Fakhr-e-Afghan

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[Charwak]

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د خدايي خدمتګار تنظيم اغراض
غني خټک

حضرت باچا خان د خدائي خدمتګار يو رضارکار فورس قايم کړے ؤ ، ددې بنياد د عدم تشدد په فلسفې ولاړ ؤ ، او دا په نړۍ کې د خپل نوعيت ړومبنے فورس ؤ ، چونکه دا د اعلی مقصدونو حاصلولو دپاره قايم کړے شوے ؤ ، په دا وجه د هغه وخت مقابلې کې نن ددې خبرې زيات ضرورت دے . ولې چې پښتون اولس نن د کوم قسم سياسي ، معاشي ، اولسي او اخلاقي رنځورو ښکار دے او په کومو کمزورو کې راګېر دے ، د هغوئې د علاج لپاره دې د باچاخان د خدائي خدمتګار تنظيم مقصدونه يو وارې بيا را ژوندي کړے شي .
دې نه وړاندې چې په دې باب له خبره نوره وړاندې بوتلے شي ، لاندې د خدائي خدمتګار تنظيم مقصدونو او د مقصدونو حاصلولو طريق کار ورکولے شي.
０- زه يو خدائي خدمتګار يم او خدائے ته د خدمت څه ضرورت نشته ، خو د هغه د مخلوق خدمت کول او په کار راتلل د هغه يعنې د الله خدمت دے او په دې وجه زه د الله په نوم دهغه د مخلوق د خدمت کولو لوظ او اقرار کووم.

１- زه د تشدد او جنګ جګړې نه د څنګ کولو او ځان ساتلو لوظ کوم او بدل يا انتقام به نه اخلم.
２- زه دا اقرار او لوظ کووم چې هغه څوک به معاف کوم څوک چې زما سره زور زياتے يت ظلم کوي. زه به جنګ جګړو کې برخه نه اخلم او د ځان دپاره به دښمن نه پېدا کوم.
３- زه به هر يو پښتون خپل ورور ، ملګرے او دوست ګڼم.
４- زه به اولس دښمنه رواجونو کې برخه نه اخلم او نه به ورله خپله ودۀ ورکوم.
５- زه به ساده ژوند تېروم ، د نيکۍ کارونه به کوم او د غلطو کارونو نه به ځان ساتم .
６- زه د ښو اخلاقو او ښه سلوک کولو لوظ کوم او فضول او بېکاره کارونو کې به وخت نه بربادوم ، زه به روزانه کم نه کم دوه ساعته د اولس د ښېګړې کارونه کوم.
که مونږ په دې مقصدونو نظر واچوو ، دې مقصدونو کې هغه رنځونه او کمزورۍ په ګوته کړے شوي دي چې پښتون د کومو ښکار ؤ . او نن هم دغه رنځونه او کمزورۍ د پښتو معاشره کې ښه ښکاره په نظر راځي . چې علاج غواړي چې دارو ئې باچا خان لا پخوا دريافت کړي دي.
د حضرت باچاخان هومره همت د نن ارام طلبه سياسي مشرانو کې نشته . باچاخان به پېدل يا په ټالګو کې ګرځېدلو او د پښتونخوا هر يو کلي ته به يې ځان رسولو او دخپل مقصدونو تبليغ به ئې کاوۀ. د خدائي خدمتګار تنظيم دا مقصدونه د اعلی معيار يو اخلاقي او د عمل جوګه چارټر دے. چې د راژوندي کولو ضرورت لري. دې چارټر يا اعلی مقصدونو خپل افاديت د لاسه نه دے ورکړے ولې چې پښتون نن هم د پرون په مقابله کې د زيات خرابو حالاتو سره مخ دے . د عزيزولۍ او رشته دارۍ قدرونه په ختميدو راغلي دي.
حجرې شاړې شولې ځکه چې د خېل اؤ پلو محلت خلک د يو بل سره د ناستې پاستې او د يو بل اوريدو اؤ ليدو نه ډه ډه کوي ، د باهمي لاتعلقۍ دا حالت يو خطرناک حالت دے. په سياسي توګه کلهم پښتون قام د عدم استحکام ښکار دے، معاش ئې د نش برابر دے اؤ په سيمو کې ئې د عملي ترقۍ عمل ولاړ دے. دوه نيم درې کروړه پښتانۀ د ځان د پاره د يو موزون او مناسب نوم ګټلو توان نه لري . ځکه چې خپلو کې نفاق ترېنه هغه توانائي او برکت اوچت کړے دے کوم چې په قامونو کې د اتفاق او ورورولۍ په برکت پېدا کيږي. دا زما ذاتي خيال دے ، چې پښتون لا اوس هم يو قام نه دے جوړ شوے ، که يو طرفته د پښتون قام د را اوچتولو او چټک کولو لپاره د يو لوئے او فعال قيادت ضرورت دے په بل لور ورته داسې د يو اولسي تنظيم ضرورت دے چې پښتنو کې د خپل قاميت ، ذمه دارو او د خپلو کمزورو په بابله يو شعور او پوهـ پېدا کړي. په تجرباتي توګه يو ، دوه کلو کې د دغه خدائي خدمتګارو مقصدونو د عملي کولو لپاره لاس پورې کېدلے شي. او ورو ورو دا د پښتونخوا نورو سيمو ته خورېدے شي. دلته زه دا مناسب ګڼم چې د قيادت په حقله خپل فکر واضحه کړم . هغه دا چې د قيادت نه مقصد د شلونو او سلونو خلکو يوه داسې ډله يا قوت تېارول دي څوک چې کلو بانډو کې د اعلی قيادت د پاره کار کوي. او پارټي يا تنظيم کې هغه کسانو ته د وړاندې کېدو موقع ورکول پکار ده چې محنتي او عملي وي. چې څو پورې د کلو او بانډو په سطح مشران د لاندې مشرانو سره ذاتي رابطه اونه ساتي هغه وخت پورې پښتون اولس کې د اتفاق او اتحاد خويونه پېدا کول ممکن نه دي.

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[Zahid Buneray]

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[Brekhna]

If history's responsibility is to capture the life and achievements of great leaders and store the wisdom of the eras in its annals, it has failed in celebrating the story of an Islamic peacemaker called Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890-1988). He's undoubtedly the most overlooked Muslim nonviolence leader that the world must know; Khan's historic accomplishments exemplify the peaceful and nonviolent teachings of Prophet Mohammed. Very few know of Khan in his native region of today's Pakistan or Afghanistan; He's relatively better known in India as "Frontier Gandhi" because of his close association with Gandhi in India's nonviolent struggle for independence. Fitting as that is, our best tribute to Khan is to understand his merit and message in the unique context of the Pushtun's cause.

Khan voluntarily took on the task of transforming the violent Pushtuns into a nonviolent peace brigade. With love, he influenced them to change their vengeful and hostile tendencies and get rid of their inner negative qualities. At the same time, he led the Pushtuns in a nonviolent and peaceful struggle in opposing the barbaric rule of the British empire. On hearing about this genius display of nonviolence of the brave, Gandhi remarked,

"That such men who would have killed a human being with no more thought than they would kill a sheep or hen should at the bidding of one man have laid down their arms and accepted nonviolence as the superior weapon sounds almost like a fairy tale."

Like Mother Theresa who served the poor and the destitute, Khan sacrificed his life for the betterment of these Pushtuns written off as incapable and unworthy of change. First of the kind in recorded history, the nonviolent "Khudai Khidmatgars" (Servants of God) stood tall with dignity taking the blows and not returning them, much to everyone's awe.

The unfortunate events of the last 30 years (Soviet occupation of the 1970s and 80s, the Al Queda terrorist camps in Afghanistan, the Taliban rule, and the 2001 war on terror) and politics have obscured Khan's legacy of nonviolence. Amnesty International drew attention by recognizing Khan as the "Prisoner of the Year" in 1962; Khan was given the "Jewel of India" award for his commitment to nonviolence.

Khan's life and works are based on the universal values of love, faith, and service to humanity and his legacy is beyond regional and Islamic boundaries. The world needs to recognize Khan's contributions to nonviolence and acknowledge his place with the other legends like Mahatma Gandhi of Hinduism and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., of Christianity. Eknath Easwaran, in his book on Khan entitled "Nonviolent Soldier of Islam" summarizes Khan's contributions as follows:

"It is only a matter of time before his (Khan's) special light will begin to shine in many corners of the earth. For his contribution to the legacy of nonviolence has special significance today, when so many countries of the Islamic world are torn by violence. Just as Gandhi reminded Indians of their long-forgotten legacy of truth and nonviolence, it has been given to Badshah Khan to perform the same great service for Islam. His life is a perfect mirror of the profound values of love, faith, and selfless service embedded in Islam since its inception. His nonviolent "army of God" stands as a beacon to all Muslims who seek an alternative to the self-destructive violence of our times."


History of the Northwest Frontier Province


The history and geography of the Northwest Frontier Province have not been kind to Khan’s cause. Guarding the northwest entry into colonial India (which spanned from today’s Pakistan on the west to Myanmar on the east) was the historic Khyber Pass , only 8-feet wide at the narrowest point and 33-miles long winding through the rugged, snow-clad mountains of the Hindu Kush . Khyber Pass is no ordinary gateway. It is a dangerous and strategic route to India which has witnessed several invasions including Alexander from Greece in 326 B.C.E, Persians, Genghis Khan, Mongols, Mughals , Turks, Scythians, White Huns, among many others. For hundreds of years, the Khyber Pass has also been a trade route bringing luxurious silks, Chinese porcelain, and spices to Middle-east and Europe .

Gaurding the famous Khyber Pass was the job of about 2 millions Pushtuns who lived on the mountains. The history of the Pushtuns or “ Pathans ” in this province was violent with frequent guerilla warfare between the Pushtuns and the British forces. The British ruled the Pushtuns with hatred and wrath because the British wanted control of the Khyber Pass since India ’s security was at stake. The Pushtuns , proud warriors that they were, opposed the British at the slightest provocation and were determined to live in freedom without British humiliation. It was a cycle of violence breeding more violence, unrelenting with no end in sight.

The British rule in the Province was hardly on a par with the rest of the Indian Provinces. After about 80-odd years of conflict, the British hardened their attitude toward the Pushtuns and adopted a standard code of torturous treatment described by Easwaran :


“The British sent scores of expeditions into the Pathans ’ hills, shelled their strongholds, burned (and later bombed) their villages, beat, flogged, and jailed Pathans by the thousands.

There were also a series of restrictive laws for the Pushtuns , lists Easwaran,

“A man could be “transported” - sent to a foreign penal colony – for life without counsel or trial. Justice was at the hands of the political agent or pro-British landlords called in to hear cases. The most elementary rights extended to Her Majesty’s subjects throughout the Empire were denied the Pathans . All this only confirmed what the Pathans had long suspected: the imperial powers in Delhi and London regarded them as savages.”

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

Badshah Khan was born in 1890 in Utmanzai, near Peshawar, a prosperous village in colonial India's Northwest Frontier Province. He was a peace loving Pushtun leader who dedicated his life to reforming the people of his Pushtun community who were branded violent and savage during the final years to the British rule in the Indian subcontinent. Khan was educated in Edwardes Missionary School run by Reverand Wigram. Although a devout Muslim his entire life, his life was in sharp contrast to his contemporaries. Education as a means of social advancement remained a dominant theme throughout his life.

As a young man, Khan started a school for Pashtun children. Later, he came under the influence of Haji Abdul Wahid Sahib, a social reformer. He also established contacts with other progressive Muslim leaders who urged him to work for the education and upliftment of the Pushtuns.

Khan's goal was a united, independent and secular India. To achieve that end, he founded the Khudai Khidmatgars (Servants of God) in 1929. The Khudai Khidmatgars was based on the belief in the power of complete nonviolence. Also known as the "Red Shirts", the organization recruited over 100,000 members and became legendary in opposing at the hands of the British police and army. He worked tirelessly for the rights of his people without ever raising arms because he honestly believed that the upliftment of his people was essential preparation for independence.

Khan's calls for social change, fair land distribution, and religious harmony threatened some religious leaders and big landlords. But he didn't let that come in the way of traveling 25 miles in a day, walking village to village, and speaking about social reform and having his Khudai Khidmagars members stage dramas depicting the value of nonviolence. Through strikes, political organization and nonviolent opposition, the Khudai Khidmatgars was able to achieve some success and came to dominate the politics of the Province (now a part of Pakistan) from 1930 until 1947.

Khan was a champion of woman's rights and nonviolence and became a hero in a society dominated by violence and machismo. For almost 80 years, Khan never lost faith in his nonviolent methods; in fact he derived the strength and commitment toward nonviolence from Islam. He viewed his struggle as a Jihad but the enemy was holding the swords.

Khan escaped two assassination attempts, survived three decades in prison, and died at the age of 98 and was buried in Afghanistan. Although he had been repeatedly imprisoned and persecuted, tens of thousands of mourners attended his funeral. A cease-fire was announced in the Afghan war to allow the funeral to take place. He was buried in Afghanistan

Till the end, Badshah Khan firmly believed that, "Nonviolence is love and it stirs courage in people...No peace or tranquility can descend upon the people of the world until nonviolence is practiced."

[Brekhna]

DEEP FAITH

"Real Islam is a deep and unquestioning trust in God, the realization of the truth that "There is no deity save God" and of the threefold aspect of religious life; that of islam, complete surrender to God; iman, unquestioning faith in Him and His wisdom; and ihsan, to do the right thing and to act beautifully, because one knows that God is always watching man's actions and thoughts."

Annemarie Schimmel, Professor of Indo-Muslim Culture, Harvard University

Badshah Khan was a devout Muslim whose surrender to God was rewarded by a divine wisdom to act rightfully. Khan derived deep inspiration from the Koran and based his life on Prophet Mohammed's universal principles of love (muhabat), service to humanity (amal), and faith (yakeen). His lifelong reform work, the constructive programs, and the nonviolence of the Khudai Khidmatgars can be best understood in light of the underlying Islamic and universal ethics.

Khan's nonviolence was spiritual, based on Islam's "Sabr" (tenaciously holding on to a righteous cause without revenge or retaliation) just as Gandhi's nonviolence was based on Hindu principles of Ahimsa and Advaita. Khan's life is also an example of faith-based transformation of two kinds - his own "qutb" or divine analytic wisdom which awakened true faith in him and his reformation of 100,000 belligerent Pushtuns into nonviolent God's servants.

Righteous Reform

Badshah Khan's single-minded dedication to reform the Pushtuns is a direct result of his spiritual calling. Typically, the Khans of his time were wealthy landowners and socialites who wined and dined with the British rulers and were indifferent to the misery of the poor Pushtuns. But Badshah Khan was different; He felt an unexplainable desire to change the conditions of his Pushtun brothers. His two best friends were from the less-privileged sweeper community, a rare thing among the status-conscious Khans.

