Special Abdali Army of Ahmad Shah Durrani

Elite ghulam corps of Ahmad Shah Abdali



Ahmad Shah Abdali had served so long under Nadir Shah that it should be of no surprise that he organized his army on similar lines as the Persian one. Hence, the backbone of the Durrani army consisted of an elite corps of about 10,000 royal slaves (ghulam-shahis), one-third being former Qizalbashes who had served in the Nadirid army.


The remainder was also recruited from the old troops of Nadir Shah or other non-Afghan groups, such as Tajiks, Persians, Kurds and Kalmuks. Later he made arrangements with the chiefs around Kabul and Peshawar to supply him with new young recruits in return for assignments in land. The ghulam corps was organized in segments (dastas) of 1,200 each under the command of qullar-aqasis.


These were selected from amongst royal bodyguard of 500 eunuchs and personal attendants (pishkhidmatgar). The pishkhidmatgar ----under the Safavids called qurchis ----were the only soldiers who were mounted on the Shah's special Turki horses, procured from Uzbek and Turkoman territories along the river Oxus, whereas the mounted ghulams and other regiments owned their own horses.


The guards of the ghulams in the Durrani army served particularly well during Ahmad Shah's Indian campaigns. They were mostly kept in reserve behind the main lines of artillery and cavalry in order to reinforce weak spots in the defence or to charge into the already broken or dispersed lines of the enemy. Additionally, in a retreating situation they were able to keep the men in place and check possible desertions and and unnecessary flights from the battlefield. As such, especially in the short run, military slaves proved a splendid antidote to the huge gravitational forces of permanent sedition and shifting alliances.


Even the ever skeptical but sharp-witted Law De Lauriston was impressed as he claimed that ' that which renders the Pathans superior is primarily the discipline and subordination so strictly observed in the Abdali army.


Part of the ghulam troops were equipped and trained with short light blunderbusses with a heavy caliber called sher-bachas. Since these firearms were effectively used by mounted troops, they most probably consisted of flintlocks or of Mediterranean miquelets locks , which were far more manageable and more adaptable for cavalry purpose than matchlocks.


In imitation of the mounted Janissaries of the Ottomans, the Safavid emperor Shah Abbas (1588-1629) had already set up a corps of mounted infantry armed with muskets , swords and daggers. The eighteenth-century Persian army of the Zands also consisted of an elite corps of 1,400 mounted ghulams armed with the flintlocks (hence ghilman-e chaqmaqi). Thus it seems that in India the phenomena of the mounted musketeer armed with modern flintlock firearms was not introduced only through European channels -----this occurred during the mid-eighteenth century ----- but also through the Durrani invasions , and was subsequently adopted by the Indigenous Indian states.


A contemporary Indian account presents us with a vivid picture of how the mounted musketeers were actually employed on the battlefield of Panipat: "At noon, the Bhau on horseback and Wiswas Rao, the Nana's son, on an elephant, delivered a charge and engaged in fighting at close quarters with spear ans musket and sword. Mir Atai Khan was slain. Ahmad Shah saw that his troops were now very hard pressed ; he summoned the Bash Ghul squadrons ------which means his slaves who numbered 6000 men ------and cried out; 'my boys! This is the time. Encircle these men'. The three squadrons of slaves moved out from three sides and brought the vanguard of the Bhau's army under musket fire all at once , and swept away their firm stand. The Maratha vanguard retreated and mixed with divisions under the Bhau himself. A great tumult arose ; men turned their faces to flight.


The Bhau's personal guards showed some firmness and kept standing at some places. One squadron of slaves , numbering 2000 men, came from the right and after firing off their muskets went away to the left. Another squadron which came from the left , after emptying their muskets, went away to the right. The third squadron which came from the front , discharged their muskets at the Bhau's vanguard and then turned to the rear. Before the enemy could recover , these men had loaded their muskets again and arrived , the left squadron on the right wing , and the right squadron on the left wing , while the squadron that had been originally in front fell on the rear. It looked as if on all four sides troops were attacking the Marathas simultaneously.


The fighting went on in this manner. The Maratha soldiers who had been spread over the field drew together into a knot at their center. It came to such a pass that these three squadrons enveloped that lakh of troopers and revolved around them. (Nuruddin Hussain Khan Fakhri, Tawarikh-i-Najibuddaulah)


As follow up of this wheeling around, the Shah ordered the heavy cavalry, armed with swords and spears, to charge massively into the shaken lines of the enemy. Similar tactics had already been highly successful against the Rajputs at the battle of Manipur in 1748. Here the ghulam cavalry corps had galloped up within easy range of the Rajputs. After they made a volley of fire, they galloped back as swiftly as possible thereby completely surprising the Rajput cavalry who had prepared for hand-to-hand fight.


