Emerging from Isolation

Habibullah Khan and the Opening of Afghanistan

 Agenda
❖ Background

❖ Framing questions/Argument

❖ Overview of Primary Sources

❖ Analysis of Sources

❖ Conclusion

❖ Discussion

2
 Background

Isolation ? Reform
ABDUR RAHMAN HABIBULLAH KHAN
AMANULLAH KHAN
1880-1901 1901-1919
1919-1929

3
 Afghanistan under
Habibullah
How should we classify
Habibullah’s period?

To what extent was the

Amir’s 1907 trip to India
the turning point in the
opening up of Afghanistan?
http://www.afghanan.net/afghanistan/sites/habib.jpg

4
 The Trip

❖ 64 days

❖ Visited several cities in India

❖ Met people, visited factories, shopped, went sightseeing

❖ Upon returning, was more favorable toward reforms

5
 Primary Sources
❖ Newspapers

❖ The Tribune (Lahore)

❖ The Indian People

❖ The Times (London)

❖ American newspapers

❖ Lord Minto’s Memoirs

6
 Categories
❖ People

❖ Commodities/Military

❖ Education

❖ Ideas

❖ Shopping

❖ Transportation

7
 People

❖ Amir invites Duke and

Duchess back to
Afghanistan.

❖ Brings a geologist back to

Kabul when he leaves
India.

8
 Commodities/Military

❖ Visited several

❖ Brings a geologist back to

Kabul when he leaves
India.

9
 Education

❖ Doubles donation to
Islamia College

❖ Afghanistan educational
news reported in Lahore
newspaper

10
 Ideas

❖ Learns how to play Bridge

❖ Becomes a Freemason

11
 Transportation/Shopping

❖ Bridges

❖ Cars

❖ Horses

12
 Conclusion

❖ The evolution from isolationist state to an open

Afghanistan occurred long before Afghanistan achieved
independence.

❖ As we’ve seen from the articles, these interactions develop

in a number of areas.

13
Questions?