Pashtun Nationalism: A Failed ideology
"How about the chicken who responds back violently when her child is attacked? Is she being violent or not?" This was a question posed infront of Ghandi by the then young Wali khan , whose father Abdul Ghaffar khan , popularly known as bacha khan , was indoctrinating the idea of tolerance into the Pashtun socities , together with Mr Ghandi. Mr Ghandi did not have any satisfactory answer to that question of Wali khan and he just smiled away by saying that there are more important political issues to think about than the question. But the question did have a depth and it did pointed out the hollowness of the "doctrine of tolerance" vigorously preached by Bacha khan those days.
These were the good old days of united India when Abdul Ghaffar kha, popularly known as Bacha khan surfaced from a small village of Charsada, North West frontier province. He was born in an age when the western enlightenment at one hand and the soviet Marxism on the other were impressing people globally. The effected ones were mostly from the third world which was mainly occupied by the Royal colonial Britain. The Turk Caliphate had fallen and nationalistic Arab states had started emerging in the Gulf and middle east. European imperialism and soviet communism were becoming the dominant ways of looking at the world. Under these influences various movments were initiating in the subcontinent as well.
These were precisely such fragile and precarious moments of the near past when Bacha khan was becoming mature enough to make sense of his surroundings. He raised in a comparably better part of the province where the farms yielded a good amount of corps to satisfy the belly of the landowners and there was enough water to quench the thirst of the farms. His family was much well off. His father Bahram khan owned a good amount of land to keep his head high in the society. It was his father who got him commissioned in the British Indian Army where an officer shall offend Bacha khan and as a consequence he shall quit the Army.
The later part of Bacha khan's life is the focus of this article during which he synthesized a doctrine that he would preach all his life. He tried to combine the philanthropist-ism of the west and Marxism of the east in such a fashion that these two ingredients shall be dominated by Pashtun nationalism (sometimes referred to as Afghan nationalism). The theme of this blend was colored by "tolerance" , a vague word in this age and an utter stranger to the society in which he lived then.
The Pashtun society of that era, as it has always been the case , was a deeply religious society. Mosque was the center of the society where most of the social disputes shall be handled by the elders and "Mullah" was the most influential character of the society whom everyone shall respect. The central part of the province which included cities like Mardan , Charsada , Peshawar and Swabi were relatively peaceful. These cities were dominated by the Yousafzai , Uthmanizai , Muhammadzai and Momand tribes of Pashtuns. The west of province where mainly the Masood and Wazir Pahstuns lived were much at a continuous unease. Mullah Powindah and Faqir of Ippi had raised a local insurgency against the British occupation. Their gorilla warfare kept the British outside of what are now known as the tribal areas and the center of Taliban insurgency these days.
The religious nature of Bacha khan himself has been a matter of much debate. All what can be said with confidence is that he was not an irreligious man.He performed two Hajjs and would offer his prayers regularly. However he did reject Islam as a political ideology. His "tolerance" was of such a quality that he shall borrow glasses from Mr Ghandi , his political partner and close friend , to read the Quran. Ghandi was his time tested friend and both opposed the two nation theory. Bacha khan was Muslim and Ghandi was Hindu but both were secular enough not to consider religion as a source of dispute or difference and above all both were self proclaimed flag bearers of tolerance , a specious term they never cared to define properly.
What happened next in the political theater of the Indian Subcontinent is of a great importance but is in irrelevance with the topic. Awami national Party , presided by Asfandyar Wali khan , the grandson of Bacha khan , is the main offspring of the ideology of Bacha khan. ANP is the ruling party in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa nowadays. ANP is the ally of Pakistan people's party in center and Sindh as well. The themes of socialism have been eradicated from the party. It once stood for socialism and hence was a major supporter of soviet union in the region but ever sense of demise of the bipolar world , it has shred off its socialistic themes. Though its flag still happens to be red but in the current so called War against Terror they are Pro-America. Asfandyar Wali khan made a secret visit to America Link in the recent past. For this visit he was severely deplored by his old socialist friends. Socialism negated , Awami national Party still stands for Pashtun nationalism and the dream of Pashtunistan ( a state composed of Major portions of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa and Afghanistan which shall be the homeland of Pashtuns) still lives somewhere in the deep dungeons of insecure future.
