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Pashto Under the British
Empire
By Dr. Ali Jan
The literary history of Pashto in the Colonial Period
is often overlooked. Pashto or Pukhto, like many other oriental languages
prospered under the British rule. During that phase most of the existing
written literature was produced as a result of English influence. In this
article, I shall attempt to chronicle the important literary events under
the Raj and the Pashtun Renaissance.
Historical Background
Around the year 1800, the entire
Pashto-speaking belt
(from the Southern and Eastern Afghanistan to the right banks of river
Indus in the present North-Western Frontier and Baluchistan provinces of
Pakistan) formed a part of the Kingdom of Afghanistan.
The British East India Company - which was
established for spice trading under a royal charter of Queen Elizabeth I
in 1600 AD - eventually launched British rule in India. Following the 1857
Indian mutiny, its rule over India became a subject of debate and by the
Act of Parliament the British Crown officially took over the
administration of India in 1858 - establishing the British 'Raj'.
Besides the British, other imperial powers, like
Russian, Persian and the French were aspiring to exert their influence
over Afghanistan. Earlier on, internal power struggle between the Afghan
rulers - complicated by Sikh invasions - had enabled a British expansion
westwards, and the East India Company succeeded in establishing itself at
Peshawar in 1849 - the once Winter capital of Afghanistan where their rule
continued for the next hundred years.
In their attempts to annex regions beyond the Khyber
many Anglo-Afghan battles were fought, but Colonial Empire could not match
its earlier successes in India. Taking advantage of the feuds within the
reigning Afghan dynasties, the British did succeed however, in making them
sign the Peace Treaty of Gandamak in 1879. A 1200 kilometres long Durand
line was drawn in 1893, thus cutting the Pashto speaking homeland
(described above) into Afghan and British Indian halves. This demarcation
later gave rise to the North-Western Frontier Province of British India in
1901, which hitherto was a part of Punjab.
It was a two-pronged arrangement, one which helped
the colonists to consolidate their imperial control over The British
Indian side of the border, and in addition, across the Durand Line, they
were able to maintain indirect influence over Afghanistan - known as the
'Forward Policy'.
Nearly half a century of colonial rule in the
Frontier followed - a region which in the past had become a corridor for
invasions. An uneasy truce prevailed with Afghanistan until the British
Empire finally ended in 1947 with the partition of India and creation of
Pakistan.
Interest in Pashto
Pashto or the vernacular language of the majority
Afghans, drew the attention of those in the services of East India Company
as early as in the first half of the Nineteenth Century.
Amongst the first arrivals to learn Pashto were the
European missionaries who came to spread the message of the Holy Bible in
this part of the world. The earliest texts in Pashto to get printed were
translations of Bible passages and other religious material by the
Serampur Baptist Mission Press in 1818.
On a much greater scale later, the British civil and
military officials learned Pashto for administrative purposes to achieve
self-sufficiency in interacting with Pathans - or Pashtuns or Pakhtuns as
they are often called - and to acquire knowledge of the people who spoke
it.
George W. Gilbertson in the preface to 'First
Pukkhtoo Book' (1901) says:
'He (a Pathan) is withal a proud man, prone to
meet scorn with scorn, and ever ready to return blow for blow. That we
cannot address him in his own language, and deal with him direct without
the help of middlemen, he attributes to either of two reasons, incapacity
to learn his language, or indifference to him, his people and his
affairs.'
Further on he writes:
'…his is not the race to be despised and crushed
by brute-force, although, perchance, this is the only force of which he
has conscious knowledge. Rather should we un-remittingly strive towards
knowing the man as he is, by learning his language; towards making
ourselves familiar with him and his surroundings; towards eradicating,
slowly but surely, his ignorance and his waywardness, by a treatment,
stern but well-considered, just, and in harmony with the religious
beliefs, traditions, and customs of his country; withal towards a policy
of clemency, encouragement, and protection; of paternal approbation; not
of discouragement and extermination.'
