https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=AfridiAfridi - Revision history2026-07-30T22:35:32ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Afridi&diff=427069&oldid=prevAjay Kumar at 13:32, 12 September 20232023-09-12T13:32:04Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Pashtun tribe}}<br />
{{other uses|Afridi (disambiguation)}}<br />
{{More citations needed|date=August 2019}}<br />
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}<br />
{{infobox ethnic group<br />
| group = Afridi<br />
| native_name = {{Naskh|افریدی}}<br />
| native_name_lang = ps<br />
| image = Group of Afridi fighters in 1878.jpg<br />
| image_caption = Group of Afridi fighters in 1878<br />
| flag =<br />
| flag_caption =<br />
| region1 = <br />
| pop1 = <br />
| region2 = <br />
| pop2 = <br />
| ref1 = <br />
| ref2 = <br />
| languages = [[Pashto]], [[Apridi]]<br />
| rels = [[Sunni Islam]]<br />
| related =[[Khattak]]s{{·}}[[Orakzai]]s{{·}}[[Wazir (tribe)|Wazir]]s{{·}}[[Banuchi|Bannuzai]]s<br>and other [[Karlani|Karlani Pashtun]] tribes<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''Afrīdī''' ({{lang-ps|اپريدی}} ''Aprīdai'', plur. {{lang|ps|اپريدي}} ''Aprīdī''; {{lang-ur|آفریدی}}) are a [[Pashtun tribe]] present in [[Pakistan]].<ref name=afridi/><br />
<br />
The Afridis are most dominant in the [[Spin Ghar]] range west of [[Peshawar]] in [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], covering most of the [[Khyber Pass]] and [[Maidan (Tirah)|Maidan]] in [[Tirah]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ramachandran |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jpymEAAAQBAJ&dq=afridi+spin+ghar&pg=PA280 |title=Red Jihad: Islamic Communism in India 1920-1950 |date=2023-01-26 |publisher=Indus Scrolls Press |isbn=978-93-90981-33-5 |pages=280 |language=en}}</ref> Afridi migrants are also found in [[India]], mostly in the states of [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Bihar]] and in the [[Kupwara district]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]].<ref name="Indian Pathans">[http://www.khyber.org/articles/2007/Study_of_the_Pathan_Communitie.shtml Study of the Pathan Communities in Four States of India], ''Khyber.org'' (retrieved 30 January 2008)</ref><br />
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==Etymology and origins==<br />
{{Further|Theories of Pashtun origin}}<br />
===Etymology===<br />
[[Herodotus]], in his [[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]], mentions a tribe<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rashid |first=Haroon |url=https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=_eBtAAAAMAAJ&q=&dq=&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj11qHBkJuAAxU2T6QEHdsiAY8Q6AF6BAgMEAM |title=History of the Pathans: The Sarabani Pathans |date=2002 |publisher=Haroon Rashid |pages=10 |language=en}}</ref> named Aparytai (Ἀπαρύται) inhabiting the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] satrapy of [[Arachosia]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hh/hh3090.htm |title= The History of Herodotus Chapter 3, Verse 91; Written 440 B.C.E, Translated by G. C. Macaulay|publisher= sacred-texts.com|access-date= 2015-02-21}}</ref> [[Thomas Holdich]] and [[Olaf Caroe]] have linked them with the Afridi tribe:<ref>{{cite web |title=Herodotus, The Histories, Book 3, chapter 91, section 4 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126:book=3:chapter=91:section=4 |access-date=2020-11-03 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Dani |first=Ahmad Hasan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9yduAAAAMAAJ |title=History of Pakistan: Pakistan through ages |publisher=Sang-e Meel Publications |year=2007 |isbn=978-969-35-2020-0 |page=77}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Holdich |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JnC-wwEACAAJ&q=Holdich++gates+of+india |title=The Gates of India, Being an Historical Narrative |date=2019-03-12 |publisher=Creative Media Partners, LLC |isbn=978-0-530-94119-6 |pages=28, 31}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Caroe |first= Olaf |author-link=Olaf Caroe |title= The Pathans, 550 B.C.-A.D. 1957 |year= 1957|page= 37 |publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 0-19-577221-0}}</ref><br />