Although Khan went to a Christian missionary school, he received religious education on the Koran and prayed five times a day as any devout Muslim. The initial influence to help and serve came in the form of Reverend Wigram, a kind and caring Principal of the missionary school. But a deeper desire to serve definitely came from the Koran. As a righteous king can clearly see through fairness and cruelty, this king among the Khans could see unrighteousness in the British treatment of his Pushtun brothers. Islam had taught Khan to fight against unlawful tyranny and oppression - only peacefully.

Khan's personal experience with the British Army also changed the direction in his life. 17-Year old Khan, 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing over 200 pounds, was easily selected to serve in the Guides (an elite corps of the infantry and cavalry division). He had dreamed of becoming a Guides officer since childhood. But when he saw his Pushtun friend, a commissioned Guides officer, being insulted by a British officer, Khan changed his mind. Khan angrily rejected his commission with the British Army. Khan's Guides episode acted as a catalyst for reform just as Mahatma Gandhi's humiliation when he was thrown out of the train in South Africa increased his fervor to fight the British.

SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION

Guided by the Prophet's teachings and the affirmations of Allah on his lips, Badshah Khan's reform goals took stronger and bigger shape. He realized that education was the only way to uplift the downtrodden Pushtuns. Barely 20 years old, Khan followed his intuition and opened a school for the Pushtun children. As his reform instincts kept growing, Khan increasingly wondered about the source of his desire to reform; Who was he - a twenty-year-old Mohammedzai farm boy, not even matriculated from high school - to uplift an ancient, noble people? Finding no answers from the outside, he sought answers from within. For several days and nights, Khan performed a "chilla", a fast, and prayed in a small mosque. Easwaran captures the essence of the transformed Khan at the end of the fast as follows:

"It was early morning when Ghaffar Khan ended his fast...and walked out with a vague but powerful awareness that he was not the same man who had entered the mosque a few days before. He had not received the direct answers...but he felt a strength he had not known before. And he understood, dimly, that it was the strength of God. Islam! Submit! Surrender to the Lord and know His strength! Ghaffar felt swelling within him the desire to serve this great God. And since He needed no service, Ghaffar would serve His creatures instead - the tattered villagers who were too ignorant and too steeped in violence to help themselves."

Easwaran compares Khan's transformation to St. Francis of Assisi's who had a similar spiritual experience 700 years ago. Just as St. Francis heard a clear voice commanding him to revitalize the Christian institutions, this Islamic prophet derived from within a singleness of purpose to tirelessly serve his community.

Mahadev Desai, who wrote a biography Two Servants of God" on Badshah Khan and his brother Dr. Khan" described Khan's spiritual temperament:

"The greatest thing in him is...his spirituality - better still, the true spirit of Islam - submission to God. He has measured Gandhiji's life all through with this yardstick...It is not Gandhi's name or fame that have attracted (Khan) to Gandhi, not his political work, nor his spirit of rebellion and revolution. It is (Gandhi's) pure and ascetic life and his insistence on self-purification that have had the greatest appeal for him, and (Khan's) whole life since 1919 onwards has been one sustained effort for self-purification."

Badshah Khan, in his own words, describes his self-transformation:

"As a young boy, I had had violent tendencies; the hot blood of the Pathans was in my veins. But in jail I had nothing to do except read the Koran. I read about the Prophet Mohammed in Mecca, about his patience, his suffering, his dedication. I had read it all before, as a child, but now I read it in the light of what I was hearing all around me about Gandhi's struggle against the British...They changed my life forever."

With the gift of "Iman" (a complete and unshakable faith of a pure heart directed toward Allah) and an awakened "Nur" (the plentitude of light of God) Khan was now ready to help the Pushtuns and rise up to the Koran's calling in Surah II: 129:

Our Lord! And raise up in them an Apostle from among them who shall recite to them Thy communications and teach them the Book and the wisdom, and purify them; surely Thou are the Mighty, the wise.

The Buddha's message on self-transformation was "One who conquers himself is greater than another who conquers 1,000 times 1,000 men." Khan's transformational legacy is a marvelous feat of a man of God who conquered himself and helped 100,000 men reform themselves.

[Brekhna]

SPIRIT OF SERVICE

"I have one great desire. I want to rescue these gentle, brave, patriotic people from the tyranny of the foreigners who have disgraced and dishonored them. I want to create for them a world of freedom, where they can live in peace, where they can laugh and be happy...I want to wash away the stain of blood from their garments. I want to show the world how beautiful they are, these people from the hills, and then I want to proclaim: "Show me, if you can, any gentler, more courteous, more cultured people than these." Badshah Khan

Khan saw ignorance, superstition, and the crushing weight of custom as main reasons for the misery of the Pushtuns. "Beneath the violence and ignorance," says Easwaran, "Khan saw men and women capable of extraordinary self-effacement, endurance, and courage. He knew his task: to educate, to enlighten, to lift up, to inspire. With understanding, he saw, the violence and venality would fall from the Pathan character like dead limbs from a tree."

Realizing what needs to be done, Khan threw himself into the cause of reforming and transforming the Pushtuns through educational, agricultural, and social programs:

In 1910, Khan started a school, hoping education would remove many hurdles in the Pushtuns' lives. It was an instant success and in a short time, he opened more including a high school quickly enrolling a large number of students. In 1912, he took on the leadership of the reform movement of Haji Abdul Wahid Saheb, a liberal reformer whose progressive thinking had a major influence on Khan.

In 1921, Khan initiated the Reform Association of Afghanistan, a non-political missionary organization that encouraged economic, social, and educational improvements in the region. He encouraged the Pushtuns to open up stores as alternatives to agriculture as there wasn't enough land.

Khan also established cooperative enlightenment centers in 1927 as part of the Peasant Association to improve local agriculture. The same year, Khan founded the Pushtun Youth League, which mainly included the graduates of his schools who carried out reform work.

Khan was concerned about the women's issues including freedom to participate fully in society. To help spread more of his ideas, Khan started a journal in Pushtun with articles on hygiene, social issues, and Islamic law. He showed extraordinary daring in opposing the "purdah" so that women could come out from behind the veil.

In 1929, sensing that the Pushtuns were ready Khan finally exhorted them to transform themselves to enjoy progress and prosperity eventually. Khan's words cut through their pride, but the Pushtuns knew the message was hurled with love. After much discussion, they agreed to take an oath:
I am a Khudai Khidmatgars; and as God needs no service, but serving his creation is serving him, I promise to serve humanity in the name of God.


I promise to refrain from violence and from taking revenge on those who oppress me or treat me with cruelty.

I promise to refrain from taking part in feuds and quarrels and from creating enmity.

I promise to treat every Pathan as my brother and friend.

I promise to refrain from antisocial customs and practices.

I promise to lead a simple life, to practice virtue and to refrain from evil.

I promise to practice good manners and good behavior and not to lead a life of idleness.

I promise to devote at least two hours a day to social work .


The British treated the nonviolent Pushtuns as a ruse. Amitabh Pal writes in "The Progressive: A Pacifist uncovered"

"The British reacted with a singular ferocity to the Khidmagar desire for independence from British rule, subjecting Khidmatgars members throughout the 1930s and 1940s to mass killings, and destruction of their homes and fields. Khan himself spent 15 of these years in prison, often in solitary confinement. But these Pushtuns refused to give up their adherence to nonviolence even in the face of such severe repression."

With their wise leader guiding their gradual evolution out of violence and vengeance, the Pushtuns stunned the world when they exhibited the bravery in one incident in April 1930. Gene Sharp who has written a study of nonviolent resistance writes:

"When those in front fell down wounded by the shots, those behind came forward with their breasts bare and exposed themselves to the fire, so much so that some people got as many as 21 bullets in their bodies, and all the people stood their ground without getting into a panic...The Anglo-Indian paper of Lahore, which represents the official view, itself wrote to the effect that the people came forward one after another to face the firing and when they fell wounded they were dragged back and others came forward to be shot at."

Ghani Khan notes that his father, Badshah Khan, "had discovered that love can create more in a second than bombs can destroy in a century; that the kindest strength is the greatest strength; that only way to be truly brave is to be in the right."

Born aristocrat and raised in luxury, Khan renounced his comforts, land, wealth, and even meat to live as an example for his followers. He was a gentle giant that the villagers loved and honored by rising up to his call. A long life of selfless service, constant self-purification, and the bonds of love between Khan and his followers made him a "rasul", a prophet as described in Surah VII 157 of the Koran:

"Those who follow the Apostle-Prophet...(who) enjoins them good and forbids them evil, and makes lawful to them the good things and makes unlawful to them impure things, and removes from them their burden and shackles which were upon them; so (as for) those who believe in him and honor him, and help him, and follow the light which has been sent down with him, these it is that are the successful."

[Brekhna]

NONVIOLENCE OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD


Badshah Khan conducted his struggle against the British with nonviolence that was based on purely righteous faith in Islam; and yet his Khudai Khidmatgars had a universal and nonsectarian outlook. In an inspiring speech, Badshah Khan gives the Khudai Khidmatgars the most successful weapon to wage a nonviolent war:

"I am going to give you a weapon that the police and army will not be able to stand against it. It is the weapon of the Prophet, but you are not aware of it. The weapon is patience and righteousness. No power on earth can stand against it. When you go back to your villages, tell your brethren that there is an army of God and its weapon is patience. Ask your brethren to join the army of God. Endure all hardships. If you exercise patience, victory will be yours."

The reference to "patience", says Easwaran, is to "sabr" in Islam which means "tenacity in a righteous cause, cheerful resignation in misfortune, forgiveness, self-control, renunciation and refraining from revenge." Sabr denotes nonviolence, not Khan's nonviolent resistance. Easwaran continues,

"In the mystics, particularly al-Ghazzali, sabr becomes a cardinal virtue in the "holy war" (jihad) between good and evil that every human being is called upon to wage in his or her own heart. Khan's reference to the Prophet is to the early years of the Prophet's teaching in Mecca, when he and his followers had to endure torment ranging from ridicule to the harshest persecution. Their stance was consistently to "hold on to truth without retaliating or retreating, in perfect submission (islam) to God's truth and the consequences of their faith."

The Prophet's nonviolence is highlighted by Karen Armstrong,in an interview with The Giuardian
(June 2002):

"Islam is not the intolerant or violent religion of the western fantasy. Mohammed was forced to fight against the city of Mecca...and after five years of warfare, Mohammed turned to more peaceful methods and finally conquered Mecca by an ingenious campaign of non-violence."

Khan's nonviolent movement had "first of all, a religious basis," writes nonviolence scholar Joan Bondurant in her Conquest of Violence: The Gandhian Philosophy of Conflict. "It took as its objective both local socioeconomic reform and political independence...Its adoption of nonviolence was more thorough than that of the Indian National Congress inasmuch as the Khudai Khidmatgars pledged themselves to nonviolence not only as a policy, but as a creed, a way of life.

Khan mentions a discussion with a fellow Muslim who him asked to show the nonviolent core of Islam. Khan said, "I cited chapter and verse from the Koran to show the great emphasis that Islam has laid on peace." Khan continued, "I also showed to him how the greatest figures in Islamic history were known more for their forbearance and self-restraint than for their fierceness." Khan interpreted Islam as a moral code with pacifism at its center. Easwaran summarizes Khan's Islam:

"A devout Muslim he showed in his life a face of Islam which non-Islamic countries seldom see, proving that within the scope of Islam exists a noble alternative to violence. His nonviolent army, the Servants of God, " was entirely Muslim, and based upon the ancient Islamic principles of universal brotherhood, submission to God, and the service of God through the service of His creatures."

Nasim Wali Khan, Khan's daughter-in-law shares, "Badshah Khan told people that Islam operates on a simple principle - never hurt anyone by tongue, by gun, or by hand. Not to lie, steal, and harm is true Islam."

Khan's nonviolence sprung out of Islam, but the Khidmatgars movement was nonsectarian. Bondurant points out "although the character of the movement was intensely Islamic...one of the objectives of the organization was the promotion of Hindu-Muslim unity." When Hindus and Sikhs were attacked in Peshawar, "10,000 Khidmatgars members helped protect their lives and property," notes Pal. Mahatma Gandhi wrote in the Foreword of the book on Khan brothers,

"(Badshah Khan) was consumed with deep religious fervor. His was not a narrow creed. I found him to be a universalist. His politics, if he had any, were derived from his religion."

In a conversation between the two great proponents of nonviolence - Badshah Khan and Mahatma Gandhi - Khan leaves us with a fitting message on religion as a source of peace:

"Not one in hundred thousand knows the true spirit of Islam. I think at the back of our quarrels is the failure to recognize that all faiths contain enough inspiration for their adherents. The Holy Koran says in so many words that God sends messengers for all nations and peoples. All of them are Ahle Kitab (Men of the Book) and the Hindus are no less Ahle Kitab than Jews and Christians."

"The Holy Prophet Mohammed came into this world and taught us: 'That man is a Muslim who never hurts anyone by word or deed, but who works for the benefit and happiness of God's creatures. Belief in God is to love one's fellow men.'"

-- Abdul Ghaffar Khan

Nonviolence advocate and a nonviolent solider of God.
www.in-the-light.org


http://www.peacehost.net/PacifistNation/Khan_Gandhi_P213A.jpg

http://www.peacehost.net/PacifistNation/Khan_Nehru_P164.jpg

http://www.peacehost.net/PacifistNation/Khan_at95_P231.jpg

http://www.peacehost.net/PacifistNation/Khan_tribalcouncils_P224.jpg

[Zahid Buneray]

It's tragic that India and Pakistan are almost constantly in a state of animosity and are now facing off against each other with nuclear weapons. It's also ironic, since both countries can claim pacifist pioneers. India has Gandhi, as most everyone knows. But few people know about Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a proponent of nonviolence and social change who lived in Pakistan.

Khan resided in what is now the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, and he was affectionately known as the "Frontier Gandhi." As Gandhi was given the title of Mahatma, meaning "Great Soul," Khan was given the title Badshah, meaning "Leader" or "King."

A devout practitioner of nonviolence and social reform, Khan worked to spread his ideals in the region. Eluding at least two assassination attempts and surviving three decades in prison, he remained committed to nonviolence to the day he died in 1988 at the age of ninety-eight.

"For today's children and the world, my thoughts are that only if they accept nonviolence can they escape destruction, with all this talk of the atom bomb, and live a life of peace," Khan told an interviewer in 1985. "If this doesn't happen, then the world will be in ruins."

Asfandiyar Wali Khan, Ghaffar's grandson, remembers two basic lessons his grandfather gave him about the superiority of nonviolence.

"He said that violence needs less courage than nonviolence," says Asfandiyar, who resides in Peshawar, Pakistan. "Second, violence will always breed hatred. Nonviolence breeds love."

As a young man, Ghaffar Khan started a school for Pashtun children. Soon, he came under the influence of Haji Abdul Wahid Sahib, a social reformer. Before long, he had established contact with other progressive Muslim leaders in India, who urged him to work for the education and uplift of the Pashtuns. But Ghaffar Khan was still searching for answers. In 1914, he performed a fast that lasted for days. The fast strengthened his resolve to dedicate his life to social reform, and he spent the next few years touring the region. Soon he learned about Gandhi and his movement, which provided an enormous boost to Khan and his work.

