Khudai Khidmatgar () was an Indian, predominantly Pashtun, nonviolent resistance movement known for its activism against the British Raj in colonial India; it was based in the country's North-West Frontier Province (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan).
Also called Surkh Posh or "Red Shirts" or "red-dressed", this was originally a social reform organisation focusing on education and the elimination of blood feuds. it was known as the Anjuman-e-Islah-e Afghania (society for the reformation of Afghans/Pashtoons). The movement was led by Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known locally as Bacha Khan, Badshah Khan, or Sarhadi Gandhi."Red Shirt Movement".(2008) Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 14 September 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: [www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/494519/Red-Shirt-Movement]
It gradually became more political as its members were being targeted by the British Raj. By 1929 its leadership was exiled from the province and large numbers were arrested. Seeking allies, leaders approached the All-India Muslim League and Indian National Congress; after being rebuffed by the former in 1929, the movement formally joined the Congress Party and played an important role in the Indian independence movement. The cooperation between Muslim Khudai Khidmatgar and predominantly Hindu Indian National Congress concerned the British, who persistently tried to sever this relationship. Due to pressure across India, the British colonial government finally released Bacha Khan and lifted restrictions on the movement. As part of the Government of India Act 1935, a limited male franchise was for the first time introduced in the North-West Frontier Province. In the 1937 elections, the Khudai Khidmatgars won in alliance with the Congress Party. Bacha Khan's brother Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan (Dr. Khan Sahib) was elected as the Chief Minister of the NWFP.
The Khudai Khidmatgar movement faced another crackdown for its role in the Quit India Movement after 1940; in that period it started facing increasing opposition from the Muslim League in the province. The Khudai Khidmatgars also won the 1946 elections in alliance with the Congress Party, and Dr Khan Sahib was re-elected as the Chief Minister.
The Khudai Khidmatgars strongly opposed the proposal for the partition of India, siding with the Indian National Congress and All India Azad Muslim Conference. When the Indian National Congress declared its acceptance of the partition plan without consulting the Khudai Khidmatgar leaders, Bacha Khan told the Congress "you have thrown us to the wolves."Partition and Military Succession Documents from the U.S. National Archives
In June 1947, the Khudai Khidmatgars declared the Bannu Resolution, demanding that the Pashtuns be given a choice to have an independent state of Pashtunistan, composing all Pashtun territories of British India, instead of being made to join Pakistan. However, the British Raj refused to comply with the demand of this resolution. In response, the Khudai Khidmatgars boycotted the 1947 NWFP referendum about the province joining Pakistan or India, citing that it did not have the options of the NWFP becoming independent or joining Afghanistan.
After the partition of India, the Khudai Khidmatgars faced a backlash from the new Pakistani government. The government of the Khudai Khidmatgars was dismissed and their movement banned, with many members of the organisation being targeted in the Babrra massacre that occurred on 12 August 1948. In Delhi, the Khudai Khidmatgar was revived by Faisal Khan in 2011 with a focus on promoting communal amity and aiding in disaster relief; it has a membership of around 5,000 persons.
Origins
Formed out of the Society for the Reformation of Pashtuns (Anjuman-e-Islah-e-Afghan), it is initially targeted social reformation and launched campaigns against prostitution. Bacha Khan as its founder seemed to be influenced by the realisation that whenever Indians launched a rebellion against British colonial rule via military force they were always unsuccessful. The same could not be said when using non-violence against the British.
The movement started prior to the Qissa Khwani massacre, when a demonstration of hundreds of non-violent supporters were fired upon by a detachment of the British Indian Army in Peshawar. Its low point and eventual dissipation was after Pakistan's independence in 1947 when the Muslim League Chief Minister Abdul Qayyum Khan Kashmiri banned the movement and launched a brutal crackdown on its members, which culminated in the Babra massacre. At its peak, the KK movement consisted of almost 100,000 members.
Genesis
Initially, the movement focussed on social reform as a means of improving the status of Pashtuns in British India. Ghaffar Khan founded several reform movements prior to the formation of the Khudai Khidmatgar, the Anjuman-e Islah ul-Afghan in 1921, the farmers' organisation Anjuman-e Zamidaran in 1927 and the youth movement Pashtun Jirga in 1927. Trying to further spread awareness on Pashtun issues Abdul Ghaffar Khan founded the magazine Pakhtun in May 1928. Finally in March 1930, almost on the eve of the Qissa Khwani Massacre the Khudai Khidmatgar were formed.
"The Red Shirts" Khan drew his first recruits from the young men who had graduated from his schools. Trained and uniformed, they served behind their officers and filed out into various villages to seek recruits. They began by wearing a simple white overshirt, but the white was soon dirtied. A couple of men had their shirts dyed at the local tannery, and the brick-red colour proved a breakthrough, it was this distinctive colour that earned the Khudai khidmatgar movement activists the name "the Red shirts" or surkh posh. Other reason for the choice of red color was a symbolic adherence of the anti-colonial movements to the revolutionary and socialist discourse.
