Bara Bandai

Bara Bandai is a small village in the Swat Valley in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. It is known for its natural beauty and lying in an area crossed by Alexander The Great during his invasion. Later, after the Lal Masjid massacre, Bara Bandai became known as sympathetic to the Taliban movement. The village consists of Yusufzai Pakhtun tribes. It is one of the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) of Pakistan. The village contains a small series of mountains and a jungle, residential area starting from meadows of mountains to the fields, a village market, vast land for crops, number of springs and canals, and a part of the Swat river. Famous mountains of village are Usmani Sar, Kafar Ghat and Najia.

Name

The village was named by Yusufzai Pakhtuns after they evacuated the old Swatis from Swat, and means "upper meadow". The neighbouring village on the left to Bara Bandai is known as Koza Bandai which means lower meadow. The names were basically given by their greenery, comparing the distances of both villages from Mingora the main city of Swat, and by comparing their distances from the upper mountainous areas of Swat such as Kalam and Bahrain. The ancient names of these villages are not known as they are just mentioned by locations in old times books and scripts.

Location

Bara Bandai is about 15 to 20 kilometres from Mingoara (the main city of Swat) and Saidu Sharif (capital city of Swat). it is on the left bank of river Swat in Nikpikhel Area. Nikpikhel area varies from Ningolai village to Kala Kali village on the left bank of river. In the west of village there is another village of Koza Bandai and in the east there is Ningolai village which is last village of Nikpikhel area to the east. Bara Bandai is about 80 km from Kalam, the famous tourist spot of Pakistan. On the left side of village there is a series of mountains which are connected to some other villages and finally ends the region of Swat valley. Beyond them district of Dir starts. And on the right side lies the river Swat and after that village of Sangota, Manglawar and Fizagat.

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  Peach Trees, Bara Bandai(taken by: M. Zia Nasir)

History

History of Bara Bandai is very old as this place is first mentioned by ancient Greek writers as the pass of Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great after entering into the subcontinent through the Himalayas came to Swat and his army rested for two days on the left bank of river Swat in Bara Bandai which at that time was with ancient Hindu rajahs. After Alexander the Buddhists came and settled all over Swat including the village. Ruins of ancient homes and small buildings built by Buddhists can still be found in the mountains of Bara Bandai and other villages of Swat. After the Buddhists Mahmood of Ghazni, The Great Afghan Pakhtun conqueror came here on his way to attack the Indian subcontinent and defeated the Buddhist maharajahs here. Some of his army and Muslim population from Afghanistan settled here known as old Swatis. they lived here for about a century or more when Yusufzai tribe came from Afghanistan and attacked the valley. It is said that some people of Yusufzai tribe visited the area and they liked it very much because of its greenery and natural beauty and so they decided to take it from old Swatis by force. Yusufzai tribe were famous for their fighting skills and bravery. They were engaged in many wars even when they were in Afghanistan. After the war the Yusufzai made old Swatis to flee from the area and Yusufzais themselves settled in the valley and are in the valley till now. During the rule of Mughal king Akbar, the yusufzai tribe in Swat was attacked three times by the mughal emperor because the mughals thought yusufzais could be a danger for them in future as they left Afghanistan because of another mughal emperor Alagh Baig. The Mughal army lost all the three battles and suffered with heavy casualties. There is even a graveyard in Bunair district known as the graveyard of Mughals in which hundreds of Mughal soldiers are buried who were killed in war. After defeat King Akbar made peace with Yusufzais by making personal relations with Malik Ahmad Khan of Yusufzai tribe.

In the late 18th century the Yusufzai tribe of Swat refused to submit to the British Raj of Indian subcontinent. The British sent an army of 32000 soldiers. Most of them Sikhs as according to the British Sikhs were good warriors and could handle the martial race of Yusufzai Pakhtuns. The operation was planned to be completed in 6 weeks but it lingered on for six months and eventually resulted in a defeat for British as 35th Sikh regiment lost the battle with very heavy casualties. Most of the soldiers were even slaughtered by Yusufzais and the rest who escaped were not able to go to the battle field again. After that intense need was felt by tribal chiefs of Swat for a state as the area was not secure from British as well as from the nawab of neighbouring Dir district (princely state at that time). So they held a jirga and decided to make Miangul Abdul Wadood as their undisputed King. As he was a syed (a man from a holy race) so no pakhtun tribe wanted to be against him and so Swat became a princely state.

Population

Total population of village Bara Bandai is estimated to be around 6 to 9 thousands, which makes it one of the largest villages in the Swat valley. There are a number of sub-tribes (clans) of Yusufzais living in the village.

Most known among them are Nasir khel and Audhal khel. Other sub-tribes (clans) are Aju khel, Shado khel, Ali Khan khel, Bucha khel etc.

When Swat was a princely state, the village was divided in to, two equal parts known as "Da Nasir khel Shala (twenty of Nasir khels)" and "Da Audhal khel Shala (twenty of Audhal khels)". Audhal khels were "Khans" while the Nasir khels were Malaks.

