September 10, 2006

The book is an overview of the Hazaras in Pakistan. It is a unique reference book on the Hazara tribe’s origin, history, culture, characteristics, language, traditions, custom and contemporary lives


Dr Mohammad Owtadolajam investigates the antecedents of the Hazara tribe in Balochistan and finds it enterprising and quick to acquire new skills

The Hazara tribe has been living in Afghanistan for centuries. Its migration in the past was not of an exceptional nature and followed the normal pattern of populations migrating to neighbouring countries for different reasons. This remained the case till the 1880s. What caused an increase in the flow of migrants from Afghanistan like an uncontrollable flood were the battles fought by them in 1872 onwards with Amir Abdul Rehman, the ruler of Afghanistan.

The Hazara tribal leaders blamed the Afghan government for these battles and accused it of committing atrocities and levying punitive and innumerable heavy taxes on them. The Hazaras were determined not to tolerate the calculated pressure and violence designed to uproot them. Many sources record that the Hazaras were politically semi-independent so much so that they did not follow the policy of the former Afghan rulers ... The petty rulers of the Hazarajat, as far as possible, avoided clashes with them or as Amir Abdul Rehman, the ruler of Afghanistan at that time, admitted that these non-rulers had not been able to subdue the Hazaras. Amir Abdul Rehman in his book Taj has referred to the Hazaras as “rebellious and stubborn”. According to him they were the cause of disorder and unrest in the country and caravans and travellers faced insecurity on the routes passing through the Hazarajat. Most part of central Afghanistan was occupied by the Hazaras who successfully plundered such caravans and travellers ...

In 1307, Amir Abdul Rehman subjugated and vanquished the disobedient Afghan elements and other tribal leaders of areas surrounding Kabul and the border areas of Afghanistan. While returning from Afghan Turkistan (the northern province of Afghanistan), he appointed Sardar Abdul Quddus Afghan the governor of the Hazaras.

It was on this very occasion when one of the military columns proceeding to Kabul from Turkistan was attacked by the Hazaras of Shaikh Ali in Besud. A considerable number of soldiers were killed and wounded and their arms and equipment seized. Those who escaped hurried to Kabul and reported the matter to the Amir.

The Amir writes: “I asked Abdul Quddus to treat the Hazaras gently and kindly but due to further invasions by Shaikh Ali of the Hazaras, Abdul Quddus was compelled to crush them, arrest their leaders and send them to Kabul. I treated them with extreme kindness and returned them to their respective localities. It is regretted that they restarted their aggression.” The military officers stationed at Ghazni wrote a letter to the Hazara leaders, specially the Oruzgan leaders, requesting them to honour the internal peace of the country and avoid any disturbance. It was pointed out that the four neighbouring countries would see this as a weakness of the Afghan government if there was no peace inside the country. As the Hazaras thought themselves very powerful, they sent a reply signed by 15 Hazara leaders rejecting the advice and continued their resistance. After going through this letter, Amir Abdul Rehman ordered two generals, General Sher Mohammad Khan from Herat, and General Zabardast Khan from Kabul, under the supreme command of Sardar Abdul Quddus Khan to crush the Hazaras in 1308. In a tough battle, the Hazaras were defeated and Oruzgan, the strongest centre of the Hazaras, was occupied by the Afghan forces. More than one hundred Hazara leaders were taken prisoners and brought to Kabul.

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After this victory, a great number of government officials and military men were sent to disarm the Hazaras and exact heavy taxes from the war affected population. The defeated Hazara leaders were taken prisoners and were sent to Kabul. Some of them received a death sentence and were pushed from the well known cliff of the mountain “Asmae” into the valley. The bodies of these unfortunate victims were cut to pieces. The Hazara properties were confiscated, some of them taken by the state i.e. nationalised while some pieces of their lands were distributed among the Ghilzai tribes and Mulla Khali Afghans who came to Pakistan during the summers and returned to Hazara-owned lands (now possessed by these tribes) in winters, and are now known as Pathans.

The war ravaged and oppressed Hazara tribes whose immovable properties had been confiscated by the state and looted by the Afghan troops were forced to flee to Pakistan, Iran and wherever they could take refuge. They found life in Hazarajat intolerable. Their migration began in 1890, a period of over 85 years since. This was the beginning of a great wave of migration by the Hazaras who left their homeland together with their families and little was left to them, in order to save their lives.

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The history of the Hazaras in Pakistan is brief and revolves around a few events mainly concerning their service in the army and the emergence of Pakistan as a country. They had lived in Quetta and other parts of the subcontinent in small numbers much before their uprising against Amir Abdul Rehman Khan. Thereafter they came to Quetta in appreciable numbers. Their military prowess and inclination towards soldierly life qualified them for service in the Indian Army and the British officers found them to their taste. Two companies of Hazaras were first recruited in the 124th and 126th Balochistan Regiments.

