Pathans in Our Midst – I

Pathans are an inseparable part of the complex patchwork that is India. This three-part series provides a brief account of the history of Pathans and the role they have played in shaping India. The first article in the series explores Pathan origins, migration from Roh*, the Pathan homelands, and their way of life.

Dilip Kumar, certainly the greatest actor of his age, had a legion of followers. For an entire generation, perhaps even two, there was no actor greater than him. His contemporary, Madhubala, was arguably the most beautiful woman to have ever appeared on the Indian screen. Their onscreen chemistry was immortalized in the epic Mughal-e-Azam, an iconic love story, set in the Mughal period, which in true Bollywood tradition had little historical authenticity. Dilip Kumar played the Mughal Prince, Jehangir, who battles with his mighty father, the Mughal emperor Akbar, over a mesmerizingly beautiful woman, Anarkali. The rivetingly beautiful Madhubala slipped into the role of Anarkali with effortless ease.

These two iconic actors shared more than just screen chemistry. Both were Pathans and in fact belonged to the same tribe – the Yusafzais, one of the most renowned Pathan tribes (Dilip Kumar’s original name was Yusuf Khan and Madhubala’s was Mumtaz Jehan). The adulation of the Indian audience for Pathan actors continues to this day. The Khans hold sway over the film industry. Khan is a common last or middle name among Pathans. It is not exclusive, though, to Pathans and so the name does not necessarily imply Pathan origins. It is puzzling that no researcher found the topic of the presence of Pathans in Bollywood a fit topic for research. Hence this article had to rely on online news articles for this purpose. Many of the leading Khans may be of Pathan stock. Shah Rukh claims he is a Pathan. His ancestral house is close to Dilip Kumar’s in Peshawar. Salman Khan’s father claims his ancestors migrated to Indore from Pathan highlands. Aamir khan’s origins are less certain.  The origins of royalty, fortunately, are easier to trace and therefore Saif Ali Khan’s Pathan lineage is easy to establish. Bollywood’s most iconic bad man, “Gabbar” Amjad Khan also appeared to be of Pathan stock. The dominance of a single community in Bollywood, which numbers only in the lacs in India, is a little puzzling and a possible explanation, somewhat obvious, is offered in the third part of this series.

Fiercely independent tribesmen, who inhabit the lands on the North-western frontier of the Indian subcontinent and Afghanistan, Pathans, have contributed to shaping India beyond just their dominant presence in Bollywood. But in the complex patchwork that is India the stories of communities that have shaped the land often get lost. Pathans, are for many, just one among a long list of Islamic conquerors and raiders – Arabs, Turks, Mughals and Persians., These Muslim conquerors are often treated as an amorphous mass and the lay person would struggle to distinguish between them. This series of articles attempts to provide a brief glimpse of Pathan history and the role they have played in shaping India. 

Pathan traditions claim Pathans have descended from Jewish tribes. Jewish king, Saul, descendent of Abraham, according to these traditions, had a grandson by the name of Afghana. Descendants of Afghana migrated to Ghor in present-day Afghanistan and through the three sons of Qais, a 35^th generation descendent of Afghana, and a person named Karlanri, sprang all Pathan tribes. Karlanri according to the genealogical charts was a contemporary of the three sons of Qais but not directly related to them. It is from Afghana that the name Afghan is derived. Pakhtun, Pathan, Pashtun are all synonymous with the appellation Afghan and are used interchangeably.

Historians tend to dismiss this theory of Pathan origin. There are too many inconsistencies in this theory, the most glaring being the fact that Hebrew traditions do not make any mention of King Saul having a grandson by the name of Afghana. Olaf Caroe, author of the widely regarded book on Pathans, suggests that this desire for a Jewish ancestry exists probably because Pathans do not wish to acknowledge that their pre-Islamic past may not have been monotheistic. A Jewish ancestry is useful because it discounts the possibility of an idolatrous past.

Lands of the Pathans, often referred to as Roh, border two great ancient civilizations – Persian and Indian. Owing to its location, in Caroe’s words “mastery over the frontier between India and Iran changed hands in a continual see-saw, in which sometimes the Iranian power and sometimes the ruler of the Indus Valley prevailed”. The faith of the people mirrored that of the ruling civilization. Zoroastrianism under the Persians, and Buddhism first and Hinduism later, under Indian rule, found a place among the Pathans. Islam was late in making an entry on the Pathan stage. It was nearly four centuries after the death of Prophet Mohammad that Pathans began to convert to Islam in large numbers. This happened during the reign of Mahmud Ghazni, the Turkish Ruler, who defeated the Hindushahi rulers, Jaipala in 1001 and his son Anandpal in 1009, to bring an end to Hindu rule of Afghanistan. Pathan tribes had allied with Jaipal to fight Mahmud Ghazni but after his defeat, they joined Ghazni’s forces in large numbers and converted to Islam. 

