Jan Fishan Khan
Encyclopedia
Jan-Fishan Khan, born Sayyid
Muhammed Shah, was a 19th century Afghan
warlord
who participated in the First Anglo-Afghan War
and the subsequent Indian Rebellion of 1857
.
Jan-Fishan Khan was the son of an Afghan noble, Sayyid
Qutubuddin Khan, of Paghman
, the family's ancestral home in Afghanistan. His family has historically claimed descent from Ali ar-Ridha, the eighth Imam
.
, Sayyid Muhammed Shah, also known to the British as the "Laird of Pughman", supported Shah Shuja
and the British Army against other Afghan forces, apparently in order to honour a family allegiance to Shah Shuja. In 1840, he was awarded the title "Jan-Fishan Khan" by Shah Shuja for his support. According to writer James Moore
, the title means "The Zealot" (however this is a misunderstanding of the meaning of the Persian idiom which can mean "zealous" in the sense of ‘ready to sacrifice one's life’, as it is defined in Steingass). One of Jan-Fishan Khan's descendants Saira Shah
has correctly explained that this nom de guerre translates literally as "scatterer of souls". Shah recounts that the appellation has a double meaning: first, that of a warlord scattering the souls of his enemies, and second, one based on a Sufi
couplet describing the supplicant's devotion to God:
Having accompanied Sir Robert Sale’s force on its march from Kabul
to Jalalabad
, Jan-Fishan Khan was honourably mentioned in despatches for his assistance. In the Indian Rebellion of 1857
, Jan-Fishan Khan again helped the British to quell the mutiny. Lethbridge (1893) gives the following summary in The Golden Book of India, a genealogical and biographical source:
Exiled from Kabul
ever since the British retreat from Afghanistan, Jan-Fishan Khan eventually came to settle in Sardhana
, a town near Meerut in the North-Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
, and was given the hereditary title of nawab
in recognition of his services. He had lost several of his sons in the fighting.
. 1,000 a month was given to the family, which settled at Sardhana. As a reward for subsequent help to the British in the Indian mutiny, the title of Nawab Bahadur, and confiscated estates assessed at Rs. 10,000 per annum, were conferred on Jan Fishan Khan, with concessions as to the revenue assessed. The pension was also made permanent. During the lifetime of the first Nawab, and for some time after, the family added largely to the estate, but speculations in indigo
and personal extravagance caused losses. The estate was taken under the Court of Wards in 1895, and in 1901 the debts, amounting to 10 lakh
s (1 Lakh = 100,000 Roupees), were paid off by a loan from Government.
Tradition has it that the town of Sardhana (population 12,059 in 1891, growing to 12,467 in 1901 and 47,970 by 2001) was founded by a Raja Sarkat, whose family ruled there until their expulsion by the Muslims. Sardhana was once famous as the residence of the Catholic ruler Begum Samru.
's obituary, as well as being an Afghan warlord, Jan-Fishan Khan was also a Sufi
sage.
Statements attributed to Jan-Fishan Khan by Idries Shah in his books on Sufism include: "The candle is not there to illuminate itself", "You may follow one stream. Realize that it leads to the Ocean. Do not mistake the stream for the Ocean" and "The visible places of Sufi study are like lamps in the dark. The inner places are like the Sun in the sky. The lamp illuminates an area for a time. The sun abolishes the dark". Khan also features in several teaching stories
and some didactic passages in these books.
Jan-Fishan Khan has a number of notable descendants, including his great-grandson, the author and diplomat the Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah
who married the author and traveller Saira Elizabeth Luiza Shah; great-great-grandchildren: the authors and Sufi
teachers Idries Shah
and Omar Ali-Shah
and the storyteller Amina Shah
; and great-great-great-grandchildren: the author and film-maker Tahir Shah
; the author, reporter and documentary film-maker Saira Shah
, and Safia Nafisa Shah
, Tahir's twin sister, who edited the book Afghan Caravan. Omar Ali-Shah's son, Arif Ali-Shah
is a film-maker and has lead Sufi study groups.
Other famous descendants in India and Pakistan include the former Indian Deputy Chief of Army Staff Zameerud-din Shah
, acclaimed actors Naseeruddin Shah
and Syed Kamal
, as well as the Pakistani-born English cricketer Owais Shah
. The Canadian Realtor, Agha Sarwat Ali Shah is the son of the late Saadat Ali Shah and grandson of Sultan Mohammed Khan. He is married to Mobeen Zehra Shah and has two sons, Sifat Ali Shah and Samat Ali Shah. Along with several other descendants in the Greater Toronto Area, as a large portion of his family is dispersed across Canada, India, Pakistan, U.S.A, and Europe.
Sayyid
Sayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...
