Recently I came across a thread later converted in to a blogpost by the one and only Barmazid who is one of the pioneers of history twitter accounts with a following of over 18,000 and has a presence nearing a decade on twitter alone meaning he is clearly a very knowledgeable person & after all he is cited in books by the likes of Juma Khan Sufi who as far as I can tell is a prominent member of the Pashtun intelligentsia.
However, there is a tendency to portray Abdali as not just a hero of his kin, which is their prerogative, but as Islamic heroes that we must all grovel towards and in this case not only that but saviours of the helpless Indo-Islamic Muslims who are simply cheerleader artisans, poets and field toilers. A narrative Barmazid is unfortunately guilty of pushing.
The problem is exacerbated by the ongoing frankly identity crisis of Punjabi Muslims in Pakistan who see being a Muslim their only identity & Pakistan an extension of it, hence anything or anyone Muslim ya Pakistani = good. This in itself has roots in the very incoherent narrative of the state, where Urdu is language of Muslims, Hindi was for Hindus & of course Punjabi for Sikhs, but this topic deserves a post of its own.
However, this is not going to be one of those times and not only that I will utilize the two authors Barmazid quotes himself: 1) Syed Muhammad Latif 2) Hari Ram Gupta. Fair enough?
I have written previously a general post on Adina Beg Arain who achieved in my opinion the unthinkable. Under his short rule of entire Punjab we see a semblance of Punjabi Muslim unity where his army is almost exclusively composed of Punjabi Muslims which is why I believe he is the corner of Punjabi Muslim identity, hence this reply post.
Barmazid lala’s audacious claim that Adina Beg is the one who destroyed law & order of Punjab definitely deserves a chuckle because for most of his career Adina was a Nazim of a Doab, Punjab had 5 doabs. Yet, Adina was responsible for destruction of law & order and not the looting rampages of Nadir Shah and then later Abdali who headed entire empires with far larger manpower and finances accelerating the decline of Mughal order in Punjab?
Mughals & Sikhs:
In favour of short attention spans of our day lets fast forward to the Fourth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Ram Das impressed Emperor Akbar to an extent he was granted lands on which Amritsar was built that became corner stone of Sikh identity as it gave them a central place to congregate. The Fifth Guru, established a taxation system for followers & compiled the Granth sahib. Later he is tortured to death by Jahangir who wanted to extract ransom from him, but the dispute started because Guru did not want his son to marry a Mughal officer’s daughter. [1] Syed Latif suggests that this is a turning point as Sikhs start to see why they need to take arms hence Guru Har Govind enlists in Mughal service under Jahangir and does so after his death with Emperor Shah Jahan. So, we see a shift from a apolitical people towards a military fraternity.
Mughal- Sikh Confrontation
A disciple of Guru Har Govind intends to bring him a Turkistani horse that is seized by the Mughal officers and presented to the emperor who forcefully pays the Guru a sum. Later the Guru or his men seized a hawk and a concubine, which then prompts the Mughals to send a full force as a retaliation. A Mukhlis Khan with an army of 7000 is decisively defeated who himself loses his life in the process, the first confrontation between the Sikhs & Muslims. [1]
The Mughal army faces yet another crushing defeat when a disciple of Guru’s, “Baba Buddha” stole two horses from the Imperial Lahore stable and the Emperor Shah Jahan sent another force to deal with the Guru. [1]
The third battle between Mughals & Sikhs is when Guru Har Govind falls out with a foster brother by the name of Painda Khan, a Pashtun over a hawk. Emperor Shah Jahan provides Painda with an army only to be defeated. At this point the Sikhs are 3-0 against the Mughal Empire & Painda himself loses his life in a one on one combat against Guru Har Govind who himself died in peace in 1645 after reigning as a Sikh Guru for over 30 years. [1]
So, it becomes clear to us that the Mughal Empire at its absolute peak when it was sending armies deep inside today’s Afghanistan as far as Balkh was 0-3 against Sikhs as per Syed Latif’s History of Punjab who Barmazid has quoted himself at least twice as far as I have seen. This is also after nurturing them for years & showing them the ways of the battlefield.
