London conference warns against stereotyping Pakhtuns- Jan Assakzai
(The Frontier Post)
Pukhtuns are often portrayed fundamentalists most particularly they are treated as Taliban either as a form of protest against the political alienation or as a reflection of their Islamic world view. However, there is an urgent need to understand the history, culture and identity of the Pakhtun in a more broader context rather than just narrowly focusing on Taliban.
This is was the theme of the two days International Conference(11-12 June) organised by the London School of Oriental and African Studies Centre (SOAS) in London. The Conference was titled as “Rethinking the Swat Pathan”.
The SOAS is a world class renowned institution focusing on Asian and African studies. The British government is also known to train its diplomats and other experts in this prestigious institution. I also got the privilege to attend this conference.
Over two dozens of scholars from different parts of the world including the US, Germany, France, Austria and Dubai had specially traveled to London to take part in this conference.
Increasing number of western academicians have started taking interest in Pakhtun studies to have a better understanding of the often repeated stereotypes surrounding Pakhtun communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This process of Pakhtun exploration particularly gained momentum after Sept 11.
The participants’ approach to Pakhtun exploration and understanding was more anthropological: looking at the broader issues of history, culture, class, religion of Pakhtuns in general and the residents of Swat in particular.
The pre-Pakistan state of Swat and subsequent state formation of the society was discussed in details. The Taliban’s ascendancy, dynamics of the Taliban’s coming into power, and the origin of their religious philosophy was highlighted. .
Participants believed that all most universally policy-makers and analysts blame Pakhtuns for Afghanistan’s current problems. They urged the policy makers not to treat Pakhtuns as part of the problem.
Academicians’ interest in Pakhtun exploration can be gauged from a series of papers that were ready out. Over two dozen papers were read out mostly focused on Pakhtuns. The conference brought together large number of experts on the region.
Dr Sana Haroon of Zayed University, Dubai on her paper:“Enjoining Virtue and Preventing Vice: The moral directives of the Taliban in the Swat Valley in history and the present” said that TNSM was inspired by the views of Indian Muslim scholar and fighter Syed Ahmad Shaheed of Rai Bareilly (1786 -1831), who founded "The Way of the Prophet Muhammad" (Tariqah-i Muhhamdiyah).
According to Dr Haroon, Syed Ahmad Shaheed proclaimed a jihad against the Sikhs in Punjab and he wanted to established Islamic state in Peshawar region. She added that he wanted to rallying Pakhtuns to his cause but later he was killed by local Pakhtuns in Balatok in 1831. She was of the opinion that the TNSM had carried his ideology.
Professor Anatol Lieven King's College London (KCL) in his paper “Rise and Fall of the TNSM in Swat” said that the TNSM was partly a class movement involving lower strata including the peasants against the landlords and added that it was also a response to judicial , economic, social and political failures of the state functions.
Professor Anita M. Weiss of University of Oregon, USA, who travelled to Swat last year and met dozens of women including widows, presented her paper on “Crisis and Reconciliation in Swat through the Eyes of Women”.
She said that women of Swat were traumatised by the Taliban and some of them even could not move out of their homes during the military operation. Professor Anita said that many women had to under take two days walking to get out of Swat prior to military operation.
Dr Nancy Lindisfarne of SOAS ( in her paper Exceptional Pakhtuns? Class Politics, Imperialism and Historiography) highlighted the role of class in Pakhuns of Swat how colonial and post colonial states had affected Swat.
Mariam Abou Zahab of Institute of Political Studies (Sciences-Po) INALCO Paris, France, spoke about the role of pro-government and opposition elders in tribal areas and the ways they are manipulated by the government. Her paper was on “Kashars against Mashars: jihad and social change in the FATA”
Dr Antonio Giustozzi of Crisis States Research Centre, at London School of Economics in his paper, “If only there were leaders: the problem of 'fixing' the Pakhtun tribes”, spoke about the tribal hierarchy and the role of leaders in tribes, the interactions of the leaders and followers.
