History records that the Pathans arrived in India in batches, as armies of various rulers. The earliest settlement dates back to the time when Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Gujarat in 1024 AD. They were also part of Muhammad Bin Tughlak’s army in the 14th century. Then another batch arrived during the rule of Mahmud Begada. After the end of the Mughal era, the Pathans rose to become rulers of the princely states of Gujarat like Junagadh and Palanpur. Gujarat has an assortment of Pathans. There are the Babai, or Babi Pashtun tribe, and the Jalori Pathans. Yesteryears actress Parveen Babi is a descendent of the Junagadh Pashtun rulers. The Babi dynasty also ruled Balasinor (Vadasinor) in Kheda district. In the later years, towards the 19th century, more Pashtuns arrived from Afghanistan and settled in Ahmedabad, Surat, Khambat and even Mumbai. Most of the Pathans of Gujarat were rulers of the princely states of Gujarat like Palanpur, Junagadh, Balasinor and Radhanpur.
Most of the Pathans who migrated to northern India hailed from Batkhela, in the Malakand district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. It was a breathtakingly beautiful place. Legend has it that Batkhela has existed since the time of King Ashoka. The chieftain who ruled the region was called Butt, and the township was named after him as Battkheda. The place is in the Swat region and is now pronounced as ‘Baathkhela’. Abdur Raheem Bacha, also known as Raheem Khan in those days, moved to Bhopal in India at the turn of the century, like many of his ancestors, in search of a better life.
Bhopal was one of the cities that the Pathans had a great affinity for. The city was established in 1724 by the Afghan Sardar Dost Mohammed Khan, who was a commander in the Mughal army. When the Mughal empire was on the wane, the commander usurped Mangalgarh and Bherasia, the latter is now a tehsil of Bhopal. His story illustrates how the legend of Pathan honour took root over centuries. When Khan’s nephew assassinated the Gond queen Kamalapati’s husband, he executed his own nephew and returned the queen’s kingdom back to her. The queen was very impressed and gave him a huge sum of money and a village. It is another story that after the death of the last Gond queen, Khan seized the kingdom and established a capital called Islampur, 10 km from modern-day Bhopal. His successors, who by then were independent of the Mughal rulers, took on the title of ‘Nawab’ and declared Bhopal an independent state. The Hindu Marathas seized control of the neighbouring states but Bhopal remained elusive under the Pashtun nawabs and begums because they had stood with the British in all the three Anglo-Maratha wars and also the 1857 mutiny. They were loyal to the British always and were the last to sign the Instrument of Accession to India on 1 May 1949, handing over the state of Bhopal to India.
Nawab Hamidullah Khan of the Harda and Bhopal provinces was the heir to the throne of Bhopal and Harda. (The nawab is the maternal grandfather of cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (actor Saif Ali Khan’s father). Raheem Khan went to see Nawab Hamidullah Khan, who instantly took a liking to him and made him his personal bodyguard. They shared a great bond which grew over the years. After Nawab Hamidullah Khan officially succeeded his mother, Sultan Kaikhusrau Jehan Begum, in 1926, Raheem became the chief commander of the nawab’s forces. Raheem was solely devoted to the nawab. He did not have a large family like other Pathans. Raheem’s wife, Mehrunissa, and two children, Yusuf and Shahnaz, comprised his little world. Since he did not have the time to take care of his family, his childless brother-in-law Shaikh Afzal took the children under his wing.
This was a turning point in young Yusuf Khan’s life, which also set the course for the future generations. Shaikh Afzal, Yusuf’s maternal uncle, was an aspiring wrestler and so began training the boy in wrestling. Those were the days when the legend of Mian Ghulam Muhammad Pehelwan, better known as ‘Gama Pehelwan’, had taken the country by storm. Hailed as the Indian Hercules, his unbeatable strength and courage in the ring were renowned around the whole country. During his visit to England in the 1930s, Gama had knocked down thirty Japanese wrestlers in an hour and humiliated the Polish phenomenon Stanislaus Zbyszko, who escaped from the fight after he saw Gama’s tenacity and strength. It is said that even Bruce Lee was inspired by Gama.
