It was the second half of the 16th century and the Subcontinent was under the rule of Jalaluddin Akbar, the great Mughal emperor. Akbar had come to the throne in 1556 following the tragic demise of his father Humayun.

Once in power, he drastically suppressed the Pashtun tribes who had been ruling over a vast area of the Subcontinent since Sher Shah Suri’s reign, lasting from 1538 to 1545.

In order to ensure his imperial power in the region, Akbar wanted to split the Pashtun tribes internally. On the other hand, he also realised the benefit of a tribe of physically strong men loyal to him, for they could guard the highway connecting Delhi and Kabul for him. In due course, he chose the Khattaks led by Malak Akoray Khan, the Chief of Khattaks, to serve him.

Sir Olaf Caroe, an administrator in British India (1892-1981), writes that, as Akbar arrived in the Attock area, Malak Akoray Khan Khattak introduced himself to the king. At the same time, Caroe continues, a high ranking officer in the Mughal force advised Akbar that Akoray Khan could prove to be the most suitable protector for the highway from Attock to Peshawar. Akbar accepted the suggestion. According to the eminent Afghan writer Zalmai Hiwadmal, in exchange for ensuring the security of the commercial route, where trading caravans would be attacked by robbers, Akbar granted Akoray a vast area of land between the present-day Khairabad and Nowshera, and Akoray was also authorised to take taxes in this region.

Seeing that their chief Akoray Khan was loyal to Akbar, the majority of the Khattaks followed suit, but several other Pashtun tribes remained against Akbar. Akoray Khan was also challenged by opponents in the family, such as the Bolaqs (a sub-tribe of the Khattaks) and was eventually murdered in a clash with them. His son Yehya Khan and grandson Aalam Khan also lost their lives in another battle fought with the Hassan Khel tribe. Finally, it was Shahbaz Khan, the last surviving son of Yehya Khan, who became the chief of the Khattaks, after his elders had been killed.

Remembering Khushal Khan Khattak, the poet, the writer, the warrior, chieftain and freedom fighter

In 1613, Shahbaz Khan was blessed with a son named Khushal Khan, who was later to become a celebrated figure as a poet, politician, medicine expert, hunter and warrior. He took part in his first battle at the age of 13, when his father fought the Akakhel tribe for not paying land taxes. Both father and son were wounded critically in the bloody encounter. While Shahbaz Khan succumbed to his injuries a week later, Khushal recovered.

In an attempt to avenge his father’s murder, Khushal invaded the Akakhel and Yousafzai settlements with his formidable army. Khushal’s army killed a large number of their enemies, setting their homes ablaze.

When he returned to Akora Khattak (a town in Jehangira tehsil of present-day Nowshera District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa), Khushal was not only accepted as the chief by his tribe, he was also officially recognised as the foreman of the Khattaks. In 1641, he was designated as the mansabdar (regent) by the Mughal darbar (court).

Khushal remained loyal to the Mughals for years. He fought several battles with defiant tribes who aimed to challenge government interests. But all this changed when Aurangzeb Alamgir came into power in 1658, after a deadly war of succession that killed two of his brothers and forced the third one into exile. In the early years of power, Aurangzeb allowed Khushal to keep his title of mansabdar but, after a few years, Aurangzeb turned against him over tax collection issues.

According to Tarikh-i-Mursa (The Embellished History), authored by Afzal Khan Khattak, Amir Khan, the governor of Kabul at the time, told Aurangzeb that a ban on tax collection would be useless unless Khushal were tackled with an iron hand. This led to Aurangzeb promptly issuing a directive for the arrest of Khushal.

Hiwadmal writes in his book Nangyalay daa Zamanay (Brave of the Time) that Khushal Khan was removed from his position as mansabdar and taken into custody in Peshawar on January 13, 1664. He was kept in jail there for a couple of months. Later, he was transferred to Delhi via Lahore, where he was detained until January 1665. After that, Khushal was sent to Ranthambore Fort in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, where he was confined for more than two years and four months. Khushal was later shifted to Agra on May 8, 1666, with his feet in chains. Similarly, a number of writers cite Khushal Khan’s detention as seven years but Zalmai Hiwadmal states that the total length of his imprisonment was four years and nine months.

