Jawaharlal Nehru’s Visit to NWFP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) in Photographs

1946: Mahsud Maliks walking out of the Jirga as a body, after declaring to Nehru and the Khan brothers (foreground) that they wanted neither British nor Indian domination, but would stay as they were –independent. 

Caption: "On October 16 Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who has claimed that British approach to the N.W tribesmen's problems was entirely wrong, arrived at Peshawar for a goodwill tour of the tribal areas of the North-West Province. His companions were Dr. Khan Sahib, Premier of the N.W. Frontier Province, and his brother Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, leader of the local Congress Party Muslims. Their first engagements were at Razmak and Miranshah, where they met jirgas of the maliks on October 17. At the first (Miranshah), the maliks walked out before hearing Nehru, saying that they were independent and meant to remain so, and that the Muslims were being ill-treated in India and would take revenge. Later, at Razmak, the story was almost the same, and on Nehru's defending Dr.Khan Sahib, described by the tribesmen as an infidel, the maliks again got up and left. On October 20, the party's convoy was ambushed and stoned by tribesmen in the Khyber Pass, and there was some firing both by tribesmen and troops in the convoy." 

Scene of Pandit Nehru getting stones thrown at him by Pashtun tribesmen in NWFP - from movie 'Jinnah' (1998)

Pandit Nehru toured the NWFP province in October 1946. Hostile demonstrations by Muslim Leagui members met him at the Peshawar airport. The shots were fired at his plane in Waziristan. The next day, a group of Wazir leaders bluntly insulted the Pandit, decrying Hindus as "hamsayas" (serfs or tenants). Nehru and his party was warmly welcomed by the Pashtun tribesmen at Jandola and brought sheep to present to them. At Jamrud Afridis waved shoes at them. At Landi Kotal, tribesmen showered stones at them. In the Malakand, Nehru, Khan Sahib and Bacha Khan were all injured. Nehru having been hit in the head with a brickbat. Shots from escorting troops dispersed the protestors. Later Pashtun tribesmen at Dargai showered stones at Nehru and his companion. One threw a pot filled with "night soil" (human feces) at Dr.Khan Sahib (brother of Bacha Khan) and covered him with filth all over his body.

Jawahar Lal Nehru and Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan inspecting the tribal area somewhere near Khyber Pass, 1946

Jawahar Lal Nehru and Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan, photographed while inspecting the tribal area somewhere near Khyber Pass, 1946.

Malik Mehr Dil Mahsud: The Pashtun Who Rebuffed and Attempted to Slap Jawaharlal Nehru

Malik Mehr-Dil Mahsud ends the conference before Nehru has finished his speech by raising his arm at Nehru. Robin Hodson (the Political Agent of South Waziristan) intervenes. Photo published in Life Magazine, November 11, 1946.

Malik Mehr Dil Khan Mal Khel Manzaey Mahsud of Karma had been a fearless raider of his time. In 1919 he raised a lashkar and fought against the British. Later, however, he turned pro-British. In 1925 a murderer was arrested from his house in Tank for which he and his son were arrested. However his significant influence within the tribe and loyalty to the British helped him avoid serious trouble. For his services to the British, he was awarded the title "Khan Sahib" in 1928. [1] [2]

In 1947 Nehru and Dr Khan Sahib met a Mahsud jirga in South Waziristan. Robin Hodson, who was the political agent of South Waziristan and witnessed Nehru's address to the Jirga there, wrote: "Instead of remaining seated, to my astonishment Nehru got up and started addressing the tribesmen as though he were at a political rally, waving his arms around and marching up and down. At Jirga it is custom to sit on the ground and the person addressing the meeting would be seated on chair". Robin Hodson is only partially correct here. In traditional Pashtun jirgas, the speaker stands while the others remain seated. The colonial practice of a British officer sitting on a chair in the jirga was more an imitation of the panchayat of India.

Nehru spoke to the Mahsuds in Urdu, which the Mahsuds probably did not understand well. However, they did understand the insult he directed at them when he said that those present were debauched by British bribery. It struck a nerve of Malik Mehr Dil, who told Nehru: ''Hindu, if the British pay us money, there is a good reason. Our private parts are of extraordinary size as you will find out to your cost before long" [3]. With that Mehr-Dil advanced towards Nehru with intention of giving him a backhanded slap, but the the Political agent intervened.

The son of Malik Mahr-Dil Mahsud, Mir Badshah, joined British-Indian Army and lost one of his eyes in the First World War [4]. The one-eyed Mir Badshah led a large lashkar of Mahsud tribesmen to fight the Indians in Kashmir in 1948. Alam Jan, a grandson of Mahr-Dil, joined Pakistan Army and rose to the rank of Lieutenant General. [5]

Hostile Malik tribesmen squat in a wide semi-circle and listen glumly as Pandit Nehru begins to talk, pointing his finger towards them for added emphasis. Malik Mehr-Dil Mahsud is sitting in the front. Photo published in Life Magazine, November 11, 1946.

Hostile Malik tribesmen squat in a wide semi-circle and listen glumly as Pandit Nehru begins to talk, pointing his finger towards them for added emphasis. Malik Mehr-Dil Mahsud is sitting in the front. Photo published in Life Magazine, November 11, 1946.

Mahsud tribesmen walk out as Nehru (seated left) and his party sit by silently. After Nehru had called them "pitiful pensioners", they shouted at him "Islam is in danger". Photo published in Life Magazine, November 11, 1946.

Mahsud tribesmen walk out as Nehru (seated left) and his party sit by silently. After Nehru had called them "pitiful pensioners", they shouted at him "Islam is in danger". Photo published in Life Magazine, November 11, 1946.

Notes and References 1- "Khan Sahib" was a title conferred by the British-Indian government on their subjects. It was a title one degree lower than Khan Bahadur, but higher than that of Khan. 2- "History of the Pathans" , By Haroon Rashid, Vol-V, p-66 3- The Pathan Unarmed: Opposition & Memory in the North West Frontier By Mukulika Banerjee, p-185 4-  "History of the Pathans" , By Haroon Rashid, Vol-V, p-67 5- http://www.petaro.org/staff-adjutants/adj-alam-jan.htm

Local Pashtun tribesmen hurl stones at Pandit Nehru's convoy from embankment near Landi Kotal fort in the Khyber Pass. Photo published in Life Magazine, November 11, 1946.