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Written by Spogmay Waziri Kakar
The only great leader whose name stands out in the history of Pashtuns is Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, also known as ‘Bacha Khan’, ‘Fakhr-e-Afghan’, and the ‘Frontier Ghandi’. Many Pashtuns observed his 26th death anniversary on January 20th–a day that coincided with Martin Luther King (MLK), Jr. Day. In the United States, this is a designated holiday to commemorate and celebrate the contributions of the civil rights champion who fought for the rights of African Americans. A social and political reformer, and a spiritual leader, Bacha Khan was an independence activist known for his non-violent opposition to British India. Both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bacha Khan foughtagainst injustice and inequality through non-violent means, initiating non-violent movements, for their people in their respective regions. But while MLK’s struggles and speeches are kept alive in America 46 years after his death, ironically, Bacha Khan is turning into a forgotten hero in his own land and among the people he spent his entire life struggling for—the Pashtuns.
While Pashtuns are generally highlighted in the history as aggressive people, individuals like Bacha Khan are rarely mentioned. Bacha Khan was a champion of non-violent resistance to injustice and inequality, similar to Mahatama Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. However, today, Bacha Khan’s name is not included in the group of these non-violent resistance gurus. Bacha Khan and Gandhi were close friends, and they both shared similar philosophies and ideas. They both fought against injustice. While Gandhi is a household name and an international icon, Bacha Khan’s contributions are rarely acknowledged.
While Pashtuns on both sides of the border were quick to respond to Nelson Mandela’s death on social media, they were quiet on the death anniversary of Bacha Khan. When Americans marked the 50th anniversary of MLK’s famous “I have a dream” speech, many Pashtuns wrote about him and his famous quotes were circulated widely on different social media networks. Some of his famous sayings were even translated into Pashto on social media platforms. However, very few people shared Bacha Khan’s quotes.
Will Bacha Khan turn into a fictional character who will only be remembered in stories of those who knew him? Will the future Pashtun generations not know the great Pashtun leader they once had?
To understand why Bacha Khan is turning into a forgotten leader, it is important to know the history of the region he belonged to. In 1946, when the Indian congress accepted the British partition plan, the Khudai Khidmatgar (“Servants of God”), the Pashtun nonviolent resistance movement led by Bacha Khan, demanded inclusion of an option to establish an independent state of Pashtunistan. Yet, in August 1947, only India and Pakistan emerged from the British Indian Empire. Bacha Khan felt betrayed because he wasn’t consulted about the partition plan, which he opposed along religious lines. While Gandhi’s legacy was carried on by his people in his country, Bacha Khan, however, was left stateless, sandwiched between Pakistan on one side and Afghanistan on the other. Since Pashtuns live on both sides of the contentious border, Durand Line, Bacha Khan was forgotten due to the political policies of both countries.
The truth is that Bacha Khan was a stateless leader and a stateless leader is not recognized as a citizen by any country, let alone as a leader. It is the people within a country that make a great leader into a hero and carry on his legacy so that future generations can learn from him. Every single child in India knows about Mahatma Gandhi, just as every child in America knows about Martin Luther King, Jr. Bacha Khan carried out similar struggles against British India and played a critical role in the history of Pashtuns, but he is not mentioned in history books of the region he lived in.
Bacha Khan spent many years in prison first under the British rule as a result of his struggles against their injustices. Later, he spent many years in prison in Pakistan, where he was treated worse than he was in the British-owned prisons. In the early years, it was his educational activities that caught the attention of British who tried to prevent him. He knew education was the key to change the Pashtuns. He was imprisoned and ill-treated but still preached peace and harmony.
Since Bacha Khan was against the partition plan, he is generally viewed in Pakistan as an unpatriotic leader. He, however, changed his stance after the creation of Pakistan and fought against those who deprived Pashtuns from their rights. There was a push in Pakistan after its independence from British India to promote patriotism and any leader who didn’t fit their narrow definition of patriotism was left out, and Bacha Khan was one of them. Pakistan excluded any leader from the history curriculums who was associated with Pashtun nationalism because it feared that a rise in Pashtun nationalism could mean losing a part of the Pakistani land to Afghanistan since the Durand Line cut the Pashtun population in half and no Pashtun leader has officially recognized this border.
On the Afghan side, Bacha Khan is viewed as an outsider among non-Pashtuns. While he was highly respected during the communist regime in Kabul, he was forgotten during King Zahir Shah’s reign and then during the mujahidin and the Taliban era. Bacha Khan is not included in Afghan history books either because many other ethnicities fear it could promote Pashtun nationalism; this is because there is a push on the Afghan side as well to promote national unity among different ethnicities.
Bacha Khan always felt connected to his Pashtun population, no matter which side of the border they lived on. It was his will to be buried in Afghanistan, where he made several visits during his lifetime. Bacha Khan’s non-violent resistance movement offers a lot for Pashtuns to learn from. He suffered brutally in the hands of injustice, but he persevered and remained true to his principles and struggles.
The quotes, speeches, and civil rights struggles of MLK, Jr. and Ghandhi are taught in schools and colleges throughout their countries and abroad, and they are part of the history of their countries. Unfortunately, not even a small chapter is dedicated to Bacha Khan in either Pakistan or Afghanistan—where Pashtuns live. I attended an Afghan school from K-12 and not a single time were we taught about this great Pashtun leader. Instead, we were taught about many Arab heroes, who fought and conquered lands.
Bacha Khan was a man years ahead of his time who thought creating a Pakistan along religious lines might turn out to be problematic and who thought the only way for Pashtuns to succeed was through education. Bacha Khan continued his struggles to his last day through non-violent means. Just as Americans have a day to commemorate MLK, Jr. or Indians have many days to honor Gandhi, Bacha Khan needs to be remembered and honored for many things: for the many years of his life behind bars and still continuing to be non-violent and for all the sacrifices he endured and never turned to violence.
Source: http://www.pashtunwomenvp.com/index.php/2013-01-28-03-21-27/political/406-bacha-khan-a-forgotten-pashtun-leader
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