Awami National Party confronted with the first ideological challenge when USSR invaded Russia on the requist of the then Afghan communist president Babrak Karmal. USSR forces accompanied by the military of PDPA (stands for People's democratic Party of Afghanistan which was a secular communist party that ruled Afghanistan after the Saur revolution in which President Daud Khan was dethroned and killed) started massacring the Afghan people. The major uprising against the invaders took place from the Pashtun majority areas of Afghanistan. Pashtuns from the tribal belt of Pakistan also joined hands with them in their battle against Russia. It was a critical time for Awami national Party (which was then known as National awami Party). At one hand was the slogan of "Lar o Bar Yo Pashtun" (Every Pashtun no matter where is one) and at the other hand it was the old socialist friend Russia. In those weak moments , Awami National Party joined hands with Russia against the Pashtun population.
After the expulsion of Russia from Afghanistan , Dr Najib Ullah Ahmedzai still lived in Kabul as the last remain of the people's democratic Party of Afghanistan. He got a no objection certificate from Russia and hence was appointed as the president of Afghanistan. He belonged to the Parcham faction of PDPA and had earlier served as the commandant of KHAD (Afghanistan's national intelligence agency). He was involved in the massacre of many Mujahideen during the Russia-Afghan war. He was the person who advised the Russians to bombard the cities and villages indiscriminately which resulted into thousands of deaths. This shameless man decided to preside over the graveyard , a large part of which was filled by the corpses that were there due to him. Awami national Party started supporting Dr Najib and in his face again some saw the prince of Pushtunistan.
Dr Najib was later killed by the Taliban after they captured Kabul. His dead body was hung through a street lamp post in the same city from which he used send his death squads to kill the Mujahideen. After all heroes die young. Meanwhile in the Pakistani Pashtun area Wali khan , the son of Bacha khan and president of Awami national Party , was defeated in the general elections of 1990 by a poor "Mullah" of his constituency Maulana Hassan Jan. This defeat exemplified the unpopularity of Awami National Party in the region. Wali khan never contested any election after that humiliating defeat.
It is a perplexing question that why shall a Pashtun nationalist party stand for the massacre of Pashtuns? After all they claim to look after the interests of Pashtuns. What comes as a further surprise is the support of these so called Pahstun nationalists towards America against the Taliban , a wide majority of whom happen to be Pashtuns. Asfandyar Wali khan symbolically seated himself in the middle of Zardari and Obama to show where he stood on the war against "terror". The same America which has killed thousands of Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistani tribal agencies.
( Third from the left , Asfandyar Wali khan is sitting with the gang which has killed more Pashtuns than ever killed in the history)
(A Pashtun lady killed in a drone attack in Waziristan. She was probably asleep when the missile struck her)
What about Mullah Omar and Hakim Ullah Mehsood? Both happen to be Pashtuns. Gul Badeen Hikmatyar is a Pashtun and so is Jalal uddin Haqqani. The vast majority of the leadership of Taliban across both sides of the Durand line happen to be Pashtuns. Why does not the slogan of "All pahstuns no matter where they are , are one" encompass these Pashtuns? Same goes for the people who get killed in drone attacks who happen to be as Pashtun as Asfandyar Wali khan is. It was Russia against the Pashtuns and the Pashtun nationalists were with Russia. Now it is America versus pashtuns and they are with America. I have always thought about this paradox , ever since my childhood. I was myself raised in an ANP affiliated family and i have always asked these questions. I got many chances to meet Asfandyar Wali khan. I asked him these questions but the answer was never there. Instead i had to hear a big rant which included naming me an Islamo-fascist , Wahhabi , stooge of the Arabs and what not and i have always ignored these labels as ad-hominems.