Sikh military achievement reaches its peak in the 18th century when a few years after Aurangzeb’s death, they, under Banda Bairagi, are able to defeat in retaliation for the murders of the last guru’s children, the army of Wazir Khan, the governor of Sarhind at the battle of Chappar chiri. This is a monumental feat because Sarhind was no border town, it lay not far from the capital & was the provincial capital. The Mughals would later spend 5 whole years battling Bairagi with even the emperor in military attire accompanying the armies, until eventually his heretical utterances became too much for his orthodox Sikh warriors who eventually desert him, leaving him to be captured & tried by the Mughal court.
However, towards the end when Mughals could not even send reinforcements for their Punjab governors a Doab Nazim, Adina Beg was going to crush the Sikhs? Or is it that mighty Ahmad Shah Abdali failed and died without achieving this objective so blame the Punjabi?
First Invasion:
It is claimed that Shahnawaz Khan was prompted by Adina who was deputy Nazim to Shahnawaz at the time in Julludher Doab to invade & same time informed Delhi Court of Shahnawaz’s treachery who succeeded in persuading him from following through.
Muin-ul-Mulk lead the Mughal army in Sirhind to victory & Hari Ram writes “Adina Beg Khan, the Governor of Jullundher Doab rendered valuable services to the imperialist cause by harassing the enemy and by cutting off his supplies.” Adina Beg was wounded twice in this affair fighting in the center alongside the Governor of Lahore subah, Muin ul Mulk in which Ahmad Shah Abdali was defeated and “leaving the Indians masters of the field” [2]
Assuming, Adina really did want an Abdali invasion and wasn’t just politicking, which is highly doubtful, he clearly vindicated himself on the battlefield.
Second Invasion:
In 1749-50, Abdali laid claim to revenues in some Punjab areas, Mughals obliged despite Muin-ul-Mulk wanting to resist since he defeated Abdali because he had an adequate force to take the challenge.
Writes Gupta “The Sikhs and other lawless people had found favourable opportunities in these upheavals and had extended their depredations on a large scale. The constant fear of the renewal of the Afghan invasion added to Muin’s difficulties” [3]
“The invasion of the Durrani and the occupation of the forces of the Lahore viceroy against the invader were a signal for the Sikhs to start on their business” [4]
Third Invasion:
This was prompted when Abdali was not sent revenues for Char Mahal and “The Government of Muin-ul-Mulk was compelled to suspend its activities against the Sikhs as they were called upon to face a graver danger. The intrepid Ahmad Shah Abdali, again appeared on the scene in December, 1751” [6]
A siege was laid that lasted four months that reduced everything in 50 miles radius of Lahore to waste according to Gupta [5]. A great show of Islamic brotherhood. Muin lost, submitted & reinstalled by Abdali as HIS Viceroy of Lahore subah who was impressed by Muin’s boldness despite being the Afghan’s prisoner. The Mughals were in such a pathetic state that they even signed off on a “treaty” acknowledging this shift. So, wait, Mughals would have easily crushed Sikh force if it wasn’t for Adina?
Yet, Hari Ram Gupta in his other book, History of Sikhs Volume 2 writes “The four months of the fresh Durrani invasion were favourable to the further rise of the Sikhs [7]…
Fourth Invasion:
Whose peace & order did the Afghans ruin to establish theirs? Mughlani Begum was widow of Muin-ul-Mulk who inherited the government in 1753 & became known as a woman of loose character & Punjab was ruled by her eunuchs essentially in the name of Durranis. This invited wrath of soldiery & nobility no matter how degenerate they maybe themselves. Khwaja Abdullah ousted Mughlani Begum & his rule in Punjab was hated by everyone.
Therefore, it was Adina Beg who at this point was pretty much an independent force in his Jullundher doab that ousted Khwaja for Mughals & became ruler of Lahore & Multan soobay but ruled via his deputies and restored political order. In this process Mughlani Begum was made prisoner of Delhi Prime Minister who then pleaded with Abdali enticing him riches of Mughal Nobility.
