Pashtuns: Vintage Photos from The Geographical Magazine

From 'The Geoghraphical magazine', 1957, Vol.30, issue 4

A 16 years old Kochi Pashtun lad and a 14 years old Hazara boy, Afghanistan, 1956. From 'The Geoghraphical magazine'. Caption: "(Above) A fourteen-year-old Hazara boy whose Mongol descent is manifest in his features. (Right) A sixteen-year-old Kuchi lad. Unlike the Hazaras whom the author found hardy and industrious, but inhospitable, the nomadic Kuchis, of Pathan stock, are friendly, amusing and gay. They are detested by the Hazaras, whom they in turn despise though trading relations are nevertheless active between them."

Pashtun Horse Merchants in 1816: Images from the Fraser Album

The following painting, commissioned by William Fraser between 1816 and 1820, depicts Pashtun horse merchants belonging to the Miani, Bakhtiari, and Gandapur tribes of the present-day Dera Ismail Khan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as a Ghilzai from Ghazni. They brought horses to Delhi for sale and were painted there. The figures were originally identified in Persian by William Fraser himself on the cover paper, which was later transcribed by E.S. Fraser as follows: 

1st figure. Gool Khan, an Affghan of Kundulpore, a Chlashie or tent pitcher.

2d. Namdar Khan, an Affghan, native of Damaun and nephew of Timorr Khan. 

3d. Ismael Khan, a Ghiljee Patan native of Ghaznee. 

4th. Loll Khan, a Buchtiaree, native of Drabaun in Damaun, a very rich merchant. 

5th. Nadir Khan, an Affghan, son of Timoor Khan. 

6th. Ozman Ghunee Khan, a Mearee Patan, nephew of Timoor Khan. 

7th. Timoor Khan, a Mearee Patan, a rich merchant inhabitant of the town of Drabaun. 

8. Imanee of the Sullum tribe, a native of Khorasan, servant of Tymoor Khan. These merchants brought capital horses to Dehlee for sale.

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The following painting, commissioned by William Fraser between 1816 and 1820, depicts five Pashtun and three Uzbek horse merchants. They brought horses to Delhi for sale and were painted there. The figures are transcribed by E.S.Fraser as follows:

1st figure: Damood Mahomed Khan, an Afghan, native of Drabun, servant of Huleem Khan.

2d: Yacoob Oozbeck, a rich merchant, native of Bokhara.

3d: Seyed Oollah Khan. A Mearee Patan, native of Damaun at Komul.

4th: Ghazee Khan Ghoree, a native of Drabun and servant of Huleem Khan.

5th: Huleem Khan, a Mearee Patan an inhabitant of the town of Ghaznee and a person of importance among his own tribe.

6th: Moollah Ullah Nuzzer, son of Meerza Jumun, an Oozbeck.

7th: Goolistan of the Bakhtiaree tribe, a merchant of the town of Daman.

8th: Meerza Jummun, an Oozbeck, an eminent and rich merchant of Bokhara.

Source

Source

The fifth figure in the following painting, dressed in blue with a large peshkabz, is a Durrani Pashtun from Kandahar; he is a horse merchant and jeweler in Delhi on business. The rest of the figures are non-Pashtuns from Kabul, Kandahar, and Constantinople.

The inscription identifies the figures as:

"1 figure Kureem Beg, a Moghul of the tribe of Sasmun, native of Kand'har.

2nd figure Moolab Baba, of an Arab tribe, born at Shahabanee, but residing at Bokhara, a Scholar come to study with Ghulam Allee at Dehlee.

3rd figure Mudubak, a native of Caubul, who became a religious recluse at Dehlee.

4th figure Moluvee Abdul-Kaudar, Toork, born at Constantinople, who came to Dehlee upon a pilgrimage to Shah Gholaum Allee.

5th figure Khan Mahomed Dooraunee, (descended from Poopul) a Patan born at Kand'har, a horse merchant and jeweller, who came to Dehlee on business"

Source

Source

In the following painting, commissioned by William Fraser, the armed man in the blue turban is identified as an Afghan named Deen Muhammad from Hyderabad, Sindh; he was in the service of Syed Mir Jalaluddin, the man to his right.

