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| King Amanullah Khan with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Turkey, May 1928. Via Farrukh Husain (@silkroad.booksandphotos) |
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Friday, 30 September 2022
King Amanullah Khan with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Turkey, May 1928
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Thursday, 29 September 2022
A Pashtun chief of Malakand and his retainers, 1897
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Sarbuland Khan and his retainers at a fort near the Morah Pass. The Malakand Expedition. Illustration for The Graphic, 7 August 1897. Drawn by Frank Dadd. Source
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Tuesday, 27 September 2022
An Afghan horse dealer, photographed in India, circa 1890s
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| An Afghan horse dealer, photographed in India, circa 1890s |
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Monday, 26 September 2022
Group photo of the Ameer Sher Ali of Afghanistan, Prince Abdullah Jan and Sardars, 1869
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| Group photo of the Ameer Sher Ali of Afghanistan, Prince Abdullah Jan, and Sardars, 1869. Photo by Jan Burke. Source |
.jpg "Emir Sher Ali")
Sunday, 25 September 2022
Thursday, 22 September 2022
Khushal Khan Khattak Shaheed, Gakhars and Marathas
A relatively unknown episode of the Panipat war (1758-1761) containing the account of Khushal Khan Khattak Shaheed (the one who got martyred) and the Gakhar vassals of Durrani empire when Punjab briefly became part of Maratha empire.
In March 1758 Marathas, assisted by local Punjabis (Adina Beg and Sikhs) invaded Sirhind city of the Durrani empire. According to Tarikh-i-Alamgir Sani (a contemporary source), the Maratha army and their local Punjabi allies numbered more than 2 lakhs (200,000) and they easily captured Sirhind city.[1]
Punjab's governor Prince Timur Khan Durrani (who was then a young boy) and his regent Sardar Jahan Khan Popalzai realized that they would not be able to tackle huge Maratha army with their smaller force. Therefore, they abandoned Lahore and fled towards Peshawar. Maratha army and their local allies chased Afghans out of Punjab and established their rule up to the river Indus. But they only nominally ruled the Sind-Sagar doab (the region located between Jehlum River and Indus River) and Pothohar (the northern part of Sind-Sagar doab) became the contesting ground between the two powers.
Gakhars
The Pothohar region of Punjab was ruled by Sultan Muqqarab Khan, the chief of Gakkhars (a Punjabi Muslim tribe). He had severed connections with Mughal empire in circa 1719 and ruled a vast territory as independent ruler till 1739 when he submitted to Nadir Shah Afshar and accompanied the latter to India [2]. He also acknowledged the suzerainty of Ahmad Shah Durrani when the latter annexed Punjab. In a letter dated to 18th June 1758, Raghunath Rao (a Maratha leader; brother of the Peshwa) writes that Muqqarab Khan Gakhar, Zabardast Khan Tanoli and other sardars of the region intended to rebel against Ahmad Shah Abdali and had written letters to him, assuring him that they were ready to enroll under Marathas [3]. It appears that Gakkhars and others were only testing the water. Because about the end of September 1758, Gakhars were reported to be attacking Maratha-ruled territory in concert with Afghans. Tarikh-i-Alamgir Sani reports that Afghans and Gakhars crossed River Jehlum, defeated Khwaja Mirza Khan (governor of Punjab on behalf of Marathas) and his Sikh allies, and captured Gujarat [4]. They were led by Nurrudin Bamezai, a general of Ahmad Shah Durrani. Marathas dispatched an army to deal with Afghans and their Gakkhar allies. On hearing the news of the advance of Maratha army from Lahore, Nurrudin Bamezai left Gujarat and retired to the east of River Jehlum [5].
Khushal Khan Khattak II
In April 1759 Maratha Generals Tukoji Holkar and Narsoji Pandit crossed river Jehlum and entered Pothohar. On Ahmad Shah Durrani's order, Khushal Khan Khattak II (the ruler of Teri) confronted invading Maratha force with his Khattak lashkar. At the site of Hasan Abdal (in Attock district), a fierce clash took place between Pashtuns and Marathas in which Khushal Khan Khattak got martyred and his army was defeated.
Muhammad Hayat Khan, the author of Hayat-i-Afghani (published in 1867), writes:
"When Marath army advanced towards Attock to fight Ahmad Shah, Khushal Khan, the ruler of Teri, confronted Marathas on behalf of Ahmad Shah Abdali and fell fighting against them at Hasan Abdal." [6]
There are many unknown graves of martyrs (who are referred to as 'Shaheeda Baba') in Hasan Abdal, they are most probably the graves of the martyrs of the above-mentioned battle. [7]
The above-mentioned Khushal Khan Khattak Shaheed was direct descendant of Khushal Khan Khattak of Aurangzeb Alamgir's times, a renowned Pashto poet. Tarikh-i-Khurshid Jahan gives his lineage as follow:
'Khushal Khan Khattak Shaheed son of Asad Khan son of Afzal Khan son of Ashraf Khan son of Khushal Khan Khattak.'
