Tomb of Abdul Rashid known as Bajauṛi Baba in Peshawar

The mausoleum Abdul Rashid Bajauri Baba is located on the Kohat road and Said Hasan Pir road in Peshawar, near Government College of Technology.

A certain Akhundzada (who is notorious for making stuff up) is claiming in his article that Abdul Rashid Bajauri was a Tajik. But actually, there is no evidence that he was a Tajik.

 

1- Akhundzada blatantly lies that Mughal king Babur brought Abdul Rashid Bajauri in chains to Peshawar and made him subedar of Kabul-Peshawar province. Neither Babur nor any other Mughal historian mentions Rashid Bajauri. Akundzada is passing off his speculations as certain facts and is making up the story of Babur bringing him in chains to Peshawar and making him governor of Kabul province. Babur appointed his son Mirza Kamran, not some Bajauri, as governor of Kabul (including Peshawar). Mirza Kamran ruled Kabul till 1552.

 

2- Just because his father was named 'Sakhi Arab Khan', does not mean he was an Arab (or was claiming to be an Arab). It is not uncommon among Pashtuns to name their children after communities/ethnicities and cities; Baloch Khan, Arab Khan, Mughal Khan, Tajik Khan, Multan Khan, Ghazni Khan etc. There is no evidence to prove that the family of Abdul Rashid Bajauri belonged to the Arab community of Bajaur. 

 

3- Akhundzada has purposefully not mentioned the fact that descendants of Bajauri Baba in Peshawar claim to be Tarklanri Pashtuns.

 

4- Akhundzada writes: "Real students of history know that Babur was only Mughal monarch who had anything to do with Bajaur. No succeeding Mughal ever had concerns there — nor did they trouble themselves by sending troops there for any reason". 

 

The "real student of history" (Akhundzada) should know that Akbar's general Zain Khan operated in Bajaur for years and spent more time in Bajaur than Babur. Akbar had more concerns with Bajaur than Babur did.

 

5- According to archaeologists, the building of the tomb of Abdul Rashid Bajauri can be dated to last quarter of 17th century. (Reference: "Tomb architecture in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (Pakistan)": An analytical study by Shakirullah, p-44). The reason Akhundzada insist that Abdul Rashid Bajauri was from Babur times, is because there was no trace of Tarklanri Pashtuns in Bajaur in the times of Babur. The tomb was built in last quarter of 17th century during the reign of Aurangzeb Alamgir and at that time Bajaur was an abode of Tarkanri Pashtuns. Moreover, Pashtuns in northern districts of KPK rather frequently refer to themselves by their district names; Bajauri, Diroji, Swati, Bunerwal, Swabiwal, Charsadewal etc. 

 

6- Tajiks/Parsiwans did not inhabit Bajaur and Swat. I have debunked this claim of Akhundzada in this article of mine.