Muhammed Shah, was a 19th century Afghan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
warlord
Warlord
A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
who participated in the First Anglo-Afghan War
First Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst...
and the subsequent Indian Rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
.
Jan-Fishan Khan was the son of an Afghan noble, Sayyid
Sayyid
Sayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...
Qutubuddin Khan, of Paghman
Paghman
Paghman is a town in the hills near Kabul, Afghanistan. See also Paghman Gardens. It is center of the Paghman District which has a total population of 120,000 people, and another 20,000 returnees are expected , of which 70% are Pashtuns and 30% Tajiks.. Paghman District is situated in the western...
, the family's ancestral home in Afghanistan. His family has historically claimed descent from Ali ar-Ridha, the eighth Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
.
Life
In the First Anglo-Afghan WarFirst Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst...
, Sayyid Muhammed Shah, also known to the British as the "Laird of Pughman", supported Shah Shuja
Shuja Shah Durrani
Shuja Shah Durrani was ruler of the Durrani Empire from 1803 to 1809. He then ruled from 1839 until his death in 1842. Shuja Shah was of the Sadozai line of the Abdali group of Pashtuns...
and the British Army against other Afghan forces, apparently in order to honour a family allegiance to Shah Shuja. In 1840, he was awarded the title "Jan-Fishan Khan" by Shah Shuja for his support. According to writer James Moore
James Moore (Cornish author)
James Harry Manson Moore in Saltash, Cornwall, United Kingdom is a Cornish author.-Biography:A fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society and leading authority on G. I. Gurdjieff, Moore became active in practical and thematic Gurdjieff studies in 1956, after studying with Kenneth Walker and later with...
, the title means "The Zealot" (however this is a misunderstanding of the meaning of the Persian idiom which can mean "zealous" in the sense of ‘ready to sacrifice one's life’, as it is defined in Steingass). One of Jan-Fishan Khan's descendants Saira Shah
Saira Shah
Saira Shah is an author, reporter and documentary filmmaker. She produces, writes and narrates current affairs films.- Life and work :...
has correctly explained that this nom de guerre translates literally as "scatterer of souls". Shah recounts that the appellation has a double meaning: first, that of a warlord scattering the souls of his enemies, and second, one based on a Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
couplet describing the supplicant's devotion to God:
Having accompanied Sir Robert Sale’s force on its march from Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
to Jalalabad
Jalalabad
Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
, Jan-Fishan Khan was honourably mentioned in despatches for his assistance. In the Indian Rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
, Jan-Fishan Khan again helped the British to quell the mutiny. Lethbridge (1893) gives the following summary in The Golden Book of India, a genealogical and biographical source:
Exiled from Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
ever since the British retreat from Afghanistan, Jan-Fishan Khan eventually came to settle in Sardhana
Sardhana
Sardhana is a town and a municipal board in Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located northeast of New Delhi, and 13 mi from Meerut...
, a town near Meerut in the North-Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, and was given the hereditary title of nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
in recognition of his services. He had lost several of his sons in the fighting.
The Sardhana estate
According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908): On account of services rendered to Sir Alexander Burnes in his Kabul mission, and subsequently to the British in the retreat from Kabul, a pension of RsRupee
The rupee is the common name for the monetary unit of account in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, and formerly in Burma, and Afghanistan. Historically, the first currency called "rupee" was introduced in the 16th century...
. 1,000 a month was given to the family, which settled at Sardhana. As a reward for subsequent help to the British in the Indian mutiny, the title of Nawab Bahadur, and confiscated estates assessed at Rs. 10,000 per annum, were conferred on Jan Fishan Khan, with concessions as to the revenue assessed. The pension was also made permanent. During the lifetime of the first Nawab, and for some time after, the family added largely to the estate, but speculations in indigo
Indigo dye
Indigo dye is an organic compound with a distinctive blue color . Historically, indigo was a natural dye extracted from plants, and this process was important economically because blue dyes were once rare. Nearly all indigo dye produced today — several thousand tons each year — is synthetic...
and personal extravagance caused losses. The estate was taken under the Court of Wards in 1895, and in 1901 the debts, amounting to 10 lakh
Lakh
A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand . It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and is often used in Indian English.-Usage:...
s (1 Lakh = 100,000 Roupees), were paid off by a loan from Government.
Tradition has it that the town of Sardhana (population 12,059 in 1891, growing to 12,467 in 1901 and 47,970 by 2001) was founded by a Raja Sarkat, whose family ruled there until their expulsion by the Muslims. Sardhana was once famous as the residence of the Catholic ruler Begum Samru.
Sufi connection
According to his descendant Idries ShahIdries Shah
Idries Shah , also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi , was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen critically acclaimed books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.Born in India, the descendant of a...
's obituary, as well as being an Afghan warlord, Jan-Fishan Khan was also a Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
sage.