Dr Shah Mahmoud Hanifi of James Madison University, Virginia, USA, highlighted Pakhtu printing work. He said that Pakhtu print was not very old and traced back to nearly four hundred years ago. Interestingly, he said, Pakhtu was oral language but printed by non- Pakhtuns mainly in the West and India.
He gave example of Henry George Raverty’s Pakhtu Dictionary. He also said the the US is printing Pakhtu for soldiers in Afghanistan. He also pointed out that there was a resistance to Pakhtu printing in the British era. His paper was: “The Combined History of Pakhto Printing and Resistance to Print”.
Dr Christine Noelle-Karimi of Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria, in her paper “The Abdali Pakhtuns between Multan, Qandahar and Herat”, spoke about Sadozai (Durrani) elite of Kandhar and said before Ahmed Shah Abdali, his grant grant father was appointed as elite of Multan by Mughals and Sadozais used to travel on the route between Herat, Kandhar and Multan. She pointed out that nearly six thousand families went to Multan as part of Durranis’ entourage.
Dr Hugh Beattie from Open University of UK spoke on “Custom and Conflict in Waziristan: Some British Views”. He referred to the colonial era British Officers posted in tribal areas. He pointed out how they categorised the maliks and paid allowances to them to control fellow tribesmen.
Professor Robert Nichols of The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, USA in his “ Class, State, and Power in Swat Conflict” spoke about the role of class, state and power in Swat and how they were played out in the conflict.
Dr Nicolas Martin of London School of Economics, in his paper “Patronage and Coercion in Swat and in the Punjab” described two case studies and said that political culture in Punjab was based on networks who would support each others through patronage or misuse of the state organs. He said the a “patwary’s assistant in Punjab became a wealthy landlord and a politician.
Dr Benjamin Hopkins of the George Washington University, USA presented his paper entitled: Bloody Fanatics': Jihad in Swat during the British Raj.
Professor David Edwards of Williams College London read out his paper on: “New Lessons from the Swat Pathans: Violence and Political Legitimacy in Afghanistan”.
Professor Charles Lindholm of Boston University, USA titled his presentation as “Frontier Perspectives”.
Dr Nancy Lindisfarne of SOAS London focused on “Exceptional Pakhtuns? Class Politics, Imperialism and Historiography”.
Dr Mukulika Banerjee of London School of Economics in her paper “Challenging essentialism: Pakhtuns in history and cinema” highlighted the portrayal of Pakhtuns in Bollywood movies. She particularly gave example of Khuda Gawa Hae acted by Amitabh Bachchan.
Dr Vazira Zamindar of Brown University of USA in her paper “Who are the Afghans? Archaeology, Anthropology and Photography on a colonial frontier” spoke about Pathan, Pakhtun and Afghan. She said they were interchangeable and all implied Pakhtun identity.
Professor Nile Green of University of California, Los Angeles described the influence of Urdu in Afghanistan. He said in the first quarter of 20th century, Afghan rulers till Amanullah Khan could understand and speak Urdu.
His paper was on “The Mountains of Modernity: Afghanistan and the Urdu Ecumene, 1900-1935”.
Dr Magnus Marsden of SOAS, in his paper “Being Diplomatic in an Afghan Way”, highlighted the case study of those Afghan businessmen who do business between North of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. He pointed to their views, skills and adaptability in different environment.
Dr Conrad Schetter of Center for Development Research, University of Bonn, Germany presented her paper titled as “In between tribe and patronage: Social networks in Paktia”, highlighting how social networks play a role in the tribes of Paktia.
Dr Zuzanna Olszewska of Oxford University in her paper: “Afghans in Iran: Representations and Counter-Representations by Afghan Ahl-e Farhang ('People of Culture')”, referred to the Afghan refugees’ contribution to literature and their problems dealing with the literary circles of Iran.