Thus, Abdali crosses Sutlej in 1757 and reaches Delhi & the following are screenshots from Hari Ram Gupta’s book Later Mughal History:
Ahmad Shah Abdali, saving Indian/Punjabi Muslims from materialism reducing them to a life of faqiri. It is only after Allah’s wrath fell in the form of cholera break out because the Durrani troops drank water from bodies of water they polluted with the dead. [8] Keep in mind Barmazid uses the term “genocide” for Adina not completely going after the Sikhs, which is unfortunately true, however, in relation to what Durranis did to Muslims of Hindustan, I mean come on?
The Afghan Abdali loot quantified [9] :
“At all such times of foreign invasion the whole country is as a rule thrown into an entire convulsion and upheaval. The Government suspended its administration and law and order came to an end” [10]
Now, Barmazid is not totally wrong to suggest Afghans (under Jahan Khan) tried to establish order in 1757, but why would you practically destroyed the order that was there to begin with by Adina Beg? True, Mughlani was ruling on behalf of Durranis so they were coming to help their Lieutenant, but then again, why position Abdali as an Islamic hero?
It should be noted that Adina Beg never really submitted but agreed to continue his Nazim duties for Durranis, but will not present himself in court as he did not trust them. A force was sent to discipline Adina, which was humiliated by the Arain, Punjabi Muslim who, yes utilized his Sikh allies. Now, as I stated, I could care less about Afghans AND Sikhs (speaking of as a historical group of course), however, what exactly was Adina supposed to do? Submit to Durranis who displaced his Punjab government?
Adina Beg did not plunder his own doab after expelling Afghans. Maybe if it was just one thing, clearly a pattern starts to emerge. Just ridiculous. Syed Latif says “His management of the Jullundher doab was highly successful” [12]
Adina Beg Arain:
Is undoubtedly in my mind a Punjabi Muslim hero, but not without his faults & history for us is not looking for people to sanitize & present as saints rather its lessons that can be applied today because patterns repeat. No doubt, Adina not pursuing the Sikhs resulted in loss of innocent Punjabi Muslim life, but Ahmad Shah Abdali went on entire campaigns against his Ghilzai Pashtun brethren on behalf of his Persian master, Nadir Shah, but Abdali is the Baba of all Afghans (Pashtuns). Surely, we Punjabi Muslims too can overlook (not forgive) this sin of Adina Beg because at all points of his career he sought independence and played his enemies against them as he sought independence.
When Adina Beg with the help of Sikh & Marathas expelled Afghans from Punjab, it was on the condition of paying tribute of 75 lakh annually to Marathas who left him with the all of Punjab since, being a frontier province and being far away from home. Thus, Adina before Ranjit Singh formed the first autonomous government by a Punjabi in Punjab since, the Gujarat Sultanate founded by Tanka Rajputs of Southern Punjab was outside our homeland.
If we are to look at the actions of Adina, being a vassal of Marathas is clearly something he did not aspire for & no doubt with the trajectory he was on, at some point he would have definitely declared complete independence. Also, if Tipu Sultan can be a hero as a Maratha satellite then Adina can be as well except for him it was a tool for further enhancing his career.
I am not suggesting Adina was a Punjabi nationalist as this concept emerges later on with modernity & communication technology, but his actions clearly hint at a consciousness towards Punjabi Muslim being its own, independent entity because his ambition demonstrates the urgency that Punjab should be ruled by a Punjabi Musalmaan. With battlefield victories over both, not Afghans because we are Muslims nor Sikhs because they are also Punjabis, but Punjabi Muslim.
Gujarat Sultanate of Punjabi Muslims being exception, our people have always played the role of “helpers”, be it bringing Tughlaqs, Lodhis, Zain-ul-Abidin in Kashmir to power, however the vision that Adina had especially given his working life started out as a domestic servant to rise to the very top of Punjab’s politics is what makes him unique. The Khokhars had the audacity to rebel for 20 years against “Sayyid” dynasty who ruled all of Hindustan keeping 3/4 Sultans busy, but Jasrath Khokhar never had the foresight to create a unified army of Punjabi Muslim tribes.
So, fact that the bulk of Adina Beg’s army composed of Punjabi Muslims & that all the zamindars submitted to him in Punjab so he can finally put a check on Sikh military activity speaks volumes of his administration & the respect he commanded among the Punjabi people who Barmazid lala accuses of ruining law & order of Punjab. [11]. Historically, the tribes have always acted as independent entities which is why despite being an overwhelming majority in Punjab, it were the Sikhs who carved out an empire as they had assabiyah & political competency.
