A Little easy on Pir Roshan

Insan ali
Bayazid Khan known as Pir Roshan or Pir Rokhan (1525–1582/1585)[1] was a Pashtun warrior poet and
intellectual of the Barak/Urmar (known in present day as Burki) tribe who wrote in Pashto, Persian and
Arabic. His mother tongue was Ormuri and he also spoke Pashto. He was born just outside Jullunder,
Punjab, but early in his childhood, his father moved the family back to Kaniguram, the Burki heartland in
today's South Waziristan.

Bayazid Khan (Barak/Urmar/Burki) --popularly known as Pir Roshan—became known for his thinking
with its strong Sufi influences, radical for the times and unusual for the region. As to claims by some
Burkis of an "Ansari" connection, refer to "An Enquiry into the Ethnography of Afghanistan" by Henry
Walter Bellew (1891). Bayazid's people—currently referred to as "Burki"-- who until the early twentieth
century were known as Barak or Baraki were found in large numbers during the Greek period in their
present environs (p. 62). On page 8, Bellew in this seminal work refers to the Baraki's origins as
"mysterious" but not of Arab/Ansari descent.

He became known for his thinking with its strong Sufi influences, radical for the times and unusual for
the region. Like other Pushtun tribes, the Burki seek self segregation from the outside world thus the
importance of Kaniguram as the historical focal point of the tribe and the continued effort to retain their
native tongue (Urmar)which predates Pushtu. Bayazid Khan of the Urmars/Baraks became widely known
as Pir Roshan, which means in Pashto "the enlightened Pir". He was the first Pushtun to lead a major
insurgency against the Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar.

Pir Roshan was an advocate for learning and equal treatment for women. A revolutionary concept for
the times, and even today in South Waziristan. From his base in Kaniguram, he started his insurgency—
Roshaniya (enlightened) movement—which was carried on against the emperor's troops by his children
and then his grandchildren and great grandchildren . The Roshaniya movement spanned almost a
century: 1560–1638. During the 19th century orientalists translating texts from Pushto and other
regional texts termed his movement a "sect", a mistake which persists to this day amongst many
European researchers. The major focus of the movement was to create equality between men and
women, including the right to learn and listen to lectures of scholars and fight to against Akbar after his
proclamation of Din-i-Ilahi

Background
Pir Roshan is a major figure in Pushtu history and literature. He led an armed struggle against the
Mughals, after continuous military agitations against him and his people from Emperor Akbar. Seeing
the spiritual and religious hold of Pir Roshan over a large portion of Pashtuns, Akbar brought in a
number of religious figures against the struggle, most notably Akhund Darweza. It is mistakenly reported
that Akhund Darweza also wrote a book in Pashto, thrashing Pir Roshan's ideas and movement and
called him Pir Tarik (the dark Pir). In actuality the book was written after the death of Akhund Darweza
and after some considerable time, since it refers to Pir Roshan in past tense and even misspells even the
word Roshan.

The struggle continued for nearly a hundred years with Pir Roshan's grand and great grand children.

Genealogy
Bayazid Khan belonged to the Burki tribe and was an Urmar. Urmar/Burki of Kaniguram retain a keen
desire to self segregate from the outside world by retaining strong kinship ties. Family narratives passed
down vary on the origins of their forebears. One opinion however, is that their origins are Kurdish from
an area known as Uromiyeh in Western Iran. Captain Leech[2] is the first person who has given some
detailed notes on the Baraki Barak (Logar) dialect of the Ormuri language. He collected quite a few
words and sentences and published them in "The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal"[3] under the
name of "A Vocabulary of the Baraki language". While introducing the tribe and its language, he says:
"The Barakis are included in the general term of Parsiwan, or Tajak; they are original inhabitants of
Yemen whence they were brought by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni; they accompanied him in his invasion
of India, and were pre-eminently instrumental in the abstraction of the gates of the temple of Somnath.
There are two divisions of the tribe. The Barkis of Rajan in the province of Lohgad, who speak Persian,
and the Barakis of Barak, a city near the former, who speak the language called Barki; at Kaniguram
under Shah Malak who are independent. The Barakis of this place and of Barak alone speak the Baraki
language. It is clear from Capt. Leech's "assessmnet" that he is mixing the Barakis up with the Baluchis,
whose lineage does suggest a possible peninsula connection of some who came to the Baluchistan
region in Mahmud of Ghaznavi's time. But the Baraki have been in the greater Afghanistan region much
longer/prior to the tenth century.

