Muhammad Habib Khan Tarin (1829-December 1888),

Risaldar Risaldar, meaning the commander of a ''risala'' or ''risalah'' (a body of horse, regardless if troop or regiment) in Persian, is a mid-level rank in cavalry and armoured units of the Indian and Pakistan Army. In other arms, such as the infantry, t ...

-''Bahadur'', CSI, was a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

officer of Tarin descent, who lived in the Hazara region on the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Frontier, in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

Background

Muhammad Habib Khan was the son of Karam Khan, settled at

Talokar (village) Talokar is a village in the Haripur, Pakistan, Haripur area of Hazara, Pakistan, Hazara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province) in Pakistan. History Talokar was founded during the 12th or 13th century AD by the Talokar is kh ...

, near Haripur town, in the Hazara region In 1849, after the conclusion of the

Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company, British East India Company that took place in 1848 and 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab r ...

of 1849, the Punjab and its Frontier were annexed by the British and Major

James Abbott (Indian Army officer) James or Jim Abbott may refer to: * James Abbott (Indian Army officer) (1807–1896), British colonial administrator * James H. Abbott (1851–1914), British philatelist *Jim Abbott (outfielder) (1884–?), American baseball player *James Abbott (f ...

was sent as the Hazara's first Deputy commissioner. The Tarin clan, which had previously resisted

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

rule, refused to accept the new British rulers and came into conflict with Major Abbott, who deposed many of the tribe's chiefs and leaders and confiscated their lands and properties. Habib Khan was also one of these chieftains and he escaped into the nearby Gandhgarhi hills. The situation became very hazardous for Habib Khan when Major Abbott tightened control over the Gandhgarhi hills and environs, through the help of the

Tahirkheli The Tahir Kheli (also Tar Kheli) is a Pashtun tribe which mainly dwells in the Hazara region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. See also * Tahir Kheli Pashtun people * Hazara people The Hazaras ( fa, , Həzārə; haz, , Āzər ...

and Mishwani tribes, and he might have been taken prisoner at this time. However, by chance, Khan came into contact with another British officer Colonel Robert Cornelis Napier (later Field Marshal Lord Napier of Magdala), who was working on a road construction project nearby; and Napier befriended and helped him to obtain an amnesty from the Punjab Government, enabling him to return home.O Tarin and S Najumddin 'Risaldar Sardar Habib Khan Tarin, 1st Bengal Military Police Battalion' in ''Durbar: Journal of the

Indian Military Historical Society Indian Military Historical Society (IMHS). is an organisation and learned society, which is based primarily in the United Kingdom but with a wide membership extending to the British Commonwealth and several other countries around the world. The soc ...

'' UK, Vol 27, No 2, Summer 2010, pp 67-74. The authors cite Mc Crae (1933) and other military sources

Military career

Napier realised that he could be an effective native military officer, and he utilised him during the First Black Mountain Campaign of late 1852< and later on, in other campaigns. In Spring 1856, Habib Khan, on Napier's recommendation, went to

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, where Captain Thomas Rattray was at that time raising a new battalion for service in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

and

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

., and enrolled as a

Jemadar Jemadar or jamadar is a title used for various military and other officials in the Indian subcontinent. Etymology The word stems from Urdu (), which derives through Persian ''jam'dar'' from Arabic ''jamā‘a(t)'' 'muster' + Persian ''-dār'' ...

of the cavalry section of what was then the 1st Bengal Military Police Battalion, along with several retainers . After joining the battalion, Habib Khan served with some distinction in the Sonthal ''pargannahs'', until the outbreak of the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

in 1857, when he was put in charge of a semi-independent squadron of cavalry, which "further developed its role as a highly mobile body, employed ad hoc across Bengal and eventually on the North-East Frontier f India.. hecavalry revealed to be a great advantage and this arm was therefore increased to five hundred sabres". During the period May 1857 to August 1858, the regimental history informs that "The troop of cavalry seemed to have seen very strenuous service- its record averages practically ten engagements per man- and Jemadar Hubeeb icKhan heads the list with fourteen engagements". After the end of the Mutiny, Habib Khan was promoted

commanding the cavalry section for his meritorious services, and journeyed to

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

and

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

on behalf of the government. In 1864, the infantry section of the 1st Bengal Military Battalion was taken into the line as a regular infantry battalion of the Bengal Army as the 45th (Rattray's Sikhs) Regiment of Native Infantry, and the cavalry section was disbanded, and Habib Khan thereafter retired and left for home. He was a recipient of the

Indian Mutiny Medal __NOTOC__ The Indian Mutiny Medal was a campaign medal approved in August 1858, for officers and men of British and Indian units who served in operations in suppression of the Indian Mutiny. The medal was initially sanctioned for award to troops ...

Later life

On retirement, Habib Khan came back to Hazara area, and also entered into extensive litigation against the Punjab Government, to obtain restitution of a number of his properties, and in settling the affairs of his considerable estates. In 1872, he was made a JP and a Kursi Nasheen for the Talokar Haripur area, and also given the personal title of

Nawab Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

-''Bahadur'' and awarded the CSI. and received a 'Jangi Inam' (war/veteran soldier's allowance).Govt of Indian Gazette notices, Calcutta 1872, 1875 Between 1868 and 1880 he assisted senior officers in the management of Frontier affairs along the Hazara hills, receiving certificates of commendation from Sir

Herbert Benjamin Edwardes Major-General Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes DCL (12 November 1819 – 23 December 1868) was a British administrator, soldier, and statesman active in the Punjab region of British India. He is best known as the "Hero of Multan" for his pivotal ...

and NG Waterfield, Commissioner of the

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

Division. Habib Khan actively supported the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

liberal reformer

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan KCSI (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898; also Sayyid Ahmad Khan) was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu-Muslim unity, he ...

and his movement to educate Muslim youth according to the contemporary modern standards, what was later to develop into the

Aligarh Movement The Aligarh Movement was the push to establish a modern system of Western–style scientific education for the Muslim population of British India, during the later decades of the 19th century. The movement's name derives from the fact that it ...

; and along with the likes of Nawab

Muhammad Hayat Khan Nawab Muhammad Hayat Khan Khattar (1833–1901) was an Indian Muslim who served the Government of British India and rose to considerable distinction. Early life Muhammad Hayat Khan was born a son of Sardar Karam Khan, a Khattar chieftain, in t ...

and other Punjabi and

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

leaders, he made significant contributions towards this cause. It was claimed that, "unlike many narrow-minded and bigoted Muslim chiefs" he was a person of eclectic views and followed a liberal, tolerant

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

c perspective, maintaining 'close life-long friendships with his old

and

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

colleagues-in-arms'. Among his children, two sons, Khan-sahib Abdul Majid Khan Tarin, OBE, and Abdul Latif Khan Tarin, IDSM, were notable.

Background

Military career

Later life

See also

Further reading