the frontier during the early
part of the rebellion. Towards the end of 1857, Sir
John Lawrence directed the Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. to take six
troops of his Mooltani Horse to Lahore, where
thev were formed into a regiment and placed under
the'command of Captain, now General, C. Cureton.
This corps took part in no less than 16 different
engagements with the rebels ; and for his services
du ring that period Gholam Hussein received the
title of Khan Bahadur, the Third Class Order of
Merit, the Mutiny Medal, and a pension of £60 per
annum 1 Many tales might be told of these wild
Mooltani horsemen, and of the good service they
did in Oude and Rohilkund under Sir Thomas
Beaton and Brigadiers Penny and Jones. Perhaps the
most characteristic is that, on the first occasion of
their being formed up on parade, the rear rank
flatly refused to ride behind the front, asserting
that they were equal in every way, and, therefore,
fully entitled to ride side by side. On the fact
being explained that the formation was one for drill
purposes and not intended to reflect in any way on
either rank, the men consulted among themselves
and finally consented to give way,provided that the
rear-rank files should lead every other gday. In
spite of their slight peculiarities, the Mooltani
made excellent Irregular Cavalry, and were as
dashing in action as they were willing and obedient
in quarters.
At the close of the Mutiny the Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. was
despatched to Cabul as our Envoy, and remained
there until 1863, during which time he did the
British Government excellent service. He accom
panied the Afghan army to Herat, and was the
means of inducing Shere Ali to punish Sultan
Mahomed Khan (his own father in-law), who openly
assisted the Momunds in the affair against us at
Shubkudder in 1863. During the five years he re
mained in Cabul his conduct received the warmest
approval of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab,
who placed on record his appreciation of the
wisdom, tact, and loyalty of the Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. ; and Shere
Ali himself officially expressed himself thoroughly
well pleased with the manner in which Gholam
Hussein had fulfilled his duties, naively writing,
" God knows there have been few Envoys deputed
by the British Government distinguished by so
much worth and fitness." On his return from
Cabul, Gholam Hussein was raised to the rank of
Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. , and in 1868 he was made a Companion of
the Star of India. In the same year he was
appointed Commandant of the Army of the State of
Bhawalpore";; but, owing to a slight put upon him
at a durbar A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family). before the Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. , where he, an old
and tried servant of Her Majesty and a Companion
of the Star of India, was made to sit below' many
underlings of the Bhawalpore State, he took
umbrage and requested to be removed. Lord
Napier of Magdala promptly reinstated him in his
position of Native Commandant of the Mooltani
Horse ; and, to show his disbelief in certain
charges that had been preferred against Gholam
Hussein, appointed him his Aide-de-Camp at the
Camp of Exercise in 1873. During the Prince of
Wales's visit to India the Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. was nominated to
his Royal Highness's Staff, and subsequently was
granted a pension and small estate in the Bannu
district.
On the decision being arrived at by Lord Lytton
to despatch a mission to Cabul, the Government of
India wisely determined to send Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Gholam
Hussein Khan as an avant-courier. His personal
friendship for Shere Ali and the tact he had dis
played while Envoy in Cabul from 1859 to 1864
peculiarly justified this selection. But it seems that,
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m
•i'riVv^e 'throv/u (Town by liussia must be
ansv; ? ^ i'i sucb a way as to leave the issue
indisputable. Those responsibilities of empire
■ffhicb we have shirked for twenty years must
be accepted and redeemed, or the penalty entailed
■will be severe. It is now not a question of the
weakness or strength of a frontier in a military
point of view. So long as no enemy was at
hand the existing line sufficed, and we could bear
its inconveniences; but no sensible person ever
pretended that we could put up with its disad
vantages on the supposition that a " positive,
active, and aggressive" foe was permitted to
absorb the whole political influence beyond its
bounds, and, under cover of our com
placent inactivity, prepare and acculnulate at
leisure what means and combinations he pleased.
Sihce we have permitted the elements of mis
chief to gather under our eyes, the political
overtops the purely military considerations
which should govern our course. What we
have now to secure is the certainty that the
country south of the Oxus and east of the
Caspian, that the valleys of Khorassan and
the mountain block of Afghanistan, shall not
serve as a gathering ground for hostile forces,
and that can- only be done by establishing our
political influence on an impregnable basis.
