ABSTRACT
The British through the East India Company had acquired possessions in India through violence and were concerned about their protection. The British were very much concerned about the Franco-Russian agreement of invasion of India through Persia and Afghanistan. Persia and Afghanistan were the corridors for the invasion of India through Afghanistan by Central Asian and European invaders. Now Afghanistan became the cornerstone of their policy and the British started getting involved in its affairs to keep it under their control. This chapter discusses how the British agreement with Persia of not letting foreign armies pass through its territories toward Afghanistan and India failed due to its poor policy. This chapter explains in more detail as to how the British policies of briberies, aid, subsidies to the chiefs of tribes, tricks, conspiracies, assassination of the tribal chiefs by fixing head money, and overthrowing of the legitimate rulers by installing puppet rulers failed to gain them control over Afghanistan. This chapter further discusses how the British’s lack of complete historical knowledge and understanding of the Afghans and Afghanistan resulted in humiliating defeats in the three Anglo-Afghan wars.
