Pathans in India are citizens or residents of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

who are of ethnic

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 ...

ancestry. "Pathan" is the local

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

The term additionally finds mention among Western sources, mainly in the colonial-era literature of

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 ...

. Historically, the term "

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

" was also synonymous with the Pathans. The Pathans originate from the region straddling

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. There are varying estimates of the population of Pathan descent living in India, ranging from 3.2 million people per the

All India Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind The All India Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind ( ps, آل انډیا پښتون جرګه هند , ur, آل انڈیا پشتون جرگہ ہند), commonly known as the Jirga-e-Hind ( ps, جرګه هند , ur, جرگہ ہند), is an organisation representin ...

to around 10 million. Khan Mohammad Atif, an academic at the

University of Lucknow The University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is a public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Founded in 1920, the University of Lucknow is one of the oldest government owned institutions of higher ed ...

, estimates that the total population of Pathans in India may be "twice their population in Afghanistan". In the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, 21,677 individuals reported

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

as their mother tongue. Large-scale Pashtun migration into India began in the 11th and 12th centuries, as a result of the many Muslim empires and dynasties founded by Pashtuns on the Indian subcontinent. Pashtuns also arrived as traders, officers, administrators, diplomats, travelers, religious saints and preachers, students, and as soldiers serving in the armies of India's rulers. In many cases, migration and settlement occurred amongst whole

clans A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

. Today, the Pathans are a collection of diversely scattered communities present across the length and breadth of India, with the largest populations principally settled in the plains of northern and

central India Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in alm ...

. Following the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in 1947, many of them migrated to Pakistan. The majority of Indian Pathans are Urdu-speaking communities, who have assimilated into the local society over the course of generations. Pathans have influenced and contributed to various fields in India, particularly politics, the entertainment industry and sports.

History

The Pathans of India are a community who trace their ancestry to the Pashtun regions of

and

. The Pashtun homeland is located in

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

and the northwestern region of

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

; it roughly stretches from areas south of the

Amu River The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central As ...

in Afghanistan to west of the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

in Pakistan, mainly consisting of southwestern, eastern and some northern and western

districts of Afghanistan The districts of Afghanistan, known as ''wuleswali'' ( ps, ولسوالۍ, ''wuləswāləi''; fa, شهرستان, ''shahrestān'') are secondary-level administrative units, one level below provinces. The Afghan government issued its first d ...

, and

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

and northern

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

in western Pakistan, with the

Durand Line The Durand Line ( ps, د ډیورنډ کرښه; ur, ), forms the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, a international land border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to th ...

acting as the border between the two countries. The

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Provinc ...

mountains straddle the north of the region. Geographically, the Pathans are an eastern

Iranic The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separate ...

ethnic group who lived west of the Indo-Aryan ethnicities of the northern

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. Some Pashtuns from the

Ghilji The Ghiljī ( ps, غلجي, ; fa, خیلجی, Xelji) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai or Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also sett ...

tribe historically used to seasonally migrate to India in winter as

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

ic merchants. They would buy goods there, and transport these by

camel caravan A camel train or caravan is a series of camels carrying passengers and goods on a regular or semi-regular service between points. Despite rarely travelling faster than human walking speed, for centuries camels' ability to withstand harsh condi ...

in summer for sale or barter in Afghanistan.

Demographics

Pathans of India descend from different tribes and clans. Some of the common Pashtun tribes found in India include the

Afridi The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal ...

s, Ahmadzais,

Barakzai Bārakzai ( ps, بارکزی, ''Bārakzay;'' plur. ps, بارکزي, ''Bārakzī'') is the name of a Pashtun tribe from present-day, Kandahar, Afghanistan. '"Barakzai" is a common name among the Pashtuns and it means "son of Barak" in Pashto. A ...

Bettani The Bettani ( ps, بېټني), also spelled Baittani or Bhittani, is a Pashtun tribe located mostly in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Bettani are named after ''Shaykh Beṭ'', their legendary ancestor who is said to be the second son of Qais Abdur ...

Durrani The Durrānī ( ps, دراني, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan ( Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, but ...

Kakar The Kakar (Pashto: کاکړ) is a Gharghashti Pashtun tribe, based mostly in Northern Balochistan, Pakistan and Loy Kandahar in Afghanistan. Legendary origin Kakars are sons of Gharghashti who was the son of Qais Abdul Rashid. In Herat, the Ka ...

Khattak The Khattak ( ps, خټک) tribe are a prominent Pashtun tribe located in the Khattak territory, which consists of Karak, Nowshera, Kohat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. History Khushal Khan Khattak A warrior poet by the name of ...

s, Lodis,

Orakzai The Orakzai are a Pashtun tribe native to the Orakzai Agency and parts of Kurram Agency located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They speak the language Pashto. Location The Orakzai belong to the Tirah valley located in FATA or ...

s, Shinwaris and

Yusufzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai ( ps, یوسفزی, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ) are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribes of ethnic Pashtuns. They are natively based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to which they migrated to from Sulim ...

Hindu Pathans

The term "Hindu Pathan" is often used as self-identification by some Indian

Hindus 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 ...

who hailed from or were born in the predominately Pashtun regions of British India (now Pakistan), as well as those who arrived from Afghanistan. The 1947

led to an exodus of Hindus settled in the former

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...

(NWFP) and

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

, which are part of modern Pakistan, into the newly independent India. Notable people from these regions, mainly Peshawar, who identified as Hindu Pathans include the Punjabi-origin independence activist

Bhagat Ram Talwar Bhagat Ram Talwar (1908—1983), a Hindu Pathan from the Northwest Province of British India, was the only quintuple spy of World War II. He played an active role in India's freedom struggle. Also known by the alias ''Silver'', he was a freedo ...

and union minister

Mehr Chand Khanna Mehr Chand Khanna (1 June 1897 – 20 July 1970) was an Indian politician who served as the Union Minister for Rehabilitation from 1954 to 1962 and Law Minister from 1954 to 1957.Mr Mohan Lal Saksena was the first Rehabilitation Minister of the ...

;

Prithviraj Kapoor Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and establish ...

, the progenitor of Bollywood's Kapoor family (along with his sons Raj, Shammi and

Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ (born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and film producer who is best known for his work in Hindi films. A recipient of several accolades, including four Nation ...

), also of Punjabi descent; his cousin,

Surinder Kapoor Surinder Kapoor (23 December 1925 – 24 September 2011) was an Indian film producer. He produced Bollywood films and also served as President of the Film & Television Producers Guild of India from 1995 to 2001. He was born in Peshawar, British ...

(father of

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...