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{{Blockquote|The Sattagydae, Gandarii, Dadicae, and Aparytae (Ἀπαρύται) paid together a hundred and seventy talents; this was the seventh province|Herodotus|The Histories, Book III|source=Chapter 91, Section 4}}<br />
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===Origins===<br />
[[Aurel Stein]] described Afridis with lighter and fair features, similar to their [[Dardic people|Dardic neighbours]], in contrast to the Afghans living on the other side of the [[Khyber Pass]], whom he described as darker and swarthier.<ref name="Stewart 2007 p. 14">{{cite book | last=Stewart | first=J. | title=The Savage Border: The Story of the North-West Frontier | publisher=History Press | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-7524-9607-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WsA7AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT14 | access-date=2023-02-13 | page=14}}</ref> This supports the Dardic origins of Afridis.<ref name=afridi>{{Cite web |title=AFRĪDĪ |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/afridi-or-apridi-singular-ay-designation-of-a-major-patun-tribe-in-northwest-pakistan-with-a-few-members-in-afghan|website=Encyclopaedia Iranica|quote=}}</ref><br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Resistance against the Mughals===<br />
The [[Afridis]] and their allies [[Khalils]] were first mentioned in the [[Baburnama|memoirs]] of Mughal Emperor [[Babur|Babar]] as violent tribes in need of subduing.<ref>A. S. Beveridge, ''Babor-nama'' London, 1922 [repr. 1969], p. 412</ref> The Afridi tribes controlled the Khyber Pass, which has served as a corridor connecting the [[Indian subcontinent]] with [[Afghanistan]] and Central Asia. Its strategic value was not lost on the Mughals to whom the Afridis were implacably hostile.<ref name = "Agent">[http://grove.com.pk/clients/Khyber/History.php ''History of Khyber Agency: Gateway to the Subcontinent''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113030919/http://grove.com.pk/clients/Khyber/History.php |date=13 January 2013 }}, Office of the Political Agent, Khyber Agency</ref><br />
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Over the course of Mughal rule, Emperors [[Akbar the Great|Akbar]] and [[Emperor Jahangir|Jahangir]] both dispatched punitive expeditions to suppress the Afridis, with little success.<ref name="afridi" /><br />
<br />
Under the leadership of Darya Khan Afridi, they engaged in protracted warfare against the [[Army of the Mughal Empire|Mughal army]] in the 1670s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Momand |first=Ahmad Gul |url=http://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT_195709.doc |title=The Bare Language of Khoshal's Poetry |location=Nangarhar University |page=13}}</ref> The Afridis once destroyed two large [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] armies of Emperor [[Aurangzeb]]: in 1672, in a surprise attack between [[Peshawar]] and [[Kabul]], and in the winter of 1673, in an ambush in the mountain passes.<ref name=richards /> The emperor sent his Rajpoot general Rai Tulsidas with reinforcements into the mountains to suffocate the revolt and liberate the mountain.<ref name=richards>{{citation |title= The Mughal Empire |chapter= Imperial expansion under Aurangzeb 1658–1869. Testing the limits of the empire: the Northwest. |volume= 5 |series= New Cambridge history of India: The Mughals and their contemporaries |first=John F. |last=Richards |author-link= John F. Richards |edition= illustrated, reprint |publisher= Cambridge University Press |year= 1996 |isbn= 978-0-521-56603-2 |pages= 170–171 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SrdiVPsFRYIC }}</ref><ref>[http://www.khyber.org/places/2005/Khyber_Agency.shtml Khyber Agency] Khyber.org, 3 July 2005</ref> Allegedly, only five Mughal soldiers made it out of the battle alive the rest of the Mughals were brutally slaughtered.<ref>{{citation |title= Famous regiments |author1=Geoffrey Powell |author2=J. S. W. Powell |edition= illustrated |publisher= Secker & Warburg |year= 1983 |isbn= 978-0-436-37910-9 |page= 69}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NT8YAAAAIAAJ&q=Afridi+women+drown+their+victims+by+urinating+into+their+mouths,+which+are+pried+open+with+a+stick.