In the early 1900’s, a British officer, Col. Jacob (later Field Marshal Sir Claude Jacob), was entrusted with the responsibility of raising a new regiment of Hazaras only. This was known as the 106th Hazara Pioneers. Further recruitment of Hazaras was made to complete the complement of the 106th Hazara Pioneers. Recruitment parties headed by Hazara officers, such as Captain Dost Mohammad Khan, Subedar Yazdan Khan, etc., were sent far and wide to collect and recruit soldiers from amongst not only the Hazara refugees, scattered along the Afghanistan borders from Peshawar to Quetta, but also surreptitiously to the Hazarajat and Khurasan in Iran.

The Hazara Pioneers saw active service in China, the Northwest Frontier Province and in the Middle East during the First World War and won a name for itself. The regiment gave an opportunity to promising persons to rise to such ranks as were open to Indians in those days. Some of the prominent officers were Captain Dost Mohammad Khan, Captain Ali Dost Khan, Lieut Khuda Dad Khan, Lieut Rehmatullah Khan, etc. …

Those who could not be absorbed in the army found other vocations and means of livelihood. They were uneducated and unskilled. Their skills as agriculturists and pasturists were of no avail to them, as they had lost their lands and were not offered any new lands in their new homeland. Here they worked as unskilled labourers and were absorbed in the lower rungs in government services. Some engaged in petty businesses. In civilian life too they adjusted themselves in their new environment as peaceful citizens.

Finally the Hazara Pioneers was disbanded in the year 1932 soon after its 25th anniversary. The disbandment released a large number of soldiers and their dependents who had to fend for themselves as best as they could. A few of them went to Iran and still fewer to Afghanistan. After this event, as the doors of army service closed on them, they found themselves in a highly competitive field as civilians. The small Hazara community in Quetta found itself deserted and really destitute.

The great Quetta earthquake on May 31, 1935, claimed about 60,000 lives, including quite a number of Hazara victims. This natural catastrophe, however, opened up new fields of employment and profession for the Hazaras in Quetta as they were virtually the only community of some number who were comparatively less affected by the earthquake and had nowhere to go in contrast to other people. Once again a small labour corps of Hazara was raised in Quetta and most ex-servicemen were recalled and enlisted in it. The corps was raised to clear the debris of the town and was disbanded shortly afterwards when no longer needed. By this time the Hazaras had become entrenched in their new homes as full-fledged civilians. Quite a number of them had by then gained skills and some education. They found better and easier means of livelihood as small businessmen, petty contractors, shopkeepers, carpenters, cobblers, drivers, mechanics and semi-skilled hands in a score of other jobs. In turn, the small community began to prosper and started sending their children to school ...

A few years later, Hitler plunged the world into the Second World War in 1939 and the Hazaras were once again recruited in various arms of the Indian defence services. Some even rose to commissioned ranks as by then the door to these ranks were opened to the Indians as well. Col Barkat Ali, Major Mohammad Ali (both retired) and the late Captain Sultan Ali are some who rose to these ranks in addition to General Mohammad Musa Khan.

The end of the war found Hazaras more involved in civilian life and the tribesmen as a whole felt inclined to educate themselves. The partition of India and the emergence of Pakistan as a new country opened up new opportunities to the Hazaras in civilian life. They had gained credence as honest and fairdealing businessmen. As shopkeepers, they were more acceptable to the people who preferred to deal with Hazara salesmen. The vacuum created by the wholesale evacuation of Hindus from Quetta was filled by the Hazara community in the commercial field.

Their natural inclination towards military service however was too strong to resist and in spite of opportunities in civilian life, they never missed a chance to take up arms. There are quite a number of Hazara soldiers even now in various units of the Pakistan army.

Since the inception of Pakistan, Hazaras have done their best to reap the benefits of freedom, though it was only in 1962, that they were formally recognised by the government as citizens of Pakistan and tribesmen of Balochistan.

Their children, male and female, flock to schools and colleges. Quite a number of educated Hazaras rose to ranks as civilian officers in various departments of the government, on the technical side as engineers, mechanics, doctors, teachers, accountants and technicians and on the administrative side as deputy commissioners, chairman of municipalities, tahsildars, secretaries, lecturers, etc. On the military side there are a score or more in the army, navy and air force in ranks from lieutenants to colonels.

In the India-Pakistan war of 1965, the Hazaras played a significant part. In fact, the war was fought under General Mohammad Musa Khan who was then the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan army and is recognised by many as the hero of that war. In other ranks too the Hazaras fought on all fronts and suffered a number of casualties amongst them.