); actor

Vinod Khanna Vinod Khanna (6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who is best known for his work in Hindi films; while also being a notable spiritual seeker. In Bollywood, he was the recipient of two Filmfare awa ...

, and film producer F.C. Mehra (father of

Umesh Mehra Umesh is an Indian given name. People * M. S. Umesh, actor * Umesh Chandra Banerjee, jurist * Umesh Chandra Dutta, social reformer * Umesh Chandra Patra, zoologist * Umesh Harijan, footballer * Umesh Kamat, actor * Umesh Kulkarni (cricketer), crick ...

). Pushpa Kumari Bagai writes that the Hindu Pathans in India, especially those who migrated from the Saraiki-speaking area of

Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan (; bal, , Urdu and skr, , ps, ډېره اسماعيل خان), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 37th largest city of Pakistan ...

, had their own unique

vegetarian cuisine Vegetarian cuisine is based on food that meets vegetarian standards by not including meat and animal tissue products (such as gelatin or animal-derived rennet). Lacto-ovo vegetarianism (the most common type of vegetarianism in the Western wo ...

. In her historical magnum opus '' River of Fire'', writer

Qurratulain Hyder Qurratulain Hyder (20 January 1927 – 21 August 2007) was an Indian Urdu novelist and short story writer, an academic, and a journalist. One of the most outstanding and influential literary names in Urdu literature, she is best known for ...

makes reference to Hindu Pathans from the NWFP who were displaced by the partition and settled in India. Some Hindus who lived in Balochistan prior to 1947, and later migrated to India following the partition, had a highly Pashtunized culture and spoke a form of Pashto or Balochi. They identified themselves culturally as Pathans and members of the

i tribe. Originating from

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

and

Loralai Loralai ( ps, لورلايي, ur, ), also known as Bori ( ps, ), is the division headquarter of Loralai Division and district headquarter of Loralai District. It is in the northeast of Balochistan province in Pakistan. It is above sea level ...

, they brought their customs and practices with themselves to India, where they became known as the ''Sheenkhalai'' (Pashto for "the blue skinned"). This name stemmed from a novel tradition their womenfolk practiced, who would adorn their faces, hands and skin with permanent tattoos to enhance their appearance. These decorative, tribal tattoos were considered a form of art and beauty in their culture, however they were looked down upon by other Indians. The women wore a traditional hand-embroidered dress known as the ''kakrai

kameez Thawb ( ar, ثَوْب "garment"), also spelled thobe or tobe and known by various other names in different regions, is an ankle-length robe, usually with long sleeves. It is commonly worn in the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, North Afr ...

'', similar to a ''

firaq Raghupati Sahay (28 August 1896 – 3 March 1982), also known by his pen name Firaq Gorakhpuri, was an Indian writer, Literary criticism, critic, and, according to one commentator, one of the most noted contemporary Urdu poets from India. He ...

'' – the upper garment worn by Pashtun females. They also listened to

Pashto music Pashto music ( ps, ) or ''Də ṭang-ṭakór'' is commonly performed in Afghanistan and Pakistan among Pashtun people. Genres Tappa Tappa ( ps, ټپه) is the oldest and most popular genre of the Pashto poetry. The Tappa is a composition of ...

and would teach the language to their children. Due to their different culture and appearance, they were often stereotyped and considered Muslims or foreigners by the locals. The Sheenkhalai, numbering up to 500 at the time of partition, settled mostly in Rajasthan (in

Uniara Uniara is a town and a municipality in Tonk district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a tehsil of the Tonk district. Geography Galwa dam, the eighth largest dam in Rajasthan, is three kilometers from Uniara. Uniara has major forest area ...

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

and

Chittorgarh Chittorgarh (also Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a major stronghol ...

) and Punjab, and adopted Indian culture. In recent years, there have been efforts to revive their indigenous culture. In 2018, former Afghan president

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

met members of this community and inaugurated the Sheenkhalai Art Project during the

Jaipur Literature Festival The Jaipur Literature Festival, or JLF, is an annual literary festival which takes place in the Indian city of Jaipur each year in the month of January. It was founded in 2006. It is the world's largest free literary festival. The Diggi Palace ...

. A feature-length documentary titled ''Sheenkhalai – The Blue Skin'' produced by Shilpi Batra Adwani, a third-generation Sheenkhalai herself, explores the history and origins of this community and was funded by the India–Afghanistan Foundation. From the 1950s and onwards, some

Pakistani Hindus Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation in Pakistan after Islam. While Hinduism was one of the dominant faiths in the region a few centuries back, today Hindus account for 2.14% of Pakistan's population or 4.4 million people accor ...

from Peshawar and surrounding areas moved to India, settling chiefly in

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

, Jalandhar,

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 Indian census, 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the ...

and

Firozpur Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who di ...

, as well as in Delhi, Rajasthan and other places across India. As of 2005, they numbered over 3,000 families including both Hindus and Sikhs. Amritsar itself was home to over 500 Peshawari families, and most of them lived in an area known as the Peshawari Mohalla where they had set up a Hindu temple for the community. They were mainly businesspeople. According to the Hindustan Times, around 250 Hindu and Sikh families were living in an area named "Mini Peshawar" near Chheharta in Amritsar as of 2016. Although Peshawar was not as violently affected by communal riots as other regions during the partition, the Peshawari Hindus cited economic issues, security challenges and religious violence as reasons for their emigration after independence. A wave of similar migrations continued in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. After living in India for some time, these Hindus are able to secure Indian citizenship. The elderly Peshawari Hindus are distinguishable due to their Peshawari clothing and the

Peshawari turban Peshawari turban, also Peshawari patke ( ps, پېښوري پټکی) or Peshawari lungee, is the traditional turban worn in Peshawar and its surrounding regions. It is a two-piece headgear. One piece is a dome-shaped hard cap or kulla, generally ...

which some of them wear, and they converse in Pashto or the local Peshawari dialect. However, the younger generation is not fluent in these languages. Since the 1970s, thousands of

Afghan Hindus Hinduism in Afghanistan is practiced by a tiny minority of Afghans, believed to be about 30-40 individuals as of 2021, who live mostly in the cities of Kabul and Jalalabad. Afghan Hindus are ethnically Pashtun, Hindkowan (Hindki), Punjabi, or S ...

have also settled in India while escaping

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

and persecution. Many of them had lived in the Pashtun areas for generations, spoke Pashto, and practiced a culture that was Pashtun-influenced.

Diaspora

A secondary diaspora of Pathans from India also exists, including those who were transported from British India to various other colonies as

indentured workers Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an "indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment, ...

in the early 19th century.

Distribution

North India

In July 1954, over 100,000 Pashtun tribespeople living in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir were granted Indian nationality. They are a mostly

endogamous Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. Endogamy is common in many cultu ...

