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Categories | Politics |
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Publisher | Mahmud Tarzi |
Founded | 1911 |
Final issue | 1919 |
Country | Afghanistan |
Based in | Kabul |
Language | Persian |
Seraj al Akhbar (Persian : سراجالاخبار, lit. 'Lamp of the News') was a Persian newspaper that circulated in Kabul, Afghanistan from 1911–1919. [1] Published in 1911, the newspaper was founded by Mahmud Tarzi as an attempt at modernization, with the support of Emir Habibullah Khan. [2] It was primarily a political newspaper, purposing to keep the country informed about international affairs, and the current events of the country. Seraj al Akhbar promoted Pan-Islamism, and supported the young Turks coalition in the Ottoman Empire. As the first recognized newspaper in the country, Seraj al Akhbar is regarded as the founding of the Afghan press. [1] [2]
Mahmud Tarzi was born in Ghazni, Afghanistan, on August 23, 1865, the son of Sardar Gholam Mohammad Tarzi, who was leader of the Mohamadzai royal house, and a popular poet. [3] When the family was condemned to exile in 1881, following the accession of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, they lived in Karachi, Sindh for four years, before moving to Syria. [1] Tarzi travelled frequently during his youth, with trips to Mecca and Paris. One of his earlier works: Account of a Journey, recounts these travels, which did much to imbue the young Mahmud Tarzi with ideas of modernism and westernization. His friendship with political activist and Islamic ideologist Jamal ad Din al Afghani was also responsible for his appeal to Pan-Islamism. [2] When Emir Abdur Rahman died, Habibullah Khan ascended the throne and recalled Tarzi from exile. In 1905, Tarzi's two daughters married both the king Habibullah and the prince and future king Amanullah Khan. [2] He was given a post in the government, and shortly after was encouraged to start a newspaper. Seraj al Akhbar was first published in 1911 and had a circulation of 1600 copies. [2] It immediately became a voice of modernization in the country, attracting pro-western students, who formed the young Afghan coalition. [4] Seraj al Akhbar made significant efforts in keeping the country informed of political affairs of the world, with a view of supporting the progressive ideologies formed by the young Turks coalition. Despite its modernizing ideals, the newspaper was also a vehicle of propaganda by the monarchy and Pan-Islamic factions of the country. It distanced itself from the affairs of the British Empire and the Russian Revolution, while publishing tracts from Turkish newspapers ridiculing the enemies of the Ottoman Empire.
In 1911, the British Empire controlled the foreign policy of Afghanistan. Only a few decades ago, the Second Anglo-Afghan War had resulted in the defeat of Afghan forces under Emir Sher Ali Khan to British India. Afghanistan was allowed to retain its sovereignty but at the expense of handing its foreign policy to the British Empire. [5] Afghanistan also lost territories south and north of the country by the establishment of the Durand line, which drew the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. When Habibullah Khan became Emir of Afghanistan in 1901, British influence manifested itself in the building of a military academy, as well as the founding of a new school. [6] Progressive reforms were put into place by Habibullah, who wanted to modernize Afghanistan. Western medicine, and technological advances such as the telegram were all introduced in Afghanistan. Seraj al Akhbar promoted these reforms in the country, and further imbued the country with a desire for independence. It was however dissolved before Afghanistan achieved independence in 1919.
Seraj al Akhbar extracted most of its news from foreign newspapers. It was initially intended to provide news concerning Emir Habibullah, but as World War I broke out, Seraj al Akhbar began to express hostility towards Afghanistan's neutrality in Foreign affairs. [1] News from Turkey was frequently printed in Seraj al Akhbar, and pro-Turkish sentiments began to develop among the Young Afghan coalition. The newspaper's continual push for independence, along with its anti-British sentiments led to the dissolution of the newspaper. [1]
When it was first published, Seraj al Akhbar used a large format (33 x 24 cm), with up to 14 pages of contents. [2] The language was mostly Persian with a few articles in Arabic and Turkish. Foreign news was usually translated into the vernacular before being printed. Seraj al Akhbar was also an outlet for poets and short-story writers in Afghanistan. [2] One section was dedicated to subscribers who wanted to write to the newspaper in praise of the Emir, while another printed scientific articles which encouraged industrialization and modernization. [1]
Seraj al Akhbar is regarded as being responsible for innovating the Persian language in Afghanistan. New forms of poetry were introduced as a result of the exposure the newspaper provided for poets. Afghans had to acquaint themselves to the academic language of the newspaper which was unfamiliar to a mostly illiterate population. [1] The newspaper is also responsible for introducing French literature which was translated from Turkish to Persian. Due to such exposure to western ideals, conservative factions in the country demanded the dissolution of the newspaper and the exile of Tarzi and his followers.
European influence in Afghanistan has been present in the country since the Victorian era, when the competing imperial powers of Britain and Russia contested for control over Afghanistan as part of the Great Game.
The following lists events that happened during 1911 in Afghanistan.
Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai, nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, was the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War. With the decline of the Durrani dynasty, he became the Emir of Afghanistan in 1826. An ethnic Pashtun, he belonged to the Barakzai tribe. He was the 11th son of Payinda Khan, chief of the Barakzai Pashtuns, who was killed in 1799 by King Zaman Shah Durrani.
Habibullah Khan was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until his assassination in 1919. He was the eldest son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, whom he succeeded by right of primogeniture in October 1901. His grandfather was Mohammad Afzal Khan.
Inayatullah Khan, was the King of Afghanistan for three days in January 1929. He was the son of former Afghan Emir, Habibullah Khan. Inayatullah's brief reign ended with his abdication.
