Abdul Ghaffar Khan: Difference between revisions
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While he faced much opposition and personal difficulties, Bacha Khan Khan worked tirelessly to organise and raise the consciousness of his fellow Pushtuns. Between 1915 and 1918 he visited 500 villages in all part of the settled districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. It was in this frenzied activity that he had come to be known as ''Badshah (Bacha) Khan'' (King of Chiefs).<ref name="Karl"/> |
While he faced much opposition and personal difficulties, Bacha Khan Khan worked tirelessly to organise and raise the consciousness of his fellow Pushtuns. Between 1915 and 1918 he visited 500 villages in all part of the settled districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. It was in this frenzied activity that he had come to be known as ''Badshah (Bacha) Khan'' (King of Chiefs).<ref name="Karl"/> |
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Being a [[secular]] Muslim he did not believe in religious divisions. He married his first wife Meharqanda in 1912; she was a daughter of Yar Mohammad Khan of the Kinankhel clan of the Mohammadzai tribe of Razzar, a village adjacent to Utmanzai. They had a son in 1913, Abdul Ghani Khan, who would become a noted artist and poet. Subsequently, they had another son, Abdul Wali Khan (17 January 1917–), and daughter, Sardaro. Meharqanda died during the [[1918 flu pandemic|1918 influenza epidemic]]. In 1920, Bacha Khan remarried; his new wife, Nambata, was a cousin of his first wife and the daughter of Sultan Mohammad Khan of Razzar. She bore him a daughter, Mehar Taj (25 May 1921 – 29 April 2012),<ref>[http://www.epeshawar.com/peshawarnews/4049-daughter-of-bacha-khan-passes-away.html], Retrieved 20 May 2013</ref> and a son, Abdul Ali Khan (20 August 1922 – 19 February 1997). Tragically, in 1926 Nambata died early as well from a fall down the stairs of the apartment they were staying at in Jerusalem.<ref>[http://www.khyber.org/people/literary/GhaniKhan.shtml Kyber Gateway], Retrieved 9 April 2008</ref> |
Being a [[secular]] Muslim he did not believe in religious divisions. He married his first wife Meharqanda in 1912; she was a daughter of Yar Mohammad Khan of the Kinankhel clan of the Mohammadzai tribe of Razzar, a village adjacent to Utmanzai. They had a son in 1913, Abdul Ghani Khan, who would become a noted artist and poet. Subsequently, they had another son, Abdul Wali Khan (17 January 1917–), and daughter, Sardaro. Meharqanda died during the [[1918 flu pandemic|1918 influenza epidemic]]. In 1920, Bacha Khan remarried; his new wife, Nambata, was a cousin of his first wife and the daughter of Sultan Mohammad Khan of Razzar. She bore him a daughter, Mehar Taj (25 May 1921 – 29 April 2012),<ref>[http://www.epeshawar.com/peshawarnews/4049-daughter-of-bacha-khan-passes-away.html], Retrieved 20 May 2013</ref> and a son, Abdul Ali Khan (20 August 1922 – 19 February 1997). Tragically, in 1926 Nambata died early as well from a fall down the stairs of the apartment they were staying at in Jerusalem.<ref>[http://www.khyber.org/people/literary/GhaniKhan.shtml Kyber Gateway] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823223758/http://www.khyber.org/people/literary/GhaniKhan.shtml |date=23 August 2007 }}, Retrieved 9 April 2008</ref> |
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== Khudai Khidmatgar == |
== Khudai Khidmatgar == |
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* Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1969). ''My life and struggle: Autobiography of Badshah Khan (as narrated to K.B. Narang)''. Translated by Helen Bouman. Hind Pocket Books, New Delhi. |
* Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1969). ''My life and struggle: Autobiography of Badshah Khan (as narrated to K.B. Narang)''. Translated by Helen Bouman. Hind Pocket Books, New Delhi. |
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* [[Rajmohan Gandhi]] (2004). ''Ghaffar Khan: non-violent Badshah of the Pakhtuns''. Viking, New Delhi. {{ISBN|0-670-05765-7}}. |
* [[Rajmohan Gandhi]] (2004). ''Ghaffar Khan: non-violent Badshah of the Pakhtuns''. Viking, New Delhi. {{ISBN|0-670-05765-7}}. |
