Tanoli: Difference between revisions
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When Sikh power was on the fall in 1845 Jehandad Khan blockaded the garrisons of no less than 22 Sikh posts in Upper Tanawal ; and when they surrendered at discretion, he spared their lives, as the servants of a fallen Empire. "The act, however, stood him afterwards in good stead; for, when Hazara was assigened to Maharaja Golab Singh, that politic ruler rewarded Jehandad Khan's humanity with the jagir of Koolge and Badnuck in Lower Tannowul."<ref>In a letter dated; Peshawar, 10th December 1858, from Lt.Col. H. B. Edwards, Commissioner and Supdt, Peshawar Division, to the Financial Commissioner of the Punjab. extracted from 'A Collection of Papers realting to the HIstory, Status and Powers of The Nawab of Amb'</ref> |
When Sikh power was on the fall in 1845 Jehandad Khan blockaded the garrisons of no less than 22 Sikh posts in Upper Tanawal ; and when they surrendered at discretion, he spared their lives, as the servants of a fallen Empire. "The act, however, stood him afterwards in good stead; for, when Hazara was assigened to Maharaja Golab Singh, that politic ruler rewarded Jehandad Khan's humanity with the jagir of Koolge and Badnuck in Lower Tannowul."<ref>In a letter dated; Peshawar, 10th December 1858, from Lt.Col. H. B. Edwards, Commissioner and Supdt, Peshawar Division, to the Financial Commissioner of the Punjab. extracted from 'A Collection of Papers realting to the HIstory, Status and Powers of The Nawab of Amb'</ref> |
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In 1852, Jehandad Khan was summoned by the president of the Board of Administration (who travelled to Hazara to see the Khan) in relation to a murder enquiry of two British |
In 1852, Jehandad Khan was summoned by the president of the Board of Administration (who travelled to Hazara to see the Khan) in relation to a murder enquiry of two British officers in his lands.<ref>Messrs. Carne and Tapp, of the Salt Department, in 1851</ref> When the president threatened the Khan to give up the murderers or suffer the consequences (of burning down the villages and giving the region to another), the Khan is said to have replied "We should consider your presence (in our kingdom) an honour, but our country is a 'rather difficult one' for your army."<ref name="qtd_Allen_203_204">{{harvnb|Allen|2001|pp=203-204}}.</ref> |
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This response was the talk of the day and it is remembered by many locals of Hazara even to this day as a heroic answer. |
This response was the talk of the day and it is remembered by many locals of Hazara even to this day as a heroic answer. |
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Revision as of 19:04, 10 March 2009
The Tanoli are a tribe of the Tanawal valley region in the Hazara region of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province.
Although "not usually acknowledged as Pathans, the Tanoli have by long association become assimilated with them in manners, customs, and character."[1] "The tribal and cultural practices of the Tanolis closely resemble those of the Pathans".[2] Tribally allied with the Pathans,[3][4][5] the Tanoli participated in the frontier wars with the British and in Charles Allen's analysis of those wars, the Tanoli are described as being "extremely hostile" and "brave and hardy and accounted for the best swordsmen in Hazara."[6]
Names
The Tanoli are also known as Tanawal, for the name of the river. The British Census included several variant forms of the name:[7] Tanaoli, Tanol, Tol, Tholi, Tahoa, Tarnoli.
Homelands
The Tanoli were first encountered by Westerners around 1700 "in the trans Indus basin of the Mahaban from which they were driven across the Indus by the Yusufzai" tribe.[1] By the late 19th century the Tanaoli had settled the Tanawal tract in the west center of the district between Abbottabad and the Indus,[1] and in the extensive hill country between the river and the Urash plains.[1]
According to the Settlement Report of Hazara, compiled by Major Wace (1872), the Tanolis, who founded a state named Amb, had already established their authority over Tanawal. The voluminous Urdu copy of the settlement report of Hazara contains many passages in its historical resume of the area. In a number of maps drawn at the time and enclosed in the report, showing Hazara under the Mughals and under the Durranis, the Amb state has been shown as Mulk-i-Tanawal. The original existence of that Mulk is as old as the middle period of the great Afghan invasions of India.
The Tanoli are divided into two major sub-tribes: the Hindwal and the Pallal. The latter occupies the northern portion of the Tanawal tract, and, until the dissolution of the princely states in 1968, constituted the semi-independent principality of Amb.[1]
According to Tanoli tradition (preserved in a commentary based on an 1881/1891 census report[8]) they are named after a place in "Afghanistan" (not to be confused with the present-day state of Afghanistan[n 1])
Apical ancestor
As is also the case for all other ethnic groups of the region, tracing their lineage to an apical ancestor is crucial to the Tanoli's sense of identity.