The inscription identifies the figures as:

"1 figure Deen Mahomed Affahan a native of Hyderabad the capital of Scind, a servant of Meer Jellaludeen

2nd figure Seyed Jellaludeen a native of Hyderabad of Scind

3rd figure Goolab Sing, of the Kulla cast, a native of Chum-Koor on the banks of the river Sutlej

4th figure Seedee Barral an inhabitant of Kallaal, nine days' journey from Kandahar"

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Source

Pesh Bolak in Nangarhar

The Tajik (or Dehgan) chief of Pesh (or Besh) Bolak village (located in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan) offering hospitality to the British military officers, June 1879. Drawn by William Simpson. From London Illustrated News, Vol.LXXIV.

London Illustrated News: "The chief and chief inhabitants of a village near Jellalabad, hospitably entertaing some British who had gone out for a reconnaissance with a detachment of the 10th Hussars. The Afghans treated their foriegn visitors with tea, served in small poreclain cups of native manufacture, and with eggs, chuppaties or cakes, and a variety of fruit. A crowd of men and boys was standing round the "charpoys", or native bedsteads, which had been brought out for seats; while not a few women, though obliged to keep in the distance, showed their natural curiosity upon this occasion".

The artist William Simpson’s original inscription names the village as Pesh Bolak. Source

The inhabitants of Pesh Bolak are referred to as either Tajik or Dehgan in the 19th century sources.

Dehgan: A tribe settled in the Kunar valley, and scattered also over the districts of Jalalabad and Laghman.

In the Jalalabad district Dehgans are found principally in Pesh Bolak, Kandibagh, Hisarshahi, Deh-i-Tahir, Lawangapur, and Mast Ali, but the present home of the race is Kunar and in the Dara-i-Nur and some parts of Laghman.

The Dehgans are often confounded with the Tajiks by the people of the country, but they are quite distinct. While the Tajiks invariably speak Persian, the Dehgans have a peculiar language of their own, called Laghmani or Kohistani. This language seems to be comprised of Sanskrit and modern Persian, with some words of Pushtu, and a very large admixture of some unknown root. ('Historical and Political Gazetteer of Afghanistan', By Ludwig W.Adamec, Vol-6, p-156)

The headman of Pesh-Bolak (in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan) sumbitting to General McPherson of the British invading force, Febraury 1879. Source

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Khizr Khan, Founder of the Sayyid Dynasty, Was Not a Bhatti Punjabi — He Was Likely of Afghan Origin

Lately, there are some people on social media who are going around referring to Khizr Khan, the founder of the Sayyid (or Syed) dynasty of Delhi, as a Bhatti Rajput of Punjab. This stems from a distorted reading of a passage from Tarikh-i-Mubarakshahi.

Khizr Khan never bore the title Malik Mardan. It was his adoptive grandfather, Malik Mardan Daulat, who originally came from Herat. At one point, the author of Tarikh-i-Mubarakshahi — a courtier serving a Sayyid sultan, the son of Khizr Khan — rebukes those slaves who deserted Khizr Khan and joined Sarang Khan. The author, in a typical style of a court historian, is indignant that slaves would forsake an owner of manliness (مردان) like Khizr Khan.

A footnote by the Urdu translator (Dr Aftab Asghar) of Tarikh-i-Mubarik Shahi, published by Markazi Urdu Board Lahore.

Tabaqat-i-Akbari (and the sources that in turn relied on Tabaqat-i-Akbari) distorted the تہی of Farsi into بہتی (Bhatti). Thus, “Malik Mardan Bhatti” came into being. This is, of course, a misreading of the Tarikh-i-Mubarakshahi by the author of Tabaqat-i-Akbari (who relied on it for the history of the Sayyid dynasty). Yahya bin Ahmad Sirhindi, the author of Tarikh-i-Mubarakshahi, strongly insists that Khizr Khan was a Syed. So it does not make sense for him to blurt out a Bhatti identity for him out of the blue. It is also not some Bhatti chieftain in the service of Khizr Khan; as already pointed out, it is simply a miswriting of the text of Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi.

This correction was highlighted by the reputed Indian historian H. S. Hodivala 86 years ago, as well as by several others.

