|
|
the-south-asian.com April 2004 |
||||
|
April 2004 Wildlife
Paragpur
- India's 1st
Corporate Talk
Books Lehngas - a limited collection Books Between
Heaven and Hell
|
|
||||
|
Page 1 of 2
‘Exegi monumentum aera perenius’ ‘I have executed a memorial longer lasting than bronze’ – Horace
The Pathans – 550 BC - AD 1957 by Sir Olaf Caroe, 1958, Macmillan Company ,Reprinted Oxford University Press, 2003 Reviewed by Salman Minhas
The Pathans, first published in 1958, is a classic work, and is essential reading these days for the powers that be, in order to arrive at a deeper understanding of the situation and peoples of this area. The author, Sir Olaf Kirkpatrick Caroe, KCSI, KCIE, ICS, Governor of North West Frontier Province [NWFP] (Governor NWFP March 1946-June 1947) came from Scotland and being a highlander/ hills man, the Indian North West Frontier Province [NWFP] was a home away from home. He said, "to cross the bridge at Attock is to come home". [Attock is the gorge where the River Kabul meets the Indus and the old fort, made in 1583 under the supervision of Khawaja Shamsuddin Khawafi, a minister of emperor Akbar; the fort continues to act as a sentinel and is used by the Pakistan army Special Service Group SSG-commandos] . The British transformed the name Pakhtun into Pathan. Caroe had a soft spot for these "noble savages" of the British Empire, more so perhaps because the Pathans brought the expansion of the British India Empire to a halt due to their unending resistance against British Dominance. To this day in Pakistan certain areas of the NWFP are still ruled indirectly by the Federal government which appoints an experienced "Political Agent" and leaves the internal system of law & order entirely in the hands of the local "Jirga"/tribal counsel [hence the Afghan Loya jirga]. Caroe found the Pathans endearing and he wrote : "The warmth of a Pathan welcome lifts the heart, and heals any wounds left over from the parting in the difficult days of 1947". The bond remains to this day and a few remaining British, who served in India continue to "recall many bright associations of the sunny land". Some Englishmen such as Major Langlands, who headed the Physical Education at Aitchison College, Lahore in the 1965-69 period have stayed on to teach in the remote mountains of the NWFP in Chitral.
Pathan Vignettes: The North West Frontier Province [NWFP] also brought Sir Winston Churchill to a small hillock in the Swat valley in 1896 as a correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, London Newspaper. After this assignment he wrote his famous first book "The Story of the Malakand Field Force" . One can still see his rest house on a hill along the Swat road from Mardan to Swat. Pathan Fighters & Regiments . The Pathans straddle the Durand Line [Col Algermon George Arnold Durand's definitive work, "The making of a frontier", (1899),; Durand was the creator of the Durand Line], that demarcates Pakistan from Afghanistan, where Pashtuns form the largest ethnic group. These are the fighters who inspired reams of fearful and admiring verse from Rudyard Kipling [see above]. The Pathans are still the same old sharpshooters blessed with perfect sight who picked off the soldiers of the British Raj. They still carry guns [the preferred weapon is a Kalashnikov- the AK-47 – Chinese, Russian or Made in Darra [ Pass- Hence Darra Khyber – the Khyber Pass] –Kohat, NWFP. These days the Pathan Gunsmiths use tested Russian Gun quality steel. Gone are the days when they ripped off rail-lines laid by the British to make their weapons. A favorite ploy of the Pathans was to steal British live ammunition at night, replace it with blank cartridges and then attack the British military camps. Impressed by Pashtun valor, the British created in 1847 a Pashtun force called the "Corps of Guides" its emblem was crossed sabers over the slogan "Rough and Ready" and pioneered in adopting uniforms in a new color, khaki, which became the prototype for today's army forces. A movie "King of the Khyber Rifles" [1953]and a comedy "Carry on up the Khyber" [1968] only add to the romance with this homeland of the Pathans . Other Pathan based regiments include The Frontier Force Regiment , World War II [The Frontier Force Regiment fielded some 12 battalions, 1 Garrison battalion, and 3 Garrison companies. ] and The Frontier Force Rifles in World War II - The Frontier Force Rifles fielded 15 battalions and 3 Garrison companies. The old designation of "Piffer" [ for Punjab Irregular Force] has