Just like Elphinstone, Captain Leech was "hypothesizing" about the mysterious origins of the
Barakis/Baraks/Urmurs/Burkis based on the narrative probably fed to him by the Barakis/Urmurs. After
all, why would most of them trust this feringhee with their "origins," not being able to discern (at face
value) what his true intentions might be? This was/is a region characterized by unending warfare and
strife, inhabited by xenophobic/self segregating tribes with foreign origins. The "Yemen/Arab" narrative,
it can be argued, was an attempt of a "foreign" people to successfully embed/survive, especially after Pir
Roshan's (Bayazid Khan)enemies, and orthodox Pushtuns in the north, (Yusufzai, Khattak etc.) regarded

him as a heretic due to his "progressive/heretical/revolutionary" ideas. It is rightfully said: "the victors
write/disseminate the historical narrative."

It can, therefore, be postulated that the Barakis (later "Burki" in the twentieth century) were desperate
to wipe out any public mention of Pir Roshan's ideas (although many of them, along with other
Pushtuns, privately espoused his views). Thus, their counter narrative to Khushal Khan Khattak's poetic
attacks of "Pir Rokhan" (so much for Khattak showing gratitude towards the man -Pir Roshan—who
invented Pushtu script which enabled Khattak's prolific writing in Pashto less than a century later!) by
some shrewd Barakis/Urmurs (unidentified) to reinvent Bayazid Khan's lineage (and suggesting he was
an embed, and not native to the tribe, even though the Baraki have been one of the most reluctant
Pushtun tribes to marry outside, let alone a non-Pashtun) as being that of the Ansar! (as in an Ansari
from Medina/Yathrib). Some of the descendents of the man, as well as members of the tribe (especially
in Kaniguram) have, over time, convinced themselves (not an uncommon tendency in the Muslim world,
especially in Iran and South Asia) that they are syeds thus a reinvention when in fact they also widely
acknowledge their roots in what is now Kurdistan. The Arab/Yemeni survival narrative does not stand up
to careful scrutiny: the mother tongue, features and cultural traditions of the Baraki are not indicative of
this narrative. Nor does the historical xenophobia and reluctance to intermarry outside the tribe and the
Pushtun qaums in general lend credence to this thesis. Bayazid Khan's provocative challenge to the
information status quo necessitated a "survival narrative" at the time after his movement/struggle
failed. As mentioned the orthodox Pushtuns, the Yusufzais (sons of Yosef) and the Khattaks hated Pir
Roshan's seemingly heretical ideas. It is indeed a bitter irony to read Khushal Khan Khattak's poem
(written in Pashto!) which he begins by attacking the Afridi (supporters of the Pir in the Tirah and
Khyber) and then Pir Roshan himself:

Nas me Afridai dai

My Carnal nature's an Afridi,

Without a care for true religion;

With good thoughts it's not over burdened,

Being more prone to every evil.

I teach it pious orthodoxy

As steadily as did Darweza

But it goes on, like Pir Rokhan.

To preach its cursed heresy

Early life :
Bayazid was born in 1525 at Jullundur in Punjab but moved back to his homeland Kaniguram in
Waziristan with his family when he was a child. Bayazid belonged to a religious family and his father was
a Qazi of Waziristan area. However, Bayazid himself was against many of the customs which prevailed in
his time and specifically in his family. These were usually the fringe benefits which his family received
being considered as scholarly and religious. He was known as a strong willed, stubborn man inclined to
"express" himself. Once this led to a heated argument with his brother and upon intervention of his
father he was given the choice of either he leave or his give up his radical ideas. He opted to leave and
started spreading his ideas away from his home. He found ears in the Mohmand tribesmen, from there
he went to the Peshawar valley and started spreading his message to the Khalils and Muhammadzais.
However when he and his followers started spreading word of their movement amongst the Yousafzais
he went into direct confrontation with the orthodox followers of Pir Baba of Buner. Soon he established
his base in the Tirah valley where he rallied other tribes to his cause. He eventually raised the flag of
open rebellion to the Mughal Emperor Akbar after Akbar's proclamation of Din-i-Ilahi and although he
led his army successfully in several skirmishes and battles against Mughal forces, they were eventually
routed in a major battle in Nangarhar by the Mughal General Muhsin Khan.