, Pashto-speaking community whose ancestors migrated from what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan prior to India's independence. The village of Gotli Bagh in

Ganderbal district The Ganderbal district, or more formally District Ganderdal, is a district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Ganderbal town is administrative headquarters of district. It was formed in 2007 and has 6 subdistricts (tehsils): ...

is home to around 10,000 Pashtuns. The community observes Pashtun customs such as ''

jirga A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...

'' for mediation on disputes, and Pashto television channels like Khyber TV are followed to keep up to date with news in the region. They mostly marry within their community, which has allowed their language and culture to be preserved intact. The city of

Malerkotla Malerkotla is a city and district headquarters of Malerkotla district in the Indian state of Punjab. It was the seat of the eponymous princely state during the British Raj. The state acceded to the union of India in 1947 and was merged with ...

is home to a significant population of

Punjabi Muslims Punjabi Muslims ( pa, ) are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. Primarily geographically native to the Punjab province of Pakistan today, many have ancestry in the entire Punjab region, ...

, some of whom are of Pathan origin. It is notably the only Muslim-majority city in

Indian Punjab Punjab (; ) is a state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and R ...

, since the partition in 1947. The princely

Malerkotla State The State of Malerkotla or Maler Kotla was a princely state in the Punjab region during the era of British India. The last Nawab of Maler Kotla signed the instrument of accession to join the Dominion of India on 20 August 1948. Its rulers belo ...

was established and ruled by a Pathan dynasty of

Sherwani Sherwani is a long-sleeved outer coat worn by men in South Asia. Like the Western frock coat it is fitted, with some waist suppression; it falls to below the knees and is buttoned down the front. It can be collarless, have a shirt-style collar, ...

and Lodi origins. The Pathans in Malerkotla were considered an influential group and were principally landowners. Their numbers dwindled after many of them migrated to Pakistan. They are principally divided into the

, Lodi, Kakar and Sherwani tribes. The rulers of the state historically shared a harmonious relationship with their Hindu and Sikh subjects, giving them protection and equal rights as minorities, which is one of the reasons why the city was mostly spared from violence during the partition. Even after independence, members of the royal Pathan family have continued to receive political support in state elections.

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

is a common destination for Afghan students who pursue tertiary education in India. They numbered up to 500 as of 2019, and were enrolled in different institutes including

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both Punjab, India, State and Government of India, Union governments, it is considered a state university (Indi ...

. The princely

Pataudi State Pataudi State was a small princely state in India, established in 1804 during the East India Company rule in India. The state formed a part of the Delhi Territory in the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. It was under the suzerainty of the Commiss ...

, which was founded by the

Pataudi family The Pataudi family is an Indian people, Indian family of actors and erstwhile nawabs of the former princely states, princely state of Pataudi State, Pataudi, from which they take their name. The first nawab of Pataudi, nawab was Faiz Talab Kha ...

and ruled by the

Nawab of Pataudi The term Nawab of Pataudi refers to the lineage of rulers of the former princely Pataudi State in Northern India. Pataudi was established in 1804 by the British East India Company, when Faiz Talab Khan, an Afghan Muslim Pashtun of the Barech tri ...

, was centred in

Pataudi Pataudi is a town and one of the 4 sub-divisions of Gurugram district, in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Haryana, within the boundaries of the National Capital Region of India. Ahirs/Yadav dominate the area. It is located f ...

in modern Haryana's

Gurgaon Gurgaon (pronunciation: �ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: �ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...

district. The Pataudis were of Afghan descent, whose ancestors arrived in India in the late 15th century as mercenaries of the Pashtun emperor

Bahlul Lodi Bahlul Khan Lodi (12 July 1489) was the chief of the Pashtun Lodi tribe. Founder of the Lodi dynasty from the Delhi Sultanate upon the abdication of the last claimant from the previous Sayyid rule. Bahlul became sultan of the dynasty on 19 A ...

, during the latter's reign. According to

Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi Nawab Mohammad Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (also known as Mansur Ali Khan, or M. A. K. Pataudi; 5 January 1941 – 22 September 2011; nicknamed Tiger Pataudi) was an Indian cricketer and a former captain of the Indian cricket team. Pataudi was a ...

, the family are "basically Afghans with a bit of Turkish blood." There is a small community of Pashto-speaking Hindus and Sikhs who migrated from

Parachinar Parachinar ( ps, پاړه چنار; ur, ) is a small Pashtun ( Turi and Bangash tribe) town which is the capital of Kurram District in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Parachinar is situated on a neck of Pakistani territory west ...

(in Pakistan's

Kurram District Kurram District ( ps, کرم ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Kohat Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan.The name Kurram comes from the river Kuramá ( ps, کورمه) in Pashto which itself derives from the Sanskrit name K ...

) to Himachal Pradesh in 1948. They have an organisation known as the Akhil Bharatiya Parachinar Biradari, which seeks to gain Scheduled Tribal status for the community in order to secure various government incentives and opportunities committed under the

National Commission for Scheduled Tribes National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) is an Indian constitutional body that was established through Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003. History On the 89th Amendment of the Constitution coming into force on 19 February 2004, the ...

for "displaced" communities. They are settled in a village also named "Parachinar" in

Bharmour Bharmour, also known as Machu Pichu of Himachal, formally known as Brahmpura, was the ancient capital of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh, India. Situated at an altitude of 2,100 metres in the Budhil valley, forty miles to the south-east of C ...

Chamba district Chamba is the northwestern district of Himachal Pradesh, in India, with its headquarters in Chamba town. The towns of Dalhousie, Khajjhiar and Churah Valley are popular hill stations and vacation spots for the people from the plains of northe ...

. These Parachinaris are noted for their Pathan dresses and turbans, their traditional Chitrali-influenced dance known as the ''gharra'', and the Pashto dialect which they speak. According to Sohail Hashmi, the Peshawari dress and turban were a common site on the streets of Delhi up until the 1960s. The area of

Jangpura Jangpura is a neighbourhood in South East Delhi district of Delhi. Beginning from the east and moving clockwise, it is bordered by the Mathura Road, Ring Railway line, Silver Oak Park beyond the Defence Colony Flyover, and the Barapulla Nullah. ...

has long been a hub for Pathan Muslims, possibly due to its proximity to the

Nizamuddin Dargah Nizamuddin Dargah is the dargah (mausoleum) of the Sufi saint Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya (1238–1325 CE). Situated in the Nizamuddin West area of Delhi, the dargah is visited by thousands of pilgrims every week. The site is also known for its e ...