|title=Perverse crimes in history: evolving concepts of sadism, lust-murder, and necrophilia from ancient to modern times|author1=Robert E. L. Masters |author2=Eduard Lea |year=1963|publisher=Julian Press|page=211|access-date=5 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKY1AAAAIAAJ&q=Afridi+women+drown+their+victims+by+urinating+into+their+mouths,+which+are+pried+open+with+a+stick.|title=Sex crimes in history: evolving concepts of sadism, lust-murder, and necrophilia, from ancient to modern times|author1=Robert E. L. Masters |author2=Eduard Lea |year=1963|publisher=Julian Press|page=211|access-date=5 April 2011}}</ref><br />
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=== British Raj ===<br />
During the [[First Anglo-Afghan War|First]], [[Second Anglo-Afghan War|Second]], and [[Third Anglo-Afghan War]]s, Afridis fought against the British; these skirmishes comprised some of the fiercest fighting of the [[Anglo-Afghan War]]s.<ref>L. Thomas, ''Beyond Khyber Pass'', London, n.d. (ca. 1925)</ref> [[Ajab Khan Afridi]] was a well-known independence activist against the [[British Raj]].<br />
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The British colonial administration regarded the Pashtun Afridi tribesmen as "martial tribe" under the [[Martial race|martial races theory]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Clarke |first=Alexander |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=neJIEAAAQBAJ&dq=khyber+rifles+afridi&pg=PT40 |title=Tribals, Battles & Darings: The Genesis of the Modern Destroyer |date=2020-10-30 |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |isbn=978-1-5267-7291-6 |pages=40 |language=en}}</ref> Different Afridi clans also cooperated with the British in exchange for subsidies, and some even served with the [[Khyber Rifles]], an auxiliary force of the [[British Indian Army]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Stewart |first=Dr Jules |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1rg7AwAAQBAJ&dq=khyber+rifles+afridi&pg=PT167 |title=The Khyber Rifles: From the British Raj to Al Qaeda |date=2006-06-22 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-0-7524-9558-3 |pages=167 |language=en}}</ref><br />
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=== First Kashmir War ===<br />
Shortly after the [[Partition of India]] and the [[Pakistan Movement|creation of Pakistan]], Afridi tribesmen were among the ranks of the [[Khasadar|Pashtun militias]] that invaded the [[princely state]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] in October 1947, sparking the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948]] and the ongoing [[Kashmir conflict]].<ref>M.K. Teng (2001) [http://www.kashmir-information.com/MKTeng/Bitter_Truth.html ''Kashmir: The Bitter Truth''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826080235/http://www.kashmir-information.com/MKTeng/Bitter_Truth.html|date=26 August 2011}} Kashmir Information Network</ref> Today, Afridis make use of their dominant positions along the [[Durand Line]] in areas of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province by controlling transport and various businesses, including trade in armaments, munitions and goods.<ref name="India2">[http://www.khyber.org/tribes/info/Afridi__Iranica.shtml Afridi demographics in Pakistan and Afghanistan] The excessive figure sometimes mentioned in Afghanistan reflects in a particular way the Afghan claim to [[Pashtunistan]] and actually represents an estimate of the whole of the Afridi tribe on both sides of the frontier.</ref>Beside commercial activities, the Afridis also occupy substantial representation among [[Pakistan Armed Forces]] and paramilitary forces such as [[Khyber Rifles]].<br />
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==Clans==<br />
The Afridi Tribe is subclassified into eight sub-tribes ([[Khel (clan)|khels]]):<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nirvan |first=Kiran |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-iVDwAAQBAJ&dq=afridi&pg=PT20 |title=21 Kesaris: The Untold Story of the Battle of Saragarhi |date=2019-05-20 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-93-89000-41-2 |pages=20 |language=en}}</ref><br />
