A stereotype about Pathans / Pashtuns

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We don’t have Pathans in our area, but there were rumors that Pathans who came to sell clothes kidnap the children :eek:

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Re: Puranay Ghar Kay Mosam

And your area is?

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Re: Puranay Ghar Kay Mosam

strangely, we had the same fear of those paThaans coming to barter dry fruits, crockery and utensils with Banaarsii Dopattas and Ghararas and saaRiis [made from KamKhowaab material which has some silver in them].

all the kids in the village would run to their homes to be safe…lol

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Re: Puranay Ghar Kay Mosam

rural Sindh. I don;t know what was the reason behind such rumors.

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Re: Puranay Ghar Kay Mosam

Are there any settlements of urduspeakers in rural sindh?

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Re: Puranay Ghar Kay Mosam

What could be reasons behind it?. Do parents in Sindh, U.P and elsewhere fear that pathans (pashtuns) would kidnap their kids for bacha bazi?. You said you belong to Aligarh, now this town was renamed from ramgarh to aligarh by Pashtuns/afghans in 18th century. From your U.P, pathans like poet josh malihabadi, zakir hussain (former president of india), Maulana jauhar ali and shaukat ali, Ahmad raza khan bareilwi etc emerged....are you telling me that people of U.P fear community of this calibr as potential pedophiles, child-kidnappers or some thing like that?....

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Re: Puranay Ghar Kay Mosam

The area my hometown situated in, didn't have sizable number of urduspeakers. so, it might not be spread by urdu speaking community. It might be fear of unknown people, who visited the are occasionally, like in areas there is a fear about nomads.

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Re: Puranay Ghar Kay Mosam


first of all, i did NOT say this 'fear' to be REAL or related to Pedophilia. it was just a myth and my parents never scared us. it was just a thing among kids. who started this? i dunno.

it may be because they did NOT belong to the local population, they came from some far away land and because they covered themselves with garbs/chaadars and the kids feared that they hide the kids under the cloaks/chaadar and take them away.

btw, i am NOT from AligaRh...i studied there at the Muslim University. i am from Lucknow/Allahabad.

Dr. Zakir Husain's daughter, Safia Apa, was married to a professor, Dr. Zilklur ReHman Khan, and was my neighbour. DR. Zillur ReHman Khan was later appointed as the Education Minister. most of the personalities you mentioned in your post studied at AligaRh and we respect them and hold them in high esteem.

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Re: Puranay Ghar Kay Mosam

I didnt take offense by @muqawwee 's post, i am curious what could be the reason for such image and reputation of pashtuns in sindh and punjab, its not a rumour , it is very strong rooted stereotype in those areas and the reasons for it should be scientifically investigated. But honestly i didnt digest @KKF 's stupid comment, this is not the first time. U.P's pathans are settled there since centuries and are perhaps the most intellectually and politically most vibrant community among muslims of u.p with very high literacy rate and here he is telling us that they came to his village from some "far far away land", eat naswar and talks in khocha manner....the entire cultural identity of U.P is by Afghans, mughals and persians, and here he talks as if pathans(pashtuns) are some alien folk in U.P

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Re: Puranay Ghar Kay Mosam

I think, that is just a rumor and stereotype.

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Re: Puranay Ghar Kay Mosam

@KKF perhaps in your eagerness to tell members here that you also know pathans/pashtuns, you fabricate such stories. I am not an uneducated and unaware person, so you have to convince me harder. Pathans/pashtuns or rohillas (as known such in U.P) are culturally, linguistically, and even look-wise in most of cases, are same as rest of U.P muslims. I know it from first hand experience as i have met some urdu speaking karachiites who had pathan/pashtun roots and also some pathans of U.P are added with me on facebook. Nothing so much distinguished about them, they just look , speak and behave like rest of U.P muslims like syeds, mughals, qureshis, ansaris etc.

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Re: Puranay Ghar Kay Mosam

@mahool its not just rumour, it is a strongely-rooted steotype. I have personal experience, i spent some years in islamabad of childhood and our punjabi neighbours were afraid/uncomfortable with us, their moms had instructed their kids not to play with us. I have also read some urdu stories for children in which the ones abducting kids in bori, are always depicted as pashtuns. Due to this i am curious, why keeping such dangerous people as chowkidaar of your house?. Is it the fear of unknown and strange people, or it has some definite history behind it?

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Re: Puranay Ghar Kay Mosam

you ask a question and when someone replies, you call his/her post stupid and at the same time you claim to be an educated and aware person…

…is this the sophistication your education and awareness has brought to you?

i would have responded to your attack on me if you were more civil in your reply. this is the last time i am addressing you.

thank you and good bye!

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Re: A stereotype about Pathans / Pashtuns

How random. In Lahore at least they're famous for selling clothes. I do think I haven't seen Pathans from any travelling community in a very long time so we don't stereotype them any more.

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Re: Puranay Ghar Kay Mosam

I never seen Pathan beggers in my life while seen many non-Pathan beggers… :hmmm:

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Re: Puranay Ghar Kay Mosam

“Muflisi” and displacement can destroy a community and reduce them to beggars. Afghans beggers in pakistan are pashtuns, reduced to such state due to war and displacement. Though Afghans send only their kids for begging, afghan women dont beg which is very distinguished aspect of their culture. That being said, majority of afghan refugees are not beggers but are working hard to earn e.g the corn sellers in pindi, lahore, karachi etc, all of them are afghans though they identify themeselves as paki-pashtuns to avoid un-necessary descrimination. IDPs, many of them did not want to leave waziristan and live in tents, due to such fears. Due to large family system and clan system, a pashtun can survive in poor economic conditions and wont resort to begging. A widow is discouraged to marry second marraige by deceased husband family, but she is financially supported by family/clan. So widows are not miserable in pashtun society and wont resort to begging, prostitution etc. In displacement, this entire settled life is destroyed and families may resort to begging as well as to crimes like stealing, thievery etc.

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Re: A stereotype about Pathans / Pashtuns

Pakistaani qaum afwaahon pe ziyada kaan dharti hai
aur phehlaane mein bhi sab se aage hai

Hum jo hai na
Hum bachpan mein pathano ki shakal ki taraf dekhta tha
aur sochta tha k yeh kis nazariye se gunde lagte hain

ab sochta hoon k kis nazariye se dehshatgard lagte hain

nateeja yehi mila k Pakistani toham-parasti ka shikaar hain
aur un ki yeh beemaari afwaahon se ziyada barhti hai cancer cells k muwafiq

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Re: A stereotype about Pathans / Pashtuns

Well I have heard about this stereotype in Lahore too. We used to hear that the poor Pashtuns will take kids to kharkaar camps and make them into beggars. This I am talking off around 15-20 years back, thankfully after the spread of literacy and mixing of different people these stereotypes are also dying.

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Re: A stereotype about Pathans / Pashtuns

In India, because of multiple religions, people are grouped according to religion. I was of belief that all bearded muslims have four wives.s