He balanced, Mughals, Afghans, Sikhs & Marathas & used these variables as a ladder towards Punjabi Muslim autonomy. I see many lessons that can be applied from Adina Beg’s life, but that is for another day. Adina passed away in 1758.
Syed Latif writes [12]:
Ahmad Shah Durrani:
Was obviously a great conqueror, a unifying figure if you want to ignore what he did to Ghilzais of course, the modern Afghan state is a clear successor to whatever he established. As a fan of history one can only appreciate his exploits, however he is NOT the hero of Punjabi Muslims.
Conclusion:
The rise of Sikhs (as a military force) & Marathas was something brewing for centuries and was rooted in not just the decline of Mughals, but their own nurturing of these elements. For example during Aurangzeb’s rule there was a sharp rise in Maratha nobility, which means land grants among other things. While the blame is not on one party, but to pin it all on a Nazim of a Doab when between Durranis & Adina, the former played a far more decisive, destructive role not to mention themselves failed in doing what Barmazid claims Adina could have done is insincere.
Happy to be corrected!
Citations:
[1] History of Punjab Syed Muhammad Latif pg 252-258
[2] Later Mughal History Hari Ram Gupta pg 165
[3] History of Sikhs Vol 2 by Hari Ram Gupta pg 99
[4] History of Sikhs Vol 2 pg 103
[5] Later Mughal History pg 168
[6] History of Sikhs Vol 2 pg 108
[7] History of Sikhs Vol 2 pg 112
[8] Later Mughal History pg 173
[9] Later Mughal History pg 174
[10] History of Sikhs Vol 2 pg 130
[11] Later Mughal History pgs 99-100
[12] History of Punjab pg 232
Punjabi Waseb 
i don’t think i have ever seen a more namak harami qoum then afghani/pashtuns the british(welsh-english) come close then sikhs, french,spanish etc. The british are cunning and treacherous but at least they have half brain. The Sikhs and Pashtuns are genetically stupid/- jahil j.
To know more about pashtuns you have to go in to their “Dixie Confederate” system, what/who they are.The british are clever but not as much. Apart from Sikhs the only ethnicity that is similar to Pashtuns in the world are French while the Sikhs have resemblance to the Spanish. its not me making the observation but their own leaders.Ayub khan the coward called himself the “Charles deGaulle” of Asia , Pashtuns love the French, Corrupt Malik riaz kakazai who is Pashtun built the replica of the Eiffel tower. Pashtun migrants love France and the French have been an inspiration to Afghanistan’s royals in architecture /arts etc.
just the like the french are loudmouth with little action,The Pashtuns talk loud but are cowards. They are not jews But Bactrians and iranian origin.The greeks ruled iran for 500 years and Afghanistan for 250 years after Alexander the great’s conquests. No wonder the afridis claim some greek blood which actually is product of rape. The cultural capital of Pashtuns and “Gay capital of Afghanistan was founded by Alexander the.
The Pashtuns are divided in to 4 main confederacies; the duranni are the pure pashtuns from the Kandahar region are iranic – iranian in origin.The farsi language is favoured among this group and they have been in the ruling elite of Afghanistan.
The 2nd is Ghilzai/Lodhi; they are a bastard race of turk and iranic pashtun mix half breed.They have historically contested power among .THey were the 1st ones to establish an afghan state with the Hotak dynasty both them have had more successes in central asia and Persia iran then in the south asia or india. They have defended afghanistan and tend to remain inside the borders of persia Afghanistan. However the durranis have betrayed them repeatedly by siding with perisa iran when ever they had their conflicts with those country. The durrani look down upon them due to their racial profl and uncivilised inferior status compared to the urban durrani.
The 3rd but most controversial is Karlani. Both Ghilzais and durrani view this grouping with a unbridled scorn.Perhaps half of them have non pashtun origin.They are the most vocal in calling themselves “Pashtun” despite getting betrayed by both Ghilzais and durranis . They are often called “Gul khans” supposedly due to a non pashtun origin. Ironically this grouping hates non Pashtuns with even more vigour then the afghans themselves. No matter the amount of discrimination faced by them from their own “Afghan Pashtun” brothers, they will never blame them but defend them whenever an argument/dispute arises between a Pashtun and non Pashtun. They are another bastard race who are not sure of their origin but are pashtunised to somewhat extent..!