In
'Bannu: or Our Afghan Frontier' (1876), while
recounting the effect of a Pashto speaking Englishman on a Pathan
tribesman, S. S. Thorburn notes:
'The delight of a hill Pathan in being addressed
by a Sahib in his mother Pashto is always genuine and irrepressible; his
whole face, which ordinarily wears a fixed touch-me-if-you-dare almost
defiant expression, breaks into one broad grin as he wonderingly asks you,
"Eh, you talk Pashto, how did you learn it?" It is just the sort of
question a Highlander would ask did a Southerner address him in Gaelic.
The gain in personal influence, besides other advantages, which an ability
to converse directly with the people gives an Englishman amongst Pathans
is so obvious that I need not dilate on it.'
These were the main reasons, which accounted for the
Colonial interest in Pashto. According to Dr Sher Zaman Taizi, a renowned
researcher and formerly affiliated with BBC Afghan Education in 'A matter
of identity' (1997):
'During the second half of the Nineteenth century,
Pashto Munshi Fazil and Adeeb Fazil classes were included in the syllabi
of the Punjab University on the recommendation of the Allama Mir Ahmad
Shah Rizwani.'
Institution of examination was deemed necessary and
in early 1873, examination in colloquial Pashto was made mandatory for all
civil officials serving in those districts where Pashto was spoken.
Moreover, interpretership courses designed specially for military officers
under guidance of regimental 'munshis' - or language teachers - were
introduced that were highly recommended and encouraged, for instance, by
higher salaries and other positive incentives.
Literary Contributions:
There was a long lapse in literary developments
during the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth century until the arrival of
the British in this region. The early Pashto literature of colonial period
consisted of grammar books and collections of oral poetry and tales. They
were written in a self-serving manner in order to provide samples of the
language and to make it possible for the British officials to learn Pashto. They dealt with grammar and commonly spoken idioms and phrases.
Their authors were often British administrators-turned-writers who
compiled them under guidance from native Afghan scholars of those
times.
'The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal' in
1838 published the first scientific study of vocabulary by Major Robert
Leech of Bombay Engineers - a distinguished oriental scholar - that
mentioned Teerhai, and the Deer dialects (Pashto spoken in Dir and Tirah
parts of the Frontier.) His untimely death in 1845, at the age of 33, cut
short a promising career.
A German Professor, Dr. Bernhard Dorn who lived in
St. Petersburg - which at the time was the Russian capital - worked on 'Grammatische
Übersicht' or Grammatical Overview (1840) and later
compiled: 'A Chrestomathy of the Pushtu or Afghan language' (1847) A
chrestomathy is a collection of selected literary passages, often by one
author and especially from a foreign language. Professor Dorn was also
among the founding members of the National Russian Library, St.
Petersburg.
Isidor
Loewenthal, an orthodox Jew in Poland, born in Germany and just graduated
from Princeton Theological Seminary - New Jersey, became an Evangelist
missionary in Peshawar under the auspices of the Presbyterian Board of
Foreign Missions. Here he translated the New Testament in Pashto and
embarked upon compiling a Pashto Dictionary before he died at age 37. His
grave is in the Christian Cemetery Peshawar where he was buried. His
tombstone bears the following inscription:
'Rev. Isidor
Loewenthal, of the American Presbyterian
Mission who translated the New Testament into Pushtoo…was shot by his
Chokeydar, April 27, 1864.'
Dr. Henry Walter
Bellew, a surgeon in the Bengal Army
wrote the first book by any British on Pashto Grammar, 'A Grammar of the
Pooshtoo Language'. Priced at Rupees Five, it was published by the Baptist
Mission Press-Calcutta in 1854.
