For much of the 20th century, the world was seemingly divided into two poles. On one side were the exploitative and plundering forces spearheaded by mighty nations from the Western colonialism hemisphere, colonizing great part of the East. On the other, there were popular uprisings in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, waging historic struggles to break free from the shackles of imperial domination. In these transformative movements, individual leaders and figures played a central role, leaving behind a legacy of resistance that continues to guide the quest for emancipation.
In the South Asian Subcontinent, Bacha Khan was a towering personality in the struggle against British imperialism. He endured life-long persecution and imprisonment under British colonial rule but remained steadfast in his commitment to the freedom of both his Pashtun homeland and India as a whole. The Pashtun region, historically marginalized under British India, was often treated with discriminatory policies. While legal and political reforms were extended to other parts of British India, the Pashtun region was systematically excluded. At the time of Bacha Khan’s birth, even provincial status had not been granted to this area. But few decades later, in the early twentieth century, the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) had the most popular anti-colonial movement in the region that later became Pakistan.
According to Ejaz Ahmad, among the leaders of India’s independence movement, Bacha Khan was unique in that his roots lay firmly within his land and its rural peasantry. His deep connection with the people, enabled him to build a mass-based political organization in a region that was by and large illiterate and politics a relatively unfamiliar concept. His movement, the Khudai Khidmatgar (Red Shirt Movement), achieved widespread support and won a decisive victory in the 1937 and 1946 elections, despite opposition from British-supported landlords and elites.
When Bacha Khan's name is mentioned, it is invariably linked with the Pashtun people and their land. This stands in contrast to other Indian leaders like Gandhi, Nehru, and Jinnah, who came from urban milieu and Western-educated backgrounds. These leaders are seldomly mentioned with their relation to place and often overshadow their regional roots.
The success of the Red Shirt Movement demonstrated that it was not only a nationalist struggle against British colonialism but also a class-based movement representing rural peasants and oppressed classes against the dominance of landlords and feudal elites in Pashtun society.
Renowned Pakistani scholar Ejaz Ahmad describes Bacha Khan as a devout Muslim who viewed Islam as a moral framework rather than a political or legal identity
Let us contextualize Bacha Khan’s Red Shirts within the Indian independence movement and how it stands in the court of history.
The anti-colonial struggle in India can be argued to have four major political and ideological trends. The revolutionary and radical trend signified most visibly by Bhagat Singh largely faded after his martyrdom. However, three enduring and consequential currents continued to shape the struggle and the post-colonial political landscape of the subcontinent.
The most powerful trend was represented by the secular, nationalist Indian National Congress (INC). It advocated for the political independence of a united India but primarily represented the interests of the urban middle class and the Indian bourgeoisie. Ultimately, the Congress secured independence not through direct confrontation with British colonialism but through a negotiated transfer of power, resulting in the partition of India along religious lines. Critics argue that this partition was not true liberation but rather the "abortion" of the anti-colonial movement, with the Congress appearing complicit in this process.
Muslim League followed Congress in the sense that its politics revolved around negotiation and lawmaking, but was limited in popular appeal at least in initial couple of decades. It was limited to Muslim aristocrats up until 1940. It primarily represented the interests of the Muslim elite. Rather than opposing British colonialism, the League engaged in communal politics and pursued its goals through compromise with the colonial powers.
In our part of the Subcontinent, Bacha Khan and his Red Shirts Movement, unlike the Congress and the Muslim League, had a strong social base among the rural masses and peasantry. Bacha Khan strongly resisted the partition of India on communal basis, advocating for an independent, democratic, and secular state. Renowned Pakistani scholar Ejaz Ahmad describes Bacha Khan as a devout Muslim who viewed Islam as a moral framework rather than a political or legal identity. For him, India was a nation of diverse religious communities, within which the Pashtuns, constituted a unified ethnic identity. He was arguably the only leader in the sub-continent who did not use religion or communalism as a tool to further political programme. The Congress and the Muslim League, in contrast, often relied on communal politics due to their intra elite politics, narrows social base and detachment from popular issues and grassroots masses.
Over the past four decades, Pashtun areas have been transformed into a battleground for imperial geopolitics, subjected to successive colonial wars. From the petro-dollar-funded jihad to the so-called War on Terror, Pashtun lands and people have endured relentless violence. Post-9/11, the American invasion of Afghanistan militarized the entire region, extending conflict and violence across the Durand Line into Pashtun territories. The militarization and policies of empire has been justified in this whole period for narrow political interest by using Bacha Khan’s anti-colonial and anti-war legacy, creating a political vacuum that was subsequently filled by right-wing populists.
As we continue to suffer from extremism, religious violence, and communalism, Bacha Khan’s anti-imperialist and anti-war politics remain as relevant as they were during his time. It is imperative to rediscover and restore his legacy, ensuring it continues to inspire and guide struggles for justice and peace.