title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: In January 2012 the "Sunday Mirror" reported that "Newsnight" had investigated allegations of sexual abuse immediately after Savile's death but that the report had been shelved. An article by Miles Goslett in the March 2012 edition of "The Oldie" alleged a cover-up. The BBC showed two Savile tributes over the 2011 Christmas period, and it was alleged that the "Newsnight" report had been dropped because its content would have compromised the showing of the tributes. A joint submission to the Leveson Inquiry from Anna van Heeswijk (Object), Jacqui Hunt (Equality Now), Heather Harvey (Eaves) and Marai Larasi (End Violence against Women) was titled "Just the Women", a phrase which was reportedly written by "Newsnight" editor Peter Rippon in an email to a colleague concerning the lack of other authorities [than the alleged female victims] for evidence of Savile's abuse. A "Newsnight" spokesman said, "Any suggestion that a story was dropped for anything other than editorial reasons is completely untrue."


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: In October 2013 the transcript of Surrey Police's interview with Savile in 2009 was published after a request under the Freedom of Information Act. Savile denied the sexual abuse allegations relating to Duncroft Approved School put to him by the police, saying, "I've never, ever done anything wrong" and stating that the accusers wanted a "few quid".


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: An ITV documentary, "Exposure: The Other Side of Jimmy Savile", was broadcast on 3 October 2012. It was researched and presented by Mark Williams-Thomas, the former police investigator who had previously been involved in the shelved "Newsnight" investigation.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: Several women interviewed by "Exposure" said that, as teenagers, they had been sexually abused by Savile. It was also said Savile obtained access to teenage girls through his television programmes "Top of the Pops" and "Clunk, Click" (1973–74), and his charity work. Savile's former colleagues said he made no attempt to hide his interest in girls from them, while another said she had walked in on him french kissing an underage girl. One woman who said Savile had sexually assaulted her in 1970, when she was 14, explained she had not pursued her complaint to police in 2008 after being told it would lead to a "media circus". The founder of ChildLine, Esther Rantzen, was shown the interviews by Williams-Thomas and commented that, "There were always rumours that [Savile] behaved very inappropriately sexually with children."


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: An update to the original documentary, "Exposure Update: The Jimmy Savile Investigation", was shown on ITV on 21 November. It won a Peabody Award in 2012.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: Newspaper reports claimed Douglas Muggeridge, controller of BBC Radio 1 in the early 1970s, was aware of allegations against Savile, and asked for a report in 1973. Derek Chinnery, controller of Radio 1 from 1978 to 1985, recalled an occasion when he confronted Savile, saying, "I asked, 'What's all this, these rumours we hear about you, Jimmy?' And he said, 'That's all nonsense'. There was no reason to disbelieve." Michael Grade told "Channel 4 News" that during his time at the BBC he had "fleetingly" heard rumours about Savile, but described claims of a cover-up as "ludicrous". The BBC said no evidence of allegations of misconduct or actual misconduct by Savile had been found in its files and denied there had been a cover-up of his activities.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 8 October 2012, the Director-General of the BBC, George Entwistle, apologised for what had happened and said further internal investigations would take place. The chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten, said the investigation would be set up as soon as police enquiries had been completed, and would be chaired by a figure from outside the BBC. As a result of the shelving of the "Newsnight" investigation into Savile's activities, there were complaints on "Newswatch". On 11 October 2012, Entwistle asked BBC Scotland director Ken MacQuarrie to look into staff concerns over the dropping of the item. He announced a review of BBC policy on child protection and an inquiry into its culture and practices, focusing on the years Savile worked there.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: The BBC was criticised in Parliament for its handling of the affair. Harriet Harman said the allegations "cast a stain" on the corporation. Culture Secretary Maria Miller said she was satisfied the BBC was taking the allegations very seriously, and dismissed calls for an independent inquiry. Labour leader Ed Miliband said an independent inquiry was the only way to ensure justice for those involved. Entwistle offered to appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee to explain the BBC's position and actions.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 16 October the BBC appointed heads of two inquiries into events surrounding Savile. Former High Court judge Dame Janet Smith, who led the inquiry into serial killer Harold Shipman, was to review the culture and practices of the BBC during the time Savile worked there, and Nick Pollard, a former Sky News executive, would look at why the "Newsnight" investigation was dropped shortly before transmission.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: A "Panorama" investigation into the BBC's actions was broadcast on 22 October 2012. Entwistle declined to be interviewed, citing legal advice that BBC senior management should co-operate only with the police, the BBC's reviews and Parliament. On 21 October it was reported that Jones had warned Rippon in December 2011 that the BBC risked being accused of a cover-up if the item was dropped. On 22 October the BBC announced Rippon would "step aside" from his role of editor with immediate effect. On the day after the "Panorama" broadcast, Entwistle appeared before the Parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport Committee, at which he faced hostile questioning and stated that it had been a "catastrophic mistake" to cancel the "Newsnight" broadcast.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: Paul Gambaccini, who worked next door to Savile's office at BBC Radio 1 from 1973, said he was aware of rumours of Savile being a necrophile, and stated:"The expression which I came to associate with Savile's sex partners was ... the now politically incorrect 'under-age subnormals'. He targeted the institutionalised, the hospitalised – and this was known. Why did Jimmy Savile go to hospitals? That's where the patients were." Gambaccini claimed that Savile bribed the police. Sir Roger Jones, former chairman of "Children in Need", the BBC's annual telethon to support disadvantaged children and young people, said Savile had been barred from involvement because of rumours about an inappropriate interest in young girls. Savile had appeared on the telethon in 1984, 1987 and 1989 before Jones became chairman.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: The report by Pollard into the BBC's handling of the affair was published on 19 December 2012. It concluded that the decision to drop the "Newsnight" report on the allegations against Savile in December 2011 was "flawed", but that it had not been done to protect the Savile tribute programmes. However, it criticised Entwistle for apparently failing to read emails warning him of Savile's "dark side", and that, after the allegations against Savile eventually became public, the BBC fell into a "level of chaos and confusion [that] was even greater than was apparent at the time". The BBC announced that Rippon and "Newsnight" deputy editor Liz Gibbons would be replaced. Transcripts of evidence to the Pollard inquiry, together with emails and other submissions, were published on 22 February 2013.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: Meiron Jones, who first broke the scandal, was fired from the BBC in February 2015. Mackean, who was also involved in the "Newsnight" report, left the BBC in early 2013, and stated, "When the Savile scandal broke, the BBC tried to smear my reputation." Tom Giles, the editor of "Panorama" that aired the investigation on Savile on 22 October 2012, stepped down from his role in June 2014 and in 2015 joined ITV as its Controller of Current Affairs. Clive Edwards, who as commissioning editor for current affairs oversaw the "Panorama" documentary, was decommissioned.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: In November 2012 Dame Janet Smith called for evidence, from people who were the subject of inappropriate sexual conduct by Savile on BBC premises, or on location for the BBC; people who knew of or suspected such conduct; anyone who raised concerns about Savile's conduct within the BBC; people who worked for or with Savile on programmes at the BBC between about 1964 and 2007, or who were familiar with "the culture or practices of the BBC during that time insofar as they may have been relevant to preventing or enabling the sexual abuse of children, young people or teenagers"; and people who held senior positions at the BBC who may have relevant information. By 5 December 2012, the review's team had been contacted by "over 290" people, including many former or current BBC employees. On 1 May 2015 it was announced that the review report was finished, but it could not be published as it might prejudice ongoing police investigations.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: The review was published on 25 February 2016. Totalling more than 700 pages, it found Savile had sexually abused 72 people and had raped eight people, including an eight-year-old. The review found misconduct had been committed at "virtually every one of the BBC premises at which he worked", including Television Centre, Television Theatre and Lime Grove Studios in London, and Dickenson Road Studios in Manchester. Smith stated some BBC staff members were aware of complaints against Savile but did not pass the information to senior management due to the "culture of not complaining." She described an "atmosphere of fear" still existing at the BBC and said that some of those interviewed for the inquiry did so only after being assured their names would not be published, as they feared reprisal. A separate report into the offending of Stuart Hall, another BBC presenter, was released the same day.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: Following the broadcast of the ITV documentary, many people came forward to make allegations about Savile's conduct towards young people. Some abuse was said to have taken place on BBC premises. It was claimed that Savile had abused at least one boy as well as numerous girls.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: Claims were made about Savile's activities in hospitals. It was claimed that he sexually abused a 13-year-old patient during a visit to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in 1971 and an eight-year-old girl in the same hospital recovering from an operation. Staff reported he searched the wards for young patients to abuse, and they instructed patients in the children's ward to feign sleep during his visits. A hospital spokesman said that, though it was working with the police, it had no record of inappropriate behaviour by Savile. The BBC carried statements from a retired detective inspector of the local police force that a nurse at Stoke Mandeville hospital had reported Savile's abuse of patients there to him in the 1970s and he had repeatedly informed his superiors about this, but they did not believe him.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: A former nurse said she saw Savile molest a brain-damaged patient at Leeds hospital, saying, "He kissed her, and I thought he was a visitor coming to see her, and he started rubbing his hands down her arms and then I don't know of a nice way to put it but he molested her."