The credit for undertaking the most comprehensive
work on Pashto Language accomplished by any author during Colonial Period
goes to Henry George Raverty who was a military lieutenant of the Bombay
Army. While serving in Peshawar in 1849-50 he was taught Pashto by a
learned linguist, Maulvi (later Qazi) Abdur Rahman Khan Muhammadzai of
Hashtnagar - translator of Old Testament from Hebrew and John Bunyan's
'Pilgrim's Progress' into Pashto among other notable literary works. Abdur
Rahman had also taught the legendary Sir Richard Francis Burton when he
was serving as a lieutenant in East India Company (Burton was a
multi-lingual explorer, writer and under cover military spy for British
who later translated the famous classic 'Arabian Nights' from Arabic into
English in his much publicized adventurous life and also became one of the
few non-Muslims ever to perform Hajj in Makkah under the guise of a Pathan
in 1853.)
H. G. Raverty had abundant experience in
documentation related work. Moinuddin Khan, a well-known scholar of
library sciences in an article, 'Bibliographical Landscape' (DAWN 2001)
states:
'Raverty set the tradition of compiling district
gazetteers. He wrote and illustrated an account of the district of
Peshawar (1849-50) when he was stationed with his regiment. He was an
administrator-turned-writer who entered the services of East India. In the
administrative capacity he participated in the Punjab Campaign (1849-1850
and took part in the first Frontier Expedition (1856) against tribes of
Swat Border. He was also assistant commissioner of Punjab from
1852-1859)'
Raverty published his first Pashto book on grammar in
1855: 'A Grammar of the Pukhto, Pushto or Language of the Afghans'. He
also compiled a dictionary: 'A Dictionary of the Puk'hto, Pus'hto, or
Language of the Afghans' (1860). This comprehensive hardback Pashto to
English dictionary had over 1100 pages. Each Pashto word was written in
Pashto script and then romanized, with definitions and easy to read
printing.
At a time when there was insufficient written
literature except for a few dewans and largely oral poetry, Raverty
studied old Pashto texts and published two books. Following the trend of
other authors of that time he gave his first book an oriental name: 'The
Gulistan-i-Roh: Afghan Poetry and Prose' (1860). It was a selection of ten
poetical and six prose works that he had compiled from antiquated
manuscripts in his personal possession which included authors like Akhund
Darwezah, Babu Jan, Abdur Rahman Baba, Khushal Khan Khattak, etc.
'Selections from the Poetry of the Afghans, from the Sixteenth to the
Nineteenth Century' (1862) was his other significant work.
In the
preface to 'Gulistan-i-Roh' (Second Edition, 1867), Raverty admits to the
difficulties faced by him in compiling these texts due to insufficient
written Pashto material and other hardships:
'Pushto manuscripts of any antiquity are now
become scarce, even amongst the Afghans, whose language it is. This has,
doubtless, been caused by the numerous civil convulsions which Afghanistan
has undergone during the last sixty years, in which period the cultivation
of the Afghan language has, comparatively, declined. Hence the few works
now to be met with are generally full of errors, from the fact of the
Katibs, or Copyists, being, with rare exceptions, persons wholly
unacquainted with the Pushto language, and not Afghans, who are,
generally, indifferent writers.'
The last two works mentioned above can be described
as the finest compilations of existing ancient Pashto literature ever
done. Raverty, who retired from Bombay Army at the rank of a Major and
became a full-fledged writer, brought out the 'Gospels' (1864) and later
'Fables of Aesop Al-Hakim' in Pushtu (1871) and 'The Pushtu Manual'
(1904). H. G. Raverty's remarkable documentation work set a precedent for
other authors. As the best-known authority and chief pioneer of Colonial
Period, he rendered invaluable contributions towards preservation of
Pashto literature.
French interest in Pashto is evident by publication
of 'Chants Populares des Afghans' (Da Pakhtunkhwa dah sher haar o bahar),
compilation work on Pashto poetry and songs by James Darmesteter in 1877,
which was financed by the French Government. Key emphasis of French
literary circles however, remained on Persian in that period. The use of 'Pakhtunkhwa' was a
non-politicised term then and is used naturally in the
title to describe the region where Pashto is spoken.