<br />
<!-- don't add or remove tribes without providing a source! --><br />
*Kuki Khel<br />
*Qambar Khel<br />
*[[Zakha Khel]]<br />
*Kamar Khel<br />
*Malikdin Khel<br />
*[[Aka Khel]]<br />
*Sepah<br />
*[[Adamkhel|Adam Khel]]<br />
<br />
==Religion==<br />
All{{fact|date=August 2023}} Afridis follow the Sunni sect of [[Islam]]. Their conversion to Islam is attributed to Sultan (Emperor) [[Mahmud of Ghazni]] by [[Denzil Ibbetson]]<ref>Denzil Ibbetson, Edward MacLagan, H. A. Rose "A Glossary of The Tribes & Castes of The Punjab & North-West Frontier Province", 1911 AD, Page 217, Vol. III, Published by Asian Educational Services</ref> and Haroon Rashid.<ref>History of the Pathans by Haroon Rashid Published by Haroon Rashid, 2002 Item notes: v. 1 Page 45 Original from the University of Michigan</ref>(The majority are Sunnis, but there are also Shias who live in Gilgit Nagar, Hunza, North Pakistan)<br />
<br />
==List of notable Afridis==<br />
{{see also|Category:Afridi people}}<br />
[[File:Shahid Afridi at the County Ground, Taunton, during Pakistan's 2010 tour of England - 20100902.jpg|thumbnail|right|[[Shahid Afridi]] at the County Ground, Taunton, during [[Pakistani cricket team in England in 2010|Pakistan's 2010 tour of England]]]]<br />
<br />
=== In Sports ===<br />
* [[Shahid Afridi]], Pakistani [[cricketer]] and former [[Pakistani national cricket captains|national captain]] <br />
<br />
* [[Shaheen Afridi]], Pakistani cricketer<br />
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* [[Umar Gul]], of the Malak Din Khel; Pakistani International [[cricketer]]<br />
<br />
* [[Abbas Afridi (cricketer)|Abbas Afridi]] , Pakistani Cricketer.<br />
* [[Riaz Afridi]] , Pakistani cricketer coach and Cricketer.<br />
* [[Ashfaq Afridi]], Pakistani Cricketer.<br />
* [[Ahmed Shehzad]], Pakistani Cricketer.<br />
* [[Sameen Gul]], Pakistani cricketer,<br />
* [[Yasir Afridi]], Pakistani Footballer.<br />
<br />
=== Politicians ===<br />
<br />
* [[Abbas Khan Afridi]], Pakistani politician who has been a member of senate, federal minister and state minister. He is also a reputable trader and businessman in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.<br />
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* [[Zakir Husain (politician)|Zakir Husain]], third [[President of India]], from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969<br />
* [[Malik Mehr un Nisa Afridi|Malik Mehrun Nisa Afridi]], twice member of the [[National Assembly of Pakistan]] from [[Pakistan Peoples Party]]<br />
* [[Asghar Khan]], Pakistani Air Marshal who built up the [[Pakistan Air Force]] as its first Native [[Chief of Air Staff (Pakistan)|Commander-in-Chief]], served as President of [[Pakistan International Airlines]] and a [[Pacifism|Pacifist]] [[Human rights defender|Human Rights Activist]] Politician serving as Chairman of the [[Tehreek-e-Istiqlal|Solidarity movement]]<br />
* [[Mirza Muhammad Afridi]], Pakistani politician and senator, [[Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan]] and a member of [[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf]]<br />
<br />
=== Combatants ===<br />
* [[Ajab Khan Afridi]], Pashtun Independence Fighter against [[British Raj]] who carried out a revenge attack against a British Raid on his home through Guerilla Warfare, sparking the [[Afridi Redshirt Rebellion, Indian North West Frontier 1930–1931|Afridi Redshirts Rebellion]]<br />
* [[Darya Khan Afridi]], ''"National Hero of Afghanistan"'' who closed the gates of [[Khyber District|Khyber]] and ambushed the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal Invaders]] of [[Aurangzeb]] raining down their firepower onto the confused mass, reconquering the lands of the [[Khyber Pass]], famed warrior of the [[Mughal–Afghan Wars|Afghan-Mughal Wars]]<br />
* [[Sher Ali Afridi]], former policeman from [[Peshawar]] who assassinated [[Lord Mayo]], the [[Viceroy of India|Viceroy of British India]], in 1872<br />
