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| Portrait of Nazar Khan Khweshgi (Pashtun). Source |
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| Qasuri, an Afghan of Kasur (in Punjab), 1825. From "Tashrih al-aqvam" by James Skinner. Source: British Library. Source |
Qasur is plural of Qasr (قصر) which means fortress or castle in Arabic. The place was named so because of the twelve forts built by Pashtuns settlers in 16th century, majority of whom belonged to the Khweshgi (also spelled as Kheshgi) tribe of Pashtuns. The twelve forts were named after the heads of the twelve clans of Kheshgis. Seven of the twelve forts were still standing in 1871 as reported by Alexander Cunningham.
Those Pashtun settlers had accompanied the army of Mughal king Babur in 1526 and had fought on his behalf against the army of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi. As a reward for their services, Babur granted them the present territory of Kasur as jagir. It is said that Sher Shah Sur did not hold the Khweshgi Pashtuns of Qasur in favour, on account of them siding with the Mughals at Panipat. On the other hand, they were regarded with favor by Mughal emperors and many of them attained high ranks in the Mughal nobility.
The city of Qasur built and ruled by Pashtuns, was massive. William Barr saw the extensive ruins of Qasur (destroyed by Ranjit Singh) in 1839 and writes: "Kusoor, a large and ancient town, that in former days must have covered an extensive area, as its ruins are interminable".
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A Khweshgi Afghan of Kasur and an Indian nursemaid from Arain caste, Punjab, 1810 (c). From Fraser Album. |
Kasur is the plural of Qasr (قصر), which means "fortress" or "castle" in Arabic. The place was named as such because of the twelve forts built by Pashtun settlers in the 16th century, the majority of whom belonged to the Khweshgi (also spelled Kheshgi) tribe. These twelve forts were named after the heads of the twelve Khweshgi clans.
The Khweshgi Pashtuns joined the army of the Mughal King Babur in Kabul and fought against the army of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi in 1526. As a reward for their services, Babur granted them the territory of Kasur as a jagir (land grant). They were held in high regard by the Mughal emperors, and many members of the tribe attained high ranks within the Mughal nobility.
When the Sikhs rose to power, they experienced great opposition from the Indo-Afghans of Kasur. However, the power and presence of the Afghans of Kasur were on the decline by the mid-18th century. Nonetheless, they supported Ahmad Shah Durrani in Punjab on every occasion. The chiefs of the Bhangi Misl of the Sikhs stormed the town of Kasur in 1763, and again in 1770, succeeding for a time in holding the entire principality. However, an Afghan chief named Nizamuddin, said to be a recent arrival from Kandahar, managed to wrest Kasur from the Sikhs in 1794 and resisted many subsequent attacks. In 1807, his brother and successor, Kutb-ud-din Khan, was forced to give way to Ranjit Singh and retired to his property at Mamdot, beyond the Sutlej. The town of Kasur was then incorporated into the Kingdom of Lahore. The already diminished Indo-Afghan element almost disappeared after the fall of Kasur to the Sikhs; nowadays, very few families in Kasur are of Pashtun descent.
The city of Kasur built and ruled by Pashtuns, was massive. William Barr saw the extensive ruins of Kasur (destroyed by Ranjit Singh) in 1839 and writes: "Kusoor, a large and ancient town, that in former days must have covered an extensive area, as its ruins are interminable".
Arzani Kheshgi
Mullah Arzani Kheshgi was a Pashtun Sufi poet of Roshniya movement and originally belonged to Kasur. He belonged to the Zerzai sub-tribe of Kheshgis. He was a profound scholar and a prominent figure in Pashto literature. He was a close associate and follower of Bayazid Ansari (Pir Roshan). Mullah Arzani returned to India to propagate Bayazid Ansari's mission there. After a long residence in Patna, he died there in 1623 and is buried there. His tomb is in the Sultanganj area of Patna city.
Nazar Bahadur Kheshgi
Nazar Bahadur Kheshgi was a noble of Mughal empire in the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan. He reached the mansab of 4,000/4,000.
References: "Tarikh-i-Punjab aur Afaghana-i-Kasur ka kirdar" by Muhammad Ayub Khan (published in 1988). "Hayat-I-Afghani" by Muhammad Hayat Khan (published in 1865).
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| Ghulam Husain Khan, an Afghan, 1815, inhabitant of the Fort of Ali Jan Khan in Kasur (Punjab). From Fraser Album. |
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| Portrait of Nazar Khan Khweshgi. Source |
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| Shrine of Arzani Kheshgi in Patna, 1814's Water-colour painting by Seeta Ram |
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