Khushal Khan Khattak Shaheed was also a Pashto poet. Abdul Hai Habibi has shared some of the ghazals of Khushal Khan Khattak Shaheed in his book 'Panbana Shuara'. The village of Khushalgarh in Kohat district, after which Khushalgarh bridge on Indus river is named, was founded by him.
References
1- 'Fall of the Mughal empire', by Jadunath Sarkar, Vol-2, p-72
2- Gakhar and later Khanpur (Jagir) Rulers and brief History (chiefacoins.com)
3- "Panipat: 1761" by Shejwalker, p-6.
4- 'Fall of the Mughal empire', by Jadunath Sarkar, Vol-2, p-77
5- 'Account of the kingdom of Caubul' by Mountstuart Elphinstone, p-551
6- "Hayat-i-Afghani" by Muhammad Hayat Khan, p-324
7- "Tarikh-i-Hasan Abdal" by Manzurul Haq Siddiqi, p-106
8- "Tarikh i Khurshid Jahan" by Sher Muhammad Khan Gandapur
9- "Ahmad Shah Durrani" by Ganda Singh
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| Khattak horsemen, 1878. Illustration from the magazine The Graphic, volume XVII, no 430, February 23, 1878. |
Monday, 19 September 2022
Sadda village, Kurram valley, 1897
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| Sadda village, Kurram valley, 1897. From The Illustrated London News, September 18, 1897. |
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Sunday, 18 September 2022
Landi Kotal fort, 1920 (c)
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| Landi Kotal fort, 1920 (c). Photo by Mela Ram & Sons. Source |
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| Entrance to Khyber Pass, Afghan Side, Landi Khana, 1920 (c) |
Saturday, 17 September 2022
Friday, 16 September 2022
Thursday, 15 September 2022
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Wednesday, 14 September 2022
Tuesday, 13 September 2022
Monday, 12 September 2022
Fort Maude, Khyber Pass, 1920 (c)
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| Fort Maude, Khyber Pass, 1920 (c). Photo by Mela Ram & Sons. Source |
Fort Maude was located 3 miles from Jamrud Fort in the Khyber Pass.
Sunday, 11 September 2022
.jpg "An Afridi Pashtun")
Pashto was spoken in Rampur of Uttar Pradesh as late as 1815
Pashto was spoken in Rampur region of Uttar Pradesh as late as 1815 AD. This was reported by Mountsuart Elphinstone in his book "the account of kingdom of Cabul" which was published in 1815. Elphinstone had visited Afghanistan in 1808 as ambassdor of British East India Company and met Shah Shuja Durrani in Peshawar. He collected information about Afghans and Afghanistan in the years between 1808 and 1815. He also had knowledge about Rohillas and Rohilkhand since he had spent some time in the Nageena town of Rohilkhand. In his book he writes:
" "The residence of the Nabob (Nawab) is at Rampur, the manner of which place still resemble those of the Berdooraunees (Bar-Durranis). Pushtoo is the principal language, and one sees in the square before the Nabob's place, fair, strong, and handsome young men, sitting or lounging on beds, with that air of idleness and independence which distinguishes the Eusofzyes (Yousafzais)." ["An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul", p-351]
The Nawab of Rampur at that time was Ahmad Ali Khan. The term 'Bar-Durrani' (Bar means upper in Pashto) in the above passage refers to Yousafzais. This title bestowed by Ahmad Shah Abdali upon the Yousafzais, Ghoria Khels, Khattaks and some other eastern Pashtun tribes.
Yousafzais had begun to settle in large numbers in Rampur and other regions of Rohilkhand in early decades of 18th century. They preserved the language and culture of Pashtuns to great extent in the first half of 19th century.
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| Death of the Rohilla Chief (Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech) while fighting soldiers of the British East India Company during the Rohilla War of 1773 to 1774. From "Alden's Oxford Monthly Illustrated Journal", Volumes 2-3, 1871 |
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| Mounstuart Elphinstone |
‘Ladies from Kabul’, photographed in Bannu, 1958 (c)
‘Ladies from Kabul’, [photographed in Bannu, Pakistan c 1958]
The photograph is held with others taken by Dr Stella Underhill when she was based at the Church Mission Society hospital at Bannu (in present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan). The caption with the photograph records that the women were from the capital of Afghanistan.
Source: Cadbury Research Library
Saturday, 10 September 2022
Thursday, 8 September 2022
Wednesday, 7 September 2022
Village scenes, Kurram valley, 1919 (c)
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| Village scene, Kurram valley, 1919 (c). Via Farrukh Husain. |
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| Ruins of a fort with Spin Ghar range in the background, Kurram valley |
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| The Pewar Tangi terrain at the base of Sikaram peak of Spinghar, Kurram |
Parachinar Bazaar, North Gate, Kurram, 1919 (c)
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| Parachinar Bazaar North Gate, Kurram, 1919 (c). Photo by R.B.Holmes. |
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