PROPAGANDA IN AFGHANISTAN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12775, 20 October 1919, Page 10

PROPAGANDA IN AFGHANISTAN.

WANT BRITISH EXPELLED FROM ASIA.

The ' £ Is-Tesiia-'’ the official organ of the. Russian Soviet Government. lias paWisbed an account of an 'interview, illtli Professor Barakatnlla. whom it dcßoribes ns the chief of the Afghan mission whjcli has arrivocj jp Aloscow to establish regular communioation with Soviet Russia. Professor Barahatulla, the paper adds, is a, Hindoo, a member of the AluJmmmndau League in Delhi and of the National Hindoo Congress, and a professor of philosophy and literature. “.I am neither communist rior Socialist. ’ it quotes the. professor as sayipg, ‘‘ but my political programme so far is trie expulsion of the English from Asia. T am an irreconcilable, enemy of European capitalism in Asia, tho chief representatives of which are the English. On this point I coincide with the communists, and in this respect- we are your natural allies.” ’

EVOLUTION OF AFGHANISTAN. After caving mi account of hi« own mreer, and of recent developments in j Afghanistan, Professor Barakatnlla continues;-- ‘‘The first act of the. new' Ameer was to give » complete nolltical amnesty and to proclaim, a constitutional regime, f. believe that this is only the first step, and that the svolution of .Afghanistan wit] not stop

i there, seeing that the ideas'of com-1 munism have thoroughly penetrated I into Afghanistan, and even into neigh- ! bon ring India. 1 “ Afghanistan, like India, doee not j represent, a, capitalist state, and it is ' very unlikely that even a parliamen- | tary regime will take deep root m i these countries. It is so far difficult- j to say how subsequent events will develop. I only know that tho renowned > address of the .Soviet Government to j all nations, with its appeal to them to | combat capitalists (and for us a. copi- j talist is synonymous wit hj the word i foreigner. or, to be more exact, an j Englishman'), had an enormous effect j on us. j “ A still greater effect was produced | by Russia's annulment of all the secret | treaties enforced by the imperialistic j governments, and by the proclaiming i of tho right of all nations, no matter j how small they he. to determine their | own destiny. j ‘'This act rallied around Soviet t Russia, all the exploited nationalities I of Asia, and all parties, even those | very remote from socialism. These | acts decided and hastened tho Asiatic j revolution- | ISOLATING INDIA. ‘■’'ll'.e Foglish at once foresaw the consequences of tho now Russian, wain)words, and took all measures to isolate all the roads from Russia to India, and. aWve all. to sepa.ra.te AVglv.nustim from India with, which it 1 lives one life. am| which closer the access from Russia to India. Hence the move of the English on Mew. the attempt to conclude an alliance with

1 | Bokhara, and, finally,, the creation of i the Pergan a front by the English by | means of the Russian "White Guards in order to prevent the Russian influence j from a.ffeeling eastern China. | , “.Tt is possible, however, to solzo j i territories and to subject little nation- ! I clitics, but it is impossible to strangle j j - j ) “ri 1 ,'? re already too late. r ; i ‘I he ideas of the Bolsheviki. whom i |we call ‘ Ishtranium.’ liuve already j ) taken root in the Hindoo masses, am; ; 1 it will he enough for one small spark : i of active propaganda to sot up a bnw i j revolutionary conflagration in the i ; whole of Central Asia. ■ | “ Given a normal development or j | events, it may be expected that the i I coming summer will be decisive for the I 1 liberation of India.” |