The Kingdom of Afghanistan and the Union of India established bilateral relations in January 1950. India was the only South Asian country to recognize the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, supporting it in the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989) against the Afghan mujahideen. India supported the Northern Alliance during the 1990s Afghan civil wars and was one of the main countries opposed to the Taliban's Islamic Emirate government. Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, India aided overthrow of the Taliban and became the largest regional provider of aid to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. A major shift in India's position on the Taliban was reported by a top Qatar official in June 2021, revealing that an Indian delegation quietly visited Doha to meet the Taliban's leadership. This is a major shift that was several weeks in the making in the first half of 2021, and likely involved Qatari mediation between India and the Taliban. Although India does not recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, it maintains informal ties with the ruling Taliban.
In April 2017, Shaida Mohammad Abdali, Afghanistan's former ambassador to India, pointed out that India "is the biggest regional donor to Afghanistan and fifth largest donor globally with over $3 billion in assistance. India has built over 200 public and private schools, sponsors over 1,000 scholarships, and hosts over 16,000 Afghan students." Relations between Afghanistan and India received a major boost in 2011 with the signing of a strategic partnership agreement, Afghanistan's first since the Soviet-Afghan War. The student visas were revoked in large numbers after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
In June 2022, India sent a "technical team" to its embassy building in Kabul.India reopens Embassy in Kabul In November 2023, pro-Republican diplomats of Afghanistan left India and declared permanent closure of the embassy by lack of support. Later, under the combined leadership of consul general Zakia Wardak and acting consul general Syed Muhammad Ibrahimkhel, the embassy was reopened. Currently, Syed Muhammad Ibrahimkhel is the chargé d'affaires of the embassy. Both countries have shared cultural ties through Bollywood and cricket.
History
Relations between the people of Afghanistan and India trace to the Indus Valley civilization.Nancy Dupree (1973): An Historical Guide To Afghanistan, Chapter 3 Sites in Perspective. In the Vedic Age, Gandhara, which forms part of modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, was considered one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas of Vedic India. Following Alexander the Great's brief occupation, the successor state of the Seleucid Empire controlled the region known today as Afghanistan. In 305 BCE, they ceded some regions to the Indian Maurya Empire as part of an Alliance Treaty after losing to the superior Indian forces. The war elephants, of course, being a minor contribution compared to the land that the Indians successfully regained.The Mauryans controlled parts of modern-day Afghanistan, and during this period Hinduism and Buddhism prevailed. Their decline began 60 years after Ashoka the Great's rule ended, leading to the Hellenistic reconquest of the region by the Greco-Bactrians. Much of it soon broke away from the Greco-Bactrians and became part of the Indo-Greek Kingdom. The Indo-Greeks had been defeated and expelled by the Indo-Scythians in the late 2nd century BCE. Till the Muslim conquests, eastern regions of Afghanistan including the Kabul Valley and Zabulistan were considered culturally part of Indian subcontinent, and the town of Kabul was noted by Iranian traveller and geographer Istakhri in 921 to be inhabited by the people of Hind. Between the 10th century and the mid 18th century, northern India was invaded by a number of invaders based in what today is Afghanistan. Among them were the Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Khaljis, Mughals and Durranis. During these eras, especially during the Mughal period (1526–1858), many Afghans began immigrating to India due to political unrest in their regions.
With the partition of British India to create Pakistan the demand for, Pashtunistan, a Pashtun nation-state carved out of Pakistan by successive Pashtun-led Afghan governments was received with support from the Indian government through the backing of militant tribesman, though the movement subsequently lost support. Elisabeth Leake, an associate professor of International History at the University of Leeds writes: "Evidently, senior Indian officials supported the demand for Pashtunistan and Afghan aid to militant tribesmen. Considering the historic ties between Congress leaders and the Khudai Khidmatgars, India's support for tribal autonomy was hardly surprising; in many ways, tribal leaders were echoing the demands Ghaffar Khan had made in preceding years."
Indians are working on various construction projects, as part of India's rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan, although the Indian intelligence agency RAW is accused by countries such as Pakistan of working to malign Pakistan and train & support insurgents. These workers are estimated to be anywhere between 3,000 and 4,000. Indian nationals stationed in Afghanistan have often faced continuous security threats in the country, with kidnappings and many attacks (such as the February 2010 Kabul attack) deliberately carried out on them.
In January 1950, a five-year Treaty of Friendship was signed between the two countries in New Delhi. Other than affirming "everlasting peace and friendship between the two Governments", the treaty provided for the establishment of diplomatic and consular posts in each other's territories.