It turned out that the legend of Gama had inspired millions of youths in the country. Every Muslim youth wanted to become Gama in those days. Yusuf Khan’s ancestral profession was farming but he was fired up with aspirations of becoming another Gama in the wrestling arena. In turn, Shaikh Afzal, Yusuf’s adoptive father, wanted to fulfil his own dreams of becoming another Gama, through Yusuf. However, Yusuf could not fulfil his lifelong aspirations and passed on the dream to his progeny.
Yusuf had five sons: Shetaab, Yaqoob, Khalil, Khalid and Habib. Yusuf got all of them into the wrestling ring. Yusuf’s passion for wrestling was such that he could forgive his sons’ neglect of their studies but he could never overlook their laxity in the gymnasium. All five brothers had strict daily routines and diets chalked out by their father. Their day began at the crack of dawn with 100 dand baithaks, the Indian version of the American squat. The American squat involved placing a heavy barbell on the shoulder and doing several sets until failure for muscle hypertrophy. However, the Indian squats were closer to the Bulgarian regime, or what is now known to the contemporary world as German Volume Training (or GVT), which is several sets of tens till failure.
After this the boys would follow with over 100 push-ups or dips, which is known as ‘surya namaskar’ among Indian wrestlers. This regimen primed all the muscles in both the lower and upper body. All the five boys would unfailingly, unflinchingly and unswervingly devote themselves to developing their bodies. The idea was to get broader and have more muscles.
The 56-inch-chest refrain that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is heard throwing at his detractors is actually a reference to Gama Pehelwan, who really did enjoy those dimensions, a dream of all wrestlers. All the sons of Yusuf Khan were dedicated to acquiring an awe-inspiring physique.
Not every gym rat can become an athlete. Overtraining, bad recovery of muscles, poor nutrition and weak willpower leads to the eventual burnout of many a strong man. For instance, Gerard Butler, who played the king Leonidas in the movie 300, confessed, in one of his interviews, that he had remained sore and unwell for over a year after filming ceased. Only those who are naturally gifted and are staunchly persistent can endure and remain strong on the path. Others drop by the wayside. Similarly, one after another, the five brothers started slipping academically, which was followed by their exit from the wrestling arena as well. Shetaab, Khalil, Yaqoob and Habib were forced to cease their formal education because of inadequate attendance at school or low marks.
Everyone except Khalid Khan Pacha.
The boy remained steadfast in both métiers—academics as well as wrestling.
Khalid was also regular in the National Cadet Corps (or NCC) training at his school in Harda. The boy was fascinated with the uniform. Khalid believed that this training would be his springboard to the police force. While his father stressed on wrestling and his mother emphasized on studies, Khalid secretly nursed the desire to become a police officer.
But the hands of destiny are committed to navigate a man’s life, often crushing his aspirations in a totally unexpected manner. Khalid did not have to wait too long for this; he experienced it in his teenage years.
7
The Challenger
The bucket of milk, filled to the brim and placed outside the makeshift wrestling ring, drew curious glances from all quarters.
The historical Benazir Ground, or Benazir Maidan, in Bhopal was packed to capacity with wrestling aficionados. Ram Dayal Pehelwan, who was known as the ‘chattaan of Bhopal’, the unshakeable mountain, was the defender. Dayal was considered so invincible that no wrestler in his right mind ever wanted to be in the same ring as him.
In the 1960s, wrestling bouts were common in Bhopal and people gathered at Benazir Maidan to witness the spectacle of ultimate strength, tenacity and nerve in amateur wrestling competitions.
Benazir Maidan was more famous for being the venue for Mahatma Gandhi�
�s rousing speech during his maiden visit to Bhopal in 1929, which revitalized the freedom moment in Madhya Pradesh. Nawab Hamidullah Khan, who was the ruler of the Central Provinces in pre-Independence India had invited Gandhi. It was under the aegis of the nawab’s hospitality that thousands of Indians living in the Central Provinces visited Benazir Maidan to listen to Gandhi.
The legendary ground is now a dumping ground and lies in ruins and utter neglect. The Madhya Pradesh government never accorded it the respect that such a historical site and relic of the past deserved.