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* [http://www.easwaran.org Eknath Easwaran] (1999). ''[[Nonviolent Soldier of Islam]]: Ghaffar Khan, a man to match his mountains''. [http://www.easwaran.org/nilgiri.cfm?pageid=28&itemid=00-1 Nilgiri Press], Tomales, CA. {{ISBN|1-888314-00-1}} |
* [http://www.easwaran.org Eknath Easwaran] (1999). ''[[Nonviolent Soldier of Islam]]: Ghaffar Khan, a man to match his mountains''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060617033759/http://www.easwaran.org/nilgiri.cfm?pageid=28&itemid=00-1 Nilgiri Press], Tomales, CA. {{ISBN|1-888314-00-1}} |
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* ''Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan: A True Servant of Humanity'' by Girdhari Lal Puri pp 188–190. |
* ''Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan: A True Servant of Humanity'' by Girdhari Lal Puri pp 188–190. |
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* Mukulika Banerjee (2000). ''Pathan Unarmed: Opposition & Memory in the North West Frontier''. School of American Research Press. {{ISBN|0-933452-68-3}} |
* Mukulika Banerjee (2000). ''Pathan Unarmed: Opposition & Memory in the North West Frontier''. School of American Research Press. {{ISBN|0-933452-68-3}} |
Revision as of 15:15, 9 December 2017
Indian Independence Movement Khudai Khidmatgar | |
---|---|
Spouse(s) |
Meharqanda Kinankhel
(m. 1912–1918)Nambata Kinankhel
(m. 1920–1926) |
Children | Abdul Ali Khan |
Parent | Bahram Khan |
Awards | Prisoner of conscience (1962) Jawaharlal Nehru Award (1967) Bharat Ratna (1987) |
Khān Abdul Ghaffār Khān (6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988) (
Khan strongly opposed the
Early years
Bacha Khan was born on 6 February 1890 into a generally peaceful and prosperous Pashtun family from Utmanzai in the Peshawar Valley of British India. His father, Bahram Khan, was a land owner in the area commonly referred to as Hashtnaghar. Bacha Khan was the second son of Bahram to attend the British-run Edward's Mission School, the only fully functioning school in the region run by missionaries. At school the young Bacha Khan did well in his studies, and was inspired by his mentor Reverend Wigram to see the importance of education in service to the community. In his 10th and final year of high school, he was offered a highly prestigious commission in the Corps of Guides, a regiment of the British Indian Army. Bacha Khan refused the commission after realising that even Guides officers were still second-class citizens in their own country. He resumed his intention of university study, and Reverend Wigram offered him the opportunity to follow his brother, Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan, to study in London. An alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University, Bacha Khan eventually received the permission of his father. However, Bacha Khan's mother wasn't willing to let another son go to London, so Bacha Khan began working on his father's lands, attempting to discern what more he might do with his life.[10]
In 1910, at the age of 20, Khan opened a
Ghaffar "Badshah" Khan
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Gandhi_at_Peshawar_meeting.jpg/220px-Gandhi_at_Peshawar_meeting.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Pesh_muhajireengoingtokabul_1920.jpg/220px-Pesh_muhajireengoingtokabul_1920.jpg)
In response to his inability to continue his own education, Bacha Khan turned to helping others start theirs. Like many such regions of the world, the strategic importance of the newly formed North-West Frontier Province (now
While he faced much opposition and personal difficulties, Bacha Khan Khan worked tirelessly to organise and raise the consciousness of his fellow Pushtuns. Between 1915 and 1918 he visited 500 villages in all part of the settled districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. It was in this frenzied activity that he had come to be known as Badshah (Bacha) Khan (King of Chiefs).[10]
Being a
Khudai Khidmatgar
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Nv-army-gray_BG.jpg/300px-Nv-army-gray_BG.jpg)
In time, Bacha Khan's goal came to be the formulation of a united, independent, secular India. To achieve this end, he founded the Khudai Khidmatgar ("Servants of God"), commonly known as the "Red Shirts" (Surkh Pōsh), during the 1920s.