Khan founded a nonviolent movement in 1929 called the Khudai Khidmatgar--the servants of God. This movement, which eventually involved more than 100,000 Pashtuns, was dedicated to social reform and to ending the rule of the British in then-undivided India.

Khan's calls for social change, more equitable land distribution, and religious harmony threatened some religious leaders and big landlords. But he toured incessantly, traveling twenty-five miles in a day, going from village to village, speaking about social reform and having his movement members stage dramas depicting the value of nonviolence.

"I visited a really remote village recently and was taking pride in the fact that I was the first outsider to be there," says Asfandiyar, the central president of the Awami (People's) National Party, which claims to carry on Ghaffar Khan's work. "However, I learned that Badshah Khan had been there in 1942. Imagine the conditions at the time. He must have had to walk ten to twelve hours to get there."

The British treated Ghaffar Khan and his movement with a barbarity that they did not often inflict on other adherents of nonviolence in India. "The brutes must be ruled brutally and by brutes," stated a 1930 British report on the Pashtuns.

The British thought of Ghaffar Khan's movement as a ruse. To them, "A nonviolent Pathan [another name for a Pashtun] was unthinkable, a fraud that masked something cunning and darkly treacherous," writes Eknath Easwaran in Nonviolent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan, A Man to Match His Mountains (Nilgiri Press, 1999).

The British thus reacted with a singular ferocity to the Khidmatgar desire for independence from British rule, subjecting Khidmatgar members throughout the 1930s and early 1940s to mass killings, torture, and destruction of their homes and fields. Khan himself spent fifteen of these years in prison, often in solitary confinement. But these Pashtuns refused to give up their adherence to nonviolence even in the face of such severe repression.

In the single worst incident, the British killed at least 200 Khidmatgar members in Peshawar on April 23, 1930. Gene Sharp, who has written a study of nonviolent resistance, describes the scene on that day: "When those in front fell down wounded by the shots, those behind came forward with their breasts bared and exposed themselves to the fire, so much so that some people got as many as twenty-one bullet wounds in their bodies, and all the people stood their ground without getting into a panic. . . . The Anglo-Indian paper of Lahore, which represents the official view, itself wrote to the effect that the people came forward one after another to face the firing and when they fell wounded they were dragged back and others came forward to be shot at. This state of things continued from 11 till 5 o'clock in the evening. When the number of corpses became too many, the ambulance cars of the government took them away."

The carnage stopped only because a regiment of Indian soldiers finally refused to continue firing on the unarmed protesters, an impertinence for which they were severely punished.

With his commitment to Hindu-Muslim unity, Ghaffar Khan was firmly opposed to the creation of Pakistan, which was founded as a homeland for the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. He also thought that the rights of the Pashtuns would be better respected in a large, decentralized, united India rather than in a smaller, more centralized Pakistan. After Pakistan's creation, he started demanding a separate region, or Pashtunistan, for the Pashtuns. He left it deliberately ambiguous whether he wanted this area to be within Pakistan or a separate country.

All this gave the Pakistani authorities the opportunity to accuse him of anti-national activities. They jailed and killed some of his followers. Khan was imprisoned again for more than a decade. The Pakistan government banned the Khidmatgar movement and razed its headquarters, but Khan continued his work.

"The Khidmatgar movement was one of self-reform and introspection," says Mukulika Banerjee, author of The Pathan Unarmed: Opposition and Memory in the North West Frontier (School of American Research Press, 2000). "It involved two crucial elements: Islam and Pukhtunwali (the Pashtun tribal code). Here nonviolence becomes an ideological system very compatible with Islam and Pukhtunwali, since these are reinterpreted."

The movement had "first of all, a religious basis," writes nonviolence scholar Joan V. Bondurant in Conquest of Violence: The Gandhian Philosophy of Conflict (Princeton University Press, 1988). "It took as its objective both local socioeconomic reform and political independence. . . . Its adoption of nonviolence was more thorough than that of the Indian National Congress inasmuch as the Khudai Khidmatgar pledged themselves to nonviolence not only as a policy, but as a creed, a way of life."
Khan stressed the compatibility of Islam and nonviolence.

[Zahid Buneray]

"There is nothing surprising in a Muslim or a Pathan like me subscribing to the creed of nonviolence," Ghaffar Khan is quoted in Easwaran's biography. "It is not a new creed. It was followed 1,400 years ago by the Prophet all the time when he was in Mecca." For Khan, Islam meant muhabbat (love), amal (service), and yakeen (faith).

Khan once told Gandhi of a discussion he had with a Punjabi Muslim who didn't see the nonviolent core of Islam. "I cited chapter and verse from the Koran to show the great emphasis that Islam had laid on peace, which is its coping stone," Khan said. "I also showed to him how the greatest figures in Islamic history were known more for their forbearance and self-restraint than for their fierceness. The reply rendered him speechless."

Khan interpreted Islam as a moral code with pacifism at its center.

"Badshah Khan told people that Islam operates on a simple principle--never hurt anyone by tongue, by gun, or by hand," says Begum Nasim Wali Khan, Ghaffar's daughter-in-law, who is the provincial president of the Awami National Party. "Not to lie, steal, and harm is true Islam."

But the movement was nonsectarian. When Hindus and Sikhs were attacked in Peshawar, 10,000 Khidmatgar members helped protect their lives and property. And when riots broke out in the state of Bihar in 1946 and 1947, Khan toured with Gandhi to bring about peace.

"Although the character of the movement was intensely Islamic . . . one of the objectives of the organization was the promotion of Hindu-Muslim unity," Bondurant observes.

In the early 1990s, Banerjee, a lecturer in anthropology at University College London, spent months in the frontier region with Khan's family and interviewed seventy surviving Khidmatgar members. She says that while people initially joined the organization due to Khan's charisma and persuasiveness, later on it was due to the excitement of becoming part of something larger than themselves. And their commitment to nonviolence was stronger than their allegiance to Khan. When Gandhi asked some of them in 1938 if they would take up violence if Ghaffar Khan told them to, they replied with an emphatic no.

Mubarak Awad, a Palestinian American who is the director of Nonviolence International, has derived inspiration from Ghaffar Khan and has translated his speeches and work into Arabic.

"I was so happy to learn about him and meet some of his followers," he says. "He practiced Islam and nonviolence and showed that it was not only for the weak. He came from a group of people--the Pathans--who were warriors."

Awad says Khan was an eye-opener for a lot of Muslims. "He was a soldier of Islam but in a nonviolent way," he says. "He showed that even a strong person could be nonviolent."

Khan believed in equality for women and was emphatic about female education, Asfandiyar says. "If we achieve success and liberate the motherland, we solemnly promise you that you will get your rights," he pledged to women. "In the Holy Koran, you have an equal share with men. You are today oppressed because we men have ignored the commands of God and the Prophet."

The movement encouraged equal participation of women from the start. "Pathan women participating in nonviolent action campaigns would frequently take their stand facing the police or would lie down in orderly lines holding copies of the Koran," Bondurant writes.

Like Gandhi, Khan lived a simple life, and due to his extensive political activities and lengthy bouts of imprisonment, he often neglected his family. "He was a person who denied the luxuries of life first to himself and then wanted you to deny them to yourself," Asfandiyar says.

Hiro Shroff, an Indian journalist who met Ghaffar Khan in the 1950s, observed in a recent article for the web publication Sawaal.com that "his total belongings did not weigh more than a few pounds. His belongings consisted of a bed sheet, a towel, and, I think, a spare set of salwar and kameez [clothing]. That was all."

Professor Satti Khanna of Duke University met Khan when he visited India in 1985 at the age of ninety-five for the centennial celebrations of the Congress Party, with which Khan and Gandhi were associated. Khanna interviewed him for a 1987 documentary he made on India's partition, entitled Division of Hearts.

"He was a presence rather than a person," Khanna remembers. "He had an emanation of profound integrity."

So why is Khan almost unknown? For one thing, he has gotten a raw deal in South Asia itself. Due to his differences with the Pakistani authorities, Khan's name does not appear in official Pakistani history. Hence, he is little known in Pakistan outside the frontier area. Indeed, some of my Pakistani friends are barely aware of him.

"There's been a complete erasure of the man and the movement from Pakistani historiography," Banerjee says. "The younger generation even in that region hasn't heard of him."

If he is recognized at all, it is as a Pashtun nationalist, rather than as a proponent of nonviolence and social reform.

In India, Ghaffar Khan has also been handled unfairly. Most often, he is portrayed as an adjunct of Gandhi (hence the term "Frontier Gandhi").

But Ghaffar Khan started forming his project of nonviolence and social reform before he came into contact with Gandhi. And his nonviolence drew its inspiration from the Koran and the Prophet Muhammad, in contrast to Gandhi, whose ideals were largely based on the Hindu holy book the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible, and the writings of Thoreau and Tolstoy.

There are other factors that contribute to Khan's obscurity.

"Gandhi left behind an enormous amount of written work," Banerjee says. "With Khan, the whole thing dies with him, apart from his autobiography."

In addition, Khan chose to spend his life in Pakistan and Afghanistan, rather than visiting the West, as Gandhi did.

But this shouldn't keep us from recognizing the remarkable journey embarked upon by Khan and his fellow Pashtuns--a community that the Taliban has recently given a terrible name.

Nonviolence, religious tolerance, women's rights, and social justice--certainly Khan could have done a lot worse than to spread these ideals. And he did it while deriving his inspiration from a religion some vilify as intrinsically intolerant.

Khan deserves a better fate than to languish in obscurity. He has a lot to offer, not least to the leaders of India and Pakistan.

[Sanobar]

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (b. at Hashtnagar in Utmanzai, Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, India, 1890; d. in Peshawar, NWFP, Pakistan, 20 January 1988) was a Pashtun (Afghan) political and spiritual leader known for his non-violent opposition to British rule during the final years of the Empire on the Indian sub-continent. He was a lifelong pacifist and a devout Muslim. He was known as Badshah Khan (sometimes written as Bacha Khan), the `Khan of Khans', and `Frontier Gandhi'.

Ghaffar Khan was educated in a small school run by Christian missionaries. His childhood was in sharp contrast to his contemporaries. Education as a means of social advancement remained an ideal throughout his life.

Ghaffar Khan's goal was a united, independent, secular India; to achieve this end, he founded the Khudai Khidmatgar [Servants of God] (also known as the `Red Shirts') during the 1920s.

The Khudai Khidmatgar was founded on a belief in the power of complete non-violence. Its members took an oath (given in full below) which embodied its ideals. He told its members:

`I am going to give you such a weapon that the police and the army will not be able to stand against it. It is the weapon of the Prophet, but you are not aware of it. That weapon is patience and righteousness. No power on earth can stand against it.'

The organization recruited over 100,000 members and became legendary in opposing (and dying at the hands of) the British-controlled police and army. Through strikes, political organisation and non-violent opposition, the Khudai Khidmatgar were able to achieve some success and came to dominate the politics of the NWFP. His brother, Dr. Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan (known as Dr. Khan Sahib), led the political wing of the movement, and was the Prime minister of the province (from the late 1920s until 1947 when his government was dismissed by Mohammad Ali Jinnah).

Ghaffar Khan forged a close, spiritual, and always uninhibited friendship with Mahatma Gandhi, the pioneer of non-violent mass civil disobedience in India. The two had a deep admiration towards each other and worked together for the rest of their lives. The Khudai Khidmatgar agitated and worked cohesively with the Indian National Congress, the leading national organization fighting for freedom, of which Ghaffar Khan was a senior and respected member. On several occasions when the Congress seemed to disagree with Gandhi on policy, Ghaffar Khan remained his staunchest ally.

Ghaffar Khan was a champion of women's rights and nonviolence. He became a hero in a society dominated by violence; notwithstanding his liberal views, his unswerving faith and obvious bravery led to his recognition as the Badshah Khan and the `Khan of Khans'. Throughout his life, he never lost faith in his non-violent methods or in the compatibility of Islam and nonviolence. He viewed his struggle as a jihad with only the enemy holding swords. He was closely identified with Gandhi and he is known in India as the `Frontier Gandhi'.

He strongly opposed the partition of India. While the Red Shirts were willing to work with Indian politicians, some Pashtuns desired independence from both India and the newly created state of Pakistan following the departure of the British. However, there was no option that included independence or merger with Afghanistan and when given a choice between Pakistan and India, most voters chose Pakistan by a margin of 9 to 1 in 1947. A loya jirga in the Tribal Areas garnered a similar result as most preferred to become part of Pakistan. Khan was exiled to Jalalabad, Afghanistan, but subsequently returned to Pakistan. He was placed under house arrest, but he never lost his love for the vision of a united India.

His autobiography My life and struggle: Autobiography of Badshah Khan was published in 1969.

He visited India and participated in the centenary celebrations of the Indian National Congress in 1985; he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1987.

Ghaffar Khan died in Peshawar under house arrest in 1988 and was buried in Jalalabad according to his wishes. Although he had been repeatedly imprisoned and persecuted, tens of thousands of mourners attended his funeral. A cease fire was announced in the Afghan war to allow the funeral to take place.

His eldest son Ghani Khan was a poet. Another son Khan Wali Khan is the founder and leader of the Awami National Party and was the Leader of the Opposition in the Pakistan National Assembly.

The Oath of the Khudai Khidmatgar

I am a Servant of God, and as God needs no service, serving his creation is serving him,

I promise to serve humanity in the name of God.

I promise to refrain from violence and from taking revenge.

I promise to forgive those who oppress me or treat me with cruelty.

I promise to refrain from taking part in feuds and quarrels and from creating enmity.

I promise to treat every Pathan as my brother and friend.

I promise to refrain from antisocial customs and practices.

I promise to live a simple life, to practice virtue, and to refrain from evil.

I promise to practice good manners and good behavior and not to lead a life of idleness.

I promise to devote at least two hours a day to social work.

I put forth my name in honesty and truthfulness to become a true Servant of God.

I will sacrifice my wealth, life, and comfort for the liberty of my nation and people.

I will never be a party to factions, hatred, or jealousies with my people; and will side with the oppressed against the oppressor.

I will not become a member of any other rival organization, nor will I stand in an army.

I will faithfully obey all legitimate orders of all my officers all the time.

I will live in accordance with the principles of nonviolence.

I will serve all God's creatures alike; and my object shall be the attainment of the freedom of my country and my religion.

I will always see to it that I do what is right and good.

I will never desire any reward whatever for my service.

All my efforts shall be to please God, and not for any show or gain.