been adopted by the Pakistan Army . The Khyber Rifles (1878), Zhob Militia (1883) the Kurram Militia (1892), Tochi Scouts (1894), Chagai Militia (1896). South Waziristan Scouts (1900) and Chitral Scouts (1903) were units of Scouts and Militias that were created in NWFP tribal territories after the misadventure of the British in the second Afghan War in 1889.For more details on other scouts & militias created see : http://www.khyber.org/pashtohistory/frontiercorps/frontiercorps.shtml The Third Afghan War essentially resulted in the creation of Afghanistan as a buffer state between Russian and the British India Empire . This is around 1919. Taking advantage of the paucity of British troops, Amanullah in Kabul also sought to regain the North West Frontier Province lost to Sikh expansionism in 1820-34. An excellent reference to the British Indian Army regiments before 1947 and after 1947 is "SONS OF JOHN COMPANY – The Indian & Pakistan Armies 1903-1991- by John Gaylor, 1993, publishers Lancer International, India] ; see also the article: http://www.the-south-asian.com/Jan2002/Jullundur_Brigade.htm on the Jullunder Brigade = 1st Manchesters, 47th Sikhs, and 59th (Scinde) Rifles Frontier Force. The three Regiments are now – 1st Battalion The Kings Regiment of the British Army, 5th Battalion The Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army, and the 1st Battalion (Scinde) the Frontier Force Regiment.
Pathan Peacemakers : They also created a remarkable peace movement led by Abdul Ghaffar Khan called the Frontier Gandhi. The fascination with Pashtuns endured until the Raj's demise. Sir Olaf Caroe, the last British governor of the North-West Frontier, left a systematic account, "The Pathans" (1958), complete with pullout maps and translations of love poems by the great Pashtun bard, Khushal Khan Kattak, who died in the 17th century. Caroe favored the partition of India and believed that a Muslim state and its frontier warriors would form a wall blocking a Soviet advance toward the Persian Gulf. Pathans in South Asian History: The Rulers of Bhopal [see "Begums of Bhopal" book review] , were from the Tirah Valley between Peshawar, Kohat and Parachinar, from the Orakzai Tribe of the Pathans . In recent years Pakistan’s squash champions [ The Khan dynasty –raised squash to higher levels of excellence] have been from a small village of Nawakille on the outskirts of Peshawar [ see http://www.the-south-asian.com/Nov2001/Pakistan%20Squash1.htm ] . Pakistan’s Air Force Chiefs, Air Marshall Asghar Khan and Air Marshall Nur Khan were Pathans. [Nur Khan was incidentally trained before 1947 at Walton airport , Lahore by Captain Mehta – who later joined the Indian Air Force & took the first DC-3 flights into Ladakh & Assam.] There is controversy as to whether the Pathans are actually descended from one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel " Beni-Israel" [ see the claims by http://www.moshiach.com/features/tribes/afghanistan.php. Ethnicity : Pathans = Rajputs Further there is even a
theory by the famous British doctor Henry Walter Bellew (1834-1892)
that most Pakhtun tribal names were actually Rajput names which had
undergone changes over time.
Potential invaders such as Alexander discovered to their discomfort and eventual retreat the truth or half-truth of these ideas. Most recently John Le Carre in his spy thriller "Absolute Friends" , 2003 has one of his characters propose a toast ………" Madam History , a very fickle lady sir…………To the Queen Emperor …….coupled with the name of the Punjabi fighting man . Finest Soldier that ever lived , bar none . Provided he is led, sir . There’s the rub." Pathan Character: Perhaps the best way to summarize such a controversial topic is to quote the anthropologist Charles Lindholm, Boston University . " ……….We can see, then, that the image of Pathan character shifts according to the angle of approach. Those who come as guests or as disinterested arbitrators will appreciate the values of friendship and hospitality, which are so central to Pathan social structure. Deference and respect will be shown them, in accordance with the cultural system. Those who come to dominate will be treated as honored enemies outside the society, but once they penetrate inside they will be treated as every other competitor is treated, and their image of the Pathan will be one of cruelty, greed, deceit and envy. |
|||||
| Copyright © 2000 - 2004 [the-south-asian.com]. Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. | |||||
| Home | |||||