IOR/L/PS/7/47 ff.183-192

Description

Scope and content : Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department (Frontier) to the Secretary, Political and Secret Department, India Office, dated Simla 26 May 1886, forwarding for the attention of the Secretary of State for India, copy of the Kabul Newsletter no. 33, written by Lieutenant-Colonel Ataulla Khan, British Agent at Kabul and dated 23 April 1886.The writer reports on the Amir's durbar which he attended and at which the Amir showed the letter from Queen Victoria 'guaranteeing my protection from external enemies. Her Majesty means to say that, in the event of Persia or Russia attacking me, the English Government will assist me with troops.' The Amir then ordered a copy to be publicly displayed , 'so that all the people of Afghanistan might read it and satisfy themselves and praise the Government and thank it for it ... The people of Kabul assembled there in such numbers that it was difficult for one to go near it. As every one could not get near enough to read it, every body, on his return, put his own interpretation on it.' The Amir also addressed the durbar on his state of military preparedness: 'Although I have 45,000 disciplined troops, yet all my people are soldiers. At least there are one crore and 20 lacs of fighting men in my country. In case of an emergency I can arrange to send 10,000 fighting men at the commencement of hostilities and go on sending the same number every day for six years without interruption...'