DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.31218#0196
THE CASTE SYSTEM OF NORTHERN INDIA
(1) The Ghilzai, like the Lodi, are descended from the
traditional ancestor through the female side only. They
are usually, but wrongly, identified with the Khilji Turks.
But it seems probable that some of their sections are of
Turki, whilst others may be of Tajik, origin. Large
numbers of them accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni into
India. At a much later date many of them followed Nadir
Shah. Like the Lodi, many of them are engaged in the
carrying trade.
(2) The Mohmand and Muhammadzai both seem to
have been engaged in the Yusufzai revolt against Akbar
in 1586. It is not clear when they came into India; but,
being most numerous in Rohilkhand, they were probably
attracted thither when the Rohillas became powerful.
(3) Tarin, Durani, Barakzai, and Barech belong to
the most senior branch in the Afghan genealogy, and are
the purest of ‘pure’ Afghans. The Durani was the tribe
to which the last invader of India belonged; Barech was
the tribe of the famous Rohilla chief, Hafiz Rahmat
Khan. Otherwise, they are of little importance in India.
They are most common in Rohilkhand.
(4) Afridi, Bangash, Dilazak, Khatak and Orakzai
are closely connected in the Afghan genealogy as Karlani
or ‘adopted’ tribes. This, of course, suggests that they
are of different blood to the rest of the tribes. For in-
stance, the Afridi are usually identified with the Aparytae
of Herodotus. If the identification is correct, they are
descended from mild, peace-loving, and contemplative
Indo-Aryan Buddhists, which scarcely seems a suitable
ancestry for the Afridis. The Bangash claim to be
Qureshi Arabs, descended from Khalid ibn Walid, the
first apostle of Islam to the Afghans, whose daughter
married Kais Abdul Rashid. The Orakzai are certainly
of very mixed extraction—according to their own
account, part Persian, part Hindu. The Afridi and
Bangash seem first to have entered India about the time
of Akbar, when they are found in the army. The Bangash,
under the later Moghul emperors, acquired considerable
estates, as Nawabs of Farrukhabad. The Khataks were
prominent from the time of Aurangzeb; many followed
182
(1) The Ghilzai, like the Lodi, are descended from the
traditional ancestor through the female side only. They
are usually, but wrongly, identified with the Khilji Turks.
But it seems probable that some of their sections are of
Turki, whilst others may be of Tajik, origin. Large
numbers of them accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni into
India. At a much later date many of them followed Nadir
Shah. Like the Lodi, many of them are engaged in the
carrying trade.
(2) The Mohmand and Muhammadzai both seem to
have been engaged in the Yusufzai revolt against Akbar
in 1586. It is not clear when they came into India; but,
being most numerous in Rohilkhand, they were probably
attracted thither when the Rohillas became powerful.
(3) Tarin, Durani, Barakzai, and Barech belong to
the most senior branch in the Afghan genealogy, and are
the purest of ‘pure’ Afghans. The Durani was the tribe
to which the last invader of India belonged; Barech was
the tribe of the famous Rohilla chief, Hafiz Rahmat
Khan. Otherwise, they are of little importance in India.
They are most common in Rohilkhand.
(4) Afridi, Bangash, Dilazak, Khatak and Orakzai
are closely connected in the Afghan genealogy as Karlani
or ‘adopted’ tribes. This, of course, suggests that they
are of different blood to the rest of the tribes. For in-
stance, the Afridi are usually identified with the Aparytae
of Herodotus. If the identification is correct, they are
descended from mild, peace-loving, and contemplative
Indo-Aryan Buddhists, which scarcely seems a suitable
ancestry for the Afridis. The Bangash claim to be
Qureshi Arabs, descended from Khalid ibn Walid, the
first apostle of Islam to the Afghans, whose daughter
married Kais Abdul Rashid. The Orakzai are certainly
of very mixed extraction—according to their own
account, part Persian, part Hindu. The Afridi and
Bangash seem first to have entered India about the time
of Akbar, when they are found in the army. The Bangash,
under the later Moghul emperors, acquired considerable
estates, as Nawabs of Farrukhabad. The Khataks were
prominent from the time of Aurangzeb; many followed
182