Waging nonviolence: reflections on the history writing of the Pashtun nonviolent movement Khudai Khidmatgar

The article investigates recurrent narratives in the cultural historiography of the early 20th century nonviolent movement of the Pashtuns, known as Khudai Khidmatgar (1929-1948). Commentaries and studies of this movement are ridden with three inter-connected problems: firstly, a cultural stereotyping of the Pashtuns, labeling acts of nonviolent resistance as an aberrant phase in a culture branded as inherently violent; secondly, a denial of the indigenous roots of the movement, viewing it as a provincial offshoot of Gandhianism; and thirdly, an elitist privileging of the principles of nonviolence over concrete acts and practices. Employing a close reading of media reports and historical accounts, I argue that the Khudai Khidmatgar movement offered an example of radical nonviolent action, drawing from Islamic principles, and dialectically engaging with transnational debates. I propose a careful examination of the foreclosures and oversights in the historical narratives of nonviolent resistance movements.