The Khudai Khidmatgar was founded on a belief in the power of Gandhi's notion of
"I am going to give you such a weapon that the police and the army will not be able to stand against it. It is the weapon of the Prophet, but you are not aware of it. That weapon is patience and righteousness. No power on earth can stand against it."[14]
The organisation recruited over 100,000 members and became legendary in opposing (and dying at the hands of) the British-controlled police and army. Through strikes, political organisation and non-violent opposition, the Khudai Khidmatgar were able to achieve some success and came to dominate the politics of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. His brother, Dr.
Kissa Khwani massacre
On 23 April 1930, Bacha Khan was arrested during protests arising out of the
Bacha Khan and the Indian National Congress
Bacha Khan forged a close, spiritual, and uninhibited friendship with Gandhi, the pioneer of non-violent mass civil disobedience in India. The two had a deep admiration towards each other and worked together closely till 1947.[4][5]
Khudai Khidmatgar (servants of god) agitated and worked cohesively with the Indian National Congress, the leading national organisation fighting for independence, of which Bacha Khan was a senior and respected member. On several occasions when the Congress seemed to disagree with Gandhi on policy, Bacha Khan remained his staunchest ally. In 1931 the Congress offered him the presidency of the party, but he refused saying, "I am a simple soldier and Khudai Khidmatgar, and I only want to serve."[17] He remained a member of the Congress Working Committee for many years, resigning only in 1939 because of his differences with the Party's War Policy. He rejoined the Congress Party when the War Policy was revised.
Bacha Khan was a champion of women's rights [
"O Pathans! Your house has fallen into ruin. Arise and rebuild it, and remember to what race you belong." – Ghaffar Khan[18]
The Partition
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Gandhi_and_Abdul_Ghaffar_Khan_during_prayer_Cropped_Brighter.jpg/220px-Gandhi_and_Abdul_Ghaffar_Khan_during_prayer_Cropped_Brighter.jpg)
Khan strongly opposed the partition of India.[4][5] While many Pashtuns (particularly the Khudai Khidmatgars) were willing to work with Indian politicians, many other Pashtuns were sympathetic to the idea of a separate homeland for India's Muslims following the departure of the British. Accused as being anti-Muslim, Khan was physically assaulted in 1946, leading to his hospitalisation in Peshawar.[19]
The Congress party refused last-ditch compromises to prevent the partition, like the
When the referendum over accession to Pakistan was held, Bacha Khan, the Khudai Khidmatgars and the
Arrest and exile
Bacha Khan took the oath of allegiance to the new nation of Pakistan on 23 February 1948 at the first session of the Pakistan Constituent Assembly.[21]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Abdul_Ghafar_Khan%2C_Nehru%2C_and_Sardar_Patel_1946.jpg/220px-Abdul_Ghafar_Khan%2C_Nehru%2C_and_Sardar_Patel_1946.jpg)
He pledged full support to the government and attempted to reconcile with the founder of the new state Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Initial overtures led to a successful meeting in Karachi, however a follow-up meeting in the Khudai Khidmatgar headquarters never materialised, allegedly due to the role of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Abdul Qayyum Khan who warned Jinnah that Bacha Khan was plotting his assassination.[22][23]
Following this, Bacha Khan formed Pakistan's first National opposition party, on 8 May 1948, the Pakistan Azad Party. The party pledged to play the role of constructive opposition and would be non-communal in its philosophy.
However, suspicions of his allegiance persisted and under the new Pakistani government, Bacha Khan was placed under house arrest without charge from 1948 till 1954. Released from prison, he gave a speech again on the floor of the constituent assembly, this time condemning the massacre of his supporters at Babrra.[24]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Sheikh%2C_Nehru_and_Badshah_Khan_1945.jpg/200px-Sheikh%2C_Nehru_and_Badshah_Khan_1945.jpg)
I had to go to prison many a time in the days of the Britishers. Although we were at loggerheads with them, yet their treatment was to some extent tolerant and polite. But the treatment which was meted out to me in this Islamic state of ours was such that I would not even like to mention it to you.[25]
He was arrested several times between late 1948 and in 1956 for his opposition to the
In 1962, Bacha Khan was named an "Amnesty International Prisoner of the Year". Amnesty's statement about him said, "His example symbolizes the suffering of upward of a million people all over the world who are prisoners of conscience."
