The Pashtun Leader Who Peacefully Defied the British Empire

Editor's Take

Recounting the life of Bacha Khan, this Al Jazeera film restores a figure often overshadowed by his contemporary Gandhi. It follows how he built a mass nonviolent movement among the Pashtuns, a people known for martial tradition, and endured long imprisonment for it. The account is admiring but substantive, interested in the discipline that sustained peaceful resistance against colonial rule.

This Al Jazeera film recounts the extraordinary life of Bacha Khan, the Pashtun leader who fought British colonial rule in northwest India through non-violence at the same time as Mahatma Gandhi. Known as the Frontier Gandhi, Khan built a peaceful movement among a people famed for their warrior traditions, enduring long imprisonment for his beliefs. The documentary traces his ideals, his friendship with Gandhi, and his later struggles in Pakistan. It restores a remarkable figure too often left out of the history of independence. Free to watch in HD on Dr Documentary.

Courtesy of Al Jazeera World Documentary on YouTube. Watch on YouTube ↗

More History & War Documentaries

Disney's FastPass: A Complicated History2021•1h 42m•HD•★9.2The Dyatlov Pass Case2021•41m•HD•★9.1The Vanishing of Flight 3702022•39m•HD•★9.1The Battle of Chile1975•1h 36m•HD•★8.9Pyramids2016•50m•HD•★8.0The History of the Gullah: From Africa to America2021•54m•HD•★8.0The Truth About Franco: The Rise to Power2023•53m•HD•★8.0The Entire History of the Ottoman Empire2023•22m•HD•★7.9Asbestos - The Never-Ending Story | ARTE.tv Documentary2026•1h 32m•HD•★7.8Time Team | Governor's Green | Series 17 | HD2024•48m•4K•★7.7Old Testament: Genesis and Exodus (Full Episode) | Buried Secrets of the Bible with Albert Lin2024•44m•4K•★7.7Building Pharaoh's Chariot | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS2025•54m•4K•★7.7