Mohammad Gul Khan Momand ( ps, محمد ګل خان مومند) (born January 17, 1885 – died August 18, 1964), also spelled as Mohmand, was both a literary figure and a well-known politician in Afghanistan. He was also known as Wazir Mohammad Gul Khan Momand or Momand Baba. Mohammad Gul Khan was an

Army Officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant off ...

during

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 ...

's Independence war in 1919. He served numerous Government and Leadership positions including

Home Minister The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister, short-form HM) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minist ...

Early life and education

Wazir Mohammad Gul Khan Momand was born in Andrabayo,

Kabul Province Kabul (Persian: ), situated in the east of the country, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. The capital of the province is Kabul city, which is also Afghanistan's capital and largest city. The population of the Kabul Province is ...

. His father was Khurshid Khan, while his grandfather was Momen Khan who served in the Afghan Army during the rule of King

Abdur Rahman Khan Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto/Dari: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Ag ...

. His great grandfather, Abdul Kareem, also served in the Afghan Army during the reign of King

Dost Mohammad Khan Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/Persian: ; 23 December 17929 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, Also titled Amir al-Mu'minin, was a member of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of the Emirate of Afghanistan. His 37-year ...

. He belonged to

Mohmand The Mohmand ( ps, مومند) or Mohmand is a prominent tribe of Pashtun people. They are based primarily in the Mohmand territory, which is located in Nangarhar, Afghanistan and Mohmand Agency, Pakistan. Most people of the Mohmand tribe sp ...

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 ...

tribe and traced his ancestry to Nangarhar Province. Mohammad Gul Khan attended

Habibia High School Habibia High School ( fa, لیسه عالی حبیبیه) is a school in southwestern Kabul, Afghanistan which has educated many of the former and current Afghan elite, including President Ashraf Ghani and musician Ahmad Zahir. It was founded by K ...

, and later went on to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

for higher education. After completing his primary and secondary studies, Mohammad Gul Khan entered the military school in 1909. Apart from Pashto and Dari, Mohammad Gul Khan spoke the Turkish and Russian languages.

Political and military career

Soon after completing the military school, Gul Khan Momand joined the Royal Guards and became a Unit Commander and an instructor for some units. After serving as the principal of the Military School, he later became deputy commander-in-chief and then commander of the Royal Guards. In 1919 during Afghanistan's struggle for Independence, Mohammad Gul Khan was a member of the delegation, which visited Europe to announce the sovereignty of Afghanistan under King

Amanullah Khan Ghazi Amanullah Khan ( Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1 ...

. Mohammad Gul Khan was then appointed to serve as diplomat for Afghanistan by King

. From 1924 to 1928, he also served as gvernor of

Paktia Paktia (Pashto/Dari: – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughly 6 ...

, Nangarhar, Balkh under King

. In 1929, the government of King

fell to the hand of bandits under the leadership of King

Habibullah Kalakani Habibullah also spelled Habib Ullah, Habibollah, Habeeb-Allah etc. ( ar, حَبِيْبَُ ٱلله), is a male Muslim given name meaning in ''Beloved of God'', stemming from the male form of the name Habib. It may refer to: People *Raja Sir C ...

known by Pashtuns in Afghanistan or ethnic Afghans as ( fa, بچه سقاب ''Bacha-i Saqqab''; "son of Water Carrier") or old Persian( fa, بچه سقاو ''Bacha-i Saqqau''). Mohammad Gul Khan joined forces with then General

Mohammed Nadir Shah Mohammed Nadir Shah ( Persian and ps, محمد نادر شاه – born Mohammed Nadir Khan; 9 April 1883 – 8 November 1933) was King of Afghanistan from 15 October 1929 until his assassination in November 1933. Previously, he served as Mini ...

to restore the official government of Afghanistan. The bandits in

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 ...

were attacked from three fronts, under the command of

Sardar Shah Wali Khan Sardar Shah Wali Khan (Pashto: سردار شاه ولی خان) (April 16, 1888 – April 1977) also known as Field Marshal Sardar Shah Wali Khan Ghazi was a political and military figure in Afghanistan. He was a member of the Musahiban and ...

Shah Mahmud Khan Sardar Shah Mahmud Khan (Pashto/Dari: سردار شاه محمود خان – b:1890 d: 27 December 1959) was the Prime Minister of Afghanistan from May 1946 to 7 September 1953, under King Mohammed Zahir Shah's monarchy. He was from the Pashtun ...

