As the title says, the battle we’re talking about today was the third, and final (so far, at least), major battle fought near the northern Indian city of Panipat. Usually when a place is the site of three major battles, particularly when those battles take place over the (relatively) compressed period of about 250 years, the … Continue reading Today in South Asian history: the Third Battle of Panipat (1761)
Tag: afghanistan
Today in Central Asian history: the Soviets invade Afghanistan (1979)
For a while Americans mostly viewed the Soviet-Afghan War positively, as the Beginning Of The End for the Soviet Union, and while there may still be something to that, I imagine most of us think of it a bit differently nowadays. The plucky Mujahideen who earned America's support and admiration for their brave fight against … Continue reading Today in Central Asian history: the Soviets invade Afghanistan (1979)
Today in South Asian history: the Durand Line is drawn (1893)
The Durand Line, AKA "the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan," is one of those legacies of colonial times that everybody's still, unfortunately, living with today. Named after the guy who dreamed it up, British Foreign Secretary for India (at the time) Sir Mortimer Durand, it was meant to fix the border between British India and … Continue reading Today in South Asian history: the Durand Line is drawn (1893)
Badly-drawn colonial borders are still a problem
Hey, I've moved! If you enjoy this post you can find more of my writing at Foreign Exchanges, a Substack newsletter covering a variety of topics in history and foreign affairs. Check it out today and become a subscriber! WARNING: VERY LONG A couple of months ago there was a piece in The Atlantic by … Continue reading Badly-drawn colonial borders are still a problem
