Monarch, Malik and Mullah and the Traditional Authority Pattern among the Afghans (1747-1880)

Abstract

This research aims to discuss the social structure of the Afghan society and its authority patterns, and to show how the fragile social structure contributed to the ascendancy of religious class. We shall explore the authority patterns and inherent flaws of the Pashtun confederacy (r. 1747-1880) that was replaced by Afghan monarchy (r. 1880-1973) which contributed for the rise of religious authority. Moreover, the all-inclusive understanding of the socio-religious and political structure of Afghans enables us to identify the traditional authority patterns and how they contributed to form enviable grounds for religious class to hold the political power by replacing the traditional authorities of Afghan state and society. In order to understand the traditional authority patterns, we shall briefly discuss sources of authority in Afghan society ranging from the khanadan, tribe, religion and pashtunwali. In the history of modern Afghanistan, three M (monarch, malik, and mullah) contested for authority. The monarch’s desire to establish a centralised government might not be realised without undermining the authority of the malik and mullah. On the other hand, the malik resisted for maintaining the status quo. The mullah’s authority in traditional structure was minimal. Therefore, they resented against both monarch and malik. Through this assessment, we shall attempt to show the extent to which a shift from social structure to religious structure took place during the course of Pashtun confederacy in Afghanistan.