The exceptional Parto Rohilla

Random thoughts

Pakistan has produced some excellent writers, poets, intellectuals, etc. Today I would like to introduce one of them – Mukhtar Ali Khan alias Parto Rohilla, a competent civil servant and a par excellence writer and poet and unmistakably a Pathan, tall, well-built, handsome and well mannered. He is a Rohilla Pathan belonging to Rohilkhand, UP, Northern India.

Many brave warrior Pathans settled there during the Moghul period and Daud Khan and his son, Ali Mohammad Khan, established a state there. When the Marathas started bullying the Muslims, Shah Waliullah, a religious scholar, sent a message to Ahmed Shah Abdali, king of Afghanistan, for help. The latter immediately responded and marched with an army towards Delhi.

The Rohillas provided him with 40,000 troops and 27 guns and also convinced the Nawab of Awadh, Shujaud Dola, to join them. Together they had 90,000 soldiers while the Marathas had almost 300,000 men. On January 14, 1761 the Muslim forces crushed the Marathas. After Ahmad Shah Abdali had returned to his country, the Rohillas became weakened due to internal strife and the Marathas attacked them, occupying their territories and massacring many of them; many others migrated to other parts of India.

A fact worth mentioning is that when the Marathas were gathering their troops, Balaji Bala Rao also asked Nawaz Faiz Muhammad Khan, ruler of Bhopal, to join them. The ruler and the Muslim citizens of Bhopal were Orakzai Pathans so naturally they refused. Rao then sent a messenger to Nawab Faiz Bahadur warning him that, after dealing with Ahmed Shah Abdali, he would sort him out as well. Faiz Bahadur just smiled and told the courier that Rao would not return; and he was indeed killed during the war.

In traditional Muslim treachery, the Nawab of Awadh joined hands with the British, annexed most of the Rohilla territory and appointed Khawaja Almas Khan as administrator. He soon perpetrated violence and murder against the Rohillas. The nawab granted a stipend to the heirs of Rahmat Khan. The Rohillas then pulled themselves together and established the State of Rampur with Nawab Faizullah Khan establishing himself as the first ruler under British protection.

On October 7, 1774, the ceremony took place in the presence of the British Commander, Col Champion. The state flourished and produced many notables such as Sahibzada Yaqub Ali Khan, Gen Sher Ali Khan, Gen Rahimuddin Khan, Gen Akhtar Abdur Rahman Khan etc.

After Partition, Parto Rohilla’s family settled in Bannu, where he received his early education before joining the University of Peshawar, from where he obtained a BA, an MA and an LLB. He qualified for the Civil Service of Pakistan, holding many important posts in the Central Board of Revenue and retiring as commissioner in the income tax department. He then served as member of the Prime Minister’s Inspection Team. He mastered the Persian, Urdu, English and Punjabi languages – a real prototype of a learned Pathan.

In India, the Rohillas settled down in Barily, Saharanpur, Rampur, Muradabad, Bignor, Badayun, Tonk and Bhopal. After Partition, many of them settled in Sindh. One is surprised to find Rohillas as far afield as Surinam and Guyana in the northern part of Latin America, where a large number of Indians have settled.

Parto Rohilla has a multi-faceted personality. He has lived a very busy life. He is regarded as an authority on Ghalib. He has published 11 books on Ghalib and 13 poetry and doha books. His latest book, ‘Kulliate Ghalib – A Translation of Ghalib’s Known and Unknown Letters into Urdu’ is a masterpiece. Prof Jalibi, a noted literary figure, made the following comment on his work: “I can say with full authority that this work is a true reflection of the original Persian work of Ghalib. It is a great achievement in Urdu literature. For this monumental and excellent work, I stand up and salute Parto Rohilla. If Ghalib were alive, he would have held Parto Rohilla’s hand and asked him to sit next to him.” Mushaffiq Raja says: “Parto Rohilla has total mastery on Persian language and fully knows the mind and passion of Ghalib. That’s why he has converted Ghalib’s work according to Ghalib’s nature. The work looks like the original.”

However, it is most unfortunate that Parto Rohilla’s alma mater – Peshawar University – has not honoured him with an honorary doctorate so far. This monumental literary work of Parto Rohilla would have earned him a regular doctorate degree in any European or American university with a Persian/Urdu department. It is his misfortune that he was born in a place where people show little gratitude for great works. The governors and vice chancellors of Peshawar University never bothered to honour this son of their soil. I sometimes wonder if, had I not taken the initiative of setting up the G I K Institute at Topi, would the people of the area even remember the name of Ghulam Ishaq Khan?

The book under discussion has been beautifully printed and bound by the National Book Foundation. It has 972 pages and the price – it is difficult to believe – is only Rs700. It is recommended that all high schools, colleges, universities and public libraries should keep a copy of this invaluable work. I would even go so far as to request the Foreign Office to send a copy to all foreign universities that have an Urdu/Persian department.

Correction: In my last column, the last but one line should be read as: “It is time that the Kalabagh Dam was not used for political scoring.”

Tailpiece: Terrorists are having a heyday in the KP. So many attacks have taken place there that it seems as if there is no law and order in the province. Imran Khan and his stalwart, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, should be paying more attention to this problem rather than bothering about what is happening in other provinces. The police, CID, etc have totally failed in their duties to provide protection to the public, especially innocent children.

Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com