Kheshgi
The Kheshgi, Khaishgi, Kheshagi, Khweshgi, or Kheshki, Khaishagi is a prominent Sarbani Pashtun tribe and Imperial dynasty in South Asia.[1][2][3]
| Kheshgi | |
|---|---|
| Muslim Imperial Dynasty | |
,_f.451v_-_BL_Add._27255.jpg) An ethnic Kasuri Pashtun of the Kheshgi Dynasty of Kasur | |
| Current region | South Asia (mainly Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan) |
| Etymology | Kheshgi is derived from their ancestors' name, Kheshig, which in Mongolian means: "favored", "blessed", "glorified" |
| Place of origin | Keshik, Kerman Province , Mongol Empire |
| Founded | Early 1400s |
| Titles | Nawab of Kasur (1525)
Nawab of Mamdot (1848) Family of Vice-Chancellors (1956) President of India (1967) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (1984) |
| Connected families | Muhammadzai family Afridi family Musharraf family[4] |
| Traditions | Islam |
| Estate(s) | Khurja Lands in Charsadda Kasur Princely State of Mamdot |
Administration
The Kheshgi Tribe is divided into the following sub-tribes:[5][6]
- Batakzi
- Umerzai
- Hussainzai
- Azizi
- Zaizai
- Utmanzai
- Amchuzi/Amchuzai
- Shuryani
- Salmahak
- Kalzani
- Ismail
- Pir(Piraan)
Location
Even in the 19th-century during the British administration of India, Kheshgi tribesmen were found in Kasur District scattered about the region and they call Kasuri Pathan. A more recent article also states that over the past few hundred years they have dispersed throughout South Asia, including the following places:[7]
- Afghanistan: Darrah Ghorband, Ghorband District, Parwan Province.
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Tanda, Muhallah Kheshgi in Ghanta Ghar (Peshawar), Charsadda, Village Kheshgi itself in Nowshera and Hazarah.
- Punjab Province: Kasur, Depalpur, BahawalPur, Bahawalnagar, Multan.
- India: Khurja, Uttar Pradesh.[8]
Culture and Society
Several British accounts state that the Kheshgi residing in Kasur hold pigeons in high esteem, for according to some Muslims they are a "Sayyid among birds", and killing them is hence forbidden.[9][10]
Notable Kheshgis
- Fayaz Khan Kheshgi, Pakistani musician
- Zakir Husain, third President of India
- Nawab Hussain Khan Kheshgi, founder of Kasur
- Mahmood Hasan Khan, Indian Member of Parliament
- Ahmad Raza Khan Kasuri, lawyer, politician, founder of multinational law firm Kasuri PLLC
- Haji Bahadar Ali Abdullah Shah, Sufi saint
- General Rahmuddin Khan, retired four-star general of the Pakistan Army, former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, 7th Governor of Balochistan, 16th Governor of Sindh
- Nawab Muzaffar Khan Khaishgi, founder of Muzaffargarh, Governor of Multan
- General Imran Ullah Khan, retired three-star general of the Pakistan Army, 13th Governor of Balochistan
- Nawab Jamaluddin Khan Kheshgi, founder of Mamdot
- Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, former Pakistani Foreign Minister
- Farida Azizi, Afghan women's rights activist
- Nawab Muhammad Ahmed Khan Kasuri, former Nawab of Kasur
- Senain Kheshgi, film director, writer and producer
- Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi, former Prime Minister of Pakistan
- Mohammad Iqbal Azizi, Afghan governor
- Nawab Sir Shahnawaz Khan Mamdot, politician, Punjabi landlord
- Asma Mamdot, Pakistani politician
- Mahmud Husain, Pakistani educationist, former Minister of Education, Minister of State for States and Frontier Regions, Deputy Minister of Defense, Foreign Affairs and Finance
- Masud Husain Khan, Indian linguist
- Salman Khurshid Khan, Indian politician
- Muhammad Bashir Khan, Pakistani politician
- Shakeel Bashir Khan, Pakistani politician
- Major General Akbar Khan, highly decorated officer of the British Indian Army, two-star general of the Pakistan Army
- Yousuf Hussain Khan, Indian historian, scholar, educationist, critic and author
- Masoud Azizi, Afghan athlete
- Nawab Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot, former Chief Minister of West Punjab and former Governor of Sindh
References
- ^ Rose, Horace Arthur (2007). A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province. Sang-e-Meel Publications. ISBN 978-969-35-1911-2.
- ^ Low, D. A. (1991-06-18). Political Inheritance of Pakistan. Springer. ISBN 978-1-349-11556-3.
- ^ Rashid, Haroon (2002). History of the Pathans: The Sarabani Pathans. Haroon Rashid.
- ^ In the Line of Fire. Simon and Schuster. 4 September 2008. ISBN 9781847395962.
- ^ Rashid, Haroon (2002). History of the Pathans: The Sarabani Pathans. Haroon Rashid.
- ^ Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province: Based on the Census Report of the Punjab, 1883, by the Late Sir Denzil Ibbetson, and the Census Report for the Punjab, 1892, by Sir Edward Maclagan. Amar Prakashan. 1980.
- ^ Kheshki, Anas Parvez. "Kheshki." Khyber.org. Accessed 12 Oct. 2010.
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India ... Clarendon Press. 1908.
- ^ Crooke, William. The Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India, Vol. II. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1896. 246.
- ^ Rose, H. A. A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province. New Delhi: Nirmal Publishers and Distributors, 1997. 142.