The Tanoli consider themselves to descend from one Amir Khan, a Barlas Mughal who (so says their tradition) arrived in the Tanawal valley with his sons around 1500, having crossed the Indus river to get there.[1]
The details of this tradition—as preserved in the Tarikh-i-Tanaolian ("Story of the Tanoli")—runs as follows: Upon defeating a Hindu king Jaipala, one Sultan Sabuktagin conquered the region up to Attock on the Indus. The victor then resettled[n 1] five thousand Mughals, Syeds and Afghans in Swat where Din Khan Mughal, an Anawar, was appointed the ruler. The ancestors of the Tanoli eventually settled in Mahaban. Some time later, in search of land, they crossed the Indus river under the command of Maulvi Mohammad Ibrahim, and captured territory from the Turkic peoples settled there. Among the new settlers was Amir Khan Beerdewa and his six[clarification needed] sons (Pall Khan, Hind Khan, Thakar Khan, Arjin Khan and Kul Khan) who settled the Tanawal region; the six clans or sub-tribes are allegedly named after the six sons of Beerdewa.
Some historians have mentioned the Pathan origin of the tanoli family of the Nawab of Amb. In 'The Golden Book of India', Sir Roper Lethbridge on page 328 states about Nawab Muhammad Akram Khan, Sir, K.C.S.I The Nawab Bahadur is Chief of Amb, on the right bank of the Indus, where he and his ancestors have long been independent. Belongs to a Pathan (Muhammadan) family....[9]
The commentary to the 1881/1891 census narrates this tradition but it observes that "[however,] there can be little doubt that they are of [Indo-Iranian or Indo-European origin][n 2] and probably of Indian stock."[1]
History
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2008) |
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Sardar Zabardast Khan/ Suba Khan Tanoli
In AD 1752 the Tanoli tribal chief Sardaar Zabardast Khan allied with the King of Afghanistan Ahmed Shah Abdali in the latter's conquest of India. Zabardast subsequently gained the title of Suba Khan from Ahmed Shah Abdali for his bravery in the battle against the Marathas at Panipat, where two hundred and fifty thousand strong army of Marathas were defeated by sixty thousand of Abdali's soldiers and allied Muslim tribes. Later Suba Khan'S brother Haibat Khan's[10] grandson, Mir Nawab Khan defeated the Durranis, but was killed in the battle by Sardar Azim Khan (the last king of the Durrani Empire).
Mir Painda Khan
Mir Painda Khan, son of Mir Nawab Khan (who defeated the Durranis), is famed for his rebellion against Maharaja Ranjit Singh's governors of Hazara. Painda Khan "played a considerable part in the history of his time and vigorously opposed the Sikhs."[11]
From about 1813, Mir Painda Khan spent a life long rebellion against the Sikhs. Hari Singh Nalwa, the Sikh Governor of Maharaja Ranjit Singh to Hazara, took the initiative during his governorship of setting up forts at strategic locations to keep Painda Khan in check.
Painda Khan's rebellion against the Sikh empire cost him a major portion of his kingdom, leaving only the tract around Amb,[12] with his twin capitals Amb and Darband. This increased his resistance against the Sikh government.
In 1828 Mir Painda Khan gifted the territory of Phulra as an independent Khanate to his brother Madad Khan, which later on was recognised by the British as a semi-independent Princely State.
General Dhaurikal Singh, commanding officer of the Sikh troops in Hazara, had Painda Khan poisoned to death in September 1844. Painda Khan is still revered in Hazara as a hero.