Screenshot from H.S.Hodivala's book

Screenshot from H.S.Hodivala's book

The Afghan Identity Attributed to Khizr Khan

The only other identity that has been ascribed to Khizr Khan—apart from the Sayyid identity given in the Tarikh-i-Mubarakshahi—is the Afghan (Pashtun) identity mentioned by the author of Muntakhab al-Lubab, who writes:

“He, Khizr Khan, was by origin and by the names of his ancestors an Afghan, as is apparent from the title Malik; but after he came to the throne of Delhi, the historians of his reign, upon very weak proofs, applied to him in a loose way the title of Saiyid.”
— Muntakhab al-Lubab, in Elliot and Dowson, Vol. VII, p. 405

It is not unreasonable to assume that Khizr Khan’s ancestors may have migrated from Pakhtunkhwa to India. More than a dozen major Pashtun tribes and several dozen smaller clans claim Sayyid descent while also identifying as Afghan (Pashtun). The most notable among them are the Dilazak, a Pashtun tribe that once inhabited the vast region stretching from Ningrahar to Hasan Abdal and from Bajaur to Peshawar–Nowshera.

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British aircraft dropping bombs on Pakhtunkhwa

An aerial picture of British Air Force dropping bombs on Afridis, 1930.
Caption: “Scenes of Peshawar where the Afridis are kept in their place by Tanks and R.A.F (Royal Air Force)”.
From The Sphere, August 1930.

Location: Parachinar, Kurram, 1922.

Peshawar Museum

Peshawar Museum, formerly the Victoria Memorial Hall, was built in 1905. In early years it functioned simultaneously as a dance hall as well as a museum.

Victoria Museum, Peshawar, N.W.F, 1922.

Victoria Hall Peshawar (Peshawar Museum), 1906.

Peshawar Museum, 1930.

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Abdul Rashid Khan Barakzai: A Turncoat of the First Anglo-Afghan War

Abdool Rhechid (Abdul Rashid Khan Barakzai), nephew of Amir Dost Mahomed Khan, 1839. Painting by Thomas Wingate. Source

Inscribed in Wingate's hand: "Abdool Rhechid a nephew of Dost Mahomed Khan. An intelligent Afghan who gave important information to the British Army previous to the storming of Ghuznee on the 23rd July 1839."

Abdul Rashid was inside the Ghazni fort when the British army arrived at Ghazni on 21 July 1839 during the First Anglo-Afghan War. He turned traitor and revealed the city’s defenses to the British invaders. He informed them that although most of the fortress gates had been bricked up as the British troops advanced, one had been left open to maintain communication with Amir Dost Mohammad, making it vulnerable.

That night, the British stormed the city by blowing up this weak point, while launching a diversionary attack on the opposite side of the fortress to draw attention away. Abdul Rashid’s treachery thus played a key role in the British capture of Ghazni, enabling them to take the city with fewer casualties.

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Sikh Soldiers Serving the British Raj in Afghanistan and the North West Frontier (Historical Images)

British officers of the 32nd Pioneers relaxing in Afghanistan, while Sikh and other Indian servants and soldiers are made to stand in the background, 1880. Photograph, 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880), 1880 (c). National Army Museum. Source

Indian Soldiers, including Sikhs, boarding a train to Peshawar on their way to Afghanistan to fight in the Second Anglo-Afghan War for their British masters. Painting by Walter Charles Horsley, made in 1878.

A loyal and obedient Sikh orderly serving as a human shield for his British master, General Roberts, protecting him from bullets during the Battle of Kandahar in Afghanistan on 1st September 1880. Source. The 'Orderly', though enlisted as a soldier in the British-Indian Army, served as a servant or attendant to the officer.

General Frederick Roberts wrote about his Sikh orderlies: "My orderlies...displayed such touching devotion that it is with feelings of the most profound admiration and gratitude I call to mind their self-sacrificing courage. On this occasion (as on many others) they kept close round me, determined that no shot should reach me; and on my being hit in the hand by a spent bullet, and turning to look round in the direction it came from, I beheld one of the Sikhs standing with his arms stretched out trying to screen me from the enemy, which he could easily do, for he was a grand specimen of a man, a head and shoulders taller than myself."

