ABSTRACT

There was only a very short period when Afghanistan was, in itself, seen as a threat to the security of British India. This was towards the end of the eighteenth century, when, under Lord Mornington (later Marquess Wellesley) as Governor-General, the East India Company was engaged in extending its frontiers towards the north-west of the subcontinent. Previously, although India had undergone repeated Afghan invasions, they had been of little concern to the Company’s distant Presidencies of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. In 1798, however, Wellesley concluded that he had to take account of the threat which the then Afghan ruler, Zaman Shah, might present to British power, now expanding towards the Sutlej. As quickly as it had arisen, however, the threat subsided, as Zaman Shah was blinded and deposed, and Afghanistan became embroiled in internal strife.