AN ACCOUNT OF THE ENTRY OF H.M. HABIBULLAH KHAN AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN INTO FREEMASONRY - 1907
by Lt. Col. Sir A. Henry McMahon, G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., K.C.I.E., C.S.I.

It has been suggested to me that an account of the circumstances in which H.M. Habibullah Khan, Amir of Afghanistan became a Freemason would be of value as a record of an interesting and important event.

The facts are briefly as follows:-
The British Government in 1906 invited the Amir of Afghanistan to visit India and on his acceptance of the invitation, I (then chief Commissioner of Baluchistan) was placed in charge of all matters connected with his visit and stay in India.

He arrived at the Indian Frontier at Landi Kotal and on 2nd January, 1907, accompanied by a numerous retinue which included escorts of Infantry and Cavalry.  He was then 34 years of age and had never before set foot outside his own country.  He was a man of very strong and determined character, of very superior intellect and surprisingly well-informed on all general subjects.

A few days after his arrival, he astonished me by expressing a wish to become a Freemason, but not knowing his motives I gave him no encouragement.  He returned to the subject on several occasions without success and it was not until the 22nd January that I realised how very much he was in earnest.  He made me an urgent appeal to assist him in the matter on which be said he had for a long time set his heart.  He begged that if it could be done, it should be without the knowledge of any of his staff and people.

It may be asked why the Amir should want to be a Freemason and how he came to know anything about it.  This seems a convenient stage at which to deal with that question, but I can only do so very briefly because I am able to give but little information on the subject.  All I could ever get the Amir to admit was that he had met good men who were Masons; that he knew Freemasonry to be a good thing and he wanted to enter it.  That he knew something about Operative Masonry was evident from the facility with which he recognised the various Freemasons marks of the stones of the Old Moghul Emperors' tombs and palaces that we visited, such as those of the Emperor Humaytin at Dehli, and others.  Whether he ever entertained an idea of instituting Freemasonry in Afghanistan I do not know but I think not.  At any rate nothing has ever been heard of his subsequently taking any step to do so.

This, however, is a digression and I resume my story.

The problem before me was one of extreme difficulty.  The only Masonic Lodge in India which in any way met the requirements of the case was one in Calcutta, Lodge Concordia No.3102, with a small but exclusive membership, restricted to British Civil and Military Officers of high standing.  We were to arrive in Calcutta in 6 days time, i.e. on the 28th and were to stay there only a week.  If the Amir was to be made a Mason it could only be in Calcutta, and whatever Masonic work had to be done must be done at one and the same meeting.  Apart from, the obligation of secrecy which it would be hard enough to ensure at even one visit to the Lodge, our crowded schedule of traveling and of official and social engagements made it impossible to fit in more than one Masonic meeting.  In other words, if the Amir was to be made a Mason all three degrees must be given to him at the same meeting, and all Masonic regulations about stated periods between proposals, elections and degrees must be waived.  Only thirteen days were available in which to accomplish all this!  Impossible as the matter seemed, I was sufficiently impressed with the possible advantages of fulfilling the Amir's wish, to make a very strenuous effort.  Lord Kitchener, most fortunately, was at that moment the District Grand Master of the Punjab and I at once communicated to him the facts of the case begging him to telegraph for an all-embracing dispensation to meet the many requirements of the case from the Grand Master, the Duke of Connaught, who happened at the moment to be on a visit to Ceylon.  This he did forthwith and at once came the reply, "I approve of the Amir receiving three degrees and give dispensation.  Welcome him into the Craft in my name. Connaught"

With these great obstacles removed the rest of my task proved less difficult, for on getting into communication with the W.M. of Lodge Concordia, W.Bro. A. W. Dentith, I found him willing and eager to give all necessary assistance.  It remained only to take every possible step to ensure complete secrecy.  Bro. Dentith called an emergency meeting of his Lodge for the 2nd February at 9.30 pm. of which notice was given by summons which be himself delivered personally by hand.

To understand the vital importance of secrecy, it is necessary to remember that this was the first occasion on which the ruler of Afghanistan had ever ventured to leave his country.  He had done so against the wishes and advice of bigoted advisers who prophesied that nothing but evil could come of his association with foreign infidels, and that his absence would give dangerous opportunities to ill-wishers to foment conspiracy and trouble.  It was therefore a matter of vital importance to prevent any knowledge of his present action from coming to the ears of his following and thence to the Afghan public.  It would give his enemies at home a handle with which great harm could be done.