Ghazi Amanullah Khan was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, Afghanistan was able to relinquish its protected state status to proclaim independence and pursue an independent foreign policy free from the influence of the United Kingdom.
Nasrullah Khan, (1874–1920), sometimes spelt as Nasr Ullah Khan, was shahzada of Afghanistan and second son of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan. He held the throne of Afghanistan as Emir for one week, from 21 to 28 February 1919.
Ubaidullah Sindhi was a political activist of the Indian independence movement and one of its vigorous leaders. According to Dawn, Karachi, Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi struggled for the independence of British India and for an exploitation-free society in India. He was also Home Minister of first Provisional Government of India established in Afghanistan in 1915.
The Provisional Government of India was a government-in-exile established in Kabul on December 1, 1915 by the Indian Independence Committee during World War I with support from the Central Powers. Its purpose was to enrol support from the Afghan Emir as well as Russia, China, and Japan for the Indian nationalist movement. Established at the conclusion of the Kabul Mission composed of members of the Berlin Committee, German and Turkish delegates, the provisional government was composed of Mahendra Pratap as President, Maulana Barkatullah as Prime Minister, Deobandi Maulavi Ubaidullah Sindhi as Home Minister, Deobandi Maulavi Bashir as Minister of War, and Champakraman Pillai as Foreign Minister. The provisional government found significant support from the internal administration of the Afghan government, although the Emir refused to declare open support, and ultimately, under British pressure it was forced to withdraw from Afghanistan in 1919.
Soraya Tarzi was the first Queen of Afghanistan as the wife of King Amanullah Khan. She played a major part in the modernization reforms of Amanullah Khan, particularly in regard to the emancipation of women.
The Barakzai dynasty, also known as the Muhammadzai dynasty, ruled what is now Afghanistan from 1823 to 1978, when the monarchy ended de jure under Musahiban Mohammad Zahir Shah and de facto under his cousin Sardar Mohammad Daoud Khan. The Barakzai dynasty was established by Dost Mohammad Khan after the Durrani dynasty of Ahmad Shah Durrani was removed from power. As the Pahlavi era in Iran, the Muhammadzai era was known for its progressivist modernity, practice of Sufism, peaceful security and neutrality, in which Afghanistan was referred to as the "Switzerland of Asia".
The Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition, also known as the Kabul Mission, was a diplomatic mission to Afghanistan sent by the Central Powers in 1915–1916. The purpose was to encourage Afghanistan to declare full independence from the British Empire, enter World War I on the side of the Central Powers, and attack British India. The expedition was part of the Hindu–German Conspiracy, a series of Indo-German efforts to provoke a nationalist revolution in India. Nominally headed by the exiled Indian prince Raja Mahendra Pratap, the expedition was a joint operation of Germany and Turkey and was led by the German Army officers Oskar Niedermayer and Werner Otto von Hentig. Other participants included members of an Indian nationalist organisation called the Berlin Committee, including Maulavi Barkatullah and Chempakaraman Pillai, while the Turks were represented by Kazim Bey, a close confidante of Enver Pasha.
The Emirate of Afghanistan, known as the Emirate of Kabul until 1855, was an emirate in Central Asia and South Asia that encompassed present-day Afghanistan and parts of present-day Pakistan. The emirate emerged from the Durrani Empire, when Dost Mohammad Khan, the founder of the Barakzai dynasty in Kabul, prevailed.
Siraj al-Tawarikh also spelled as Siraj al-Tavarikh, Sirāj al-Tawārīkh and Sirāj al-Tavārīkh, is a book on 18th and 19th century Afghan history by Faiz Mohammad Katib Hazara. The author was an Afghan court chronicler and secretary in the court of Amir Habibullah Khan from 1901 to 1919.
Bārakzai is the name of a Pashtun tribe from present-day Kandahar, Afghanistan. '"Barakzai" is a common name among the Pashtuns and it means "son of Barak" in Pashto. According to the Encyclopædia Iranica, "In the detailed Pashtun genealogies there are no fewer than seven instances of the ethnic name Bārakzī, at very different levels of tribal segmentation. Six of them designate simple lineages within six different tribes located in the Solaymān mountains or adjacent lands... The seventh instance, on the other hand, designates one of the most important Pashtun tribes in numbers and historic role, part of the Zīrak branch of the Dorrānay confederation.
Mohammad Haider Zhobal was an Afghan historian and scholar.
Bilateral relations of Afghanistan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland span a long and eventful history, dating back to the United Kingdom's Company rule in India, the British-Russian rivalry in Central Asia, and the border between modern Afghanistan and British India. There has been an Afghan embassy in London since 1922 though there was no accredited Afghan ambassador from 1981 to 2001.
Mahmud Tarzi was an Afghan politician and intellectual. He is known as the father of Afghan journalism. He became a key figure in the history of Afghanistan, following the lead of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Turkey by working for modernization and secularization, and strongly opposing religious extremism and obscurantism. Tarzi emulated the Young Turks coalition.
Afghan literature or literature of Afghanistan refers to the literature produced in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Influenced by Central and South Asian literature, it is predominantly written in two native and official languages of Afghanistan, Dari and Pashto. Some regional languages such as Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, and Pashayi also appears in Afghan literature. While Afghanistan is a multilingual country, these languages are generally used as oral compositions and written texts by the Afghan writers and in Afghan curriculum. Its literature is highly influenced by Persian and Arabic literature in addition to Central and South Asia.
Princess Sahira Begum Siraj Al Banat or Bibi Gul, mostly known as just Seraj al-Banat, was a royal princess of Afghanistan.