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46-547: Batkhela ( Pashto : بټ خېله , Urdu : بٹ خیلہ ) is a city, tehsil and the district headquarter of the Malakand District within the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan . According to the 2017 Census of Pakistan , the population of Batkhela was recorded at 68,200. Batkhela is considered as one of the most popular business cities in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. A water canal that pours into

92-453: A royal decree of Zahir Shah formally granted Pashto the status of an official language, with full rights to use in all aspects of government and education – despite the fact that the ethnically Pashtun royal family and bureaucrats mostly spoke Persian. Thus Pashto became a national language , a symbol for Pashtun nationalism . The constitutional assembly reaffirmed the status of Pashto as an official language in 1964 when Afghan Persian

138-522: A device). Post-7th century borrowings came primarily from Persian and Hindi-Urdu , with Arabic words being borrowed through Persian, but sometimes directly. Modern speech borrows words from English, French , and German . However, a remarkably large number of words are unique to Pashto. Here is an exemplary list of Pure Pashto and borrowings: naṛә́i jahān dunyā tod/táwda garm aṛtyā́ ḍarurah híla umid də...pə aṛá bāra bolә́la qasidah Swabi According to

184-470: A monthly Adrash which has been the first-ever declared newspaper from the area. It was made a weekly sometime later and then a daily newspaper, but was delisted by the KP Govt. Pashto language Pashto ( / ˈ p ʌ ʃ t oʊ / PUH -shto , / ˈ p æ ʃ t oʊ / PASH -toe ; پښتو , Pəx̌tó , [pəʂˈto, pʊxˈto, pəʃˈto, pəçˈto] ) is an Eastern Iranian language in

230-665: A promoter of the wealth and antiquity of Afghanistan's Pashto culture." From the 16th century, Pashto poetry become very popular among the Pashtuns. Some of those who wrote in Pashto are Bayazid Pir Roshan (a major inventor of the Pashto alphabet ), Khushal Khan Khattak , Rahman Baba , Nazo Tokhi , and Ahmad Shah Durrani , founder of the modern state of Afghanistan or the Durrani Empire . The Pashtun literary tradition grew in

276-503: A small dam in the Jabban area near Batkhela is the main source of electricity production here. Batkhela General Civil Headquarters Hospital is the main hospital of the district Malakand. Batkhela's main bazaar is more than 1.5 Kilometres long. During the Ashoka and Kanishka Empires, Batkhela was ruled by a leader named Butt. The name "Batkhela" is, hence, associated with his name. At

322-522: A variety very similar to it, while others have attempted to place it closer to Bactrian . However, neither position is universally agreed upon. What scholars do agree on is the fact that Pashto is an Eastern Iranian language sharing characteristics with Eastern Middle Iranian languages such as Bactrian, Khwarezmian and Sogdian . Compare with other Eastern Iranian Languages and Old Avestan : Zə tā winə́m /ɐz dɐ wənən/ Az bū tū dzunim Strabo , who lived between 64 BC and 24 CE, explains that

368-680: Is also spoken in parts of Mianwali and Attock districts of the Punjab province , areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and in Islamabad . Pashto speakers are found in other major cities of Pakistan, most notably Karachi , Sindh, which may have the largest Pashtun population of any city in the world. Other communities of Pashto speakers are found in India , Tajikistan , and northeastern Iran (primarily in South Khorasan Province to

414-415: Is divided into three union councils: upper , middle , and lower Batkhela. According to the 6th Population & Housing Census 2017, the population of Batkhela was declared as 68,200. Data on religious beliefs across the town in the 2017 census shows that 100% of its population has declared themselves to be Muslim. The population of city in 1998 was 43,179 but according to the 2023 Census of Pakistan ,

460-454: Is primarily spoken in the east, south, and southwest, but also in some northern and western parts of the country. The exact number of speakers is unavailable, but different estimates show that Pashto is the mother tongue of 45–60% of the total population of Afghanistan . In Pakistan , Pashto is spoken by 15% of its population, mainly in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern districts of Balochistan province. It

506-564: Is taught poorly in schools in Pakistan. Moreover, in government schools material is not provided for in the Pashto dialect of that locality, Pashto being a dialectically rich language. Further, researchers have observed that Pashtun students are unable to fully comprehend educational material in Urdu. Professor Tariq Rahman states: "The government of Pakistan, faced with irredentist claims from Afghanistan on its territory, also discouraged