In 1968, thirty years after Gandhi’s visit, it was used more as a wrestling arena to crown the reigning champion. Dayal had been undefeated for several years, and that day too people came to see the defeat of another wrestler at Dayal’s hands. But they still came because they loved to watch the wrestling matches at Benazir Maidan, even if the fight was just a formality. They basked in Dayal’s glory as he browbeat his opponents into submission.
But that year the wrestling season at Benazir Maidan was abuzz with a lot of excitement. As the season began, a rank outsider, a new fighter, who had never participated in fights before, had suddenly thrown a challenge at Ram Dayal. This had piqued everybody’s interest because the upstart who had dared Dayal was a Muslim from Harda.
Madhya Pradesh has always had its share of communal flare-ups. Small incidents in the years after Independence had often escalated into full-fledged communal strife between the Hindus and Muslims.
That day, for the finals of the wrestling fest, the crowd, which generally didn’t exceed 200 people, had swelled to a whopping 2000, all in a span of two hours. If you were observant, you could smell the animus among the audience.
And if the bucket of milk placed by the ring was not strange enough, five more buckets appeared. It is a Pashtun tradition to encourage brave young men, after every feat of prowess, with huge quantities of milk or almond sherbet. This is to inspire them physically and psychologically. When a Pathan brought the first bucket of milk to the ground to cheer up the Pathan challenger, other Pathans pitched in with more buckets of milk to show solidarity with the young wrestler. The Pathan community of Bhopal were obviously very proud that it was one of their own who had decided to take on Ram Dayal. Bhopal’s famous Pathans like Raees Lala and Inayat Lala carted huge tins of dried dates to the arena, towards the front row of the ring. During weddings and Eid celebrations, in their elation, Pathans would shower dry fruits or dates on the gathering. It is an Arab custom adopted by other Muslims too.
Khalid Khan Pacha, the fourth son of Yusuf Khan Pacha, was a studious and obedient boy. His father wanted him to pursue academics as well as bodybuilding. Khalid didn’t disappoint his father. He was very regular with his exercise regimen. Yusuf Khan wanted all his sons to excel in wrestling and had even created a wrestling pit in his backyard. The idea was to ensure that his sons desisted from joining any other wrestler’s arena, which would have been beneath his dignity. He also felt that his sons should not resort to the common, lazy excuse of ‘I have no place to hone my skills.’ Yusuf Khan loved all his sons but especially appreciated Khalid’s tenaciousness.
Khalid Khan Pacha finished his matriculation from Harda High School and joined Saifia College in Bhopal for further studies. He was always clued-in about any wrestling news. When he learnt of the might of Ram Dayal Pehelwan, he secretly nursed a desire to vanquish him. He kept studying Ram Dayal’s moves and strong points. When Khalid confided in his father that he wanted to defeat Ram Dayal, Khan senior was ecstatic. He made himself his son’s coach and immediately began training him, introducing him to several special wrestling techniques in the process.
Khalid decided to take on Dayal while he was still in college. When he threw his hat in the ring, it was like the classic Hollywood moment when Rocky Balboa had sought to compete against the established champion Apollo Creed in the cult movie Rocky. Incidentally, Rocky was made eight years after the Khalid Khan Pacha story.
An eighteen-year-old college student challenging the reigning champion was absolutely unheard of. As the boy was a Muslim, it became a Hindu–Muslim bout. But Khalid Khan’s Hindu classmates from Saifia College were also rooting for him. They liked him and felt he was the underdog.
The build-up to the contest was nail-biting. And as the tension was rising, so were communal tempers in almost every nook and corner of the city.
The organizers, however, were unfair; they created enough hurdles and complications in the league matches to ensure that Khalid would be eliminated in the initial rounds itself. Remember the wicked ways of the British referees in the film Ip Man, when they fabricated rules for Ip Man so he would lose the match to a conceited and arrogant British boxer? In Khalid’s case, the idea was to test his skills and stamina and to really check if he was a worthy opponent for Dayal. If he was eliminated, the Hindu-majority sponsors would be more than happy to get rid of him.
But it was destined that in 1968 Khalid Khan would make his mark in life. He managed to overturn all his opponents in the league matches and stepped into the ring for the final bout against Ram Dayal Pehelwan.
