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One very overlooked hero of the Pashtuns is Abdullah Achakzai who left his namesake with the area Qilla Abdallah.
Abdallah Achakzai's actions form the basis for the stuff of legends. He sacrificed and toiled much for Afghanistan but is less oft remembered except in the area where his descendents roam.
He was a rarity; a Khan who earned the dastaar/patkaay. He had a high correlation of matching word to deed and was martyred in the war against the British versus Dost Muhammad. His wealth came from his hereditary land holdings but he lived in his village and was not a sardaar in the Kabul court. He did not need to sacrifice his bucolic life for the grandeur of a palace.
To show you the genuiness and earnest of this legendary figure, think about this:
How many Pashtuns of bygone times or the modern era would forgive the person who imprisoned them or insulted their name and women? How many do you know that would give up the right of badal for the greater good and preservation of the autonomy of Afghanistan?
Abdallah Achakzai was one of those that made just such a personal sacrifice for the freedom and betterment of his nation.
His area near Quetta had already come under British rule, but in his heart Abdullah's loyalties lay in his homeland. When the British subjugated the Achakzai near Quetta, Abdallah maintained a degree of autonomy and never felt the need to swear loyalty to any crown. He could have amassed wealth and stabilized his area for the Brits as other Pashtun Khans had done around the northwest frontier- but he did not succumb. In fact, when the Brits put together the list of hereditary Khans in their region, Abdallah is described as a wiley and scoundrel like figure who was undependable - indicating that hey probably defied their subjugation.
When the assault on Kabul to unseat Dost Muhammad began in order to install a puppet regime; Abdallah, himself from a family known to be cleric minded, declared a holy struggle against the the Anglos. Kabul was far from the Achakzai strong hold, but this did nothing to make Abdallah less motivated.
Yet not long before the aggression began, Abdallah and his wives were taken prisoner by Dost Mohammad because the latter required resources to continue his goal of winning back land from the British. Dost Mohammad, when he thought of riches, was thinking of the Kabul throne and the Delhi throne and forgot his grandfather's own village roots and how the wealth of the village Khan was a different sort of wealth than that of a monarch. When Dost Mohammad acquired Aballah Achakzai's limited belongings and capital based wealth (gold, jewels, etc) he saw that these were some basic dowry level wealth and some dusty carpets. Having shamed himself into this act, Dost Mohammad freed Abdallah and the wives.
Not long after was the Brits incursion and Abdallah, purposefully not remembering the insult Dost Mohammad did to him and his wives, rallied to the monarch's side to defend the autonomy of Kabul.
Achakzai though, was very different than the politicians and leaders of the era and even this era. Despite being a Khan, he did not simply send his lashkar and remain behind in Qillah Abdullah to be distant from the war. Rather, he led from the front and fought hand to hand combat against the British. He and his contingent held strong but were eventually overtaken resulting in his sinless return to his Creator.
This great Afghan hero, though in the same era of Wazir Akbar, is less remembered but as important. He was the Khan that led from the front.
Here is a short quatrain I wrote in the memory of Abdullah Achakzai; our forgotten and now remembered hero.
Rebel Lions dare to bite with sharpened teeth
To route the arrogant and free their land
And rebel souls care not their swords to sheathe
Against the beating drums in lines they stand
Abdallah Achakzai's actions form the basis for the stuff of legends. He sacrificed and toiled much for Afghanistan but is less oft remembered except in the area where his descendents roam.
He was a rarity; a Khan who earned the dastaar/patkaay. He had a high correlation of matching word to deed and was martyred in the war against the British versus Dost Muhammad. His wealth came from his hereditary land holdings but he lived in his village and was not a sardaar in the Kabul court. He did not need to sacrifice his bucolic life for the grandeur of a palace.
To show you the genuiness and earnest of this legendary figure, think about this:
How many Pashtuns of bygone times or the modern era would forgive the person who imprisoned them or insulted their name and women? How many do you know that would give up the right of badal for the greater good and preservation of the autonomy of Afghanistan?
Abdallah Achakzai was one of those that made just such a personal sacrifice for the freedom and betterment of his nation.
His area near Quetta had already come under British rule, but in his heart Abdullah's loyalties lay in his homeland. When the British subjugated the Achakzai near Quetta, Abdallah maintained a degree of autonomy and never felt the need to swear loyalty to any crown. He could have amassed wealth and stabilized his area for the Brits as other Pashtun Khans had done around the northwest frontier- but he did not succumb. In fact, when the Brits put together the list of hereditary Khans in their region, Abdallah is described as a wiley and scoundrel like figure who was undependable - indicating that hey probably defied their subjugation.
When the assault on Kabul to unseat Dost Muhammad began in order to install a puppet regime; Abdallah, himself from a family known to be cleric minded, declared a holy struggle against the the Anglos. Kabul was far from the Achakzai strong hold, but this did nothing to make Abdallah less motivated.
Yet not long before the aggression began, Abdallah and his wives were taken prisoner by Dost Mohammad because the latter required resources to continue his goal of winning back land from the British. Dost Mohammad, when he thought of riches, was thinking of the Kabul throne and the Delhi throne and forgot his grandfather's own village roots and how the wealth of the village Khan was a different sort of wealth than that of a monarch. When Dost Mohammad acquired Aballah Achakzai's limited belongings and capital based wealth (gold, jewels, etc) he saw that these were some basic dowry level wealth and some dusty carpets. Having shamed himself into this act, Dost Mohammad freed Abdallah and the wives.
Not long after was the Brits incursion and Abdallah, purposefully not remembering the insult Dost Mohammad did to him and his wives, rallied to the monarch's side to defend the autonomy of Kabul.
Achakzai though, was very different than the politicians and leaders of the era and even this era. Despite being a Khan, he did not simply send his lashkar and remain behind in Qillah Abdullah to be distant from the war. Rather, he led from the front and fought hand to hand combat against the British. He and his contingent held strong but were eventually overtaken resulting in his sinless return to his Creator.
This great Afghan hero, though in the same era of Wazir Akbar, is less remembered but as important. He was the Khan that led from the front.
Here is a short quatrain I wrote in the memory of Abdullah Achakzai; our forgotten and now remembered hero.
Rebel Lions dare to bite with sharpened teeth
To route the arrogant and free their land
And rebel souls care not their swords to sheathe
Against the beating drums in lines they stand
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