Khans had to rule and take care of people in their own areas(shalla) while malaks had to rule and take care of people in their own areas. Some of the famous Khans of Audhal khel were Ameer Nawab Khan Audhal Kheil S/O Nawab Mohammad Yousaf Khan and Mohammad Ayub Khan,ameer nawab khan was they rular of the village and his brave n elder son was dilwar khan and khan was very pround on his brave son and dilwar khan was subadar also in swat army and now ahmad khan s/o dilwar khan he is respectable n well know 'pukhtan'in the village now,is the they fought the Kashmir war of 1948.khan Dilawar khan was nephew of Nasir Khels.

The known family of the half Nasir Khel Shala were Malak Azaad Khan's family and Malak Saeed Akbar Khan(Bala Malak)'s family. The Malak Abdullah and Malak Sazan Khan were the sons of Malak Azaad Khan. Malak Sazan Khan, father of Malak Bakhtsherwan Khan was died in young age, about 32 years. Malak Abdullah had one son, Malak Abdul Wadood Khan. Who had two sons Malak Muhammad Ilyas and Malak Muhammad Idrees Khan(Late). While Malak Bakhtsherwan died in 4th January 2002, in the age of 98 years, has left three sons, Malak Shah Zaman, Malak Abdul Jalil, and Malak Fazal Jalil Nasir. Malak Fazal Jalil Nasir is currently on the post of District Accounts Officer, Swat. While Malak Abdul Jalil is serving as Superintendent in District Office of Revenue, Swat. The elder one was a retired sea-man. Now serving abroad.

Malak Saeed Akbar Khan known by Balaa Malak had two sons, Malak Dilbar Khan and Malak Gulbar Khan. Malak Dilbar had left four sons, Malak Sardar Khan, Malak Ghulam Muhammad, Malak Ghulam Mahmood and Malak Muzaffar Khan. Malak Gulbar had left two sons Malak Ahmad Shah(Late) and Malak Ali Rehman.

Other Nasir Khels are Shah Haider Khan, Bhader Khan. Bhader Khan was a "Subadar" in swat state army and his son Malak Ghulam Haider Khan was also in the state army and fought in the Kashmir war of 1965 and 1971.And his brothers Malak Shah Kirullah Khan,Malak Sharafat ullah Khan, Nadar Khan,And his son's Rahim Shah Khan,Sultanat Khan, Karam Khan, Amirzeb Khan, Habib Khan whilst Shah Haider Khan was a famous Major in the Swat state army and fought in the famous battle of Chamla for king of Swat which was the most bloody war in the history of Swat state. He also led half of the army sent by the ruler of Swat to Kashmir during 1948 war. He was one of the most influential and known for bravery and boldness specifically in village Bara Bandai and Swat state army, and commonly in Nikpikhel area, Malak Shah Haider Khan had six sons. Abdul Wadood Khan , who was chief radio grapher in Saidu group of hospitals and later in Hayatabad hospital Peshawar and also ex-chairman of para-medical association Swat, and a respectable personality in the village, after him Fazal Mabood Khan who is a well educated and respectable man in the village , a Professor and retd. Principal of Daggar College for Boys in Buner. Other sons of Shah Haider Khan are Alamgir Khan, Jehangir Khan, Riaz Khan and Niaz Khan.

Famous people of Bara Bandai

Fazal Jalil Nasir - District Accounts Officer, Swat.

Abdul Jalil Nasir - Superintendent in District Office of Revenue, Swat.

Dr. Alamzeb - Assistant Professor, Saidu Medical College.

Hazrat Khalil Khan

Fazal Mabood Khan - Retired Professor

Muhammad Karam Khan - Retired Deputy Superintedent of Police, Swat.

Mr. Dilband - Retired Principal Govt; High School Bara Bandai.

Sultan-e-room Nasir Khel - One of the richest of Bara Bandai.

Sharafat Khan Audhal Khel - One of the richest of Bara Bandai.

Saidu Bibi - A most famous woman of Bara Bandai

Saidu Bibi, as she was affectionately called means "lady from Saidu". Saidu Bibi's real name may be known only to some very few elders of Bara Bandai. Saidu Bibi was the sister of the king of Swat and came to live in Bara Bandai. Saidu Bibi was from Saidu Sharriff, the royal capital of Swat and hence her given name by the people of Bara Bandai of Saidu Bibi.

Saidu Bibi had fallen out with her brother the king over violence amongst her brothers and decided to leave the royal household in Saidu Sharriff and take up residence in Bara Bandai. Why she chose Bara Bandai is not known as she had no family or clan links to Bara bandai, perhaps because of this as it was a neutral village as far as her family was concerned.

