Sections of the Domel wazir tribes, had and have, their ways of living. Khans of Sperkai Wazirs Sohan Khan was the Wazir who was powerful and useful to Major Edwardes on his first and second visits to Bannu. He is said to have been a man of gigantic size and strength. For his hearty services in early days with Lt Edwardes, he was rewarded with a chair and a pension of Rs. 600 per annum. On his death in 1854, his son Najib Khan succeeded him, and received a grant of land in Nar. Najib died in 1866, leaving a young son, Jalandar Shah. Mani Khan, a younger brother of Najib, acted as head of the family and clan, and in 1872 his fathers pension was revived in his favour. Jalandar Shah was a fine man and asserted himself as rightful head of the family. He and Mani Khan were recorded as headmen of their clan with equal shares, and each received a lungi inam of Rs. 50. Mani Khans influence was much inferior to that of his father; till owing to the blunt shrewdness of his character, he had more influence than any other Waziri chief. Of late years in his life his hill campaigns against the Mehsuds had not been successful, and they wrested much land from him. The grandsons of Swahn Khan had been enjoying monetary and moral support from the British and from the Government of Pakistan as the chiefs of Ahmedzai Wazirs. They proved to be extreme peace-minded persons and much influential in the area although some of the Sperkai families had self-made feudal tussle with them for want of their equal or parallel identification in the local political sphere. From the other families of importance, came the brothers and sons of Late Sher Ghulam Khan (Police Inspector). Khans of Hathi Khel Wazirs Azim Khan Hathi Khel had the wisdom to obtain a sanad from Major Taylor in 1850 for land on the Waziri thal, and to occupy himself in bringing waste under cultivation, whilst half his tribe remained contented with their position as graziers. On his death in 1868, his son Nezam Khan continued in his fathers footsteps, and the consequence was that he was then a most prosperous man and a big landowner; his holding being 3,568 acres, of which 3,192 acres were cultivated. He was given a chair in DC Office Bannu in 1876, and received a lungi inam of Rs. 125. He was Mani Khans rival, and to some extent an enemy. To him and his father belonged the credit of heading the tribal movement which converted the Hathi Khels from a collection of half-savage shepherd highlanders to well conducted plain-settled agriculturists. Notwithstanding the standards of a front-line family of the past, the names of some families would need to be mentioned as ‘progressing families’ or politically risen families, having due respect in their clan. In this regard, Alamgir Khan Wazir and Sher Azam Khan Wazir exercised reasonable influence in the area with their clean record of families’ background, and attained dignity in the clan by virtues of hard work. In the line of progress and prosperity, the Late Dost Mohammad cannot be ignored who himself and his sons attained distinct positions in bureaucracy and progressed reasonably well ahead. One other fine character of the clan namely Engineer Farid Khan Wazir belonging from a tiny area in Domel; a symbol of the clan with humanitarian values; a God-fearing person, who spent life of simplicity in the weary tides of time and hard living of the past; and thus became a highly educated person from USA in the field of engineering. He subsequently emerged as a purely self-made person, who in the events of struggle for attainment of a dignified prospect; raised his family members, brothers and their sons in a less course of time, by virtues of noble ways of achievements. Other families in the line of progress are numerous who are availing prosperity through their lust for education, agricultural up-rise in their domains, achieved provincial and federal government and semi government services as loyal servants to their employers, trade and business, services in the armed forces, airlines, banks, judiciary, bureaucracy, and almost all other provincial and federal public department; whereas some individuals are working abroad as labour or technical experts. The clan is over-populated with its numerous sub-sub clans spanned out in the vast area that was possessed by them from Bannuchis, from time to time during the Durranis and Sikhs eras. They are vices of hard-work symbolism who were given due care by the British, to remain loyal to them and simultaneously shoot up their agricultural pursuits, through the weary tides of time. Although the clan remained soothed till 1930, they did resist the British Administration during Spin Thangi Operation when their values were challenged as an uprising clan in expressing their loyalty to the general cause of the Paktuns in their sole acceptance of political status at the then national level; Hathi Khels, among other clans of the Wazirs, was a then unified clan with self-patience, eager to achieve progress without blood spoil, and without any further greed of wealth or usual humanly driven exploitation. The inequalities of their level to the Espekais who possessed lesser land, made a social rivalry between them that has now ceased with the course of time.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 08:50:13 +0000
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