* [[Jemadar Mir Mast Khan Afridi]], Defected from the British Army during the [[World War I|First World War]] and recruited fellow Pashtun soldiers of the [[North-West Frontier Province|Tribal Belt]] for the [[Ottoman Empire in World War I|Ottoman cause]] operating from [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]]<ref>M. Fahim [https://pakistaninfo.com/17735/jemadar-mir-mast-khan-afridi-an-unsung-afridi-pashtun-hero-who-refused-to-fight-against-ottoman-army-and-deserted-the-british-raj/ Jemadar Mir Mast Khan Afridi: An Unsung Afridi Pashtun Hero Who Refused to Fight against Ottoman Army and Deserted the British Raj] (2020) Pakistan Info</ref><br />
* [[Malik Wali Khan Kuki Khel |Malik Wali Khan Kuki Khel Afridi]], [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948|Kashmir Jihad]] Veteran and Activist of the [[Bannu Resolution|Pashtunistan Movement]] in Independent Pakistan.<ref>[https://pashtunhistory.com/2022/01/malik-wali-khan-kuki-khel-afridi-of.html?m=1 History of Pashtuns - Pashtunistan & Malik Wali Kuki Khel]</ref><ref>[https://www.facebook.com/PakistanOldMemories/photos/a.619858568367499/1572713059748707/?type=3 ''Pakistan Old Memories'' (2022) Leader of the Kuki Khel Afridis]</ref><br />
* [[Khushdil Khan Afridi]], Military general of [[Pakistan Army]].<br />
<br />
=== Businessman ===<br />
<br />
* [[Javed Afridi]], owner of PSL team [[Peshawar Zalmi]] and owner of [[Haier]] Pakistan<br />
* [[Abbas Khan Afridi]], a politician and Businessman, He is the founder and CEO of ''Afridi Traders'' and holds shares in other projects.<br />
<br />
=== Others ===<br />
* [[Monowar Khan Afridi|Monawar Khan Afridi]], Brigadier in the British Indian Army, notably a Doctor during the [[Burma campaign (1942–1943)|Burma Campaign]] working against [[Malaria]] and later served as the third Vice-Chancellor for the [[University of Peshawar]] <br />
<br />
* [[Khatir Afridi]], Pashto poet<br />
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* [[Shakeel Afridi]], physician<br />
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* [[Ayub Afridi (drug lord)|Ayub Afridi]], large scale heroin producer and dealer.<br />
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* [[Ahmad Kamal Faridi]] (Colonel Fareedi, Colonel Faridi), internationally famous character of [[Ibn-e-Safi]], world renowned mystery writer/novelist of Pakistan. [[Ibn-e-Safi]] showed in his two novels (out of 125 novels) of [[Jasoosi Dunya]] (The Spy World) novel number 52 and novel number 117 that Colonel Fareedi belongs to Afridi tribe.<br />
<br />
* '''Malik Sher Muhammad Khan Afridi''', Chief of [[Sepah]]. He along with the Maliks of [[Khyber Agency]] visited [[Kolkatta]] on train from [[Peshawar]] along with Political Agent, Colonel [[Robert Warburton]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wdl.org/en/item/17776/view/1/294/#q=Malik%20sher%20%20Muhammad%20%20Khan|title=Eighteen Years in the Khyber, 1879-1898 — Viewer — World Digital Library}}</ref> He also was a key figure in the relations between the Pathans especially the [[Afridis]] and the British Government during the 19th century, also mentioned in the book '''Eighteen Years in the Khyber'''.<ref>"Review of Eighteen Years in the Khyber, 1879–1898 by Col. Sir Robert Warburton"</ref><br />
[[File:Sher Muhammad Khan Afridi Sipah.jpg|thumb|Malik Sher Muhammad Khan Afridi Sipah, then at the age of 9 (young boy sitting on the ground), serving under major [[George Roos-Keppel|Roos-Keppel]] (back row, center)]]<br />
*'''Malik Muhammad Akbar Afridi Sepah''', 1946-1998, former Chieftain of the [[Bara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|Bara]] of [[Khyber Agency]], met [[Princess Diana]] and former British Prime Minister [[John Major]] during their visits to [[Peshawar]], [[Pakistan]].<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Afridi}}<br />
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090928094030/http://www.iranica.com/newsite/index.isc?Article=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iranica.com%2Fnewsite%2Farticles%2Funicode%2Fv1f6%2Fv1f6a013.html Encyclopædia Iranica: AFRĪDĪ]<br />
<br />
{{Pashtun tribes}}<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Social groups of Pakistan]]<br />
[[Category:Karlani Pashtun tribes]]<br />
[[Category:Pashto-language surnames]]<br />
[[Category:Pakistani names]]</div>Ajay Kumar