Justice Katju on Pathans

Pathans were originally from Afghanistan, though now they are found in large numbers in Pakistan and India too. They are a brave people, and Afghanistan is said to be the graveyard of invaders

Their surnames are Khan (though not all Khans are Pathans ).

About Pathans there is a saying that if you give a Pathan respect, he will jump into a well if you tell him to without a second thought. But if you do not, he will not listen to anything you say.

In Rambo III an Afghan tells Rambo a popular saying : ” May God deliver us from the venom of the Cobra, teeth of the tiger, and the vengeance of the Afghan. Do you know what that means ? “. To which Rambo replies ” That you people don’t take any shit “.

So I often tell my Pathan friends ( and I have many ) ” You Pathans are a bit crazy ( manphira ) ”

Pathans are very hospitable. Once a friend of mine went to Afghanistan on the invitation of his Afghan friend. The Afghan was not at home when my friend arrived, but his wife served lunch to him. When the Afghan returned home he scolded his wife that she had not fed his friend properly. To which the wife replied ” What can I do when your friend does not have a stomach ? “.

Apart from other accomplishments ( e.g. Irfan Pathan in cricket, Dilip Kumar in films ), Pathans have made a tremendous contribution to Hindustani classical music. A large number of our classical musicians have been Pathans, e.g. Faiyyaz Khan, Rashid Khan, Bismillah Khan, Amanat Ali Khan, Vilayat Khan, etc

Today, no doubt, Afghanistan, the original homeland of the Pathans, is having many troubles. But the people who have faced Alexander the Great, the Mughals, the British, the Russians, and then the Americans, can be down, but never out.

 Long live the Pathans