February 19, 2002

The making of a frontier is a memoir of Algernon Durand, the brother of Mortimer Durand reputed for the famous boundary between what are now Pakistan and Afghanistan. This book, which is a reprint, can be categorized as a memoir, a travelogue and a diary of a British officer. He was charged with the mission of establishing the Gilgit Agency and assessing the political situation in the Hindu Kush. The writer narrates his five years of experience of traveling and dealing with the local lords and princes in Gilgit, Hunza, Nagar, Chitral and the eastern Hindu Kush.

The book presents the views of a British officer sent to these areas to establish control on behalf of the Empire in order to stave off the threat of Russian expansion into these areas. The underlying idea of the project of establishing the Gilgit Agency was to declare British interest in the area that would also discourage Moscow from expanding any further than north of Afghanistan. Moreover, it provides an account of these areas, their politics and culture as seen from the eyes of an officer of a superior invading force.

The book is replete with stories of the treacheries, weaknesses and the sordid conditions of the rulers of the small states in the north of India. Algernon’s detailed description of his dealings with the various rulers and the manner in which they dealt with the representative of the British Empire not only sounds interesting, but it also provides an insight into the behavior of a vanquished people struck with disharmony and greed.

The author’s description of the Kashmiri people and their relationship with the ruling elite is most interesting. For instance, he talks about how all positions in Kashmir were controlled by Hindus with the Muslim population left to do menial jobs. The division of labor, in turn, was linked with the foreign Muslim rule in India. The fact that the control of Kashmir passed under Hindu rule complicated relations between the population and its rulers affecting their character negatively.

In Durand’s view, the oppression has turned the Kashmiris into ‘pitiful liars and cowards who cringe to the stick of the sepoy like spaniels’. However, one can also trace the roots of descent in the present-day Kashmir. Reading Durand’s account of the nineteenth century Kashmir, one wonders if it is religion or the burden of hundreds of years of bad governance that has led to the present-day chaos in Kashmir. As per the details given in the book under review, people were not paid by the state for their services and the rulers did not take care of its subjects including those working in the state army. In fact, Durand cites incidents when soldiers were exposed to dangers due to inefficient planning.

What one finds most intriguing in the book are the accounts of the symbols of political policy. For instance, the ruler of Chitral has to make a long speech and offer presents to Durand in order to project and publicize his special relations with the Empire that, in turn, would provide him some political security. Indubitably, the language of symbols as used in politics has not changed at all. One often comes across Third World leaders using symbols to show how close they are to the more powerful nations.

The author’s commentary on the lack of military skill of the Chitralis was also interesting. In fact, one gets a comparative view of two systems: those of the small states in north India where there is no true concept of an organized military versus the British army that is organized, hence, in a position to control all these territories. The account of the small wars fought with various tribes, given in the last two chapters of the book, show this difference. The author was of the opinion that the rulers maintained useless armies that were more of a liability. It was, therefore, that Lord Dufferin had created the Imperial Service Troops that would absorb the state armies and re-use them for the defence of the British Empire in India.

Durand’s travels through the Hindu Kush are also instructive in terms of teaching him about how the local leaders conduct diplomacy. He is of the opinion that the local leadership is given to intrigues making it difficult for an outsider to trust their words or actions. Some of the political customs denoted the lack of trust in the other. For example, the author was offered hostages by the ruler of Hunza to provide Durand confidence during his passage through the territory.

Reading the book, one also realizes that the problem of religious fanaticism in Chitral is historic. One of the uncles of the ruler of the area had waged a religious war against the British. Even in those days, the situation was considered risky.

As mentioned earlier, the book is an account of a British officer, thus, reflecting the bias of an Englishman. One clear example of this relates to the author’s reference to the problem of slavery in the Hindu Kush. While discussing the issue and condemning the practice he completely forgets Britain’s record in fostering slavery in other parts of the world. Those, perhaps, could be his personal views on the subject. What is noticeable in the book is that while discussing his adventures and British policy, his criticism of his own government is subdued. As one reads the book, one discovers that his seemingly muted criticism is to adhere to the political culture where civil servants are not supposed to make political statements.

Finally, one would recommend this book to anyone working on the history, politics and culture of the Hindu Kush. The Oxford University Press has made a good choice in reprinting the book.

The making of a frontier
By Algernon Durand
Oxford University Press, 5 Bangalore Town, Sharae Faisal, P.O. Box 13033, Karachi-75350
Tel: 021-4529025
Email: ouppak@theoffice.net
ISBN 0-19-577983-5
298pp

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