In September 1964, the Pakistani authorities allowed him to go to United Kingdom for treatment. During winter his doctor advised him to go to United States. He then went into exile to Afghanistan, he returned from exile in December 1972 to a popular response, following the establishment of National Awami Party provincial government in North West Frontier Province and Balochistan.
He was arrested by Prime Minister
In 1984, increasingly withdrawing from politics he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
His final major political challenge was against the Kalabagh dam project, fearing that the project would damage the Peshawar valley, his hostility to it would eventually lead to the project being shelved after his death. He did not die during house arrest but died in Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar where he was hospitalized with severe stroke. Before this terminal hospitalization, he was treated in India where doctors declared his brain conditions to severely disabling and untreatable.
Bacha Khan died in Peshawar under house arrest in 1988 and was buried in his house at
Although he had been repeatedly imprisoned and persecuted, tens of thousands of mourners attended his funeral, described by one commentator as a caravan of peace, carrying a message of love from Pashtuns east of the Khyber to those on the west,
Political legacy
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Gandhi_and_Abdul_Gaffa_Khan.jpg/220px-Gandhi_and_Abdul_Gaffa_Khan.jpg)
His eldest son
His third son
Asfandyar Wali Khan is the grandson of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, and leader of the Awami National Party. The party was in power from 2008 to 2013.
Salma Ataullahjan is the great grand niece of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and a member of the Senate of Canada.
Bacha Khan's political legacy is renowned amongst Pashtuns and Hindus as a leader of a non-violent movement.However, within Pakistan, vast majority of the society questioned his stance with the All India Congress over the Muslim League as well as his opposition to Quaid-e-Azam. In particular, people have questioned where Bacha Khan's patriotism rests following his insistence that he be buried in Afghanistan after his death and not Pakistan.
Film, literature and society
In 2008, a documentary, titled
- In 1990, a 30 Minutes Biographical Documentary film On Badshah Khan " The Majestic Man" In English Language Which was telecast On Doordarshan (National channel ) Produced by Mr. Abdul Kabeer Siddiqui Renowned Producer/Director from New Delhi who works for Indian National TV Channel.
In Richard Attenborough's 1982 epic Gandhi, Bacha Khan was portrayed by Dilsher Singh.
Bacha Khan was listed as one of 26 men who changed the world in a recent children's book published in the United States.[33] He also wrote an autobiography (1969), and has been the subject of biographies by Eknath Easwaran (see article) and Rajmohan Gandhi (see "References" section, below). His philosophy of Islamic pacificism was recognised by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a speech to American Muslims.[34]
In the Indian city of Delhi, the popular Khan Market is named in honour of his brother Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan, and another market in the Karol Bagh of New Delhi is named after him called Ghaffar Market[35][36]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ An American Witness to India's Partition by Phillips Talbot Year (2007)
Sage Publications ISBN 978-0-7619-3618-3
- ISBN 9788170222866.
- ^ ISBN 1929223668. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- ^ a b c "Abdul Ghaffar Khan". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 24 September 2008.
- ^ a b c d "Abdul Ghaffar Khan". I Love India. Retrieved 24 September 2008.
- ^ a b Partition and Military Succession Documents from the U.S. National Archives
- ^ Ali Shah, Sayyid Vaqar (1993). Marwat, Fazal-ur-Rahim Khan (ed.). Afghanistan and the Frontier. University of Michigan: Emjay Books International. p. 256.
- ISBN 9780804789219.
- ^ New York Times
- ^ a b The Peacemaker of the Pashtun Past By KARL E. MEYER The New York Times. 7 December 2001.
- ^ "Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan" (PDF). Baacha Khan Trust. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- ^ [1], Retrieved 20 May 2013
- ^ Kyber Gateway Archived 23 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 9 April 2008
- ^ Nonviolence in the Islamic Context by Mohammed Abu Nimer 2004 Archived 1 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Habib, p. 56.
