A COMPLETE DETAIL OF PATHANS LIVING IN UTTAR PRADESH (INDIA);

A COMPLETE DETAIL OF PATHANS LIVING IN UTTAR PRADESH (INDIA);

The Pathans of Uttar Pradesh (Pashto: د اوتار پرادش پښتانه), have a large community of Ethnic Afghans also known as Pashtuns in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, who form one of the largest Muslim communities in the state. They are also known as khans, which is a commonly used surname, although not all those who use the surname are Pathans, for example the Khanzada community of eastern Uttar Pradesh, who are Muslim Rajputs, are also commonly known as khan. Indeed in Awadh, the boundary between the Khanzada and Pathans are blurred. In addition, the phrase Pathan Khanzada is used to describe Muslim Rajput groups, found mainly in Gorakhpur, who have been absorbed into the Pathan community. However in Rohilkhand, and in parts of the Doab and Awadh, there are genuine communities of Pashtuns, such as the Rohilla.

History and origin;

The word Pathan is simply the Hindustani pronunciation of the word Pashtun. Their presence in the territory that now forms Uttar Pradesh dates from at the least the 10th Century. Various medieval sources refer to the presence of Pashtuns in the armies of the Delhi Sultanate. With the rise of the Pashtun Lodi dynasty, there were the beginnings of mass Pashtun immigration. The Lodi were replaced by the Mughals, who continued to employ the Pashtuns in their armies.

With the breakdown of the Mughal Empire, two Pashtun confederacies, the Rohilla of Rohilkhand and the Bangash of Farrukhabad rose to independence. In the Awadh region, the Kakar Rajahs of Nanpara also carved out an independent princely state. By the end of the 18th Century, the British had established control over the region, and all the Pashtun states were annexed barring Rampur, which became a British protected state. Various Pashtun families continued to exercise influence such as the Sherwanis of Aligarh District.

Present circumstances;

A process of indigenization has occurred, and the Pathan are now indistinguishable from neighbouring Muslim communities. They now speak Hindustani as well as various dialects such as Khari boli. They are found throughout Uttar Pradesh, with settlements in Moradabad, Farrukhabad, Hathras, Malihabad, and Rohilkhand being the densest. A cluster of Pathan settlements are referred to as a basti.Some Khans came from Iran Usually belongs to Mogals Dinesty, Ghaziuddin Khan and his family belongs to Majhpurwa district Kannauj The city's name is traditionally derived from the term Kanyakubja.

The Pathan are divided into sixteen groupings, who generally take their name from the ancestral Pashtun tribes. These include the Bangash, Afridi, Tanoli,LUNI(MIANI), Jadoon, Bakarzai, Barech, Daudzai, Dilazak, Durrani, Ghorghushti, Ghori, Khalil, Lodi, Mohmand, Mohammadzai, Orakzai, Rohilla, Sherwani, Suri, sultani and Yousafzai, all of which are well known Pashtun tribes. In older parts of the Muslim areas of the towns in UP, the Pathan have maintained their own residential neighbourhoods. The Pathan are not an edogamous group, and arranged marriages do occur with other Sunni Muslim communities of similar social status, such as the Mughal and Muslim Rajput, although there is still a preference of marriage within the community. In Rohilkhand, they are still a community associated with agriculture, having historically been a community of land owners. The Afridi of Malihabad are known throughout as expert mango growers,

The Pathan have also been prominent in the Muslim religious sphere in UP, having produced many Ulama and Huffaz and have built and financed many Mosques and Madrassahs. In terms of formal education, they are seen as a Muslim community that has a favourable attitude towards education, and many are now in professional occupations, such as medicine and the law.

Pathans in Western Uttar Pradesh;

The Pathan population in the Doab, with the exception of Kasganj, Kaimganj and Farrukhabad is fairly thin on the ground. The upper Doab, a region roughly covering an area from Aligarh to Saharanpur is home mainly to the Ranghar, Muslim Gujjar, and Muley Jat communities. However, the region is still home to a number of Pathan settlements. Starting with Saharanpur District, the Pathan population is found mainly in the city and villages nearby. The only large Pathan colony is that of the Kakars in Deoband tehsil, where there are several villages. There is also a very ancient settlement of Ghori Afghans in Roorkee, and settlements of Lodis in Saharanpur tehsil, and Yousafzais in Nakur. In addition to these, the district is also home to small numbers of Mohammadzais, Tareens, Durranis (mainly Barakzais and Achakzais), Bangash, Khalils and Afridis.

Deoband town itself has small communities of Yusufzais in Mohalla Qila and Kakars in Mohalla Pathan Pura. Until 1947 Mohalla Qila was predominantly a Pathan area and also houses a mosque, known as Masjid-e-Qila or Qila Wali Masjid, built by the Pathan King Sikander Bahlol Lodhi in the year 616 HIJ/1219 A.D. The mosque is still managed and administered by Yusufzais believed to be the descendents of Sajid Khan the then ruler of the area. Like the Pathans of other parts of western Uttar Pradesh Kakars and Yusufzais of Deoband were either small zamindars, served in the army and the police or were involved in transport business.

In neighbouring Muzaffarnagar District, the Pathan settlements are found mainly in a tract between the Hindan and Kali rivers, there is a cluster of villagers known as the Bara Basti. These Pathan are for the most part belong to the Daudzai(yadgare salf) and Lodi tribes. Further west, the Kakar of what is known as the Bawan Basti were at one time substantial landowners. They are of the same stock as the Kakar of Deoband tehsil in neighbouring Saharanpur District. There is also a settlement of Afridis north of the town of Thana Bhawan, who were settled by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb to control the turbulent Ranghars of the region. Their main settlement is the village of Jalalabad.

