I hate Pashtun Urban Culture and Attitude

[شمله ور خراساني]

As salaamu aleikoum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

Something that really frustrates me is the Urban culture of Kabulis and Peshawarites.

They tend to behave like really annoyiing people. Since I am from Kabul I happen to know quite allot about Urban Pashtuns.

First of all, the consider being secular as superior to being religious. They consider not praying 5 times a day as a virtue. You will see them rarely tend towards religion like rural Pashtuns do.

If you adhere to your religious morals and ethics, they tend to ridicule you and make fun of your beard, or the habit of wearing traditional clothes at social gatherings.

They often make stupid jokes about you not shaving your beard or they comment about women who appear in full veil.

Most of them are unable to say a single Pashto sentence withot mixing other languages with it.

The Kabuls can't count in Pashto. They say yak du seh char panj shash...etc. If you say woh awya, they look at you as if you spoke to them in Chinese. They don't know what a Pinzagoon is. They think it is a tribes name.

And the Peshawarite "Pathans" are even worse. They can't detach themselves from Urdu and terr derr Angreji.

All Urban Pashtuns dance like Persians and Punjabis. To them Pashtun traditional Attan is like a circus show. They look at it like they see a lion walking on its tail or something.

Yet, they speak very high of themselves. A normal average clerk from Kabul thinks he is better than a rural doctor or an engineer. If they see you dressed in traditional clothes and not in a suite and tie, they assume you are not educated.

This is why I don't like to be an Urban Pashtun. Even though I was born and raised in the city, I've never felt at home with urban types.

They are so fake and shallow. And they don't have deep natural sentiments like the typical high spirited robust Pashtuns have.

Some of my close relatives call me "Kaliwal Saheb". I consider that as a compliment.

[شمله ور خراساني]

About one year ago, I was at a social gathering, and this urban Pashtun who is from an "elite" family and can't speak pashto but only farsi walks up to me while his breath smelling like he just had 1 bottle of VODKA saying, in farsi to me " buddy, get rid of your traditional clothes. I really dont like it. It reminds me of the people who have made us flee our homeland".

This kind of behavior sometimes cannot be dealt with in any way other than use of brute force.

[MazloomyarMaseed]

I agree with you to some extent however, you forgot to add those Jamiet Sort who Speak Urdu and Arabic and call those who support Pashtunwali(Rural Pashtun System) as Jahils and Bigharats.

Ive met many Pashtun Jamiets who insult Pashtuns all the time.

[شمله ور خراساني]

I agree with you to some extent however, you forgot to add those Jamiet Sort who Speak Urdu and Arabic and call those who support Pashtunwali(Rural Pashtun System) as Jahils and Bigharats.

Ive met many Pashtun Jamiets who insult Pashtuns all the time.

What is a Jamiet? Is that like that Sikh dude, Fazulrahman?

Notice any difference?

[MazloomyarMaseed]

About one year ago, I was at a social gathering, and this urban Pashtun who is from an "elite" family and can't speak pashto but only farsi walks up to me while his breath smelling like he just had 1 bottle of VODKA saying, in farsi to me " buddy, get rid of your traditional clothes. I really dont like it. It reminds me of the people who have made us flee our homeland".

This kind of behavior sometimes cannot be dealt with in any way other than use of brute force.

I also agree here, but however, what makes him so different from a person with a Miswak in his mouth, calling a Pashtun who prides on his people as a Nationalist or Kaffir.

Regards

[MazloomyarMaseed]

What is a Jamiet? Is that like that Sikh dude, Fazulrahman?

Notice any difference?

Jamiet for example:LAL masjid,Punjabi Militant groups, Taliban, JUI F, JUI H,Maulana sami Ul Haq, Mullah Nazeeer etc.

[Cookiemonster]

?

