International and Regional Circumstances
Towards the end of nineteenth century capitalism entered its ultimate stage of imperialism in Europe and British, French, and the like powers occupied Asian and African countries in such a manner that these countries were settles as complete colonies or semi-colonies for exploitation, and thus an extensive colonialist system was established by the global imperialism. The apportion of these enslaved countries was reckoned in the ratio of the might of the plundering countries of the age.
The mightiest imperialist country had posses the biggest share in the plunder. During the late 19th century as the British imperialists were the mightiest of all the rest. The most important slave countries in respect of economic, political and strategic point of view came under the occupation of the British imperialism with great number and amplitude and when the British imperialist exploiters transferred the whole of the subcontinent in to their colony, they latter on occupied the territory of Afghanistan and included it in her occupied territory of Subcontinent and named them as North West and Frontier Province with the capita at Peshawar, which used to be the winter Capital of Afghanistan and British Balochistan with the capital at Quetta.
At the beginning of 2oth century on the one side the European imperialist countries were busy in preparation for war to distribute the booty by force of the sophisticated arms of that time, on the other side the highest revolutionary class, the industrial workers of the European countries were organizing the labor movement and on the third side the people of the slave and semi slave countries taking the first steps for emancipation from the grip of the colonialist exploitation and establishment of self control over their countries.
His Struggle and Political Philosophy
Khan Shaheed Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai was born in the Gulistan tehsil of District Kialla Abdullah of the Colonized Afghanistan in 1907. This part of the land was still resounding with the songs of heroic deeds in defense of defending the motherland, but this struggle of their was lacking the guidance of such political organization which according to the needs of the time could provide the befitting leadership.
In the meantime from 1917 to 1918 the imperils countries of Europe entangled with each other in a ferocious war for the redistribution of the World In this imperialist war of occupation and subjection of the subjected and slave countries all the imperialist countries and their colonies took part and this war was called the First World of 1914-1918.
Most of the labor parties with the organization of the World labor movement. The second International became agents of this imperialist plunderer and fought for them to usurp more colonies. Within the Second International only minority of labor parties under the guidance of Russian revolutionary Labor party of Bolshevik clearly declared that the imperialist were fighting this war only for the redistribution of other countries specially the subjected ones. It is therefore, the duty of true revolutionary and parties complying with the principles of the international proletariat to struggle against the imperialists within their own nations to win freedom for themselves on the one side and finishing the imperialist, capitalists of their own countries. Practically demonstrate the international brotherhood of the workers of the subjected colonized countries. In this way the second international had do be divided and the parties and the elements that become tools in the hands of the imperialists of their countries became chauvinists, called socialists nominally but really they were chauvinists and the parties and the revolutionaries who clearly called this war an imperialist war and supported the land and subjected nations and workers of their countries against the imperialists were those who not only verbally but practically adhered to the principled of proletariat internationalist. These real internationalists practically cleared the true meaning of internationalists in politics.These true internationalists in the light of this particular meaning of the principles of internationalism established the third international after October, 1917 revolution.
Khan Shaheed was only ten years old when in the Czarist Russia the vanguard of the workers of Bolshevik Party that complied with the principles of Internationalism in true meaning of the word, the Government of the toiling people by over throwing the exploiting classes in October, 1917 and emancipating all the slave and subjected nations of Russia on the principles of self determinations and equality of the nation, established their own republics where the peoples of these free republics of their own consent united the Soviet republics and formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic.3 In this manner a practical example of the political ideals for national and social freedom was set up.
In the Sub continent and in occupied Afghanistan majority of the workers and exploited classes of the people joined the struggle for democratic values and emancipation from imperialist oppression as the result of these World events and historical and social demands. During this time all parties and toiling masses united primarily in the Afghania Reformist Movement afterward in the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement under the leader ship of Bacha Khan throughout the occupied North eastern Afghanistan or in NWFP and Kaka sanober Hussain Momend, Moulana Abdur Raheem Ppalzai, Khushal Kaka Ji and other gave momentum to the movement.4
In the British Balochistan or South Pashtoonkhawa in 1918 at the age of eleven years Khan-I-Shaheed abdul samad Khan Achakzai headed a procession of School boys at Gulistan in confirmations with the Khilfat Movement demonstrating against the British Rule in the region.5
In 1930 Khan-I-Shaheed was arrested immediately after his decision to found democratic political party for freedom during his struggle.6 After his release in 1931, he went to Bombay where he met Mahatma Gandhi who was on his way to London to attend the round table conference. On this occasion Khan Shaheed had the opportunity to meet many other known political figures including Bacha Khan and as a result of this visit they united the freedom movement of oppressed classes in particular of Pashtoon of Peshawar and Quetta region with the cooperation of other Pashtoon leaders playing a great role in the organization of the Khudai Khidmat gar of Surkpoosh Movement (red Shirt) which was the association of the patriotic masses specially the Pashtoon workers and farmers.