It is told that when Saidu Bibi arrived in the village, Saidu Bibi had no money or any of the privileges of a royal household and asked the village for shelter. A council of Audhal Kheil Khans and Nasir khel Malaks was held to decide this. The Khans were totally against Saidu Bibi coming to Bara Bandai for residence arguing that the king may interpret this as an act of rebellion by Bara Bandai. The Malaks were in favour and said we the people of Bara Bandai are loyal subjects of the king, this is a matter between brother & sister and not between a king's sister and the state, in any case the code of "Pakhtunwalli" (code of conduct for Pakhtuns) does not allow us to turn away a woman in need. Hence the Nasir khel malaks took the responsibility of their action for their pukhtunwali, and gave her shelter.

The Audhal Kheil Khans agreed but only to Saidu Bibi staying in the Malaks side of the village. Saidu Bibi took up residence as an ordinary person of Bara Bandai and stayed there until her death of old age. In her final days when Saidu Bibi was ill, the king visited her regularly and when she died, the king lead Sadie Bibi's funeral prayers. It is understood that brother & sister, had made peace.

It is said that as a protest to the incident of violence amongst Saidu Bibi's brothers and to the violence at large in society, Saidu Bibi would not cast her eyes on any "male" infant to adult alike as she argued, the male species of the human race was violent & barbaric.

Saidu Bibi was intelligent and possibly educated. Women of the village from all walks of life would visit her for advise/guidance on many matters ranging from performing regular prayers to matters of state. Saidu Bibi's social work was far more advance for that period of time than in the western world and positively contributed to shaping the future generations of Bara Bandai.

Saidu Bibi is remembered with respect.

Education

The village has a middle & high school for boys and a middle school for girls. Moreover for religious education a number of maddrassas are working in almost every mosque. People in the village are keen for modern education and in recent years a number of students are studying in other cities of Pakistan as well as abroad.

Girls are not allowed to go to schools for study anymore because of the extremist taliban, who are uneducated themselves, knows nothing of the value of education for girls, so they force their stupid, barbaric, un-Islamic and un-Pakhtun laws on the people of Bara Bandai as well as the rest of Swat.

From Swat State's history, this has not/would have not happened in Swat State and is a shame to modern nuclear Pakistan. Further Swat State by becoming Swat district of Pakistan has lost so much and gained very little. But after the military operation in the area both the male and female students are going to there schools.

Law

Law in the village is enforced by law enforcement agencies of Pakistan specially the paramilitary and army after Taliban rise in the valley. In normal circumstances both the country laws and tribal laws are in use. A person may go to a court for a dispute or he may call a jirga. but most of the disputes are settled by jirga system in the village.

Rise of the Taliban

After the army attack on Lal Masjid in Islamabad, an armed movement in the village started as many people had sympathies for the students of Lal Masjid. The movement was started by a cleric Mulana Fazlullah of Mam Dehrai, next village to Bara Bandai. Slowly this movement grew into a local Taliban militancy in 2007. And so the Pakistan army was sent to establish the government's writ in the valley. The first battle between the army and the Taliban was fought in Bara Bandai village. The battle ground was a mountain named Usmani Sar of the village. The army was able to take the mountain after overcoming a huge resistance. After that, the army targeted Taliban homes and other places in the village by cannon fire which was heavy/indiscriminate and hence intense damage (to life & property) was done to the village which is still going on in Jan 2009. More than half of the fatalities of the war have been inflicted in the Swat District of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP or Pakhtunkhwa). In fact, more than 624 people have died in the Swat District in 2007 in at least 134 incidents. Most of the victims of violence in Swat during November 2007, the most lethal month, have been due to the indiscriminate strafing of villages by the Pakistan Army’s helicopter gunships. (Significantly, the actual fatalities may be considerably higher, as information flows and reportage in the region are severely restricted). In Bara Bandai village , Taliban announced to target the Khans and Malaks during their control of valley. Most of the homes of Khans and their properties were destroyed and were looted brutally by the talibans, And khans of Audhal khel were forced to flee the area to save their family lives, but after they left their remaining homes and properties were also burned to ground or bombed by local talibans. The Khans have suffered from heavy loses during the taliban control of the valley. While Malaks have suffered from relatively less loses. When the taliban announced their hitlist in 2008 there were both Audhal Khel khans and Nasir khel malaks on the list, but the Audhal khel suffered more after they fled their homes, while Malaks of Nasir khel didn't left and hence secured their properties till the end of taliban control of swat valley, although they had to face some minor loses to their properties during the army shellings or army-taliban fights, But they managed to survive in a complete hostile envoirment and life threats from talibans, and hence Malaks were able to survive and protect their belongings in the worst situation. Although the army has gained control of most of the valley, still the army is facing tough resistance from the Taliban. Most of the death & destruction caused, is to the common civilians (mostly the elderly, the disable, women & children) by both sides and because of the long lasting inhumane curfews by the army, the ordinary people suffer and many businesses are shut down.

Taliban Assasinations

Wahid Shah Khan - Audhal Khel,

Fayaz Khan - Nasir Khel,

Ghulam Rasul - Uncle of Fayaz Khan, Nasir Khel,

Gul Bacha - Audhal Khel,

Hamayoon Khan - Audhal Khel has been kidnaped long time ago and no body knows that wether he is alive or dead.