[Michin Khel]

Sangar jan i completly agree with you. Basically i am a villager and behaves like a villager, recently i have settled in peshawer. Believe me the peshawaris are most degraded pashtuns i have ever met. People here do not know how to behave and pashtun values are absent.Tol 2 number khalak di.
Basically peshawer was a great city of great values. But with influx of uncontrolled and large number of people especially afghan immigrants, the city has lost its charm.

[Roshina]

It depends. To some urbanized people, religion is not important at all but Pukhtunwali is; to others, Pukhtunwali is backward but religion is all good. To some rural people, Pukhtunwali is much more important than religion is, while to others, religion is everything. Then there are also Pukhtuns who live in urban areas but believe that their understanding of Islam is better and more correct (perhaps because they believe they can read, write, and think for themselves), and there are Pukhtuns in rural areas who believe that their understanding of Islam is the correct one because the Prophet came from a rural area and so that makes all the difference.

And the rivalry never ends.

Like Timbaktu said, it goes both ways. The urban folks often think low of the rural folks, and the rural folks often think low of the urban folks -- because each one thinks it's better.

Needless to say, this is the case all over the world and not just among Pukhtuns.

[Nadir Shah]

Sangar jan i completly agree with you. Basically i am a villager and behaves like a villager, recently i have settled in peshawer. Believe me the peshawaris are most degraded pashtuns i have ever met. People here do not know how to behave and pashtun values are absent.Tol 2 number khalak di.
Basically peshawer was a great city of great values. But with influx of uncontrolled and large number of people especially afghan immigrants, the city has lost its charm.

Malgariya, Can you please tell me what is your definition of the Pashtun values? And what do you mean by Afghan 'immigrants'? Peshawar would never lose it's charm but for the antics of the Punjab-backed Talib monsters.

[IamDZJ]

dirty pigs are the only thing i hate more than muslims being prejudice to each other. what pleasure do you gain from telling others they are not better muslims than you are?

[muhsina]

Luffy

This is a very superficial and offensive observation. You need to avoid generalisation and stereotyping.

I would like to answer on behalf of Peshawarites. One by one.

Basically i am a villager and behaves like a villager, recently i have settled in peshawer.

Being a Villager is nothing bad but behaving like a villager in a city is like behaving like a school boy in a college. They say while in Rome do as the Romans do. That is why when you are in a city of multiple ethnicites,cultures then we need to be considerate that the pace of life is fast and you need to keep up with the pace and do not expect the same type of response which you will get from a person of your village who has lived with you for centuries. The urbanisation culture everywhere where poeple have progressed is utilitiarian as a pre requisite for urbanisation.

Believe me the peshawaris are most degraded pashtuns i have ever met.

This is judgement and profiling. You would have some ignorant standards and benchmarks of grace and honor based on the lack of exposure and you just judge all those who do not fit that narrow definition of grace and honor as degraded. This is so shallow and superficial.

People here do not know how to behave and pashtun values are absent.Tol 2 number khalak di.

They canot behave according to your expectations as your expectations might be demanding and based on your wishful thinking. While wise people behave in ways which are frutiful.

Basically peshawer was a great city of great values. But with influx of uncontrolled and large number of people especially afghan immigrants, the city has lost its charm.

Peshawar still is a city of values and virtues. It was just the political manipulation by the ruling junta due to which the spy agencies of Pakistan used it for their vested interests , killed the people and detroyed the city for some bucks.

Your comment about Afghan immigrants is totally biased. First of all Afghan immigrants are the elan vital of Peshawar city. All the businesses are flourishing due to their enterprising nature. The clientele of the local companies is majorly Afghan.

In political terms , Peshawar is as an Afghan city as Kabul is. Its the same people across the controversial Durand line. I think you are a bit more indoctrinated by the " Pakistan studies" than others over here. Dont listen to the biased Pakistani media and avoid reading the fake Punjabi writers.

[Jana]

As salaamu aleikoum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

Something that really frustrates me is the Urban culture of Kabulis and Peshawarites.