The 4th is Garghashti;who are mostly of turkic stock.
(note:; some tribes can be interchangeable with the different confederacies. e.g.meshuds,wazirs are of tatar-pashtun mix while ,mohmand, shinwari,Ghilzai.Dilazak Dawar,Wardak,Zadran come under Karlani or Ghilzai banner. The bangash turi,burki,orakzai groupse are mostly shia and have uncertain origin.[])
just like the french defeat in 1940, mutinies in ww1 1917 and previous defeats through out centuries. Due to constantly getting invaded and defeated, the Afghans/pashtuns have conjured up myths about Their theirhistory. almost no nation has given their womenmen to invaders v willingly then Afghans/pashtuns and not feel ashamed about it.Alexander the greats wife’s was Roxana a pashtun who has been mentioned in pashtun poems and how she saved afghanistan. From alexander the great to mongols, to mughals to safavids, Afshars to many other empires each have laid their mark on pashtuns.
Pashtuns will mention some of the resistance but probably no nation has been devastated and humiliated then pashtuns.e.g..Pashtuns often mention the defeat of the british army in the 1st Anglo afghan war.Thats chapter 1 in chapter 2 the british indian forces came back with a vengeance and destroyed everything standing between kabul and kandahar.The british even received the afghan harem and the royal durrani shah jahan begum married a british soldier who was the father of 19th century administrator Sir Robert Warburton.
Yes panipat happened but the aftermath is closed off by pashtuns.The Marathas devastated Rohilkand and sultanate of Rohilkand ceased to exist after annexation by the britsh east india company and Awadh.
Despite getting some from punjabi muslims Ahmed shah abadali was so useless, coward that his Armoured troops mutinied and murdered their own officers on his 9th invasion in1769 and refused to cross the river after they heard Sikh had captured the fortre of Rohtas. Talking about Rohtas a warriach punjabi muslim chief was beheaded and betrayed to sikhs after he had taken shelter byafghan troops during their later invasions of 1790s.
in 1780 multan was recaptured by timur shah durrani mostly with the help of daudpott nawab of Bahawalpur troops and how did the afghans repay their debt? by invading the state, issuing heavy taxes and sacking the capital city.Bahwalpur later overthrew the Afghan yoke in 1802.
It was mostly an uneasy coexistence for punjabi muslims during the rule of ranjit singh.Apart from trying to impose heavy taxes and reducing jagirs he employed muslims in his army especially artillery. Ranjit Singh was a tyrant but tried to include a secular set up including by employing pashtun Nawab of mamdot.However punjabi muslims had no real power so were mostly neutral.
The only people in pakistan region who have a soft corner for sikhs are Shia and pashtuns.Thats becuase it was mostly pashtuns and shias that ranjit singh employed in his empire.The lashari and Fakir families are shia.1 wife of ranjit singh was a naqvi kashimiri while the other was a kanjari gyspy from rajasthan both were shia ofbackground.
We punjabi sunni muslims have nothing to be ashamed about as we had no main leader during this time Remember sikhs captured punjab kashmir from afghans not us.
Even then we gave them tough trouble and refused to pay heavy taxess or disarm. The rebellions in Poonch state and Pothwar are linked to this as well as other areas.Such was the ferocity of the fighting that ranjit singh gave over control of the pothwar to the Dogras for several years who also were unable to control the situation.As a pothwari gujjar my tribe supported the Jihad of syed ahmed barelvi including in hazara.However it was the betrayel of the yousafzais and khattaks that allowed the sikhs to win and capture all of the nwfp even though the tanoli and Gujjar tribes kept on fighting.
The afghan emir even supported the sikhs in their invasion of kashmir in 1819 and against the british.
That’s the reality of the pashtuns.The sikhs later sold the khattak yousafzai women in the bazars of peshawar and kashmir. heavy fine were collected from yousafzais and khattaks and not a peep was heard from the bangash,Marwats such was the devastation that the sikhs brought on these two tribes.Only the afridis kept on fighting but were ultimately defeated after jamrud region was secured by hari singh.
