DR ABDUL GHANI’S CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS MODERN EDUCATION IN AFGHANISTAN

Abdul Qadeer Najafi*

There are more than a dozen aspects of Dr. Abdul Ghani’s works. Two of them are, particularly, glaring. They are

1. His achievements regarding modern education and
2. Mashrutiat i.e. democracy and constitution.

This paper focuses on his efforts for introducing modern education in Afghanistan. The present Afghan government is claiming that she has obtained all the three objectives i.e. moern education, democracy and constitution, but those achievements are based on secular grounds while Dr. Ghani’s aim was to keep Islam as a firm-footing for all the three. This can be ascertained by his own statement “Here and there questions were wide spread what is it that the Dr. wanted and when it was found out that he wanted what was existed in the time of early caliphs there was a silent and suppressed approval of what I was believed to have demanded.”1
Amir Habeeb Ullah Khan considered that the most important need was the spread of general education in the country. Fazl Ahmed in his book “Welcome to Kabul Page 11 and Abdul Mannan Bairum in Afghan Muasir Chapter I have endorsed the Amir’s wish in this respect.
Dr. Abdul Ghani writes, “The Amir asked me and my brother Maulana Najaf Ali to make necessary arrangements for opening a school called Maktab-e-Habibia for general education. We sent for half a dozen young Indian graduates like Professor Muzaffar Marwat and Professor Mohammad Hussain Jalandheri. In the meantime I went to India on leave where the Anjuman Himayet-e-Islam offered me the chair of Principal in Islamia College, Lahore.2 The Amir permitted the Dr. by a letter in Persian to serve that College.3
This above said letter had been traced out by Professor Ahmed Saeed from the old record of Anjuman-e-Himayet-e-Islam Lahore after making perspiring toil. He included that letter in his book P.1-3’  he mentions in that book that Dr. Abdul Ghani’s services at that college commenced in October 1904 and ended in December, 1906. Side by side with administering the college the Dr. in fused immense enthusiasm the Muslim youths to struggle for liberating the Indian sub-continent. He advised the Muslims thus:

“In your own schools let your children be taught,
To be – like those heroes who lived to make Islam,
And in their lives on us its blessings brought,
Be Firm, let naught your resolution shake”