He escaped but later would be surrounded, and wounded, by a Yousafzai Lashkar near Topi and later
killed by them near Tarbela. There is a controversy about his year of death, which is recorded as 1585.
But it looks more likely that it was in 1581, soon after he was defeated by the Mughal General along
with his sons. All his sons were put to death with one exception. His youngest, fourteen year old, son
Jalala who was also captured was, due to his tender age, pardoned and released by Emperor Akbar
himself. This son—Jalala—soon took up arms and it was this Pir Jalala Khan who engaged Mughal armies
successfully. Raja Birbal a favorite of Mughal Emperor Akbar, was killed fighting against Jalala Pir near
Jamrod in what is now the Khyber Agency in 1587.(This also supports Pir Roshan's death in 1581, as
Jalala (it is rumored that the city of "Jalalabad" is named after him) was by then leading his Lashkars in
the field). After Jalala's death on the battlefield, his nephew Ahdad (also spelled Ihdad)Khan took charge
of the struggle against many of the famous Mughal commanders of that time, like Raja Man Singh, Zain
Khan Kokaltash, Qaleech Khan, Mahabat Khan, Ghairat Khan and Muzaffar Khan. As part of a concerted
campaign to destroy the Roshaniyyas, around 1619 or 1620, Mahabat Khan, under the Emperor
Jahangir, treacherously massacred 300 Daulatzai Orakzai in the Tirah (which straddles the Khyber and
Kurram agencies today), who were Roshaniyya members. Absent and on a visit to see Emperor Jahangir
at Rohtas, Ghairat Khan was sent back to the Tirah region to engage the Roshaniyya forces with a large
military force via Kohat. He advanced to the foot of the Sampagha pass, which was held by the
Roshaniyyas under Ahdad Khan and the Daulatzai under Malik Tor.[5]

The Rajputs attacked the former and the latter were assailed by Ghairat Khan's own troops, but the
Mughal forces were repulsed with great loss. Six years later, however, Muzaffar Khan, son of Khwaja
Abdul Hasan, then Sibahddr of Kabul, marched against Ahdad Khan by the Sugawand pass and Gardez,
and after five or six months' of intense fighting, Ahdad Khan was killed fighting sword in hand and his
head sent back to Emperor Jahangir. Ahdad Khan's Roshaniyya followers then took refuge in the Logar.
The death of Jahangir in 1627 led to a general uprising of the Afghans against Mughal forces to put an
end to attempts of Mughal domination.[6]

Later Abdul Qadir, Ahdad's son, along with his mother and Ahdad's widow, Allai Khatoon (daughter of
Pir Jalala), returned to the Tirah to seek badal (vengeance). There, under Abdul Qadir's command, the
Roshaniyya defeated Muzaffar Khan's forces. Muzaffar Khan was attacked while on his way from
Peshawar to Kabul, and severely handled by the Orakzai and Afridis. Muzaffar Khan was killed near
Peshawar. Abdul Qadir attacked Peshawar, plundered the city, and invested the citadel.[7]

It was not till the time of Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan (1628–1658) the grandson of Emperor Akbar
(1542–1605) when a truce was brokered through Mughal commander Said Khan with Abdul Qadir,
Bayazid's great grandson. Thus, the "peace" was brokered between the grandson of the Emperor and
the great grandson of "Insurgent/Freedom Fighter."[3] It was only after Emperor Akbar's death in 1605,
that Bayazid Khan's descendants who moved to Jullundhar purchased lands from the local land owners
and established Basti Danishmandan and Basti Sheikh Derveish and later Basti Baba Khel (in fact at the
place of Basti Baba Khel there already existed a village which was appendid by "Khel" to pushtunize it).
The Baba Khel branch of the Baraki would live here in fortress like compounds fighting off the sikhs who
surrounded their lands until the early 20th century (the last skirmishes between the two). In 1947, with
the partition, his descendants (many serving in the British Indian Army and Navy) would flee to the new
state of Pakistan

Roshanniya Movement
Roshanniya Movement (or Illuminati) is the set of teachings of Pir Roshan which his people followed.
The movement had one focal teaching; equality of every man and woman. This included the idea that
based on birth no one could become a religious leader or King. These titles are to be earned in one's life
through hard work alone. Having access to only two books on Pir Roshan, all of the English translations
associated Pir Roshan to have started a spiritual sect which believed in the transmigration of souls and in
the representation of God through individuals. This information also led some writers to associate the
movement with everything from Ismailis to Kharijites to Shia or Sufi influences.

