Afghan
Independence Day is celebrated as a
national holiday in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
on 19 August to commemorate the
Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919
The Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919, also known as the Treaty of Rawalpindi, was a treaty which brought the Third Anglo-Afghan War to an end. It was signed on 8 August 1919 in Rawalpindi by the United Kingdom and the Emirate of Afghanistan. Britain r ...
and relinquishment from
British protectorate status. The treaty granted a complete neutral relation between
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
. Afghanistan had become a British
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...
after the
Treaty of Gandamak
The Treaty of Gandamak (Dari: معاهده گندمک, Pashto: د گندمک تړون) officially ended the first phase of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Mohammad Yaqub Khan ceded various frontier areas to Britain while retaining full control of ...
was signed (1879) in the
Second Anglo-Afghan War
The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...
.
Background
The
First Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession d ...
(1839–42) led to the British force taking and occupying Kabul. After this, due to strategic errors by
Elphinstone, the British force was
annihilated
The eighth season of the television series, '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' premiered September 19, 2006 and ended May 22, 2007 on NBC. The series remained in its 10pm/9c Tuesday timeslot. With the introduction of a new partner for Detecti ...
by Afghan forces under the command of
Akbar Khan somewhere at the
Kabul–Jalalabad Road
The Kabul–Jalalabad Road, also known as National Highway 08 (NH08), is a highway running between the Afghan cities of Kabul (the national capital) and Jalalabad, the largest city in eastern Afghanistan and capital of Nangarhar Province. A p ...
, near the city of
Jalalabad
Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلالآباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...
. After this defeat, the British-Indian forces returned to Afghanistan on a special mission to rescue their
prisoners of war (POWs) and afterward withdrew until coming back in order to commence the
Second Anglo-Afghan War
The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...
.
The Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80) first led to a British defeat at
Maiwand
Maiwand is a village in Afghanistan within the Maywand District of Kandahar Province. It is located 50 miles northwest of Kandahar, on the main Kandahar– Lashkargah road.
The area is irrigated by the Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority. followed by their victory at the
Battle of Kandahar Battle of Kandahar may refer to:
* Battle of Kandahar (1880), the last major conflict of the Second Anglo-Afghan War
* Battle of Kandahar (2001), the fall of the city in 2001, signaling the end of organized Taliban control of Afghanistan
* Battl ...
, which led to
Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto/Dari: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Ag ...
becoming the new emir and the start of friendly British-Afghan relations. The British were given control of Afghanistan's foreign affairs in exchange for protection against the
Russians
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and
Persians
The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian.
...
. The
Third Anglo-Afghan War
The Third Anglo-Afghan War; fa, جنگ سوم افغان-انگلیس), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan War of 1919, or in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan inv ...
in 1919 led the British to give up control of Afghanistan's foreign affairs finally in 1921.
Observances
* The
Taq-e Zafar
The Taq-e Zafar (Persian: طاق ظفر, English: Arch of Victory) is a triumphal arch located at the front of the gardens in Paghman, Afghanistan. The famous victory arch commemorates Afghan independence after the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 191 ...
was built in
Paghman
Paghman (Persian/Pashto: پغمان) is a town in the hills near Afghanistan's capital of Kabul. It is the seat of the Paghman District (in the western part of Kabul Province) which has a population of about 120,000 (2002 official UNHCR est.), ma ...
to commemorate independence in 1928.
* At the centenary anniversary in 2019, some international landmarks hoisted the
Afghan flag tricolor, including the world's tallest building
Burj Khalifa in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
. The day also coincidenced with the completion of the renovation of the
Darul Aman Palace
Darul Aman Palace ( ps, د دارالامان ماڼۍ; prs, قصر دارالامان; 'Abode of Peace' or, in a double meaning, 'Abode of Amanllah) is a three-story-tall palace located in Darulaman, which about south-west of the centre of Ka ...
in
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
, where official celebrations took place.
* On 15 August 2021, the Taliban
captured Kabul and reinstated the
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. During the Afghan Independence Day rallies in Jalalabad and other cities on 18 and 19 August, the Taliban killed three people and injured over a dozen others for removing Taliban flags and displaying the tricolor Afghan flags.
Gallery
2011 Afghan Independence Day-4.jpg, 2011
2011 Afghan Independence Day-6.jpg, 2011
2011 Afghan Independence Day-7.jpg, 2011
See also
*
Culture of Afghanistan
The culture of Afghanistan has persisted for over three millennia, tracing record to at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire in 500 BCE, and encompasses the cultural diversity of the nation. Afghanistan's culture is historically strongly ...
*
Hotaki dynasty
The Hotak dynasty ( ps, fa, ) was an Afghan monarchy founded by Ghilji Pashtuns that briefly ruled portions of Iran and Afghanistan during the 1720s. It was established in April 1709 by Mirwais Hotak, who led a successful revolution against t ...
*
Durrani Empire
References
Public holidays in Afghanistan
Independence days
August observances
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