The name of Mir Ahmad Shah
Rizwani figures prominently in the latter half of the Nineteenth Century
among Pashto literary figures. Textbooks for Munshi Fazil and Adeeb Fazil classes of the Punjab University courses were written
and compiled by him, according to Dr Sher Zaman Taizi.
Rev T. B. Hughes’
‘Ganj-i-Pukhto’ (1897) whose English translation was rendered by
Trevor C. Plouden, became the official textbook for Lower standard
examinations in Pashto and ‘Kalid-i-Afghani’ (including Tarikh-i-Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi) for Higher Standard.
Pashto language
manuals provided learning aids for those new to the language. ‘Pashto
Manual’ (1880) by H. G. Raverty, ‘Khazana-i-Afghani’,
‘Sawal-o-Jawab’ and ‘Pushto Guide’ all by Maulvi Muhammad Ismail Khan,
‘1000 Pashto idioms and sentences’ (1899) by Capt E. H. S. Boxer, ‘Lessons
in Pakkhtoo Prose Composition’ (1900) and ‘First Pukkhtoo Book’ (1901) by
G.W. Gilbertson and First (1901) and second Pukhtu Manual (1907) by G.
Roos-Keppel, are some of the earliest guide books on colloquial Pashto
worth mentioning.
Notable writers besides
Raverty and Bellew who authored books on Grammar included: Lt. Col. John
C. Vaughan 1864, Rev. E. Trumpp 1873 and Maj. A. D. Cox 1911 etc. H.W.
Bellew in 1870 had also compiled ‘Dictionary of Pukkto Language’. In this
dictionary words were traced to their roots in Persian, Arabic and Indian
(Sanscrit) languages.
The ground work it would
seem should have been sufficiently covered by the learning manuals written
by Raverty, Bellew and Trumpp but they focused more on elementary and fell
short of addressing complex matters of construction, syntax and idiom. To
fill out this deficiency Major D. L. R. Lorimer, who whilst serving with
the Khyber Rifles in Landi Kotal, worked on ‘A Syntax of Colloquial
Pushtu’ (1915), which was published by the Oxford University Press –
London. While explaining the need for a new learning book, Lorimer in its
preface mentions:
“Both Raverty and
Trumpp have based their work on Pashtu literature, which is a serious draw
back for the average student, who wants, as speedily as may be, to acquire
a working knowledge of the Colloquial Language. This is hardly to be
gained from a study of poetry or translations from the Persian, mostly two
or three hundred years old, which are affected by Persian models or
Persian originals, and which have had little influence on the speech of an
unliterary and illiterate people.”
Sir George Roos-Keppel’s
name has become synonymous with the Islamia College Peshawar - which also
owes its establishment to the efforts of Nawab Sahibzada Sir Abdul Qayyum
Khan and Haji Turangzai. Roos-Keppel had a long administrative association
with the Frontier region. He served in the capacities of Political Agent
in Kurram and Khyber and later Chief Commissioner (equivalent of Governor)
of NWFP. At the turn of the Twentieth century, he was also president of
Central Committee of Examiners in Pashto. He authored ‘The Pashto Manual’
in 1901 and wrote a second impression in 1907 when he was serving as
Captain in the Khyber. In 1901, he also produced his own editions of Rev
T. B. Hughes’ ‘Ganj-i-Pashto’ and ‘Tarikh-i-Sultan
Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi’ with their English translations, which became
standard textbooks for Military officers replacing the older
versions.
Roos-Keppel was well versed
in Pashto and his command over colloquial can be judged from an inaugural
speech he gave in Islamia College Peshawar in 1913-14. A strongly built
man of mixed Dutch-Swedish-English blood, he bore a thick Edwardian
moustache. When Roos-Keppel came to address, he mesmerized the entire
gathering by the rendering of his speech in perfect Pashto. (To give the
reader an idea I must present a snippet exactly as narrated by Late Dr. M.