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552-518: Is the second-largest provincial language of Pakistan , spoken mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the northern districts of Balochistan . Likewise, it is the primary language of the Pashtun diaspora around the world. The total number of Pashto-speakers is at least 40 million, although some estimates place it as high as 60 million. Pashto is "one of the primary markers of ethnic identity" amongst Pashtuns. A national language of Afghanistan , Pashto

598-535: The 2023 Census of Pakistan , the city of Swabi had 1,894,600 inhabitants, making it the eighth-largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa . These inhabitants were distributed across 16,212 households, for an average household size of 7.61 in Swabi. Swabi experienced quick growth throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, with its population nearly quintupling over a mere 40 years. However, this growth trajectory has gradually decelerated over time. Between 1998 and 2017,

644-490: The British Empire invaded this region including Batkhela. Malak Mir Azam Khan of Ibrahim Khel was leading the army of Batkhela. A new political agency for Dir, Swat and Chitral was established. The first officer to be placed in charge of the new Malakand Agency was Major Harold Arthur Deane (1854–1908). Later on 9 November 1901, Lieutenant Colonel Sir Harold Arthur Deane also became the first Chief Commissioner on

690-621: The Indo-European language family , natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan . It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa . It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ( افغانی , Afghāni ). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns , it is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan alongside Dari , and it

736-519: The Pashtun tribes spoke Pashto as their native tongue . King Amanullah Khan began promoting Pashto during his reign (1926–1929) as a marker of ethnic identity and as a symbol of "official nationalism" leading Afghanistan to independence after the defeat of the British Empire in the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. In the 1930s, a movement began to take hold to promote Pashto as a language of government, administration, and art with

782-825: The 8th century, and they use the writings found in Pata Khazana . Pə́ṭa Xazāná ( پټه خزانه ) is a Pashto manuscript claimed to be written by Mohammad Hotak under the patronage of the Pashtun emperor Hussain Hotak in Kandahar ; containing an anthology of Pashto poets. However, its authenticity is disputed by scholars such as David Neil MacKenzie and Lucia Serena Loi. Nile Green comments in this regard: "In 1944, Habibi claimed to have discovered an eighteenth-century manuscript anthology containing much older biographies and verses of Pashto poets that stretched back as far as

828-582: The Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education (BISE) Malakand. The District Press Club Malakand at Batkhela has been functional since 1988 in a rented building while reporters attached with the national, regional and local print and electronic media organizations have been performing their duties with devotion and sincerity. The former minister for information had approved funds for a well-equipped press club building at Batkhela during their term. The remaining funds were approved later on. The construction work on

874-529: The Pashto Movement and eventually allowed its use in peripheral domains only after the Pakhtun elite had been co-opted by the ruling elite...Thus, even though there is still an active desire among some Pakhtun activists to use Pashto in the domains of power, it is more of a symbol of Pakhtun identity than one of nationalism." Robert Nicols states: "In the end, national language policy, especially in

920-680: The Society's annual meeting in 1927. In 1955, Pashtun intellectuals including Abdul Qadir formed the Pashto Academy Peshawar on the model of Pashto Tolana formed in Afghanistan. In 1974, the Department of Pashto was established in the University of Balochistan for the promotion of Pashto. In Pakistan, Pashto is the first language around of 15% of its population (per the 1998 census). However, Urdu and English are

966-959: The Swatis. On capturing Malakand Agency, the British Army decided to secure this area permanently from these outside aggressions. The British rulers declared this area as a 'Malakand Protected Area' (same as present). For that purpose, they prepared a police force called the Malakand Levies . Between 1895 and 1912, the British made a huge impact on developmental works and infrastructure. They built roads from Batkhela to Chakdara , raised Chakdara and Malakand forts, set up Levies posts all over Malakand Agency, dug Upper Swat Canal and The Benton Tunnel (locally known as Tandail), constructed headwork's scheme at Batkhela, Churchill Paquet and Jabban Hydropower Station ( Jabban Hydropower Plant ). Beside those,

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1012-511: The backdrop to weakening Pashtun power following Mughal rule: Khushal Khan Khattak used Pashto poetry to rally for Pashtun unity and Pir Bayazid as an expedient means to spread his message to the Pashtun masses. For instance Khushal Khattak laments in : "The Afghans (Pashtuns) are far superior to the Mughals at the sword, Were but the Afghans, in intellect, a little discreet. If