. Across North India, the Pathan population is chiefly spread over 74

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. Beginning in the 17th century, tens of thousands of "

Rohilla Rohillas are a community of Pashtun ancestry, historically found in Rohilkhand, a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It forms the largest Pashtun diaspora community in India, and has given its name to the Rohilkhand region. The Ro ...

" Pashtuns migrated into modern Uttar Pradesh and settled in what became known as the

Rohilkhand Rohilkhand (previously Rampur State) is a region in the northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh, India, that is centered on the Rampur, Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. It is part of the upper Ganges Plain, and is named after the Rohilla tribe. Th ...

region.

Central India

Western India

Pathans are noted as one of the Muslim castes living in Diu, which is part of the union territory of

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is a union territory in India. The territory was constituted through the merger of the former territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Plans for the proposed merger were announced by the ...

. Pathans are noted as one of the many Muslim communities in the state of

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. They use the surname ''Khan'', while the women may use ''Khatun'', ''Khatu'' or ''Bibi''. It has been noted that they freely marry outside their community.

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

has been home to a Pathan community since the 19th century, mostly originating from the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan. Afghanistan has maintained a

consulate-general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

in Bombay since 1915, alluding to the historic presence of Afghans and Pathans in the city. The Afghan-born

Karim Lala Karim Lala (1911 – 19 February 2002), born as Abdul Karim Sher Khan in the Samalam Village of the Shegal District of the Kunar province of Afghanistan, was infamous as one of the three "mafia dons of Mumbai" in India for more than two d ...

was one of the three most influential

don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

s in the

Mumbai underworld Organised crime in India refers to organised crime elements originating in India and active in many parts of the world. The purpose of organised crime in India, as elsewhere in the world, is monetary gain. Its virulent form in modern times is d ...

for decades. As the head of the "Pathan Gang", a mafia group comprising mostly ethnic Pathans involved in various types of organised crime, Karim Lala wielded significant political clout and was well known to both the elite and common man of Mumbai.

East India

There are Pathan families present in the city of

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

was historically one of the territories conquered by Pathans, most notably under

Khwaja Usman Khawāja Uthmān Khān Lōhānī ( bn, খাজা উসমান খাঁন লোহানী), popularly known as Khwaja Usman, was a Pashtun chieftain and warrior based in northeastern Bengal. As one of the Baro-Bhuyans, he was a zamind ...

. The

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 ...

region was historically one of the territories ruled by Pathan dynasties in India. The

Karrani dynasty The Karrani dynasty ( ps, کرلاڼي, Karlāṇī, bn, কররাণী, Korrāṇī) was founded in 1564 by Taj Khan Karrani, an ethnic Pashtun from the Karlani tribe, hailing from Bangash district. It was the last dynasty to rule the Sultan ...

, the last of the dynasties to hold the

Bengal Sultanate The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...

, was of Pashtun origin. The city of

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

has been home to a large Afghan and Pathan community for generations, where they are known by the term ''Kabuliwala'' ("people of

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

") and have historically constituted an integral part of the city's cultural fabric. The term is derived from the iconic and much-romanticised short story of the same name written by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

in 1892, which essays the tale of an Afghan merchant who journeys all the way to Kolkata and sells dry fruit. Once numbering over 10,000 in 2001, their population has reduced to no more than 2,000 to 5,000 as of 2015. Many of them were famous for working as traditional moneylenders, an industry which declined following the introduction of

microfinance Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings ...

South India

During the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Pashtun prisoners were amongst those who were

transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she w ...

"across the water" to the

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

on the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...

for incarceration. One such incarceree who was serving life imprisonment on the island,

Sher Ali Afridi Sher Ali Afridi, also called Shere Ali, is known for killing Lord Mayo, the Viceroy of India, on 8 February 1872. He was a prisoner on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands at the time, sentenced for murder. Early life Sher Ali worked for the colonia ...

, became known as the assassin of

Lord Mayo Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, (; ; 21 February 1822 – 8 February 1872) styled Lord Naas (; ) from 1842 to 1867 and Lord Mayo in India, was a British statesman and prominent member of the British Conservative Party who se ...

, the

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

, while the latter was visiting the settlement in 1872. According to Kumar Suresh Singh, in the state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, the Pathans are "distributed in all

." According to

S. N. Sadasivan Sivanandamandiram Narayanan Sadasivan (1926–2006) was an Indian author. Sadasivan wrote various books on public administration, the social history of India and management. He managed the activities of the Kerala Institute of Public Administrat ...

, the

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

region was home to a group of Pathan Muslims who were descendants of sepoys employed by the

maharajas of Travancore Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Susan Bayly Susan Bayly is a Professor Emerita of Historical Anthropology in the Cambridge University Division of Social Anthropology and a Life Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge. She is a former editor of the ''Journal of the Royal Anthropological Insti ...

notes that the 18th-century Travancorean maharajas actively recruited Pathan soldiers to train and lead their armies, as did many other

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

n kingdoms, who were keen to bolster their military capacities with the experiences of such men. The former

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...

had a Pathan community, and also an organisation known as the Pakhtoon Jirga which looked after the interests of the Pashtuns living within that state.

Northeast India

There are some Afghan businessmen who have been living in

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 ...

for several decades. They are also known as ''Kabuliwalas''.

Rajkumar Jhalajit Singh Rajkumar Jhalajit Singh (14 September 1924 – 8 January 2021) was an Indian writer, historian, Gandhian and academic. He was known for his book, ''"A Short History of Manipur"'', which was banned from publishing or selling by his own family m ...

in ''A Short History of Manipur'' mentions Pathans as one of the communities among the Manipuri Muslims. In

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

, the Muslims are categorised into two main social classes: the ''ashraf'' (aristocracy) and ''ajlaf'' (commoners). The former usually includes people of " Sayyad,

Shaikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

, Mughal and Pathan ethnic backgrounds."

Culture

In India, the Muslim surname '' Khan'' is largely synonymous with and commonly used by Pathans as per Pashtun naming conventions, although not all Khans are necessarily of Pathan descent. The female equivalent used by Pathan women is

Khanum Khanum, Hanum, Khanom, or Khanoum ( kz, Hanym/Ханйм, uz, Xonim/Хоним, az, Xanım, tr, Hanım, fa, خانم, hi, ख़ानुम, bn, খাঁনম/খানম, ar, خانم, ur, خانم, sq, Hanëm) is a female royal and ...

Bibi Bibi is a given name, nickname and surname. Notable people with this name As a nickname or stage name * Bibi Andersson (1935-2019), Swedish actress * Bibi (artist) (born 1964), French visual artist Fabrice Cahoreau * Bibi Baskin (born 195 ...