[Khan Baba]

In the single worst incident, the British killed at least 200 Khidmatgar members in Peshawar on April 23, 1930. Gene Sharp, who has written a study of nonviolent resistance, describes the scene on that day: "When those in front fell down wounded by the shots, those behind came forward with their breasts bared and exposed themselves to the fire, so much so that some people got as many as twenty-one bullet wounds in their bodies, and all the people stood their ground without getting into a panic. . . . The Anglo-Indian paper of Lahore, which represents the official view, itself wrote to the effect that the people came forward one after another to face the firing and when they fell wounded they were dragged back and others came forward to be shot at. This state of things continued from 11 till 5 o'clock in the evening. When the number of corpses became too many, the ambulance cars of the government took them away."

The carnage stopped only because a regiment of Indian soldiers finally refused to continue firing on the unarmed protesters, an impertinence for which they were severely punished.
It vindicates Bacha Khan's advice to Asfandyar Wali Khan "violence needs less courage than nonviolence"
And it also remind me the Maternal Father of Pukhtuns Hazrat Khalid Bin Waleed, who used to say, "We love death more than you (infidels) love life"
We are proud of all those Pukhtun who sacrificed their life for a cause i.e our today

[sakhi_arsalakhan]

KhyberWatch is immensely indebted to the Media Cell and Bacha Khan Publication Cell of Bacha Khan Markaz, Pekhawar, for providing these rear pictures of Bacha Khan on the solemn occasion of 19th Death Anniversary of the great Pakhtun Hero. We owe profound gratitude to the Pakhtun intellectuals working in Bacha Khan Markaz, particularly Afrasiab Khattak, Rahmat Shah Sail and Zalan Momand,the able son of the revered Pakhtun scholar, Qalandar Momand, for lending help in this respect. Kor mo wadaan !. These pictures pose one big question to all the Pakhtuns;

Che jwanday oom taso weshte oom pa kaanro
Oss me sala khukulawey da qabar kanree ?

[Khan Baba]

Che jwanday oom taa pa kanro ba weeshtalam
Oss me waley khukulawey da qabar kanree ?
When we were in high school, I remember one of our teachers used to talk too much against that great hero. Rather he was able to indoctrinate us to an extent where we also believe what he used to tell us.
But the old Pukhto saying is probably true "Che rishtya raazi no darogho ba kale wran karhe wee". I am sure the damage was done and it was too late when the truth revealed upon me.

[Bakhter]

sakhi_arsalakhan saib
Regarding the verse written by sakhi_arsalakhan is not wrong but it needs some correction .let me say it here for you .

CHE JUMDE OOM TASOO WESHTE OOM PA KANRO
OSS ME SALA KHOKULWE DA QABAR KANRE
bakhana ghwarum zama mutlub da cha zla azarawal na bulke sher teekawal oo.
TER CHE SHE DA TOR SHABKHOON PA KHOOR PUKHTOON
BIA BACHA AKHTAR BA PA BAKHTER KAWOO :partytimesign:
KhyberWatch is immensely indebted to the Media Cell and Bacha Khan Publication Cell of Bacha Khan Markaz, Pekhawar, for providing these rear pictures of Bacha Khan on the solemn occasion of 19th Death Anniversary of the great Pakhtun Hero. We owe profound gratitude, particularly to Zalan Momand,the able son of the revered Pakhtun scholar, Qalandar Momand, for lending help in this respect. Kor de wadaan !. These pictures pose one big question to all the Pakhtuns;

Che jwanday oom taa pa kanro ba weeshtalam
Oss me waley khukulawey da qabar kanree ?

[sakhi_arsalakhan]

sakhi_arsalakhan saib
Regarding the verse written by sakhi_arsalakhan is not wrong but it needs some correction .let me say it here for you .
[B][I][COLOR="Red"][FONT="Arial Black"][FONT="Arial Narrow"]
CHE JUMDE OOM TASOO WESHTE OOM PA KANRO
OSS ME SALA KHOKULWE DA QABAR KANRE
bakhana ghwarum zama mutlub da cha zla azarawal na bulke sher teekawal oo.
Dera Manana Bakhter saib! for correcting the verse. I'll never mind correction in any post wherein I make an error. Thank You very much.
However in the verse above, "TASOO" is plural of "TAA". Therefore I think the word "KHOKULWE" in the second line should also be a plural "Khukulaway", And the last word "KANRE" should be plural "Kanree".
So the correct version as prposed by you ,comes out as;
[I]CHE JUANDAY OOM TASSO WESHTE OOM PA KAANRO
OSS ME SALA KHUKULAWAY DA QABAR KAANREE. Pa Dranavee!

[Bacha]

And it is probably one occasion where one has to pronounce it as:

Che jhwandey wom taso weeshtey wom pa kanro
ous mey sa la khkulaway da qabar kanree

Sorry!in hurry.

[Afriday]

Just to pay tribute to our great Baba (Fakhre afghan). Although am not writing with full preparation i.e. without reading on net and cosulting books about him. But anyhow just to pay some tributes although there are no words to specify his sacrificecs and struggles that he did for whole of his life for pukhtoons.
He was a great and determined leader. He took politics as a holy task to serve and create awareness among pukhtoons. He was determined and also was clear what to achieve.Baba was sincere, brave and a role model. He was able to unite pukhtoons under khudai khidmathgaar movement although we all know its difficult to unite pukhtoons.
His simplicity in day to day life was un-matchable. He was great social worker. I was reading about him somewhere that when he was used to go to far flung areas to convey his message, he was used to help the farmer in the field in different field operations like harvesting, sowing and threshing etc.
His philosophy of non-violence which is now need of the hour for today’s world. The world should know that we pukhtoons were peace loving people and will be peace loving and want to live with peace.


Soak Che Kadamm Da Bacha Khan pa Kadamm Nakdee
Haghaa thann ba sa Pukhtoon aw sa Afghan wee

[Khan Baba]

Is it for Bacha?
Anyway, as per my knowledge this sher is like:
"Che qadam da Bacha Khan pa qadam nakdee
Hagha thann ba sa Pukhtun aw sa Afghan wee"

[Charwak]

http://www.khyberwatch.com/shows/wali_bagh/Khan_Abdul_Ghaffar_Khan_Bacha_Khan7.jpg

[Charwak]

http://www.khyberwatch.com/shows/wali_bagh/Bacha_Khan_and_Ghandi.jpg

[Charwak]

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[Charwak]

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[Zahid Buneray]

by Mukulika Banerjee.

Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
Pages xviii+238. Rs 595

AS far back as 1930, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, better known as Badshah Khan (BK) and Frontier Gandhi, had organised a movement for the social and economic uplift of his people, the Pakhtuns, or the more familiar Pathans. He christened his band of volunteers Khudai Khidmatgar; literally "servants of God". The British called them Red Shirts from the colour — brick red — of their dress. And pooh-poohed their social and economic planks while heavily underlining their political affiliations to Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress.

From a small beginning of a thousand odd, his party had by the mid-1940s claimed a membership of almost 50,000 or thereabout. Nor were their number the only thing that frightened the Raj. The fact that, not unlike the Congress and Gandhi’s credo of non-violence, the Khidmatgars too swore fealty to the Mahatma’s ideology made the British suspect their facade of a peace-loving outfit. They thought it was deceptive, a mere charade that camouflaged Badshah Khan’s real intent of subverting established authority.

And dislodging the rulers. Badshah Khan and his party’s political affiliation with the Congress were mutually beneficial and had in fact, paid rich dividends. For him and his people, an all-India platform that enhanced their stature in the province; for the Congress, an added emphasis that it was truly a national organisation. For the Frontier and the khidmatgars were, by definition, predominantly, if not exclusively, Muslim. More, with the introduction of provincial autonomy under the Government of India Act 1935, the Congress won political power in the Frontier Province and won convincingly both the elections of 1937 and 1945-46.



social structure and the impact of British colonial rule in deforming, if not destroying it. The Raj’s stereotypes of the Pakhtuns made them introduce a mode of governance that did no end of violence to the true Pakhtun ethos. It was Badshah Khan’s dogged determination that led him to the Khudai Khidmatgars, (KK) movemsent, a civilised response to the draconian, if also inhuman, system of British rule.

The author gives a good deal of space to the organisational structure as well as the social and political activities of the movement. And the innumerable ways in which the Pathans were trained to lodge nonviolent protest. In turn, the latter brought about some significant changes in the traditional features of Pathan life, most notably through the widespread resolution of internecine tribal feuds. Understandably, British response to the movement relied both on sophisticated counter-propaganda and a measure of sustained brutality, unprecedented in the Raj.

A typical instance cited by the author bears repetition. When the provincial Governor visited Mouza Gardi to take tea, a certain Abdul Ali and three KKs handed him a copy of their grievances and cases of oppression. For their pains, all the four were arrested and sentenced to three years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 250. Nor was that exceptional. The "watershed event", as the author calls it, was the Kissa Khani Bazaar massacre of April 23, 1930. It was part of the Mahatma’s civil disobedience movement when troops opened fire on an unarmed crowd that had assembled to protest the arrest earlier in the day of BK. The toll: 200 killed in the very heart of Peshawar!

The leadership of the KKs was a unique combination of charismatic and bureaucratic elements which together helped sustain the movement’s activism for over 17 years. The organisational structure respected, and also to a degree modified, traditional social status. And reconciled both the hierarchical and egalitarian elements in Pakhtun culture. For the ideology of nonviolence BK did not, as is commonly believed, rely on Gandhian thought but on elements of Islam and Pakhtunwali so as to persuade his followers of the correctness of his creed. It needs to be added that the KKs did, by and large, refrain from violence and communalism even when religious tension had mounted in the mid-1940s. What unnerved them no end, as it did Badshah Khan , was the decision that the Frontier would be part of Pakistan.

The study relies heavily on oral data gathered from such rank and file KKs as the author was able to locate. There were some 70 of them , their ages ranging from 70 to 120/130 years. The oral data has been supplemented by archival sources, especially where events, dates and facts were involved. The author offers an elaborate justification for her extensive use of oral history for "my primary interest" was the "opinions and practice" of the ordinary members. She implicitly believes her informants, one and all, for they were able to summarise "pithily" both their own opinions and the movement’s ideas. Most had indeed been to jail for their beliefs and bore, on their person, the scars to prove it. In the course of their narratives, most of them were aroused to "displays of emotion and enthusiasm."

That oral history has an important role to play in reconstructing the past may be accepted without much ado; yet the reasoning the author spells out, especially in terms of the "displays of emotion and enthusiasm" leaves one somewhat sceptical. These are attributes of a warm heart, not a cool head.

One brief criticism may be in order. The study refers to Nehru’s fateful visit to the Frontier in October, 1946, and its tragic aftermath in a gradual erosion of the popular base of the incumbent Khan Sahib Ministry. And a considerable boost to the fortunes of the rival Muslim League. Yet the future of the Frontier and the Pathans remained an open question down to the last few weeks prior to the transfer of power. Oddly though, the author would have us believe that Nehru, who was "both notoriously vain and in possession of a considerable temper", had "convinced" himself that there would never be peace in the Frontier until it entered Pakistan. In October, 1946, he "returned to Delhi having given up on the Frontier.

"Sadly, this does not tally with the known facts. Until the June 3 Plan, Nehru had striven hard, as did his colleagues in the Congress, that the Governor Olaf Caroe’s stratagem of ordering fresh elections to the Provincial Assembly — on the specious plea that the government had forefeited its popular mandate — did not get the Governor-General’s nod. More, that the referendum, in lieu of elections, was held only after the Governor had demited office.

Besides, Nehru was convinced, as were the Governor and the Governor-General, that despite the vitriol poured and the violence unleashed by its political rivals, the Congress had a sporting chance to win. Oddly, it was BK and his KKs who for very valid reasons of their own to avoid a possible bloodbath and unending civil strife in the wake of a narrow Congress win decided on a boycott. This was in July, 1947. In the event, to suggest that Nehru had given up on the Frontier as early as October, 1946, does not really wash. Or, does it?

An impressive looking bibliography lists some titles that are not directly relevant while managing to omit not a few that are. The glossary too needs a thorough recheck: fakir for "landless peasant"; tehsil for "district"; mujahideen (which is a plural) for "warrior in a religious war", are misleading.

These are however small irritants and one hates to cavil. Nor do they detract in any way from the merits of an excellent study. The author was lucky to be "adopted" by Wali Khan, BK’s son and thus enjoyed a premier Pakhtun family’s protection and patronage. All the same, her effort in building up an extensive clientele of old, and now fast-fading, breed of Khudai Khidmatgars was impressive.

This is more relevant in that successive governments in the Frontier — and Islamabad — were hell-bent on erasing from the national historiography of post-partition Pakistan all traces of a movement that had made such a signal contribution to bringing the Pathans and Pakistan their independence from the Raj.

Mukulika Bannerjee who earned her doctorate from Oxford now teaches anthropology at the University College, London.

[Zahid Buneray]

By Dr. Sher Zaman Taizi, June 2002

Introduction
Abdul Ghaffar was born into an aristocratic family of Utmanzai, Hasht-nagar, in 1890, according to school records. He grew tall and handsome, inspiring the hopes and ambitions of his family to become a brutal feudal lord and uphold the family's leading position in the area. He was the second and last son of Bahram Khan who was then known as the Mashar Khan (the great Khan or the Khan of Khans). Bahram's first son was Dr. Khan Sahib.

Pukhtuns form a tribal society living ferae naturae,2 in which a family needs men and wealth to defend its properties and keep up its honour, prestige, pride, status and position against neighbouring contenders. The feudal lords heading these families are forced by circumstance to enter into a rivalry for narcissism, vanity, glory and superiority. Impoverished tenants provide all kinds of menial services to them and are also required to produce wealth and manpower to raise and magnify the status of their respective lords.

This type of feudal lordship normally tempts and provides opportunities for the ruling junta to act as arbitrator in feudal affairs. Every lord wishes and strives to belittle the competing rivals who normally fall within the circle of the family. This diabolical trend introduced the term tarboorwali in the Pukhtuns' traditional life. It means "inter-cousins relationship"--a relationship that is normally strained due to the lords nonsensical struggle for vainglory. Pukhtun society thus became vulnerable to external intervention and fertile ground for superstitions, mental retardation and spiritual gloom, which ultimately created the parasite strata of pseudo mullahs and pirs.3 For the sake of their subsistence and survival, these strata frighten, shock, suppress and numb mental potentialities. These institutions oppose literacy, education and awareness, which pose threats to their wishful and selfish mastery in the field of knowledge. Pukhtun social life was in danger of being stagnated like the water in a natural pool, which stirs only through the introduction of foreign elements but does not flow out to make its own course and move on to its destination.

Abdul Ghaffar was the product of that society. If studied in this perspective, one can imagine that his mission was not easy, simple and indulgent, and that his achievements were much more significant than his contemporaries who had risen out of enlightened societies. Leaders normally stand out on the pedestal of their society. Those leaders are seldom born who raise their society from the ignominious depths of ignorance and obscurity to the heights of enlightenment and glory. Abdul Ghaffar Khan was one of this rare breed of leaders. He blew new life in the dormant people heretofore groaning under the burden of the worst type of feudalism. It was his stamina, struggles, patience, devotion and determined tolerance in the face of suffering that lifted Pukhtuns from the lowest level of serfdom to the high status of nationhood. That was the reason that not only the British and later Pakistani rulers opposed him tooth and nail, but also the feudal lords and parasitic clergy. Therefore, his name will glitter eternally through the pages of Pukhtun history.



