Khushal Khan Khattak (1613–1689) (Pashto: خوشحال خان خټک) was a prominent Pashtun poet, warrior, and tribal chief of the Khattak tribe.[1] He wrote a huge collection of Pashto poems during the Mughal Empire in the 17th century, and admonished Afghans (Pashtuns or Pakhtuns) to forsake their divisive tendencies and unite against the Mughal army. Promoting Afghan nationalism through poetry, he was a renowned military fighter who became known as the "Afghan Warrior Poet".[2] Khushal Khan lived in the foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains in what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.

Early life:

Khushal Khan was born in or about 1613 into a Pashtun family of the Khattak tribe. He was the son of Shahbaz Khan from Akora, Mughal ruled India (now in Nowshera District of Kyber-Pakthunkhwa, in Pakistan). His grandfather, Malik Akoray, was the first Khattak to enjoy widespread fame during the reign of the Mughal King Jalal-ud-din Akbar. Akoray moved from Teri (a village in Karak District) to Sarai Akora, the town which Akoray founded and built. Akoray cooperated with the Mughals to safeguard the trunk route and was generously rewarded for his assistance. The Akor Khels, a clan named after Akoray, still hold a prominent position in the Khattak tribe. The Khattak tribe of Khushhal Khan now lives in areas of Karak, Kohat, Nowshera, Peshawar, Mardan and in other parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Khushhal Khan’s life can be divided into two important parts — during his adult life he was mostly engaged in the service of the Mughal king, and during his old age he was preoccupied with the idea of the unification of the Pashtuns.

His first involvement in war occurred when he was just 13 years old. Emperor Shah Jehan appointed him as the tribal chief and Mansabdar in 1641 at the age of 28 after the death of his father. In 1658, Aurangzeb, Shah Jehan's successor, threw him away as a prisoner in the Gwalior fortress.

Rebellion and the Moghul Empire

Contemporary painting of Khushal Khan in military uniforms

After Khushal Khan was permitted to return to Pashtun dominated areas (Pashtunistan), he incited the Afghan tribes to rebel against the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.[4] Along with the Rajputs, the Pashtun (Afghan) tribesmen of the Empire were considered the bedrock of the Mughal Army. They were crucial defenders of the Mughal Empire from the threat of invasion from the West. The Pashtun revolt in 1672 was triggered when soldiers under the orders of the Mughal Governor Amir Khan attempted to molest women of the Safi tribe in what is now Kunar. The Safi tribes attacked the Mughal soldiers. This attack provoked a reprisal, which triggered a general revolt of most of the tribes. Attempting to reassert his authority, Amir Khan led a large Mughal Army to the Khyber pass. There, the army was surrounded by tribesmen and routed, with only four men, including the Governor, managing to escape.

After that the revolt spread, with the Mughals suffering a near total collapse of their authority along the Pashtun belt. The closure of the important Attock-to-Kabul trade route along the Grand Trunk road was particularly critical. By 1674, the situation had deteriorated to a point where Aurangzeb himself camped at Attock to personally take charge. Switching to diplomacy and bribery along with force of arms, the Mughals eventually split the rebellion and while they never managed to wield effective authority outside the main trade route, the revolt was partially suppressed. However, the long term anarchy on the Mughal frontier that prevailed as a consequence ensured that Nadir Shah's Khorasanian forces half a century later faced little resistance on the road to Delhi.

Death and tribute

Forced to flee after the Mughals reasserted control, he died on February 25, 1689 at Dambara, many years after attempting to unite the various Pakhtun tribes together. It is believed that Khattak had gone on an expedition to "Tirah", a rugged mountainous area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where he died. People searched for him and found his dead body a number of days laters with his sword and the carcass of his horse (known as "Silai" in Pashto, which means Wind). His death symbolises his courage and his love for his Afghan (Pakhtun) motherland.

He is buried near Akora Khattak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where many Pashtuns continue to pay tribute and visit his tomb. His grave carries the inscription:da afghan pa nang may watarla tura, nanagyalai da zamana khushal khattak yam "I have taken up the sword to defend the pride of the Afghan, I am Khushal Khattak, the honorable man of the age." [6]

The Mazar (tomb) of Khushal Khan Khattak is situated near the Railway Station of Akora Khattak in the Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in Pakistan.

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