There is a deep philosophical question as well. What defines a person? We open our eyes one day and find ourselves in this universe which is wide and huge enough to make us feel that we don't count much in the grand scheme of the things. It is after this realization , which further deepens after maturity , that we start associating us with groups so that we get counted in the bigger picture. One's affiliation with an ideology stands for how he has defined himself and allocated himself a role in this universe. What about nationalism as an ideology? Is it good enough to be adopted to live with? I don't think so. It is the specific sequence of my genome that makes it sure that i belong to such an such race. Why should one fall to his genetic structure? Is the genetic structure a good enough reason to get myself individualized from the rest of the humans? Certainly Not.
If one has to individualize himself on the base of race , why stop with Pashtuns? There are sub-casts in the Pashtuns and why should not i look for the interests of the Yousafzais which happens to be my sub-cast? Or why stop there , why should not i just care for my family which comes from Mubarik Khel sub-cast of the Yousafzais? Even why stop there? Why should not i identify myself with my own self only as i am the perfect copy of my own genetic structure and no one else can compete me in that? It all shall be ofcourse as irrational and radical as the so called nationalism of Awami national party is. It is more plausible and rational to think of myself as a creation of the Almighty Allah , a dignity which is shared by all my fellow humans. This coming from one source and going towards that same source after death bonds me in a magnificent relation with the humanity across me. The grandeur of this bond is so great that any kind of racism or nationalism seem to be doctrines of idiots infront of it.
It is evident that Pashtuns have always been predominantly religious. This religious face of Pashtuns has never been acceptable to ANP. They want to deface them. One solemn donkey once told me that only a secular Pashtun is the real Pashtun and so Mullah Omar and his sympathizers are not Pashtuns.These are the types of ignoramus efforts to redefine what a Pashtun is. What is common in all these daft new definition is that Islam is always negated. A Muslim Pashtun is not something which they are ready to accept.If such is the nature of biased towards Islam , I am justified in assuming that it is a battle against Islam camouflaged under Pashtun Nationalism.
These days Awami national Party is on the run. The fallacious and inhuman doctrine of nationalism is breathing its last. Asfandyar Wali khan narrowly escaped a suicide attack after which when inquired by a journalist he said "The bomber was most probably a Pashtun". It is a rare event that Asfandyar is seen in his native place. The fear of being attacked by his own fellow Pashtuns for his obvious crimes keep taunting him. Same goes for the rest of the leadership of Awami national Party. They rarely attend any open meetings.That very kin whose name they use is their enemy and infact they have made a classical example of self enmity in this age.
Islamists with weapons in hands are dominating the adjacent areas of the Durand line which was to be become a part of Pashtunistan. They are against many things and one of those things that they castigate the most is racism and nationalism. The dream of Pashtun nationalism whose epic is Pashtunistan is no where in the picture. Bacha khan together with the rest of the racists rests deep down the soil , the ultimate resort of all these discarded gods. His interpretation of the vague term tolerance has met with the American interpretation in this age. Both of them agree that Taliban are intolerant. As a result both have become intolerant of the religious Pashtuns.
After his secret visit to America , Asfandyar Wali khan uttered with sanguine confidence that "I had gone there to present the case of Pashtuns". This lines stands for a remarkable stupidity of its own kind but line is not new. Wali khan , Asfandyar's father , had presented the case of Pashtuns in the court of USSR. He lost it there and I am sure that Asfandyar shall lose it in America. It does not take much of a thought to come to the conclusion that the future of Pashtuns is associated with Islam. Islam is embedded in their nature , expressed in their consciousness and constructed in their subconsciousness. All the efforts to construct a secular Pashtun society have failed in the past and this one has failed as well. Though the most shameful phase of the failure for the so called Pashtun nationalists is yet to come.
