Who needs a fake Independence Day and why?
Author: Mohammad Abdullah, journalist, specially for “Sangar”
"Afghanistan on the Path of History" by Ghulam Mohammad Ghabar and "Afghanistan in the Last Five Centuries" by Mohammad Siddiq Farhang are considered among Afghanistan's most prestigious Persian sources in the last two centuries. Both authors were observers and involved in historical events.
Moreover, in this regard, there are many books, memoirs, research articles, and written works where 28 Assad 1298 or 19 August 1919 is not Afghanistan's independence day or nothing related to independence happened on that day.
In all authoritative sources, the chronology of events and days related to this issue is recorded as follows:
- February 20, 1919 – the day of the assassination of Amir Habibullah, Ammanullahan’s father.
- February 21, 1919 - Amanullah Khan was proclaimed king.
- February 28, 1919 - the declaration of independence of Afghanistan was proclaimed (1).
- March 27, 1919 - recognition of the independence of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union.
- April 13, 1919 - speech of Amanullah Khan, who declared independence (2).
- August 8, 1919 - signing of the Rawalpindi Peace Treaty.
- In 1933 Nader Khan declared a week of rest and independence from August 11 to 19.
- In 1939, Zahir Shah declared May 28 as Independence Day.
- In 1943, Zahir Shah moved Independence Day to the first week of Sunbula (August 21 to 27).
- After the 1973 coup, Dawood Khan designated May 27 as an independence holiday.
- In 1979, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) declared August 19 as Afghanistan's independence day, and until now this false date has been fed into the minds of the people of Afghanistan, and Ashraf Ghani has gone too far in celebrating the centenary of independence.
When I was involved in media activities, I had dozens of group and individual discussions and several television programs with researchers who, except Professor Habibullah Rafi, called the August 19 celebrations false and irrelevant.
Professor Abdulkhaliq Lalzad cited Ghubar's story of Afghan independence on February 28, 1919, as partial recognition.
The late Professor Mohammad Qasim Akhgar and the late Professor Ghulam Mohammad Mohammad considered February 28, 1919, to be associated with the independence of Afghanistan and not the day of independence.
The late Abdulhamid Mubariz considered April 13, 1919, as Independence Day and emphasized it.
May their souls rest in peace!
My purpose in this article is not the essence of the nature of independence, but rather the problem of why rulers of different periods and their educated people indulge in this illusion. Why did they highlight the lies and forgery of the country's independence history and how will they benefit from such forgery when experts in the relevant field are better at expressing their opinions?
SOURCES:
(1) Ghulam Mohammad Ghubar, “Afghanistan on the Path of History,” Tehran, p. 775;
(2) Mir Muhammad Siddiq Farhang, Afghanistan in the Last Five Centuries, Tehran, p. 548;
(3) I have refrained from mentioning other dates in 1919 to avoid prolongation.
