by Dr Iftikhar Malik
Talokar village, near Haripur town, Hazara, NWFP (now KP) in North-West Pakistan, is a historical place.
Founded by Hindu Talokar Jatts, around the 15-16th century it became part of a 'Jageer' estate granted by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (ruled 1628-1658) to Sardar (Chief) Bustan Khan Tarin who migrated here with around 300 clan people from Afghanistan, in 1629-1630.Talokar was thus occupied by these new Afghan/Pashtun settlers. One later chief Sardar Bahadur Khan Tarin joined the Afghan forces of King Ahmad Shah (Durrani) which fought and defeated the Marhattas at Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, and after this, the Sardar was granted official honours and appointed administrator or 'hakim' of lower Hazara (Maidan Hazara). In 1765, Bahadur Khan met an Englishman called Mr Montague, who visited from Lahore as an early traveler. In his MS at a UK archive or library, Montague mentions visiting the 'haveli' mansion of Bahadur Khan at Talokar in that year.
The old 'haveli' of Bahadur Khan is, alas, no more. It was badly burnt and damaged by Sikh attacks later and only a small part of it survived. This was incorporated into a new 'bangla' (bungalow) house made at the location, by another later Tarin chief Muhammad Habib Khan in 1881-1882. Habib Khan served as a cavalry officer (Risaldar) in the British Army and retired in 1864. A person of 'modern' tastes, he was fond of Urdu poetry and 'ghazal' songs/music, had lived long in Bengal, Bihar and Oudh, and developed sophisticated habits unlike most of the savage and ignorant Hazarawal tribal chiefs. On retirement, he built an open, Bengali style house where the old family 'haveli' had stood. This building was made of sun-baked bricks, with deep verandahs around two courtyards, on a three-level single-storey plan. Some mention of this is given in records/letters by NG Waterfield (ex Commissioner of Peshawar Division) dating to 1882. This 'bangla' was later expanded in 1905 by a son of Habib Khan, Abdul Majeed Khan, OBE (1877-1939), into its present existing form, as he also added some additional property inherited from his mother, into this compound.
A government officer during British times , Abdul Majeed Khan served as a magistrate and retired in 1934. He became one of the first Hazara leaders to join the All India Muslim League, and in 1936 was elected to the NWFP Legislative Assembly. Abdul Majeed Khan was specially noted for his strong views, advising the senior central leadership (including Quaid i Azam M.A. Jinnah, in a letter dated April 1939) to maintain autonomous Muslim states or zones within a larger Indian Federation, along a USA-model; he believed this would have long term benefits for Muslims and they could also thus avoid clashes with Hindus, Sikhs and other Indian subcontinent communities. However this plan was never followed and in March 1940, the Lahore Resolution called for an 'autonomous' Muslim state, later modified in 1946 to a demand for a separate country altogether. In 1947 Pakistan came into being. Abdul Majeed Khan died in June 1939.
Since then, the offspring of Abdul Majeed Khan have lived in the present 'bangla' at village Talokar, so its at least somewhat preserved. One brother of this leader, was also famous, Jemadar Abdul Latif Khan, who died in Iraq (then called Mesopotamia) in 1916, during World War 1, and got a bravery medal. Another relative who died in World War 1 was Sepoy Sikandar Khan, who lies buried in a Muslim cemetery in UK. Abdul Majeed Khan's had three sons, of which eldest was late His Excellency Ambassador Saleem Khan, who died in 1957. He was a senior Pakistani diplomat who served at various places like Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Japan, UK etc. The wife of Ambassador Khan was the well-known Pakistani lady social worker and ex-minister, Begum Mahmooda Saleem. Other members of this gifted family have also been notable, at various levels, in various fields. Noted Pakistani poet and scholar Omar Tarin, is also related to this family.
According to one historian of Haripur area, this old 'Talokar bangla has produced many famous people, its a true landmark of the area'. This building has now stood here for more than 130 years on the site of an older building which had stood here at least 250 years ago. Who knows what its future will bring? Let's hope the noble traditions of this house will continue to shine.
(c) View interior, Talokar 'bangla' , 2014
NB: I am grateful for assistance and historical material to family of late HE Abdus Saleem Khan, family of late Abdul Hameed Khan, staff at records section at NWFP/KPK Archives and Records department, Peshawar, and also the Punjab Archives staff, Civil Secretariat, Lahore.
