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Introduction Violent and non-violent concepts/policies are very old but the true manifestation of these two policies can be seen in the 20th century. While on the one hand the champions of violence led the world to two World Wars resulting in the deaths of millions of people, on the other hand it also saw the champions of non-violent policy in action in the persons of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, also known as Ba'acha Khan and Badshah Khan. Though the first three are well-known personalities to the world of non-violent policies, the last one is least known outside his own region and the Indian sub-continent. The fact is that Ba'acha Khan role was rather more difficult than the other three, because the area and the people where he worked were considered to be least favorable for such kind of movement.
But in spite of the difficulties he launched a true non-violent movement among these violent people of the Frontier and changed their outlook towards politics, life and death.
While preaching non-violence Ba'acha Khan blended together the teachings of Islam with the traditions of Pakhtunwali because he knew it very well that Pakhtuns love their traditions and religion equally. This was the reason that while preaching non-violence Ba'acha Khan would always quote the Holy Prophet to strengthen his argument. Ba'acha Khan's blending religion with Pakhtunwali paid off quite well and was able to unite large number of Pakhtuns under his non-violent movement, known as Khudai Khidmatgar.
But this is very unfortunate that this true proponent of non-violence has received little recognition in the world rather he is misunderstood by many even in his homeland. Many call him as the true follower of Mahatma Gandhi, which is actually belittling this great man and his services, who developed his policy of non-violence independently and much earlier than he met Gandhi. Ba'acha Khan and Gandhi worked together but both have their own status at their own place. The fact of the matter is that Ba'acha Khan suffered more than Gandhi for his non-violent policy. He suffered socially, economically and bodily more than any other leader while propagating and practicing non-violence.
The Savage Frontier: The North-Western Parts of Pakistan, which are now known...