, and Mohammad Gul Khan from Nangarhar. In October 1929, the bandits were completely defeated and the official government of Afghanistan was restored under the King

. The family of King

had enormous respect for Mohammad Gul Khan and considered him as their sixth brother. In 1930, Mohammad Gul Khan was appointed as a

( Interior Minister) of

in the Cabinet of King

. Later in his career, Mohammad Gul Khan served numerous position as

Special Envoy Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

throughout

. Under his

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

numerous road, bridges, agricultural, schools, and other infrastructure projects were successfully completed. The stories of Mohammad Gul Khan's service to Afghanistan is common talking points in

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 ...

households.

Pashtun/Afghan Nationalism

Mohammad Gul Khan has contributed to

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 langua ...

language and literature. His work can best be compared to

Khushal Khan Khattak Khošāl Khān Khaṭak (1613 – 25 February 1689; Pashto: خوشال خان خټک), also known as Khushal Baba ( ps, خوشال بابا), was a Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them fr ...

and

Rahman Baba Abdur Rahmān Momand ( ps, عبدالرحمان بابا; 1632–1706) or Rahmān Bābā ( ps, رحمان بابا), was a renowned Pashtun Sufi Dervish and poet from Momand Agency in Peshawar during the Mughal era. He, along with his contemp ...

as a poet, writer, and

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...

. Mohammad Gul Khan was a strong advocate of the purification of the

language. His literary work mainly deals with Pashto language. He wrote several books and compiled a Pashto dictionary called "De Pakhtu Sind". His other work include "De Pukhtu De Zabe Lyara" (on Pashto grammar) and another book entitled "De Pashto Landakai". His letter to

Abdul Rauf Benawa Abdul Rauf Benawa (1913–1985; Pashto: عبدالرووف بېنوا) was an Afghan writer, poet, journalist, historian and social activist. One of his major works is a series of educational poems called "Sad Reflection" (1957). He died in exile in ...

regarding the importance of language for the nation and the responsibilities of writers and leaders towards their language was published in a fifty-three page essay by Pashto Tolana (Pashto Gathering), in Kabul. "This essay counts all the virtues of human life in relation to

and

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 ...

." (Hamish Khalil, 1995). Mohammad Gul Khan has served his whole career to defend the

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

and independence of

. He was a strong supporter of a powerful and unified Afghan National Army. Mohammad Gul Khan was a strong advocate of Pushtun Human Rights even across 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 ...

which includes

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

Federally Administered Tribal Areas , conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas , nation = Pakistan , subdivision = Autonomous territory , image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg , image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...

(FATA) and part of

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. ...

. According to his defenders, Mohammad Gul Khan was fair and just with other ethnic minorities in Afghanistan. Author Nancy Tapper in her book "Bartered Brides" describes Mohammad Gul Khan as, "Despite fiercely pro-Pashtun sentiments, Muhammad Gul Khan refused to countenance the oppression perpetuated by the Khans. He balanced the domination of Durrani from Kandahar by introducing many more eastern Pashtuns to the area (especially as landowners between Aqcha and Balkh), and he appears to have dealt fairly with petitions against the Nazarzai brought by Uzbeks and Aymaks from throughout the Saripul region and its hinterland." p. 34. "Despite fiercely pro-Pashtun sentiments, Muhammad Gul Khan refused to countenance the oppression perpetuated by the Khans. He balanced the domination of Durrani from Kandahar by introducing many more eastern Pashtuns to the area (especially as landowners between Aqcha and Balkh), and he appears to have dealt fairly with petitions against the Nazarzai brought by Uzbeks and Aymaks from throughout the Saripul region and its hinterland." p. 34 According to his detractors, Mohmand enforced a central government policy of political and cultural discrimination against non-Pashtuns. p. 87 It is true that he was assigned as a "special envoy to northern Afghanistan" where he pushed for its Pashtunization (i.e. settling Pashtuns, often by force, in the north). His Pashtunization projects also included changing the lingua franca of the region from

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 ...

. Regardless of his actual character, he is associated with oppression and disenfranchisement among the non-Pashtuns of northern Afghanistan.

Death

Gul Khan Momand died on August 18, 1964, at the age of 79. His funeral was attended by the then

prime minister of Afghanistan The prime minister of Afghanistan ( ps, د افغانستان لومړی وزیر; prs, رئیس‌الوزرای افغانستان) is the head of government of Afghanistan. The position was created in 1927 as an official appointed by the Ki ...

, Sardar

Mohammad Daoud Khan Mohammed Daoud Khan ( ps, ), also romanized as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan (18 July 1909 – 28 April 1978), was an Afghan politician and general who served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the 1973 Afghan coup ...

, and

Zahir Shah Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan s ...

. He was buried in

, Afghanistan.

External links

NAB - د محمد ګل خان مومند بابا ژوند پېژندنه : صابر

pashtoonkhwa:pashtoons social democratic party د پښتنو ټولنيز ولسوليز ګوند پښتونخوا/ افغانستان

References