Here Khan-I-Shaheed and his Pashtoon and Baloch companions struggled very hared and untiringly against the British imperialist and the tribal chiefs attached to them. During the struggle he suffered many years behind the bars. Exile and detentions. He established a platform to complete the aims and objects of his revolutionary struggle to Pashton and Baloch masses and people of the Subcontinent and afterwards issued the newspapers ISTIQLAL from Quetta in 1938 Thus during the thirties in spite of confinements, detention, exile and all sorts of perils in the imperialists, colonialists and retrogressive conditions. Khan Shaheed and his courageous friends namely Ayub Khan achakzai, Moulan Obedullah of Bostan District Pishin, Molovi Ghulam Haider Mehterzai of Kan Mehterzai, Aslam Achakzai and many more conducted their political struggle, organized conferences and arranged processions wrote and publish articles and founded the political Party Anjuman-I- Watan in 193 for the freedom of Mother land and for the democratic values where each and every person must have equal opportunity and rights. Khan Shaheed was elected the President of the Party. In Kalat State or Balochistan State Gul Khan Naseer and other freedom loving Baloch leaders formed Kalat National Party. It was the culmination of such enthusiastic endeavours that the freedom movement of Pashtoon and Baloch people gained the leadership of revolutionary democratic political movements for the emancipation of Pashtoon and Baloch peoples, cooperation of Brotherhood was established on the basis of equality.10
In 1939 Khan-I-shaheed and Bacha khan went on political tour to the British Balochistan together and motivated the pashtoons to make themselves ready for the up coming challenges as the imperialist countryside with their fresh ratio of power once more planned the Second World war 1939-45 for the redistribution of the World. Although the real aim of the imperialist countries was rooting out the revolutionary Republic of Soviet Socialist Republic and all the National movements for emancipation.11 There emerged two groups against each other, one led by Germany and the other by British. The 2nd World war had direct effect on the political scenario of whole the world in general and on Sub-continent in particular. The Indian National Congress resigned from the ministries in order to put pressure on British and started quiet India movement against the British in 1942.12 On the guidance of Khan-I-Shaheed, Anjuman-I-Watan commenced a movement on the same pattern against the British. Khan Shaheed played a bold and courageous role in it.13
In the prevailing World events the British compiled to leave Pashtoonkhawa, Balochistan and the Subcontinent as the consequences of the struggle by the Anjuman-I-Watan, Khudai khidmat Gar from Pashtoonkhawa, Kalat National Party form Balochistan, and many more from other parts of the region. But Khan-I-Shaheed, Bacha Khan and other freedom loving persons who persisted on the sole aim of putting the British to flight, could not stop the success of the British in their intrigues of those days: and the departing British ruler transferred the powers to their patronized landlords, agents capitalists classes and the civil and military bureaucracy who never let the democracy to be flourished in the Country and they carried on the same policies even went many steps ahead from the British.
It was hoped that with the creation of Pakistan the Pashton , Baloch, Sindhi, Saraiki, Punjabi and Bengali peoples then emancipated from the British subjection, would be the masters of their supreme authority and powers on the basis of equality of the nationalities and on this principle would equally share the political authority but these still are the dreams of the people of the country. Within such conditions Khan-I-Shaheed carried on the struggle for the National and democratic rights for the people of Pakistan and with the coming of August, 1947, the series of his arrests and detentions began once more and then he was put behind the bars on orders by the representative of Fresh colonialist rulers, the English agent to the Governor General and he remained in jail till 1954. After his release in 1954 he formed a political party with the name of Worrier Pashtoon (Pashtoon Brother). He was elected the conveyor of the Party.
Afterward again the chain of arrests and detentions began and hardly was set free by Lahore High Court in 1956. Then in such state of affairs wror Pashtoon joined hands with patriotic peoples of all the nationalities and laid the foundation of National Awami Party( NAP) in 1957. The NAP was basically formed against the One Unit scheme, which was imposed in 1955 abrogating the provinces of Pakistan in a single one18. NAP adopted a free, neutral political policy on the basis of the principle of equality of all nationalities, the establishment of their political power and participation in the central set up on the basis of real equality, and total emancipation from world imperialism. Thus Khan-I-Shaheed, Bacha khan, Kak Sanobar Hussain Momand and other numerous Pashtoon leaders were forerunners of the real democratic political party that was anti-imperialist, anti-feudal, and anti-conservatism and truly a party for the establishment of power of the toiling peoples of Pakistan.