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: Savile was a volunteer at the adult high-security psychiatric Broadmoor Hospital, and in August 1988 was appointed to chair an interim task force overseeing the management of the hospital, after its management board had been suspended. It is alleged that Savile had hospital keys and access to patients' rooms. In a separate allegation, a lawyer said a client had been abused by Savile when he was a 10-year-old at the Haut de la Garenne children's home in Jersey.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: Julie Fernandez, who later appeared in BBC television programmes "Eldorado" and "The Office", was invited to a BBC studio to appear on "Jim'll Fix It". She recalled her experience in a radio interview: "I was in my wheelchair, but I just remember [Savile's] hands being everywhere and just lingering those two, three, four seconds slightly too long in places they shouldn't [...] It was in a busy room full of people in a studio so it was quite discreetly done and you don't kind of realise what's happening at the time, especially when you're 14 and it's the first time you've ever been in a studio and you're very excited. But I do remember feeling uncomfortable and he had these huge rings on his fingers."


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: Singer Coleen Nolan said Savile invited her to a hotel when she was 14 and had been involved in a TV recording at the "Top of the Pops" studio and that it made her "uncomfortable", "But you didn't talk about those things then." Savile's great-niece Caroline Robinson said she had been sexually abused by him twice at family gatherings. She believed some members of the family knew about his abuse but had turned a blind eye to it.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, said that he was "truly shocked" by the published allegations, which should be "properly investigated". The Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust stated that it was considering giving funds to those working with victims of sexual abuse, and that it may change its name because of the allegations; the trust later announced that it would close. As part of the investigations, enquiries would be made into allegations of abuse when Savile worked as a volunteer at Leeds General Infirmary.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: In October 2012 it was reported that the "Sunday Mirror" had decided not to publish allegations of sexual abuse at a children's home by two women against Savile. Paul Connew, the newspaper's editor when the women came forward in 1994, described the allegations as "credible and convincing", but said that lawyers had advised against publication. In July 2013, Connew said that he believed that the newspaper would have lost a libel action over the allegations, as the two women, who had been pupils at Duncroft Approved School, did not want to be named. He also expressed concern that a jury would have been "starstruck" by Savile.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: In November 2014 the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that the enquiry had been widened, with the number of NHS organisations investigating allegations of abuse by Savile extended to 41.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: The Metropolitan Police Service stated on 4 October 2012 that its Child Abuse Investigation Command would lead a process of assessing the allegations. By 9 October the Metropolitan Police had formally recorded eight allegations against Savile, but announced that it was following up 120 lines of inquiry, addressing up to 25 alleged victims of abuse, mainly girls aged between 13 and 16. These covered a period spanning four decades, from 1959 until the 1980s, and were on "a national scale". An inquiry process, known as Operation Yewtree, was set up jointly with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), and involving other organisations including the BBC and ITV. Commander Peter Spindler, head of specialist crime investigations, said: "At this stage it is quite clear from what women are telling us that Savile was a predatory sex offender."


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 19 October 2012 the Metropolitan Police launched a formal criminal investigation into historic allegations of child sex abuse by Savile over four decades. It stated that it was pursuing over 400 separate lines of inquiry based on evidence of 200 witnesses via 14 police forces across the UK. Commander Spindler said: "We are dealing with alleged abuse on an unprecedented scale. The profile of this operation has empowered a staggering number of victims to come forward to report the sexual exploitation which occurred during their childhood." John Cameron of the NSPCC said that Savile was "a well-organised prolific sex offender, who's used his power, his authority, his influence to procure children and offend against them."


