 Frederick wrote to Elgin in January 1895 that Karim was deeply unpopular in the Household , and that he occupied " very much the same position as John Brown used to " . Princesses Louise and Beatrice , Prince Henry of Battenberg , Prime Minister Lord Rosebery , and Secretary of State for India Henry Fowler had all raised concerns about Karim with the Queen , who " refused to listen to what they had to say but was very angry , so as you see the Munshi is a sort of pet , like a dog or cat which the Queen will not willingly give up " . Elgin was warned by both Ponsonby and the India Office that the Queen gave his letters to the Munshi to read , and that consequently his correspondence to her should not be of a confidential nature . Victoria 's advisors feared Karim 's association with Rafiuddin Ahmed , an Indian political activist resident in London who was connected to the Muslim Patriotic League . They suspected that Ahmed extracted confidential information from Karim to pass onto the Amir of Afghanistan , Abdur Rahman Khan . There is no indication that these fears were well @-@ founded , or that the Munshi was ever indiscreet . 