You know pashtuns go on about Heeramandi or saying Ranjit ki aluad.Mujra is not punjabi muslim culture. Mujra comes from lucknow/Bhojpuri and afghanistan.Ranjit singh was sansi gypsy from rajasthan and much of the mujra is done by the kanjar community who are shias. The make of the heera mandi redlight is some shias, pashtuns, muhajirs and kanjars. Reema khan and Nargis kakkazai are both pashtuns.You have yousafzais and afridis doing mujra in peshawar redlight districts and many of them also work in Heeramandi business industry. The british expanded the red light district to such an extent that almost every city in south asia as has a red light.. .!
What ranjit singh did was get back land taken from the mughals by nadir shah in his invasion of india.The pashtuns were also expelled from balochistan sind by the shia talpurs.The shia talpurs were also miserable for the Sunni majority in sindh.The talpur position of giving privileges to Hindus sindhi merchants backfired when they too supported the British in the takeover of sindh like hindus in punjab against the sikhs.
If the pashtuns were so concerned about Ranjit singh then the Imran niazi buzdar government would not have allowed the statue of ranjit singh to be put up. At its unveiling the chief guest was Lashari while it was unveiled by the Fakir family blessed and supported by The PASHTUN minister for religious affairs.Noor ul haq Afridi.
The statute was later torn down by punjabi i. We never made a statue of mughal kings so why should a statue of a Sikh be made. Both Aurangzeb Alamgir and ranjit singh had complex identity however Kanjariya nal nachan wala ranjit singh is not hero of punjabi muslims.
No wonder many non pashtun pakistani hold a favourable viewpoint of 5 waqt namazi Arungzaib Alamgir. Even though both had deeply complex histories and are often misunderstood by indian.
Just like the spanish are better fighters then the french.The sikhs are better fighters then pashtuns. Punjabi muslims should not get in to the war of words between sikhs or pashtuns.Both of them tried their best to destroy Punjab and other regione.Instead the main thing to do is to highlight the contribution of Punjabi Muslims and bring them to the surface to people who ignored it or don’t know about it.E.G. Tipu sultan was Punjabi muslim rajput from jalandhar.
LikeLike
The best Pashtuns are those who are from the 3 Righteous generations (Sahaba, Tabi’in, or taba tabi’in), and they are obviously better than every Muslim after them.
After them, I would say Sher Shah Suri is one of the best Pashtuns (and rulers), as he invested in local infrastructure (most famously GT road), and tried to convert his subjects to Islam.
And after him, I would say Ashraf Hotak belongs on the list too. He abolished the Safavid Shias (like how Salahuddin abolished the ‘Ubaydi, or “Fatimid” Shias)… and he defeated the Ottomans when they tried to reinstate that heretical power. Clearly, Allah granted them victory.
And after them, of course there are the innocent Pashtuns who have nothing to do with the power-plays of the day, and are just simple villagers and farmers. And if anything, they have already paid more than their fair share with the 40+ years of war in their modern nation.
As for the Pashtuns of KPK, many of them protected Pakistan during the Bajaur Campaign… there are certainly bad apples, but we must deal with our fellow citizens with justice.
The Pashtun supremacists though… Allahu musta’an… may Allah guide them…
LikeLike
BTW… Rohilkhand was founded by a JAT (Ali Muhammad Khan).
Ali was adopted by Daud Khan and became an honorary pathan through that.
Yes, the Rohillas are pathans, but their king was descended from a jat.
This is not the first time such a thing has happened.
Look at al-Sari ibn al-Hakim al-Zutti (al-Zutti meaning ‘the Jat’).
Before the Turkic Tulunids, he was the emir who tried establishing an autonomous dynasty in Egypt. Al-Sari fought off Abbasid forces, and passed on power to his son Ubaydallah ibn al-Sari. However, a Persian man (Abdullah ibn Tahir) took power and reasserted Abbasid power.
LikeLike
On a site note, both the Sayyid dynasty (Khokhars) and the de-facto rulers of Mysore (Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, descended from Sipra Jats of Chiniot) were ethnic Punjabis.
LikeLike