While the British rulers were generous in granting different titles to Pukhtun lords and purchasing their loyalties, Bahram Khan lagged behind in that race due to the "eccentricity" of Bacha Khan. Furthermore, Bahram Khan himself had inherited the spirit of freedom. His father Saifullah Khan had supported the people of Buner in defending their soil against British expansionist designs, having taken active part in the battle of Sukawa. Obeidullah Khan, father of Saifullah Khan, had been executed by Durrani rulers. Bahram Khan was advised, coaxed and tempted to honours and rewards by the government to dissuade his son from what they considered anti-British activities. Yet at that time Bacha Khan was concentrating on awakening Pukhtuns--he was concerned more about their education, mannerism, self-respect and self-reliance than he was on directly fighting the British. These activities worried the British rulers who speculated beyond them threats to their presence in the sub-Continent. The British rulers, obsessed by such fears, dragged Bacha Khan into their politics to find an excuse for his persecution and elimination. However, Bacha Khan defied all their intentions with his selfless devotion and nonviolence.

Bacha Khan was not considered for any title or reward by rulers--British as well as Pakistani. However, his own people gave him three titles--Fakhr-e-Afghan, Bacha Khan4 and the Frontier Gandhi--like the man himself a rare phenomenon in the political history of the sub-Continent.5

Khan in Afghanistan

The biography of Bacha Khan is not a mystery for peoples of Pakistan and India in general and Pukhtuns in particular. Besides a number of good and authentic books on his life and struggles, Bacha Khan himself has written a full size autobiography in Pushto.6 Hence, in this paper, I will reveal some reminiscent events related to Bacha Khan's stay in Afghanistan.

At this juncture, we have to admit that we have no record of events in the form of any type of documents. I, as an Assistant-Translator in the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul, had the opportunity to see Bacha Khan frequently. Syed Fida Yunus was then the Second Secretary, Sher Mohammad Khan the Finance Secretary, Dil Jan Khan the First Secretary and Amir Usman the Cultural Attaché in the Embassy. We invariably reported outcomes of my meetings with Bacha Khan to our respective departments in Pakistan. Bacha Khan knew that and had expressed his satisfaction over my approach to him that enabled us to submit first hand and correct information on him to the government.

After release from detention on 30 January 1964, the government of Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan issued a passport to Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan to enable him to go to England for medical treatment. While there, he received an invitation from a group of Pukhtuns in the United States to go there and live with them. The U.S. government disapproved of that. Bacha Khan himself did not want to live far away from his people and homeland. He received an offer from Jamal Abdul Nadir, President of Egypt, to go there. He refused the offer for similar reasons. However, when he received an invitation from King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan through his Prime Minister Dr. Mir Mohammad Yusuf,7 he readily accepted that.

The Afghan government accorded a warm welcome to Bacha Khan on his arrival in Kabul on 12 December 1964. A large number of people gathered to aggrandise the show.

Bacha Khan visited different parts of Afghanistan, including remote areas, and addressed the people with his typical message of peace and brotherhood.

[Zahid Buneray]

Pakistan's One Unit Collapses

In Pakistan, peoples of smaller provinces, Pukhtunkhwa,8 Sindh and Balochistan continued opposition to the One-Unit of West Pakistan. When the people of Pakistan revolted against Ayub Khan in 1968, he handed over the government to General Mohammad Yahya Khan Qizilbash from Peshawar.

Through his brother Agha Mohammad Ali, President Yahya Khan established contact with Bacha Khan. Agha Mohammad Ali, who was a Police Officer, assigned Arbab Hidayatullah Khan (Assistant Inspector General of Police) from Landi Arbab, Peshawar, for the mission. Arbab Sahib paid several visits to Bacha Khan. He used to call on Syed Fida Yunus before and after the meetings. Both Syed Fida Yunus and I were living in a big house of Abdul Sattar Shalizai in Karta-e-Parwan, Kabul. There we discussed matters relating to dismemberment of the One-Unit and the restoration of old provinces. We proposed that the States in the Frontier Province should also be annexed to the province. Similarly, the tribal belt should be either annexed to the province or given autonomous state as a separate unit so that the tribesmen could get rid of the system of Political Administration.

In the light of the reports and recommendations of Arbab Hidayatullah Khan, the One-Unit was disintegrated and the States were annexed to the Frontier Province. We learned that there were some elements in the bureaucracy and defense forces of Pakistan who did not want disintegration of the One-Unit. They opposed Yahya Khan to the last moment. Some national dailies in English and Urdu also carried out a hostile campaign.

It was in those days that Shakirullah Bacha of Gujar Garhi, Mardan, had visited Kabul. In his informal visit to the Embassy, some officers gathered around the table to offer him tea. During their chat, Colonel Ahmad Khan of the ISI9 asked him about his views on Pukhtunistan. Shakirullah Bacha replied that such queries could best be answered by daily the Nawai Waqt because the office of Pukhtunistan was there.

Bacha Khan was so pleased over the disintegration of the One-Unit that he sought special permission to broadcast a message over radio Kabul and offer his gratitude to President Yahya Khan.

Visit to India

In 1969, Bacha Khan went to India to attend the inaugural ceremony of the centenary of Gandhijee. Before his departure for India, I was directed by Ambassador Hakeem Ahsan to arrange his meeting with Bacha Khan. I accompanied the Ambassador to the residence of Mohammad Ali Lawangin Momand of Kama, an official of the Tourist Department, and held a meeting with Bacha Khan there. The Ambassador conveyed to him a message from President Yahya Khan that he might not say something in India against Pakistan. Bacha Khan received the message with a smile of approval. The house was near the Embassy in Shahr-e-Nao,Kabul. When we left the house, the Ambassador expressed his utmost satisfaction over the response and also uttered something in praise of Bacha Khan.

Another interesting event that took place was the renewal of Bacha Khan's passport. Bacha Khan sent his passport through Mohammad Ali Lawangin for renewal. Then, we found that it was only valid for one year and had long expired. We referred the case to the foreign office. Bacha Khan himself sent a letter in Pushto to Sardar Abdul Rashid, then Interior Minister. The embassy received approval and issued a new passport to him. It was signed by Syed Fida Yunus as the Second Secretary. When the news reached Pakistan that Bacha Khan had gone to India with valid travel documents, Ghulam Mohammad of Lundkhwar, Mardan, and some other enthusiastic rivals demanded of the government to take action against the officials in the Embassy who had issued the passport. Later I came across Ambassador Hakim Ahsan on the stairs while he was at the threshold of his office. The Ambassador smiled at me--an encouraging gesture--and said; "Be prepared for action. Lundkhwar has demanded it!" I replied, "Yes Sir, I know it! But it would be a great event for us to be mentioned in a case of the historical figure of Bacha Khan!" The Ambassador enjoyed it and entered the office with a smile.

The visit of Bacha Khan to India followed a communal riot in Ahmadabad in which Muslims suffered heavy losses at the hands of extremist Hindus. Bacha Khan visited that State. He did not give his bundle of clothes to the local governor or any government official and kept it, as usual, under his arm. The State government had planned to hide the scene from him and conduct his visit to some peaceful Muslim quarters. A Socialist Hindu reached Bacha Khan and told him about the plight of Muslims. Bacha Khan followed him to the camp where a number of displaced Muslims were lying helplessly. There, he asked the ruling junta of India ; "Had Gandhijee taught you to treat your people like this?" He blamed Hindu extremists for persecution of Muslims. In protest, Bacha Khan kept fast for three days. He also addressed the joint session of the Indian Parliament, where he protested against the communal riots.

A large number of admirers of Bacha Khan turned up to have a look at him. The government built a place for Bacha Khan to sit whereby a steady stream of people walked past and paid respect to him.

In celebration of the centenary of Gandhijee, the Indian government in 1969 conferred upon Bacha Khan the Jawaharlal Nehru award for International Understanding with 8 million Indian rupees. Bacha Khan brought and deposited that money in the National Bank of Afghanistan. He informed his party in Pakistan to form a committee to restore publication of his weekly the Pukhtoon. For that purpose, he bequeathed 2.5 acres of his land also. He wished to raise a trust and use that money for the development of the Pushto language and the welfare of the Pukhtun nation.

Some names for the committee were considered, but the committee could not be formed the way Bacha Khan wanted. His nephew (daughter's son) Professor Jehanzeb Niaz--a former member of the teaching staff of Pushto Department, Peshawar University10--later told me that he was considered to head the trust and my name was also considered to be a member. The money was not given to Pukhtoon magazine at all, and its publication was not restored. It was published occassionally by the National Awami Party / Awami National Party.11

[Zahid Buneray]

Confusion Created over Donation

In Pakistan, a cyclone swept East Pakistan in 1970 with disastrous effects. President Yahya Khan raised a president fund for succour of the affected people in that wing. One day, I received a telephone call from Bacha Khan. He told me that he wanted to donate some money to the president fund. Being a government employee I could not take such an action on my own. I reported the matter of Charge d' Affair' Shahid Amin. He was of Indian origin. He did not like Bacha Khan. However, he said "OK, better if he gives even ten rupees!" Having got the approval, I contacted Mohammad Ali Lawangin and his brother Mohammad Siddique who was an officer in the National Bank of Afghanistan.

Mohammad Ali Lawangin, Mohammad Siddique and Faqir Baezai, sons of Mohammad Hassan Khan Momand of Kama, served Bacha Khan devotedly. Bacha Khan also loved them. Siddique and I visited Bacha Khan. He disclosed that he wanted to give five thousand dollars as a donation. Siddique and I considered the matter there and decided to take the cheque from Bacha Khan, cash it in dollars, exchange dollars with Pakistan currency at Shahzada market and pay those proceeds to the embassy. When we informed Bacha Khan, he wanted to know the purpose of that process. We explained to him that official rate of one dollar was five Pakistani rupees whereas it was eleven in the market. Bacha Khan expressed astonishment over the difference between the official and the market rates. However, he allowed us to do as we liked. Hence, we deposited 55,000 rupees in the president fund on behalf of Bacha Khan. The embassy issued a receipt for that.

Meanwhile in Pakistan a vicious circle of the so-called patriots led by Z.A. Sulehri tried to create misunderstanding between Bacha Khan and the embassy. Sulehri was then editor of the daily Pakistan, which carried inside single-column news that Bacha Khan had donated 25,000 rupees to the president fund. Arrangement was made to show that news to Bacha Khan, because it was given such an insignificant place that a common reader would not find it. It was clear that someone from the embassy might have leaked out the information that Bacha Khan had given the cheque for five thousand dollars.

Bacha Khan was confused to see that news. He demanded that the embassy return thirty thousand rupees to him. The embassy wrote to the foreign office and the information ministry to issue another statement with a mention of the actual amount, but all in vain. There was no clarification. Bacha Khan therefore insisted on reimbursement. The state of goodwill was thus poisoned by vested interests with their evil designs. Meanwhile, Khan Abdul Wali Khan12 visited Kabul. I told him all about the matter. What followed was not known to us, but Bacha Khan did not remind us again.

Visit of Qayum Khan

During the campaign for general elections in Pakistan, I attended a party at the Tribal Affairs Department in Kabul. The President of Tribal Affairs Masoud Pohanyar and Bacha Khan were there. I joined them. The atmosphere was quite cordial. During the chat, Pohanyar mentioned to Bacha Khan, "Qayum Khan is coming!" Bacha Khan replied "let him come!" And there was no further discussion on the matter.

Qayum Khan visited Kabul for three days, but we could not meet him. The government accommodated him at some unknown place. Another Muslim League stalwart from Balochistan, Mohammad Khan Jogezai, had also visited Kabul in those days. It was generally believed that Qayum Khan and Mohammad Khan Jogezai sought the blessing and assistance of the Afghan government in general elections. It was later explained by Khan Abdul Wali Khan in a meeting with the Ambassador of Pakistan at his residence in Kabul that the Afghan government would not liked to have seen the National Awami Party win the elections in Pukhtunkhwa, because she would then have no point to continue her propaganda for Pukhtunistan.

Seeking Peace in East Pakistan

When riots erupted in East Pakistan after the general elections, Bacha Khan offered his services for mediation. He proposed to the embassy that he would go back to Pakistan to lead a Jirgah of a few elders from Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan to meet Mujib-ur-Rahman and settle the dispute through negotiations. The embassy conveyed his messages to foreign office but there was no response. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of the Pakistan Peoples Party and Qayum Khan of the Muslim League, supported by some Army officers, were determined to grab power, although the majority had voted for the Awami Leauge of Mujib-ur-Rahman. Jamaat Islami exploited the Urdu speaking community of Indian refugees to form al-Badr and al-Shams militant groups to terrorise Bengalis. When all these strategies failed to cow down Mujib, Pakistan Army launched an operation in East Pakistan. What then happened is an open secret.

Problems on the Border

At that critical juncture, some tribal Jirgahs called on Bacha Khan that they were prepared to fight for liberation if they were supplied arms. Bacha Khan advised them not to create any problem on the western border for Pakistan. The Jirgahs also met King Zahir Shah who took a similar stand. The King passed on a message to Pakistan's Ambassador that he would not allow any disturbance from that side. The anti-Pakistan propaganda, continuing in the name of Pukhtunistan, was also tuned down.

Thoughts on Pukhtunistan

Normally whenever I visited Bacha Khan at the Dar-ul-Aman guest house, some admirers were there. The majority of them comprised activists from the Afghan Millat and the Parcham faction of Peoples Democratic Party of Pakistan. Bacha Khan always stressed the need of unity, brotherhood and peace. He avoided discussion on the political situation in Pakistan. It was only Pukhtunistan Day,13 following independence-day, that Bacha Khan led a procession from the Pukhtunistan Square to the Ghazi Stadium where he delivered a speech.14 He criticised Pakistan's government for having usurped rights of nationalities and demanded autonomous status for Pukhtunistan (NWFP). In not a single speech did he express any desire for a separate and independent state. His speech was broadcast over Kabul radio that evening. This was a permanent feature during his stay in Kabul.

In a casual meeting with me, Bacha Khan confided that Pukhtuns' economy and education were backward and their country was landlocked. They could not live a better life in a separate state. He therefore demanded due rights for them within Pakistan.

