Democracy and Unity

Many of my non Afghan acquaintances usually ask me whether democracy will work for Afghanistan as they see Afghanistan as being so divided and a novice to the concept. I don’t think Afghanistan is divided or new to democracy. We are let to believe this by the media. In actual fact our first democratic government was established in 1747. It took numerous Jirgas (grand assemblies) to elect the new King after the assassination of Nadir Shah.

Ahmad Shah Abdali (also known as Ahmad Shah Durrani and Ahmad Shah Baba) was elected King of the Durrani Empire. He was not a royal but viewed as someone who had the ability to lead the empire by those who elected him. It was a democratic kingdom, which had the support of almost all tribes. During this period, Afghanistan saw a time of prosperity, peace and power. Although one cannot say there was no opposition of the Kingdom, there wasn’t any significant uprising. While the rest of the world was diseased with slavery, the Durrani Empire could take credit for being a slave free Kingdom. There is no doubt that Ahmad Shah Abdali was a capable and charismatic King, however, his success was enhanced with the support of those that elected him.

Unfortunately the tradition of the Jirga electing the King was not continued. The Kingdom was passed to Abdali’s son Taimur Shah, who didn’t have the capability of retaining the Empire. Had the tradition of democratically electing a King continued, Afghanistan may have had a completely different history. If it worked for Afghanistan then it can work now!

As far as division is concerned, a true democratic government represents all with no threats to any ethnicity or religious groups. There maybe disagreement between political parties in Afghanistan but then what country doesn’t have that? A political party represents the view of its constituents so it cannot be interpreted as division. Afghanistan is more united today than ever. Everyone is working towards the country so how can it be divided??

It is remarkable that even after decades of war Afghanistan rapidly got itself back on the road to recovery. Some believe that it is the aid of the international community that has enabled Afghanistan but I think with all the help in the world Afghanistan would not have recovered, had it not been for the deep love of the Afghan nation for their country.

Every Afghan carries a great amount of love for the country regardless of their political opinions. To many non-Afghans that I have met, Afghanistan is an inspiration. Those that had the privilege of visiting the country or are in touch with Afghans in the Diaspora are all admirers of the enthusiasm of the Afghan people who are all working so hard to rebuild the country.

In a generation where most young people can only think about having fun, the Afghan youth across the world are taking ownership of the problems faced by our country and are continuously striving to do something constructive. Our country may have been destroyed by a long war but seeing the enthusiasm Afghans are channelling into rebuild Afghanistan it predicts a bright future for Afghanistan. A collective action by such a big mass of Afghans shows unity to me. If this is not unity then what is?