1058-600: The building has been completed now. Soon, it will be inaugurated making the work of local journalists easier. The first-ever "monthly," the Hidayat Nama, was started by the late Muhammad Islam Ajmali who has been regarded as founder of journalism in the area. Later on, Mr. Amjad Ali Khan started his monthly Tasht from Batkhela that was closed after a few years. The Monthly 'Nazar' of Gohar Ali Gohar also closed after two years of circulation. Rab Nawaz Saghir started his 'Akas' that closed, too. Mr. Ihsan ur Rehman Sagar started

1104-489: The city's population exhibited an increase of only 2.29% annually. The residents historically are of the Yusufzai tribe of Pashtuns which are predominant in the area. Swabi has a warm and temperate climate. With hot and humid summers and mild winters, Swabi features a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cwa ). The average temperature in Swabi is 22.2 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 639 mm. November

1150-524: The culture and customs of them but also exerted a strong influence to convert them to Islam . Early in the 17th century, an Afghan tribe called Yusufzai (Yusufzai Pathan ) invaded the Swat region under the leadership of Malik Ahmad Khan. During this period, Batkhela was part of the Swat Valley . At that time, Swat was ruled by a ruler named Raees. Swati tribe was a permanent inhabitant there. After

1196-410: The different tribes would but support each other, Kings would have to bow down in prostration before them" Pashto is a subject–object–verb (SOV) language with split ergativity . In Pashto, this means that the verb agrees with the subject in transitive and intransitive sentences in non-past, non-completed clauses, but when a completed action is reported in any of the past tenses, the verb agrees with

1242-701: The east of Qaen , near the Afghan border). In India most ethnic Pashtun (Pathan) peoples speak the geographically native Hindi-Urdu language rather than Pashto, but there are small numbers of Pashto speakers, such as the Sheen Khalai in Rajasthan , and the Pathan community in the city of Kolkata , often nicknamed the Kabuliwala ("people of Kabul "). Pashtun diaspora communities in other countries around

1288-443: The eighth century. It was an extraordinary claim, implying as it did that the history of Pashto literature reached back further in time than Persian, thus supplanting the hold of Persian over the medieval Afghan past. Although it was later convincingly discredited through formal linguistic analysis, Habibi's publication of the text under the title Pata Khazana ('Hidden Treasure') would (in Afghanistan at least) establish his reputation as

1334-562: The establishment of a Pashto Society Pashto Anjuman in 1931 and the inauguration of the Kabul University in 1932 as well as the formation of the Pashto Academy (Pashto Tolana) in 1937. Muhammad Na'im Khan, the minister of education between 1938 and 1946, inaugurated the formal policy of promoting Pashto as Afghanistan's national language, leading to the commission and publication of Pashto textbooks. The Pashto Tolana

1380-451: The field of education in the NWFP, had constructed a type of three tiered language hierarchy. Pashto lagged far behind Urdu and English in prestige or development in almost every domain of political or economic power..." Although Pashto used as a medium of instruction in schools for Pashtun students results in better understanding and comprehension for students when compared to using Urdu, still

1426-542: The formation of the North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ). That year when Batkhela was stormed by the 45th Sikhs after a fierce resistance, Lieut.-Colonel McRae was the very first British Army personnel to enter Batkhela. Before 1895, Batkhela was invaded by different outsiders including the Khan of Dir, Rahmatullah Khan, in 1869 and Wali-i-Dir Nawab Muhammad Umara Khan as well as

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1472-399: The government of Pakistan has only introduced Pashto at the primary levels in state-run schools. Taimur Khan remarks: "the dominant Urdu language squeezes and denies any space for Pashto language in the official and formal capacity. In this contact zone, Pashto language exists but in a subordinate and unofficial capacity". Some linguists have argued that Pashto is descended from Avestan or

1518-760: The invasion, most of the Swati tribe's people left this area and escaped. It gave the Yusufzai tribe an opportunity to settle there permanently. Subsequently, they declared the Thana region (currently a part of the Batkhela tehsil) as their administrative headquarters. In the beginning, three family classes of Yusufzai tribe were settled in Batkhela: Ibrahim Khel, Husain Khel and Nazrali Khel. In March 1895,

1564-514: The matters of the tribal system were settled through the ‘ Jirga System'. The Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) system or status was established in 1974 here. Furthermore, regular laws prevailing and the settle laws of district were also extended. Under the FCR, the Political Agent exercised his powers as a supreme authority while regular courts were established (Civil & Crime courts) after

1610-607: The most important of all was the Amandara (region in Batkhela) Irrigation Scheme (bridges) which were designed and built by the British firm Ransomes & Rapier , Ltd. Makers of Ipswich in 1912. It is still irrigating a vast land of Sama Tehsil, Mardan and Swabi Districts and Chakdara area of the Lower Dir District. The British ruled this area until the independence of Pakistan(1947). All

1656-483: The native elements of the lexicon are related to other Eastern Iranian languages . As noted by Josef Elfenbein, "Loanwords have been traced in Pashto as far back as the third century B.C., and include words from Greek and probably Old Persian". For instance, Georg Morgenstierne notes the Pashto word مېچن mečә́n i.e. a hand-mill as being derived from the Ancient Greek word μηχανή ( mēkhanḗ , i.e.