. In the

caste system Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

present among medieval

Indian Muslim Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, approximately 172.2 million people identifying as adherents of Islam in 2011 Census. India is also the country with the second or third largest number of Muslim ...

society, the Pathans (historically also known as ethnic 'Afghans') were classified as one of the ''

ashraf Sharīf ( ar, شريف, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef or sherif, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, fr ...

'' castes – those who claimed descent from foreign immigrants, and who claimed the status of

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

by virtue of conquests and Muslim rule in the Indian subcontinent. The earlier generations of Indian Pathans spoke their native language Pashto, while some still adhere to the traditional code and Pashtun way of life known as

Pashtunwali Pashtunwali or Pakhtunwali ( ps, پښتونولي) is the traditional lifestyle and is best described as a code of honor of the Pashtun people, by which they live. Scholars widely have interpreted it as being "the way of the Afghans" or "the code ...

. The Pashtun empires in India historically used the

Dari Persian Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the Variety (linguistics), variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Politics of Afghanistan, Afghan government ...

language. As a result of

cultural assimilation Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially. The different types of cultural assi ...

with Indians over the course of several centuries, most Pathans in India lost the ability to speak Pashto and instead adopted Hindustani or other local dialects.

Cuisine

Pathan cuisine is known for its high emphasis on

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

-based dishes. Typically, meat is either: boiled or roasted; marinated and barbecued in the form of '' tikka'' pieces placed on

skewer A skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. The word may sometimes be used as a metonym, to refer to the entire food item served on a skewer, as in "chicken skewers". Skewers are used while grilling or roastin ...

s in a grill; formed into different types of

kebab Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...

s; cooked in large quantities in

curries A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradi ...

with mild spices; or prepared in a clay pot (e.g. ''

handi A handi (Hindi: हांड़ी) is a cooking basin made from copper or clay (pot) originating in the Indian subcontinent. It is utilised primarily in Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cooking. This vessel is deep and has a broad mouth ...

gosht'') – and eaten by hand with bread (e.g. ''Peshawari

naan Naan ( fa, نان, nān, ur, , ps, نان, ug, نان, hi, नान, bn, নান) is a leavened, oven-baked or tawa-fried flatbread which is found in the cuisines mainly of Western Asia, Central Asia, Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, Ma ...

'' or ''

roti Roti (also known as chapati) is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is popular in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trinid ...

''), which is baked on a tandoor oven. Usually, the meat is kept intact and allowed to cook in its own fat. The

chapli kebab Chapli Kebab or Chapli Kabab ( ps, چپلي کباب) is a Pashtun-style minced kebab, usually made from ground beef, mutton or chicken with various spices in the shape of a patty. The Chapli Kabab originally comes from the northern areas of Pak ...

, which originated in Peshawar, is a popular snack in Indian cities. Afghan immigrants in India have popularised other unique Afghan foods, such as the

Afghani burger An Afghani burger (also known as the Kabuli burger) is an Afghan fast food wrap consisting of a piece of Afghan bread rolled around french fries, along with chutney and other condiments, vegetables, and often sausages or other meat. It borrows i ...

, Afghani naan, mantu dumplings, and

Kabuli pulao Qabeli palaw ( prs, قابلی پلو, ) is a variety of pilaf made in Afghanistan. It consists of steamed rice mixed with raisins, carrots, and beef or lamb. There exists different variations depending on the region. Serving Qabeli palaw is co ...

. Afghan and Pathan recipes rely less on spices, and tend to be flavoured with salt, garlic, pepper, raisins, pinenuts, walnuts, and various

dried Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water or another solvent by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production step before selling or packaging products. To be consider ...

or fresh fruits.

Lajpat Nagar Lajpat Nagar is a residential and commercial neighborhood in the South East Delhi district of Delhi. It was named in honor of Lala Lajpat Rai and is today most known for the Lajpat Nagar Central Market. This area is not to be confused with the ...

in Delhi is a hub of Pathan cuisines due to its sizable Afghan population.

Tandoori chicken Tandoori chicken is a Cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, South Asian dish of chicken (food), chicken marinated in yogurt and spices and roasting, roasted in a ''tandoor'', a cylindrical clay oven. The dish is now popular world-wide. The moder ...

was popularised in India by Kundan Lal Gujral, a

Punjabi Hindu Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. While Punjabi Hindus are mostly found in the Indian state of Punjab today, many have ancestry from the greater Punjab region ...

-"Pathan" chef from Peshawar who moved to Delhi in 1947 and founded the Moti Mahal Delux chain of restaurants. Due to the Peshawari influences on Gujral's cooking, it is often regarded as a Punjabi-Pathan dish. Kundal Lal also invented the iconic

butter chicken Butter chicken, traditionally known as murgh makhani (), is an Indian dish originating in New Delhi. It is a type of curry made from chicken with a spiced tomato and butter (''makhan'') sauce. Its sauce is known for its rich texture. It is si ...

and

dal makhani In Indian cuisine, ''dal'' (also spelled ''daal'' or ''dhal''; pronunciation: , Hindi: दाल, Urdu: ) are dried, split pulses (e.g., lentils, peas, and beans) that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of pu ...

Education

Each year, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations grants 2,325 scholarships to international students, with six-hundred and seventy-five spots being reserved especially for Afghans. In India, an increasing number of native students are learning Pashto at academic institutions such as the

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

Entertainment industry

Soha Ali Khan at the Shaadi By Marriott fashion show (04) (cropped)

Cinema

The city of

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 ...

in the North-West Frontier Province gave birth to several prominent actors in the Hindi film industry,

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

. Some Indian actors also have ancestry in Balochistan and Afghanistan. The

Qissa Khwani Bazaar The Qissa Khwani Bazaar ( ps, قصه خوانۍ بازار, ur, ; ''"Story-tellers market'') is a bazaar in Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Background The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then North-West Frontier Provinc ...

area of Peshawar is the location of the ancestral homes of the Kapoor family,

Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...

and Shah Rukh Khan. Notably, the

Hindko Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pun ...

-origin

(born Yusuf Khan) and

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...

, or the Punjabi-origin Hindu Pathans like the

Kapoor family The Kapoor family
The New York Times. 30 April 2020. is a prominent Indian show business fa ...

, while not ethnically Pathans, are often referred to as "Pathans" due to their culture and origins in Peshawar. Actor

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...

