Hari Singh Nalwa ― Champion of the Khalsaji, How Pashtuns came to wear the Pathani suite a feminine apparel of the Punjabi women folk
In accordance with the teaching of their Guru, the Sikhs did not attack the defenceless or the weak. This included children, women, mendicants and the elderly. Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa advised the Pathans that one way they could escape the wrath of an infuriated Sikh was to dress as a woman. In the Punjab, the shalwar kameez is feminine apparel.
The shalwar was a loose trouser with a stiff border at the ankle, while the kameez was a loose shirt falling to the knees. This dress came to popularly be known as the ‘Punjabi suit’ in India. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, men still wear its variant — the ‘Pathan suit’.
Milkha Singh of Gurdwara Darshani Deohri Amritsar, first narrated this story to the author. Many others corroborated it since.
(Source: Nalwa, V. 2009. Hari Singh Nalwa - The Champion of Khalsaji New Delhi: Manohar, p. 264)
The twenty-first century, the Wali of Swat confirmed that the above was indeed a fact:
The following is the gist of an open letter written by Miangul Aurangzeb, the present Wali of Swat, to the Taliban when the Taliban were preaching and enforcing strict dress and conduct codes for the women in the areas that fell under their control.
"At the outset I want to record that you all must love me very much as you have decided not to take over my property in Swat unlike those you have taken over of other landed families. I am therefore emboldened to believe that I have the privilege of sharing some historical facts for you to know about and I urge you to absorb the same before you continue your campaign of moral policing, especially when it comes to the manner of dressing and code of conduct for women.
The Sikh army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, under the leadership of Hari Singh Nalwa came to the Frontier in the 1820's and swiftly conquered our ancestors. It is the only time in recorded history that our people were ruled over by foreigners. The locals were so utterly terrified of the Sikh army that they used to hide every time the Sikhs came into view. Those that decided to resist were met with ruthlessness. During this time, the word was spread around that the Sikhs did not harm elderly people, women and children and that the local men who did not wish to earn wrath of the Sikhs should wear the garb of Punjabi women, which was the Salwar-Kameez. At that time in our history both men and women alike, wore only a single-robe garment (similar to that worn by the Arabs) and the Sikhs would not harm any man either when wearing the Salwar-Kameez.
So you see, our men happily adopted the garb of Punjabi women since they were too terrified to stand up and they have adopted the garb as being theirs' ever since. I am very intrigued to see that you are following in the footsteps of your ancestors by wearing the adopted Punjabi women's garb as your own, but now go around preaching and coercing our women as to how they should be living their lives! I suggest that take a deep look inside yourselves, given this historical perspective."
Sincerely,
Miangul Aurangzeb, Wali of Swat
Global Acclaim
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| Sword Of Gen. Hari Singh kept at Sikh Regimental centre, Ramgarh |
A very popular 19th century British newspaper, Tit - Bits made a comparative analysis of great generals of the world and arrived at the following conclusion:
"Some people might think that Napoleon as a great General. Some might name Marshall Hendenburgh, Lord Kitchener General Karobzey or Duke of Wellington etc. And some going further might say Halaku Khan, Genghis Khan, Changez Khan, Richard or Allaudin etc. But let me tell you that in the North of India a General of the name of Hari Singh Nalwa of the Sikhs prevailed. Had he lived longer and had the sources and artillery of the British, he would have conquered most of Asia and Europe…."
Hari Singh Nalwa's meeting with various British and German travellers are recorded. Baron Charles von Hugel remembers him fondly in his memoirs. He met the Sardar at his residence in Gujranwala. On that occasion the German was gifted a portrait of Nalwa in the act of killing a tiger. Hari Singh Nalwa was fluent in the Persian language. He was also conversant with Punjabi, Gurmukhi script and Pushtu, the latter being the language of the Pashtuns. He was familiar with world politics, including details about the European states.
Accolades continued coming long after Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa's death. Pannikar perhaps sums him up best — “The noblest and the most gallant of the Sikh generals of his time, the very embodiment of honour, chivalry, and courage…”
Thanks for the great write-up, Not many people know about S. Hari Singh Nalwa, I am glad you made an effort to put this out there.
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