Daily Times

If not merged in 1969, the Swat state under the Walis would now be 100 years old. Prior to 1917, there were at least two attempts to establish a state but the first resulted in a dysfunctional entity and the second established a state but the ruler was dethroned within two years. However, the uniqueness of the Swat state is perhaps that it can be one of the few examples in known political history to establish a state as an outcome of consensus evolved through a jirga. Another uniqueness is the nomination of its ruler not from the predominated Yousafzai but a non Yousafzai tribe to maintain the power balance between the two factions of Yousafzai.

The genesis of Swat state can be traced backed to 1849 when an attempt was made under the leadership of Sayyid Akbar Shah to establish the ‘Islamic State of Swat’ with Ghaaligay as its capital. But it failed to take a formal shape of a state and remained in its almost dysfunctional form till 1878.

Security perception was one of the main reasons that led to creation of the Swat state. In 1915, when the Nawab of Dir State posed a security threat to the people of Swat in absence of a centralised authority, the jirga of Swat held in Kabal announced the formation of the Swat state by nominating Sayyid Abdul Jabar Shah of Saittana as its ruler. Abdul Jabar Shah was invited to rule the state because of his previous experience as a minister of the princely State of Amb.

Without dismantling the state, Abdal Jabar Shah was dethroned in 1917. The apparent reason for his dethroning was the rumours of him being Ahmadi. Probably, his relation with the Afghanistan court, contacts with the Bolsheviks of Russia and followers of Sayyid Raza Ahmad Barelvi made the British suspicious of him. The next appointee as the ruler of Swat by the Swat jirga was Mian Gul Abdul Wadud.

In 1915, when the Nawab of Dir state posed a security threat to the people of Swat in absence of a centralised authority, the jirga of Swat held in Kabal announced the formation of the Swat state by nominating Sayyid Abdul Jabar Shah of Saittana as its ruler

The Yousafzai tribe of Swat was divided into two factions, but none of them was ready to accept a ruler from any faction. Therefore, a non Yousafzai was appointed as a ruler. That proved a good strategy of balancing power between the two contesting Yousafzai factions but also a check on the non Yousafzai ruler. Perhaps this was one of the reasons that the ruler of Swat focused on the welfare and development activities for getting legitimacy. The insignia of the state was, “The Swat State of Yousafzai is endowed by Allah’ with Pukhto as official language”.

The credit of consolidating the structure and authority of the Swat state goes to the first Wali, Mian Gul Abdul Wadud, known as Badshah sahib. He abolished the Wesh (interchangeable) system wherein after every decade, in some areas after seven years, villages would be interchanged on Tappa level. It was a colossal task to scrap the centuries old practice but the first Wali succeeded to abolish it by persuading the jirga on its demerits as a hurdle in the way of development and consolidating the state authority. The second grand achievement of the first Wali was the disarmament of the population and ensuring unprecedented peace in the state. The State of Swat was amongst the few princely developed states and the credit of development initiative goes to the last Wali, Mian Gul Abdul Haq Jahanzeb. After completing his intermediate education from the famous Islamia College of Peshawar in 1926, he was appointed by his father Mian Gul Abdul Wadud as the crown prince.

In 1949, his father abdicated in his favour and declared him Wali of the state. Since 1926, he initiated the development project of the state by focusing on communication, mainly roads, education and health. And shortly, the state of Swat excelled in these three sectors. The roads of Swat became a reference of quality in Asia.

In a short while, the state controlled epidemic diseases by building state of the art hospitals in Saidu Sharif which later came to be known as Saidu Group of Hospitals. The Wali constructed dispensaries in every nook and corner of the state with excellent free healthcare. The first Wadudia High School was established in 1926 and Jahan Zeb College in 1954 in Saidu Sharif. Till the late 1950s, the Wali built a network of schools at the primary and middle level in every village. He established functional and quality based high schools in far flung areas. Absentia from duty and corruption was almost unthinkable. Along with supervising the development projects, the Wali personally inspected health and educational facility.

The Wali’s focus was not only on quantity but also on quality of education. He not only provided the hard and software of education, but ensured highest regard and social respect for the teacher. A teacher would be escorted to his place of duty by the Qilawal (a nomenclature for state police) on his arrival after taking charge. A newly-appointed teacher was required to discharge duty in a far flung station for three years with the state ensuring accommodation arrangement for him. The teacher would be hosted by the Malik or Khan of the village in his hujra and would be entitled to sit in the village jirga.

The Wali was aware that the valley of Swat was an environmentally-sensitive region. Initially, no one was allowed to cut a tree inside the house without the state permission, but later the rules were relaxed and the ban was limited to certain species. Cutting trees of cedar and maple without permission even on private land was prohibited and forests protection was exemplary. The Wali’s standing order was that no one should wake him up for any emergency at night except forest fire. Most of the roads in Swat were boulevard. Cutting or pruning road side trees or lay-by spot was a serious offence. Hunting in the breeding season was unimaginable due to across the board implementation of the law. Laws would be proposed or approved by the local jirgas, as every regional jirga was allowed to propose laws/rules but after approving, the state would implement them impartially and that was one of the main reasons for the people acceptance. The Wali patronised music and cultural activities in the state. Previously the people of Swat would celebrate Eid by playing catapult duel with the neighbouring village which would culminate with several casualties till evening. The Wali introduced three days cultural events on the eve of Eid with dance and music and the fatal Eid sport of catapult ended without decree and using state force.

Nostalgia is always wistful but when one slips from the best to the worst it turns into utter disappointment. In the prevailing environment where India was ruled by the British colonial power, and the rest of the princely states by the autocratic monarchs, the state of Swat was really different striving for the welfare of its people instead of ruling them. Swat, once a cradle of peace and tolerance, turned into an infrastructure of monstrosity, environmental disaster, hub for implanted bigots and a launch pad for so-called strategic inanities after merger with Pakistan. Thus, a paradise lost!

The writer is a political analyst from Swat and can be reached at talimand.khan@gmail.com and on Twitter @MirSwat

Published in Daily Times, December 28^th 2017.