History of the Pashtun people
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Punjabi nationalists and Punjabi liberals on social media are often found saying that Waris Shah (a Punjabi poet of 18th century) has referred to his contemporary Ahmad Shah Durrani as a ‘rabid dog of Kabul’ or ‘Kabuli dog’ in his poetry. To ascertain the truth, I decided to research into the matter and read several … Read more
Sikhs owed their rise in 18th century to Adina Beg Arain, a Punjabi Muslim noble in the service of Mughals. The latter was a saboteur and believed in “chaos is a ladder”. He used Sikh marauders to destroy the law and order of Punjab to pave the way for his rise to power. The cost … Read more
Qasur is plural of Qasr (قصر) which means fortress or castle in Arabic. The place was named so because of the twelve forts built by Pashtuns settlers in 16th century, majority of whom belonged to the Khweshgi (also spelled as Kheshgi) tribe of Pashtuns. The twelve forts were named after the heads of the twelve clans … Read more
There is a poem of Allama Iqbal by name of “Ghulam Qadir Rohilla” in Banga-i-Dara, the English translation of which, done by Iqbalurdu blog, is given below: How cruel, tyrant and vindictive the Ruhilah was He blinded the Mughal Emperor with the point of his dagger The tyrant ordered members of the royal household to … Read more
A century before Bahlul Lodi became king, a Pashtun by name of Malik Makh Afghan became king of a large sultanate in Deccan in 1346 AD and sat on throne for twelve months. He was leader of the rebels who had revolted against Muhammad bin Tughlaq. He assumed the title of Sultan Nasir-ud-din Ismail Shah. … Read more
In 19th century some Tajiks often forayed into Hazarajat, captured Hazaras as slaves and sold them to Uzbeks. James Atkinson in 1843 writes : “The term Tajuk is applied to all people of Afghanistan, whose vernacular language is Persian. They reside in villages and are essentially cultivators, never leaving a pastoral life. In general they … Read more
In 14th century the people of Panjshir and Andarab were raided and bullied by Siah Posh (black-clad) people of “Kafiristan” (present-day Nuristan). Siah-Posh “Kafirs” exacted annual tribute from the Muslims of these regions. Upon failure to pay the tribute, the Siah Poshan would slay the men, and enslave their women and children. When Amir Timur … Read more
The image of Ahmad Shah Durrani is largely shaped and dominated by 20th century Indian writings. Indian writers portrayed the Sikh misls as dauntless heroes and Ahmad Shah Abdali as a hideous villain. One of the historical events that they have distorted, is a battle referred to as “Vadda Ghallughara” by Sikhs. The Indian editors … Read more
Dr. Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah Kakakhel of Qaid-i-Azam University who has PhD in history from the University of Oxford, thinks that there are no Afghans (Pashtuns) settled on the Sulieman mountains range ! The snippet is from his article “Origin of the Afghans : Myths and reality”, published in ‘Journal of Asian civilizations’. The learned … Read more
Salman Rashid Lahori is claiming that it was British colonialists who came up with the sobriquet “graveyard of empires” for Afghanistan. Salman Rashid is making stuff up. British have never referred to Afghanistan as a “graveyard of empires” in their records. This sobriquet for Afghanistan appears to be popularized by American media and literature in … Read more