Who was known as Frontier Gandhi?

Abdul Ghaffar Khan was commonly known as the Frontier Gandhi. He was born in the year 1890. He was also known as Bacha Khan and Badshah Khan. He founded the Khudai Khidmatgar resistance performed in opposition to British colonial rule in India. He was a Pashtun independence activist. 

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

Abdul Ghaffar Khan as “Frontier Gandhi”

He was widely popular in the Northwestern provinces of British India, He was nicknamed Frontier Gandhi or Sarhadi Gandhi due to the similarities in the approach towards freedom he had and the one Gandhi shared. They were even considered close friends. He was the leader of the non-violent resistance in the northwestern province, not only a political leader but also a spiritual leader. 

Background of “Frontier Gandhi”

From an early age, Abdul Ghaffar Khan was very bright in their studies. He joined Edward’s Mission School, a British lead school, as it was the only functioning school in that province. His experience in this school shaped his personality and it made him understand the importance of education in lives and what service it can do for his community. In his last year, he was offered a position in the Corps of Guides regiment of the Indian Army.

He was in favor of treating everyone as equals and hence he declined the job offer. He wanted to pursue higher education like his elder brother but was unable to do so due to the deteriorating health of his mother so after completing his secondary studies he joined his father’s lands and started working there. At the age of 20, they opened a madrasa to promote education among the people of that province but in just 5 years it was shut down by the British government, was termed as pro-Independent India, and considered a threat to British Raj. In 1930 he started the Khudāyī Khidmatgar movement, it was a non-violent protest to free India from British rule and establish an independent United States. 

Khudāyī Khidmatgar

He was a great supporter of a united secular and Independent India. To contribute to this goal he founded a group called Khudāyī Khidmatgar. During the 1920s they were commonly known as the Red Shirts. This group followed the beliefs of Mahatma Gandhi and Frontier Gandhi, who took an oath to follow the principles of Non-Violence and protest through a Satyagraha. The group grew over the years and had 1,00,000 active members. They became an essential part of the resistance and Independent movement, This group saw great success and played a critical role in the Independence movement.  

Peshawar Satyagraha

Peshawar Satyagraha is considered a very important turning point in the Independence struggle. This Satyagraha was led by Abdul Gaffar Khan or Frontier Gandhi. This was started in the footsteps of the Dandi March and was considered to be a follow-up of the Dandhi march which was against the salt law. The effect of this movement was as high that two platoons of Garhwali soldiers refused to accept direct orders from the British officials to shoot at the non-violent protesters even under the risk of being court-martialed. This was considered a great deal at that time as it showed that the feeling of patriotism has started to grow and even reached the British army. People refused to pay revenue and even started to boycott foreign clothes.

Beliefs of Frontier Gandhi

Ghaffar followed Islam and was a Muslim but he devoted his life to spreading peace and harmony between the Hindus and Muslims. Like Gandhi, he believed that the unification of Hindus and Muslims was required for the independence of India from the British Raj. 

He had a clear stance on the partition of India after Independence, he was against the partition of India into two parts based on the religion of the people( Pakistan with a Muslim majority and India with a Hindu majority). He sided with the parties in favor of the unified front ( Indian National Congress and All-India Azad Muslim Conference) as opposed to the All-India Muslim League which was in favor of the partition. After partition, he took an oath to serve the newly formed state of Pakistan. He died in 1988 of old age due to complications of a stroke.

FAQs on Frontier Gandhi

Q 1. Who was known as Frontier Gandhi?

Answer-

Abdul Ghaffar Khan was commonly known as the frontier Gandhi. He was also known as Bacha Khan and Badshah Khan.

Q 2. Why was Abdul Ghaffar Khan known as Frontier Gandhi?

Answer-

Because of the similarities between his and Gandhi’s approaches to independence, he was given the names Frontier Gandhi or Sarhadi Gandhi. They were even close friends.

Q 3. Explain the importance of Peshawar Satyagraha.

Answer-

Peshawar Satyagraha is one of the most important turning points in the Independence struggle. It was considered important as the effect of this movement was s high that two platoons of Garhwali soldiers refused to accept direct orders from the British officials to shoot at the non-violent protesters even under the risk of being court-martialed. This was considered a great deal at that time as it showed that the feeling of patriotism has started to grow and even reached the British army.