In Meerut District, including Baghpat, the Pathan are found throughout these two districts. They belong for the most part to the Yousafzai and Ghori tribe. The city of Meerut has been said to be the earliest settlement of the Pashtuns in North India, and the Ghori have been settled for at least eight hundred years. Other Pathan tribes in the district include the Kakar, Bangash, Tareen and Afridi.

The district of Bulandshahr is home to a number of important Pathan colonies. Perhaps the most important settlement is that of the city of Khurja. The Keshgis of Khurja were brought over from Kasur in Punjab by Firuz Shah Tughlaq. They are often referred to as Kasuria, on account of that being their original settlement in India. There also exists a barah basti, or twelve towns of Lodi Pathans near the banks of the Ganges. These Pathans are connected through marriage with the larger Pathan settlement in Rohilkhand, across the river. The Pathans of Malakpur, who are Yousafzai were settled their by the Emperor Akbar. In additions to these communities, there are also settlements of Afridis, in the city of Bulandshahr, as well as Bangash.

The Pathans in Aligarh District belong to a number of clans, perhaps the most important from a historic point are the Sherwani of Bhikampur and Datauli, in Aligarh tehsil. These Sherwani were substantial landowners, and were practically independent rulers in the period between the collapse of Mughal power and the rise of the British. Their oldest settlement is at Jalali, which contains several families of Lodis and Ghoris. The Popolzai Durani of the village of Barla were settled their by Ahmed Shah Abdali. In the city of Aligarh, there are settlements of Yousafzais and Mohammadzais. Other Pathan settlements include the Lodis in Sikandra Rao, the Afridis in Khair and the Ghoris in Atrauli.

Pathans of Saharanpur

There are many settlements of various tribes of Pashtuns in the district of Saharanpur. Khanalampura colony in the city came in to existence before the city at the bank of "Paun Dhoi" river. Khan Alam was the name of Meer-e-shikar of Shah Jahan and the ruler of the area in Mughal Empire.

In Saharanpur district there are more than fifty villages and colonies where Kakar pathans are living from the mughal period which is called "Kakro Ki Bawni" means fifty two villages of Kakar pathans. Some are Khera Afghan, Titro, Ambehta Peer, Dhurala, Jajwa, Papri, Nagla Jhanda (Jhandia), Sansarpur, Harpal, Pathed, Chaura Kalan, Pithori, Sarsawa, Deoband, Nakur, Kairana, Kailashpur, Nanauta etc. where Nakur Deoband and Sarsawa also have a significant population of yusufzai people among the pathans and the city has considerable population of various type of pathans. Mansoor Ali Khan ex member of parliament from the saharanpur loksabha seat is a Kakar pathan and his father Mahmood Ali Khan had been elected as MLA several time.

Pathans of Aliganj and Kasganj

The most important Pathan colonies in the Doab are that of Aliganj and Kasganj, both in Etah District. These Pathans belong mainly to the Lodi tribe, but there are also important settlements of Ghoris, Mohammadzais and Yousafzais. Both the settlements of Aliganj and Kasganj were founded by a Yaqut Khan. Yaqut Khan is said to have invited Pathans to settle in these two towns. A further settlement was founded at Kadirganj and Sajawar. Most of the early settlers belonged to the Lodi tribe, who still form the largest sub-group. In addition to these settlements, Bhai Khan Toyakhel, a courtier of the Bangash Nawab of Farrukhabad founded the village of Sarai Aghat, which still remains a settlement of Danish khan Pathan.[10] yousufzai founded in majeedpur of kasganj distt. etah. Shahbaz khan came to India from Afganistaan in 1680.

Pathans of Sarai Tareen (Sambhal)

Sarai Tareen is a township in Sambhal district. More than 50% of the pathan population of this township Belongs to Tareen Tribe of Pashtoon. Other major pathan clans are Shinwary Mohmand and khatak.

Pathans of Qaimganj and Farrukhabad

The Pathans of Farrukhabad region basically belongs to The Mughal dinesty,these mughals of UP are an endogamous community, marrying within their own community, or in communities of a similar status such as the Pathan and Muslim Rajput.The district of Farrukhabad was the centre of the Bangash kingdom, and as such home to a large settlement of Afridi Pathans, Gaziuddin khan belongs to the same family. Important settlement in the district include town of Qaimganj, and the villages of Pitaura, Kuberpur, Subhanpur, Gulami, Gadhi Izzat Khan, Gadhi Noor Khan, Chalaul, Lalbagh,kalakhail Pahadi and Ataipur Jadid. Most of the Pathan belong to the Bangash tribe, with smaller numbers of Ghori, Khattak and Yousafzai.

List of Pathan tribes of the Doab

Here is a list of the major tribes, tabulated for 1891 Census of India.

Tribe Saharanpur District;

Muzaffarnagar District;

Meerut District;

Bulandshahr District;

Aligarh District;

Mathura District;

Agra District;

Farukhabad District;

Etah District;

Etawah District;

Kanpur District;

Fatehpur District;

Allahabad District;

NOTE:

1 The Baqarzai are sub-clan of the Durrani tribe

2 The Bunerwal are Yousafzai, and originate in the Buner District, and the word Bunerwal literally means an inhabitant of Buner. Most Bunerwal are Mandanr Yousafzais

3 The Urmuz are a sub-tribe of the Afridis

4 The Warakzai or Barakzai are largest sub-division of the Durrani confederacy.