Durand's Curse: A Line Across the Pathan Heart Rajiv Dogra

Blood and fire have often blighted Afghanistan, the three Anglo-Afghan wars being among the
bloodiest and the cruelest in its history. But Britain’s partitioning of Afghanistan will rank as
the greatest crime of the nineteenth century. That arbitrary line which Mortimer Durand drew
in 1893 on a small piece of paper continues to bleed Afghanistan and hound the world. Alas,
this story remained untold until now.
Written in an inimitable style, Durand’s Curse is the result of deep research. Fascinating details
from long-buried archives of history reveal for the first time a tale of intrigue and deceit against
Afghanistan. First the British and then Pakistan had taken away territory that originally belonged
to Afghanistan. But the divided Pathan families refuse to accept this division even now and for the
last century and over, there has been a struggle to rub out the cursed line drawn across the sand.
Rajiv Dogra brings alive the wars, the tragedies and the Afghan anger against injustice in this
heart-wrenching account of Afghanistan’s misfortunes. This is an absolutely riveting story of the
Indian sub-continent's history told by an important writer of our generation.