These were the good old days of united India when Abdul Ghaffar kha, popularly known as Bacha khan surfaced from a small village of Charsada, North West frontier province. He was born in an age when the western enlightenment at one hand and the soviet Marxism on the other were impressing people globally. The effected ones were mostly from the third world which was mainly occupied by the Royal colonial Britain. The Turk Caliphate had fallen and nationalistic Arab states had started emerging in the Gulf and middle east. European imperialism and soviet communism were becoming the dominant ways of looking at the world. Under these influences various movments were initiating in the subcontinent as well.
These were precisely such fragile and precarious moments of the near past when Bacha khan was becoming mature enough to make sense of his surroundings. He raised in a comparably better part of the province where the farms yielded a good amount of corps to satisfy the belly of the landowners and there was enough water to quench the thirst of the farms. His family was much well off. His father Bahram khan owned a good amount of land to keep his head high in the society. It was his father who got him commissioned in the British Indian Army where an officer shall offend Bacha khan and as a consequence he shall quit the Army.
The later part of Bacha khan's life is the focus of this article during which he synthesized a doctrine that he would preach all his life. He tried to combine the philanthropist-ism of the west and Marxism of the east in such a fashion that these two ingredients shall be dominated by Pashtun nationalism (sometimes referred to as Afghan nationalism). The theme of this blend was colored by "tolerance" , a vague word in this age and an utter stranger to the society in which he lived then.
The Pashtun society of that era, as it has always been the case , was a deeply religious society. Mosque was the center of the society where most of the social disputes shall be handled by the elders and "Mullah" was the most influential character of the society whom everyone shall respect. The central part of the province which included cities like Mardan , Charsada , Peshawar and Swabi were relatively peaceful. These cities were dominated by the Yousafzai , Uthmanizai , Muhammadzai and Momand tribes of Pashtuns. The west of province where mainly the Masood and Wazir Pahstuns lived were much at a continuous unease. Mullah Powindah and Faqir of Ippi had raised a local insurgency against the British occupation. Their gorilla warfare kept the British outside of what are now known as the tribal areas and the center of Taliban insurgency these days.
The religious nature of Bacha khan himself has been a matter of much debate. All what can be said with confidence is that he was not an irreligious man.He performed two Hajjs and would offer his prayers regularly. However he did reject Islam as a political ideology. His "tolerance" was of such a quality that he shall borrow glasses from Mr Ghandi , his political partner and close friend , to read the Quran. Ghandi was his time tested friend and both opposed the two nation theory. Bacha khan was Muslim and Ghandi was Hindu but both were secular enough not to consider religion as a source of dispute or difference and above all both were self proclaimed flag bearers of tolerance , a specious term they never cared to define properly.
What happened next in the political theater of the Indian Subcontinent is of a great importance but is in irrelevance with the topic. Awami national Party , presided by Asfandyar Wali khan , the grandson of Bacha khan , is the main offspring of the ideology of Bacha khan. ANP is the ruling party in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa nowadays. ANP is the ally of Pakistan people's party in center and Sindh as well. The themes of socialism have been eradicated from the party. It once stood for socialism and hence was a major supporter of soviet union in the region but ever sense of demise of the bipolar world , it has shred off its socialistic themes. Though its flag still happens to be red but in the current so called War against Terror they are Pro-America. Asfandyar Wali khan made a secret visit to America Link in the recent past. For this visit he was severely deplored by his old socialist friends. Socialism negated , Awami national Party still stands for Pashtun nationalism and the dream of Pashtunistan ( a state composed of Major portions of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa and Afghanistan which shall be the homeland of Pashtuns) still lives somewhere in the deep dungeons of insecure future.