Among the numerous public engagements of the Amir was accordingly arranged a dinner on the 2nd February with the Commander-in-Chief of India, Lord Kitchener.  In the ordinary course when dining out, the Amir was always accompanied by various members of his Afghan Staff, but on this occasion the Amir, at the last moment, expressed a wish to go unaccompanied by any staff as a special compliment to his friend, Lord Kitchener, and thus he and I went alone.

Immediately after dinner at which were only Lord Kitchener and his small personal staff, we drove off, unobserved, to the Masonic Hall where Lodge Concordia were waiting to receive us, and the proceedings of the evening began forthwith.

The officers of the Lodge were as follows:-
W.M.: W. Bro. A. W. DENTITH, I.C.S.
S.W.: W. Bro. Sir ANDREW H. L FRACER, K.C.S.I., Lieut-Governor of Bengal
J.W.: W. Bro. Sir CHARLES G. H. ALLEN, I.CS., Chairman of the Calcutta Corporation.
Secretary: W. Bro. The Ven. W. A. G. LUCKMAN, Archdeacon of Calcutta.
Treasurer: W. Bro. J. C. E. BRANSON, I.C.S., Accountant-General of Bengal
Chaplain: W. Bro. The Rev. Canon T. E F. COLE.
S.D.: Bro. Gen. Sir RONALD McDONALD, K.C.I.E., R.E., G.O.C., Presidency Brigade.
J.D.: Bro. W. D. R. PRENTICE, I.C.S.
I.G.: Bro. Major D. McCAY, I.M.S.
Tyler: Bro. Capt P. G. H. HOGG, R.E.

The W.M. opened the Lodge at 9.45 and then vacated the Chair to W. Bro G. Lane Anderson the Deputy District Grand Master of Bengal.
 

H.M. Habibullah Khan Amir of Afghanistan was then proposed as a candidate for initiation by R.W. Bro. His Excellency Lord Kitchener, District G.M., Punjab, (Commander-in-Chief, India); seconded by R.W. Bro. Sir W. Burkitt, District G.M. Bengal, (Chief Justice of the United Provinces) and the ballot proved unanimous. (Sir W. Burkitt, a member and founder of the Lodge was unable to attend the meeting).

The first, second and third degrees were then conferred on the candidate in full (with the exception of the perambulations in 1st and 2nd degree) by W. Bro. Lane Anderson assisted by R.W. Bro. Lord Kitchener who gave portions of the 1st and 3rd degrees.

An unusual feature of the proceedings was the fact that the candidate expressed his unwillingness to take part in any portion of the ceremony until he clearly understood its nature, and as his knowledge of the English language was very imperfect it was necessary to explain everything to him in his own language - Persian.  Knowing the likelihood of this I had volunteered to carry out the duties of J.D. in the 1st and S.D. in the 2nd and 3rd degrees and throughout those ceremonies I had to carry out a running interpretation of each portion of the ritual in Persian, which naturally somewhat lengthened the proceedings of the evening.  This task, moreover, was not made lighter by Lord Kitchener who at the conclusion of the 3rd degree delivered a somewhat lengthy address on the value of Freemasonry which also needed conversion into Persian.

At the conclusion of the ceremonies which were conducted in a very impressive manner, the W.M. resumed the Chair and in a few graceful terms bade the Amir a warm welcome into Freemasonry and membership of the Lodge.  The proceedings terminated at midnight when the Amir, after being introduced personally to the officers and members of the Lodge among whom the following were present - Sir James Meston, K.C.S.I (Finance Secretary to Govt. of India and later Lord Meston of Agra and Dunotter), Col. D. C. Phillot, Secretary to Board of Examiners) and Sir Robert Holland, K.C.I.E. I.C.S., took his departure and returned to Lord Kitchener's house whence I, at a later hour, escorted him home.  To mark his gratitude to Lodge Concordia, the Amir presented the Lodge with a very handsome silver cup.  I may note that the copy of the Koran on which he took his obligation is now in the Library of the Grand Lodge of England.

