Sunday 4 October 2020

Ancestral village of Bahlul Lodi in Pakhtunkhwa

According to Ain-i-Akbari, Malik Bahram, the grandfather of Sultan Bahlul Lodi, belonged to the region/town of Bilot (marked in the map). Abul Fazal, (the author of Ain-i-Akbari) had most likely acquired this info from Tarikh-i-Ibrahim Shahi, the official history of Lodis, which is no longer extant.  

Bilot is located in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is nowadays referred to as Bilot Sharif on account of tomb of Shah Isa Biloti (a medieval saint) there. Ruins of southern Kafirkot are located in the vicinity of Bilot.

Sultan Bahlul Lodi (بهلول لودي ) belonged to the Shahu Khel branch of the Prangi (پړانګي) tribe of Pashtuns. The progenitor of the tribe was named Prang (پړانګ) which means tiger in Pashto. Majority of the Prangis migrated to India in 15th century but Bilot is still populated by Bluch (بلڅ) which is a sub-tribe of Prangi.

The connection of Shahu Khel Lodis with Bilot is also attested by Makhzan-i-Afghani (written in circa 1612 AD).








Kafirkot ruins near Bilot



 A view of Paniala region of D.I.Khan. Source







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