Zarif of Nishterabad – writer’s maternal grandfather who was present in
the audience):
After the initial
salutations and thanks in Pashto, he began:
يو ورځ په دې
لار تېرېدم نو زړه کښۍ مې سوچ اوکړو چې ياره روس کپله، داسې به ښه نه وي چې
دلته کښۍ يو تعليمي اداره جوړ کړې شي؟
“Yo wraz pah day lar
teradum no zra kay may soach ooko, yarra Roos-Keppela dasay ba kha na-ee
chih dalta keh yo taleemi idara jor kray shi?”
(One day while I was walking
past this place, I thought to myself: my good fellow Roos-Keppel, wouldn’t
it be splendid to build an educational institute over this
site?)
A hushed silence held the
audience which was only broken when Roos-Keppel finished his speech. The
echoes of ‘Roos-Keppel Zindabad’ followed a loud round of applause
from the gathering as he received a standing ovation.
(Here, it is important to
point out that Roos-Keppel thought like a Pathan, for him to use the
expression "Yarra Roos-Keppela" - adding 'a' in the end of one's
name - is significant, as it is unique to Pashto colloquial only. To hear
him say that would have brought a smile on any Pathan's face and would
have made the audience forget that he was a foreigner addressing them, but
rather as 'one of their own.')
Sir Olaf
Caroe, in ‘The
Pathans’ (1958) makes the following observation about Roos-Keppel:
“A very fluent speaker of
their language, he could turn a proverb, point a moral, quote a poet, make
a domestic allusion in perfect timing and in communion with those who
heard him.”
Further on, he
concludes:
“More than any Englishman,
if such he was, he is remembered still; he has been claimed as a sort of
malik in excelsis, a Pathan among Pathans.”
Until 1909, Pashto
literature was confined to book pages in the form of poetry and dastan (classic literature), then Hakim Syed Abdullah Shah, editor
of ‘Afghan’ introduced it in the columns of his newspaper and made
it available for reading by general public. Later in 1926, a magazine was
launched by the same name. Another magazine ‘Sarhad’ had been
launched the previous year which was followed by ‘Pakhtun’ in 1927.
The launch of these publications contributed immensely to the development
of literature at a time when the Frontier was strife with commotion, the
memory of the third Anglo-Afghan war was still fresh and bans on
anti-state publications were not uncommon. These publications cultivated
the seeds of political awareness among Pathans – Pashto being the unifying
factor. Apart from being the forerunners to founding of various literary
circles, they placed many learned and respected Pashto scholars, writers
and poets of that time under limelight, which includes a very long list
and about whom a lot has been written which is beyond the scope of the
present article.
In the preface to
(( د قصه خواني ګپ ))‘Da Kissa
Khane Gap’, Col. C.L. Peart, Secretary Board of Examiners
(Simla -
1930) writes:
“In 1923 it was decided
to follow the practice of the Civil Service Commissioners in England and
to abolish text-books for army language examinations. This scheme worked
well except in the case of Pashto. The negligible prose literature which
exists in that language does not lend itself to the learning of the
language. It is either archaic or full of flowery Arabic and Persian
expressions. And owing to the limited sale of Pashto books, no modern
author would come forward with a book to meet our
requirements.
These difficulties led to
the partial re-introduction of textbooks for Pashto examinations – the
‘Hagha Dagha’ (Odds and Ends -1929) for Preliminary, and the History of
Afghanistan (1930) and the ‘Da Kissa Khane Gap’ (Gossip of Qissa Khwani -
1930) for the Interpretership examinations – all by the same author, Qazi
Ahmad Jan of Peshawar.”
Qazi Ahmad Jan had a scholarly background.
His father Qazi Abdur Rahman Khan Muhammadzai, a scholar of Pashto and
Arabic was among the first Afghans to achieve command over English
language. Ahmad Jan enjoyed the status of ‘Munshi of Peshawar’. He also
compiled papers for examination boards in Pashto. He had taught language
to British officers in Peshawar for over half a century, which included
names like Field Marshals: Wavell, Auchinleck and Montgomery
etc.
