The mausoleum of King Amanullah Khan who fought with world’s biggest empire and acquired independence for Afghanistan would be reconstructed in near future.
A delegation of the Ministry of Urban Development Affairs and Housing comprised of Minister Sayed Sadat Mansour Naderi, Deputy Minister for Construction Affairs Amiruddin Salik and other high ranking officials arrived in Jalalabad on Thursday for a technical survey of the mausoleum.
In a meeting with Saleem Khan Kundozi, Governor of Nangarhar province, the delegation said that a budget would be allocated for the project and its reconstruction would begin after the technical survey.
The orders of reconstructing mausoleum of the acquirer of independence for Afghanistan were given by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani during his recent visit to Jalalabad.
Who was King Amanullah Khan?
96 years ago Afghan nation led by King Amanullah Khan upraised and fought with the world’s biggest empire and acquired independence for Afghanistan.
Amanullah Khan was the third son of Amir Habibullah Khan who rose to power after his father was assassinated on 20 February 1919 in Laghman province of eastern Afghanistan.
Amir Amanullah Khan was the governor of Kabul, controller of the army and treasury during the kingdom of his father.
But after the assassination of his father he organized a gathering of Afghans in front of Kabul’s grand mosque and said: “As I am putting on the crown on my head, I am announcing the complete independence of my country and urge you to accompany me in this admirable journey.”
Although, Afghanistan was never a part of the British Empire but before this announcement they were controlling Afghanistan’s foreign affairs in exchange for some benefits and protection.
This announcement was the start of the Third Anglo-Afghan War which began on 6 May 1919 and ended with a ceasefire on 8 August 1919.
In the aftermath of this war the British Empire lost control of Afghanistan’s foreign affairs and it became a completely independent country.
King Amanullah Khan’s daughter Princess India Afghanistan says that Afghanistan would never forget the services of her father.
She says her father was a patriot person and always wanted Afghans to get educated because an illiterate never remains independent.
“My dear father always said that patriotism was the prerequisite for building the country,” Princess India said in an interview with IWPR, adding that “We can become patriotic by acknowledging that we are from all tribes, and all tribes are for us.”
King Amanullah Khan, a moderniser tried to introduce a new Western-inspired constitution but he faced a rebellion by conservative forces in the country.
To avoid further bloodshed, King Amanullah Khan abdicated and the royal family went to British India in January 1929.
Princess India was born in Mumbai city of India the same year and the royal family named her in honour of that country.
From British India the royal family went to Europe and King Amanullah Khan died in Zurich, Switzerland in 1960. His body was flown back to Afghanistan and laid to rest in Jalalabad city, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.
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