Contribution to Pashto literature

Besides his reputation as a revolutionary, Pir Roshan invented Pushto script thus ensuring the
emergence of Pashto literature and writing. Pir Roshan realized that Pashto could not be written in
Arabic script owing to some of its sounds. He invented 13 characters to represent those sounds, thus
making written Pashto a reality. Some of these characters patched up vocal differences between the
hard and soft dialects of Pashto as well. Pir Roshan's contribution to Pashto nationalism and Pashto
language has been neglected, possibly because: first, he was from the small—but influential—tribe of
Baraki, whose mother tongue was Ormuri (a Western Persian language) not Pashto and whose lineage
was attributed via his Baraki roots to the Kurdistan region and could not supposedly be traced to one of
the Pashtun confederations, although rumor has it[clarification needed] that the Barakzai (sons of
Barak) are originally "Baraki", and secondly his "Roshaniya" movement was militarily crushed over and
over although his ideas spread beyond the Pukhtunkhwa region. The victors in a concerted effort
demonized the man and his movement as being a "secret cult," and in the minds of many this character
assassination stuck. Pir Roshan, however, is credited with writing the first book in Pashto language;
Khair-ul-Bayan and thus sowing the seed of Pashto literature. The book was thought to be lost till
recently when an original hand written Persian manuscript was found, preserved in the university of
Tubingen, Germany. This reached London through the courtesy of Norwegian professor Margestierne,
who delivered it to Sir Denison Ross, then the Director of London School of Oriental and African Studies.
Moulana Abdul Qaadir of Pashto Academy-Peshawar, obtained it from there and published the Pashto
edition in 1987. Khairul-Bayan was written in four languages - Pashto, Persian, Arabic, and Hindi by the
author himself and is considered the first book on Pashto prose. However this Pashto book is not in
author's words but a Pashto Academy translation of his original Persian manuscript.[7-A]

He wrote nearly a dozen books, although less than half of these have survived to modern days, mostly in
private and family libraries. His works include, "Khayr al-Bayan", "Maksud al- Muminin", "Surat-i
Tawhid", "Fakhr", "Hal-Nama" "Maksud al- Muminin", "Surat-i Tawhid", "Fakhr", "Hal-Nama" quiet
meditation, known as Khilwat. Modern day folklore This section does not cite any references or
sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material
may be challenged and removed. (September 2011) Based on the successes gained by a small group of
dedicated people against The Mughal Empire and Akbars Din-i-Ilahi the Roshanniya Movement became
somewhat of a legend which seems to have made its way to the Universities of Europe such as
University of Tübingen Germany. Roshaniya was a sixteenth century reformation and enlightenment
movement which conspiracy theorists have been quick to liken to everything from being remnants of
the Hassassin to having influenced the creation of the Illuminati in Bavaria in the eighteenth century to
the "New World Order". The reality, as exemplified in Pir Roshan, and which made him so very popular
with disparate Pushtun qaums, was that he spoke of liberating oneself from self inflicted ignorance and
from the tyranny of the hereditary rulers/despots. Liberation of all humanity from the shackles of
intolerance was his message and he inculcated the right for each human being to seek knowledge (to
include women).

Because Pir Roshan failed in his mission, his message has been demonized and distorted by the powers
that be who wished to retain the status quo. His ideas were congruent with the Enlightenment
movement that followed in Europe. Thus, the predilection to somehow link his struggle with that of the
Europeans (to include cult like entities), and even the American and French revolutions. His ideas did
appear to make their way to the Universities of Europe but that was the extent of it.

Yet it seems that totalitarian type ideologies, and their adherents, have been determined to continue
this false narrative (Marxists, fascists etc.) to discredit Pir Roshan's call of liberty or death in the face of
tyranny. He came up with the concept: All humans are created equal. And, thus were free to choose the
path as they pleased. This in an era when most of humanity were slaves, serfs or indentured or lived in
abject poverty.

Today, there is no such practice to be found, as the people of Waziristan are Orthodox Sunni Muslims
who revere Pir Roshan's ideas as do many fellow Pashtuns

Recent books and research

Imran Khan,[8] has covered the Burki and Kaniguram in his book "Warrior Race". The invading armies in
Afghanistan seem to have paid significant attention from a historical perspective. During the Soviet
Invasion of Afghanistan, Saint Petersburg State University Institute of Oriental Studies seemed to have
been the institution tasked to study the Roshaniyya movement, in order to understand their foe (see
reference section below). The Soviets were not far off the mark as it so happens that Waziristan was the
focal point for some of the toughest fighters against the Soviets.

Aminullah Khan Gandapur, in his book "Taikh-i-Sar Zamin-i-Gomal" (History of the Gomal Land; National
Book Foundation-2008) has ascribed a complete chapter to the Roshnayee Movement and to their strife
and achievement with the sword and the pen [8-A]

Following the 2002 invasion, the West also sent their scholar into the field to study and understand this
movement. Dr. Sergei Andreyev,[9](Chief Joint Mission Analysis Center, United Nations), an Oxford
academic was sent on UN assignment to Afghanistan, while at the same time he was funded by the
Institute of Ismaili Studies to research and write a book on the movement. There have been multiple
editions of this book; however its sale and distribution remains restricted[clarification needed] in 2011.

Song for Pir Rokhan This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this
section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
(September 2011)