Awami National Party confronted with the first ideological challenge when USSR invaded Russia on the requist of the then Afghan communist president Babrak Karmal. USSR forces accompanied by the military of PDPA (stands for People's democratic Party of Afghanistan which was a secular communist party that ruled Afghanistan after the Saur revolution in which President Daud Khan was dethroned and killed) started massacring the Afghan people. The major uprising against the invaders took place from the Pashtun majority areas of Afghanistan. Pashtuns from the tribal belt of Pakistan also joined hands with them in their battle against Russia. It was a critical time for Awami national Party (which was then known as National awami Party). At one hand was the slogan of "Lar o Bar Yo Pashtun" (Every Pashtun no matter where is one) and at the other hand it was the old socialist friend Russia. In those weak moments , Awami National Party joined hands with Russia against the Pashtun population.
After the expulsion of Russia from Afghanistan , Dr Najib Ullah Ahmedzai still lived in Kabul as the last remain of the people's democratic Party of Afghanistan. He got a no objection certificate from Russia and hence was appointed as the president of Afghanistan. He belonged to the Parcham faction of PDPA and had earlier served as the commandant of KHAD (Afghanistan's national intelligence agency). He was involved in the massacre of many Mujahideen during the Russia-Afghan war. He was the person who advised the Russians to bombard the cities and villages indiscriminately which resulted into thousands of deaths. This shameless man decided to preside over the graveyard , a large part of which was filled by the corpses that were there due to him. Awami national Party started supporting Dr Najib and in his face again some saw the prince of Pushtunistan.
Dr Najib was later killed by the Taliban after they captured Kabul. His dead body was hung through a street lamp post in the same city from which he used send his death squads to kill the Mujahideen. After all heroes die young. Meanwhile in the Pakistani Pashtun area Wali khan , the son of Bacha khan and president of Awami national Party , was defeated in the general elections of 1990 by a poor "Mullah" of his constituency Maulana Hassan Jan. This defeat exemplified the unpopularity of Awami National Party in the region. Wali khan never contested any election after that humiliating defeat.
It is a perplexing question that why shall a Pashtun nationalist party stand for the massacre of Pashtuns? After all they claim to look after the interests of Pashtuns. What comes as a further surprise is the support of these so called Pahstun nationalists towards America against the Taliban , a wide majority of whom happen to be Pashtuns. Asfandyar Wali khan symbolically seated himself in the middle of Zardari and Obama to show where he stood on the war against "terror". The same America which has killed thousands of Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistani tribal agencies.
( Third from the left , Asfandyar Wali khan is sitting with the gang which has killed more Pashtuns than ever killed in the history)
(A Pashtun lady killed in a drone attack in Waziristan. She was probably asleep when the missile struck her)
What about Mullah Omar and Hakim Ullah Mehsood? Both happen to be Pashtuns. Gul Badeen Hikmatyar is a Pashtun and so is Jalal uddin Haqqani. The vast majority of the leadership of Taliban across both sides of the Durand line happen to be Pashtuns. Why does not the slogan of "All pahstuns no matter where they are , are one" encompass these Pashtuns? Same goes for the people who get killed in drone attacks who happen to be as Pashtun as Asfandyar Wali khan is. It was Russia against the Pashtuns and the Pashtun nationalists were with Russia. Now it is America versus pashtuns and they are with America. I have always thought about this paradox , ever since my childhood. I was myself raised in an ANP affiliated family and i have always asked these questions. I got many chances to meet Asfandyar Wali khan. I asked him these questions but the answer was never there. Instead i had to hear a big rant which included naming me an Islamo-fascist , Wahhabi , stooge of the Arabs and what not and i have always ignored these labels as ad-hominems.
There is a deep philosophical question as well. What defines a person? We open our eyes one day and find ourselves in this universe which is wide and huge enough to make us feel that we don't count much in the grand scheme of the things. It is after this realization , which further deepens after maturity , that we start associating us with groups so that we get counted in the bigger picture. One's affiliation with an ideology stands for how he has defined himself and allocated himself a role in this universe. What about nationalism as an ideology? Is it good enough to be adopted to live with? I don't think so. It is the specific sequence of my genome that makes it sure that i belong to such an such race. Why should one fall to his genetic structure? Is the genetic structure a good enough reason to get myself individualized from the rest of the humans? Certainly Not.