Professor Richard Tapper of SOAS presented his paper on “Afghan Village Voices”
Dr Ashraf Ghani the former Afghan Finance Minister and Anthropologist in a pre-recorded talk offered a critique of the work of renowned Anthropologist Professor Fredrik Barth who was also present on this occasion. Professor Barth is probably the first western anthropologist who had laid the foundation of anthropological studies of Swat.
janassakzai200@gmail.com
This is was the theme of the two days International Conference(11-12 June) organised by the London School of Oriental and African Studies Centre (SOAS) in London. The Conference was titled as “Rethinking the Swat Pathan”.
The SOAS is a world class renowned institution focusing on Asian and African studies. The British government is also known to train its diplomats and other experts in this prestigious institution. I also got the privilege to attend this conference.
Over two dozens of scholars from different parts of the world including the US, Germany, France, Austria and Dubai had specially traveled to London to take part in this conference.
Increasing number of western academicians have started taking interest in Pakhtun studies to have a better understanding of the often repeated stereotypes surrounding Pakhtun communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This process of Pakhtun exploration particularly gained momentum after Sept 11.
The participants’ approach to Pakhtun exploration and understanding was more anthropological: looking at the broader issues of history, culture, class, religion of Pakhtuns in general and the residents of Swat in particular.
The pre-Pakistan state of Swat and subsequent state formation of the society was discussed in details. The Taliban’s ascendancy, dynamics of the Taliban’s coming into power, and the origin of their religious philosophy was highlighted. .
Participants believed that all most universally policy-makers and analysts blame Pakhtuns for Afghanistan’s current problems. They urged the policy makers not to treat Pakhtuns as part of the problem.
Academicians’ interest in Pakhtun exploration can be gauged from a series of papers that were ready out. Over two dozen papers were read out mostly focused on Pakhtuns. The conference brought together large number of experts on the region.
Dr Sana Haroon of Zayed University, Dubai on her paper:“Enjoining Virtue and Preventing Vice: The moral directives of the Taliban in the Swat Valley in history and the present” said that TNSM was inspired by the views of Indian Muslim scholar and fighter Syed Ahmad Shaheed of Rai Bareilly (1786 -1831), who founded "The Way of the Prophet Muhammad" (Tariqah-i Muhhamdiyah).
According to Dr Haroon, Syed Ahmad Shaheed proclaimed a jihad against the Sikhs in Punjab and he wanted to established Islamic state in Peshawar region. She added that he wanted to rallying Pakhtuns to his cause but later he was killed by local Pakhtuns in Balatok in 1831. She was of the opinion that the TNSM had carried his ideology.
Professor Anatol Lieven King's College London (KCL) in his paper “Rise and Fall of the TNSM in Swat” said that the TNSM was partly a class movement involving lower strata including the peasants against the landlords and added that it was also a response to judicial , economic, social and political failures of the state functions.
Professor Anita M. Weiss of University of Oregon, USA, who travelled to Swat last year and met dozens of women including widows, presented her paper on “Crisis and Reconciliation in Swat through the Eyes of Women”.
She said that women of Swat were traumatised by the Taliban and some of them even could not move out of their homes during the military operation. Professor Anita said that many women had to under take two days walking to get out of Swat prior to military operation.
Dr Nancy Lindisfarne of SOAS ( in her paper Exceptional Pakhtuns? Class Politics, Imperialism and Historiography) highlighted the role of class in Pakhuns of Swat how colonial and post colonial states had affected Swat.
Mariam Abou Zahab of Institute of Political Studies (Sciences-Po) INALCO Paris, France, spoke about the role of pro-government and opposition elders in tribal areas and the ways they are manipulated by the government. Her paper was on “Kashars against Mashars: jihad and social change in the FATA”
Dr Antonio Giustozzi of Crisis States Research Centre, at London School of Economics in his paper, “If only there were leaders: the problem of 'fixing' the Pakhtun tribes”, spoke about the tribal hierarchy and the role of leaders in tribes, the interactions of the leaders and followers.
Dr Shah Mahmoud Hanifi of James Madison University, Virginia, USA, highlighted Pakhtu printing work. He said that Pakhtu print was not very old and traced back to nearly four hundred years ago. Interestingly, he said, Pakhtu was oral language but printed by non- Pakhtuns mainly in the West and India.
