Khudai Khidmatgar
Khudai Khidmatgar (Pashto: خداۍ خدمتګار; literally "servants of God") was a predominantly Pashtun nonviolent resistance movement known for its activism against the British Raj in colonial India; it was based in the country's North-West Frontier Province (now in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan).[1]
Also called Surkh Posh or "Red Shirts" or "red-dressed", this was originally a social reform organisation focusing on education and the elimination of blood feuds.[2] it was known as the Anjuman-e-Islah-e Afghania (society for the reformation of Afghans/Pashtoons). The movement was led by Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known locally as Bacha Khan, Badshah Khan, or Sarhadi Gandhi.[3]
It gradually became more political as its members were being targeted by the British Raj. By 1929 its leadership was exiled from the province and large numbers were arrested. Seeking allies, leaders approached the All-India Muslim League and Indian National Congress; after being rebuffed by the former in 1929, the movement formally joined the Congress Party and played an important role in the Indian independence movement.[4] Due to pressure across India, the British colonial government finally released Bacha Khan and lifted restrictions on the movement. As part of the Government of India Act 1935, a limited male franchise was for the first time introduced in the North-West Frontier Province. In the 1937 elections, the Khudai Khidmatgars won in alliance with the Congress Party. Bacha Khan's brother Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan (Dr.Khan Sahib) was elected as the Chief Minister of the NWFP.
The Khudai Khidmatgar movement faced another crackdown for its role in the Quit India Movement after 1940; in that period it started facing increasing opposition from the Muslim League in the province. The Khudai Khidmatgars also won the 1946 elections in alliance with the Congress Party, and Dr Khan Sahib was re-elected as the Chief Minister.
The Khudai Khidmatgars strongly opposed the proposal for the partition of India, siding with the Indian National Congress and All India Azad Muslim Conference.[5][6][7] When the Indian National Congress declared its acceptance of the partition plan without consulting the Khudai Khidmatgar leaders, Bacha Khan, the leader of the Khudai Khidmatgars, felt very sad and told the Congress "you have thrown us to the wolves."[8]
In June 1947, the Khudai Khidmatgars declared the Bannu Resolution, demanding that the Pashtuns be given a choice to have an independent state of Pashtunistan, composing all Pashtun territories of British India, instead of being made to join Pakistan. However, the British Raj refused to comply with the demand of this resolution.[9][10] In response, the Khudai Khidmatgars boycotted the 1947 NWFP referendum about the province joining Pakistan or India, citing that it did not have the options of the NWFP becoming independent or joining Afghanistan.[11][12]
After the partition of India, the Khudai Khidmatgars faced a backlash from the new Pakistani government. The government of the Khudai Khidmatgars was dismissed and their movement banned, with many members of the organisation being targeted in the Babrra massacre that occurred on 12 August 1948. In Delhi, the Khudai Khidmatgar was revived by Faisal Khan in 2011 with a focus on promoting communal amity and aiding in disaster relief; it has a membership of around 5,000 persons.[13][14]
Conservative backlash[edit]
The increasingly liberal movement faced an increasing backlash from conservatives because of its support for the Congress party amidst growing support for the Pakistan movement. The decision of Dr. Khan Sahib to support his daughter's marriage to a Sikh soldier led to some senior associates of Bacha Khan to leave.[24][25]
Similarly, his son Ghani Khan's criticism of feudal landlords angered many conservative "Khans" and Nawabs, some formerly sympathetic to the movement.[26]
This coincided with a determined effort by the colonial government to discredit the movement with the assistance of pro-British mullahs and ulema.[27] The British Governor, Cunningham, instructed the big khans to meet each mullah on an individual basis and tell him to serve the cause of Islam' for which he would be duly paid. The Mullahs were told that in case of good progress they would also be considered for a government pension. A Cunningham policy note of 23 September 1942 reads: 'Continuously preach the danger to Muslims of connivance with the revolutionary Hindu body. Most tribesmen seem to respond to this', while in another paper he says about the period 1939–43: 'Our propaganda since the beginning of the war had been most successful. It had played throughout on the Islamic theme.[26]
Criticisms[edit]
The Khudai Khidmatgar movement was a success in the terms of its opposition to British colonial rule. However, the social effects of the movement have not survived. While the Ghaffar Khan family maintains a hold over the political philosophy of the movement, its history has largely been wiped out from official memory in Pakistan. The movement has also been criticized for its opposition to partition and by that virtue the creation of Pakistan.[26]
As a result, it has been seen as a secessionist movement in Pakistan, and in the 1950s and 1960s, it was also perceived as pro-communist, an argument that was used by conservative elements to discredit it as anti-Islam. The movement's claim to total non-violence seems flawed as well; some critics argue that while the movement proved successful against the British, it like other non-violent movements would not have proved a success against the Pakistani state. This is supposedly proved by its failure to pose a challenge to the Pakistani government.[17] Others have also suggested that the Khudai Khidmatgar movement was not in fact as non-violent as its supporters would argue. Writers like Schofield and Bannerjee have documented cases of attacks on British colonial officials by Khudai Khidmatgar members.[35]