Nehru And The Afridis

Nehru and The Afridis

Nehru and the Afridis. Photo from 1946, when Nehru was the Premier of India in the Interim Government. The photograph was taken from Nehru’s disastrous trip into the land of the Pakhtuns in 1946. The military aircraft that Nehru took on this trip came under canon fire from the Pathan  militias. The Pathans used a canon that they had salvaged from a British Air Force craft that they had downed a little while ago. In the meetings that followed, the tribal elders dishonoured Nehru in various small ways to show that they disliked his visit. They had by now firmly come out in support of the All India Muslim League with its promise to create a separate homeland for Muslims of India. 

Nehru’s deep rooted love for pomp was now pandered to by the British who also protected him physically from any attack from the locals. Photo shows Nehru inspecting a parade of the Khyber Rifles at Jamrud in 1946. Leading him is Lt Colonel John  Booth of the 4th Battallion, 14th Punjab Regiment, who was commanding  the Khyber Rifles. Khyber Rifles was a para military police force composed of men of the Afridi tribe. It was commanded by British officers of the British Indian Army.