Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Pashtuns of Punjab

 (Pashtun people) arriving in Punjab are accounted for by Sir Densil Ibbetson in the following manner
During the Lodi and Suri dynasties many Pathans migrated to Punjab especially during the reign of Bahlol Lodhi and Sher Shah Suri. These naturally belonged to the Ghilzai section from which those kings sprung
— Sir Densil Ibbetson
The tribes most commonly to be found in the Punjab region are the Niazai, Miana, Bangash, Yusufzai, Hassan Zai, Mandanr, Lodhi, Kakar, Sherwani, Orakzai, Tareen, Sulemankhel sulemani, Kakazai, Karlanri, barakzai, Khizerzai and the Zamand Pathans. Of these the most widely distributed are the Yusufzai, of whom a body of 12,000 accompanied the Mughal Emperor Babur in the final invasion of India, and settled in the plains of India and the Punjab. But as a rule the Pathans who have settled away from the frontier have lost all memory of their tribal divisions, and indeed almost all their national characteristics.
Niazi Pathans are mostly setteld in Mianwali District.the Famous among Them are Imran Khan Niazi.Atau-ullah Esa Khelwi General Niazi.Misbah Ul Haq and Naheed Niazi
Khizar Khel is a clan of Pashtun tribe Niazi from Khaglan WalaIsakhel.They also live in Khanewal,Sukkur,Karachi,Faisalabad,Bahawalpur and many more cities.
Kakars, Tareens,Miana, Mandokhel tribes of Pashtuns from Balochistan have settled in this region.(According to H.A Rose "descended from miana, brother of tareen, and the cousin of luni)
The most important and oldest Pashtun settlement in the district was that of the Lodhi tribe. Kot Bure Khan, north of the city of Jalandhar, was said to be the original settlement of the tribe. According to the Ain-i-Akbari, the Jallandhar Mahal was occupied by the Lodhi who paid a revenue of 14 lakh of dams. The Lodhis of the town of Dhogri, six miles north east of Jalandhar, were among the oldest landowners in the district. Their ancestor Tatar Khan, accompanied, Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna to India, and settled in the region. Lodhis are now found in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan
These include descendants of Khwaja Khan and Mehdi Khan. There were also Musakhel tribes in Hoshiarpur.The Niazi tribe peoples also found in Hoshiarpur .Many peoples of Niazi tribe migrated to Pakistan at the time of Partition.Which are now settled in MultanLodhranKhanewal .A famous Punjabi poet Munir Niazi and the former Chief of Naval Staff (Pakistan)Karamat Rahman Niazi also was belongs to Hoshiarpur based Niazi clans.
When the Zamand section was broken up, the Khweshgi (or also pronounced Kheshki) clan migrated to the Ghorband defile, and a large number marched tence with the Mughal Emperor Babar and found great favour at his hands and those of his son Humayun, One section of them settled at Kasur, and are known as "Qasuria or Kasuri Pathans"[2]
The Qasuria or kasuri Pathans increased in numbers and importance until the chiefs thought themselves strong enough to refuse to pay tribute to the Mughals. After some severe fighting the Qasuria Pathans were compelled to give in, they never lost heart however and maintained their independence until 1807, when they were finally subdued by the Sikhs. After the confiscation of Kasur by Ranjit Singh, the Pathans were ordered to remain on the left bank of the Sutlej where their leader was assigned the Jagir of Mamdot, in Firozpur District. The Mamdot family emigrated to Pakistan, after the independence in 1947. One portion of Kasuri Pathan most called Amchozi settled in Bahawalnagar district at Nadir Shah village near to Bahawalnagar city. Bahawalnagar one Bazar name is Nadir Shah Bazar. These Pathan are landlord as well as in government services. Akbar Khan Amchozi is a graduate civil engineer and working as director engineer in Punjab province.
Malerkotla Pathans
In the Indian Punjabi city of Malerkotla, sixty-five percent of the total population is Muslim and out of this population, twenty percent are Punjabi Pathans.[7]
These Pathans trace their ancestry to Shaikh Sadruddin, a pious man of the Shirani tribe of the Darband area of what is now the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan.[7] Behlol Lodhi (1451–1517), the Afghan king who had most of the western parts of India under his control, desired to rule Delhi and on his way, he was caught in a sand drift.[7] While there was nothing visible in the darkness, the King spotted a dim light of a lamp still burning in the wind. It was the hut of Shaikh Sadruddin and when the king found out, he came to the hut to show his respect and asked the holy man to pray for him to bear a son and have victory.[7] During 1451 and 1452, the king married off his daughter Taj Murassa to Shaikh Sadruddin after being enthroned in Delhi, and also gave him the area of Malerkotla.[7] The descendents of Shaikh Sadruddin branched into two groups. One started ruling the state and were given the title of Nawab.[7] The other branch lived around the Shrine of Shaikh Sadruddin, controlling its revenue.[7]
One notable thing about the Punjabi Pathans of Malerkotla is the fact the women strictly observe pardah, albeit they are no longer required to wear the burqa.[7] In regards to language, Pashto was their primary language until 1903. Afterwards, the Malerkotla Pathans began to speak Punjabi and Hindustani.[7] In the city, there are twenty nine shrines to saints from Afghanistan, whom the Malerkotla Pathans revere.[7] Although the level of education is low among the community, many of these Pathans serve in the civil service, particularly in the Indian Police Service.[7] Others maintain businesses, rent property, and rear horses.[7] Because the level of religiosity amongst Malerkotla Pathans is high, many families sent their children to madrasahs where Qur'anic education is compulsory. For higher education, many children study in schools in Patiala or Ludhiana.[7]
Multani Pathans
The descendants of Zamand very early migrated in large numbers to Multan, to which province they furnished rulers, till the reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, when a number of the Abdali tribe under the leadership of Shah Husain were driven from Kandahar by tribal feuds, took refuge in Multan, and being early supplemented by other of their kinsmen who were expelled by Mir Wais, the great Ghilzai chief, conquered Multan and founded the tribe well known in the Punjab as Multani Pathans.
Zahid Khan Abdali was appointed Governor of Multan with the title of Nawab, at the time of Nadir Shah's invasion. Multan was Governed by different members of this family, until in 1818 the city was captured by the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh, after a heroic defence in which the Nawab and five of his sons were slain.
Their main clans were the Alizai, Badozai, Bamzai and Saddozai, all clans of the Durrani tribe. Other tribal communities include the Babar, KhakwaniTareen .[8] In Muzaffargarh District, the Pathans of the district are related to the Multani Pathans. They settled in Muzaffargarh in the 18th century, as small groups of Multani Pathan expended their control from the city of Multan. There distribution is as follows; the Alizai Durrani are found at Lalpur, and the Popalzaiare found in Docharkha, while the Babars are based in Khangarh and Tareen in Kuhawar are other important tribes.[9]
Language
Majority of the Pashtuns settled in the Punjab region do not speak Pashto as their first language instead they speak Urdu or Punjabi; the Sagri Khattaks of Attock District and the Chhachh area, speak Pashto language and practice Pashtun culture known as Pashtunwali. Sections of Niazi i.e. Sultan khel also speak pashto. Niazi tribes have retained tribal system and the Pashtun culture as compared to other Punjabi Pathans.















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