The first target of Ayub Khan’s Martial law Khan Shaheed who was arrested on the second day of martial law and then was confined to fourteen years rigorous imprisonment by special military court on totally false allegations. Along with him the workers and the leaders of NAP were made targets of reprisal of every kind. The state was totally converted into a military base of the American imperialism and was pledged to the international imperialism.
Released in 1968 after the full term of punishment, when Khan-I-Shaheed came to Quetta, the enthusiastic procession of the people to welcome him proved to be the first spark of the people’s fury to burn the Ayub despotism and reduce it to ashes. Khan–I-Shaheed was again arrested along with his some of companions and was tried by a tribunal, but furry of the people specially of the Pashtoon masses had become a storm against Ayub tyranny, even though in the endeavors to over come the rage of this storm, the helpless students in the Zarif Shaheed Hostel Science College Quetta, were indiscriminately fired at and as result Zarif Khan was murdered. But they could not stop this storm and it spread through out the country and at last drifted the Ayub dictatorship despotism.
In 1970 Yahaya Khan understanding the demand of time disbanded one unit, but. It is obvious that the abode of the Pashtoons, majority chief commissioner Province historically has remained a separate national political unit and the treaty of Gandamak 1879 and other exploits imposed treaties brought this region under the direct control of British and was named as British Balochistan although it was absolutely Pashtoon populated area, the British forcibly occupied this region from Afghanistan on the condition that Amir of Afghanistan should received the surplus revenues after payment of the expanses of administration.23. The British colonialists gave the wrong name of British Balochistan to the occupied Afghanistan, for the unsuccessful attempt to conceal the historical fact of the occupation of the land of pashtoons by the British imperialists and gradually erase this fact from the memories of the world but it is highly regretted that even though martial Law Government of General Yehya Khan announced the abrogation of One Unit and that the former provinces were to be revived, yet the Chief Commissioner’s Province of Pashtoon ( Since 1st November 1887) was not only not revived but also the Balochistan States Union was joined with it and it was once again named after the name of others without the determination of political, historical and constitutional inter-relations of Pashtoon and Brohi –Baloch. It is to be further pointed out that Chief Commissioner of the British Balochistan had its own elected institution of Shahi Jirga, having 46 members at the time of establishment of Pakistan who voted in favor of Pakistan on 29th June 1947 as instructed by 3rd June plan of 1947. It is worth nothing that of 46 sitting members of the Shahi Jirga (consisting of all the Chief, Sardars and elders of the tribes) 38 were Pashtoons and the remaining Eight were Brohi- Baloch. Moreover out of seven members of the Quetta Municipality three were Pashtoons and remaining were the new comers to Quetta.
In fact the Baloch have always opposed the inclusion of British Balochistan or the Pashtoon populated area into Balochistan. When the Shahi Jirga of British Balochistan was voting to decide weather to be the part of Pakistan or India in June 1947. The Baloch members in the Shahi Jirga except Mir Jafar Khan Jamaili wanted to go with Balochistan states union and to remain in British Balochistan26. When Federal Government of Pakistan wanted to merge the Balochistan States Union with the Chief Commissioner Province of Pashtoons, So, it was opposed by Baloch in 1954 and in February 1954 during the Sibi week when the Government officers persuaded some Baloch sardars to give their consent to the merger of Chief Commissioner Province of Pashtoon districts with Balochistan States union. It was considered by the Baloch as a vicious stratege. A few Baloch Sardars signed a memorandum drawn up by the Government functionaries, informing the agent to the Governor General of the approval of the merger of Chief Commissioner Province or Pakistani Balochistan (as the Baloch leaders used to call it) with Balochistan states Union. This arrangement was severely criticized by the Baloch who in a memorandum on 16th February, 1954 addressed to members of the constituent Assembly of Pakistan on behalf of “the well wishers of Pakistan, the Baloch and Balochistan, the memorandum maintains that the Sardars, who signed the document without knowing its full implications, accepted their mistakes when apprised by the real situation, and repented in writing. The document opposed the inclusion of the Chief Commissioner Province of Pashtoons populated in to Balochistan States union and proposed that in view of the racial affinities, they might be merged in North West Frontier Province ( NWFP ) or retained as a separate Province. In this regard Eighteen (18) Baloch Sardars and leaders of opinions sent Telegrams to the Pakistani authorities voicing their opposition to the proposed inclusion of “Pakistani Balochistan” which used to be British Balochistan before partition of 1947, in to the Balochistan States Union. They termed such an action by Pakistani Government illegal and unconstitutional28.
