This piece I dedicated to the Barakzai and its sub clan of Muhammadzai, my immediate family who remains scattered around the world. I hope this post will be forwarded by my Swiss based nephews to Honourable Dr. Nanguyalai Tarzi , who once served as the Afghan Ambassador at Islamabad. I owe him my lifelong gratitude for having attended my late father’s last rites at Islamabad despite security concerns and luckily he was able to meet my then living uncle Col Muhammad Yayha Khan Effendi as part of his reunion with his family on this side of the divide .
I recall having met him at Islamabad in 2002 along with the then CEO Dawn Media Group Honourable Hameed Haroon. We discussed family and the names given to my children. Hameed Haroon, somehow was not comfortable with the name Azeem Khan given to my newly born son without realising the family name’s relevance to history.
Had it not been the strong cavalry support given to the younger brother Dost Mahummed Khan by the then Governor Kashmir Sardar Azeem Khan that the Barakzai Sardars would have never avenged the humiliating blinding of their brother Fateh Khan by then Sadozai rulers , the progeny of Ahmed Shah. Later the Sadozai tried to regain their throne from the Barakzai with British support but miserably failed leading to the 1st Anglo Afghan war and the most humiliating defeat the British Army faced at the hands of the Muhammadzai specifically Afghan General Wazir Akbar Khan, unprecedented during their rule in the Indo-Pak sub- continent were some implied facts succinctly conveyed to the well read Dawn’s CEO by the then Afghan Ambassador H. E Tarzi.
Followed by the 2nd Anglo Afghan war in 1880 that the British imposed on the Afghans leading to the heroic victory of Ghazi Sardar Ayub Khan at the epic battle of Maiwand. His unfortunate failure to take back Kandahar from the Imperial British forces led to the displacement of the family including the literary Tarzi family .
This is the picture of Sardar Ghulam Muhammad Khan Tarzi born in Kandahar on April 30, 1830 – son of Sardar Rahim Dil Khan immediate ancestor of Sardar Rahim of the Bar Be Que Tonight fame. He remained the ruler of Kandahar and Baluchistan. He is often given credit for developing the family name “Tarzi”, which played significant role in the history of Afghanistan.
King Dost Muhammad the founder of the Muhammadzai dynasty got Honourable Ghulam Muhammad Khan Tarzi into the community of state princes and learned scholar. Tarzi was related to both Amir Dost Muhammad and his successor, Amir Sher Ali Khan.
Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi, was a Pashtun leader, participated and lead his men into battle in the Second Anglo-Afghan War. However, soon after the fighting was finished, he was one of the Sardar’s (leaders) whom Amir Abdur Rehman Khan accused of rebellion. This expelled him from Afghanistan in 1881. He would move to Karachi and with him the ancestors of Sardar Rahim . There he would again begin writing his poetry and tour many major cities in India, and was always welcomed by the anti-monarchs in the country. Ghulam Muhammad took the pen-name “Tarzi” because he wrote a large body of religious, mystic and secular poetry with his very personal style that was well known from Syria to Turkmenistan to India.
After he grew tired of India, he moved his family to Baghdad, as invited guests of Sheikh Abdul-adar Ghilani. British controlled India was happy to see him leave, as the British did not count him as a supporter. Soon thereafter, they would make another move to Istanbul, Turkey, where the Sultan bestowed upon the family all royal favours and had them stay at a government house with a large monthly allowance. During their stay as imperial guests, they met most of the ministers and other dignitaries. After a long tenure, they made their final move to Damascus. Tarzi was known for his intimate gatherings with city leaders to talk philosophy and ethics on daily basis.
In 1897, Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi for the last time made the pilgrimage to Mecca. It was on December 8, 1900, he died in Damascus, Syria, where he had come for vacation. Formal funeral arrangements were made by the Syrian authorities. He was buried in the Hazrat Dahdah cemetery in Damascus, with country leaders paying respects from over ten nations. Tarzi Baba you are remembered today by your lost tribe scattered across all continents around the globe. The history of Afghanistan and Afghans will be always incomplete without your mention. Rest in peace.