Statements attributed to Jan-Fishan Khan by Idries Shah in his books on Sufism include: "The candle is not there to illuminate itself", "You may follow one stream. Realize that it leads to the Ocean. Do not mistake the stream for the Ocean" and "The visible places of Sufi study are like lamps in the dark. The inner places are like the Sun in the sky. The lamp illuminates an area for a time. The sun abolishes the dark". Khan also features in several teaching stories
Teaching stories
Teaching stories is a term used by the writer Idries Shah to describe narratives that have been deliberately created as vehicles for the transmission of wisdom...
and some didactic passages in these books.
Descendants
After Jan-Fishan Khan's death in 1864, his three sons succeeded him as Nawab, the last being Saiyid Ahmad Shah, who succeeded in 1882.Jan-Fishan Khan has a number of notable descendants, including his great-grandson, the author and diplomat the Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah
Sirdar ikbal ali shah
Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah was an Indian-Afghan author and diplomat descended from the Sadaat of Paghman. Educated in India, he came to Britain as a young man to continue his education in Edinburgh, where he married a young Scotswoman....
who married the author and traveller Saira Elizabeth Luiza Shah; great-great-grandchildren: the authors and Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
teachers Idries Shah
Idries Shah
Idries Shah , also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi , was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen critically acclaimed books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.Born in India, the descendant of a...
and Omar Ali-Shah
Omar Ali-Shah
Omar Ali-Shah was a prominent exponent of modern Naqshbandi Sufism who lived from 1922 to 2005. He wrote a number of books on the subject, and was head of a large number of sufi groups, particularly in Latin America, Europe and Canada.- Life and work :...
and the storyteller Amina Shah
Amina Shah
Amina Shah is a prominent anthologiser of Sufi stories and folk tales, and was for many years the Chairperson of the College of Storytellers. She is the sister of the Sufi writers Idries Shah and Omar Ali-Shah, and the daughter of Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah and Saira Elizabeth Luiza Shah...
; and great-great-great-grandchildren: the author and film-maker Tahir Shah
Tahir Shah
Tahir Shah , né Sayyid Tahir al-Hashimi is an Anglo-Afghan Indian author, journalist and documentary maker. He lives in Casablanca, Morocco.-Family origins and life:...
; the author, reporter and documentary film-maker Saira Shah
Saira Shah
Saira Shah is an author, reporter and documentary filmmaker. She produces, writes and narrates current affairs films.- Life and work :...
, and Safia Nafisa Shah
Safia Shah
Safia Shah , now Safia Thomas is a British writer, editor and television news producer, following in the footsteps of her distinguished Anglo-Afghan Indian family....
, Tahir's twin sister, who edited the book Afghan Caravan. Omar Ali-Shah's son, Arif Ali-Shah
Arif Ali-Shah
Arif Ali-Shah is an award-winning British film writer and screenplay writer. Following in his distinguished family's footsteps, he is also a teacher in the Naqshbandi Sufi mystical tradition.- Life and work :...
is a film-maker and has lead Sufi study groups.
Other famous descendants in India and Pakistan include the former Indian Deputy Chief of Army Staff Zameerud-din Shah
Zameerud-din Shah
Lt. General Zameerud-din Shah was the Deputy Chief of Army Staff of India .-Military Career:General Shah attended the National Defence Academy , Khadakwasla, Pune. He was commissioned with the Indian 185 Light Infantry Regiment on June 9, 1968 .He took part in the Battle of Longewala in...
, acclaimed actors Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah is an Indian / Bollywood film actor and director. He is considered to be one of the finest actors of Indian cinema. In 2003, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions towards Indian cinema.-Early life:...
and Syed Kamal
Syed Kamal
Syed Kamal was a Pakistani film and TV actor.Kamal was a popular film star of in the 1960s and the 1970s. Kamal, whose film Tauba became a success, has a striking resemblance with the Indian filmstar Raj Kapoor, and he is not evasive about this issue...
, as well as the Pakistani-born English cricketer Owais Shah
Owais Shah
Owais Alam Shah is an English cricketer. A middle-order batsman, he played for Middlesex between 1996-2010, before joining Essex CCC in the winter of 2010. He has represented England in all forms of the games.Between 2001 and 2009, he played 71 ODIs and 17 Twenty20 Internationals...
. The Canadian Realtor, Agha Sarwat Ali Shah is the son of the late Saadat Ali Shah and grandson of Sultan Mohammed Khan. He is married to Mobeen Zehra Shah and has two sons, Sifat Ali Shah and Samat Ali Shah. Along with several other descendants in the Greater Toronto Area, as a large portion of his family is dispersed across Canada, India, Pakistan, U.S.A, and Europe.
Further reading
- Sale, Florentia Wynch (1844). A Journal of the Disasters in Affghanistan, 1841-2. London: John Murray.