Role of the Intelligence Services

On one occasion I was embarrassed when, on my arrival, Bacha Khan asked me if I would like to see Mardhula Sarabai, a veteran socialist leader from India. Hesitantly I replied--yes. Then Bacha Khan directed me to go upstairs. It was the first time that I explored the first floor of the guest house where an old lady in typical Pukhtun dress of shirt and trousers with Peshawari chapli15 was standing with Anwarul Haq Gran. Still smart in old age with silver-white hair, she was graceful, cheerful and upright. When we exchanged greetings, she turned to Gran and exclaimed, "How fluent do Afghans speak Urdu!" Gran, hailing from Dir district and already known to me, laughed and told her that I am a Pakistani and was serving in the Pakistan Embassy. "Does Pakistan's Embassy keep contact with Bacha Khan!," she expressed with surprise enhanced by that revelation. Gran introduced me to her in clear and plain words that I was working for an intelligence agency of Pakistan. Sarabai appreciated that such a direct approach being used by workers of intelligence agencies would avoid and remove many misunderstandings. Gran told her that Bacha Khan was well aware of my position and had expressed satisfaction with my contacts with him that led to improvement of relations between him and the government of Pakistan.

Selfish People

One day, Syed Fida Yunus and I went from Kabul to Jalalabad. Accompanied by Pakistan's Consul at Jalalabad, Rab Nawaz Khan, we visited Bacha Khan at his residence at Sheesham Bagh. When we reached there, Bacha Khan was busy in his home garden. He received us and led us to his drawing room--a simple room with ordinary furniture. His personal servant Ahmad Kaka placed some fresh fruit before us. We discussed the affairs in East Pakistan. Bacha Khan repeated his proposal that Pakistan should not use force there and try to settle the matter through negotiations. During discussion, Bacha Khan mentioned that there were some selfish people who did not like peace in the country. Rab Nawaz Khan asked him in a way of satire, "Bacha Khan! You blame what you call the selfish people. But if Pakistan were destroyed, wouldn't these selfish people suffer humiliation! Will they like it?" Bacha Khan just smiled to say "The selfish has no sight!" It means that selfish people are driven so rashly by their selfish designs that they do not see the gloom and doom ahead.

[Zahid Buneray]

Return from Exile

Following the general elections and bifurcation of Pakistan, in 1971 the National Awami Party and Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Islam formed coalition governments in the NWFP and Balochistan. Governor Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo of Balochistan and Governor Arbab Sikandar Khan of NWFP were from the National Awami Party. Bizenjo invited Bacha Khan to return to Pakistan via Balochistan. Before his return, Bacha Khan went on a tour of western parts of Afghanistan. He was somewhere in Zabul or Hilmand, when Ambassador Gen. Rakhman Gul asked me to go and tell Bacha Khan that Bhutto did not like him to return to Pakistan. I was surprised. I had to obey the order. But I tried to tell the Ambassador that such a message to Bacha Khan from a government functionary would annoy him. The Ambassador wrote back to the government. Then Ajmal Khattak was deputed to convey the message. Arbab Sikandar Khan sharply reacted to the stand of Bhutto and sent a delegation to Kabul to invite Bacha Khan. The delegation included Afzal Khan Lala, then Information Minister, and Maulana Badshah Gul from Akora Khattak. They were accommodated at the Kabul Hotel. I had a chance to have my first meeting with Afzal Khan Lala there.

On the 25th of December 1972,16 Bacha Khan returned to Peshawar. A large number of people, mostly young activists with red flags of the Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan, accompanied him to Torkham. Similarly, a large number of Khudai Khidmatgars in red uniforms and carrying red flags from Pukhtunkhwa also converged at Torkham. The chain was lifted and the procession from Peshawar greeted their great leader in the foot of Shamshad hill on the Afghan side. Thousands of young flag bearers spread over in the foot of the hill to display fluttering flags. Khan Abdul Wali Khan was also there.

Return to Afghanistan

Bacha Khan went again to Kabul on the 2nd of April 1978, just a few weeks before the Saur Revolution that took place (26 April 1978). He stayed at his residence at Jalalabad. He invited Fazal Rahim Saqi to help him compile his autobiography. In 1980, he went from Kabul to Delhi for medical treatment. Sheikh Abdullah extended an invitation to him to visit Kashmir. Bacha Khan accepted the invitation but could not go there.

Bacha Khan visited the Soviet Union from the 1st of September to the 31st of October 1980 for medical treatment. He returned to Peshawar on 2nd April 1982.

The Government of India awarded Bacha Khan the prestigious Bharat Ratna Award in 1987.

For much of 1987, Bacha Khan was almost unconscious in bed for lengthy periods. He was in India for a time and then at Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar where he breathed his last. Bacha Khan died aged 98 on the 20th of January, 1988, and was buried in Jalalabad on the 22nd of January. He had spent 30 years of his life in prison, and fought against oppression, intolerance and violence for more than 70 years.

1 Edited by Damon Lynch, August 2002.
2 Wild by nature and not usually tamed.
3 Religious and spiritual Muslim teachers.
4 The pride of the Afghan and King of Khans respectively. "Fakhar" means pride, honour, dignity; Pukhtuns in Pakistan were also classed as Afghans. Additionally, Bacha Khan is often spelled as Badshah Khan in India.
5 The Government of India in 1987 conferred on him the Bharat Ratna Award in addition to the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding he received in 1967. See below.
6 See Further Reading below for more details.
7 Dr. Yusuf was made the first Prime Minister of Afghanistan out of the Royal Family in accordance with the Constitution promulgated in October 1964. He died in exile in Germany in 1997.
8 The Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan is referred to using this term by Pukhtun nationalists. See below for more discussion on this.
9 Pakistan's intelligence service
10 Now living in the United States.
11 Until the fall of the regime of Dr. Najib in Afghanistan, the money awarded by the Indian government was in the National Bank of Afghanistan. Dr. Najib was reportedly serious about implementation of the will of Bacha Khan. He was not prepared to give anything from that fund to any one--even members of Bacha Khan's family. He pleaded that it had been willed by Bacha Khan for a Pukhtuns' Trust and would be used appropriately. However, the Trust that Bacha Khan wanted could not be set up mainly due to the uncertain political situation in Pakistan. Unfortunately, after the fall of Najib, the money also perished.
12 Bacha Khan's second son.
13 Pukhtunistan day was on the 9th of Sunbala--which normally coincided with the 1st of September, and sometimes the 31st of August (differences are due to leap years).
14 Speeches from 1965, 1966, and 1967 are in his English language autobiography My Life and Struggle.
15 Footwear.
16 There is some confusion over this date. In Eknath Easwaran's book, Nonviolent Soldier of Islam, the date is given as December 1971. Bacha Khan's son Wali Khan has described the return in the fourth edition of his Pushto Book Khudai Khidmatgars, but without dates. Abdullah Bakhtanay Khidmatgar, a follower of Bacha Khan, a renowned poet and writer of Afghanistan, mentions on page 48 of his book Da Sole au Azadae Qahraman (The Hero of Peace and Freedom), published in Afghanistan in 1987, that he had returned in December 1972.
Further Reading
Banerjee, Mukulika. The Pathan Unarmed: Opposition & Memory in the North West Frontier. James Currey, Oxford, 2000.

Eknath, Easwaran. Nonviolent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan, A Man to Match His Mountains. Petaluma: Nilgiri Press, 2000.

Khan, Abdul Ghaffar. My Life and Struggle. Delhi: Hind Pocket Books, 1969.

Khan, Abdul Ghaffar. Zama zhwand au jadd-o-juhd. Published by Government of Afganistan, 1983.

Shah, Sayed Wiqar Ali. Ethnicity, Islam and Nationalism: Muslim Politics in the North-West Frontier Province 1937-1947. Islamabad: Oxford University Press, 1999.

[Zahid Buneray]

http://www.khyberwatch.com/shows/wali_bagh/Khan_Abdul_Ghaffar_Khan_Wali_Khan.jpg

[Zahid Buneray]

http://www.khyberwatch.com/shows/wali_bagh/Khan_Abdul_Ghaffar_Khan_Wali_Khan2.JPG

[Zahid Buneray]

http://www.khyberwatch.com/shows/wali_bagh/Khan_Abdul_Ghaffar_Khan_Bacha_Khan10.jpg

[Zahid Buneray]

http://www.khyberwatch.com/shows/wali_bagh/Khan_Abdul_Ghaffar_Khan_writting.jpg

[Zahid Buneray]

http://www.khyberwatch.com/shows/wali_bagh/Khan_Abdul_Ghaffar_Khan_Bacha_Khan3.jpg

[Bacha]

Very nice Charwak saib!
Now you are putting nice photos of Fakhr e Afghan.I thought Baacha Khan Markaz was less than generous by not giving you one more photo showing Gandhi,Fakhr e Afghan and Khan e Shaheed togeher.They need to give other people some credit!After it was not a family movement and our grandparents and many other Pashtoon elders were part of Khudai Khimatgar.

[MandoKhail]

which one pic you are talking about Bacha seb?

[MandoKhail]

مرثيه
پاچا خان بابا ته
سر را پورته کړه خيبره چې اسمان دی توفاني شو
هر وګړی دی اېمل شو هر بچی دی روښاني شو

د بابا جنازه راغله لری خوري د رحمت وړانګی
هر يو بوټی فيضاني شو هر يو کاڼی نوراني شو

ننګرهاره تل بهاره زر رحمته زر عزته
ستا به هره لوبخته باندی چې بابا دی مکاني شو

لر او بر سره ټول شوي معجزه نه ده نو څه ده
له امو تر اباسينه وطن ګرده افغاني شو
سليمان لايق

[Brekhna]

Very nice Charwak saib!
Now you are putting nice photos of Fakhr e Afghan.I thought Baacha Khan Markaz was less than generous by not giving you one more photo showing Gandhi,Fakhr e Afghan and Khan e Shaheed togeher.They need to give other people some credit!After it was not a family movement and our grandparents and many other Pashtoon elders were part of Khudai Khimatgar.

Bacha Jee! Tadee ma kawi kana, paney toley ogorai, dagha tasveer pakey shta dey. Also Khan-e-Shaheed and Bacha Khan can be seen in one of the pictures.

[MandoKhail]

Manana brekhna......pa de anzoor/aks ke 3 kass Khan e Shaheed dai?.

[Brekhna]

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1900_1999/abdulghaffarkhan/badshahkhan2.jpg

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1900_1999/abdulghaffarkhan/badshahkhan.gif

Summary by Amazon.com:

Abdul Ghaffar Khan didn't have to struggle. Having been born into wealth and privilege, he could have cooperated with the British colonialists and lived the good life. But the violence endemic to his Pathan society, in which honor demanded that no wrong go unavenged, drove him to seek an alternative that could express the true spirit of Islam. Ghaffar Khan found this path in Gandhi's movement of nonviolence, and in one of the most remarkable social transformations in history, he turned a people known for their fierceness into the largest army of nonviolent soldiers the world has every seen. The Khudai Khitmatgar (servants of God, or Red Shirts, as the British called them) united in the cause of nonviolent revolution, fighting the British with passive resistance and noncooperation. Although the price they paid under savage British suppression was enormous, they never buckled. They won the honor of all India, and Ghaffar Khan became known as the Frontier Gandhi. Ghaffar Khan also paid an enormous personal price, ultimately spending over half of his life in prison, first under the British and then under the Pakistanis, who squelched his call for a free
Pathan homeland. Nonviolent Soldier of Islam a biography by the great spiritual teacher Eknath Easwaran, keeps Ghaffar Khan's spirit alive, a beacon for all who believe in freedom, dignity, and peace. --Brian Bruya


Excerpt from the text, pages 78-9:

Gradually Khan had been enlarging his contacts with Muslim thinkers throughout the subcontinent. Now he began to hear about Gandhi and the nonviolent campaigns that were beginning to rouse the
whole of India. He responded immediately to Gandhi's simple lifestyle and his insistence upon truth and nonviolence in all of life's affairs. And he recognized in Gandhi the Mahatma, the "great soul" a
kindred spirit, a seeker who was attempting to serve God by serving the poorest of his creation.

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1900_1999/abdulghaffarkhan/ghaffar.jpg

As Gandhi's work and ideas spread, Khan's attempts at reforming and educating the Pathans took
on new meaning: this was not only uplift, it was also the path to freedom. Buoyed, Khan redoubled
his efforts. Between 1915 and 1918 he visited every one of the five hundred villages in the settled
districts of the Frontier. He sat with the men in the guest houses and spoke of sacrifice and work
and forgiveness, and in the evenings he laughed with their children around the cooking fires. The
villagers loved but did not quite understand this gentle giant of a man. He was not a mendicant he
did not take alms. And he was not a renouncing fakir didn't he own a village? Well then, what was he?

One afternoon in the mosque at Hastanagar a group of khans from Charsadda finished their meeting
with Ghaffar Khan in a high pitch of excitement. He had roused them and they felt grateful. Someone
in the back stood up on the low wall and shouted into the din: Badshah Khan! The others heard it
and picked up the call. Badshah Khan the khan's khan! That's what this brave young reformer had
become. The whole group of bearded faces took up the cry and let it thunder over the high walls of
the mosque into the countryside. Badshah Khan! The king of khans.

The name spread. If the khans called him their badshah, there would be no arguments from the
villagers. Ghaffar had to swallow his fate and bear this new title as Gandhi bore being called
Mahatma. From now on, when he entered villages from Mardan to Kohat, he would be met by the
cry: "Badshah Khan is coming! The badshah is here!"

The Pathans had their leader and they had found him just in time. For the Frontier was about to
erupt in the greatest explosion since the Frontier War of 1897.

[Brekhna]

Manana brekhna......pa de anzoor/aks ke 3 kass Khan e Shaheed dai?.

Keenr ya ghas arakh ta dey.

http://www.khyberwatch.com/shows/wali_bagh/Khan_Abdul_Ghaffar_Khan_Bacha_Khan14.jpg

[Brekhna]

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1900_1999/abdulghaffarkhan/ghaffar2.jpg

A fragment of a draft for a speech, probably addressed to Gandhi.


http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1900_1999/abdulghaffarkhan/ghaffar3.gif

"Abdul Ghaffar Khan," sketched by the well-known artist Nandalal Bose.

source: http://www.columbia.edu

[Brekhna]

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1900_1999/gandhi/gallery/gb28.gif


http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/4/4f/180px-4_close.jpg

[Zahid Buneray]

باچاخان يو کلک اؤ ريښتونے مسلمان

ځلان مومند

مونږ که د باچاخان ژوند ته د يو غېر جانبدار مبصر په حېثيت هم وګورو نو دا خبره به بيخي صفا معلوميږي چې د باچاخان مبارزه د څۀ مادي ګټې دپاره نۀ وه، دا خبره کېدے شي چې ځنې معترضينو دپاره دڅه مکمل اتفاق يا د اتفاق موجب نۀ وي خو ريښتيا دا دي چې قرائن دا ثابتوي. دا پاڼي په دغه موضوع د يوې تفصيلې مقالې توان نۀ لري خو بيا به هم زما داکوشش وي چې خپل مافي الضمير واضح کړم.
J.S Bright چې کله د مهاتماګاندي جي او باچاخان موازنه په خپل کتاب Frontier and its Gandhiکښې کوي نو ليکي چې "خان عبدالغفار خان او مهاتماګاندي کښې زما په خيال اول الذکر د روحانيت عظيم تره مرتبه ترلاسه کړې ده. خان عبدالغفار خان تر اسمانونو رسېدلے ؤ او پنډت صېب اوس هم په مزکه دے او ستم ظريفي دا ده چې په فضاګانو کښې لاس پښې هم وهي. زۀ نۀ يم خبر چې غفارخان ته سرحدي ګاندي ولې وئيلي کيږي شايد چې وجه يې دا وي چې مهاتما له هغه مخکښې په دغه مېدان کښې ؤ. روحانيت نه زيات خپل نوم او شان وچتول د مهاتما مقصد ؤ او هغه واقعتاً چې مشهور هم زيات ؤ نوره څۀ وجه زۀ نۀ وينم.که د روحاني خواصو د مطالعې په بنياد يوه غېرجانبداره تجزيه وکړو نوزياته مناسبه به دا وي چې مهاتماګاندي دې د هند غفارخان وبللے شي.