It is satisfactory to record that so successful proved the measures taken to ensure secrecy, that notwithstanding the curiosity of the Amir's own following, the strong searchlight of the public and press which played on every action or movement of the Amir during his visit to India, no knowledge of this Masonic episode ever came to light until after his return to Afghanistan when, from some unknown source, rumours of the Amir having become a Freemason began to spread, and the fanatical Mullahs of the Country seized upon them for purposes of trouble.  On this coming to the Amir's knowledge he summoned the leading Mullahs to appear and at a public Durbar informed all present that he was not only a Freemason but proud of being one; that he had become one to the benefit of his country and that if ever a Mullah were found to criticise his action in this matter he would pay for it with his head!

I cannot conclude this account of the Amir's entry into Freemasonry without recording the important consequences of it.  That the Amir was profoundly impressed by Freemasonry became very evident to me from the frequency with which, whenever he and I were alone together, he kept harking back to our Masonic evening at Calcutta - to the various portions of the ceremony and to what had been therein communicated to him.  Friendly and cordial as became his feeling towards British people during his intercourse with them, a feeling which grew deeper and stronger each day of his stay in India, I regard it of far less importance than the sense of confidence and trust in us that gradually grew up in his mind and which he carried away with him to Afghanistan.  I am convinced that his experience of Freemasonry with us played no small part in creating that trust and in preserving it unweakened through the years to come.

Among his last words to me on leaving India was the expression of a solemn vow to prove a faithful friend of England as long as England kept faith with him.  How loyally he kept his word was proved throughout the Great War of 1914-18, when time after time missions were sent to Kabul from Turkey and Germany offering the Amir alluring temptations of territory and power if he would only take their (the winning) side against us in the war.  Not only did he hold out loyally against temptation but, thanks to his firm hand on his country and the border tribes, our North West Indian frontier enjoyed complete peace throughout the war; so much so that England was able to denude India of British and Indian forces and to send them to other fields of war.  The value of this to us was almost incalculable, as alas was soon proved when, within a few weeks of the end of the Great War, our loyal friend and ally was struck down by the hand of an assassin; the firm hand that kept peace on our frontier was removed; Afghanistan turned against us and British troops were sent rushing back in great strength to India.  If this had been necessary during the war, the history of that war might have been changed.

The faithful friendship of His Majesty Habibullah Khan Amir of Afghanistan was thus by no means an unimportant factor in the successful issue of the war and it is pleasant to think that Freemasonry played its part in creating and cementing the friendship hat led to that result.
_____________________________________________________________________
Most Strictly private and confidential to members of the Lodge
LODGE CONCORDIA No. 3102, E.C.
Calcutta, Feb. 1, 07

Worshipful Master    Wor. Bro. A. W. Dentith
Senior Warden     Bro. Sir Andrew Fraser

Junior Warden    Bro. L G. H. Allen

Dear Sir and Brother,

I am directed by the Worshipful Master to request your attendance at an emergent meeting of Lodge Concordia No. 3102 E.C. to be held on Saturday, February 2nd, 1907 at Free Masons Hall, No.54 Park Street, at 9.30 pm. punctually.
 

The Agenda of business to be brought before the Lodge is annexed.
 

Yours fraternally,
 

Arthur G. Luckman P.M., 67 EC. Secretary.

1. If favourable ballotted for, to initiate, pass and raise (by dispensation) His Majesty, Habibullah Khan, Amir of Afghanistan.
Propd. by R.W. Bro. H. E. Lord Kitchener.
Secd. by R.W. Bro. Sir W. Burkitt.

From the Transactions of United Masters' Lodge No. 167,
Auckland New Zealand

The above was transcribed by:
Keith
Lodge Kaimanawa 426
Waikato Lodge of Research 445
PM, Lodge Waimarino 175
Taupo, New Zealand

N.B.

Sir Henry McMahon, just a couple of years after this initiation, founded his own lodge, Lodge McMahon 3632 EC. The lodge was consecrated in 1908 in Quetta, Baluchistan, in what is now Pakistan, although at that time it was part of India.  The lodge transferred to London in 1948 upon the grant of independence to India, and now meets at Mark Mason's Hall, London.

The author is an interesting historical character as well - ended up as British High Commissioner in Egypt during World War I. - and had been a central figure in the issue of Arab control of Palestine among other things - didn't I see him in Lawrence of Arabia ?  :)MP