Whatever measures may be needful, the end to
be steadfastly kept in view is the exclusion of the
Eussians from Afghanistan and the attain
ment of satisfactory relations with the Afghan
people. How far it may be necessary to pro
ceed in order to accomplish these objects, Indian
statesmen should be best able to determine ; but
the duty and prudence of accomplishing them
is at this moment placed beyond all doubt. If
the first thing to be done is to efface the affront
put on the Q ueen's representative, the second
and principal business is to arrest effectually the
persistent encroachments of Russia. While these
are natural to her, resistance is equally natural
to us ; and, while she is "impelled" to advance,
so are we, if faithful to our country, impelled
to lay down limits which, at the risk of instant
opposition, she shall not transcend. We did
not seek her ; she sought us to do us hurt, and
upon her Sovereigns and statesmen must rest the
grave responsibilities of a rivalry which they
have courted, and we have shunned.
•W
r
AFGHANISTAN.
DARJEELING, Oct. 18.
Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Gholam Hussein, the Viceroy's Envoy,
has returned safely from Cabul to British territory.
BERLIN, O ct . 18.
The St. Petersburg EusJci Mir says that General
Stoletoff, on his return to Tashkend on September
15, was accompanied by an Afghan Embassy,
headed by Munshi A term used in the Middle East, Persia and South Asia to refer to a secretary, assistant or amanuensis. Munshis were employed in the British administration in the Gulf. Mahammed Hassan Khan,Shere
A-li's Minister of the Interior. On the 22d of
September General Stoletoff left Tashkent for
Livadia. The Afghan Minister remained at Tash
kend, awaiting General Stoletoff s return from the
Crimean Palace of the Czar. In all probability
General Stoletoff by this time is back at Tashkend.
NAWAB An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. QEOLAM HU8SMIN KHAN, 0,8.1.
It may be interesting at the present crisis to give
a sketch of the career of Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Gholam Hussein
Khan, the native gentleman deputed by Lord
Lytton to announce to Shere Ali Sir Neville
Onamberlain's intended Mission. It tends to
illustrate the unswerving loyalty displayed by
certain sections of our Pathan fellow-subjects—
loyalty, unfortunately, not rewarded as it should
be—and certainly shows that in no part of Her
>_ domjjQiona has more unshaken devotion
been shown than along the Punjab border.
Gholam Hussein Khan, whose clan, the Alizae
Pathans, have, according to their own traditions,
been settled in the Derajat for upwards of 1,000
years, is the eldest son of one Ashik Mahomed
Khan, who was ruler of the Tank subdivision of
the Dera Ismail Khan district under the Maharajah
Bunjeet Singh. The country was held under a
military tenure by which Ashik Mahomed was
allowed the whole revenue of the province, he
guaranteeing to furnish the Sikh Maharajah a
certain contingent in time of war. On the death of
his father, Gholam Hussein Khan went to Lahore,
and in 1847, under the orders of the late Sir
Frederick Currie, then resident at the Sikh capital,
he, together with other Mahomedan chiefs,
attacked the rebellious Bhai Maharajah Singh, com
pletely dispersing his band. The handsome rewards
and warm thanks of the British officer apparently
won the heart of the Alizae chief, for we find
Gholam Hussein Khan a few weeks later earning
the approbation of Major R. Napier, chidf engineer
at the siege of Mooltan. No sooner was that
fortress captured than Sir Herbert Edwardes
despatched the Tank Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. to Dera Ismail Khan
with the order to hold the country against the Sikh
troops then in open rebellion in Bannu. Their
loyal assistance to Lieutenant Reynell Taylor
enabled that officer, with a few untrained levies
and two old cannon—the only shot for which were
stones—to reduce by siege the fort of Laki ? which
was defended by 500 men and 10 guns. This little
known exploit is, perhaps, one of the finest mili
tary achievements in our Indian history. During the
siege Azim Khan, Dost Mahomed's son, marched
down from Cabul with a strong force and en
deavoured to seduce the Alizae chiefs from their
allegiance, but it was of no avail ; and on finding
that he could expect no support from his co
religionists in the Derajat, Azim Khan fell back.