If one has to individualize himself on the base of race , why stop with Pashtuns? There are sub-casts in the Pashtuns and why should not i look for the interests of the Yousafzais which happens to be my sub-cast? Or why stop there , why should not i just care for my family which comes from Mubarik Khel sub-cast of the Yousafzais? Even why stop there? Why should not i identify myself with my own self only as i am the perfect copy of my own genetic structure and no one else can compete me in that? It all shall be ofcourse as irrational and radical as the so called nationalism of Awami national party is. It is more plausible and rational to think of myself as a creation of the Almighty Allah , a dignity which is shared by all my fellow humans. This coming from one source and going towards that same source after death bonds me in a magnificent relation with the humanity across me. The grandeur of this bond is so great that any kind of racism or nationalism seem to be doctrines of idiots infront of it.
It is evident that Pashtuns have always been predominantly religious. This religious face of Pashtuns has never been acceptable to ANP. They want to deface them. One solemn donkey once told me that only a secular Pashtun is the real Pashtun and so Mullah Omar and his sympathizers are not Pashtuns.These are the types of ignoramus efforts to redefine what a Pashtun is. What is common in all these daft new definition is that Islam is always negated. A Muslim Pashtun is not something which they are ready to accept.If such is the nature of biased towards Islam , I am justified in assuming that it is a battle against Islam camouflaged under Pashtun Nationalism.
These days Awami national Party is on the run. The fallacious and inhuman doctrine of nationalism is breathing its last. Asfandyar Wali khan narrowly escaped a suicide attack after which when inquired by a journalist he said "The bomber was most probably a Pashtun". It is a rare event that Asfandyar is seen in his native place. The fear of being attacked by his own fellow Pashtuns for his obvious crimes keep taunting him. Same goes for the rest of the leadership of Awami national Party. They rarely attend any open meetings.That very kin whose name they use is their enemy and infact they have made a classical example of self enmity in this age.
Islamists with weapons in hands are dominating the adjacent areas of the Durand line which was to be become a part of Pashtunistan. They are against many things and one of those things that they castigate the most is racism and nationalism. The dream of Pashtun nationalism whose epic is Pashtunistan is no where in the picture. Bacha khan together with the rest of the racists rests deep down the soil , the ultimate resort of all these discarded gods. His interpretation of the vague term tolerance has met with the American interpretation in this age. Both of them agree that Taliban are intolerant. As a result both have become intolerant of the religious Pashtuns.
After his secret visit to America , Asfandyar Wali khan uttered with sanguine confidence that "I had gone there to present the case of Pashtuns". This lines stands for a remarkable stupidity of its own kind but line is not new. Wali khan , Asfandyar's father , had presented the case of Pashtuns in the court of USSR. He lost it there and I am sure that Asfandyar shall lose it in America. It does not take much of a thought to come to the conclusion that the future of Pashtuns is associated with Islam. Islam is embedded in their nature , expressed in their consciousness and constructed in their subconsciousness. All the efforts to construct a secular Pashtun society have failed in the past and this one has failed as well. Though the most shameful phase of the failure for the so called Pashtun nationalists is yet to come.
http://forums.islamicawakening.com/f18/pashtun-nationalism-a-failed-ideology-62127/
ReplyDeleteIf you have trouble reading it let me know and I will send you in a suitable format.
great blog... being a Pashtun myself, I never understood the rant of Pashtun nationalism. Heck, I dont know what Pashtun nationalism wants... a separate land for Pashtuns? (so they can fight eachother in peace) or is it Secularism? (which is impossible to conceive in such a deeply religious society)
ReplyDeleteRead the poetry of Malang Jan to know what Pashtun nationalism mean. You have framed Pashtun freedom as opposed to Islam. How very biased. You must be a Paksitani. By the way, Pashtun nationalism is not confined to ANP. Elements of nationalism exist among the Taliban too. One more thing, the TTP does not accept the Durand Line nor do they Afghan Taliban. This is enough for now.
