Khudai Khidmatgar and Frontier Nationalism

The Khudai Khidmatgar movement emerged in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) during the late 1920s as a powerful anti-colonial movement. Led by Abdul Ghaffar Khan, this organization integrated Pashtun tribal traditions with non-violent civil disobedience, creating a distinct form of frontier nationalism that allied with the Indian National Congress.

Genesis and Formation of the Red Shirts

Abdul Ghaffar Khan, popular as “Frontier Gandhi” and Bacha Khan, founded the Anjuman-e-Islah-e-Afghania in 1921 to promote social reform, literacy, and eradication of blood feuds among Pashtun tribes.

• The formal political organization, Khudai Khidmatgar (“Servants of God”), came into existence in November 1929.
• Members wore brick-red dyed uniforms due to practical considerations and cheap local dye, earning them the name Red Shirts (Surkh Posh).
• Every member took an oath of strict non-violence, dedication to public service, and refusal to accept financial reward or take up arms.
• The movement published a Pashto journal titled Pakhtun to spread political consciousness and social reform ideas.

Structure and Organizational Principles

The Khudai Khidmatgars operated on a military hierarchy without military weapons.

• Units were organized into volunteer corps with officers, captains, and commanders across village and district levels.
• Membership expanded rapidly, growing from a few hundred activists in 1929 to over 80,000 members by mid-1930.
• Women participated in social reform activities and public processions, breaking traditional isolation barriers in the region.

Role in the Civil Disobedience Movement

The Khudai Khidmatgars formally affiliated with the Indian National Congress in August 1931, playing a central role in civil resistance across the NWFP.

The Qissa Khwani Bazaar Massacre (1930)

On April 23, 1930, British authorities arrested Abdul Ghaffar Khan along with other local leaders in Peshawar following anti-Simon Commission and anti-salt tax protests.

• Unarmed mass crowds gathered at Qissa Khwani Bazaar (“Storytellers’ Bazaar”) in Peshawar to protest the arrests.
• British troops drove armored cars into the non-violent crowd and opened fire, killing over 200 protesters.
• During the massacre, two platoons of the 2nd Battalion of the 18th Royal Garhwal Rifles, commanded by Havildar Chandra Singh Garhwali, refused orders to fire on the unarmed Muslim crowd.
• The Garhwali soldiers faced court-martial, forfeiture of property, and long prison sentences for disobeying colonial orders.

Broader Regional Protests

Following the Qissa Khwani incident, civil resistance spread into the tribal belt, including Bannu, Kohat, Nowshera, and Mardan.

• Peasant members refused to pay land revenue and water taxes to the colonial state.
• The British administration declared the Khudai Khidmatgars illegal, imposed martial law in Peshawar, and deployed air strikes against tribal villages in Waziristan and the Trans-Indus region.

Political Alignments and the Partition Era

The alliance between the Khudai Khidmatgars and the Congress shaped the electoral politics of the province through the 1930s and 1940s.

Electoral Success and Provincial Administration

In the 1937 provincial assembly elections held under the Government of India Act 1935, the Congress-Khudai Khidmatgar alliance won a decisive majority.

• Dr. Khan Sahib, the elder brother of Abdul Ghaffar Khan, formed the first Congress ministry in the NWFP in 1937.
• Dr. Khan Sahib formed a second ministry following the 1946 elections, proving that the Muslim League’s demand for Pakistan faced strong resistance in the region.

The 1947 Referendum and “Pakhtunistan” Demand

The Mountbatten Plan of June 3, 1947, ordered a referendum in the NWFP to choose between joining India or Pakistan.

• The Congress accepted the partition plan without securing the option for an independent Pashtun state (Pakhtunistan).
• Abdul Ghaffar Khan felt betrayed by the central Congress leadership, making his famous statement: “You have thrown us to the wolves.”
• The Khudai Khidmatgars boycotted the referendum held in July 1947, demanding the inclusion of a third option for an independent Pakhtunistan.
• Due to the boycott, the referendum passed with low voter turnout in favor of joining Pakistan.

Comparative Overview of Nationalist Alignments in NWFP

Key Historical Facts

Abdul Ghaffar Khan founded the Anjuman-e-Islah-e-Afghania in 1921 and started the Pashto journal Pakhtun in May 1928 to push educational reforms. The massacre at Qissa Khwani Bazaar occurred on April 23, 1930, marking one of the most severe instances of state repression during the Civil Disobedience Movement. Havildar Chandra Singh Garhwali led the refusal of Garhwal Rifles troops to shoot non-violent Pashtun protesters, an action celebrated as a high point of inter-community unity in the freedom struggle. The British administration deployed military aircraft to bomb Pashtun villages in Waziristan to suppress the Khudai Khidmatgar movement between May and September 1930. Abdul Ghaffar Khan received the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, in 1987, becoming the first non-Indian citizen to receive the honor.