The Martial Race Theory and Pashtuns

A Historical Analysis

Abstract

In the wake of European Colonialism, occident created an orient which was in all means inferior, backward, less-civilized and wild. Orientalists who worked with British India during 19^th and 20^th centuries have created an image of Pashtuns which confirm Pashtuns as medieval, warlike, wild and childish. These notions have long been resonated even after the post-colonial era.   Critical analysis of the narratives and commentaries by orientalists unpacks the reality that these notions have been coined for peculiar colonial subjugation, British Empire’s cultural and political domination. These tropes and metaphors are regenerated in the postcolonial era by the cadres of researchers, anthropologists and ethnographers. The theory of Martial Races evolved after the War of Independence in 1857. The military regiments that remained strict to their colonial masters and repulsed the people movement to overthrow the British Empire from India, after crushing the movement the British Raj directly took the reins of empire in India, and they formed an exclusive army consisted of the races who stood fast and consistent to the Raj. In this connection, the Martial Race theory was coined which unilaterally advocates that the loyal races are by nature warriors and possess strong martial spirit; on the contrary the races who revolted are the one who do not possess the innate capability to become the soldier the Queen. This paper tends to explore the impacts of the so-called Martial Race theory on the self-image of Pashtuns.