He gave example of Henry George Raverty’s Pakhtu Dictionary. He also said the the US is printing Pakhtu for soldiers in Afghanistan. He also pointed out that there was a resistance to Pakhtu printing in the British era. His paper was: “The Combined History of Pakhto Printing and Resistance to Print”.
Dr Christine Noelle-Karimi of Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria, in her paper “The Abdali Pakhtuns between Multan, Qandahar and Herat”, spoke about Sadozai (Durrani) elite of Kandhar and said before Ahmed Shah Abdali, his grant grant father was appointed as elite of Multan by Mughals and Sadozais used to travel on the route between Herat, Kandhar and Multan. She pointed out that nearly six thousand families went to Multan as part of Durranis’ entourage.
Dr Hugh Beattie from Open University of UK spoke on “Custom and Conflict in Waziristan: Some British Views”. He referred to the colonial era British Officers posted in tribal areas. He pointed out how they categorised the maliks and paid allowances to them to control fellow tribesmen.
Professor Robert Nichols of The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, USA in his “ Class, State, and Power in Swat Conflict” spoke about the role of class, state and power in Swat and how they were played out in the conflict.
Dr Nicolas Martin of London School of Economics, in his paper “Patronage and Coercion in Swat and in the Punjab” described two case studies and said that political culture in Punjab was based on networks who would support each others through patronage or misuse of the state organs. He said the a “patwary’s assistant in Punjab became a wealthy landlord and a politician.
Dr Benjamin Hopkins of the George Washington University, USA presented his paper entitled: Bloody Fanatics': Jihad in Swat during the British Raj.
Professor David Edwards of Williams College London read out his paper on: “New Lessons from the Swat Pathans: Violence and Political Legitimacy in Afghanistan”.
Professor Charles Lindholm of Boston University, USA titled his presentation as “Frontier Perspectives”.
Dr Nancy Lindisfarne of SOAS London focused on “Exceptional Pakhtuns? Class Politics, Imperialism and Historiography”.
Dr Mukulika Banerjee of London School of Economics in her paper “Challenging essentialism: Pakhtuns in history and cinema” highlighted the portrayal of Pakhtuns in Bollywood movies. She particularly gave example of Khuda Gawa Hae acted by Amitabh Bachchan.
Dr Vazira Zamindar of Brown University of USA in her paper “Who are the Afghans? Archaeology, Anthropology and Photography on a colonial frontier” spoke about Pathan, Pakhtun and Afghan. She said they were interchangeable and all implied Pakhtun identity.
Professor Nile Green of University of California, Los Angeles described the influence of Urdu in Afghanistan. He said in the first quarter of 20th century, Afghan rulers till Amanullah Khan could understand and speak Urdu.
His paper was on “The Mountains of Modernity: Afghanistan and the Urdu Ecumene, 1900-1935”.
Dr Magnus Marsden of SOAS, in his paper “Being Diplomatic in an Afghan Way”, highlighted the case study of those Afghan businessmen who do business between North of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. He pointed to their views, skills and adaptability in different environment.
Dr Conrad Schetter of Center for Development Research, University of Bonn, Germany presented her paper titled as “In between tribe and patronage: Social networks in Paktia”, highlighting how social networks play a role in the tribes of Paktia.
Dr Zuzanna Olszewska of Oxford University in her paper: “Afghans in Iran: Representations and Counter-Representations by Afghan Ahl-e Farhang ('People of Culture')”, referred to the Afghan refugees’ contribution to literature and their problems dealing with the literary circles of Iran.
Professor Richard Tapper of SOAS presented his paper on “Afghan Village Voices”
Dr Ashraf Ghani the former Afghan Finance Minister and Anthropologist in a pre-recorded talk offered a critique of the work of renowned Anthropologist Professor Fredrik Barth who was also present on this occasion. Professor Barth is probably the first western anthropologist who had laid the foundation of anthropological studies of Swat.
janassakzai200@gmail.com
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