ReplyDeleteEzat Manda Rora , Poetry is much of a vague thing to establish any philosophical stance firmly so if you have anything other than Malang Jan's poetry which may add to my knowledge then kindly do share it. Not only Pashtun Nationalism but every nationalism is opposed to Islam and Pashtun Nationalism has come face to face with Islam which was expected. Yeah Pashtun Nationalism is not confined to ANP but the other small factions and individuals share much of their stances with ANP. I don't accept the Durand line or any other geographical boundary as well so if TTP and Afghan Taliban do not accept durand line then I am happy for that.
DeleteAnd Sir you must be an Afghan whose skeptical about Pashtuns across the border who gave their brothers warm welcome & embraced them in time of need when Punjabi establishment were busy achieving their so called "strategic goals" by confronting 2nd World power without realizing what if the odds went against them. Kindly don't draw conclusions so early. And by the way correct me if I'm wrong Pahstun nationalism & Islam go parallel throughout the history, (Pashtunwali for hospitality of guests in Islam, respect for women {excluding honor killing}) since Pashtuns accepted Islam as it is necessary in order to combine a nation, homogeneity is required which acts as a binding force. Even Mirwais Hotaki the great destroyed the Safavaids when they tried to impose Shiiaism upon Afghans. Also I strongly disagree about ANP or any other party to be nationalistic. There are two methods of destroying nationalism : Assimilation & Genocide & by its actions ANP is propagating both with PMAP by playing politics over Pashtun blood. The only party advocating Pashtun nationalism is Afghan Social Democratic Party (Afghan Mellat). And by the way f**k Taliban as they are the main obstacle in our prosperity & defamation of Pashtun Islamic values.
DeleteA very nice and well articulated blog...On one hand where I second your views about the current ANP's political degradation, its defiance to the ideology of socialism and its exploitative role in the name of Pashtun's nationalism...I would like to differ with your opinion about Bacha Khan's role at that time of United India...Yes negating the ideology of political Islam was not the wiser decision on his part but his ideology of tolerance, harmony, peaceful co-existence and education was the dire need of Pashtun's society as it is today which must be open heartedly appreciated and acknowledged...one sentence in this blog felt quite inappropriate, derogatory and wrong to me is "Bacha khan together with the rest of the racists rests deep down the soil"...Yes Bacha Khan was a Pashtun nationalist but that doesn't mean he was a racist...infact he was much open and liberal in this regard...so its quite unfair to label him as a racist.
ReplyDeleteWell as far as USSR incursion & genocide of Pashtuns is concerned, it may be half true as there was a huge uproar & fabrication made by US led task think tanks. Concerning ANP & nationalists they are nationalist in just name. More Pashtuns have been killed in Karachi on daily basis by MQM terrorists then in Afghan War but these scumbags took money in return for not taking Badal for their brethren & lack of effective centralized vocal forum like MQM rabta committee. As far as their nationalism is concerned having Hindko speaking & Kashimiris ( Bacha Khan gave away his daughter to Kashimiri Samdani family) as their representatives, marrying off their daughters to well off non-Pashtuns show their commitment to Pashtun cause. A friend of mine from Charassada told me that preference was given to Biluors over his grandfather by A. Wali Khan & he categorically told him because he was not that well off as they were. Also, Bacha Khan was not a nationalist but a social reformer among Pashtuns. Also, it is claimed that Pashtun mashar Qais Abdul Rasheed accepted Islam in times of Hazrat Muhammad (SAW). If that is true, then these so called secular Pahstuns should review their nationalism.
ReplyDelete