Why Dr. Sahib had accepted the principal ship of Islamia College Lahore when he came to India on leave. The reason was that on his way to India a search on his bag and baggage was made at Jalalabad on an allegation that he was carrying with him some secret documents of the Afghan Government for the British India Government, but nothing was found on enquiry. Upon this doctor sahib was so much disgusted by this insult that the determined not to return to Afghanistan and so accepted the offer of the principal ship of the said Islamia College. Even Mir Qasim admits about the decision of doctor sahib not to come comeback to Afghanistan.4
However before proceeding to India on leave Dr. sahib had laid the foundation of Maktab-e-Habib Kabul in 1903. Mohammad Wali Zalmay stated Dr’s efforts towards and had greatly appreciated Dr’s enviable devotion to introduce and expand modern education in Afghanistan5 that the Dr. was summoned by the Amir to bring modern education there.
Owing to the Doctor’s absence from Kabul the standard of Maktab-e-Habibia had, greatly been deteriorated and the number of the taught had fallen down upto 50. One reason of this was the over business of the incharge Maulana Najaf Ali in other affairs like translating and compiling books. The other reason has been disclosed as under:
“The local officials would not let the staff of the Habibia school to have their own way. This friction hampered the work of the school staff.”6 Therefore, the Amir sent for Doctor sahib by a letter; Two peremptory reminders were also dispatched to Dr. Sahib aruing their in that a firm Muslim Does not shirk from serving an Islamic state.7
My father Hafiz Abdul Majeed Najafi, the son of Maulana Najaf Ali and nephew of Dr. Abdul Ghani told me that one cause of agreeing of Dr. Sahib to go back reluctantly for serving Afghanistan was the presence of the two brothers M. Najaf Ali and M. Mohammad Ghiragh at Kabul. Both of them were in the clutches of the autocrat Amir Habib Ullah Khan. Had the Dr. not expressed his willingness to serve Afghanistan again then it was more than probable that his two brothers would have lost their lives. Dr. Abdul Ghani writes, “I showed the autograph letter to the Islamia College committee and obtained permission to retire from that college.8 He further adds, “When I arrived at Kabul the Amir heaved a sign of relief. He advised me to take up the task of Educational emelioration immediately”9
In his other book he reveals, “I set to work soon and in order to over come the resistance of the people who were prejudiced against modern education which they considered to be kufr, I selected go mosques in the town and engaged the Imams who were already paid by the government to teach the primary classes. I raised their salaries to one half of what they had been paid before ……… I selected about 5000 of the available boys of school age who were distributed in these schools. In the central school I brought together 400 boys and opened secondary classes. Classification was made inspectors were appointed to vist the primary schools daily and report to me regularly. An organized examination board was also set up. Then I established translation and compilation department for which some Indian graduates and Afghan scholars were engaged. My next step was to open a training school for teachers. At the same time I pushed a scheme of universal education for the whole of the country which was accepted by his majesty after some hesitation and I was asked to make a tour of Afghanistan and start schools like those of Kabul, first in 13 important towns. A medical school was also considered and received Amir sanction with sufficient grant from the government to work it out. The Habibia school made rapid progress beyond my expectations…………”10 K.H Katrak, also, endorses the opening of Maktab-e-Habibia and like schools in 13 big towns of Afghanistan.11
Kamgar remarks, “In a short span of time Dr. A. Ghani, Remarkably, improved the state of educational affairs in the capacity of director of public instructions. Subjects like Quran, Calligraphy, Mathematics, Geography, Education, Physical Science, Islamic History, Grammar and Rifle training etc. wee taught there. Afghan and Indian teachers were appointed in the Habibia school……….Some of them text books were printed in Dar-ut-Tarjama Wattaleef, established by Dr. Abdul Ghani and others were published in India under the supervision of Anjuman Himayet-e-Islam. The duration of its primary classes were 4 years and its first group in 1907. Then its middle classes were started in 1907 Dr. Abdul Ghani was appointed as the head of the Maktab-e-Habibia and his brother as its inspector.”12
Maulana Abaid Ullah Sindhi says, “The administration of Maktab-e-Habibia has been wholly in the hands of the Muslim Indians.”
Maulana adds “I reached Kabul in 1915. At that time Dr. Ahmed Din was the principal of Maktab-e-Habibia. It means that Hafiz Ahmed Din had been the principal of Maktab-e-Habibia twice firstly during the period when Dr. Hafiz Abdul Ghani was the principal of Islamia College Lahore and secondly after the imprisonment of the Dr. in 1909.13
