|
Mohiudin
Mahsud
Powenda
Mullah
Mahsud
tribe is that tribe who can never even think of submitting to a foreign
power that stepped on their land. These are the words of Sir Olaf Caroe
who acted as the former governor general of the Frontier. From 1860 to
1937, the English forces constantly attacked Mahsood positions in order to
subdue them but never got a foothold in the area. It was 1860 when 3000
Mahsud tribesmen attacked the British regiment base in Tank (Present South
Waziristan). The British had a tough time handling them.
After
the end of the 1st world war in 1919, the British again headed towards
Waziristan. This time, they built roads and forts throughout the land. It
was during this time that the name of Powenda Mullah emerged. He would
later on bask in fame and glory the likes of which no other tribesman of
the area will experience.
Powenda
means nomad in Pashto. Powenda Mullah used to visit the Tochi valley and
incite people to Jihad. He started getting known as the Selani Mullah or
later on the Powenda Mullah. Not many people know that his real name was
Mohiudin. He was not such a big scholar in real terms but was familiar
with the main tenets of Islam. And due to his closeness with the clergy
came to be known as a Mullah. He was a revolutionary National leader and
even the staunchest and most unwilling Wazir and Mahsud tribesmen
supported him and united on his call.
Powenda
Mullah did Baiyah from Mullah Muhammad Anwar of Tirah under the Qadriyah
Tarikat. His teacher was Maulana Hamzullah Wazir who also was a prominent
mujahed of his time. Along with religious teachings, Powenda Mullah also
received military training from Maulana Hamzullah Wazir.
His
increasing popularity could not be bore by the British. They were already
aware of the resistance from the Wazirs. In 1894, their sufferings at the
hand of the Mujahideen in Wana were still fresh in their minds. This was
the instance in which 2000 Wazir and Mahsud youth wreaked havoc on the
British Cantonment. After this incident, Baros was named the political
agent to the agency. He had already played a major role in the success of
the Sandeman policy in Balochistan.
However,
Baros knew it would be difficult to handle the tribes. Unlike Balochistan;
where sardars wield the power, these tribes had power in the Jirga; where
every single youth is an important member of it.
As
soon as Baros was appointed, a group of 5 Wazirs assassinated the English
officer in charge of the constructions and communications department.
He
then pressurized the Maliks to bring forward the accused in a Jirga and
punish them. The Mahsud tribe wielded under pressure and brought forward
the 5 accused. They were given 7 years imprisonment each.
When
Mullah Powenda came to know about this, he was very heart broken and
understood that this was an act of subjugation to the British.
He
announced that no one is to carry out this punishment. At this, the public
surrounded the abodes of each of the Maliks who had announced this
punishment. 3 of the Maliks were executed for treason whereas 2 vanished
fearing their lives.
Along
with this, Powenda Mullah also sent a letter to the political agent Mr.
Baros through his trusted nephew Mullah Abdul Hakeem. In the letter he
told the PA to release the five tribesmen. At the time of receiving the
letter. Mr. Baros was again planning to recapture areas outside Wana.
Mullah Powenda also told him to stay clear of Wana in the same letter.
As
expected, the PA did not pay much attention to the warnings and sent an
abuse riddled reply to Mullah Powenda. After the failure of these peace
talks, Mullah Powenda decided to teach the English Political Agent a
lesson.
2
November 1894 AD, It was early morning. The English officers were still
enjoying their sleep in the Wana cantonment. All of a sudden, a Lashkar of
Mujahideen made a surprise attack. Such was the ferocity and quickness of
the strike that the English forces lost moral and couldn’t make proper
decisions on how to regroup.
According
to the pioneer (published from Allahabad India), the number of Mujahideen
was around 1 thousand. And it described the event in quite detail of how
the drumming, shouting and firing Mujahideen caught the world super power
in surprise. They were unstoppable and anybody coming in their paths was
sent to death
The
article reported the deaths of at least 100 English officers and common
soldiers and at least twice that amount injured. And as soon as they
attacked, the Mujahideen retreated back to their mountain strongholds with
the same swiftness; jubilating all the way. General Turner and Major O
Neil sent soldiers in pursuit of the retreating party but they came back
empty handed.
The
ranks of the British officers throughout the sub continent started
mourning this great loss as soon as news of this was published in the
nation’s newspapers the next day. The corridors of London's palaces
shook at the sale of the losses.
Almost
immediately, another army was assembled and its reigns were handed to Sir
William Lockhart and sent to Waziristan. By November, cantonments in
Waziristan were full to the brink with armies under the British.
General
Lockhart gave Mullah and other leaders a time frame of one month in which
to submit an apology. But throughout the time nobody said anything or did
anything.