Structure Volunteers who took the oath formed platoons with commanding officers and learned basic army discipline. The volunteers had their own flags: red in the beginning, later tri-colour and bands: bagpipe and drums. The men wore red uniforms and the women black. They had drills, badges, a flag, the entire military hierarchy of rank and even a bagpipe corps.
Khan set up a network of committees called jirgas, named and modelled after the traditional tribal councils. Villages were grouped into larger groups, responsible to district-wide committees. The Provincial Jirgah was the ultimate authority.
Officers in the ranks were not elected, since Khan wanted to avoid infighting. He appointed a salar-e-azam or commander-in-chief, who in turn appointed officers to serve under him. Other ranks included Jarnails (Generals). The army was completely voluntary; even the officers gave their services free. Women were recruited too and played an important role in the struggles to come.
Volunteers went to the villages and opened schools, helped on work projects, and maintained order at public gatherings. From time to time they drilled in work camps and took long military-style marches into the hills.
Ideology
Under the influence of Abdul Ghaffar Khan the movement advocated non-violent protests and justified their actions through an Islamic context. Khan did not find Islam and non-violence as incompatible. Despite that the movement was intrinsically non-sectarian, including Muslims, as well as some Hindu members. In more than one occasion when Hindus and Sikhs were attacked in Peshawar, Khidmatgar members helped protect their lives and property. To this end, the Khuda Khidmatgar espoused Hindu-Muslim unity.
"The Holy Prophet Mohammed came into this world and taught us 'That man is a Muslim who never hurts anyone by word or deed, but who works for the benefit and happiness of God's creatures.' Belief in God is to love one's, fellow men". – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
"There is nothing surprising in a Muslim or a Pathan like me subscribing to the creed of nonviolence. It is not a new creed. It was followed fourteen hundred years ago by the Prophet all the time he was in Mecca". – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Pledge of the Khudai Khidmatgar Example 1Banerjee, Mukulika. (2000) The Pathan Unarmed: Opposition & Memory in the North-West Frontier. Oxford University Press In the name of God who is Present and Evident, I am a Khudai Khitmatgar. I will serve the nation without any self-interest. I will not take revenge (badla) and my actions will not be a burden for anyone. My actions will be non-violent. I will make every sacrifice required of me to stay on this path. I will serve people without regard to their religion or faith. I shall use nation-made goods. I shall not be tempted by any office.
Example 2As published in "free translation" by Gandhi in Harijan, 15 October 1938. Quoted in Khan 1997:269–270.
In the presence of God, I solemnly affirm that: I hereby honestly and sincerely offer myself for enrollment as a Khudai Khitmatgar. I shall be ever ready to sacrifice personal comfort, property, and even life itself to serve the nation and for the attainment of my country's freedom. I shall not participate in factions, nor pick up a quarrel with or bear enmity towards anybody. I shall always protect the oppressed against the tyranny of the oppressor. I shall not become a member of any other organization, and shall not furnish security or tender apology in the course of a non-violent fight. I shall always obey every legitimate order of my superior officers. I shall always live up to the principles of non-violence. I shall serve all humanity equally. The chief objects of my life shall be the attainment of complete independence and religious freedom. I shall always observe truth and parity in all my actions. I shall expect no remuneration for my service. All my services shall be dedicated to God, they shall not be for attaining rank or for show.
The Oath of the Khudai Khidmatgar
I am a Servant of God, and as God needs no service, serving His creation is serving Him, I promise to serve humanity in the name of God. I promise to refrain from violence and from taking revenge. I promise to forgive those who oppress me or treat me with cruelty. I promise to refrain from taking part in feuds and quarrels and from creating enmity. I promise to treat every Pasthun as my brother and friend. I promise to refrain from antisocial customs and practices. I promise to live a simple life, to practice virtue, and to refrain from evil. I promise to practice good manners and good behavior and not to lead a life of idleness. I promise to devote at least two hours a day to social work. I put forth my name in honesty and truthfulness to become a true Servant of God. I will sacrifice my wealth, life, and comfort for the liberty of my nation and people. I will never be a party to factions, hatred, or jealousies with my people; and will side with the oppressed against the oppressor. I will not become a member of any other rival organization, nor will I stand in an army. I will faithfully obey all legitimate orders of all my officers all the time. I will live in accordance with the principles of nonviolence. I will serve all God's creatures alike; and my object shall be the attainment of the freedom of my country and my religion. I will always see to it that I do what is right and good. I will never desire any reward whatever for my service. All my efforts shall be to please God, and not for any show or gain.
Anthem of Khudai Khidmatgar
We are the army of God By death or wealth unmoved, We march, our leader and we, Ready to die!
In the name of God, we march And in his name, We die We serve in the name of God God's servant are we!
God is our king, And great is he, We serve our Lord, His slaves are we!
Our country's cause We serve with our breath, For such an end, Glorious is death
We serve and we love Our people and our cause Freedom is our aim, And our lives are its price.