India’s connection with Afghanistan is one of the oldest in South Asia. It began long before modern borders were invented. Yet, this civilisational bond has been tested again and again – by empire, partition, the Cold War, and today’s shifting geopolitics. The recent visit of Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to New Delhi in the second week of October was not just another diplomatic engagement. It reflected how old ties are being reworked in a new regional setting marked by uncertainty and change.

Trade and culture linked the Indian subcontinent and Afghanistan as far back as the Indus Valley Civilisation. Under Emperor Ashoka, the Mauryan Empire extended to Kandahar. His edicts, inscribed in Greek on Afghan rocks, show how these regions once formed part of a shared cultural world. The ancient land of Gandhara, covering parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, was once a great centre of Buddhist art and learning. The Bamiyan Buddhas, destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, stood for over 1,500 years as witnesses to that shared past.

Islam arrived in the seventh century but did not break these ties. Afghan rulers continued to shape Indian history. The Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Lodis, and Mughals all crossed the passes to establish dynasties in Delhi. Babur ruled Kabul before founding the Mughal........

© Indian Express