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Nonviolent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan: A Man to Match His Mountains

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I request customers and other visitors to read the article by Arif H. Akhunzada titled "Bacha Khan legacy is Questionable" with caution because in Pakistan objective interpretation and description of history is mostly marred by the official stand on history enshrined in the so-called "Pakistan Ideology".

Pakistan Ideology i.e. the Idea that sparked the struggle for Pakistan is a highly communal, theocratic, and Pan-Islamist view of history that considers the people of the Subcontinent to be divided into two religious communities-Hindus and Muslims-with entirely different ways of life and very little in common to live in a single state or society. According to this ideology, the Idea of Pakistan was born when the first Arab Muslim invader i.e. Mohammad Bin Qasim invaded India (Sindh) and converted some of its inhabitants to Islam.

This divisive and jingoistic philosophy very well serves the interests of the military bureaucracy that has been ruling Pakistan since inception and the allied religious and fudal classess.

As Abdul Ghaffar Khan aka Bacha Khan espoused a non-communal approach to life in which the highest spiritual act and worship was the "service of humanity" irrespective of religious affiliation and practically upheld what he thought as the true purpose of life ( evident from his personal life and joint struggle with Hindus, Sikhs, etc. for freedom), he, therefore, is an anathema to Pakistani national elite. This elite, through a systematic campaign, has tried its best to malign Abdul Ghaffar Khan, mispresent him to the world and his own people i.e. Pashtuns, make him controversial, and permanently erase him from history and the memories of the successive generation of Pashtuns. These elite want Pashtun society to evolve the Taleban way.

There is also another dimension to all this. The political, bureaucratic, economic, and intellectual elite of Pakistan predominently comes from two communities; Punjabis and Muhajirs. The other three communities of Pakistan i.e. Sindhis, Baluchis, and Pashtuns have only peripheral rule in Pakistan. The Punjabi-Muhajir elite wants to build a Pakistani nation based on Islam and Hindustani Muslim Culture. Therefore, any thing that gives these marginalized communities (i.e. Baluchis, Pashtuns, and Sindhis) a sense of identity, pride, self-esteem, and confidence is virtually unbearable for the Punjabi-Muhajir elite that dominate Pakistan.

I will request the world not to forget Bacha Khan. The values and the view of life he upheld are eternal and humanistic. His legacy belongs to the entire humanity rather than a specific community. As a Pashtun, I believe that my people i.e. Pashtuns can achieve spiritual and material success only if they follow Bacha Khan's philosophy of non-voilence and peaceful struggle for personal and collective development. Unfortunately, initially British and later Pakistani state ruthlessly suppressed his movement and philosophy. The politics of the Cold War, in which radical Islam and Jehad were used as counter to communism, also have its share in weakening Bacha Khan's "Khudayi Khidmatgar Movement".

I will further request that readers should read anthropological studies on Pashtuns than relying on superficial views about them here and there.

Courage has to do with "big heartedness." I have read about many courageous people but few as courageous as this man. If you are a seeking a role model, a template for bringing meaning to life, then read this book. It made me realize the essence of non-violent living, gave me a clearer picture of Gandhi, helped me to see how little wisdom is exhibited in our leaders today.....and offered a hope for a new way of being. A way for bringing deep meaning to life. This is an important book and an important man. I intend to use it as a text in the class I teach at WPI.

This is a sweeping portrait of Badshah Khan, a courageous Muslim figure. I felt inspired as I read this touching work, though I wanted more.
I wish that Khan's autobiography, My Life and Struggles would be more readily available. Also, a more detailed biography would be helpful. This book is wonderful as an overview but one who wants to dive deeper should investigate further.
This book is an excellent introduction to Badshah Khan. It shows how one can use the bismillah (in the name of God the infinitly compassionate and merciful) as a means to internalize compassion and mercy in ourselves. This is the core of Islam and of the utmost importance today.

No where in my rather extensive trips through history did I have inkling that a close friend and ally of Mahatma Gandhi, in his non-violent quest for liberation from the British Empire would be a Muslim Pathan, Badsha Khan, who led his own people in their own non-violent quest and were severely repressed, oppressed and slaughtered by the British rule. The biggest surprise is who was the British commander in that operation... which is why this true story has itself been repressed.
A must and easy read for anyone on a quest to better understand the history of the middle east and the ongoing need for non-violent opposition to oppression.