Hiwadmal explains that several historians mistakenly state that Khushal was imprisoned in the Gwalior Fort, but in fact he was jailed in Rathambore fort. Hiwadmal is supported by eminent Pashto writer Dost Mohammad Khan Kamil Momand in his book Khushal Khan Khattak. According to Dr Latif Yaad, an Afghan writer, “Ranthambore was actually the name of a fort that is believed to have been converted into a prison by Aurangzeb where Khushal Khan Khattak was also imprisoned from 1666 to 1668.”

Khushal composed poetry while in prison and authored a book known as the Swatnama. Remembering his beloved homeland, Khushal Khan writes:

Pashtanay jonay di zulfay baad ta nesi
Che shamal yee boe rawri wa Rathanbore taa

[Pashtun maidens must keep their tresses loose/ Letting their scent blend with the fragrance from Ranthambore]

In his five years behind bars, Khushal’s loyalties towards the Mughals shifted. 

He laments:

Bar-nahaq da Aurangzeb pa band bandi yem
Khudai khabar dy pa tomat au pa ettab

[Aurangzeb has imprisoned me unjustifiably/ Allah knows the truth about the allegations for which I’m paying the price]

Undoubtedly, detention by the Mughal empire was a turning point in Khushal’s life. It was during this time he realised Aurangzeb’s cruelties.

Khushal was released from jail in 1668 and returned to his beloved homeland. In this period of his life, he vowed to challenge Aurangzeb and his facilitators. He successfully defeated the Mughal troops on several occasions, attacking their forts and cutting their financial routes.

Apart from being a formidable administrator and warrior of the time, Khushal contributed tremendously to Pashto literature. No other Pashto poet has so comprehensively covered different aspects of life during the Mughal empire. Having high respect for Khushal, Allama Muhammad Iqbal called him the hakeem [doctor] of the Afghan millat (nation).

Iqbal devoted substantial time studying Khushal’s thoughts. In a letter to his friend Niazuddin, Iqbal expressed that, if he had knew Pashto he would have translated Khushal’s poetry into Urdu or Persian. Iqbal also penned an Urdu poem titled Khushal Khan Ki Wasiat [The Last Will of Khushal Khan].

[Let the tribes be lost in the unity of the nation, So the Afghans can gain prestige! The youth to whom the stars are not out of bounds Are the ones I love indeed—In no way is this child of the mountains Inferior to the Mughal]

Khushal is considered a bridge between the Pashtun populations dwelling on both sides of the Durand Line. Holding him in much love and respect for him, some Pashtuns call him Baba or ‘Father’. They consider Khushal a role model and believe that his poetry represents the ‘real’ image of Islam as well as of Pashtun nationalism. In his poetry, the symbol of the shaheen [hawk] or baaz [falcon] apparently reflects the boldness and far-sightedness of the Afghans.

Other than being a poet and warrior, Khushal was also considered an expert medic of the time. He used to prescribe medication and took great pride in all his roles.

It is believed that Khushal Khan wrote more than 100 books, some of which are noteworthy. Khushal’s most popular book is Kuliyat, a celebrated collection in which he includes romantic, religious, political, philosophical, educational, spiritual, critical and historical tragedies of his time. According to well-known Pashto writer Dost Mohammad Khan Kamil Momand, Kuliyat contains 40,000-45,000 verses.

Similarly, it is said that Firaqnama (a lament of his separation from his homeland during his imprisonment) was composed during Khushal’s imprisonment in Ranthambore. Firaqnama contains rubaiyat, qaseedas, ghazals, qataat and a large part of it has been composed in the masnavi style of poetry. In the same book, Khushal has also criticised Aurangzeb, both as a person and as a ruler. Dastarnama is prose that was also authored during his time at Ranthambore. It is about leadership skills and qualities. Khushal was also an avid hunter and Baznama is about eagles and hunting. Bayaz is about family-related matters and his ancestry.

While Swatnama includes debates on geographical, political, critical, cultural and financial issues, Mohammad Siddiq Rohi, a notable Afghan writer, has termed this book as the guide for collective reforms. His Persian Diwan entails Khushal’s Persian poetry while in Zanzaray, Khushal talks about the linguistics aspects of Pashto.

Khushal passed away at the age of 76 in 1689, and was laid to rest in Akora Khattak. He wanted to be far from where Mughal horses could throw dirt on his grave. And indeed, this legendary Pashtun and multidimensional character’s words and legacy survive safe from his tormentors.

The writer is a professor at Degree College Zhob and a columnist. He can be reached at hussainhunarmal@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, July 19th, 2020