Following in the path of Mir
Ahmad Shah Rizwani, he authored several academic books. He introduced a
new simplistic and lucid style in Pashto prose literature which was
modern, inspired by English writings and at the same time retained its
natural flow. Furthermore, he promoted a new genre of ‘short story’ in
Pashto, hitherto only confined to English literary works. His books were
not only popular among the British officials but also appealed to the
Pashto speakers from all general walks of life.
A few lines from his
earliest poem titled Zhaba or Language (‘Ganj-i-Pashto’,
Roos-Keppel edition 1901) are as follows:
خصوصان چې پښتو ژبې تــــــــه
حاجت
پيخ ؤو ډېــــــــر زيـــاتې له حد د
ساعت
احمد اوکــــــــړه پـــــه د شان
آسان کلام
چې پوهېږي پرې کل واړه خاص و
عام
“Khasoosan chih Pukhto
zhabbey tah hajat
Pekh woh Der Ziatay La Hadd
da Sa'at
Ahmad okra pah da shaan
asaan kalaam
Chih pohagey pre kul warah
khaas ao aam”
(Especially when Pashto language was experiencing
hardships
Befallen for a great deal of time,
Ahmad made its style easy; gracing it with what was
needed most
That everybody comprehends it now, young, common and
elite both)
Aside from laying the
foundations of modern Pashto prose literature he authored several
handbooks that include: ‘Afridi Pushtu Manual’ (190?), ‘Pushtu Made Easy’
(1912) and 'How to Speak Pushtu' (1917), etc. (Another writer accredited
with work on modern Pashto language guidebooks is Qazi Rahimullah Khan
Khalil, a regimental munshi and author of ‘Modern Pushto Instructor’
(Vol. I - 1937 & Vol. II - 1943)
The modernity introduced by
western influences was for the most part beneficial to the Pashto
language. Its vocabulary became enriched and varied whilst also retaining
its originality. In older Pashto textbooks, the pre-modern worldview
seemed to revolve around a recurring theme of religious beliefs and
magical, non-rational stories about legendary heroic romances, evil kings,
demons, jinns and divine emissaries etc. Scientific methodology introduced
by the British brought about refinement and added diversity to the
literature which then began to reflect a more modern point of
view.
Pashto language also became
the symbol of cultural identity of people living in this region. Once
viewed as a primitive tongue, Pashto discarded its archaic image in the
Colonial Period and carved a name for itself amongst the progressive
languages of the world.
General Review of the
British Period:
Pashto renaissance was not
confined to literature and in books. It also gave an impetus to the Pathan
identity, culture and this region in general.
As the British empire
expanded, a growing attitude of racial superiority enveloped colonial
practices in India. Confronted by a race who guarded their honour and
freedom with great fierceness, early authors treated them more severely in
their descriptions. Pathans were often painted as ‘uncivilized’,
‘semi-barbaric’ and ‘treacherous.’ These types of labels are often met
with in earlier accounts of those experiencing the ‘menace’ of the
Frontier firsthand. They were guided by a notion of British
self-aggrandizement, as Lord Salisbury, the Prime Minister of Great
Britain, had once said:
“They (Frontier Wars) are
but the surf that marks the edge and advance of the wave of
civilization.”
Later English authors, while
recounting the dangers of the Khyber Pass, narrated the legendary ferocity
of the Pathans evoking scenes of gallant soldiers defending the might of
the Raj against equally gallant but merciless Pathans. The Pathans
began to be regarded as a martial race, natural rulers and the equals of
the British – though not merely for romantic reasons and more for
political purposes, as some have argued.
“You're white
people - sons of Alexander - and not like common, black Mohammedans”
-
or so Dravot, the main character of Rudyard Kipling's ‘The Man Who Would
Be King’ (1891) addresses the Pathans.
Weighing a Pathan against an
Englishman for their valour in ‘The Ballad of East and West’, Kipling
exclaims:
“Oh,
East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till
Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat;
But
there is neither East nor West, Border nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two
strong men stand face to face,
Though
they come from the ends of the earth!'”
