Forgotten History - Badshah Khan:
Pashtun warriors so impressed the British, including Indian born
Rudyard Kipling, that in 1847 they created a separate Pashtun force,
the Corps of Guides. But what is little known is that they also
created one of the world’s great pacifist movements of the 20th
century. Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan who was born in 1890 and died in 1988
led it. His life is heroic. He spent more than 25 years in British
Indian and Pakistani jails.
Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2001 13:37:04 -0500
From: STEPHEN JONES (spam-protected)
To: (spam-protected) (spam-protected)
Subject: Forgotten History - Badshah Khan
Forgotten History - Tuesday, December 11, 2001
“Little known facts and overlooked history”
Badshah Khan
By Denis Mueller
Pashtun warriors so impressed the British, including Indian
born Rudyard Kipling, that in 1847 they created a separate
Pashtun force, the Corps of Guides. But what is little known
is that they also created one of the world’s great pacifist
movements of the 20th century. Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan who
was born in 1890 and died in 1988 led it. His life is heroic.
He spent more than 25 years in British Indian and Pakistani
jails.
Khan practiced non-violence as a way of life. “There is no-
thing surprising in a Muslim or a Pathan like me subscribing
to the creed of non-violence.” He was an ally of Gandhi and
once persuaded 100,000 of his countrymen to lay down their
arms and vow to fight nonviolently. His profound belief in
non-violence came from the depths of his experience and his
belief that these principles lay at the heart of Islam.
Khan and Gandhi worked hand in hand using the tactic of non-
violence to free their land from British oppression. Khan
opened schools and brought women out of their homes to
become a part of society. For over two decades Khan and his
followers dominated the Northwest Frontier without resorting
to violence as a means for independence.
He was a valued Muslim ally of Gandhi who sought a non-secular
India. In 1947, political backfighting between Hindu’s and
Muslim’s split India in half. Khan opposed this and asked his
followers to boycott a referendum on their separation. Muslim
politicians derided Khan and called him a lackey of the Hindus.
This caused Khan to be arrested by Islamabad’s new masters.
When Khan called for local autonomy within Pakistan he was
rejected. At this time Afghanistan warlords saw this as an
opportunity to extend their influence. Khan was jailed and
defeated. He was eventually released but banished from the
area. But his non-violent message was lost and the whole
world of Islam is poorer for it.
When he died in 1988 at the age of 98, the funeral procession
stretched for miles and miles. It was called a “craven of
peace, carrying the message of love.” This forgotten chapter
of history suggests that Islam is more complex than its
radical supporters and western detractors are willing to say.
Khan said, “the Holy Prophet Muhammad came into this world
and taught us, ‘That man is a Muslim who never hurts anyone
by word or deed, but who works for the benefit and happiness
of God’s creatures.” Belief in God is to love one’s fellow
men.” At the end of his life he left these words. “No true
effort is in vain. Look at the fields over there. The grain
sown therein has to remain in the earth for a certain time,
then it sprouts, and in due time yields hundreds of its kind.
The same is the case with every effort in a good cause.”
Sources: Karl E. Meyer, The Great Game and the Race for
Empire in Central Asia.
(http://www.shagmail.com/sub/history.html)
Tags: badshah, century, corps, force, forgotten, history, khan, life, pacifist, pashtun