Abdul Ghaffar Khan, or "Badshah Khan" as he was known, was inspired to follow the non-violent movement of Mohandas K. Gandhi, and himself came to be known as the "Frontier Gandhi." Eknath Easwaran has done a very effective job in capturing the essential character of the man, and his nonviolent dedication to Islam. Because Islam is so pervasively characterized as violent, it is essential to read and understand this work, to illustrate that Muslims themselves can be thoroughly dedicated to nonviolence. The life and accomplishments of Khan are contained herein, and it is a good starting point for the beginning reader. Khan's legacy may be ambiguous. He may not have had the political wisdom or the impact of his mentor, Mohandas Gandhi, but certainly his legacy must be remembered and his voice recalled as a counter-cultural alternative to the radical jihadism that the West has known since 9/11. Good work, Easwaran, we should know more about this man.

I am so impressed with Badshah Khan to the point of being overwhelmed with admiration. One reason is his breadth of vision and his tolerance. At one point Gandhi asked Khan if his English sister-in-law had become a Muslim, and Abdul Ghaffar Khan replied that he did not know: "Why should not a husband and wife adhere each to their respective faiths?" (p.145) I long for this kind of tolerance in the world!

The book is an amazing story of success and failure. Khan and Gandhi succeeded nonviolently in bringing independence to India. The failure lies in the facts that: 1) Neither one of them wanted to see the partitioning in to two nations, 2) their dreams of a united Hindu-Islamic nation turned into a nightmare, 3) they both envisioned a nonviolent nation and that has turned out to be a far-fetched notion. Yet, Khan & Gandhi proved that non-violence can work, as proven again by Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela.

As the author notes, probably no other leader suffered so much for the cause of peace and nonviolence as did Khan. No, not even Gandhi or even Mandela. I think we have in this book the profile of THE most amazing man in world history!! And the fact is that he is probably known by far less than one percent of the world's population.

I love everything Eknath Easwaran writes and this book exceeded my expectations. The stories and information are priceless - buy this book if you want to know about the life of Badshah Khan.

This book really demonstrates how you can incorporate non-violence into every aspect of your daily life. This brought me to a new sense of understanding about the world, its people and our conflicts, and how petty or large ones can be avoided and not escalated.

Particularly relevant is how Khan came from the Pathans, or tribe with a reputation of violence which covers much of Afghanistan, and so much in the news today. Khan however raised history's first "non-violent army" of 100,000 men form the ruthless Pathan tradition, and who through non-violent means courageously stood up unarmed against injustice.

Read this book, it is truly outstanding, and preferably after having read "Gandhi The Man" by the same author - Eknath Easwaran.

John Chamberlain

Nonviolent Soldier Of Islam: Badshah Khan, A Man To Match His Mountains is the powerful written biography of Abdul Ghaffar Khan -- a great 20th Century Islamic figure who worked with the legendary peacemaker Gandhi to amass history's first nonviolent army of 100,000 men. Khan's leadership in revealing how great numbers of unarmed men and women can successfully stand against injustice, stop the self-perpetuating cycles of revenge fueled violence, and help to change history, bringing inspiration to future generations, is a profound example for what is so badly needed today both with in Islamic communities and with respect to the interactions of Islamic and non-Islamic peoples today. A impressively descriptive saga of Khan's life and work, Nonviolent Solider Of Islam is very strongly recommended and timely reading.

ESSENTIAL PART OF ANY STUDY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND OF GANDHI!

This is the story of Badshakhan, the Muslim leader who raised a non-violent "army" of 100,000 men from among the Pathan of the Khyber Pass to resist British rule in India.

Gandhi called HIM "the father of non-violence." He was Gandhi's teacher! His life (and this work) explode three myths: (1)that Islam is a violent religion (and is a reminder to us all that for all of the contributions made by Islamic Civilization in its golden age, one field in which there were no advances was in the field of weaponry); (2) that you cannot use non-violence against ruthless oppresstion; and (3) you cannot teach non-violence to a warrior culture (and though Muslim, the Pathans are an ancient warrior culture - older than their Islam - in this rugged most mountainous region of northeastern Afghanistan). This book was formerly titled A Man To Match His Mountains.

Teachers - this work belongs in 7th grade through High School - Social Studies/Humanities. When we study King's non-violence (in January getting ready for the King National Birthday celebration, or in February as part of Black History Month)we include Gandhi, as King's "teacher". We need to take it a step further and include the man who Gandhi acknowledged as HIS teacher - Badshakhan!

Librarian - here is a book that absolutely belongs on your library shelves!