By Ehsan
Every civilization has moments in its history that decide its fate, moments when a nation wakes from the heavy sleep of humiliation and breaks the chains of foreign rule with its own hands. For Afghanistan, the 28th of Asad, 1298 SH, was such a decisive day. It was the day the sun of freedom rose over the high peaks of the Hindu Kush, and the darkness of colonialism disappeared from the horizon of this ancient land. This day was not simply the end of one period. It marked the beginning of a new identity, one in which the Afghan nation was no longer recorded on the map of the world as a colony, but as an independent nation.
Throughout history, Afghanistan has shone like a bright jewel among the great civilizations of the world, not because of its material wealth, but because of its strategic location, which made it a bridge between East and West. Yet this same position turned the land into an attractive target for colonial powers.
The British Empire, one of the world’s greatest powers in the nineteenth century, could not accept having an independent country next to the crown jewel of its empire, India.
For this reason, it invaded Afghanistan three times with all its military power. Each time, however, it faced a people who saw freedom not as a slogan, but as a sacred value, and considered their own lives the smallest price they could pay for it. The 28th of Asad was not the result of a sudden victory. It was the fruit of a century of wise and self-sacrificing resistance. This day carries within it the history of three great wars, each of which gave the colonizers a lesson they could not forget.
In the First Anglo-Afghan War, when Britain invaded Afghanistan with a well-equipped army and extraordinary confidence in its own power, it faced a scene that may have had few examples in any military book: a people who stood against cannons and guns with stones and swords, spreading such fear among British soldiers that even years later, the name Afghanistan brought back memories of fear and defeat. That war showed that military equipment, no matter how advanced, can never guarantee victory against a people’s spirit of resistance and love for their homeland.
In the Second Anglo-Afghan War, after the bitter experience of the first, the colonizers came up with a new plan. They tried to weaken and destroy the national resistance by creating division among the people. But once again, Afghanistan’s different tribes united against the foreign enemy under a common cause. They showed the British that tribal and linguistic differences could never replace national honor. They also showed that a colonizer understands only the language of strength, and that power can be won only through firm determination and unbreakable resistance.
But the height of this struggle and sacrifice came in the Third Anglo-Afghan War. It began in May 1919 under the leadership of Amanullah Khan and ended with pride on the 28th of Asad of the same year, with Afghanistan declaring its independence.
This war was a major victory not only on the battlefield, but also diplomatically. The Treaty of Rawalpindi, signed as a result of the war, was not simply an ordinary agreement. It was a document of honor and dignity for a nation that had won its freedom through blood and fire.
But recognition of Afghanistan’s independence did not mean that Britain’s efforts at colonial control had come to an end. Britain tried to strangle the country’s new independence in its early days through heavy economic restrictions and pressure. Once again, that proud nation stepped into the field of struggle. By enduring hunger and deprivation, Afghans proved that freedom cannot be sold in exchange for bread and money. They showed that a nation which has paid such a heavy price for its freedom will never bow its head under foreign rule.
Today, 107 years after that great day, our view of the 28th of Asad should not be limited to looking back at history. This day is a mirror placed before us, showing us the true image of who we are. Political independence was achieved at that time, but its deeper meaning, self-reliance, progress and social justice, remains an aspiration that still requires effort.
The lesson of the 28th of Asad is that freedom is not a blessing that is gained once and then finished. It is an ongoing process. Every generation must renew it, protect it and make it stronger.
When we speak about the fall of colonialism, we should not forget that colonialism does not always appear in the same form. It takes on new faces as times change. Today, economic, cultural and political forms of colonialism try in new ways to limit the will of nations, interfere in their affairs and influence their fate.
The 28th of Asad teaches us that standing against these new forms of domination also requires the same courage, unity and understanding that our fathers showed when they stood against British guns. The 28th of Asad was the beginning of a nation’s freedom and the fall of a colonial power that believed it could write history through the force of its weapons.
This day is not only for celebrating the past. It is also for building a future in which every Afghan can understand the true meaning of a free life.
Let us remember the martyrs of this great day, those who left us this extraordinary legacy through their blood. And let us renew our promise to ourselves, to our history and to the generations that will come after us: the lamp of freedom will keep shining on this land.
