Afghanistan needs to return to President Mohammad Daoud’s vision of democracy.

Ever since Mohammad Daoud declared himself president of Afghanistan in 1973, he tried to established democracy.

Communism at the time was very prevalent and served as a great opposition to democratic ideology. Daoud faced persecution publicly and was threatened not only personally but his family was threatened as well.

Finally, after a lifetime of sacrifices and living a meaningful life in the name of equality for all and in the honor of Afghanistan’s true ideals within its rich culture, he was murdered along with his family.

It is known that Daoud and his family were murdered for their beliefs by communist agents during a very volatile time in Afghanistan.

Generally speaking, even though Afghanistan at the time was behind the rest of the world in societal accomplishments, their interest in pursuing democracy was evident. The democratic revolution was driven by the greater interest not only for the Afghan people but for Afghanistan and to be seen as an equal society, independent and sustainable. Their vision was to create a stable government and to establish a legal system in which people were treated fairly and justly.

The democratic revolution faced a lot of adversity and challenges, and it was an uphill battle which later failed. Failure to properly communicate the benefits of democracy and adequate support from other countries were a few contributing factors that lead to its failure.

I believe that inadequate campaigning and lack of grass-roots support coupled with the non-existent external support were the main factors that resulted in the demise of Afghanistan’s democratic revolution.

Trying to promote change was near impossible in a society viewed as a third world country, and those people were ignorant of other countries. Unbeknownst to the Afghan people, a democratic society was in their interest and for the greater good of Afghanistan in the present and in the long run. The democratic revolution slowly drowned in a sea of ignorance. Afghanistan unsuccessfully solicited support from the United States.

The United States, whose core government and society are based on the principles of democracy, was not interested in supporting Afghanistan because it was not in their interest and was not a profitable venture for them. This is not to say that the United States did not profit during these tumultuous times. As commonly known by the Afghan people, they failed to campaign for the democratic revolution. From an educated person’s perspective, I am aware that civil wars and wars between countries and government serve many opportunities for other countries to gain through proxy and military sales.

For three bloody decades, the Afghan people suffered and were oppressed by many regimes.

Its culture, people, and resources were pillaged time and time again and its people were left lost without leadership and hope. While democracy was Afghanistan’s best and greatest option, having other countries impose their view of democracy was not welcomed. The Afghan people were not interested in outside control and fearful of another occupation of their country. Afghan history has been occupied repeatedly and its society has suffered at the hands of other countries for their own selfish interests.

As a result of tiring pursuits for independence and peace in their own homeland, the Afghan people were left broken and suspicious of others. Many countries were like vultures seeking dying prey, and represented assistance, desperately needed, in the name of democracy only to mislead and guide the Afghan people and subsequently blinding them of their true intentions.

The wise and honorable Mohammad Daoud was aware of these political agendas and made it his life mission to protect the Afghan people from further exploitation. His vision was a country and people that lived in peace and without an over looming shadow of fear and despair. I hope that his vision becomes a reality.

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Inayat Ur Rehman is a Political Science and International Relations student. He can be reached at afgyomo@gmail.com. Read other articles by Inayat.