Colonel
'Buster' Goodwin stationed for twenty years on the Frontier expresses his
feelings about Pathans this way:
“Our
dealing with Pathans was a gentleman's game. No matter how poor a Pathan
was, he might meet the King of England or the Viceroy of India but he'd
look him in the eye and shake hands with him as if to say, I'm as good a
man as you are.”
In ‘Memoirs
of a Junior Officer’ (1951) M.C.A. Henniker, whose company was engaged in
building a blockhouse or a miniature fort on a hill-top overlooking the
Khyber Pass, writes:
“A
curious thing was the water supply for the Block Houses. This came by a
pipe-line laid over the hills from the pumping station below. The pipe
could have been easily cut by the Afridis, but this was never done. They
considered rules as necessary in warfare as we did. Cutting the water
pipes of the Raj would be as immoral as the use by us of poison
gas.”
Numerous
such writings captured the imagination of readers on the other side of the
globe, kindling a romantic view of the region and its
people.
Formal
education in the Frontier was introduced by British to replace traditional
Madrassa style education. Shortly after the demarcation of
Afghanistan from British India by the Durand line in 1893, there were
numerous primary and secondary schools in the NWFP of British India that
had been set up by the colonial power, but on the other hand, the pace of
schooling and education remained slower in Afghanistan under the Amirs.
Abdul
Ghaffar Khan - a famed Pathan leader and advocate of non-violence - was
educated at Edwardes Memorial High School in Peshawar, which was run by
Christian missionaries. Under the guidance of his teacher Rev. E.F.E.
Wigram, he obtained a window to the world that contrasted sharply with the
widespread illiteracy among his fellow Pathans. As a result,
education as an instrument of social uplift and political transformation
became the dominant obsession of his life.
Whilst the
hill tribes continued to resist imperialism, the British founded Edwardes
college (1901) and Islamia college in Peshawar (1913) - as well as several
schools - in those Pashto dominated regions which had come to terms with
their rule. For comparison, the Universities of Calcutta, Bombay and
Madras were founded as far back as in 1857. Education empowered the
middle class and led to political reawakening in this
region.
The
previous history of the Frontier is obscure - with conflicting accounts
from Muslim writers, many of which are mere historical romances founded on
a slender basis of facts. The British introduced scientific methodology to
the process. What they wrote extensively about Afghan history and
civilization (from 1800s onwards) is of course conclusive. This is owing
to the peculiar English trait of diary writing. Many officials who served
in the subcontinent kept a journal in which they recorded their
memoirs. Renowned author S. Amjad Hussain in 'Of Cantonments and
British Sahibs' (DAWN - Dec 2002) notes:
“Most of these books were written,
often in a self-serving manner, by the British officers and administrators
to chronicle events along the turbulent
Frontier.”
One
towering name is that of Mountstuart Elphinstone. ‘Kingdom of Caubul (2
vols. - 1815) is the pioneering work for which he is most famous. It
arose out of the time he spent in Kabul as part of the first British
envoy’s party from 1808-1810. This work is one of the first comprehensive
examinations of Afghanistan's geography, political history, language, the
customs and social structure of its inhabitants - including even the
various fringe tribes.
There is no
dearth of historical writings by English authors-cum-administrators whose
accounts are valid testimony to culture and language to this day. The
accounts were often provided with other references. The narrators relied
on native history without prejudice more or less and presented it more
systematically. There are several references in Elphinstone’s works from
'Babarnama' (Babar, a Sixteenth century Mughal king who kept a
journal - a valid historical account of Afghanistan and the Frontier
region) and works of other Muslim historians.
‘The
Pathans’ (1958) by Sir Olaf Caroe - now rated a classic - is the last
standard reference work of significance about this race rendered by an
official who served during the colonial period. He was also amongst the
last British governors of NWFP.