باچاخان د روحانيت يوه داسې درجه چې غېر مسلمه يې هم معترف ؤ هسې نۀ ده حاصله کړې، بلکې ددغه مرتبې په شا د باچاخان هغه عقيده او مذهب پرستي وه چې د باچاخان سياسي نظرياتو کښې په ډېر واضحه توګه ښکاري. اګر که باچاخان د لمونځ روژې پابند ؤ او حج يې هم کړے ؤ او د ډاکټر شېرزمان طايزي صېب مطابق چې هغوي سره د ډاکټر صېب څومره وخت تېر شوے دے نو باچاخان د تهجد لمونځ هم نۀ دے قضاکړے خو باچاخان صرف با عمله مسلمان نۀ ؤ، بلکې يو بافکره مسلمان هم ؤ اومبارزه يې د هغه تجاوزاتو خلاف هم وه چې مذهب ته راننوتي وو او هم دې خبرې په اصلاح دتحريک بنياد کار کړے.
باچاخان خپل کتاب "زما ژوند او جدوجهد" کښې ځائے په ځائے داسې خبرې کړې دي چې صفا ترې معلوميږي چې مذهب د هغوي په خيال وړومبۍ ترجيح لري. هم دا وجه وه چې د باچاخان د تحريک موجودګۍ کښې پښتنو کښې څۀ مذهبي تحريک پيدا نۀ شو حالانکې دا يو داسې وخت ؤ چې د برصغير هره حصه کښې د مذهب په حواله څۀ نه څۀ سرګرمۍ روانې وې خو باچاخان چې کله راپاڅېدو نو هغه سرګرمۍ هم تتې شوې چې کومې د هغه نه مخکښې د پښتنو په سيمه موجودې وې.
حاجي فضل واحد(حاجي صېب د ترنګزو) ډېر د قدر عزت او احترام قامي مشر ؤ او باچاخان د هغوي د مذهبي حېثيت په وجه خپلې مدرسې يعنې ازاد سکولونه هغوي سره تړلي وو خو دا وخت ثابته کړه چې د هغوي د لوئے مقام او بې کچه عظيم مذهبي حېثيت نه باوجود باچاخان او د هغه د ملګرو مبارزه ياده او پاتې شوه. د "زما ژوند او جدوجهد" لوستونکيو ته به دا هم معلومه وي چې باچاخان د مذهب طرفته د رجحان يوه وجه دا هم وه چې هغوي د هغه مليانو خلاف اواز پورته کړے ؤ چې د مذهب په نوم يې خپل کاروبار کولو، د سخات هغه واقعه خو ډېره مشهوره ده چې باچاخان د خپل امام زوي ته وئيلي وو چې ټول هر څۀ ځان ته وبخښه. د داسې نورو ډېرو رسمونو د اصلاح نه هم دا معلوميږي چې باچاخان دې طرفته څومره خيال لرلو. باچاخان به چې هر چرته تللو نو کوشش به يې دا کولو چې جومات کښې خلک راغونډ کړي. باچاخان چې څومره دورې هم کړې دې نو هغه دورو کښې د حجرو سره سره باچاخان خپل پروګرام داسې مرتب کړے دے چې جوماتونو کښې تقريرونه وکړي او دغه تقريرونو کښې باچاخان به چې کومې خبرې کولې د هغې يوه برخه به د مذهب او اسلامي تعليماتو سره تړلې وه. ککۍ بنو د تللو حال بيانولو په وخت باچاخان وايې " په يو جومات کښې مو مونځ وکړ او بيا مو د خلکو راجمع کولو کوشش وکړو........ ما ورته يو څو خبرې وکړې چې پښتنو وروڼو! يو کافر خپل کافر ورور نه وژني تاسو چې ځان ته مسلمانان وايئ تاسو د خپلو ورور مخبري کوئ او پېرنګيانو باندې يې زوروئ يعنې د مسلمان په حېثت د يوې ورورولۍ بلکې په يوه کړۍ کښې د ځان تړلو درس هغوي ورکولو او په دې خبره بې يې خفګان څرګندولو چې مسلمان او بيا پښتانۀ د يو بل خلاف پېرنګي له شکايتونه وړي. د باچاخان وړومبو سياسي رابطو ته کتل هم ډېر ضرري دي او د هغۀ ابتدايي ملګرو باره کښې معلومات هم زمونږ دې خبرې له تقويت ورکوي چې باچاخان يو کلک عقيده لرونکے مسلمان ؤ او د مسلمان په خوږ د خوږېدو جذبه يې هم وه. د باچاخان د هغه دور ملګرو کښې مولوي فضل ربي يو نامتو عالم دين ؤ چې د دېوبند نه يې تحصيلات کړي وو. مولوي عبدالعزيز چې د اتمانزو د لوئے ملا صېب له کورنۍ نه ؤ، باچاخان يو بل ملګرے ؤ مولوي تاج محمد د ګدر د دارلعلوم مهتمم ؤ هغوي سره د نزدې تعلق سره سره د لوئې قام پرست عالم مولانا فضل محمود مخفي صېب چې د پښتنو د قامي شاعرانو په صف کښې ښکاره مقام لري. د هغه دور د باچاخان ملګري وو او هم دا هغه صحبت ؤ چې باچاخان يې درالعلوم دېوبند ته بوتللے ؤ. د حضرت شيخ الهند مولانا محمودالحسن او حضرت مولانا عبيدالله سندهي سره د باچاخان تړون او بيا د هغوي د سياسي نظرياتو دپاره د باچاخان کړاؤ دا ثابتوي چې هغوي په هند کښې د هغه قوتونو مرسته کوله چې د اسلام په نامه يې د غېر ملکي استبداد لاره نيوله. د باچاخان دوېم لوئے سياسي حرکت د هجرت هغه اقدام ؤ چې ټول بنياد يې مذهبي ؤ، د خلافت کمېټۍ صدارت هم دا څرګندوي چې هغوي په سياسي توګه د هغه عناصرو پلوي وو چې د هند د مسلمانانو د ستونزو هوارولو دپاره يې هڅې کولې. دا خبره هم د ياد ساتلو وړ ده چې باچاخان کومې مدرسې جوړې کړې وې د هغې نامه ازاد اسلاميه سکول وۀ. دغه نامه کښې اسلاميه بيا د دامخ کوي چې باچاخان دمذهبي قدر نه ښۀ خبر ؤ. د ازاد اسلاميه سکولونو استاذانو کښې هم زيات تر هم دغه عالمان وو چې ذکر يې شوے دے او د دغه سکولونو نصاب کښې قران، حديث، فقه، اسلامي تاريخ، عربي او پښتو و غېره شامل وو چې غالبه حصه يې د مذهبي نصاب وه. د عربۍ لوستو او ښودنې دغه جذبه هم د غور قابله ده. دغه شان چې باچاخان جېل کښې ؤ نو هلته يې د قران کريم د درس دپاره هڅې شروع کړې وې حالانکې جېل کښې عالمان موجود وو او د هغوې دي طرفته توجه نه وه. دا هم د ياد ساتلو خبره ده چې باچاخان خپله اصلاح هم د خاص قراني تعليم "و استعينو بالصبر وصلواة "په رڼاکښې کوله "زما ژوند او جدوجهد" کښې هغوي ليکي چې " ما کښې يو بد عادت دا ؤ چې ما له به غصه راتلله نو ما روژې نيول شروع کړې او ټوله ورځ به چپ هم وم" يعنې د نفلي روژو سره د مجاهدې هغه کيفيت يې په ځان خورولو چې د صلحاء او د صوفيا طريقه ده، دغه شان چې کله باچاخان باجوړ کښې د دېوبند د مشرانو په انتظار ؤ نو د اوزګار کښېناستو نه يې غوره وګڼله چې جومات کښې چله کشي وکړي. د باچاخان ملګرو به د هغوي د روحاني حېثيت ذکر کولو او د هر صالح يا صوفي په څېر باچاخان به دا خبره نۀ خوښوله، لکه څنګه چې شروع کښې دا خبره شوې وه چې د باچاخان جدوجهد د هغوي مبارزه داسې مقام لرلو چې د هغې په نتيجه کښې پښتنو کښې څه بل مذهبي تحريک ځائے نۀ شو نيولے نو يوه وجه يې دا هم وه چې د هغوي تحريک پخپله نيم مذهبي ؤ. د خدائي خدمتګارۍ ټوله نظريه خالصتاً مذهبي وه دې کښې وړومبے تورے د خدائے نوم دے ، بيا د خدايي خدمتګارو په جنډا الله اکبر هم ليکلي وو او له هر څۀ زيات د خدايي خدمتګارو چې کوم سوګند ؤ هغه هم د مذهب او اسلامي تعليماتو په رڼا کښې جوړ شوے ؤ. د باچاخان ژوند پښتنو دپاره مثال او د لارې مشال هم په دې وجه دے چې هغوي نۀ يواځې په سياسي توګه بلکې په مذهبي لحاظ سره هم د تقليد قابل وو.

[Zahid Buneray]

by Sakhi Arsala Khan

"I have one great desire. I want to knit the divided tribes of the Pakhtuns, spread out from Baluchistan to Chitral , into one community , one brotherhood , so that they can share their sorrows and sufferings and play a vital role in serving humanity". Bacha Khan

January the 20th is the 19th Death Anniversary of Fakhr -e- Afghan, Bacha Khan, who taught peace, love, patience, restraint and non-violence to a martial race which bore notoriety for its ferocity, fierceness and savagery in the annals of history. The great poet-philosopher Ghani Khan [1] has portrayed a typical Pakhtun in the words,
"The Pakhtun is not easy to love. He takes a lot of knowing. He loves fighting--but hates to be a soldier. He has great ambitions and no patience-- that is why he usually dies young. ............ dying with his rifle smoking and, if he can manage it, a smile on his face. He does not ask for more ".

The Reverend T.L Pannel has correctly observed that, “Revenge is a word sweat to the Pushtun ear, the sweater of the fatal blow, preferably on some dark night, is so managed that the murdered man has a few minutes of life in which to realise that he has been outwitted ".
Winston Churchill remembers [2], "Every family cultivates its vendetta, every clan its feud----Nothing is ever forgotten, and very few debts are left unpaid ". Psychologists believe that temperament and emotions are endowed by genetic heritage but the brain circuitry involved is extraordinarily malleable; temperament is not destiny and can be shaped by lessons, preaching and learnings. Our passions, when well exercised and tamed, have wisdom; they guide our thinking, our values, our communal life and our survival.
Bacha Khan was able to bewitch and fascinate these unruly people to unprecedented tolerance, forbearance and fortitude on the face of the most outrageous insults and atrocities, through his captivating teachings and charismatic leadership.


"I know it is difficult to believe", recalled a Khudai Khidmatgar, " It was so incredible that we were like this , that Iqbal[3]wrote in one of his poems that Badshah Khan tackled Pathans like he was feeding grass to lions!". [4] But a docile and determined Bacha Khan successfully worked out this miracle to a ferocious people against its grains. "His Khudai Khidmatgars (Servants of God) regarded him like a saint and never dared to disobey him even in the solitude of their private lives. The Khudai Khidmatgars sustained brutalities of the worst kind, their homes were ransacked time and again, their womenfolk disgraced and their feeble bodies were tortured in the most ruthless barbarities but they did not resort to retaliation, backlash and use of force. Firingis used to say that a nonviolent Pakhtun was more potentially dangerous than the Pakhtun activist who had recourse to violence. Bacha Khan firmly believed that violence breeds hatred, while nonviolence cultivates love and the gospel of this philosophy was deeply implanted in the subconscious of his true followers, who endured excesses with exemplary gallantry.

In the aftermath of a bloody massacre, Dr. Khan Sahib, then a private practitioner, had issued the following medical certificate, which depicts the despicable treatment meted out to Khudai Khidmatgars by the colonial invaders; "This is to certify that I admitted eighty patients to a special hospital, which was arranged by public subscription at Peshawar. These were the Khudai Khidmatgars from Charsadda tehsil who were beaten by the police at picketing at a liquor shop in Charsadda. Several of them were cruelly treated; most of them had more than thirty marks on their body caused by lathis. The majority of them could not lie straight in bed, their buttocks being a mass of bleeding red flesh. I was surprised by those cases specially, who suffered from swelling of the testicles which were squeezed and twisted by a British Officer according to the statements of the patients. In my opinion these poor people were treated even more cruelly than the wild beasts ". [5]

Faheem Sarhadi a noted journalist from Swabi has narrated the heart-rending tales of atrocities committed against common Khudai Khidmatgars, and their proverbial patience and fortitude in his book , " Khudai Khidmatgar Tehreek ke Gumnaam Sepoy ".The more they were tormented the more resilient they proved and their apparently civilized masters failed to subdue them with unleashing of brutal force.

Wali Khan, comparing the Muslim Leaguers to the wolves, has stated in his book, “The wolves will only suck your blood and eat your flesh but will not ransack your homes". [6]


Ghani Khan observes that Bacha Khan saw the Pushtun violence for what it was---a consequence not for blood lust but ignorance, superstitions and invalid customs. He understood the Pakhtun and the Pakhtun understood him. He was talking to them in a soothing way like a prophet and reprimanding and scolding them like a father, but causing no indignation and offence to his enthralled audience. One of the Bacha Khan's forerunners, Mirwais Neeka refrained the Pakhtuns from taking extreme steps against the perpetual atrocities committed against them by Gorgeen , the cruel Safavid governor of Kandahar, so that the later could not find an excuse to crush the Pakhtuns by force. The Pakhtuns obsolete guns were not a match to the sophisticated arsenal of the Safavid Empire. Gurgeen believed that Mirwais was posing as a great obstacle in fulfilling his nefarious design to obliterate the Pakhtun race, due to his strategy of nonviolence. But when the Pakhtuns got might through unity and nobility of the goal, Gurgeen was deposed a few years later, in 1709 A.D in Kandahar and a Hotaki rule was established, which extended to Asfahan in the later years.