The Chief Commissioner Province of British Balochistan or Pashtoon populated areas never formed part of Balochistan or the Baloch confederacy, these were under the administrative control of Afghanistan and the British took forcibly these areas from Afghanistan after the Second Anglo-Afghan war 1878-80 and gave it the status of a Chief Commissioner Province naming it as British Balochistan, actually it should have been as British Afghanistan or other wise and after the creation of Pakistan, the Chief Commissioner Province fell in to Pakistan and functioned separately till the imposition of One Unit scheme in Pakistan in 1955.
The question of the National and historical basis for the creation of the provinces and the formation of the United Pashtoon Province comprising the Chief Commissioner Province and NWFP was first raised by Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai . His Organization Wror Pashtoon (Pashtoons Brothers) formed in 1954, was clearly aimed at creating a Pashtoon Province. In a statement submitted before the Justice Sahbir Ahmed of Lahore High Court on 26th October, 1956, He said Wror Pashtoon wished to create an autonomous unit within Pakistan comprising all Pashtoon populate areas. He told the Court “Let me mention that the creation of Pashtoonistan, comprising contiguous Pashtoon areas separated by the British under various nomenclatures, is my life mission. I can not give it up to avoide punishment or torture on my body29.
Abdul Samad Khan merged his Party in to National Awami Party, which came in to being in 1955, to resist against the one unit and to restore the former provinces and Democracy in the Country. Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai and his party men struggled to obtain the demands of NAP, especially to get a united Province of the Pashtoon comprising contiguous Pashtoon areas. After a long and tiresome struggle by Khan Sahaeed and other leaders of the NAP, General Yahaya Khan was compelled to shun the One Unit and to restore the former provinces. But it was very unfortunate moment for Khan Shaheed as within these conditions a few leaders of the NAP receded from the basic principles of uniting the divided Pashtoon land of NWFP and of Chief Commissioner Province. It was done even though the Khan Kalat, Mir Ahmad yar Khan wrote to the Military Government of General Yahya Khan in his letter of 27th January 1970 in the capacity of the President of the council of Ruler of the Balochistan States Union opposing any move to include the Pashtoon areas of Chief Commissioner Province in to Balochistan. Balochistan, the Khan said, was not only State but also an institution of Baloch culture and ideology. He stated that the members of Council of Rulers and the people of Kalat , Makran , Lassbilla and Kharan have the full determination to maintain the Balochistan States Union and their Balochi leased areas as a separate administrative unit and do not want to be forced to be the part of the rest of the Quetta division with which they don’t desired to be merged. He suggested that the Balochistan States Union including the Balochi leased areas should form a separate Province of Balochistan. Being disappointed and disillusioned, Samad Khan Achakzai standing firmly committed on the basic principles of the NAP, the Pahtoonkhawa was added to the original name of the Party and in this manner National Awami Party was maintained in the under the leadership of Samad Khan Achakzai. So, the Province of Balochistan was formed against wishes of Pashtoon and Baloch as neither the Baloch leaders including Khan of Kalat, Mir Ahmad Yar Khan was willing to live under a single administrative unit with Chief Commissioner Province of Pashtoons nor the Pashtoons masses including Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai desired to. Pashtoons lost not only their Province but also their identification. Samad Khan Achakzai with other Pashtoons leaders including Pashtoon masses were expecting that with the restoration of former provinces, they would be able to either a united Pashtoon Province or at least their own Province by upgrading the Chief Commissioner Province to a full fledge Province with their own national name of Pahtoonkhawa or Pashtoonistan. Since then Pashtoonkhawa National Awami Party demanded to restore the former Pashtoon Province and demand of the same is still alive and has taken stronger position as recently Pashtoonkhawa Mili Awami Party’s Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Pashtoon Ulus Qami Jirga’s convener Senator Nawab Mohammad Ayaz Khan Jogizai presented a written document to the Parlimantory Committee formed and Chaired by Ch. Shujat Hussain, the then the Prime Minister of Pakistan to look and see the problems of smaller provinces of Pakistan particularly of Balochistan. Along with other demands both of the leaders in the first step asked for the restoration of former Pashtoon Chief Commissioner Province and later on to be united the same with NWFP, naming it Pashtoonkhawa, Pashtoonistan or Afghania..
KHAN-I-SHAHEED was elected member of the Balochistan Provincial Assembly in the General Elections of 1970. He continued his struggle to further strengthen the movement for the unity of Pashtoons and setting up the national and social sovereignty of the local people but early in the morning on the 2nd December 1973, when KHAN-I-SHAHEED was sleeping in his room on Jamaluddin Afghani road Quetta. The agents of colonialist rulers dropped two hand bombs on him and he become a martyr, on third of December, 1973. The great champion of the freedom was buried in the graveyard of his native village Gulistan by about sixty thousand people were present in this occasion.
wow great
ReplyDelete