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 25 October the police reported that the number of possible victims was "fast approaching 300". It was also reported that police were looking at allegations that three doctors in hospitals with which Savile had been associated had been involved in the abuse of young people in their care.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: By 19 December eight people had been arrested for questioning, and later bailed, as part of the inquiry. These included former pop star Gary Glitter; comedian Freddie Starr; former BBC producers Wilfred De'Ath and Ted Beston; DJ Dave Lee Travis; publicist Max Clifford; children's entertainer Rolf Harris; and an unnamed man in his 60s. Travis stated that his arrest had been connected with matters not linked to children. Clifford denied what he termed the "damaging and totally untrue allegations".


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: In early 2013 comedian Jim Davidson and two unnamed men were arrested as part of the inquiry, bringing the total to 11. De'Ath was later told that he would not face any charges, and said that the police action had been "overzealous". In May 2013, it was reported that Ted Beston would not face prosecution due to insufficient evidence.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 12 December Commander Peter Spindler said that the investigation had been completed and that the report of Operation Yewtree was being prepared for publication early in 2013. He said that a total of 589 alleged victims of abuse had come forward in the inquiry, of whom 450 alleged abuse by Savile. Of the alleged victims, 82% were female and 80% were children or young people. There were 31 allegations of rape by Savile across seven police force areas. Commander Spindler said: "Savile's offending peaked in the 70s and what we... will be showing... is how he used his position in society... to get his sexual gratification." The operation had involved 30 police officers, and its cost so far was estimated at £2 million.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 11 January 2013 "Giving Victims a Voice", a report into allegations of sexual abuse made against Jimmy Savile under Operation Yewtree by the Metropolitan Police Service and the NSPCC was published under the logo of the Crown Prosecution Service. Among its conclusions are that "It is now clear that Savile was hiding in plain sight and using his celebrity status and fundraising activity to gain uncontrolled access to vulnerable people across six decades. For a variety of reasons the vast majority of his victims did not feel they could speak out and it's apparent that some of the small number who did had their accounts dismissed by those in authority including parents and carers."


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: The document was given wide publicity throughout the media. Journalist Charles Moore wrote in "The Daily Telegraph" that he had read the whole report and it did not reveal the extent of abuse as the BBC website had stated in the lead headline "Jimmy Savile scandal: Report reveals extent of abuse". He remarked that there was no evidence in the report which a court would recognise. Instead it assumed that because uncorroborated allegations had been made, the offences were committed, and, treating allegations as facts, it declared that 214 incidents had now been "formally recorded" as crimes. Moore commented that by doing so the report undermined justice. Jonathan Brown, writing in "The Independent", said that the report "revealed a man who used his celebrity status and outwardly well-intended works to gain access to and ultimately rape and sexually exploit hundreds of vulnerable young star-struck victims..."


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: In March 2013 Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary reported that 214 of the complaints that had been made against Savile after his death would have been criminal offences if they had been reported at the time. Sixteen persons reported being raped by Savile under the age of 16 and four of those were under the age of ten. Thirteen others reported serious sexual abuse by Savile, including four under-ten-year-olds. Another ten reported being raped by Savile while over the age of sixteen.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: DJ and friend of Savile Ray Teret was found guilty of seven rapes and 11 indecent assaults in December 2014; while Teret was cleared of aiding and abetting Savile to rape a 15-year-old girl, he was found guilty of raping the same complainant. A lawyer for 169 of Savile's alleged victims stated that Teret's guilty verdicts represent "the closest the victims of Jimmy Savile will get to a conviction against their attacker".


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 24 October 2012 the Crown Prosecution Service said the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, would review the service's decisions not to prosecute Savile in 2009 in relation to four claims against him for sexual abuse dating back to the 1970s. The report, prepared by the Principal Legal Advisor to the DPP, Alison Levitt QC, was published on 11 January 2013. It found that, if police and prosecutors had taken a different approach towards the allegations, prosecutions could have been possible in relation to three of the claims. The report also found that the CPS had "no record at all" of the case, the file having been "destroyed" on 26 October 2010. Keir Starmer apologised for the shortcomings of the CPS and criticised two police forces for taking an "unjustifiably cautious" approach.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: In November 2013 shortly after he left the position of Director of Public Prosecutions, Starmer called for mandatory reporting which would compel all professionals such as teachers, doctors and social workers to report suspicions of child abuse or face legal consequences in the light of the scandal.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 3 February 2022 Munira Mirza resigned from her post as Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit under prime minister Boris Johnson. She criticised Johnson's failure to apologise for his unfounded comments, made during Prime Minister's Questions on 2 February, related to Starmer's role in the CPS when the decision not to prosecute Savile was made in 2009, saying that there was "no fair or reasonable basis for that assertion".


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: The Home Secretary, Theresa May, announced on 6 November 2012 that Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary would also carry out an assessment of all the investigations relating to Savile undertaken by police forces across the country, examine whether allegations were properly investigated, and identify any related issues.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 12 March 2013 a report entitled "Mistakes were made: HMIC's review into allegations and intelligence material concerning Jimmy Savile between 1964 and 2012" was published, which included material showing that police had received intelligence about Savile's sexual conduct dating back to 1963.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 7 November 2012 it was announced that an inquiry would also be undertaken, by a senior legal figure from outside the island, into allegations that Savile had abused children at Haut de la Garenne in Jersey.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 10 May 2013 West Yorkshire Police published a report into the relationship of the force with Savile. It concluded that he had not been protected from arrest or prosecution, but that there had been an "over-reliance on personal friendships" between Savile and some officers. The report states that there are "currently 76 crimes involving 68 victims committed in the West Yorkshire area relating to Savile", but none of them were reported to the police before his death. Nine of the incidents relate to persons under the age of nine, the youngest being aged five. A copy of the report was to be passed to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 18 December 2014 North Yorkshire Police published a report of an internal inquiry into its actions. The inquiry, termed Operation Hibiscus, found no evidence of misconduct by officers, but also concluded that opportunities had been missed to prosecute both Savile and Peter Jaconelli, a former mayor of Scarborough who died in 1999, for child sex abuse. The report stated that 32 allegations had been made against Jaconelli, and five against Savile. Jaconelli was stripped of civic honours earlier in 2014 after allegations against him were first published by the "North Yorks Enquirer". The Assistant Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, Paul Kennedy, said that the report showed that there would have been sufficient evidence for the Crown Prosecution Service to consider criminal charges against both Savile and Jaconelli if they were still alive.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 29 April 2015 Surrey Police published a report stating that Savile had sexually assaulted 22 students and a visitor at the Duncroft Approved School for Girls in Staines-upon-Thames between 1974 and 1979. The report said that Savile had committed at least 46 offences at the school, including one which would have been classed as rape under current law.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: The Department of Health announced that former barrister Kate Lampard would chair the department's investigations into Savile's activities at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Leeds General Infirmary, Broadmoor Hospital and other hospitals and facilities in England. In October 2013 the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, announced that inquiries had been extended to other, unnamed hospitals. As of November 2013, the list of hospitals investigated included:


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: The results of the investigations were made public by Hunt on 26 June 2014. The report concluded that Savile sexually assaulted victims in NHS hospitals over several decades. At Leeds General Infirmary, 60 people, including both staff and patients, stated that they had been abused by Savile, their ages ranging from 5 to 75. It reported on a number of organisational failures which had allowed him to continue unchallenged. Hunt apologised to the victims of the assaults, and said that the findings "will shake our country to the core".


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: It was reported that Savile had boasted to nurses and other staff that he performed sex acts on the bodies of recently deceased persons in the mortuary of Leeds General Hospital and claimed to have removed glass eyes from corpses and made them into rings. The report says "We have no way of proving Savile's claims that he interfered with the bodies of the deceased patients in the mortuary in this way" but that Savile did have unsupervised access to the mortuary.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: A separate report on Savile's activities at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, prepared by independent investigator Dr Androulla Johnstone and published on 26 February 2015, found that he had sexually abused more than 50 people there, including staff, patients and visitors. One was an 8-year-old child. Savile had full access to all parts of the hospital. The report stated that it was widely known at the hospital that Savile was a "sex pest", and that 10 complaints had been made at the time, but no action was taken.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: Also published on 26 February 2015 was Kate Lampard's report into lessons to be learned from the health service's handling of the Savile scandal. She concluded that:"Savile was a highly unusual personality whose lifestyle, behaviour and offending patterns were equally unusual. As a result of his celebrity, his volunteering, and his fundraising he had exceptional access to a number of NHS hospitals and took the opportunities that that access gave him to abuse patients, staff and others on a remarkable scale. Savile's celebrity and his roles as a volunteer and fundraiser also gave him power and influence within NHS hospitals which meant that his behaviour, which was often evidently inappropriate, was not challenged as it should have been. Savile's ability to continue to pursue his activities without effective challenge was aided by fragmented hospital management arrangements; social attitudes of the times, including reticence in reporting and accepting reports of sexual harassment and abuse, and greater deference than today towards those in positions of influence and power; and less bold and intrusive media reporting. While it might be tempting to dismiss the Savile case as wholly exceptional, a unique result of a perfect storm of circumstances, the evidence we have gathered indicates that there are many elements of the Savile story that could be repeated in the future. There is always a risk of the abuse, including sexual abuse, of people in hospitals. There will always be people who seek to gain undue influence and power within public institutions including in hospitals. And society and individuals continue to have a weakness for celebrities. Hospital organisations need to be aware of the risks posed by these matters and manage them appropriately."


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: A report for the Department for Education reached no firm conclusions over whether Savile had abused children or staff when visiting schools and children's homes, or hosting shows at which they had been invited to attend, between the 1960s and 1980s. The report, published on 26 February 2015, brought together the findings of various investigations carried out by local authorities, charities and schools. The Children's Minister, Edward Timpson, said that, though information had been received from credible sources, there was insufficient corroborating evidence to draw firm conclusions.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 8 November 2012 the Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, called in Parliament for a single, overarching public inquiry to examine all recent allegations of child abuse, including those relating to the North Wales child abuse scandal and those related to Savile. This was supported by former minister Tim Loughton and the NSPCC.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: An overarching panel inquiry was announced by the Home Secretary, Theresa May, in July 2014, to examine how the country's institutions had handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. It was to be led by an independent panel of experts, and was to be chaired by Baroness Butler-Sloss. On 14 July it was announced that Baroness Butler-Sloss was standing down, and that a new chair would be appointed. On 5 September it was announced that it would be chaired by Fiona Woolf but on 31 October 2014 she too resigned from the role. On 4 February 2015 May announced that the inquiry would be chaired by Justice Lowell Goddard, a New Zealand High Court judge, and would be given new powers as a statutory inquiry. Dame Goddard resigned the chair of the Inquiry on 4 August 2016 to return to New Zealand but the Inquiry's work continued. Dame Goddard later said that she was prevented from selecting her own staff and the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association withdrew from the Inquiry over concerns about its true independence.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: Savile's family asked "out of respect to public opinion" that his gravestone be taken from the cemetery where his body is buried. Scarborough Borough Council and funeral directors removed it "under cover of night" and sent it to landfill.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: It was announced that Savile's inscription in the wall of Leeds Civic Hall would be removed in October 2012. In the same month a café at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, originally called "Jimmy's" and displaying a neon sign in the shape of Savile's signature, was renamed 'Cafe@WRVS'. Cunard cancelled a sail-past tribute to Savile's burial place at Scarborough, scheduled for 15:00 BST on 1 August 2013. The University of Bedfordshire stripped Savile of the honorary degree it had awarded him in 2009 and the University of Leeds revoked the honorary doctorate it had awarded him in 1986. Savile's name was removed from the Great North Run Hall of Fame.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 23 October 2012 two registered charities, the Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust and the Jimmy Savile Stoke Mandeville Hospital Trust, set up to "provide funds for the relief of poverty and sickness and other charitable purposes beneficial to the community", announced they would close and have their funds redistributed to other charities.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: It was reported on 28 October 2012 that Savile's cottage in Glen Coe had been spray-painted with slogans and the door damaged. The cottage had been searched by police looking for evidence of others involved with him in abuse. Plans to sell the cottage early in 2012 were halted by Savile's charitable trust, which had planned to turn it into a respite centre for the disabled. These plans were in turn halted when the trust announced it would close. The cottage was sold at auction on 30 May 2013.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: On 2 November it was reported that letters had been sent to Savile's estate, the BBC, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Broadmoor, and Leeds General Infirmary by solicitors acting on behalf of 20 clients who claimed to have been abused by Savile, and that legal action against them was being considered.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: In November 2012 the BBC confirmed that it would no longer be airing further repeats of "Top of the Pops" on BBC Four featuring Savile as a presenter.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: A 2001 episode of the children's programme "Tweenies" on CBeebies showed the group starting their own band. The character Max introduced the band to the audience in a parody of "Top of The Pops", having a hairstyle similar to Savile's, wearing a tracksuit and also using some of his catchphrases. Following a repeat airing of the episode in January 2013, the BBC received over 200 complaints. The BBC apologised and said that the episode would not be broadcast again.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: In June 2015 a stage play about Savile and the abuse scandal was premiered at Park Theatre in Finsbury Park, London. Titled "An Audience with Jimmy Savile", it was written by Jonathan Maitland and starred Alistair McGowan as Savile.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: Savile was referred to in 2016 in series 3 of the TV programme "Line of Duty". A photo of him was doctored to include two of the programme's characters, implying that they were all part of the same child-abuse ring.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: In a 2019 episode of the alternate history TV series "Pennyworth", a televised public hanging was depicted of a man with long blond hair named James Savile, who was said to have committed "rape, sodomy and murder".