Aside from
writing Afghan histories, the most comprehensive early surveys were done
mainly by the British. Sir George Abraham Grierson - an Irish philologist
- directed the compilation of the exhaustive ‘Linguistic Survey of India’
between 1894-1927. It dealt with the Pashto language comprehensively and
was based on 19 volumes. Another European researcher, G. Morgenstierne - a
Norwegian, carried out linguistic research in Afghanistan in the
1920s. Dr. H. Bellew had also done similar work between 1860-1880.
Our present knowledge about philology of Pashto is mainly based upon the
pioneering contributions of the above-mentioned
researchers.
The British
have preserved antiquated Pashto manuscripts, which can be found in their
libraries and museums. 'Catalogue of Pashto Manuscripts in the Libraries
of the British Isles' (1965) is one example and gives a comprehensive
listing of some of this vast literary wealth of the bygone
days.
Beyond
doubt, the rule of the British over Frontier can never be justified on the
mere basis of ‘Christian pride’ and ‘white supremacy’, but in comparison
with other empires like the Russian, Persian and the French closing in on
this region - who had made no secrets of their own imperial designs -
indeed, for much of their time here, the British were the most developed
nation on the planet. They made unprecedented technological advances and
brought benefits of that to the Frontier.
The British
gave the concept of western democracy. They integrated semi-independent
states and brought them in line with a central policy. They introduced the
rule of law, regulation to Government and an impartial judiciary. They
systemized revenue collection and started land reforms. They extended
individual liberties, allowed a fairly free press and ran a mostly
non-corrupt civil service.
Additionally, they were the first to carry out demographical,
political, geographical and other surveys in this region. Census reports
were brought out and cadastral maps were drawn up during their rule.
Anthropological studies and extensive archaeological excavations were
carried out.
They
improved the health system and built hospitals, introducing modern western
medicine replacing out dated practices.
The British
built extensive infrastructure, which are still being used today. They
founded new settlements or cantonments, introduced city planning, set up
housing registries, named streets, built elaborate road systems, bridges,
railways, airfields etc. They dug extensive irrigation canal systems and
built dams providing hydel electricity. They improved dak (postal)
services as well as the telegraph, telephone and radio
facilities.
They
introduced the art of modern warfare. They had a disciplined army of which
the Pathans constituted a sizable number. Their outstanding bravery
against Germans won many laurels for Britain in the Second World War.
Quite often, the battlefield transmits were in Pashto of which the enemy
had no knowledge.
Modernization touched different other spheres of the Frontier life,
like the arts, the culture and other practices - in fields as diverse as
the architecture or the sports or even dress - the British have left their
impressions behind.
In primary
industry, they brought in better farming methods and improved care of
livestock. During their rule, there was increased flow of labour to other
parts of the empire. However, the general economic, trade and industrial
impact of British policies was negligible in this region.
The other
inherent shortcoming of the colonial rule was a policy of subjugation of
natives and exploitation of the resources for the economic benefit of
Great Britain, which considered itself a superior power.
This period
also saw deprivation of masses from upper echelons of decision-making. A
handful of elites were lavishly pampered at the expense of a majority
poor, dissatisfied and illiterate class. There was no tolerance for
opposition and rebellions were crushed with utmost
ruthlessness.
It
was this sinister nature of imperial rule, which could not succeed in the
long run. As with all great empires of the past, the repeating pattern on
the historical canvas of the Frontier saw the colonial power ascend
triumphantly - in all its might and glory - before reaching an eventual
decline. With the partition of India and creation of Pakistan in 1947 –
the sun had finally set on the British Empire.
Dr. Ali Jan
(The writer is
a graduate of the Aga Khan University and a medical doctor by profession.
An expert on colonial history, he is also part of Sarhad Conservation Network - a
Peshawar based advocacy group concerned with the preservation of
Environment, Culture and Heritage of NWFP)
Acknowledgments from
the author:
-
Erling Ravnas of
University of Oslo Library (Norway) for providing me information on many
Pashto books in their possession - formerly belonging to G.
Morgenstierne.
-
Rumina Shahid for
rendering poetic translations and Alishba Syed for lending a hand with
proof-reading.
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