When the Taliban government was established in Kabul last year, it was expected that this government would be more liberal and sensible than the previous Taliban government.
When the Taliban government was established in Kabul last year, it was expected that this government would be more liberal and sensible than the previous Taliban government. I also came in contact with several Taliban leaders from Kabul and Doha. The old Taliban also seemed quite moderate this time. Given the background of the new Taliban leader, who grew up abroad, it seemed likely that he would learn from the mistakes of his elders. In this hope, the Government of India sent thousands of tonnes of food grains and medicines to Kabul and also activated its embassy.
For a few months, it seemed that these new Taliban would follow the Pashtun Arya tradition. He will take a progressive stand on the matter of women’s equality and education. Initially, he gave some relaxation but now he has made the Burqa compulsory for women. No woman can go out of the house alone. Women’s education has stopped in all the schools and colleges. Women employees have been discharged from government offices. Because of all this, there is chaos in Afghanistan these days.
I remember the era of Emperor Zahir Shah 55 years ago, when many girls studied with me in Kabul University, dozens of women professors were active and women worked fearlessly in government offices wearing skirts and blouses. From the time of Emperor Amanullah (1909), such a wave of modernization had swept Afghanistan that all the Islamic countries paled in front of it. Every Afghan was proud that he was the conductor of the ancient Aryan civilization.
The Asamai Temple of Kabul, the Buddha statue of Bamiyan, the Buddhist caves of Jalalabad and many Jain relics I had personally visited. In those days, many Hindu-Sikh and Shia people were prestigious in many high posts in the Afghan government, but now people who have deep faith in Islam are also leaving Afghanistan and running out. Thousands of visa applications to the Embassy.
The economic crisis in Afghanistan is increasing. International aid is scarcely forthcoming. Taliban relations with Pakistan have also become strained. Some Indian and Pakistani scholars of Islam say that these Taliban do not even know the great Islamic traditions of women-respect. The Taliban, who sidelined women, find themselves in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. Even more, Islamists have started believing. Even these Muslim countries have not given them diplomatic recognition yet. If Taliban oppression continues like this, it is not surprising that they will have to face a tough insurgency. Iranian women have put their government in trouble. If a similar rebellion starts in Kabul, then nations like India will also have to reconsider their Afghan policy.
