Sphola Stupa, Khyber Pass

 

Sphola Stupa (a Buddhist monument) in the Khyber Pass, 1878. Photo by John Burke. Source

Photos of British operation against Faqir of Ipi in 1936-1937

B. Tundan, a professional photographer from Kabul, is best remembered for his work performed directly alongside the British troops during the Waziristan Campaign of 1936-1939, photographing not only the soldiers and convoys, but capturing recognizable scenes, structures such as forts and bridges, as well as villages along the way. Tundan and his associates, along with occasional photographic rivals, produced several pictures showing the King's Royal Rifle Corps regiment running its paces in 1936, during the Waziristan Revolt. The photographer most often identified himself only by his name 'Tundan' on the photograph, however in one instance herein, he inscribes 'Tundan Razani'. Source

British troops moving from Punjab to NWFP by crossing Khushalgarh bridge to deal with the threat of Faqir of Ipi of Waziristan, 1936. 

The Khushal Garh Bridge on the Indus River connects Kohat district of K.Pakhtunkhwa with Attock district of Punjab. It is a broad gauge bridge and was completed in 1907 as part of the Khushalgarh-Kohat-Thal Railway.

The "column camp at Idak" is a large settlement with innumerable soldiers and their horses, being supplied by motor transport vehicles. This camp appears to have been setup directly beside a natural coal deposit.

Armies of men and horses passing the charming village of Boya, which is partly fortified against the elements with a stone wall to one side. The town is a maze of inter-connected mud walled dwellings, built in two sections with a mound at its center where sits a mud dome, possibly a shrine. On the outskirts there are agricultural fields and a cemetery. Close-up images capture a cavalry convoy of both British and Indian regiments crossing Boya River together, as well as one lorrie. Boya [Boya kalay] is approximately 30 km north of Razmak, southeast of Miran Shan, and east of Bannu.

The column travelling east to Bannu after departing from Idak, are shown in a stellar picturesque photograph on the Shinki Bridge, crossing the Tochi River (a.k.a. Gambila River). The bridge is situated east of Mir Ali on the road connecting Miranshah and Bannu.

Datakhel Fort [Datta Khel] was the nearest post to the Faqir of Ipi's headquarters at Gorwekht.

British camp at Muhammad Khel, roughly 40 km west of Idak, and situated on the Tochi river.

Further north, a photograph shows the expanse of the K.R.R.C. [King's Royal Rifle Corps] camp at Damdil, sometimes seen as Damodil, sprawling the base of a hill, and both sides of the road. Very near to Damdil, another image shows the marching men near Asadkhel [Asad Khel].

A marching regiment crosses Tal [Thal] bridge over the Kurram river; the four men leading the parade carry a large banner. The river's water level being very low and the dust filling the air indicate a dry season. Other scenes in the same region are simply captioned "Tal Valley". [There was is fort at Thal, guarding the strategically vital Kurram valley, which at the outbreak of the 3rd Afghan War in 1919, came under siege but was quickly relieved.]

Photographing the troops who went to Bannu, captures them in the Latamber Pass. Another striking image shows them exiting a mountain tunnel, possibly in this region. [Latambar is an important town in the district of Karak, located 29 kilometres to the east of Bannu.] A camp image is captioned as "K.R.R. Camp at Banda" [King's Royal Rifle], which is Banda Daud Shash, the headquarter of the tehsil by the same name, located in Karak District, immediately north of Latambar. Slightly farther north, in the vast and desolate Lachi Pass [Lachi Kandoa], hundreds of men look like ants marching along in perfect symmetry on a winding road, as the photographer gets a birds-eye view from a hilltop. One captain leads the formation, and a few horses carrying supplies take up the rear. [There is a locality/town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, situated nearby to Hindki Banda in the Kohat District, comprising some 24,000 residents today.]

A large number of troops from one of the aforementioned columns are photographed entering a rest camp at Kohat, which incidentally, is gated. This fascinating image inadvertently also provides a glimpse into civilian life. Men in traditional costume employ horse-drawn carriages and heavily laden mules for conveyance of goods and passengers. Irrigation ditches flank the dirt road, which bears a white mile marker. [Kohat in present-day is the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century.]

Pakhli

 

Pakhli valley (Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), 1857. Painting by Henry Brabazon Urmston. Source

The subject indicated on the verso of the painting is 'Puklee Valley, North of Hazarah, Punjab, India—Mountains of Koonsh and Kaghan in the distance, October 1857'. A further, later inscription on the verso states 'The Puklee Valley Upper Mazarah Punjab from Manserah [Mansehra] (storm approaching) Oct 1857'.

Henry Brabazon Urmston served in the Bengal Army 1847–74. He held various positions, including Assistant Commissioner in the Punjab with special duty in Kashmir during 1857, and Deputy Commissioner in Peshawar, Bannu, Sialkot, Amritsar and Rawalpindi.