1702-601: The population has risen to 73,525. More than 95% of local residents are Pashtuns , who are the indigenous inhabitants of the region. The first primary school was opened in Batkhela in 1915 and a high school was opened in Thana (part of Batkhela tehsil) in 1935 by British rulers. At present, there is one degree college for boys, one degree college for girls, two secondary schools for boys and one higher secondary school for girls that are functioning. In addition, there are several private schools and colleges functioning throughout this region. All schools and colleges are affiliated with

1748-465: The possessed in the genitive construction, and adjectives come before the nouns they modify. Unlike most other Indo-Iranian languages, Pashto uses all three types of adpositions —prepositions, postpositions, and circumpositions. *The retroflex rhotic or lateral, tends to be a lateral flap [ 𝼈 ] at the beginning of a syllable or other prosodic unit, and a regular flap [ ɽ ] or approximant [ ɻ ] elsewhere. In Pashto, most of

1794-444: The subject if it is intransitive, but with the object if it is transitive. Verbs are inflected for present, simple past, past progressive, present perfect, and past perfect tenses. There is also an inflection for the subjunctive mood . Nouns and adjectives are inflected for two genders (masculine and feminine), two numbers (singular and plural), and four cases (direct, oblique, ablative, and vocative). The possessor precedes

1840-408: The time when Mahmud of Ghazni (997-1030) was attacking India, one of his army leaders Pir Khushal assailed Batkhela. During the course of this assault, most of his soldiers were sunk in a big marsh at a place called Gheli in Batkhela. However, the soldiers of his army that survived had preferred to stay in this region. Over time, they put strong influence on the local inhabitants. They not only changed

1886-550: The tribes inhabiting the lands west of the Indus River were part of Ariana . This was around the time when the area inhabited by the Pashtuns was governed by the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom . From the 3rd century CE onward, they are mostly referred to by the name Afghan ( Abgan ). Abdul Hai Habibi believed that the earliest modern Pashto work dates back to Amir Kror Suri of the early Ghurid period in

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1932-411: The two official languages of Pakistan. Pashto has no official status at the federal level. On a provincial level, Pashto is the regional language of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and north Balochistan . Yet, the primary medium of education in government schools in Pakistan is Urdu. The lack of importance given to Pashto and its neglect has caused growing resentment amongst Pashtuns. It is noted that Pashto

1978-508: The world speak Pashto, especially the sizable communities in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia . Pashto is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan, along with Dari Persian . Since the early 18th century, the monarchs of Afghanistan have been ethnic Pashtuns (except for Habibullāh Kalakāni in 1929). Persian, the literary language of the royal court, was more widely used in government institutions, while

2024-496: The year 1974. Police in district Malakand are known as Levies and their head or commandant is the Deputy Commissioner. The current Tehsil Nazim of Batkhela is Nasir Khan (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf). Batkhela is a green city and Swat River is flowing in the middle of the city alongside N45. Batkhela is covered by tall hills from all sides and the most of famous peak of them is named 'Barcharai'. Politically, Batkhela

2070-587: Was later incorporated into the Academy of Sciences Afghanistan in line with Soviet model following the Saur Revolution in 1978. Although officially supporting the use of Pashto, the Afghan elite regarded Persian as a "sophisticated language and a symbol of cultured upbringing". King Zahir Shah (reigning 1933–1973) thus followed suit after his father Nadir Khan had decreed in 1933 that officials were to study and utilize both Persian and Pashto. In 1936

2116-579: Was officially renamed to Dari . The lyrics of the national anthem of Afghanistan are in Pashto. In British India , prior to the creation of Pakistan by the British government, the 1920s saw the blossoming of Pashto language in the then NWFP : Abdul Ghafar Khan in 1921 established the Anjuman-e- Islah al-Afaghina (Society for the Reformation of Afghans) to promote Pashto as an extension of Pashtun culture; around 80,000 people attended

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