The Great Game of Afghanistan
The Great Game of Afghanistan – The land of Afghanistan is a mesmerizing and mysterious barren land. A land where tribal culture and customs is fiercely followed. A land of few resources, which foreign powers have tried to occupy in history and paid the price in blood. The British did it in 1842 and the Russians in 1990. On 13 th Jan 1842, a sentry at the British fort of Jalalabad (Current day Pak-Afghan border town - then part of British India) saw a wounded man riding on a half dead Horse. The man had a sword cut wound on his head and when enquired, he said he was Dr. William Brydon, Surgeon of the British Indian Expedition army in Afghanistan. When asked where the rest of the army was, he gave the legendary reply – “I am what is left of the army”. The single survivor from an army of 15,000. Portrait of injured Brydon arriving at Jalalabad fort In 1830s, the British were increasingly getting paranoid at the thought of Russia occupying Afghanistan. The Russian occupation...