Talokar village, near Haripur town, Hazara, NWFP (now KP) in North-West Pakistan, is a historical place.
Founded by Hindu Talokar Jatts, around the 15-16th century it became part of a 'Jageer' estate granted by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (ruled 1628-1658) to Sardar (Chief) Bustan Khan Tarin who migrated here with around 300 clan people from Afghanistan, in 1629-1630.Talokar was thus occupied by these new Afghan/Pashtun settlers. One later chief Sardar Bahadur Khan Tarin joined the Afghan forces of King Ahmad Shah (Durrani) which fought and defeated the Marhattas at Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, and after this, the Sardar was granted official honours and appointed administrator or 'hakim' of lower Hazara (Maidan Hazara). In 1765, Bahadur Khan met an Englishman called Mr Montague, who visited from Lahore as an early traveler. In his MS at a UK archive or library, Montague mentions visiting the 'haveli' mansion of Bahadur Khan at Talokar in that year.
The old 'haveli' of Bahadur Khan is, alas, no more. It was badly burnt and damaged by Sikh attacks later and only a small part of it survived. This was incorporated into a new 'bangla' (bungalow) house made at the location, by another later Tarin chief Muhammad Habib Khan in 1881-1882. Habib Khan served as a cavalry officer (Risaldar) in the British Army and retired in 1864. A person of 'modern' tastes, he was fond of Urdu poetry and 'ghazal' songs/music, had lived long in Bengal, Bihar and Oudh, and developed sophisticated habits unlike most of the savage and ignorant Hazarawal tribal chiefs. On retirement, he built an open, Bengali style house where the old family 'haveli' had stood. This building was made of sun-baked bricks, with deep verandahs around two courtyards, on a three-level single-storey plan. Some mention of this is given in records/letters by NG Waterfield (ex Commissioner of Peshawar Division) dating to 1882. This 'bangla' was later expanded in 1905 by a son of Habib Khan, Abdul Majeed Khan, OBE (1877-1939), into its present existing form, as he also added some additional property inherited from his mother, into this compound.
A government officer during British times , Abdul Majeed Khan served as a magistrate and retired in 1934. He became one of the first Hazara leaders to join the All India Muslim League, and in 1936 was elected to the NWFP Legislative Assembly. Abdul Majeed Khan was specially noted for his strong views, advising the senior central leadership (including Quaid i Azam M.A. Jinnah, in a letter dated April 1939) to maintain autonomous Muslim states or zones within a larger Indian Federation, along a USA-model; he believed this would have long term benefits for Muslims and they could also thus avoid clashes with Hindus, Sikhs and other Indian subcontinent communities. However this plan was never followed and in March 1940, the Lahore Resolution called for an 'autonomous' Muslim state, later modified in 1946 to a demand for a separate country altogether. In 1947 Pakistan came into being. Abdul Majeed Khan died in June 1939.
Since then, the offspring of Abdul Majeed Khan have lived in the present 'bangla' at village Talokar, so its at least somewhat preserved. One brother of this leader, was also famous, Jemadar Abdul Latif Khan, who died in Iraq (then called Mesopotamia) in 1916, during World War 1, and got a bravery medal. Another relative who died in World War 1 was Sepoy Sikandar Khan, who lies buried in a Muslim cemetery in UK. Abdul Majeed Khan's had three sons, of which eldest was late His Excellency Ambassador Saleem Khan, who died in 1957. He was a senior Pakistani diplomat who served at various places like Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Japan, UK etc. The wife of Ambassador Khan was the well-known Pakistani lady social worker and ex-minister, Begum Mahmooda Saleem. Other members of this gifted family have also been notable, at various levels, in various fields. Noted Pakistani poet and scholar Omar Tarin, is also related to this family.
According to one historian of Haripur area, this old 'Talokar bangla has produced many famous people, its a true landmark of the area'. This building has now stood here for more than 130 years on the site of an older building which had stood here at least 250 years ago. Who knows what its future will bring? Let's hope the noble traditions of this house will continue to shine.
(c) View interior, Talokar 'bangla' , 2014
NB: I am grateful for assistance and historical material to family of late HE Abdus Saleem Khan, family of late Abdul Hameed Khan, staff at records section at NWFP/KPK Archives and Records department, Peshawar, and also the Punjab Archives staff, Civil Secretariat, Lahore.
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