In the present era of extremism, intolerance and violence among the Pakhtuns, particularly, Bacha Khan's philosophy of self-restraint and creed of tolerance needs to be re-discovered to turn the tide of devastation off the Pakhtun’s home and hearth. He had prophesied at the very start of Afghanistan’s turmoil that it was not a Jehad but a battle of interests of the superpowers, in which only the Pakhtuns would get killed. Pakhtuns are being massacred on both sides of the Durand Line through a well-thought conspiracy. The Armageddon of the big powers has been staged on the Pakhtun soil, where Pakhtuns are being whirled into the inferno like a cheap fuel.

Lets' remember on this solemn death anniversary of the great icon of the Nonviolence, his enchanting and mesmerizing philosophy of Restraint which pacified the all time aggressive race of the world, the Pakhtuns. Lets' explore the foundation of this magnificent skeleton and marvelous organization. One wonders how down- to- earth and simple Khudai Khidmatgars were elevated to the zenith of a political belief contrary to their social fiber. It was mandatory for the Khudai Khidmatgars to take the following Oath of obedience before joining the ranks of the non-violent contingent;

- I am a Khudai Khidmatgar and as God needs no service I shall serve Him by serving His creatures.
- I shall never use violence; I shall not retaliate or take revenge
- I promise to forgive those who oppress me and make excesses against me.
- I promise to refrain from taking part in family feuds and quarrels and from creating enmity.
- I promise to treat every Pakhtun as my brother and friend.
- I shall give up evil customs and practices.
- I promise to live simple life, to practice virtue and to refrain from evil.
- I promise to practice good manners and good behaviour and not to lead a life of idleness.
- I shall expect no reward for my services. I shall be fearless and be prepared for any sacrifice.
- I promise to devote at least two hours a day to social work. [7]

The aging veterans of Khudai Khidmatgars are passing away one by one, still having the glow of the teachings of their great Teacher, still overwhelmed by the oath, ethics and moralities of the Movement which turned the genesis of the Pakhtun temperament and psyche. A few among them may be alive now to welcome their demise but today's Pakhtun needs to keep their character and ideology alive in their hearts to kindle the path leading to a prosperous and glorious destiny based on love and peace.

[Zahid Buneray]

In the present volatile environment which symbolizes violence, commotion, armed insurgence, bloody ambushes and use of blatant force as strategical recourses for the achievement of socio-political goals, the younger generation can not visualize the philosophy of non-violence as an effective and credible course to achieve the objectives. The young Pakhtun of the present era is at loss to understand as to how a benign belief ,a peaceful march ,a harmless demonstration, a self-sustained civil disobedience, an orderly picketing , a determined sit-in ,and courting arrests, could compel the rivals to give in.

“The technique of non-violent confrontation was the very opposite of guerrilla campaigns and in place of the Pathans' traditional use of stealth and camouflage the Khudai Khidmatgar movement was a determinedly extrovert and had highly visible presence ", observes the celebrated historiographer Mukulika Banerjee in “The Pathan Unarmed".

He further draws a comparison between the armed and unarmed struggle, saying; "Guerrilla warfare predicted on surprise, ambush and quick retreat, and such tactics demand secrecy, camouflage and nimbleness, with bands melting back into the hinterland. Civil disobedience, in contrast, faces the enemy out in the open in a public confrontation, with deliberate visibility. For civil disobedience, retreat is undesirable since it marks moral defeat----the only honorable way to leave the field is to be carried away. While a guerrilla fighter has to wait patiently for the enemy to approach, the non-violent protest movement moves to the target of its choice and thereby constantly seizes the tactical initiative.........we can say that if Khudai Khidmatgar Movement had employed guerrilla tactics it would not have last 17 years."

The conclusion drawn by Mr. Banerjee is testified by the historical fact that almost all guerrilla uprisings in the past, like that of Faqir of Ippi, a guerrilla tactician and Haji Fazle Wahid Sahib Turangzai were doomed to failure. The former was eliminated in the peak periods of operations lasted from 1936 to 1938, while the later 's attempts came to grief in 1935,when the British launched a major punitive compaign against the Mohmands through air craft and heavy artillery. Haji Sahib died a few years later in Lakarai without seeing any success. On the other hand the non-violent Khudai Khidmatgar Movement could not be quelled by the powerful rivals, despite unprecedented brutalities. The colonial adversaries of the Pakhtuns conceded openly that the non-violent Pakhtuns were more dangerous than the violent ones.

The creed of non-violence at opportune time stems out from the early Islamic strategy of the Prophet (pbuh) against the Non-believers. That's why Bacha Khan declared at Bardoli meeting chaired by Kasturba, “There is nothing surprising in a Muslim or a Pakhtun like me subscribing to the creed of non-violence. It is not a new creed. It was followed fourteen hundred years ago by the Prophet all the time when he was in Mecca ".Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) and his associates ( the Saha'bas) needed a period of truce to get sufficient strength and organization during early life in Mecca, as they were then too feeble to use force against the powerful infidels. History is a witness that just after a few years they marched triumphantly into Mecca from self-exile in Madina and ruled the world by subduing the great empires of the time. The Prophet had to go by Agreements and compromises in the fragile ages to take chances for future fortification, one such Agreement was The Sulah Hudebia executed with the sturdy infidels, which worked out a peaceful co-existence, a need of the then small and weak bunch of the Muslims. It is not a wise agenda to invite persecution to die young and get extinct without building a befitting reciprocating might.

Pakhtuns on both sides of the Durand Line are making one entity, inseparable in emotions and kinship. Turbulence in one part bears a direct implication in the other. Afghans have been passing through a grave political turmoil, war-lord-ism and anarchy since Seventies, which have reduced the cities and towns into ruins, rendered millions of population as homeless, put millions of souls to cold blooded death and snatched away the freedom of a formidable country, where foreign aggressors could not tread openly. The fury and vandalism are now spilling over to the Pakhtunland on the eastern side of the Durand Line. North and South Waziristan, Bajaur, Malakand and Khyber Agency have already been engulfed by the big flames of religious extremism and the big fire is being fanned to the rest of Pakhtun country. The prophetic warning of the great visionary, Bacha Khan still reverberates in the air in the backdrop of the Afghan catastrophe, “O, Pakhtuns! I see a great inferno drifting towards you which will engulf you all if you failed to wake up to the call of the time ". Pakhtuns on both sides of the Divide desperately need a break to collect their soul and strength to gain muscles to harvest a grand future. They have been reaping miseries, untold sufferings and disasters which were cultivated for them by the most notorious big powers of the world. They need peace, shelter, education, medical care, technology and self rule to live like proud and respectable people. They are not born to be used as pawns on the world chess-board. To be eliminated by the changing Kings. Yesterday Pakhtuns were patted on back against the White Bear in the name of religion and their benefactor, the American President decreed a" fitwa" , " you are fighting a Holy War" , now they are the sworn enemies of Uncle Sam and his stooges. US have replaced USSR in Afghanistan but the Pakhtuns remain to be the ultimate prey.

Lets' remember on this Day the deep yearning of Bacha Khan, quoted by D.G Tendulkar in his work," Abdul Ghaffar Khan : Faith is a Battle " ,which came from the core of his throbbing heart and which is the crying need of the day, the harbinger of a better tomorrow ;
“I have one great desire. I want to knit the divided tribes of the Pakhtuns, spread out from Baluchistan to Chitral , into one community , one brotherhood , so that they can share their sorrows and sufferings and play a vital role in serving humanity .........
The doors are shut upon us, none is allowed to reach us, and we have been presented as a collection of uncivilized, wild tribes ............
I want to create for them a free world, where they can grow in peace, comfort, and happiness. I want to kiss the earth heaped on the ruins of their homes devastated by brutal people. With my own hands I want to wash their blood-stained clothes. I want to sweep their lanes and humble mud huts. I want them to stand on their feet with heads erect, and then want to throw this challenge: ' Show me another decent, gentle and cultured race like them' "

References
1- Bacha Khan's elder son
2- My Early Life by Winston Churchill
3- A nationalist poet
4- The Pathan Unarmed, by Banerjee
5- The Frontier Tragedy by Allah Bakhsh Yusafi
6- Facts Are Sacred
7- [Abdul Ghafar Khan--Pushtunistan & Afghanistan by S. Fida Yunas + Ghaffar Khan (nonviolent Badshah of the Pakhtuns) by Rajmohan Gandhi.

[Zahid Buneray]

http://img334.imageshack.us/img334/9986/bachakhan0089xr.jpg

[Zahid Buneray]

http://img334.imageshack.us/img334/6867/bachakhan0065xu.jpg

[Zahid Buneray]

http://img334.imageshack.us/img334/7094/bachakhan0104fk.jpg

[aneela_zb]

yo kho zahid...Mukulika B he na da SHE da!! Tired of pointing that out everytime someone refers to Banerjee in Khyberwatch.
The other day BBC Pushto spoke to me for the anni. debate on non-violence and Bacha Khan..though I was roused from my sleep I did manage to give a good plug-in for the Khyberwatch e-group for doing good things for archiving information on him and others.
warmly, aneela

[Zahid Buneray]

yo kho zahid...Mukulika B he na da SHE da!! Tired of pointing that out everytime someone refers to Banerjee in Khyberwatch.
The other day BBC Pushto spoke to me for the anni. debate on non-violence and Bacha Khan..though I was roused from my sleep I did manage to give a good plug-in for the Khyberwatch e-group for doing good things for archiving information on him and others.
warmly, aneela
Thank you aneela. My mind sparked with this, kho bia ma wayal che "Sakhi Arsala Khan zama na kha poheegee, so I might be wrong.

[Rokhan]

Salamoona zama wrornro khwendo
I am so impressed by this Brother from Bengal [may allah bless him always] who was fighting to defend Bacha Khan I thought I should share the things he has said about Bacha Khan with you guys is well.
Pah meena Rokhan.:)

Now is the time for me to deal with "Dr Gul Khan". Dr Gul Khan, whoever he is made some unacceptable comments regarding Badshah Khans fight for freedom and what Badshah Khan has done for the muslims of South Asia. I as a Bangladeshi and as a proud Khan (descendant of Pakhtuns) am going to defend Hadhrat Bashah Khan (rahmatullahi alaih) also known as Fakhr i Afghanistan from evil propaganda.

Hadhrat Badshah Khan's love for Muslims."The visit of Bacha Khan to India followed a communal riot in Ahmadabad in which Muslims suffered heavy losses at the hands of extremist Hindus. Bacha Khan visited that State. He did not give his bundle of clothes to the local governor or any government official and kept it, as usual, under his arm. The State government had planned to hide the scene from him and conduct his visit to some peaceful Muslim quarters. A Socialist Hindu reached Bacha Khan and told him about the plight of Muslims. Bacha Khan followed him to the camp where a number of displaced Muslims were lying helplessly. There, he asked the ruling junta of India ;"Had Gandhijee taught you to treat your people like this?" He blamed Hindu extremists for persecution of Muslims. In protest, Bacha Khan kept fast for three days. He also addressed the joint session of the Indian Parliament, where he protested against the communal riots."

http://www.asianreflection.com/khanafghanistan.shtml

In other words Fakhr i Afghanistan, Hadhrat Badshah Khan (rahmatullahi alaih) was angry with the way Muslims in Bombay were persecuted and FASTED for three days.

"When riots erupted in East Pakistan after the general elections, Bacha Khan offered his services for mediation. He proposed to the embassy that he would go back to Pakistan to lead a Jirgah of a few elders from Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan to meet Mujib-ur-Rahman and settle the dispute through negotiations. The embassy conveyed his messages to foreign office but there was no response. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of the Pakistan Peoples Party and Qayum Khan of the Muslim League, supported by some Army officers, were determined to grab power, although the majority had voted for the Awami Leauge of Mujib-ur-Rahman. Jamaat Islami exploited the Urdu speaking community of Indian refugees to form al-Badr and al-Shams militant groups to terrorise Bengalis. When all these strategies failed to cow down Mujib, Pakistan Army launched an operation in East Pakistan. What then happened is an open secret."(from the same site)

In other words Fakhr i Afghanistan, Hadhrat Badshah Khan (rahmatullahi alaih) tried to bring peace between the two parts of Pakistan which however the two Shias, Yahya Khan and Bhutto didn't allow him to. Hadhrat Badshah Khan (rahmatullahi alaih) tried to create peace between Muslims.

Fakhr i Afghanistan, Hadhrat Badhshah Khan (rahmatullahi alaih) was also a member of the Khilafat movement in his youth which was a Muslim movement trying to preserve the Islamic Caliphate in Turkey.

Hadhrat Badshah Khan (rahmatullahi alaih) also did Hajj in 1924. He was known for his noble lineage as the son of a Mahmudzai chief and for his simple lifestyle which did not include things such as drinking alcohol or womanizing. Fakr i Afghanistan, Hadhrat Badshah Khan, rahmatullahi alaih."Badshah Khan was a devout Muslim whose surrender to God was rewarded by a divine wisdom to act rightfully. Khan derived deep inspiration from the Koran and based his life on Prophet Mohammed's universal principles of love (muhabat), service to humanity (amal), and faith (yakeen). His lifelong reform work, the constructive programs, and the nonviolence of the Khudai Khidmatgars can be best understood in light of the underlying Islamic and universal ethics.

Khan's nonviolence was spiritual, based on Islam's "Sabr"(tenaciously holding on to a righteous cause without revenge or retaliation)....

Badshah Khan's single-minded dedication to reform the Pushtuns is a direct result of his spiritual calling. Typically, the Khans of his time were wealthy landowners and socialites who wined and dined with the British rulers and were indifferent to the misery of the poor Pushtuns. But Badshah Khan was different; He felt an unexplainable desire to change the conditions of his Pushtun brothers. His two best friends were from the less-privileged sweeper community, a rare thing among the status-conscious Khans.

Badshah Khan received religious education on the Koran and prayed five times a day as any devout Muslim. The initial influence to help and serve came in the form of Reverend Wigram, a kind and caring Principal of the missionary school. But a deeper desire to serve definitely came from the Koran. As a righteous king can clearly see through fairness and cruelty, this king among the Khans could see unrighteousness in the British treatment of his Pushtun brothers. Islam had taught Khan to fight against unlawful tyranny and oppression - only peacefully.

Khan's personal experience with the British Army also changed the direction in his life. 17-Year old Khan, 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing over 200 pounds, was easily selected to serve in the Guides (an elite corps of the infantry and cavalry division). He had dreamed of becoming a Guides officer since childhood. But when he saw his Pushtun friend, a commissioned Guides officer, being insulted by a British officer, Khan changed his mind. Khan angrily rejected his commission with the British Army"

Bengal Tiger

Oh well! May Allah bless this brother allways "Ameen" he has to complete the story of Ghufar Khan Baba by posting several times. I think this is a great example for all Pukhtoons cause this guy with the nick name BENGAL TIGER can't even speak Pashto but he is a Khan a descendant of Pukhtoons and that made him to study about Bacha khan and when the time came he was there to defend our great leader the nonviolent soldier of islam Bacha Khan Khan Abdul Ghufar Khan Baba [May Allah bless his soul "Ameen"].