Mullagori

The Mullagori (or Malagori) (Pashto: ملاكوري) are a Pashtun tribe who inhabit the Khyber Agency, one of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.

Origins

The Mullagori are believed to be one of the tribes descended from Muhammad of Ghor. They settled just north of the Khyber Pass during the time when Islam was brought to South Asia. Other areas inhabited by the Mullagori include Munda (near Shabqadar), Harichand (in Charsadda) and Peshawar (near the Shah Qabul areas of Dabgari, and on Dalazak Road). They hold to a tradition that when Muhammad of Ghor was killed by enemies, some of his family members came to the hills of Tatara in the Khyber Agency and laid the foundations for a village named Bara Dara. They felt safe there; at that time the hills were deeply forested, protecting them from enemies. In addition, the forests provided wild fruits and vegetables sufficient for their survival.

The name Mullagori is derived from mulla (religious leader) and Ghori (from Muhammad of Ghor). British colonial governmental records misspelled the word Ghori as Gori. In his book, The Pathan Borderland, James W. Spain believes the Mullagori to be the descendants of the Mulla Ghor (son of Ba-Yazid Ansari, the Pir Rokhan of the Pakhtuns, and Pir Tarik of the Mughals).^[1] The Pakhtun historian Bahadur Shah Zafar Kaka Khel, in his book Pukhtana da Tarikh pa Ranra key, is of the opinion that the Mullagori are a subgroup of the Mohmand tribe. In earlier times the Mullagori held extensive territory. However, due to internal disputes and disunity their lands were occupied by Afridis from Ghundi; Arbabs from Shah gai Bazar, Sufaid Sang, Kafur Dehri and Warsak; Sheen Saris near Warsak Dam and Ragha Baba; and Khans (who are natives of Afghanistan) near Nehr Ghara.

Sub-tribes

The forefather of the Mullagori was said to have had four sons, and each son fathered a sub-section of the Mullagori tribe. The four sub-tribes are named for the sons:

• Pahar Khel
• Taar Khel
• Daulat Khel (also believed to be a subset of the Kakazai tribe)
• Ahmed Khel

The Taar Khel make up 50% of the total population of Mullagori living in the Khyber Agency. They are the best educated and have influential jobs, while the Pahar Khel dominate in the affairs of their tribe.

Noted Mullagori

• Khan Bahadur Adam Khel - Prominent tribal head during the colonial era
• Malik Fazl e Maula - Tribal chieftain
• Haji Abdul Manan Mullagori - head of the Mullagori qaumi lashkar (tribal militia); the Mullagori qaumi lashkar was the first lashkar which developed on a secular, nationalistic basis (or qumiath) rather than a religious one
• Malik Imdad Mir - Active elder in tribal issues and at the Agency level
• Manzar Faryadi – Well-known Mullagori poet in Khyber Agency region for his book, Dilkash; head of the Mullagori Adabi Jarga
• Muhammad Alam Shawgeer - Poet
• Waqar Mallagori (Fazal Shah Waqar) - Poet
• Khaista Shah Kaka (Mullagori) of Tatara – Well-known personality in the Bacha Khan Khudai Khidmathdar movement. During the Pashtunistan movement, he and other Mullagori destroyed the Tatara Bridge.
• Niaz Muhammad Mullagori who was the first Graduate Engineer of Mullagori tribe and completed his degree in 1972 from Engineering college peshawar.. after this he served in T&T now (PTCL) for round about 25 years.. at the end he was the director general of PTCL... currently retired and serving as the chief of mullagori tribe (pirsaddo takhtbhai mardan).
• Safi Ullah Mullagori – First professional journalist to write extensively about the Mullagori
• Aftab Mallagori – First Mullagori applied anthropologist in the Khyber Agency. He did ethnographic research on the Mullagori, and is also renowned as a modern poet.
• Ibrar Ahmad Mullagori – Received a master's degree in economics from the University of Peshawar, and well-versed in the economy of the FATA. He considers the low adult population in the tribal areas the biggest hurdle to economic development of the FATA.
• Bakht jamal khan Mullagori is the first GIS analyst in mullagori tribe.....he did his M.Sc Geography research on the Mullagori marble industries....
• Nisar khan Mullagori is the student of MBA in I.M.S university....he is one of the active and autonomous person of the Mullagori tribe...

Employment

There are about 250 marble factories in the area, which employ not only Mullagori tribesmen but also the residents of nearby villages.

Demographics

The Mullagori inhabit two main areas: the Khakata Mena (lower area) and the Lowarha Mena (upper area). The Tatara Hill, a tourist resort, separates the Mullagori from the Afridi and the Kabul River separates them from the Mohmand tribe. There are a considerable number of Mullagori families residing in Mohmand Agency, across the Kabul River.

Sights

Most of the Mullagori area has dry hills with wild grasses and the local fruit trees of Gurgure. Tatara is a picnic spot dating from the colonial era. It is a small village of 1,000 to 1,500 with green hills, springs and cool summer weather during the summer, and is also the location of a shrine to Hazrath Masoom Baba. The people of Tatara are known for their hospitality. Another picnic spot in the area is Warsak Dam, at which there is a rest house for visitors provided by the Pakistani government. The village of Shaheed Mina, located on the bank of the Kabul River, is also a popular picnicking spot.

Population

As of 2011, the Mullagori population is about 50,000. The chief villages are Lora Miana, Paindi Lalma, Sher Braj, Murad Dand, Tatara and Nehar Ghara.

Education

The Mullagori are underserved in schools built by the Pakistani government. In a population of about 50,000, there is no middle (or high school) for girls and no college for boys. While the Pakistani government built a high school for Mullagori boys in 1975, there is no middle school for girls in the Mullagori area of the Khyber Agency. Although the Frontier Corps has opened a cadet college in the Mullagori area, despite promises no seats are given to Mullagori students. Former governor Saeed Aftkhar Hussain Shah promised to build a secondary school for Mullagori students when he visited Jamrud. Work was begun on Lowara Mina High School; after six rooms were built, the government withdrew its support for the remainder of the project.

References

1. ^ "The Pathan Borderland" by James W. Spain, Moutin, 1963. ASIN: B0000CR0HH