Sikhs adopted blue coloured dress to pay homage to Pashtuns

A group of blue-clad Pashtuns made a lasting impression on Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708), so much so that he mandated his followers to wear blue attire in honor of those Pashtuns.

According to Siyar-ul-Mutakherin, once when Guru Gobind Singh (the founder of Khalsa) was hunted down by Mughal troops, he found it difficult to cross the region of Sirhind which was full of troops and garrisons. Seeking assistance, he approached the Afghan (Pashtun) mountaineers residing near Sirhind, requesting their escort to a safe location. In exchange for their service, he promised a substantial sum of money. Some of the Pashtun mountaineers accepted the offer and asked him to let his whiskers and beard grow to a certain length, and they dressed him in blue in the traditional style of those Pashtuns. They escorted him with perfect safety and honour. Whenever anyone asked who he was, they would answer that he was a Pirzada of theirs. It left a great impression on Guru Gobind Singh and he retained the Pashtun garb in memory of that event, and he even made it henceforth the distinctive garb of his followers. [1] 

The Rohillas (Indo-Afghans) usually wore blue-coloured dress in India. The author of “The people of India” (1868-1875) writes: “The “Rohilla” costume in the Deccan is a blue cotton shirt, white or blue drawers, and white, red, or blue turban, with a blue quilted jacket for cold weather.” [2]

This tradition is understandably not reported by Sikh writers of Ranjit Singh’s time because the Khalsa in the 18th and early 19th centuries regarded Pashtun Muslims as their enemies and would have preferred this tradition to be forgotten.

Banda Singh Bairagi (an anti-Muslim fanatic) attempted to suppress the blue-coloured dress [3], may be because he was irked by the fact that it was adopted in memory and honour of Muslim Pashtuns. The latter had inflicted severe defeats on Banda Singh on few occasions. [4]

References

1- See “Seir ul-Mutaqherin” (completed in 1780), English translation, vol-1, p-91.
2-“The People of India”, by Watson and Kaye, Volume 5, plate 242
3- ‘History of Panjab’ by S.M.Latif, p-280
4- A heroic Orakzai Pashtun who saved the lives of thousands of Muslims from a genocidal maniac (pashtunhistory.com)

Pashtuns
Portrait of Phula Singh Akali, 1850 (c).
Pashtuns
Rohilla men, c1850. British Library
Bangash Pashtun
A Bangash Pashtun in blue dress, c.1827-1843. By Imam Bakhsh Lahori, Illustrations des Mémoires du général Claude-Auguste Court, Lahore.
Pashtun
A Rohilla Pashtun and a Jat, Jalandhar, 1850 (c). Toor collection
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