Source: National Army Museum

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An Aged Mohmand Pashtun Fighting His British Foes, 1908

A British illustration depicting one of their officers engaging in a sword fight with two Mohmand Pashtuns, 1911. From The Graphic, an illustrated weekly newspaper. The British, understandably, liked to glorify themselves in their portrayals of battles, so there is little to comment on regarding the officer. What is more interesting is the aged Mohmand Pashtun, a freedom fighter, attacking his foes with a sword and shield, arms that Pashtuns carried even in the late 1800s and early 1900s for close combat.

British illustrations consistently portray aged Pashtuns in battles, indicating that the participation of white-bearded elders, the spin giri, was a common phenomenon. In that regard, it set them apart from their other neighbors. This illustration also accurately depicts the sword-fighting style of the Pashtuns of these parts.

British illustration of sword fight with Mohmand Pashtuns, published in The Graphic, 1911.

The 1908 British Conflict with the Mohmands

In 1903, the British Government began constructing the Loe Shilman Railway in Mohmand territory. This naturally provoked anger among the Mohmands, who clearly understood what the advance of British imperial railways implied for their independence.

By 1907, the Khwaezi and Baezi clans had launched repeated attacks on railway construction sites. They were soon joined by Muhasil Khan, a Kado Khel, along with Hakim and Mir Baz—though not Mohmands themselves—who attacked works at Smatzae and Shinpokh.

Tensions escalated further in 1908 after the British launched an operation against the Zakha Khel Afridis. The Mohmands, already agitated, saw this as an additional provocation. Events then moved at a pace: Sufi Sahib of Nangarhar declared a “jihad” against the British, and the Mohmands appealed to the Amir of Kabul for support.

On 17 April 1908, an Afridi lashkar under Hazrat Sahib of Butkhela from the Bohai joined the Mohmands through the Gandhari and Pindiali valleys. When the British began “punitive” operations in response, many Kabul regulars as well as khassadars openly sided with the Mohmands. Though the swift termination of the campaign limited their full participation, reinforcements still poured in: some 500 Bar Mohmands from Lalpura, a larger number of Dehgan and Safi tribesmen from Kunar Valley, and even two Shinwari regular battalions stationed at Jalalabad were implicated in joining the fight.

On 22 April, the combined forces attacked Adozae. Two days later, on 24 April, they clashed fiercely with British troops at Shahkadar and Matta Khel before withdrawing to the Burjina Pass.

By 13 May, the British had dispatched a major punitive expedition under General Willcocks, which traversed the entire Mohmand country. Villages and crops were burned, widespread destruction was inflicted, and by 29 May the British claimed to have killed 450 Mohmands.

References

1. Military Reports on Afghanistan, Simla, 1925.
2. H. C. Wylly, From the Black Mountain to Waziristan.

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Sikh Priests (Granthis) Who Served the British Military Against Pashtuns or Afghans

Sikh priests, known as granthis, were recruited by their British masters to inspire and boost the morale of Sikh soldiers in the British Indian Army against the Pashtun tribesmen of Pakhtunkhwa. The Sikhs were regarded as the most loyal and dedicated servants of the British Raj, a service for which the British remain grateful to this day. For example, the British army still celebrate Saragarhi Day with great zeal. At Saragarhi, Sikh soldiers fell fighting against local Pashtun freedom fighters, in defence of British imperialism. The idea of a Sikh regiment within the modern British Army has long been discussed in the UK. In the House of Lords, for instance, such discussions have included statements like: "My Lords, given the loyalty of Sikh soldiers in both World Wars, there has been talk of having a Sikh regiment in the British Army for a number of years. Governments of both parties have talked about it. Is there any progress on that?" [1]

The following photo, taken by John Burke during the Second Anglo-Afghan War in Afghanistan, shows two Sikh granthis attached to the British occupation forces. The original caption reads: “Sikh gooroos attached to the Punjab regiments.”

Source

In this letter dated 1938, a Sikh granthi named Sant Singh, attached to the 15th Punjab Regiment and stationed at Tal Fort in Hangu District, Pakhtunkhwa, expresses his joy at receiving the title of 'Sardar Sahib' from the British and thanks his British superior, Colonel G. O. Turnbull, for congratulating him on receiving that title.

Source

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