(Excerpts from " Indian Warfare and Afghan Innovation During the Eighteenth Century" by

J Gommans)


Source : www.barmazid.com/2016/11/elite-ghulam-corps-of-ahmad-shah-abdali.html?m=1

The Autobiography of Bacha Khan

While reading the autobiography of Bacha Khan Baba, one could argue that little has changed concerning the plight of Pashtun people, particularly the people of the FATA, since the time of British Colonial rule. In fact it seems as though one set of colonisers has been merely exchanged for another.

Bacha Khan discusses that in 1901, the British introduced the Frontier Crime Regulations – a set of brutal, savage, black laws, which he states the British used in such an atrocious manner, it created enormous disharmony, suffering and mutual enmity among Pashtuns. He states the majority of government officials allocated to the region at that time were from the Punjab, furthermore, the British created their own jirgas made up of their own people, in which Pashtuns could be sentenced to twelve or fourteen years in jail without the right to appeal. We are told that in the days of British rule, people were continuously stopped by security forces and asked to ‘pay security money.’ If people refused to pay, they would be sent to jail for up to three years. Thousands of people were thrown in prison under section 40 of the FCR. The British had spies everywhere among the people. These internal spies openly intimidated and frightened the people in every possible way, furthermore, Bacha Khan states that the Mullahs and many elders were ‘puppets in the hands of the British.’ (26)





In relation to the creation of the ‘Buffer Zone,’ and further division of the FATA into separate agencies, the motivation behind this tactic was not only to divide and rule, but was seen as a safer option whereby Pashtuns remained a collection of small tribes divided into small territories rather than mobilise as a united brotherhood. Bacha Khan states the people of the FATA were kept illiterate and ignorant, oppressed and tyrannized, their lives at the mercy of one person – the Political Agent.

With regard to education, Bacha Khan tells us the British opened many schools in the Punjab, yet no steps were taken to educate Pashtun children. He furthermore states, in schools across India, children received education in their mother tongue, whereas in Pashtun regions, no such arrangements were made. In the few schools that did exist, children were taught in a language which was not their own. The British left orthodox Mullahs in the region for a particular purpose. These Mullahs, who were held in reverence by the people, made propaganda against schools, pronouncing that anyone studying in schools were ‘unbelievers.’ The purpose of this propaganda, he states, was to keep Pashtuns illiterate and uneducated. (12)











Bacha Khan raises the issue regarding the extent to which outsiders have presented a false picture of Pashtun people to the world. He argues that firstly, being cut off from the world, with no option for people to get near the FATA to ‘see what we are like’ (123), has fuelled a false propaganda machine, in which Pashtuns are represented as ‘uncivilized savages.’ Bacha Khan states this is a completely false image which offers governments an excuse to crush Pashtuns, blow them up with bombs, kill them with guns and destroy their homes. He states imperialist powers have used Pashtun territory as training ground for their armies, turning ‘a peaceful ground into a battlefield’ (124).


Bacha Khan, a man who spent over thirty years in prison, at least fifteen years during the time of British colonial rule and a further fifteen after the creation of Pakistan, tells of the unspeakable cruelty, humility and suffering he endured, yet he states that the treatment he received at the hands of the Pakistan government, was far more cruel, more injust than anything he had suffered under the British colonisers. (207)










Bacha Khan with Gandhi



Judging by some of the factors outlined in the autobiography of Bacha Khan, one could argue that since the creation of Pakistan, little improvement or effort has been made to alleviate the suffering and plight of Pashtun people, particularly concerning the people of the FATA, who have been forced to stagnate in the mire, under the rule of antiquated, harsh laws set up in 1901 by British colonisers. The way in which Bacha Khan describes how the people ‘live in constant danger, suffer humiliation, tyranny and oppression,’ resonates to this day, as it seems the FATA has remained confined within the framework of a ‘colonised’ state.


One cannot overestimate the importance of Bacha Khan’s legacy, his unmitigated commitment and devotion to Pashtun people and nation remains unsurpassed. His vision and persistence in the field of education, for instance, despite opposition under an oppressive regime, was arguably one of his greatest achievements. In his ardent belief that education was the primary means to lift Pashtun people out of darkness and oppression he personally set about opening schools in the province, (modern day Pakhtunkhwa). This legacy, no doubt has led to a conscious awareness of the importance of education among Pashtuns. The 18th Amendment to the constitution of Pakistan has certainly altered the lives of Pashtun people living in Pakhtunkhwa for the better, not only in providing autonomy and political restructuring, but also in the area of education. However, what the future holds for the people of the FATA remains to be seen.


Reference: “My Life and Struggle: Autobiography of Badshah Khan,” Hind Pocket Books (P) Ltd., Delhi, Translated by Helen H. Bouman, Narrated to K.B. Narang, 1969.


Writer: Angelina Merisi
The writer hails from Ireland. She is part of the Pashtuns Times News Network. She is a PhD scholar at the University College Cork, Ireland. Her current research is focused on Islam and Pashtun male migrants in Ireland, masculinity and honour concepts. She can be reached at






merisi3331@gmail.com