KARACHI:
Abdul Ghaffar Khan, famously known as Bacha Khan, was born in the suburbs of modern-day K-P. A vagrant Pashtun leader who gave his utmost to the cause of uniting a splintered nation, Bacha Khan is remembered for his struggle against the British colonial masters and his movement of non-violence. He set the rudiments of a nationalist cause with the objective of an independent, united and secular India.
He also established the Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of God) movement in 1929 to promote literacy and eradicate social evils among the Pashtun community: “I am going to give you such a weapon that no power on earth can stand against it and that weapon is patience and righteousness”, he said to his followers. Khudai Khidmatgar soon recruited 100,000 volunteers and began its struggle through strikes and non-violent protests. The movement worked with the Indian National Congress, the leading organisation fighting for independence of which Bacha Khan was a senior and respected member.
However, after Partition he pledged allegiance to the newly-created nation of Pakistan. Unfortunately, suspicions about his loyalty persisted and under the new Pakistani government, he was placed under house arrest without charge from 1948 till 1954. He was again arrested in 1958 and remained in jail till 1964, after which he was released due to his ill health. He travelled to the US for treatment and later went into exile in Afghanistan. Even though he was branded as a traitor because of his loyalty towards Gandhi, in his heart of hearts he was a true nationalist who believed in a just cause. He was the harbinger of peace, prosperity and change.
Hidayat Khan
Islamabad
Published in The Express Tribune, February 10th, 2021.
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