Pathans dealt in a range of goods but it was in the trade of horses that they seemed to specialize. There was an enormous demand in India for Arabian, Persian, and Turki horses. Pathans specialized in the trade of Turki horses which were raised in Central Asia and Afghanistan and then brought to India. Turki breeds were popular because they made excellent war horses. The volume of this trade was enormous and Pathans developed an intricate network across the breadth of India for carrying out this trade. It was not uncommon, though, for Pathan traders to switch careers and become soldiers. Many former traders rose to high positions in the military under different dynasties.

While there was a steady migration of Pathans into India over the centuries, it was under the Lodhis (reign 1451-1526), the first Pathan dynasty of India, that there was a large-scale influx of Pathans. They settled in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. However, the settlements were not limited to these areas. Pathans settled as far as Gujrat and the Deccan. The influx of Pathans continued during the reign of the Surs, the second Pathan dynasty to have ruled India. As a part of a deliberate policy, Pathans acquired prominent positions under both the Lodhis and the Surs.

Even though Mughals had supplanted Pathans as the rulers of India, they continued to flourish under the Mughals. Akbar was harsh in dealing with them in the early part of his reign but once he had consolidated his hold over power, he softened his policy towards them and even began to enlist them as Mansabdars. Ain-e-Akbari, an account of Akbar’s rule, records forty-three Parganas as being under Pathan zamindars. Many of these Parganas were in the vicinity of Delhi and Agra.  During the reign of Akbar’s successors, Jehangir and Shah Jahan, many Pathans attained high office. Aurangzeb encouraged settlement of Pathans, especially in areas to the east and Northeast of Delhi, to counterbalance the power of Rajput landholders.

The rapid decline of the vast Mughal empire in the eighteenth-century led to the emergence of a number of smaller kingdoms. Many of these were ruled by Pathans – Rohilkhand, Tonk, Bhopal, Junagad This provided a further impetus for Pathan migration from Roh. The rulers of these states encouraged such migration.

This, then, is the story of Pathan migration into India. Over the centuries, Pathans who settled in India lost connection with their homelands and adopted many of the ways of their new home. Pashtu, the language of Pathans, is no longer spoken by the descendants of these migrants.

While the Jewish origins and genealogical charts of Pathans may not pass muster among historians, there are certain features common to all Pathan tribes which define their identity. The first, of course, is the language. The language of Pathans has two variants – Pakhtu and Pashtu. Pakhtu is spoken by the north-eastern tribes and Pashtu by those to the south-west. Pakhtu is regarded as the harder variant of the language while Pashtu is the softer one.  Of the origin of the language, Caroe writes “As such, it is both in origin and structure an Iranian language, which however has borrowed freely from the Indo Aryan group”.

The most striking feature of the Pathan way of life is Pakhtunwali – the Pathan code of honour. A code of honour is not unique to Pathans. Many tribal societies have a similar code. Pakhtunwali has three essential elements – a right to asylum, hospitality and revenge. The code obliges the Pathan to give asylum to anyone who comes to him as a supplicant, even an enemy. Hospitality is central to the Pathan way of life.  No matter how strained the means of the host, lavish hospitality must be extended to the guest.  Honour is an especially prickly matter and any compromise with it must be avenged. The outbreak of blood feuds, therefore, is fairly common.  The honour of women is an especially sensitive matter and cause for much strife. Khushal Khan Khatak, a 17^th century tribal chief and Pashtu’s greatest poet, writes of the Pathan sense of honour:

Another striking feature of Pathan society is that it is remarkably egalitarian. There is no hierarchy and often it is difficult to distinguish between a tribal chief and an ordinary Pathan. Pathan rulers, mindful of their tribesmen’s character, were obliged to find ways to accommodate the free spirit of the Pathan chiefs in their governance structure. They also displayed modesty in their courts. Waqiat-e-Mushtaqi, an engaging contemporary account of life under Pathan rulers, describes the conduct of Bahlul Lodhi, the founder of the Lodhi dynasty, with his nobles “All used to sit together on the fine carpets and the Sultan called everyone ‘Masnad-i’ Ali (exalted lordship). He held darbar daily and sat on the carpet. He tried his level best to please the nobles Some of them (nobles) were ordered (to remain) standing. All nobles did not sit in the assembly. He tried his level best to please the nobles. If anyone got annoyed with the Sultan, he went to his house, unsheathed his sword and placed it before him and he untied his turban and stood for apology”.

This brings us to the end of a brief account of Pathan origins, migration and way of life. The next article will present an account of the two Pathan dynasties that ruled India, with a special focus on the remarkable founder of the second dynasty.

*The word Roh means mountain and was originally used for Pathan highlands but with the passage of time came to be used for all Pathan tribal regions in the North-Western part of the Indian sub-continent and Afghanistan.