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: In October 2020, the BBC announced that it would be commissioning a mini-series called "The Reckoning", which would recount both Savile's rise to fame and the sexual abuse scandal. It was to be written by Neil McKay with Jeff Pope as its executive producer.


title: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal

text: In April 2022, Netflix released "", a two-part documentary detailing Savile's life, public image, and criminal activity. During an interview with journalist Alison Bellamy, she shared letters that had been exchanged between Savile and members of the British royal family where Savile had acted as an unofficial advisor. Prince Charles in particular valued Savile's opinion dearly and in 1989 expressed his desire for his "office to 'consult' Savile before his meetings". There was no indication that the royal family was aware of Savile's predatory behaviour.


title: Peter Griffin

text: Peter Löwenbräu Griffin, born Justin Peter Griffin, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom "Family Guy". He is voiced by the series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the 15-minute pilot pitch of "Family Guy" on December 20, 1998. Peter was created and designed by MacFarlane himself. MacFarlane was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company based on "Larry & Steve", a short made by MacFarlane which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. After the series pilot was given the green light, the Griffin family appeared in the episode "Death Has a Shadow".


title: Peter Griffin

text: Peter is married to Lois Griffin and is the father of Meg, Chris, and Stewie. He also has a dog named Brian, with whom he is best friends. He has worked at a toy factory and at Quahog's Brewery. Peter's voice was inspired by the security guards that MacFarlane heard at his school. His appearance was a redesign of the protagonist Larry from MacFarlane's previous animated short films "The Life of Larry" and "Larry & Steve". He has appeared in several pieces of "Family Guy" merchandise, including toys, T-shirts, and video games, and he has made crossover appearances in other shows, including "The Simpsons", "Drawn Together", "American Dad!", and "Family Guy"s spin-off series "The Cleveland Show".


title: Peter Griffin

text: Peter Griffin is a middle-class Irish American in his early 40s (usually stated to be between the ages of 42 to 43), who is a bespectacled, obese blue-collar worker with a prominent Rhode Island and Eastern Massachusetts accent. Peter's age has never been officially confirmed and has fluctuated. Peter and his wife Lois have three children: Meg, Chris, and Stewie. He is the illegitimate son of Thelma Griffin and Mickey McFinnigan, and was raised by Thelma and his stepfather Francis Griffin. It's uncertain if Peter's legal parents were married before he was conceived, however, as Peter has a flashback in which Francis directly tells him, "I'm not your father!" in the episode "Peter's Two Dads" in which Peter realizes that Francis isn't his true father, implying he knew that Peter isn't his biological son. Peter and his family live in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island, which is modeled after Providence, Rhode Island. Peter primarily worked as a safety inspector at the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory until his boss Jonathan Weed choked to death on a dinner roll while dining with Peter and Lois; he then became a fisherman on his own boat, which was known as the "S.S. "More Powerful than Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and The Incredible Hulk Put Together"", with the help of two Portuguese immigrants, Santos and Pasqual, until his boat was destroyed. He now works in the shipping department of the Pawtucket Patriot brewery. Peter is also shown in various jobs for single episodes and cutaway gags. In one episode, Peter played for the NFL's New England Patriots until his behavior resulted in him being kicked off the team. In a running gag, storylines are randomly interrupted by extremely long, unexpected fights between Peter and Ernie the Giant Chicken, an anthropomorphic chicken who serves as an archenemy to Peter. These battles parody the action film genre, with explosions, high-speed chases, and immense devastation to the town of Quahog.


title: Peter Griffin

text: MacFarlane initially conceived "Family Guy" in 1995 while studying animation at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). During college, he created his thesis film entitled "The Life of Larry", which was submitted by his professor at RISD to Hanna-Barbera. MacFarlane was hired by the company. Then in 1996, MacFarlane created a sequel to "The Life of Larry" entitled "Larry & Steve", which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve; the short was broadcast in 1997 as one of Cartoon Network's "World Premiere Toons". Executives at Fox saw the "Larry" shorts and contracted MacFarlane to create a series, entitled "Family Guy", based on the characters. Fox proposed MacFarlane complete a 15-minute short, and gave him a budget of $50,000. Several aspects of "Family Guy" were inspired by the "Larry" shorts. While working on the series, the characters of Larry and his dog Steve slowly evolved into Peter and Brian. MacFarlane stated that the difference between "The Life of Larry" and "Family Guy" was that ""Life of Larry" was shown primarily in my dorm room and "Family Guy" was shown after the Super Bowl."


title: Peter Griffin

text: The voice of Peter is provided by MacFarlane, who also provides the voice for Brian, Stewie, Quagmire, Tom Tucker, Carter Pewterschmidt, and Dr. Hartman, and others. MacFarlane has been part of the main voice cast from the beginning of the series including the pilot, and has voiced Peter from the start. MacFarlane chose to voice Peter and several other characters himself, believing it would be easier to portray the voices he already envisioned than for someone else to attempt it. MacFarlane's speaking voice is not very close to Peter's; he uses his normal voice as the voice of Brian. MacFarlane drew inspiration for the voice of Peter from the security guards he overheard talking while he was attending the Rhode Island School of Design; according to him, "I knew a thousand Peter Griffins growing up in New England. Guys who would not think before they spoke, like [switching to Peter's voice] there was no self-editing mechanism. [Pointing to himself] Everything in here, [pointing to his front] it's coming out here, with no gateway". MacFarlane also voices many of Peter's ancestors who share the same type of voice. He noted in an interview that he voices Peter and the rest of the characters partly because they initially had a small budget, but also that he prefers to have the freedom to do it himself. In another interview, he pointed out that Peter's voice is one of the most difficult to do.


