Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-24
BY WILLIAM L. MCPHERSON.

TWILL Afghanistan, under 1t!
AT new Padishah, Nadir Khan
wv resume the progress towarc
moderniZation begun aftel
the Great War by Padishat
Amanullah? This progress was inter
rupted by the reactionary usurper
Bacha-i-Sakao, who drove Amanullaf
into exile. Bacha-i-Sakao represented
the archaic and brutal in Afghan life
and was little better than a successful
bandit. Now Nadir Khan, a descendant
of the Kings who brought about Afghan
unity and therefore a relative of ANA.
nullah. has conquered Bachai-i-Sakac
and has been proclaimed Padishah BY
his followers. The more enlightened
and progressive element returns Il
power and modernization, perhaps more
gradual, becomes again possibility.
For Americans and Europeans former
Padishah Amanullah put Afghanistar
on the postwar map in the sense Of
dramatizing the possibilities Of his
country as convert to Western ciVilt-
zation. Amanullah was an admirer Of
Mustapha Renal of Turkey, and Ria
Khan of Persia. He wanted to follow
in their footsteps. AfghaniStan, under
his leadership, was to join these other
two Moslem states of Western Asia in
casting off ancient tradition and inertia
and becoming westernized in customs
dress. education, government and eco
nofnic background.
Eastern CrOmweIIs Arise.
The war started Western Asia out of
its lethargy. Many intellectual leaders
there realized for the first time the
hahdicaps in the way of national or
ganization and efiiciency under which
their countries had suffered-men like
Ml;stapha Renal and Ria Khan who
believed in breaking sharply with the
past and going to any extreme Of mod
erIiiZation.
The scope of Kemal's revolution has
BEEN extraordinary. It has converted
the old Turkish Empire into a republic,
Seoularized the state, emancipated
woman, abolished polygamy, European
lied dress, manners and business meth
DDS and is even now forcing the people
to learn to read and write in q new
alphabet.
Ria Khan, the Cossack trooper, who
rose to the throne of the Shahs, has
not gone so far in Persia. His modern
izasion is largely material in character
ana does not touch dress, religion and
letters. But it is carrying Persia for
ward in Turkeys wake.
AmanuIlah Went Too Fast.
in Afghanistan King Amanullah ran
up against stone wall of tribal preju-
dice and religious bigotry in his efforts
to westernize a mountaineer people as
primitive now as 1t was in the days Of
Abraham. This first undermining cru
SADIE failed, because Amanullah went
TOT fast.
He and his beautiful Syrian wife were
enAmored Of European ideas. They
made q long state visit to the chief
countries of Europe, receiving extraordi-
nary attention there and involving
themselves in projects and commitments
impossible of speedy realization on their
return to isolated, backward and fanati-
cal Afghanistan. The natives were
sk,.ptical and the mullahs-the religious
lesders-could not be overridden as
Mtstapha Renal OVERRIDE the Turkish
priesthood.
Tribesmen Opposed Reforms.
Amanullah might have succeeded If
he had confined his efforts to building
rosds, opening schools and reforming
the government. But when he tried to
introduce equality of the sexes and to
impose European dress on the tribes
men, he misjudged the situation.
Most of the, people preferred to retain
their national costumes and their social
and religious regulations. On this point
Nadir Khan himself said last January
at Nice, before he started back to
Afghanistan to recover the throne for
the royal family:
King Amanullah made his greatest
mistake when he failed to realize that
Rome was not built in day. His re-
forms were excellent, but 1t would take
years to execute them. He might have
accomplished his program within 10
years and without creating diScord, nuS
he had been filled with desire to catch
I'D with Europe Immediately. Afghanis-
tan is tolerant about everything except
the Mahometan religion"
Descendant Of First King.
Nadir Khan is a descendant of Sardar
Panda Khan, one of whose 81 sons be-
came the flrst King Of Afghanistan
about 100 years ago, and who was also
the great-grandfather OF King Amanul-
iah. He Is therefore q cousin OF the de-
posed monarch. He served under the
latter as minister of war and COM
Tnander-in- chief of the Afghan army
after Amanullah succeeded TO the throne
in 1919. .,,,
Iah was treacherously murdered tnat
wear in Djalalabad at the inst1gation OF
his younger brother, Nasrullah, VINO
then proclaimed himself Ameer. Inc
usurper forced his nephews, the two
older princes who were with their taLner
at the time, to abdicate. But Amanul-
lab. the third son, who had remained III
Kabul, assumed the crown and defeated
and captured NarSullah. The latter
% died shortly afterward in prison. IL
was an ironical incident OF bachl-l-
Sahao's unsurpation that ne chose 1oT
himself the title of the murdered
Padishah Habibullah.
Fell Out with Amanullah.
Nadir Khan had some falling out
with Amanullah, and in 1924 was re-
lieyed of his military duties and sent
as Minister to Paris. He was tnen "A
wears old and Amanullah So. His health
was moor. however, and in 1926, before
the visit of the Afghan King and queen
to Europe, he retired from the mission
and went to live as Sem-ulVallu OH
the French Riviera. Remaining theFe
for three wears, he returned TO Afghan
istan after Amanullah's deposition and
flight. only because he was the only rep
resentatiye of the royal house capable
of making a real night TO GUST the
brieand. Bacha-i-Sakao. He was AZ
that period not himself an active as
plrant for the throne.
Fought Against British in 1919.
He had also commanded the Afghan
forces in the brief war with Great Brit
ain in 1919, which ended with British
recognition of Afghanistan indepeno-
ence. He had negotiated with Great
Britain an additional s1.eement secur-
ing amnesty for all A anans domlcneo
in India who had taken part In the
fighting.
He was esteemed by the British as a
leader of force and character, naturally
more desirable as a ruler than Bacha-