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Biography

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	==Biography==		==Biography==
	Saidu Baba was born at Jabrai,Baghdheri [[Matta, Swat\|Matta]], Upper Swat valley in 1793 AD. He got his early education from Mian Brangola. Later, he went to Mardan, Nowshehra and Peshawar for completion of his education. In 1835, he returned to [[Swat Valley\|Swat]] and settled in Baligram (now Saidu Sharif).		Saidu Baba was born at Jabrai,Baghdheri [[Matta, Swat\|Matta]], Upper Swat valley in 1793 AD. He belonged to [[Khatana]] clan of [[Gujjars]]. He got his early education from Mian Brangola. Later, he went to Mardan, Nowshehra and Peshawar for completion of his education. In 1835, he returned to [[Swat Valley\|Swat]] and settled in Baligram (now Saidu Sharif).
	In 1836, when the [[East India Company]] tried to annex Swat valley, at that time Saidu Baba united the people against them and called for Jihad of Ambela, which discouraged the British expansion to the region.		In 1836, when the [[East India Company]] tried to annex Swat valley, at that time Saidu Baba united the people against them and called for Jihad of Ambela, which discouraged the British expansion to the region.

>Tubesleveret15 at 21:29, 19 May 2021

2021-05-19T21:29:21Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Akhund Abdul Ghaffur<br/>Saidu Baba
| image = File:Tomb of Akhund of Swat.JPG
| alt = Saidu Baba
| caption = Tomb of Saidu Baba
| birth_date = 1793
| birth_place = Jabrai, [[Matta, Swat|Matta]], Upper [[Swat District|Swat]]
| death_date = 1878
| death_place =
| resting_place = [[Saidu Sharif]]
| known_for = Ruling Swat area
| notable_works =
| home_town =
| title =
| children = Mashar Baba, Kashar Baba, Myajur Baba
| parents =
| spouse =
}}

'''Akhūnd Abdul Ghaffūr''' ({{lang-ps|اخوند عبدالغفور}}), commonly known as '''Saidū Bābā''' ({{lang-ps|سيدو بابا}}) or the '''Akhund of Swat''', was a prominent religious [[Saint]] or priest, and Emir of the former [[Swat (princely state)|Yusufzai State of Swat]].

Saidu Baba was an influential ''saint'' and his residence in Swat was the destination for numerous pilgrimages by his disciples to consult him. He was succeeded by a notable line of other ''mullahs'' and theologians. The [[Saidu Sharif]] city in [[Swat District]] is named after him.

==Biography==
Saidu Baba was born at Jabrai,Baghdheri [[Matta, Swat|Matta]], Upper Swat valley in 1793 AD. He got his early education from Mian Brangola. Later, he went to Mardan, Nowshehra and Peshawar for completion of his education. In 1835, he returned to [[Swat Valley|Swat]] and settled in Baligram (now Saidu Sharif).
In 1836, when the [[East India Company]] tried to annex Swat valley, at that time Saidu Baba united the people against them and called for Jihad of Ambela, which discouraged the British expansion to the region.

==Battles against Sikh and British forces==
In 1831, when the Muslim activist [[Syed Ahmad Barelvi]] was killed by the [[Sikhs]] along with hundreds of Barelvi's mujahideen in the battle of [[Balakot]], many of his mujahideen stayed in [[Buner District|Buner]] under the protection of Saidu Baba. They started a new uprising against the [[British Empire]] under Saidu Baba's leadership in 1862.<ref name=Haroon>{{cite book |last=Haroon |first=Sana |title=Frontier of Faith: Islam, in the Indo-Afghan Borderland |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f5uSeJCTvKoC&pg=PA42|year=2011|publisher=Hurst Publishers |isbn=978-1849041836 }}</ref>{{rp|42}}

In 1834, Saidu Baba cooperated with the [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Afghan]] Emir [[Dost Mohammad Barakzai]] in the battle against the [[Sikh Empire]] and brought a number of [[Ghazi (warrior)|Ghazis]] and [[Talibe|Talib al-'Ilm]] to the [[Battle of Peshawar (1834)|battle of Peshawar]]. In return, the Afghan Emir awarded Saidu Baba with lands in [[Swat District|Swat]], [[Lundkhwar]] and [[Mardan]] among the [[Yusufzai]] Afghans. Eventually, when Saidu Baba was about 43 years old, he permanently settled in [[Saidu Sharif]] and gradually turned it into a thriving city.

In 1863, Saidu Baba led the Yusufzai and other groups in a battle at the Ambela Pass against the British forces (see [[Ambela Campaign]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.khyber.org/people/a/AkhundSahibSwat.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313143728/http://khyber.org/people/a/akhundsahibswat.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 March 2016 |title=Akhund Sahib Swat |last1=Sabir |first1=Muhammad Shafee |year=2005 |publisher=Khyber.ORG}}</ref>

==Establishment of a united Yusufzai State of Swat==
Saidu Baba conferred a scheme for a united throne of Swat. In 1849, he nominated Sayyid Akbar Shah, a descendant of [[Pir Baba]], as the emir of the [[Swat (princely state)|Yusufzai State of Swat]]. After Akbar Shah's death in 1857, Saidu Baba assumed control of the state himself till his own death in 1878.<ref name=Haroon/>{{rp|40}}

==Religious rivalry==
Saidu Baba's greatest conflict was with Sayyid Maruf Bey Kotah Mullah, a supporter of the British-supported Emir [[Shah Shujah Durrani|Shah Shujah]] who had opposed the Barakzai Emir Dost Mohammad in the battle against the Sikhs. Saidu Baba referred to Kotah Mullah as a practitioner of heretical rituals, and managed to convince the Yusufzai of [[Buner District|Buner]] to push Kotah Mullah out of the village where he was being hosted.<ref name=Haroon/>{{rp|45}}

==See also==
*[[Pir Roshan]]
*[[Pir Baba]]
*[[Mirzali Khan]]
*[[Umra Khan]]
*[[Shah Mir]]
*[[Sartor Faqir]]

==Literary allusions==
*[[Edward Lear]]'s "[http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/ll/akond.html The Akond of Swat]"
*[[George T. Lanigan]] (1846–1886) wrote [http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/55825-George-T-Lanigan-The-Ahkoond-of-Swat "The Ahkoond of Swat"] on hearing of Saidu Baba's death in 1878.
*[[Ken Nordine]]'s rendition of the Lear piece in his 'Word Jazz' radio show.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* Anon, "The (British Raj) Indian Frontier", ''The Times'', Issue 29100, (15 November 1877); p. 4; col D.
* Our own Correspondent, "India", (Article contains the text: "The death of the Akhoond of Swat is announced"), ''The Times'', No.29157, (Monday 21 January 1878), p. 5; col A.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saidu Baba}}
[[Category:1794 births]]
[[Category:1877 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Swat District]]
[[Category:Pashtun Sufis]]

Saidu Baba - Revision history

203.135.47.98: /* Biography */

>Tubesleveret15 at 21:29, 19 May 2021