India recognized the new Republic of Afghanistan on 19 July 1973. Indian foreign minister Swaran Singh visited Afghan President Mohammed Daoud Khan in October that year, and Khan visited India in March 1975. On 7 July 1974, the two countries signed a trade protocol.
Soviet invasion
India was the only South Asian nation to recognise the Soviet-backed communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, and provided humanitarian aid to president Mohammad Najibullah's Government in Afghanistan. The Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989 after being defeated by the Afghan mujahideen, which were heavily supported by Pakistan. It has been said that "the failure of the Indian government to publicly condemn the invasion, its support of the Soviet puppet regime of Kabul, and its hostile vision of the resistance have created major stumbling blocks in Afghan-Indian relations."Valenta and Cibulka (editors), Gorbachev's New Thinking and Third World Conflicts, p. 146 India continued to support Najibullah's government.
First Taliban government After its fall in the ensuing civil war, India along with the international community supported the coalition government that took control, but relations and contacts ended with the outbreak of another civil war, which brought to power the Taliban, an Islamist militia, supported by Pakistan. The Taliban's government, called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, remained recognized only by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan monuments by the Taliban led to outrage and angry protests by India. Likewise, in 1998 following Pakistan's atomic bomb tests, Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar's statement that "An attack on Pakistan would be seen as an attack on Afghanistan" sparked anger in India.
The Taliban's move in 2001 to require Afghan Hindus to wear identification patches, reminiscent of Nazi policies, was heavily criticised by India. In 1999, the hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 landed and stayed in Kandahar in Afghanistan and the Taliban were suspected of supporting them. India became one of the key supporters of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance.
War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) During the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, India did not participate in the coalition forces bases for the War in Afghanistan. After the overthrow of the Taliban, India established diplomatic relations with the newly established democratic government, provided aid, and participated in the reconstruction efforts. India has provided $650–750 million in humanitarian and economic aid, making it the largest regional provider of aid for Afghanistan. India's support and collaboration extends to the rebuilding of air links, power plants and investing in health and education sectors as well as helping to train Afghan civil servants, diplomats, and police. India also seeks the development of supply lines for electricity, oil, and natural gas. Also to give Afghan students scholarships.
The Indian Army's Border Roads Organisation constructed a major road in 2009 in the remote Afghan province of Nimroz, connecting Delaram to Zaranj. This has proved a viable alternative route for the duty-free movement of goods through the Chabahar port in Iran to Afghanistan. Key to India's strategy in Afghanistan is to build up transportation links that bypass Pakistan, helping reduce the Afghan economy's dependence on Pakistan."[Indian Influence in Afghanistan:] 2011 and Beyond ," Global Bearings, 2 November 2011.
In 2005, India proposed Afghanistan's membership in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Both nations also developed strategic and military cooperation against Islamic militants. Owing to the killing of an Indian national by Taliban militants in November 2005, India deployed 200 soldiers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) to provide security for Indian nationals and the projects supported by India. Afghanistan strengthened its ties with India in wake of persisting tensions and problems with Pakistan, which was suspected of continuing to shelter and support the Taliban. India pursues a policy of close collaboration with countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Iran in order to bolster its standing as a regional power and contain its rival Pakistan, which stands accused of aiding and abetting Islamic militants in Kashmir and other states of India.
Three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for strengthening cooperation in the fields of rural development, education, and standardisation between the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Afghan National Standardisation Authority were signed between Afghanistan and India during Hamid Karzai's visit to India in April 2006.India 2008, Pg 494 An agreement providing $50 million to promote bilateral businesses between Afghanistan and India was signed during the visit of the Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta between 29 June – 1 July 2006. During the same year, India raised its aid package to Afghanistan by $150 million, to $750 million. In 2007, Afghanistan finally became the eighth member of SAARC.
In July 2008 the Indian embassy in Kabul was attacked by a suicide car bomb – the deadliest attack in Kabul since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. The bombing killed 58 people and wounded 141. Senior Indian Army officer Brigadier Ravi Datt Mehta was entering the embassy gates in a car along with V. Venkateswara Rao when the attack took place. Both were killed in the blast. In the aftermath of the 2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul, the Afghan Foreign Ministry quoted India as a "brother country" and the relationship between the two as one which "no enemy can hamper".
During the 15th SAARC summit in Colombo, further pledges were made by India for ongoing and forthcoming projects. In August 2008, Afghan President Karzai visited New Delhi further strengthening bilateral relations.India's Relationship with Neighbors