Itihasnaama I: The fall of Kabul

In 1978, as the world watched with dismay, Soviet tanks rolled into Afghanistan, effectively shattering the uneasy peace that had prevailed between the the 2 superpowers since the Cuban Missile Crisis of '62. As President Carter raved and ranted, The Soviets and their Aghan proteges quietly set up a commusit government in one of the most fervently religious nation of the world. The Opposition to the So-called Soviet "Invasion" was initailly muted, at least in Afghanistan, where the masses longed for a durable government that could resolve their problems. The West in the meanwhile had raised its hackles. The quiet and amiable Carter was replaced byu a hwakish, almost dogmatic Reagan, who pledged to stop at nothing, but the destruction of this Evil Empire. The 1980 Moscow Olympics were reduced to a Non-NATO Olympics, with most of US allies choosing to boycott the games. In the meanwhile, the Soviet forces continued to entrench themselves in Afghanistan.

The Soviets had understood the Afghan Occupation as a brief event that would not exceed a couple of years at the most. However, the Communist regime in Kabul failed to win the hearts and minds of the people, most of whom lived in the interior and were too religious to concur with the blasphemous mutterings of the Kabul government. This meant that the government at Kabul was reduced to being a Kabul government only, its writ ran nowhere outside Kabul and a few other important cities. Its land re-distribution scheme (the cornerstone of any Communist regime) ran into stiff resistance. Its liberal attitude towards women was deemed Un-Islamic by the mullahs, and its over-dependence on Moscow meant that it could never give an appearnce of a sovereign administration.

Thousands and Thousands of Afghans poured into Pakistan to flee the Communists. Overnight, Pakistan was transformed from "A state on India's western border" to a "Frontline State in the War against the Soviets". The feverishly religious President Zia helped finance an assortment of Masjids and rabid Mullahs who spewed Venom against the Godless Soviets. American money and strategy only helped the cause. By the beginning of the 80s, a small contingent of Soviet-hating Afghans, empowered by their faith in Allah and American Weaponry were ready to the take the Infidel in Afghanistan itself.

The Mujhaheddin strategy of Guerrila Warfare against a more numerous and a more militarily endowed enemy worked wonders. It bled the Soviets, hampered the Soldiers' morale and introduced the fear of death in the otherwise invincible Soviet forces. Armed with Bazookas and Rocket Launchers, Soviet military Convoys snaking through the desolate Afghan landscape became an easy taget for the so-called "Afghan Resistance". The Soviets hit back whenever they could, with dazzling accuracy, but these successes were far too few and too rare to be of of any help. Gradually, the Soviets abandoned the countryside, prefering instead to hold on to the fortified Towns & Provincial Capitals, thereby spawning a series of Warlords who ruled the countryside like dictators. The Warlords fought the Soviets in the day and each other in the night, but with the American Dollar tap running un-hindered, they could manage just fine..

By the mid-80s, The Soviets had come to realize that Afganistan was their Vietnam, and began deivising plans to extricate themselves from the mess they were in... however, Afghanistan had by now become a QUicksand, with multiple personalities, multiple parties and multiple interests.The more the Soviets tried to withdraw, the more they found themselves sinking in. The Mujhaheddin continued to expand and the Soviets continued to retreat. By 1987, with Gorabchev at the helm in Moscow and the suave, more pragmatic Najibullah clinging on to power in kabul, a deal was reached. The Soviets would withdraw from Afghanistan and the Afghan people would be free to decide their destiny. That destiny was in fact being scripted with American Dollars in Pakistan. The Pak-Sponsored Mujhaheddin , loyal to Islamabad's cause would form the next government in kabul. Shady characters such as Gulbuddin Hekamtiyar, Col. Abdul Rasheed Dostum etc etc. came to form the centre of the New-Afghan Politics. This, combined with the general disinterest in Afghanistan with the fall of the Soviet Union, meant that the general condition of the Afghan people became dire.

The daily in-fighting in Mujhaheddin government, street fights and the general chaos and lawlessness gave birth to a disciplined army of Islamists, calling themselves the Taliban. They were completely devoted to the cause of Islam and despised the anrachy and lawlessness that the Mujhaheddin had wrought upon the Afghan state. Like the Mujhaheddin, they had fought the Soviets with American arms and weaponry, but unlike them, they had not yet been polluted by power. In 1996, the citizens of Kabul came out dancing in the streets to welcome the Taliban. Soon, they set out to right the wrongs of the past. Najibullah was hanged, Soviet-loyalists were either killed or put behind bars. Kabul's liberalism didn't go down too well with the Taliban. Off went the women inside their homes and on came the beards. The Taliban ruled with an iron-fist for almost 5 years, till the time they decided to take on their creators-The US.

Afghanistan is probably the only country in the world that has fought both the superpowers. They succeeded in humbling the Soviets, and if the current situation is anything to go by, Americans may very well be the next.