Bacha Khan-His Will & His Way

By: Juma Khan Sufi

The Will of the late Abdul Ghafar Khan has direct bearing upon the material, moral and intellectual legacy of our people, comments J.K. Sufi, requesting all the involved parties to unearth what happened to the money and property willed by Bacha Khan to the Pakhtoon Trust.

Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan, one of the leading figures of the Indian Independence Movement, died more than twelve years ago. Those who claim to be his real heirs and successors observe his death anniversary every year. But misgivings exist in the minds of Afghans and Pashtoons on both sides of the Durand Line about his Will. There is an urgent need to dispel these misgivings if one has to determine Bacha Khan's place in history.

Like most other leaders and mortals he had some wishes which he reportedly enshrined in his written Will. He also expressed his wishes to his near and dear ones when he was alive. The most befitting manner of celebrating his deeds would be to abide by his Will and his expressed wishes instead of playing politics with his legacy, which is already part of Pashtoon history - enriching some, devastating others and confusing the ordinary lot. This is the most appropriate time to ponder over his Will because the present leadership of the country has initiated a long overdue process of accountability.

The current process of across the board accountability; vertical as well as horizontal, initiated by the Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf has been widely welcomed. It is heartening that those who have welcomed it include most political leaders who have also offered themselves for accountability. The Awami National Party has not lagged behind and its leaders belonging to Bacha Khan's family have disclosed some of their assets through the press. It is another matter, that when one of their scions was nabbed on corruption charges, they did a somersault and started questioning the fairness of the process.

Accountability is multi-faceted, multi-dimensional and an all-embracing process in true democracies. If we are to build the nation and serve the country, let it be the day of reckoning for everyone in this land. We must not play politics with this process; otherwise it would consume and consign the nation to the dustbin of history.

Though legally not directly related to the Chief Executive's current accountability agenda, the late Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan's Will has direct bearing upon the material, moral and intellectual legacy of our people - it is related to the collective conscience. This matter will have far reaching repercussions upon the culture and psyche of our people in the future. It relates to the moral, intellectual and material accountability of the so-called Pashtoon leaders and rights of our people concerning their history and past.

It was Bacha Khan's allegedly unwritten (unconfirmed) wish that he preferred to be buried in Jalalabad, and his family respected this. His wish, where apparently no money, cash and property were involved, was honoured promptly but the fulfilment of his written Will involving cash and property has not yet seen the light of day.

Great men always record their wishes in writing. It has almost become a vogue in developed countries that long before they die, even ordinary people record their Wills through professional legal experts. They thus free their heirs from worry about the disposal of their property, intellectual as well material, after their death.

It particularly is essential for important people to record everything for posterity - as did Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Abdul Kalam Azad and Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Quaid e Azam recorded his Will in 1939 when Pakistan was still a dream. There was no Pakistan Resolution and the proposals of the Cabinet Mission Plan which he accepted and the congress, including Bacha Khan, rejected in 1946 had not been spelt out. In order to set the record straight and confirm his love for the cause he professed, I must quote the last two articles of Quaid's Will signifying his charitable character and devotion to public service.

1. I direct executors to pay the following by way of gifts to the Institutions mentioned:

   1. I bequeath Rs 25,000 (twenty five thousands) to the Anjuman e Islam, Bombay situated at Hornby Road opposite Boribunder Station and next to the Times of India Buildings.

   2. I bequeath Rs 50,000 (fifty thousands) to the University of Bombay.

   3. I bequeath Rs 25,000 (twenty five thousands) to the Arabic College Delhi.

2. Subject to the above, all the residuary estate including the corpus that may fall after the lapse of life interests or otherwise to be divided into three parts - and I bequeath one part to Aligarh University, one part to Islamia College Peshawar and one part to the Sindh Madrassa of Karachi.

The proceeds from his property still continue to be deposited in the bank account of Islamia College Peshawar, Quaid e Azam College of Commerce, Jinnah College for Women - all part of Peshawar University, Jinnah Koruna (residential quarters for Islamia College Employees) and the newly constructed teaching  block named Takbeer in Islamia College have been built with this money.

More than twelve million rupees have so far been granted from his assets - earned through hard work and not as a political leader or founder of Pakistan; nor did it involve any special Award Money. His Will confirms that he really cared for the welfare of Indian Muslims. Our people will remain indebted to him for generations for his generosity.

On this score we should also salute Imran Khan who became a celebrity by sheer accident of history in the world of sports and used his position for the welfare of the people by building Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital for the treatment of Cancer. And people like Abdul Sattar Edhi, true Khudai Khidmatgar's, are but born rarely in history. They serve and demand no rewards nor do they leave any material wealth for their progenies.

As far as we know, Bacha Khan also recorded his Will. He had savings in Kabul at the National Bank of Afghanistan (Bank e Milli Afghanistan) and the Bank of Afghanistan (Da Afghanistan Bank) worth billions of Afghanis and he had categorically written, as far as I know, and Ajmal Khattak and Afrasiab Khattak can testify, that the said amount along with the landed property in his name would go to the Pashtoons after his death.

