The Cultural Side of the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement: The Politics of Cultural Alternatives in Pakhtun Society in the time of British Colonialism

Abstract

The present study focuses on the cultural side of the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement (KKM) in Pakhtun society. The KKM was started by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan popularly known as Bacha Khan in the then NWFP in early twentieth century as socio-cultural reform movement which later turned intro freedom movement. The findings of the study are based on fieldwork research conducted in district Swabi of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from September 2011 to February 2012. Data of the research was collected through participants observation, in-depth interviews, informal discussions, focus group discussions, and case studies with living Khudai Khidmatgars, elders of the area, experts, politicians, and academicians using purposive and snowball sampling. Findings of the research suggests that KKM was a non-violent movement carrying reformative agenda which proved a tool of inspiration for the Pakhtuns that brought about revolutionary change in the culture and arts of the Pakhtun society. KKM opened more than one hundred schools, trained thousands of non-violent Khudai Khitmatgars (serving people in the name of Allah), used non-violence as a philosophy and strategy to eliminate internal feuds and religious and sectarian violence. It discouraged unnecessary expenditures in personal and collective life and social stratification. KKM also started a monthly journal, organized literary and artistic gatherings. The cultural side of the KKM brought about a paradigm shift and left extraordinary social and cultural impacts on the Pakhtun Society, which can be seen in different aspects of the lives of the Pakhtuns today.