Monday, November 16, 2009

Partition

Sometimes the writing comes easy. Other times, it is a hard slog and you have to fight for every word. This one is one of the latter, another piece in the continued exploration of Afghan history.

Relatively short, it covers the period from 1947 to 1953, the period of and immediately after the partition of India. These events had a profound effect on Afghanistan and, in many respects, represent a major failure of British foreign policy. In the space of six years, the country changed from a cordial friend of Britain, well on its way to becoming a client state of the USSR – and we let it happen.

Of these events, I knew next to nothing until I started researching them. I am almost ashamed of my own ignorance.

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