A former Afghan minister, Abdul Rashid Waziri, presently a refugee in Pakistan, was one of the witnesses. He told this to the Afghan Government time and again, in front of Ajmal Khattak and myself. The two Khattak's can testify that when the late Khan Abdul Ghani Khan, elder son of Bacha Khan, visited Kabul in late 1988 during Najib's reign, he asked the authorities to allow him to take out his share of money as one of the heirs. President Najibullah replied that the deceased had written a Will with his own hands, which was lying with the banks and which stated the said amount belonged to Pashtoons and not to his legal heirs.

According to one estimate, the amount came to billions of Afghanis (worth Crores of Rupees) when Babrak Karmal was in power. Bacha Khan used to ascertain the interest on his savings off and on. Thrice this exercise took place in front of Ajmal Khattak and myself and the former recorded it in his personal diary, a daily routine with him. He can confirm the exact amount from his diaries.

Bacha Khan distributed the land inherited from his father, Bahram Khan, among his sons. However, he set aside 80 acres of land for the Pakhtoon Trust which he established in his lifetime; its registration and charter still lie with Arbab Abdul Ghafar Khan, son of the famous freedom fighter, the late Arbab Abdul Ghafoor Khan.

This was announced in the press and can be confirmed through the reports published in the newspapers then, specifically the Daily Shahbaz of the late 70s. The land was on lease and its proceeds which used to come to Grindlay's Bank, by now must have reached a couple of millions rupees.

Our people have the right to ask about the said amount, awards, property, owned by Bacha Khan. This included the prize money from Jawaharlal Nehru Award for Peace and International Understanding, the donations collected on Bacha Khan's Birthday (probably his 70th) from all over India. One hundred thousand Indian rupees for each year of his life was collected on his birth anniversary. The full story about this incident appeared in the famous Indian journal, Blitz of Bombay, edited by A. R. Karanjia. Bacha Khan also posthumously received the highest Indian civil award of Bharat Ratna, which was received by Khan Abdul Wali Khan on his behalf. This also included the landed property set aside for the Pashtoon Trust.

The Pakhtoons still remember the membership oath taken by every Khudai Khidmatgar while joining the movement. The very first operative provision stated "I will sacrifice my wealth, comfort and self in the service of my nation and for the liberation of my country."

The oath says a lot in simple words. There is no need to recount the names of the numerous Khudai Khidmatgar's who sacrificed everything to keep their promise. Their descendants were deprived of education and respectable living. For example, Abdul Aziz Khan of Zaida in district Swabi kept his oath by sacrificing everything. There were numerous others like him. These sacrifices should not be wasted.

There is no instance in the world of a recipient making an Award money his personal property, to be inherited by his heirs. The Pashtoons are not concerned about the property that was distributed among Bacha Khan's legal heirs during his lifetime. However, the matter of his will should not lie dormant and shrouded in mystery because his legacy is shared not just by his family but by many.

In order to clear the name of this great man who rendered tremendous sacrifices for human beings and who remained committed to his ideals till the last, someone has to embark upon a trust mission. The Pashtoons must know the whereabouts of his cash and landed property set aside for his Pakhtoon Trust, including the land donated to the Khudai Khidmatgar Markaz at Sardaryab by the Khan of Kuddu, the late Mohammad Israr Khan.

The government of Pakistan which must have received income/wealth tax on the said property, can also furnish the details about its possession. The same request can be made to the ANP leadership and especially to the family of Bacha Khan to find out what happened to all the money and property that he had willed to be used for the welfare of the Pashtoons through his Pakhtoon trust. If there was no such Will, that must also be disclosed. If the existence of his Will is denied then the people have their right to form their opinion about him accordingly.

It is the duty of every Pashtoon to exonerate the good name and legacy of this unique man. Well meaning quarters suspect with a degree of certainty that the money lying in Afghan banks was been brought back by Bacha Khan's family during the last days of Najibullah's rule. This was testified by Hashim Paktyani - the assassinated cousin of the assassinated former President of Afghanistan, Dr. Najibullah in front of many people. If so, the people would like a clarification and if the money is still in the banks of Afghanistan, the Taleban authorities can be approached to furnish the required information.

A befitting tribute to his memory would be the establishment of a learning institute or a hospital with his money and property, which he originally intended to do.

We are answerable to history and someone has to speak on behalf of the collective conscience of our deceived and deprived nation and its history, as well as on behalf of this widely misunderstood leader. History will never forgive us if we remain silent spectators in the face of such an important matter relating to the independence, democratic and liberation movement of the 20th century.

Now we have entered the 21st century and a new millennium. In this age of cyber space, satellite communication and TV, nobody can hide facts from the general public for long. And fortunately, transparency is the hallmark of the present government.

We hope this closed chapter in our history will be opened. I have done my duty as otherwise my conscience would never have forgiven me if I had remained silent. A titan like Bacha Khan deserves to be cleansed of the doubts and confusions surrounding his legacy.

بېرته شاته