Hart of Empire

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Author: Saul David
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post as Viceroy of India in seventy-six he was instructed by the Cabinet to prevent the ruler of Afghanistan, Sher Ali, falling under Russian influence. One by one the khanates of Central Asia have fallen to the Russians, who now stand on Afghanistan's northern border. Our greatest fear is that they will continue their march south and use Afghanistan to invade India. Lord Lytton's task was to encourage Sher Ali to accept a British resident in Kabul who could keep an eye on the Russians.
    'What he was not authorized to do was send a mission up the Khyber Pass without Sher's permission, which was what happened last autumn. Inevitably the mission was turned back by the Afghans and war was the result. It might have been avoided, but only if Sher had apologized and agreed to accept a resident. It was vital to our prestige that he agreed to some form of reparation. He refused. These Orientals are very proud.'
    The sequence of events was not dissimilar to that which had preceded the Zulu war. Yet there was one vital difference, and George voiced it in the hope that it would end all talk of cloaks and holy war. 'All this is fascinating, my lord, but was not the recent Afghan war brought to a satisfactory conclusion, unlike the fighting in Zululand, which continues? Or that is the impression one has from the newspapers.'
    'And newspapers never lie, do they?' asked Salisbury, with more than a hint of sarcasm. 'But you're mostly right, Captain Hart. For once our military operations went like clockwork - though the Afghans fought well against Roberts at Peiwar Kotal - and by January this year it was mostly over. Sher Ali had fled north and both Kandahar and Kabul were in our hands. Then in February we heard of Sher Ali's death and the accession of his son, and former prisoner, Yakub Khan, who had enough sense to open negotiations with us. He signed a treaty last week at Gandamak, ceding a strip of Afghan territory that includes the Khyber Pass and the Kurram valley, agreeing to our original request for a British resident in Kabul, and guaranteeing British control over Afghan foreign policy and freedom of commerce. In return he will receive an annual subsidy of sixty thousand pounds and the promise of British support in the event of war with a foreign aggressor.'
    Salisbury paused to let the details sink in, but George was confused. 'Forgive me, my lord,' he said, 'but I don't see what this has to do with me or the cloak. Surely with the war over and the treaty signed you have everything you want - a British resident, a pliant amir and Russian influence nowhere to be seen.'
    Beaconsfield could remain silent no longer. 'Appearances can be deceptive, Captain Hart. But in truth the situation in Afghanistan is far less satisfactory than the newspapers would have you believe. How do we know this? Because the Foreign Office has a spy in Kabul, and his last report warned that Yakub is despised by the majority of his countrymen for concluding such a shameful treaty, and that an extremist cleric from Ghazni . . .' Beaconsfield turned to Salisbury for help. 'What's his name?'
    'Mullah Mushk-i-Alam, Prime Minister,' said Salisbury, 'which apparently means "Perfume of the Universe".'
    'Extraordinary! Well, this fellow, according to our spy, is trying to rouse the faithful against our presence in Afghanistan and all who condone it, including Yakub. And the easiest way for him to achieve this is to don the Prophet's Cloak and declare himself the spiritual leader not just of Afghanistan but of the whole Mussulman world. It goes without saying that it is in our vital interest to prevent this happening - which is where you come in. We want you to travel to Afghanistan, find the cloak and bring it back to Britain.'
    Until now George had listened to both men in respectful silence. They were, after all, the most powerful men in the country, which, by dint of the Empire's pre-eminence, meant the world. But this request was insane. No, he decided, it was worse

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