, along with his sons Imaad, Vivaan and nephew Mohommed Ali, belong to the family of the 19th-century Afghan warlord Jan-Fishan Khan, who was born in

Paghman Paghman (Persian/Pashto: پغمان) is a town in the hills near Afghanistan's capital of Kabul. It is the seat of the Paghman District (in the western part of Kabul Province) which has a population of about 120,000 (2002 official UNHCR est.), ma ...

of Saiyid descent, and moved to India in the 1850s where he became the first Nawab of Sardhana. Most of the

Khans of Bollywood The term Khans of Bollywood refers to several actors of Bollywood, the Mumbai-based Hindi language Cinema of India, Indian film industry, whose surnames are Khan (surname), Khan. Most commonly, this involves the Three Khans: Aamir Khan , Shah R ...

, however, belong to the Pathan community, including the Peshawar-born actor

Jayant Jayanta ( sa, जयन्त, "victory"), is a character who appears in Hindu literature. He is the son of Indra, the king of the devas (gods), and his wife, Shachi (Indrani). He has a sister called Jayanti. He appears in various Hindu scri ...

(born Zakaria Khan) and his son Amjad Khan;

Kader Khan Kader Khan (22 October 1937 – 31 December 2018) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and film director. As an actor, he appeared in over 300 Bollywood films after his debut film in the 1973 film '' Daag'', starring Rajesh Khanna, in which he ...

, who belonged to the

tribe with parents from

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

and Pishin; the

Tanoli The Tanoli (Hindko/ ur, تنولی ,تناولی ,تنولي) are a tribe living mostly in the Hazara area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. They form the majority of the population of Lassan Nawab union council. The Tanoli describe themselves as ...

-origin siblings Feroz,

Sanjay Sanjay, also spelled Sanjai, Sanjey, Sanje, Sanjaey and Sunjay, is a male given name of Sanskrit origin meaning "triumphant" (from Sañjaya) and may refer to: People * Sanjaya, an important character in the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' * San ...

and Akbar Khan, whose father settled in Bangalore from

Ghazni Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...

, and their descendants Fardeen and

Zayed Khan Zayed Abbas Khan (born 5 July 1980) is a former Indian actor and producer who appeared in Hindi films. The son of Bollywood actor Sanjay Khan, he has received a Filmfare Award nomination. After graduating in Business Management at the Montgom ...

; the renowned screenwriter

Salim Khan Salim Abdul Rashid Khan (born 24 November 1935) is an Indian actor, film producer and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, he wrote the screenplays, stories and scripts for numerous Bollywood films. Khan is one half of the prolific screenwriting d ...

and his sons Salman, Arbaaz and

Sohail Khan ) Lambda Velorum (λ Velorum, abbreviated Lambda Vel, λ Vel), officially named Suhail , is a star in the Southern celestial hemisphere, southern constellation of Vela (constellation), Vela. With a mean apparent visual magnitude of 2.21, ...

(see

Salim Khan family The Salim Khan family refers to the family of Salim Khan which is a prominent Indian show business family, and is one of the prominent Bollywood film clans. Multiple members of the family have been actors, screenwriters, film directors and pr ...

), whose

Alakozai Alakozai ( ps, الکوزی - meaning ''descendant of Alako'' in Pashto) is the name of a Pashtun tribe in Afghanistan. Spelling variations include Alakozi, Alakoozi, Alekozai, Alekuzei, Alikozai, Alokozay, Alokozay, Alkozai, Alokzai, Hulakozai ...

Akazai Akazai is a Pakhtoon (or Pashtoon; Pathan) tribe of northern Pakistan. It is a division of the Isazai clan within the Yousafzai tribe, which is regarded as one of the most powerful, famous, and respected tribes of Pashtoons. Military historian Col ...

ancestors migrated to Indore from the

Swat In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

region; the director-cum-producer siblings

Nasir Nasir ( ar, ناصر, translit=Nāṣir) is a masculine given name, commonly found in Arabic which can mean "helper" or "one who gives victory" (grammatically the Stem I masculine singular active participle of consonantal verb root ''n-ṣ-r''). ...

and

Tahir Hussain Mohammad Tahir Hussain Khan (19 September 1938 – 2 February 2010), better known as Tahir Hussain, was an Indian film producer, screenwriter, actor and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. Personal life Tahir Hussain ...

– the former being the father of

Mansoor Khan Mansoor Hussain Khan is an Indian film director and producer known for his works in Hindi cinema. Early and Personal life He is the son of film-maker Nasir Hussain. Khan attended IIT Bombay, Cornell University, and MIT before making his for ...

and maternal grandfather of

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

, and the latter known as the father of Aamir, Faisal and

Nikhat Khan Nikhat Khan Hegde is an Indian film producer. She is the daughter of Bollywood actor, director, producer, and writer Tahir Hussain. She has three siblings: Farhat Khan and actors Aamir Khan and Faisal Khan. She is the aunt of actor Imran Kha ...

– along with their nephew Tariq Khan, whose Pathan ancestors hailed from

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...

;

Saif Ali Khan Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Part of the Pataudi family, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore and cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Khan ma ...

, along with his sister

Soha Ali Khan Soha Ali Khan Pataudi Khemu (born 4 October 1978) is an Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and English films. She is the daughter of veteran actress Sharmila Tagore and former Indian cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and th ...

and daughter Sara Ali Khan, who, of royal Pataudi lineage, have relatives in Pakistan and ancestors that migrated from Afghanistan; and

Irrfan Khan Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020), also known simply as Irrfan, was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in In ...

. Actress

Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...

, who is sometimes called the "Marilyn Monroe of Bollywood," was a

Pathan. There have also been other Pathan film directors, producers and scriptwriters, such as

Zia Sarhadi Zia Sarhadi ( ur, ضیا سرحدی; born Fazl-e-Qadir Sethi 1914 in Peshawar, North West Frontier Province – 27 January 1997 in Karachi, Sindh) was a Pakistani screenwriter and director of films in the Indian Film Industry, whose career ...

; Farah and

Sajid Khan Sajjad Khan (born 28 December 1951) is an Indian actor and singer. Born into poverty in the Bombay slums, he became the adopted son of Bollywood filmmaker Mehboob Khan, founder of Mehboob Studios. He worked in a handful of Indian films, debutin ...

, who have Pathan ancestry from Peshawar; and in recent times, Kabir Khan. Adnansami1

Music

Pathans have contributed to

Indian music Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk (Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed ove ...

as well; the ''

sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...

'', a stringed instrument used in Hindustani classical music, descends from the Pashtun '' rubab'' and was invented by the

Bangash The Bangash, Bungish or Bangakh ( ps, بنګښ) are a tribe of Pashtuns, inhabiting their traditional homeland, historically known as Bangash district, which stretches from Kohat to Tall and Spīn Ghar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. They als ...

musical ''

gharana In Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), a ''gharānā'' is a system of social organisation in the Indian subcontinent, linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and more importantly by adherence to a particular mus ...