Ram Dayal was known to crush his rivals within the first few seconds of grappling. But Khalid had been training for this day, this hour and this moment.
As soon as Khalid stepped into the ring, the whole makeshift stadium broke into earnest applause. Now here was a genuine contender, not some unserious upstart. Eyewitnesses recall that Ram Dayal had grudging admiration for the youth and didn’t feel threatened by him. Perhaps Khalid was banking on Dayal’s overconfidence, making it the first weapon in his arsenal.
After a customary handshake, both the wrestlers became immediately entangled in a battle of strength and stamina. For the first couple of minutes both kept employing the time-tested tactics and techniques of seasoned wrestlers. Experienced eyes noticed a marked difference between the approach and attitude of the two wrestlers. Dayal’s moves were that of an overconfident man, as if the bout was a cakewalk, while Khalid still seemed to be playing it safe despite his dream run earlier. But Khalid was waiting for that one opportune moment to make his planned move. They both disentangled themselves and stood up on their feet to use their core strength.
It had been over two minutes and the audience was watching with bated breath. The match was not only going to decide the new champion but also which community would exult and parade the win over the other until the following year.
The world-famous ‘Sparta’ technique—of digging one’s heels in the ground and pushing the adversary backwards with the brutal strength generated from the hips upwards, rising to the core, building up in the triceps as also the latissimus dorsi muscle and exploding through the shoulders—has been mastered by real wrestlers, taking them to glory. The secret of using this masculine strength can be understood by only a few men who have cracked the holy grail of bodybuilding.
Suddenly Khalid had a mischievous smile on his face. He moved with a particular swagger, extended his left arm behind the nape of Dayal and patted him on his trapezius muscle. Dayal, who by now was a bit irritated and was getting impatient with his rival’s clichéd moves so far, was slightly distracted by the apparently childish move of this impertinent boy. Dayal fell for the stratagem and turned to see. And Khalid seemed to have waited for this moment.
Khalid crossed his leg, looping it widely across Dayal’s thigh while giving him a gentle nudge. Dayal, who was yet to recover from his earlier distraction, was disoriented. This move was nowhere in the textbook of wrestlers. In a matter of nanoseconds, even before Dayal could gather his wits, Khalid lifted the mountain of Bhopal above his head. A hush fell in the stadium. It was an unbelievable spectacle. Dayal stretched his arms and legs mid-air to free himself from the iron grip of Khalid. But it was too late. Khalid had already flung him back on to the ground.
A hushed silence gripped the audience. The loudest sound that people remember hearing after that was the hard thud of Dayal landing on his back on the sand. That thud was the swe
etest music to so many ears at that moment. Losing no time, Khalid jumped back on top of Dayal, giving him no time to turnover. The full-body smash on the ground marked a resounding victory. A boy had scaled the pinnacle on that winter night of 1968.
A sudden massive pandemonium erupted after that. The crowd went into a frenzy. Squeals of joy and delight filled the air.
‘O lale qurbaan! Mashallah . . . Jiyo, pacha, jiyo! (O my diamond, I sacrifice myself for you! Wow, as Allah wished . . . Long live O king!)’
And with these loud whoops and celebratory shouting, the stadium witnessed a shower of dry fruits and dried dates on the audience. When the referee declared the verdict and announced Khalid as the winner, people saw that both the contestants were crying. In a magnanimous gesture, Dayal hugged Khalid. Surprisingly, there was no hostility between the two fighters. In the melee, some Pathans had entered the ring and forced a bucket in Khalid’s hand. Khalid could not understand what was happening but that he was being forced to gulp down gallons of milk. Khalid’s Hindu friends elbowed their way into the ring too and placed a huge garland around his neck. Khalid was mobbed like a hero. The event, which had generated so much animosity between the two communities all this while, was now a balm to frayed nerves.
Khalid’s life changed overnight, from an anonymous college student to a popular wrestler. He began representing his college and city everywhere. He travelled to Nagpur for a lightweight wrestling championship and won the trophy.
However, this continuous participation in wrestling matches and travelling had one major casualty. Khalid, who had by now completed his graduation with a degree in economics, was not able to secure employment. Bhopal was not Mumbai, and sportsmen hardly made money in the 1960s.
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