title: Peter Griffin

text: There have been rare occasions where MacFarlane does not voice Peter. In the episode "No Meals on Wheels" (season 5, 2007), actor Patrick Stewart voiced Peter in a cutscene, but MacFarlane voices Peter for the rest of the episode. In the episode "Family Gay" (season 7, 2009), Seth Rogen provided a guest-voice as Peter under the effects of the "Seth Rogen gene". In "Road to the Multiverse" (season 8, 2009), he was voiced by actor Jamison Yang, who was required for a scene where everything in the world was Japanese. In Friends of Peter G (season 9, 2011), John Viener voiced Peter in an alternate timeline where he gave up drinking.


title: Peter Griffin

text: Peter Griffin is a stereotypical blue-collar worker who frequently gets drunk with his neighbors and friends Cleveland Brown, Joe Swanson and Glenn Quagmire at "The Drunken Clam," Quahog's local tavern. In the season 4 episode "Petarded", Peter discovered his low intellect falls slightly below the level for mental retardation after taking an I.Q. test, which places his I.Q. at around 70. In that same episode, Peter is declared mentally retarded because of his low I.Q. level. Peter also might have brain damage in Wernicke’s area as he cutaways into seemingly random situations and speaks in perfect grammar but can’t seem to choose how to create a sentence. Peter is known for his brash impulsiveness, which has led to several awkward situations, such as attempting to molest Meg in order to adopt a redneck lifestyle. He is easily influenced by anyone he finds interesting and will often try to replicate their lifestyle and behavior merely out of curiosity. He is incredibly jealous of other attractions Lois has in her life, an attitude which has led to extreme situations, such as when he assaulted a whale that kissed Lois at SeaWorld. In the third season episode "Stuck Together, Torn Apart", Peter and Lois split up because of Peter's jealousy, only to discover that Lois has the same character flaw and the two decide to live together with their mutually jealous nature. Peter has a very short attention span which frequently leads him to bizarre situations, as Chris points out in "Long John Peter", after Peter's parrot dies "He will get over it pretty quickly and then move on to another wacky thing", to which Peter finds a pipe organ and forgets about his parrot (Peter then destroys the pipe organ within seconds and then finds a deed to a cattle ranch). Peter is also naïve with one example in "Airport '07" where he thinks his truck will fly by filling it with airplane fuel.


title: Peter Griffin

text: Peter has complex relationships with all three of his children. He normally makes fun of Meg and treats her badly, such as in the episode "FOX-y Lady", where he, Meg and Chris try to create a cartoon and they exclude Meg and her ideas. Though in some episodes Peter has had a good relationship with Meg, in "Hell Comes to Quahog" (season 5, 2006), Peter almost tells Meg he loves her and in "Road to Rupert" (season 5, 2007), he told Meg that he would treat her badly in front of the family, but that he would be her friend in secret. It was presumed though that in "Peter's Sister", (season 14, 2015) that Peter would stop bullying Meg. Peter has a much better relationship with Stewie. Peter and Stewie had their adventures when he took him to Walt Disney World Resort in the episode "The Courtship of Stewie's Father" (season 4, 2005). With Chris, Peter communicates well, but at times when in need of advice or in an adventure Peter tells Chris to do the opposite of what he should do, like in "Long John Peter" (season 6, 2008), where Chris is asking for advice on dating and Peter tells him to treat women horribly.


title: Peter Griffin

text: Peter is best friends with his anthropomorphic dog, Brian. In earlier seasons, Brian often served as a voice of reason for Peter, helping him out with issues. Brian is extremely grateful to Peter for picking him up on the side of the road as a stray, shown during a flashback in the episode, "". His gratitude was affirmed in "New Kidney in Town", where Brian offers to give up both his kidneys and his life so that Peter could undergo a kidney transplant, although he did not have to do it thanks to another, more suitable donor being found. At Brian's funeral in "Life of Brian", Peter said that Brian was his "best friend in the whole world" and "like a brother to him".


title: Peter Griffin

text: Before Peter was born, his mother Thelma went to Mexico City to have an abortion but gave birth during the procedure, and smuggled him home to Providence, Rhode Island, where he spent his childhood. Peter was raised by Francis and Thelma Griffin in the Roman Catholic faith. In "Peter's Two Dads", he discovers that his biological father is an Irishman named Mickey McFinnigan. Peter visits Mickey, who initially rejects him. Mickey later accepts him as his son after beating him in the "game of drink" (the game of drink referring to matching shots until one passes out). Mickey is based on the friends of MacFarlane's father. MacFarlane said: "When I was growing up, my father had lots of friends: big, vocal, opinionated New England, Irish Catholics. They were all bursting at the seams with personality, and "Family Guy" came out of a lot of those archetypes that I spent years observing."


title: Peter Griffin

text: Editors of "Variety" put "Family Guy" in their contenders for the 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series; they stated that, depending on your sense of humor, Peter is either "a comedy genius" or "an obnoxious idiot". MacFarlane has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance category several times for voicing Peter and other characters; he won in 2016. He was also nominated in 2008 for an Annie Award in the Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production or Short Form for voicing Peter.


title: Peter Griffin

text: Peter has ranked in several of IGN's top 10s (generally these lists are related to the show). Among these, Peter ranked the third spot on IGN's "Top 25 "Family Guy" Characters," in which it was stated that many of the show's best gags come from Peter and his shenanigans and that "Peter practically invented the "manatee joke". "Entertainment Weekly" placed Peter in its "18 Bad TV Dads" list (the list also included characters like Homer Simpson and Al Bundy).


title: Peter Griffin

text: Peter has been criticized for being too similar to Homer Simpson. Peter has appeared in some episodes of "The Simpsons"; in these episodes which he has been featured, he has been depicted as Homer Simpson's clone or is accused of plagiarism. Ken Tucker of "Entertainment Weekly" wrote that Peter is Homer Simpson "as conceived by a singularly sophomoric mind that lacks any reference point beyond other TV shows". Robin Pierson from "The TV Critic" criticized the Griffin family for being too similar to the Simpson family, and said that Peter "has Homer Simpson written all over him". This is eventually made fun of in the episode "Ratings Guy" when, after Peter ruins television and goes to the networks to reverse the changes, Homer Simpson shows up with the same plight, with Peter going "A-ha! Looks like this is one "we" beat "you" to!" In "The Simpsons Guy", a crossover episode between "Family Guy" and "The Simpsons", the Griffins end up in the town of Springfield after their car is stolen, where they meet the Simpsons.


