Sartōr Faqīr (; died 1917), also known as "Mullah Mastan or Mullah Mastana"
[Easwaran p. 49] Pipi Faqir or Saidullah in
Pashto
Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...
[Beattie p. 171] and by the British as "The Great Fakir" or "Mad Faqir", "Mad Faqir of Swat" or the "Mad Mullah", was a
Pashtun tribal
Yusufzai leader and freedom fighter. His name Mullah Mastan translates to "God-intoxicated" as a reference to his religious convictions and his belief that he was capable of miraculous powers and challenging the British Empire.
Biography
Sartor Faqir was born as Saidullah Khan in the village of
Rega in the
Buner Valley and was a member of a branch of the
Yousafzai tribe. In order to further his religious education, he lived and travelled throughout India and Central Asia, before setting in
Mazar-i-Sharif
Mazar-i-Sharīf ( ; Dari and ), also known as Mazar-e Sharīf or simply Mazar, is the fifth-largest city in Afghanistan by population, with the estimates varying from 500,000-680,000. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by highway ...
in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
for a period of ten years. In 1895, he returned to Buner.
In response to the British occupation of the
North West Frontier Province of modern-day
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, and the division of Pashtun lands by the
Durand Line, the Faqir declared a ''
jihad
''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...
'' against the
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
, unsuccessfully in 1895, then successfully in 1897. In late July, he led from 10,000 to 100,000
Pashtun tribesmen in an uprising that culminated in the
siege of Malakand, which ended with the British being relieved on August 2.
Although the Faqir continued to lead further attacks against the British, the siege of Malakand marked the height of his power and influence, which declined as the British made agreements with other local tribes and rulers to counter him. The Faqir eventually made his own agreements with the British government, with the revelation of an exchange of presents and correspondence with the British
political officer of Malakand leading to accusations of the Faqir being in the pay of the British government. This and the Faqir's advancing years led to a further decline of his movement, which broke up upon his death in 1917.
[Sultan-I-Rome, pp. 6–7]
See also
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Mirzali Khan
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Saidu Baba
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Mullah Powindah
Mulla Powinda () or Mullah Powindah, born Mohiuddin Maseed () (1863–1913), was a religious leader and a freedom fighter from the Pashtun people, Pashtun tribe of the Shabi khel Mahsud, Mahsuds, based in Waziristan. He was from Marobi Shabikhel, ...
Notes
References
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{{Pashtun nationalism
Pashtun Sufis
Year of birth missing
People from Buner District
1917 deaths