'' which migrated to India (whose descendants include ustads Sakhawat Hussain,

Hafiz Ali Khan Hafiz Ali Khan (1888–1972) was an Indian sarod player.Brick, mortar & false notes
Dawn (newspaper), Published 29 Ap ...

, and the latter's son

Amjad Ali Khan Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (born 9 October 1945) is an Indian classical ''sarod'' player, best known for his clear and fast ekhara taans. Khan was born into a classical musical family and has performed internationally since the 1960s. He was awar ...

G. M. Durrani Ghulam Mustafa Durrani (1919 – 8 September 1988; sometimes known as G. M. Durrani) was an Indian radio drama artist, playback singer, actor and music director. He was a radio drama artist and full-time singer of Lahore station, Delhi statio ...

was a noted Bollywood playback singer, music director and radio artist during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. In pop music, the Pakistani-origin

Adnan Sami Adnan Sami Khan (born 15 August 1971) is an Indian singer, musician, music composer and pianist. He performs Indian and Western music, including for Hindi, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil movies. He has been awarded with Padma Shri (India's fourth hi ...

has been called the "reigning King of

Indipop Indian pop music, also known as Indi-pop, refers to pop music produced in India that is independent from filmi soundtracks for Indian cinema, such as the music of Bollywood, which tends to be more popular. Indian pop is closely linked to Bollywo ...

In popular culture

Pathan characters have been portrayed in many Bollywood films, creating a subgenre of what are known as "Pathan movies". The 1947 theatrical play ''Pathan'' was produced by Prithviraj Kapoor's

Prithvi Theatre Prithvi Theatre is one of Mumbai's best known theatres. It was built by Shashi Kapoor and his wife Jennifer Kapoor in memory of Prithviraj Kapoor, Shashi's father, who had dreamt of having a "home" for his repertory theatre company, Prithvi Th ...

, and was commercially successful across India. Prithviraj played the lead role while his sons Raj, Shammi and Shashi also acted. '' Kabuliwala'' (1961), in which

Balraj Sahni Brigadier Balraj (born Balasegaram Kandiah) was a senior commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Early life Balraj was the fifth and youngest child of Kandiah and Kannagias. He received his primary education in Kokkuthoduwaai ...

essays the role of the protagonist, has been called the "mother of all Pathan movies". It is based on the

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

of the same name written by

in 1892, featuring the story of a wandering Afghan merchant in Bengal in pre-partition India. Earlier, a Bengali film based on this story was released in 1957. It is believed that the famous Pathan character of Sher Khan, which was scripted by

Salim–Javed Salim–Javed were an Indian screenwriting duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, working in Bollywood. They are noted for being the first Indian screenwriters to achieve star status, becoming the most successful Indian screenwriters o ...

and portrayed by Pran in '' Zanjeer'' (1973), was based on the Mumbai mafia don

. The song ''Yaari Hai Imaan Mera, Yaar Meri Zindagi'' ("friendship is my faith, the friend is my life") from that movie features an influence of the Pashtun instrument rubab, and is danced to by men in the attan style. In 2013, a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of the film was released in Hindi and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

simultaneously, in which

Sanjay Dutt Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 100 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though u ...

and Sri Hari reprised the role of Sher Khan, respectively. They featured in a

qawwali Qawwali ( Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing, originating from the Indian subcontinent ...

-style Pathan dance number, ''Khochey Pathan Ki Zubaan''. The action film '' Qurbani'' (1980), in which a police officer named Amjad Khan (played by Amjad Khan himself) chases two fugitives (played by Feroz Khan and

), featured a song ''Qurbani Qurbani'' which was set in a "Pathan's

den Den may refer to: * Den (room), a small room in a house * Maternity den, a lair where an animal gives birth Media and entertainment * ''Den'' (album), 2012, by Kreidler * Den (''Battle Angel Alita''), a character in the ''Battle Angel Alita' ...

". In the song, the three protagonists donned Pathan getup. ''

Khuda Gawah ''Khuda Gawah'' (, also translated and released as ''God Is My Witness'') is a 1992 Indian epic drama film written and directed by Mukul S. Anand. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna, Sridevi, Shilpa Shirodkar, Danny Denzongpa, Kiran Kuma ...

'' (1992) stars

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

as an Afghan tribesman who settles accounts with his enemies after finding himself trapped in an Indian prison, and was partially shot in Afghanistan.

Literature and media

Urdu poetry Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghalib ...

in India developed under the influence of Pathans, in addition to various other communities belonging to the

Perso-Arabic The Persian alphabet ( fa, الفبای فارسی, Alefbâye Fârsi) is a writing system that is a version of the Arabic script used for the Persian language spoken in Iran ( Western Persian) and Afghanistan (Dari Persian) since the 7th cen ...

sphere of influence. One such prominent poet was

Josh Malihabadi Josh Malihabadi (born Shabbir Hasan Khan; 5 December 1898 – 22 February 1982) popularly known as Shayar-e-Inqalab (poet of revolution) was a Pakistani poet and is regarded as one of the finest Urdu poets of the era of British India. Kno ...

, an Afridi Pathan. His cousin, Abdur Razzaq Malihabadi, was also a writer.

Pashto in India

Pashto literature Pashto literature ( ps, ) refers to literature and poetry in Pashto language. The history of Pashto literature spreads over five thousands years having its roots in the oral tradition of tapa. However, the first recorded period begins in 7th cen ...

thrived in

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

from the early 16th century up until the turn of the 19th century, even while

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

remained the dominant language of the region during the Mughal period. It was a provincial language spoken mainly by Pashtun administrative and military elites, and other Pashtun settlers and temporary dwellers in India. Extant manuscripts have provided evidence of Pashto verses and poetry emerging from the Ganges region.

Pir Roshan Bāyazīd Khān Ansārī Pīr Rōshān ( ps, ) or Pīr Rōkhān (1525–1585) was an Afghan warrior, poet, Sufi, and revolutionary leader. He wrote mostly in Pashto, but also in Persian, Hindustani, and Arabic, while he also spoke Ormuri. H ...

, a

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, ...

who is regarded as one of the earliest Pashto writers, was a Pashtun from

Waziristan Waziristan (Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some . ...

who was born in

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

. He inspired the Roshani movement which, during the late 16th and 17th centuries, gave rise to prominent Pashto poets and writers in the Indian subcontinent. The area forming modern-day

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

was among the few regions in India where Pashto literature continuously developed; Pashtun litterateurs from the

community produced works in the language up until the late 18th century. The

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

(AIR) operates a Pashto-language service. Pashto was the first external radio service of AIR, broadcasting its inaugural transmission on 1 October 1939 for Pashto-listeners across British India's North-West Frontier Province and Afghanistan. Its purpose was to counter German radio propanda infiltrating Afghanistan, Iran and West Asian nations following the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Centre of Persian and Central Asian Studies (CPCAS) at New Delhi's

offers bachelor-level degrees in Pashto. The language is also used by Afghan Pashtun expatriates living in India. President Zakir Husain 1998 stamp of India

President Zakir Husain 1998 stamp of India

Military

In British

colonial India Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spices. The search for the wealth and prosper ...