title: Peter Griffin

text: Peter has created some controversy in various episodes of "Family Guy". The episode "The Cleveland–Loretta Quagmire" (season 4, 2005) featured a sequence titled "You Have AIDS", in which Peter dances and sings in a barbershop quartet fashion around the bed of a man with end-stage AIDS about his diagnosis, which drew protests from several AIDS service organizations. In the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" (season 3, 2003), Peter sings a parody song of "When You Wish upon a Star", entitled "I Need a Jew"; on October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing the show of infringing its copyright on the original song; Bourne Co., the sole United States copyright owner of the song, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of their music with antisemitic lyrics. The complaint was not upheld.


title: Peter Griffin

text: Peter has made several television appearances outside of "Family Guy", often in the form of direct parody. Peter has appeared in two episodes of "The Simpsons", poking fun at how the two shows are frequently compared to each other. In the fourteenth season episode "Treehouse of Horror XIII", Peter is depicted as one of Homer Simpson's clones, and in the seventeenth season episode, "The Italian Bob", a photo of Peter is in a book of criminals, which says he is wanted for "plagiarismo". Peter also appeared in various episodes of the show's spin-off "The Cleveland Show". In addition, Peter has appeared at the end of the "American Dad!" episode "Hurricane!" with guns on both Stan Smith and former neighbor Cleveland Brown. During the stand-off, Stan accidentally shoots his wife Francine, which Peter declares as "classic "American Dad!"".


title: Peter Griffin

text: Peter is also featured on the "" CD, and plays a significant part in "Family Guy Video Game!", the first "Family Guy" video game, which was released by 2K Games in 2006. Peter will be used in the game "Family Guy Online" as a character class for the game's character creator. MacFarlane recorded exclusive material of Peter's voice and other "Family Guy" characters for a 2007 pinball machine based the show, created by Stern Pinball. In 2004, the first series of "Family Guy" toy figurines was released by Mezco Toyz; each member of the Griffin family had their own toy, with the exception of Stewie, of whom two different figures were made. Over the course of two years, four more series of toy figures have been released, with various forms of Peter. Alongside the action figures, Peter has been included in various other "Family Guy"-related merchandise.


title: Peter Griffin

text: As of 2009, six books have been released about the "Family Guy" universe, all published by HarperCollins since 2005. This include "" (), which covers the entire events of the episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One", and "Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded" (), a collection of 17 essays exploring the connections between the series and historical philosophers. which include Peter as a character. Peter appears in comic-book based on the "Family Guy" universe; by Titan Comics. The first comic book was released July 27, 2011.


title: Peter Griffin

text: In 2008, the character appeared in advertisements for Subway, promoting the restaurant's massive feast sandwich. Chief marketing officer Tony Pace commented "Peter's a good representation of the people who are interested in the Feast, and "Family Guy" is a show "that appeals to that target audience." "The Boston Globe" critic Brian Steinberg praised the restaurant's use of the character for the commercials.


title: Adivi Sesh

text: Adivi Sesh Sunny Chandra (born 17 December 1985) is an Indian actor, director and screenwriter who primarily works in Telugu-language films. Sesh was born in Hyderabad and was raised in Berkeley, California. He made his film debut as a lead actor and director in 2010 with "Karma". Following antagonistic roles in "Panjaa" (2011), "Balupu" (2013), and "" (2015), he established himself as a leading actor of Telugu cinema by starring in commercial successes such as "Ladies & Gentlemen" (2015), "Dongaata" (2015), "Kshanam" (2016), "Ami Thumi" (2017), "Goodachari" (2018), "Evaru" (2019), "Major" (2022), and "" (2022). His film "Kshanam" went on to get nominated for numerous awards. Sesh won the IIFA Award, Telugu for the Best Screenplay and the Nandi Award for the Best Screenplay Writer.


title: Adivi Sesh

text: Adivi Sesh Sunny Chandra was born 17 December 1984 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (now in Telangana), India. He was raised in Berkeley, California, United States, where he attended Berkeley High School and did his undergraduate studies at San Francisco State University. Sesh has a sister, who is pursuing medicine in Ireland as of 2020. His cousin, Sai Kiran Adivi, is a film director. Sesh's grandfather, Adivi Baapiraju, was a novelist, playwright, and freedom fighter. Sesh is a vegetarian.


title: Adivi Sesh

text: Sesh debuted as an actor in the film "Sontham" (2002) in a small guest appearance. He debuted as a director and writer in the 2010 film "Karma", which also starred Jade Tailor and Sher Ali. Sesh's portrayal of Dev, a person who can fore-see events mere seconds before they happen, was well appreciated. Rediff praised his performance stating "As far as acting goes, Sesh Adivi does a good job. With an 'angelic' face he is an apt choice to play enigmatic Dev. His scripting skills also deserve mention. He may have chosen an unconventional path and a novel theme but he has tried to infuse something new in Telugu cinema."


title: Adivi Sesh

text: In 2011, Sesh appeared in Vishnuvardhan's "Panjaa", which starred Pawan Kalyan, Sarah Jane Dias, Anjali Lavania and Jackie Shroff in the lead. In this film, Sesh portrayed the role of Munna, an NRI who is a wealthy spoiled brat and a very dangerous person to those around him. This also marked his debut as a villain. His performance was highly appreciated by critics. Rediff said of his performance, "Sesh Adivi is worth watching for his 'maniacal' performance which is just the opposite of what he did in "Karma", his directorial and acting debut." CineGoer.com also praised his performance, saying "Sesh's "Karma" changes for the good with this film and he is quite a revelation." After this he did movie called "Balupu" as villain. Then he did movie called "Kiss" in his direction, the only disaster in his career until now. He did supporting role in "Run Raja Run" after this he started doing leads again in "Ladies & Gentlemen" and "Dongaata" in 2015 then he appeared in S. S. Rajamouli's epic drama "".


