Reviewed by Sher Alam Shinwari

IT is widely known that Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan, fondly remembered by his followers as Bacha Khan, was not only a political visionary but also a great social reformer. Professor Muhammad Zubair Hasrat has compiled quotations from Bacha Khan’s autobiography, Zama Juand Auo Jaddu Jahad (My Life and Struggle) into a separate book under the title Laloona Malghalaray (Pearls and Beads). His many sayings shed light on religion, education, economics, sociology, politics, history, culture, language and literature.

Explaining the philosophy of non-violence. Bacha Khan says that it is “a power and has an army just like violence. But its weapon is preaching while the weapon of violence is the gun. Some people argue that violence is necessary for self-defence but they don’t realise that by adopting this attitude they close the door on non-violence. Non-violence has a self-defence mechanism because it does not believe in the concept of defeat while there is a possibility of defeat in violence.”

One of Bacha Khan’s greatest contributions was stressing the rights of women, particularly their education. He was against marrying for money and advocated against the tradition of not marrying outside one’s tribe for fear of division of property. “Relationships should be based on integrity and mutual understanding,” he said, “not on the power and pelf where a young girl is thrown into the hands of an old man.” Pakhtun women are wiser than men, he also famously said.

Bacha Khan launched a Pashtu-language newspaper Pakhtun, to raise political awareness among the Pakhtuns. On one occasion he criticised the Pakhtuns for not reading newspapers, saying that they “spend lavishly on useless rituals which is why they don’t have a national daily in their own language.”

Another of Bacha Khan’s contributions was encouraging men to work with their hands, including helping out in the home. He set an example by setting up a shop in the middle of Charsadda bazaar and selling gur and by sweeping streets and compounds. “I do four to five household tasks,” he would say. “I shovel on a daily basis. I want every Khudai Khidmatgar to do some housework in a day, whether poor or wealthy.”

In one of his memorable speeches Bacha Khan said: “I don’t want the destruction of Pakistan nor of anybody else, whether Hindu or Muslim. Advantage lies only in progress. If you have some constructive plans for this country I assure you on the floor of this honourable house that I and my people will stand by you.”

Laloona Malghalaray

(Quotes of Bacha Khan)

By Professor Muhammad Zubair Hasrat

Pakhtunkhwa Study Centre

BachaKhanUniversity, Charsadda

46pp. Price not listed