From 1851 to 1857 Gholam Hussein remained
at or near Bannu, aiding his old chief. Major
Reynell Taylor, in the civil duties of the place ; but
on the outbreak of the Mutiny he once more placed
his sword at tho disposal of the British, and was
directed by Sir Herbert Edwardes to raise a body
of Horse for service in the Derajat, so that the
regular garrisons might be detached for service in
Hindostan. In a few weeks Gholam Hussein had
raised 2,000 men, who were the mainstay of the
District Officer on the frontier during the early
part of the rebellion. Towards the end of 1857, Sir
John Lawrence directed the Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. to take six
I troops of his Mooltani Horse to Lahore, where
they were formed into a regiment and placed under
the'command of Captain, now General, C. Cureton.
This corps took part in no less than 16 different
engagements with the rebels ; and for his services
during that period Gholam Hussein received the
title oi Khan Bahadur, the Third Class Order of
Merit, the Mutiny Medal, and a pension of £60 |)er
annum 1 Many tales might be told of these wild
Mooltani horsemen, and of the good service they
did in Oude and Rohilkund under Sir Thomas
Beaton and Brigadiers Penny and Jones. Perhaps the
most characteristic is that, on the first occasion of
their being formed up on parade, the rear rank
flatly refused to ride behind the front, asserting
that they were equal in every way, and, therefore,
fully entitled to ride side by side. On the fact
being explained that the formation was one for drill
purposes and not intended to reflect in any way on
either rank, the men consulted among themselves
and finally consented to give way,provided that the
rear-rank files should lead every other gday. In
spite of their slight peculiarities, the Mooltani
made excellent Irregular Cavalry, and were as
dashing in action as they were willing and obedient
in quarters.
At the close of the Mutiny the Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. was
despatched to Cabul as our Envoy, and remained
there until 1863, during which time he did the
British Government excellent service. He accom
panied the Afghan army to Herat, and was the
means of inducing Shere Ali to punish Sultan
Mahomed Khan (his own father in-law),who openly
assisted the Momunds in the affair against us at
Shubkudder in 1863. During the five years he re
mained in Cabul his conduct received the warmest
approval of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab,
who placed on record his appreciation of the
wisdom, tact, and loyalty of the Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. ; and Shere
Ali himself officially expressed himself thoroughly
well pleased with the manner in which Gholam
Hussein had fulfilled his duties, naively writing,
" God knows there have been few Envoys deputed
by the British Government distinguished by so
much worth and fitness." On his return from
Cabul, Gholam Hussein was raised to the rank of
Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. , and in 1868 he was made a Companion of
the Star of India. In the same year he was
appointed Commandant of the Army of the State of
Bhawalpore';; but, owing to a slight put upon him
at a durbar A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family). before the Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. , where he, an old
and tried servant of Her Majesty and a Companion
of the Star of India, was made to sit below" many
underlings of the Bhawalpore State, he took
umbrage and requested to be removed. Lord
Napier of Magdala promptly reinstated him in his
position of Native Commandant of the Mooltani
Horse ; and, to show his disbelief in certain
charges that had been preferred against Gholam
Hussein, appointed him his Aide-de-Camp at the
Camp of Exercise in 1873. During the Prince of
Wales's visit to India the Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. was nominated to
his Royal Highness's Staff, and subsequently was
granted a pension and small estate in the Bannu
district.
On the decision being arrived at by Lord Lytton
to despatch a mission to Cabul, the Government of
India wisely determined to send Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Gholam
Hussein Khan as an avant-courier. His personal
friendship for Shere Ali and the tact he had dis
played while Envoy in Cabul from 1859 to 1864
peculiarly justified this selection. But it seems that,
in spite of his diplomatic skill,Gholam Hussein has
been unable to avert the coming storm, which he
himself predicted would burst if ever a British
Resident were forced on the Ameer. It is strange
that Sir Harry Lumsden and the Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. , both
of whom have filled the position of Envoy at the
Court of Cabul, should have been so opposed to any
attempts at imposing a British Ambassador on the
ruler of Afghanistan.
We are glad to learn of the Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. 's safe arrival
in British territory. India can ill-afford to lose a
man of whom one of our b«st and bravest Punjab
officers wrote :—
" Gholam Hussein Khan is a perfect gentleman, with
chivalrous ideas of honour, a peacemaker among his
equals, kind and benevolent to those under him. In
soldierlike spirit there is not probably his superior in the
country." . __ ,
As long as India contains such men as JNawab
Gholam Hussein Khan, and as long as Indian
officials can retain their friendship and loyalty, we
have little reason to fear discontent within our
borders.