Ludwig W. Adamec speaks thus regarding Dr. Abdul Ghani he was “Director of Public education in Afghanistan and principal of Habibia school. Studied medicine in England was principal Islamia College Lahore was news writer t the Afghan Amir Habibullah khan was arrested in 1909 because of involvement in the Mashru Ta conspiracy. In April 1919 he was released. He was the member of the Afghan peace delegation. In June 1919, was re-appointed as director of public education in September 1919. Eventually he returned to India and wrote about Afghanistan and Central Asia.14
Mahmud Najafi brought his research Persian articles pertaining to Dr. Abdul Ghani Khan and Maulvi Najaf Ali Khan in some newspapers and on the internet.15
Some prejudiced Afghan writers like Ghulam Mohammad Ghubar and Sayyad Pohinyar considered the Dr. as the supporter of the Britishers on the assumption that the educational efforts of the Dr. were meant to popularize the policies of the British Govt. in Afghanistan.16
This accusation is totally wrong. He was a staunch Islamic minded person and a strong hostile to the nefarious policies of the British India Govt: “ He had steadfastly refuted the anormous offer of the Britishers of a Big Jagir and a key post twice……….. one soon after the completion of his education stressing upon him by the Britishers not to proceed to serve Afghanistan and on the second time offered by Hamilton Grant asking him not to plead for the Afghan cause at the Rawalpindi Peace Conference.17 The unenlightened Afghan writers could not perhaps understand, due to their backwardness, that the dynamic Islam keeps the changing requirement like the urgent need of modern education in view without harming the spirit of Islam.
However some other Afghan scholars like Abdul Hay Habibi, Haiwaz Mal and Dr.s Akram Usman and Saad-ud-Din Hashmi have done justice in their writings to the very valuable services of Dr. Hafiz Abdul Ghani and Haji Najaf Ali to Afghanistan. Habibi Says, “Alleging a human being, especially a Muslim like Dr. Abdul Ghani without firm arguments and proofs when he has promoted education praise-worthily and make publications pride-ably in Afghanistan is, undoubtedly, contemptible.” 18
Haiwad Mal proceeds this: “These three brothers played exquisite role in preparing curriculum and textbooks for Maktab-I-Habibia, in uplifting modern education and in translating books from other languages into Persian for Afghanistan. So we cannot overlook their very precious contributions at all.”19
Similarly Akram, Usman and Saad-dud-Din Hashmi have enumerated Dr. Ghani’s very sincere contributions and scarifies over the internet.20
In the perspective of above mentioned educational deeds of Dr. M. A. Ghani, one can easily cojecture the magnitude of his multiplied educational services. Introducing Modern education to a country like Afghanistan where the heavy majority of the people were not only very backward but also very stubborn is extremely uphill task. So such remarkable services, evidently, deserve immense appreciation. The educational system introduced by him brought forth such a new generation which was democratic and liberal-minded in spirit. This educational system which remained operative w.e.f. 1900 upto 1909 in Afghanistan had far reaching results. Keeping the all the meritorious services of Dr. Abdul Ghani into consideration it would be quite appropriate to call him the founder of modern education in Afghanistan or the sir Sayyad of Afghanistan. There is no controversy in calling him as such because this fact is as clear as the shining sun that it was he who established Maktab-e-Habibia, in 1903, at Kabul the first institution imparting modern education in the history of Afghanistan. And it was he who for the first time spread general education throughout the country by opening other such schools in all other areas of the Afghan land. He lit a blazing torch of education in a barren and rocky region away from his motherland. If the venerable Sayyad Jamal-ud-Din Afghani rendered very valuable sort of services to the sub-continent India Haji Hafiz Mohammad Abdul Ghani repaid those services in several forms including modern education.

Return to his Native Town in India

He himself writes, “King Aman Ullah khan asked me, in 1920, to visit Maktab-I-Habibia and select from it some students to be sent over to Europe for study. I visited the school, examined the boys and found only 4 yound men of the higher class somewhat capable of going to England…………….. I suggested to the King that it would be safer and economical to prepare the students in Kabul itself for their study in Europe. On his rejection of this preposition I suggested that, at least, they should be sent for a couple of years to Aligarh for such a preparatory course adding that if they were sent to Europe at such a tender age they would be spoiled by the free atmosphere there. But he still insisted to his own view. Soon after that I, however, returned to India and left him to his own device.”21
Even Mohammad Wali Zalmay regards excessive inclination of the Amir Aman Ullah Khan towards wesern civilization as the cause of M. A. Ghani’s return to his native town Jalalpur Jattah in Panjab where he kept himself busy in saying prayers, doing social works, curing ill persons, and writing books for the rest of his old age.22 Dr. A. Ghani who was born in 1864 forsook this mortal world in 1943 and was buried in his ancestral graveyard. Both brothers were lucky to breath the lost in the Holly month of Ramazan. May Allah keep on throwing showers of his grace over their souls.