Kheshgi
The Kheshgi or Kheshki is a Sarbani Pashtun tribe in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Origins
According to Pashtun genealogy, Qais Abdur Rashid, the father of the Pashtuns, begat Sarban, who begat Kharshbun, who begat Zamand tribe. Zamand had a number of sons, including Kheshgi, who is the founder of the eponymous tribe, another son, Muhammad, founded the Muhammadzai (Charsadda) of Charsadda.[1]
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:[2]
- Afghanistan: Darrah Ghorband, Ghorband District, Parwan Province
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa/NWFP: Tanda, Hero Daal, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, BahawalPur, Bahawalnagar, Multan, Ghinta Ghar/Mahallah Kheshki (Peshawar), Charsadda Khas,Nowshera and Hazarah
- Punjab Province: Kasur
- India: Khurja
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.[3][4]
List of Kheshgis
(Please only add names here that are reliably notable and already have existing Wikipedia articles, other names will be removed)
Dr Zakir Hussain (Former President of India)
References
- ^ Hastings, E. G. G., Report of the Regular Settlement of the Peshawar District of the Punjab. Lahore: Central Jail Press, 1878. 80.
- ^ Kheshki, Anas Parvez. "Kheshki." Khyber.org. Accessed 12 Oct. 2010.
- ^ 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.