On
14 December of the same year, the army spread out hoping to face
resistance and teaching the Mujahideen a lesson. They proceeded from Wana
to Kaniguram, Jandola to Makeen and from Bannu to Razmak. Winters had
started. Snowfalls started and ice cold winds started to blow. The
soldiers who had come from hot areas of India to these highlands were not
used to the cold.
The
Mahsud and Wazirs played a very patient waiting game. They did not stand
up against the armies flowing in. This has been the strategy of almost all
Pashtoon tribes; inviting their enemy and then unleashing hell upon them.
Facing no resistance on 9th January the English forces retreated back to
the same positions from where they had started.
The
Mahsuds and Wazirs were also very cunning and crafty with the English. In
peace talks, whenever the English would give demands, they would always
accept it; but later on, they would fulfill nothing.
Then,
on 21 January the English approached the tribesmen for peace talks and
proposed the following demands:
The
Tribesmen return all the loot and war booty
Mullah
Powenda not be allowed to enter any area of Waziristan
50
Rifles, 200 Guns, 2 Swords and 1200 Rupees be given to the British as a
fine for the crimes they have committed
The
tribesmen again agreed to the demands. However this time, they did not
even get a chance to fulfill the demands (which they never intended to do
in the first place).
Soon
in 1897 AD Mujahed tribesmen again stood up against the British all the
way from Chitral to Quetta and the British were again given a serious head
ache of dealing with them.
Day
after day, Mullah Powenda became even more popular and famous. He had
attained a legendary figure status among the people from far and wide.
There even was a time when he was considered as the sole leader of all the
Waziristan country by the British.
His
followers would kill an English officer sometimes here sometimes there.
And the British would not be able to nab them because the attackers would
swoop back to their mountain hideouts like eagles. Many things were tried
to stop such acts but to no avail.
In
1907 AD, the Wazir and Mahsud tribesmen were blocked from entry into any
government controlled territory. Economic sanctions were placed on them so
that even basic amenities of life like food and medicine could be blocked
from going into their hands.
The
English commander of that time, Timothy Blockaded the areas of Makin and
Kaniguram. Various areas were searched to arrest Powenda Mullah But to no
avail.
The
English thought that the tribesmen were receiving weapons from the Indian
ocean at the south by the Balochistan lands. For this, they affixed check
posts far and wide but again, no benefit was obtained.
When
the First World War started in 1919 AD, the English were concerned that
they would be engaged in battle on more than one fronts which was not a
good omen for their safety and their economy; hence they decided to close
those fronts of less significance. For this, they abandoned their
‘Forward Policy’ for the time being and sent a message of friendship
and peace to the tribes. The Tribes did not trust the British and that was
the reason that they rejected any such peace proposals. Instead, the
Mahsuds put in place a Lashkar to attack the British. By this time, the
British had established an Air Force in the sub continent. Their Air force
would bombard the whole countryside of Waziristan thus killing and maiming
thousands of Tribesmen. All this was an open message of hatred on behalf
of the British to the Tribes. The tribes got this message and their hatred
for the British grew as well. Due to their sufferings, they were bent upon
taking revenge and hence their moral increased. A series of attacks were
made by the Mahsuds inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. One attack was
that on the Marhatta Regiment in which hundreds of sepoys and 5 British
Officers were killed. Another was that on the Punjab regiment in which the
Ghazis slaughtered everyone. The aerial bombardments had inflicted
staggering losses on the tribesmen but they were content that they were
also doing well and had killed around 250 of the enemy forces.
The
sophistication acquired by the British (air force) helped create a secure
atmosphere for the ground troops because they would constantly patrol the
sky’s. With this sense of security, the British Army constructed a
metalled road from Jandola to Ladha. At Razmak, they constructed a
cantonment for their army officers and soldiers.
By
1922-23, all the British Army had moved from Wana to Razmak. They had also
constructed an airport in Razmak. Instead of flying all the way from
India, their aircraft would fly from Razmak Airport and bombard the
countryside. Because of this, the countryside of Makin was totally
devastated. The Mahsuds deemed it appropriate at this time to agree to a
ceasefire because this new tactic adopted by the British was inflicting
wide scale losses on their side. The ceasefire would also enable them to
devise a strategy of how to counter the latest British advances.
Mulla
Powenda died in 1913 AD. It can be said without doubt that he was the
crown-less emperor of one of the most fierce some of Pashtoon Tribes; the
Mahsuds. Upon his death, his son Shah Fazal Din was given leadership
whereas his Son in Law Mulla Abdul Hakeem was appointed adviser.
Translation
From
Tazkara
Sarfaroshan e Sarhad
by
Muhammad Shafee Sabir
University
Book Agency |