Khudai Khidmatgar or Red Shirts

A gathering of Red Shirts with their flag, 1932. From The Sphere magazine.

A Hashtnagar youth from Charsadda district, 1930. From The Sphere, 28 June 1930.

The Red Shirt “Army” at Utmanzai (Charsadda district), 1930.

Members of Khudai Khidmatgar, at Utmanzai (Charsadda district), 1930.

A Khattak Pashtun, member or supporter of Khudai Khidmatgar, 1932. From The Sphere.

A Khudai Khidmatgar. From "Gold and Guns on the Pathan Frontier" by Abdul Qayyum (1945).

Gandhi and Bacha Khan with Khudai Khidmatgar officers, Charsadda, 1939. Photo by Kanu Gandhi.

Abdul Ghaffar Khan at the head of a Red Shirt gathering, Peshawar, 1931. Published by United Press International.

Artisans of Pakhtunkhwa

 

Smithy (a blacksmith's workshop) at Peshawar, 1879. Illustration from the magazine The Graphic, volume XIX, no 491, April 26, 1879.

Tal Chotiali

 

A local Pashtun of Tal Chotiali looks at the British soldiers with astonishment, October 1881. Illustration from the magazine The Graphic, volume XXIV, no 619, October 8, 1881. British empire acquired Tal Chotiali from Afghanistan in the treaty of Gandamak (1878).

Afghan tribesmen, 1879

 

Jahandad, a Lohani Pashtun from Ghazni, Afghanistan, 1879. From ''The Illustrated London News'', April 19, 1879.

Zamzama cannon of Ahmad Shah Durrani

 

1960s photo showing Zamzama cannon on display in Lahore

Treaty of Gandamak

British soldiers lining road on arrival of Yakub Khan at Safed Sang, at treaty of Gandamak, Afghanistan, May,1879.

In the Gandamak treaty concluded in May 1879, Ameer Yaqub Khan Barakzai surrendered districts of Kurram, Pishin, Sibi, Harnai and Thal-Chotiali (Loralai), and the control of the Khyber and the Michini Passes to British empire.

Ameer Yaqub Khan of Afghanistan signing Treaty of Gandamak with the British, 1879. From 'The Graphics', a weekly newspaper. The original caption reads: "The End of the Afghan War — The Ameer Signing the Treaty of Peace at Gandamak, May 26th, 1879." At this point, the British — as in the previous war with the Afghans — were too hasty in concluding that the war had been won and was over. Source

The Ameer Yakoob Khan signing the treaty at Gandamak, Afghanistan, May 26, 1879.  Illustration from the magazine The Graphic, volume XX, no 501, July 5, 1879.

Nawabs of Tonk

 

Muhammad Ibrahim Ali Khan, the ruler of the Princely State of Tonk (located in Rajasthan, India), 1902.

The ruling family of Tonk (Rajasthan, India) were descendants of Salarzai Bunerwals . In the reign of Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah (r.1719-1748), one Taleh Khan son of Kale Khan (طالع خان بن کالے خان) left his home in the Jowar village of Buner country (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan)) and took service in Rohilkhand (U.P, India) with Ali Muhammad Khan Rohilla [Ref. Amir-nama, c.1824, Eng. Translation, p-7].

"Taleh Khan's son, Haiyat Khan, became possessed of some landed property in Moradabad, and to him in 1768 was born Amir Khan, the founder of the Tonk State. Beginning life as a petty mercenary leader, he rose in 1798 to be the commander of a large army in the service of Jaswant Rao Holkar, and was employed in the campaigns against Sindhia, the Peshwa, and the British, and in assisting to levy the contributions exacted from Rajputana and Malwa. It was one of the terms of the union between Amir Khan and Holkar that they should share equally in all future plunder and conquest, and accordingly in 1798 Amir Khan received the district of Sironj. To this Tonk and Pirawa were added in 1806, Nimbahera in 1809, and Chhabra in 1816. On the entrance of the British into Malwa, Amir Khan made overtures to be admitted to protection; but the conditions he proposed were too extravagant to be acceded to. He received, however, the offer of a guarantee of all the lands he held under grants from Holkar, on condition of his abandoning the predatory system, disbanding his army of fifty-two battalions of disciplined infantry and a numerous body of Pathan cavalry, and surrendering his artillery, with the exception of forty guns, to the British at a valuation. His request to be confirmed in lands obtained from different Rajput States under every circumstance of violence and extortion was positively rejected. To these terms Amir Khan agreed, and they were embodied in a treaty in November, 181 7. To the territories thus guaranteed (the five districts above mentioned) the fort and pargana of Rampura, now called Aligarh, were added by the British Government as a free grant, and a loan of 3 lakhs, afterwards converted into a gift, was made to him. Nawab Amir Khan died in 1834. [Imperial gazetteer of India, Vol.23, pp.48-49]

Muhammad Ibrahim Ali Khan (1848, r. 1867-1930). Source