title: Adivi Sesh

text: In 2016 Sesh appeared in "Kshanam" story and screen play written by him along with Ravikanth Perepu director of the film. With this film, Sesh got the attention from the audience and industry. After "Kshanam" he rejected more than 50 scripts that offered him the lead role. Then he appeared as cameo in "Size Zero" and "Oopiri". He appeared in "Ami Thumi" comedy film, which was directed by Mohanakrishna Indraganti. His next film, "Goodachari", an action thriller released on 3 August 2018 to positive reviews and became a super hit and closed on 6 September at the box office, 33 days after release. The film was written by him and directed by Sashi Kiran Tikka. He next had a special appearance in "Oh! Baby", starring Samantha Akkineni. His next film was the 2019 suspense thriller "Evaru", written and directed by Venkat Ramji, which was released on 15 August, open to positive reviews, and went on to become a hit film, running for more than 4 weeks in the theatres.


title: Adivi Sesh

text: His film "Major", a biopic about the life of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan released on June 3, 2022, and became the biggest success of his career, also making him a PAN India star. In April 2020, Sesh confirmed writing script for "Goodachari 2", a sequel to his 2018 spy thriller film "Goodachari." Sesh is also signed to feature in "HIT 2: The Second Case," a sequel to the film "" (2020).


title: Pashtuns

text: Pashtuns (, , ; , ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically referred to as Afghans until the 1970s, when the term's meaning evolved into that of a demonym for all residents of Afghanistan, including those outside of the Pashtun ethnicity.


title: Pashtuns

text: The group's native language is Pashto, an Iranian language in the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. Additionally, Dari Persian serves as the second language of Pashtuns in Afghanistan while those in the Indian subcontinent speak Urdu and Hindi (see Hindustani language) as their second language.


title: Pashtuns

text: Pashtuns are the 26th-largest ethnic group in the world, and the largest segmentary lineage society; there are an estimated 350–400 Pashtun tribes and clans with a variety of origin theories. The total population of the Pashtun people worldwide is estimated to be around 49 million, although this figure is disputed due to the lack of an official census in Afghanistan since 1979. They are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and the second-largest ethnic group in Pakistan, constituting around 48 percent of the total Afghan population and around 15.4 percent of the total Pakistani population. In India, significant and historical communities of the Pashtun diaspora exist in the northern region of Rohilkhand as well as in major Indian cities such as Delhi and Mumbai. A more recent Pashtun diaspora has formed in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf (primarily in the United Arab Emirates) as part of the larger Afghan and Pakistani diaspora in that region.


title: Pashtuns

text: Prominent Pashtun figures include Abdul Ahad Momand, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Abdul Ghani Baradar, Abdur Rahman Khan, Ahmad Shah Durrani, Alauddin Khalji, Amanullah Khan, Ashraf Ghani, Ayub Khan, Bahlul Lodi, Dilip Kumar, Hamid Karzai, Hasan Akhund, Hibatullah Akhundzada, Imran Khan, Irrfan Khan, Khushal Khan, Madhubala, Malala Yousafzai, Manzoor Pashteen, Mirwais Hotak, Mohammed Daoud Khan, Mullah Omar, Pir Roshan, Rahman Baba, Salman Khan, Sirajuddin Haqqani, Shah Rukh Khan, Shahid Afridi, Sher Shah Suri, Zabiullah Mujahid, Zalmay Khalizad, and Zakir Hussain, among many others.


title: Pashtuns

text: The majority of Pashtuns are found in the native Pashtun homeland, located south of the Hindu Kush which is in Afghanistan and west of the Indus River in Pakistan, principally around the Sulaiman Mountains. It is believed that the Pashtuns emerged from the region around Kandahar and the Sulaiman Mountains, roughly around the ancient region of Arachosia, and expanded from there between the 13th and 16th centuries to the adjoining areas of modern day Afghanistan and Pakistan. Starting in the 1880s, various Pashtun-dominated governments of Afghanistan have pursued policies, called Pashtunization, aimed towards settling more ethnic Pashtuns in non-Pashtun regions, particularly the northern region of Afghanistan. Metropolitan centres within Pashtun dominated areas include Kandahar, Quetta, Jalalabad, Mardan, Mingora and Peshawar.


title: Pashtuns

text: Karachi is home to the largest community of Pashtuns outside of the native homeland (with estimates of around 7 million).


title: Pashtuns

text: Pashtuns in India are often commonly referred to as "Pathans" (the Hindustani word for Pashtun) both by themselves and other ethnic groups of the subcontinent.


title: Pashtuns

text: Historically, Pashtuns have settled in various cities of India before and during the British Raj in colonial India. These include Bombay (now called Mumbai), Delhi, Calcutta, Rohilkhand, Jaipur and Bangalore. The settlers are descended from both Pashtuns of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan (British India before 1947). In some regions in India, they are sometimes referred to as "Kabuliwala".


title: Pashtuns

text: In India significant Pashtun diaspora communities exist. While speakers of Pashto in the country only number 21,677 as of 2011, estimates of the ethnic or ancestral Pashtun population in India range from 3,200,000 to 11,482,000 to as high as double their population in Afghanistan (approximately 30 million).


title: Pashtuns

text: The Rohilkhand region of Uttar Pradesh is named after the Rohilla community of Pashtun ancestry. They also live in the states of Maharashtra in central India and West Bengal in eastern India that each have a population of over a million with Pashtun ancestry; both Bombay and Calcutta were primary locations of Pashtun migrants from Afghanistan during the colonial era. There are also populations over 100,000 each in the cities of Jaipur in Rajasthan and Bangalore in Karnataka. Bombay (now called Mumbai) and Calcutta both have a Pashtun population of over 1 million, whilst Jaipur and Bangalore have an estimate of around 100,000. The Pashtuns in Bangalore include the khan siblings Feroz, Sanjay and Akbar Khan, whose father settled in Bangalore from Ghazni.


title: Pashtuns

text: Today, the Pashtuns are a collection of diversely scattered communities present across the length and breadth of India, with the largest populations principally settled in the plains of northern and central India. Following the partition of India in 1947, many of them migrated to Pakistan. The majority of Indian Pashtuns are Urdu-speaking communities, who have assimilated into the local society over the course of generations. Pashtuns have influenced and contributed to various fields in India, particularly politics, the entertainment industry and sports.


title: Pashtuns

text: Pashtuns are also found in smaller numbers in the eastern and northern parts of Iran. Records as early as the mid-1600s report Durrani Pashtuns living in the Khorasan Province of Safavid Iran. After the short reign of the Ghilji Pashtuns in Iran, Nader Shah defeated the last independent Ghilji ruler of Kandahar, