History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c44.s3.1

v3.c44.s3.1

The new comers proved themselves the most formidable enemies of the peace of the country and the safety of the roads ever seen in that unquiet region. Highway robbery was the hereditary profession of these hardy savages, as cunning as they were bold. The plains of Peshawar and the narrow valleys embosomed among the rugged hills, yielded too scanty a sustenance for their fast-growing numbers; and the peaceful gains of agriculture were too poor and slow a reward in comparison with the plunder of their more industrious neighbours and of the rich traders passing within easy reach of them. The right of the hillmen,—Afridis, Shinwaris, Yusufzais and Khataks,—to levy toll on the traffic between India and Kabul, had been practically admitted by the Mughal Government, which had found by long experience that it was cheaper to bribe the clansmen than to coerce them, as a means of preserving order in that region and keeping the roads open. But even political pensions were not always effective in securing their obedience. Every year this prolific race multiplied, and the growing population, “more numerous than ants or locusts,” and ignorant or contemptuous of peaceful industries, pined for some outlet for their martial instincts. A leader sprang up, pretending sanctity or princely descent, organized a band of young men by feeding them for some time at his own cost, and then swooped down upon the fields of rival clans or the imperial territory below, and recovered his expenses and rewarded his retainers by plunder. The gang held together so long as the stream of booty did not fail; but when it ran dry, or the least inequality in its division was suspected, these natural democrats turned their arms against one another, and the league broke up.*