The Pathans

Sir Olaf Kirkpatrick Kruuse Caroe (1892–1981) was a distinguished British administrator and strategist, renowned for his significant contributions to British India's frontier policy and diplomacy. Born in London, Caroe was educated at Winchester College and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he studied classics. During World War I, Caroe served in the British Army, stationed in India, where he developed a deep interest in the region. He first went to the North-West Frontier in early 1916 as an officer in The Queen’s Regiment and was stationed in Peshawar and Nowshera. After the war, he joined the Indian Civil Service and later the Indian Political Service. Following three years in the Punjab, he was posted to the Frontier, where he held successive charges of the districts of Mardan, Hazara, Kohat, and Peshawar itself. He was later appointed Chief Secretary when the Frontier became a Governor’s Province. In 1934, Caroe was sent to Delhi in the Foreign Department, where he eventually served as the Viceroy’s Foreign Secretary throughout the Second World War. He played a crucial role in reaffirming the McMahon Line, which defined the boundary between India and Tibet. The Government’s dealings with the North-West Frontier, Baluchistan, and the independent peripheral state of Afghanistan were in his hands for about ten years. In 1946-47, he crowned his career by becoming the last British Governor of the North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) during the tumultuous period leading up to India's independence. After retiring, Caroe continued to influence geopolitical strategies, particularly during the Cold War. He authored several important works, including Wells of Power and The Soviet Empire, which provided valuable insights into the geopolitics of South-Western Asia and Central Asia. His book The Pathans is a labour of love, vividly bringing to life the Pathan people and their scenic setting. The Pathans themselves recognize this work as the locus classicus of their history. Caroe was knighted in the Order of the Star of India in 1944 and promoted to Knight Commander in 1945. He passed away on 23 November 1981 in Steyning, Sussex, leaving behind a legacy as a key figure in British India's administrative and strategic history.