, the Pathans were classified as one of the "

martial race Martial race was a designation which was created by army officials in British India after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, in which they classified each caste as belonging to one of two categories, the 'martial' caste and the 'non-martial' caste. T ...

s" and enlisted in large numbers into the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

. The

40th Pathans The 40th Pathans were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1858 as the Shahjehanpur Levy. It was designated as the 40th Pathans in 1903 and became 5th Battalion (Pathans) 14th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was al ...

, which later became part of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

, remained for some time the only all-Pathan regiment in British India. From 1897 to 1908, the number of Pathan servicemen in the British Indian Army arose from 2,500 to 10,500. Around a quarter were

Afridis The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal ...

, and a large number were drawn from the tribal areas forming British India's northwestern frontier with Afghanistan. They comprised, in total, 67 companies across 43 regiments. By the time of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, their numbers had increased to 28,000.

Politics

Abdul Ghaffar Khan Abdul Ghaffār Khān (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan (), and honourably addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan (), was a Pakistani Pashtun, independence activist, and founder of the Khudai Khidmatgar ...

was a Pashtun nationalist and close friend of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

who, as leader of the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

-allied

Khudai Khidmatgar Khudai Khidmatgar ( ps, خداۍ خدمتګار; literally "servants of God") was a predominantly Pashtun nonviolent resistance movement known for its activism against the British Raj in colonial India; it was based in the country's North-West ...

, was one of the prominent members of the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

against British rule before the partition. After 1947, he became a Pakistani citizen.

Zakir Husain Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indian educationist and politician who served as the third president of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969. Born in Hyderabad in a Afridi Pashtun family, Husain ...

, an Afridi Pathan, was an economist and politician who served as the third

president of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

from 1967 to 1969. Prior to that, he was the second

vice president of India The vice president of India (IAST: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in the ...

, and also served as the

governor of Bihar The governor of Bihar is a nominal head and representative of the President of India in the state of Bihar. The Governor is appointed by the President for a term of 5 years. Phagu Chauhan is the current governor of Bihar. Former President Zaki ...

. His maternal grandson

Salman Khurshid Salman Khurshid Alam Khan (born 1 January 1953) is an Indian politician, designated senior advocate, eminent author and a law teacher. He was the Cabinet Minister of the Ministry of External Affairs. He belongs to the Indian National Congress. ...

served as India's minister for minority affairs, law and justice, and

external affairs A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

in successive terms. Mohammad Yunus was a career diplomat who served as India's ambassador in various countries, and also became a nominated member of the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

in 1989.

Sport

Pathans have represented the

Indian national cricket team The India men's national cricket team, also known as Team India or the Men in Blue, represents India in men's international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and is a Full Member of the International ...

both before and after independence. They include

Jahangir Khan Jahangir Khan (Pashto/ ur, جهانگير خان born 10 December 1963) is a former World No. 1 professional Pakistani squash player. He won the World Open title six times , and the British Open title ten times (1982-1991). Jahangir Khan is w ...

, a

Burki The Ormur ( ps, اورمړ), also called Burki or Baraki ( ps, برکي), are an Eastern Iranic people mainly living in Baraki Barak, Logar, Afghanistan and in Kaniguram, South Waziristan. Despite speaking their own distinct Eastern Iranian l ...

Pathan who played for India between 1932 and 1936, later becoming a cricket administrator in Pakistan. Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the eighth

, played for both

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and India in the 1930s and 1940s, eventually captaining the Indian side in 1946. His son,

, also played

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

as a batsman for India between 1961 and 1975 and became the country's youngest captain when appointed in 1962. The all-rounder

Salim Durani Salim Aziz Durani (born 11 December 1934) is a former Indian cricketer who played in 29 Test matches from 1960 to 1973. An all-rounder, Durani was a slow left-arm orthodox bowler and a left-handed batsman famous for his six-hitting prowess. He ...

(who in official cricketing records is referred to as the first Afghan-born Test cricketer, but was born near the

Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (خیبر درہ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversing pa ...

) represented India in Test cricket in the 1960s and 1970s. The brother duo of

Yusuf Yusuf ( ar, يوسف ') is a male name of Arabic origin meaning "God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning "YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name ...

and

Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan (; born 27 October 1984) is a former Indian cricketer turned Commentator, Cricket Analyst, Actor and Dancer. He was a bowling all rounder and a member of the Indian cricket team that won the inaugural 2007 ICC Twenty20 World Cup a ...

have together represented India at the national level across all formats. In field hockey,

Feroze Khan Feroze Khan ( ur, فیروز خان; born 11 July 1990) is a Pakistani actor, model and video jockey. who works in Urdu television. He made his acting debut with '' Bikhra Mera Naseeb'' as Harib and later on played various roles. Khan got his ...

was a gold medalist for India at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

. He was a Pathan from Jalandhar, and migrated to Pakistan in the early 1950s. Ahmed Khan became a gold medalist for India at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

, while his son

Aslam Sher Khan Aslam Sher Khan (born 15 July 1953) is an Indian hockey player and a former member of the Indian team. In the 1975 World Cup held at Kuala Lumpur, Aslam Sher Khan helped Indian Hockey Team to win the gold medal. He was also a member of ...

was a member of the Indian squad which won the 1975 Men's Hockey World Cup. They were Pathans from

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

. In squash, Abdul Bari was one of India's leading players in the 1940s and represented the country at the 1950

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

. Yusuf Khan was a ten-time all-India champion who later migrated to Seattle, United States, and turned to coaching several professional players; his daughters

Shabana Shabana is a feminine given name. People named Shabana include: *Shabana (actress), Bangladeshi actress * Shabana (dancer), a Pakistani dancer killed by the Taliban * Shabana Akhtar, Pakistani athlete *Shabana Azmi, Indian actress *Shabana Bakhsh ...

and

Latasha Khan Latasha Khan (born January 20, 1973 in Seattle) is a professional female squash player who has represented the United States in international competition. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 18 in January 2000. She started to p ...

represented the US. Ghaus Mohammad was the first Indian tennis player to qualify for

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

quarter-finals, in 1939. He was an Afridi Pathan from Malihabad.