Major J. Abbott[13] commented that 'During the first period of Painda Khan's carrer, he was far too vigorous and powerfull to be molested by any neighbouring tribe, and when he began to fail before the armies and purse of the Sikh Government, he was interested in keeping upon the best terms with his northern neighbours of the Black Mountains.' He is further described by him as, 'a Chief renowned on the Border, a wild and energetic man who was never subjugated by the Sikhs.'[14]
Mir Jehandad Khan
"Of all the tribal chiefs of Hazara, the most powerful [was] said to be Jehandad Khan of the Tanoli."[6] His territories laid on both banks of the Indus, and, as the son of Painda Khan, Jehandad Khan was particularly well respected among his peoples.[6]
When Sikh power was on the fall in 1845 Jehandad Khan blockaded the garrisons of no less than 22 Sikh posts in Upper Tanawal ; and when they surrendered at discretion, he spared their lives, as the servants of a fallen Empire. "The act, however, stood him afterwards in good stead; for, when Hazara was assigened to Maharaja Golab Singh, that politic ruler rewarded Jehandad Khan's humanity with the jagir of Koolge and Badnuck in Lower Tannowul."[15]
In 1852, Jehandad Khan was summoned by the president of the Board of Administration (who travelled to Hazara to see the Khan) in relation to a murder enquiry of two British officers in his lands.[16] When the president threatened the Khan to give up the murderers or suffer the consequences (of burning down the villages and giving the region to another), the Khan is said to have replied "We should consider your presence (in our kingdom) an honour, but our country is a 'rather difficult one' for your army."[17]
This response was the talk of the day and it is remembered by many locals of Hazara even to this day as a heroic answer.
He was son of Painda Khan. When he died, he left a nine years old boy: Muhammad Akram Khan.[18]
Nawab Sir Muhammad Akram Khan
During the tenure Nawab Sir Akram Khan (K.C.S.I)(1868 - 1907), son of Jehandad Khan, the fort at Shergarh was constructed, along with Dogah and Shahkot Forts. His rule was a peaceful time for Tanawal with no major conflicts. He was later conferred the title Nawab Bahadur by the British Raj.[19]
Not to be confused with Muhammad Akram (1817-1852), one of the sons of Dost Mohammad Khan.[20]
Nawab Sir Muhammad Khanizaman Khan
Nawab Khanizaman Khan, son of Akram Khan, helped the British in carrying out the Black Mountain (Kala Dhaka/Tur Ghar) expeditions.
Nawab Sir Muhammad Farid Khan
Nawab Sir Muhammad Farid Khan (K.B.E) succeeded his father Nawab Khanizaman Khan. He had had a very good relationship with The Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Nawabzada Liaqat Ali Khan. His contributions to the Pakistan movement have been acknowledged by letters from The Quaid e Azam. In 1947 the Nawab of Amb, Mohammad Farid Khan, acceded to Pakistan. In 1969, the state was incorporated into the North-West Frontier Province. He died in 1969 and in 1971 the royal status of the Nawab was abolished by the Government of Pakistan.
Malik Nawab Khan Tanoli
Malik Nawab Khan,[clarification needed] of Lower Tanawal, is commented by Major J. Abbot[clarification needed] as a "Brave man" in his book written on Abbottabad. Malik Nawab Khan was a learned man and an able soldier. He was a strong religious man. Malik Nawab Khan was among the fellow tribesmen of famous Mir Jehandad Khan.
Tanolis Today
Most members of the Tanoli tribe reside in the former state of Amb in the Hazara Division of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, in the cities of Abbottabad, Haripur and its district, Mansehra, Battagram and Kohistan districts. A branch of the Tanoli tribe also resides in Kashmir, mainly in Muzaffarabad. Tanolis are also living in some areas of Swabi, Nowshera, Rawalpindi, Gujar Khan and Sultanpur. A significant number of Tanolis also living in Karachi. They dominate the Tanawal-Sherwan belt.[2]
The principal language of the Tanoli is Hindko. Tanolis living in Pashtun dominated areas speak Pashto.
Notable Tanolis
Notable Tanolis include:
- Nawabzada Salahuddin Saeed Khan Tanoli, the present Nawab of Amb, Former Federal Minister Pakistan and five times Member of the National Assembly (1985-1999)
- Habib-ur-Rehman Tanoli, North-West Frontier Province Minister for Local Government
- Ayub Khan Tanoli, former Minister of Law, Education and Health
- Ashraf Khan Tanoli, Former Advocate-General of Balochistan
- Muhammad Younis Tanoli, Advocate-General of the North-West Frontier Province
- Malik Rabnawaz Khan Tanoli, President of the UK's Kashmir Council
Notes
- ^ a b In a historical and ethnic context, "Afghanistan" has a different meaning and geography than the present-day borders indicate. Tanal Pass—which in the Tarikh-i-Tanaolian is mentioned as the place they migrated from—is only a short journey from the area that the same source says they migrated to. Today, they are even in the same administrative district (Swat).
- ^ Rose uses the term "Aryan", which in the 1880s context refers to either "Indo-Iranian" or "Indo-European", and speakers of those language groups.
References and bibliography
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