- ^ Johansen, p. 62.
- ^ Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Sunday Tribune: The Tribune India Sunday 5 March 2000 [2]
- ^ Eknath Easwaran, Nonviolent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan: A Man to Match His Mountains (Nilgiri Press, 1984, 1999), p. 25.
- ^ Abdul Ghaffar Khan, 98, a Follower of Gandhi Published: 21 January 1988. New York Times.
- ^ The Dust of Empire: The Race For Mastery In The Asian Heartland – Karl E. Meyer – Google Boeken. Books.google.com. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ "LOVE" (PDF). Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ a b M.S. Korejo (1993) The Frontier Gandhi, his place in history. Karachi : Oxford University Press.
- ISBN 81-250-0514-5.
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan had several interviews with him at Karachi and at one stage it seemed that an understanding would be reached ... [Jinnah] planned to go to Peshawar to meet him ... This however did not materialise. Soon the political enemies of the Khan brothers poisoned Jinnah's mind against them. Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan ... was naturally opposed to any reconciliation between Jinnah and the Khan brothers. He therefore behaved in a way which made any understanding impossible.
- ^ Syed Minhajul Hassan,(1998) Babra Firing Incident: 12 August 1948, Peshawar: University of Peshawar.
- ^ Badshah Khan, Budget session of Assembly on March 20, 1954.
- ^ Abdul Ghaffar Khan(1958) Pashtun Aw Yoo Unit. Peshawar.
- ^ 28 September 2005 Wednesday Dawn by Syed Afzaal Husain Zaidi An Old episode recalled
- ^ PAKISTAN: The Frontier Gandhi (18 January 1954) Time Magazine. Publisher: Time Inc.
- ISBN 978-0-19-507661-5
- ^ McKibben, William (24 September 1984)New Yorker
- ICCRwebsite.
- ^ a b Abdul Ghaffar Khan, 98, a Follower of Gandhi (21 January 1988) New York Times. Retrieved 21 January 2008
- ^
Cynthia Chin-Lee, Megan Halsey, Sean Addy (2006).
Akira to Zoltán: twenty-six men who changed the world.
Watertown, MA (USA): Charlesbridge. ISBN 978-1-57091-579-6(Badshah Khan is listed under the letter 'B', p. 5)
- ^ Muslim Media Network. (17 September 2009). Hillary Clinton hosts Iftar at State Department. Available: http://Muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn/?tag=abdul-ghaffar. Last accessed 22 March 2010.
- ^ "Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Market". Paprika Media Private Ltd. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "My visits to Khan Market". Sify News. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
- ^ Chenab Gandhi
References
- JSTOR 3517680.
- Johansen, Robert C. (1997). "Radical Islam and Nonviolence: A Case Study of Religious Empowerment and Constraint Among Pashtuns". Journal of Peace Research. 34 (1): 53–71. .
- ISBN 0-19-577221-0
- Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1969). My life and struggle: Autobiography of Badshah Khan (as narrated to K.B. Narang). Translated by Helen Bouman. Hind Pocket Books, New Delhi.
- ISBN 0-670-05765-7.
- Eknath Easwaran (1999). ISBN 1-888314-00-1
- Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan: A True Servant of Humanity by Girdhari Lal Puri pp 188–190.
- Mukulika Banerjee (2000). Pathan Unarmed: Opposition & Memory in the North West Frontier. School of American Research Press. ISBN 0-933452-68-3
- Pilgrimage for Peace: Gandhi and Frontier Gandhi Among N.W.F. Pathans, Pyarelal, Ahmedabad, Navajivan Publishing House, 1950.
- Tah Da Qam Da Zrah Da Raza, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Mardan [Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa] Ulasi Adabi Tolanah, 1990.
- Thrown to the Wolves: Abdul Ghaffar, Pyarelal, Calcutta, Eastlight Book House, 1966.
External links
- Interview with Bacha Khan
- Baacha Khan Trust
- Columbia University pictures
- Photograph Collection