India-Afghanistan Ties: A ‘Friendship’ That Survived The Taliban

Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam, Vivek Gupta
Camperperson: Shiv Kumar

In Mahabharata, the home of Gandhari, mother of the Kauravas, was in Gandhar – now modern-day Afghanistan.

The ancient University of Taxila also flourished in Gandhar as part of the Mauryan empire. In fact, the great Chanakya taught there.

Babur, the first Mughal emperor, came from Ferghana, just north of Afghanistan.

The Grand Trunk Road, one of the oldest roads in Asia, has connected Afghanistan and India commercially for centuries.

And of course, there was Balraj Sahni as the lovable Afghan in the film Kabuliwala.

But the great Indo-Afghan relationship got a jolt in 1979 when at the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, turning it into a war zone. The US, and its allies, including Pakistan fought a proxy war supporting Afghan rebels against a Soviet-backed Afghan government. India stayed out of the conflict but recognised the Afghan government, continuing to do so even after the Russians withdrew.

But in 1996, the Taliban – an Islamist militia – captured power in Kabul, unleashing a reign of terror within Afghanistan, sheltering budding terror groups like Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda.

India became a vocal opponent of the Taliban and key member of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. India also took in thousands of Afghan refugees, escaping Taliban atrocities.

In 1999, Indian Airlines Flight 814 from Kathmandu to New Delhi was hijacked by Pakistan-backed terrorists who diverted the flight to Kandahar in Afghanistan – then under Taliban control. To save the hostages, India released three dreaded terrorists who were whisked away by the Taliban, only to resurface soon after in Pakistan.

India has provided over 750 million dollars in humanitarian and economic aid and eventually became one of Afghanistan's biggest trade partners.

In 2005, India even proposed Afghanistan's membership in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

India has built over 200 public and private schools in Afghanistan, sponsors over 1,000 scholarships, and hosts over 16,000 Afghan students in India annually. Even former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai is an alumnus of Himachal Pradesh University.

While Afghanistan is known to love Bollywood, cricket too, is popular in the country. Its players are doing well in the IPL, and Afghanistan played its first-ever international test match in Bengaluru against India in June 2018.

Even though Afghanistan does have a democratic, civilian government, the conflict with the Taliban goes on – exacting a heavy human cost. India too, has been a regular target. In October 2008,  the Indian embassy in Kabul saw a failed fidayeen attack.

Despite decades of violence, Afghanistan continues to fight for peace, and India continues to stand by its side.

(Update: The article earlier incorrectly stated that Indian Airlines Flight 814 to Kathmandu from New Delhi was hijacked. This has been corrected.)