Bacha Khan death anniversary and Quotation marks from his speeches and letters

 By Naheed Niazi

Today is the 27th death anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan who died on January 20, 1988 during his house arrest. He was buried in Jalalabad Afghanistan as his last will. He was born in Hashtngar on February 6, 1890.

His life, his struggle and his political philosophy cannot be covered in one article or hundredbooks. He had sour relations with pro-West establishment of Pakistan till his death because he was tagged as “Communist and Indian Man”. However, the time has testified that stances he took against the ill and wrong decisions of Pakistani establishment were in fact against the country in the long run including Pakistani involvement in Afghan-Russian war. Now he is respected by all schools of thoughts except those who are against a moderate Pakistan.

He was against the partition but after partition he tried his best to gel him in main stream politics and system of Pakistan as a patriotic and strong leader.

In remembering him today, I would like to share his political quotes with readers just to indicate that the majority of readers have no access to his political philosophy because stiff actions were taken by military dictatorships in past to clamps and control the spread of political thoughts of Bacha Khan.

Here are some quotation marks from his speeches and letters I share with my readers:

(Sources of quotation include his letters, speeches and Wikipedia pages)

My religion is truth, love and service to God and humanity. Every religion that has come into the world has brought the message of love and brotherhood. Those who are indifferent to the welfare of their fellowmen, whose hearts are empty of love, they do not know the meaning of religion.

There is nothing surprising in a Muslim or a Pathan like me subscribing to the creed of nonviolence. It is not a new creed. It was followed fourteen hundred years ago by the Prophet all the time he was in Mecca.

 “Islam is amal, yakeen, muhabat” – selfless service, faith, and love.

And you, ignorant and misguided Pathans, you do not even stop to think whether this is Islam or not, you just swallow anything you are told.”

“Whenever I had an opportunity to address the people in different parts of our province, I told them clearly that I was of the opinion that India should not be divided because today in India we have witnessed the result. Thousands and thousands of young and old, children, men, and women were massacred and ruined. But now that the division is an accomplished fact, the dispute is over. I delivered many speeches against the division of India, but the question is: has anybody listened to me? You may hold any opinion about me, but I am not a man of destruction but of construction. If you study my life, you will find that I devoted it to the welfare of our country. We have proclaimed that if the Government of Pakistan would work for our people and our country the Khudai Khidmatgars would be with them. I repeat that I am not for the destruction of Pakistan. In destruction lies no good. “Neither Hindus nor Muslims, nor the Frontier, not Punjab, Bengal or Sindh stands to gain from it. There is advantage only in construction. I want to tell you categorically I will notsupport anybody in destruction. If any constructive programme is before you, if you want to do something constructive for our people, not in theory, but in practice, I declare before this House that I and my people are at your service…

(February 1948: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan: A True Servant of Humanity by Girdhari Lal Puri pp -188 to 190)

Only a dead nation remembers its heroes when they die. Real nations respect them when they are alive.

I have one great desire.

I want to rescue these gentle, brave, patriotic people from the tyranny of the foreigners who have disgraced and dishonored them. I want to create for them a world of freedom, where they can live in peace, where they can laugh and be happy. I want to kiss the ground where their ruined homes once stood, before they were destroyed by savage strangers. I want to take a broom and sweep the alleys and the lanes, and I want to clean their houses with my own hands. I want to wash the stains of blood from their garments. I want to show the world how beautiful they are, these people from the hills, and then I want to proclaim: “Show me, if you can, any gentler, more courteous, more cultured people than these.”

“Better be poisoned in one’s own blood then to be poisoned in one’s principle.”

Pathans! Your house has fallen into ruin. Arise and rebuild it and remember to what race you belong.