They tend to behave like really annoyiing people. Since I am from Kabul I happen to know quite allot about Urban Pashtuns.

First of all, the consider being secular as superior to being religious. They consider not praying 5 times a day as a virtue. You will see them rarely tend towards religion like rural Pashtuns do.

If you adhere to your religious morals and ethics, they tend to ridicule you and make fun of your beard, or the habit of wearing traditional clothes at social gatherings.

They often make stupid jokes about you not shaving your beard or they comment about women who appear in full veil.

Most of them are unable to say a single Pashto sentence withot mixing other languages with it.

The Kabuls can't count in Pashto. They say yak du seh char panj shash...etc. If you say woh awya, they look at you as if you spoke to them in Chinese. They don't know what a Pinzagoon is. They think it is a tribes name.

And the Peshawarite "Pathans" are even worse. They can't detach themselves from Urdu and terr derr Angreji.

All Urban Pashtuns dance like Persians and Punjabis. To them Pashtun traditional Attan is like a circus show. They look at it like they see a lion walking on its tail or something.

Yet, they speak very high of themselves. A normal average clerk from Kabul thinks he is better than a rural doctor or an engineer. If they see you dressed in traditional clothes and not in a suite and tie, they assume you are not educated.

This is why I don't like to be an Urban Pashtun. Even though I was born and raised in the city, I've never felt at home with urban types.

They are so fake and shallow. And they don't have deep natural sentiments like the typical high spirited robust Pashtuns have.

Some of my close relatives call me "Kaliwal Saheb". I consider that as a compliment.

Good post and rightly pointed out few new trends based on misconception.

This new trend of considering oneself as more modern and elite just because that person does not like the traditional outfits or other things related to values and culture, is not more than misconception.



Infact i always feel that those who think making fun of someone (in traditional dress or having beard or the one who can count in his own language), makes them look modern well i feel such people suffer from inferiority complex.

At times when i have to travel to Islamabad i wear the same Sadaar/Chaadar/Shawl which i wear in Peshawar and many ladies i see do the same BUT at the same time it hurts me to see some Pashtun girls dripping their shawls as soon as they land in the city from Peshawar, they look down on us because we are wearing Shawls, covering our body.

This looks pretty funny and laughable to me when these same women as soon as reaching nearing Peshawar, start wearing the shawls which shows that while in a big city they think if they wear it, it will make them look backward.


I feel this insecurity and inferiority should be done away, and we need to understand that our culture is very rich and we are proud of it./

I never been shy of speaking in Pashto at my office when some of my own people there tend to either speak in other languages.


And oh BTW Attan is the best traditional dance

[Jana]

Malgariya, Can you please tell me what is your definition of the Pashtun values? And what do you mean by Afghan 'immigrants'? Peshawar would never lose it's charm but for the antics of the Punjab-backed Talib monsters.

I dont know what he meant by losing charm by Peshawar BUT as far as Immigrants/refugees from Afghanistan are concerned then some grave changes took place specially due to Persian speaking Afghans from North.

Due to them skirt and jeans culture among girls got into Peshawar above all Prostitution is one major change which was brought by these immigrants to Peshawar and this practice is still going on.

On the other hand the Pashtuns of Afghanistan who migrated to Pakistan and specially to Peshawar, they took up all kinds of small and big jobs, pretty much hardwork.

You can see a social and financial difference between the two communities i.e Pashtun Afghans and Persian Afghans in Peshawar.

[Shayesta]

^ Don't tell me wearing tightest Punjabi clothes with Nike shoes and then dancing like a loose donkey, which is performed by those actors in Pukhto films in Pekhawer, is also brought to Pekhawer by Afghans? And besides, none gets into prostitution out of their own will and if Pekhawer was oh so against prostitution then they wouldn't go to such women in first place!

The place known for prostitution is Hira Mandi and not Pekhawer, and even a lot of Pekhawri female singers are said to be prostitutes. Cheers.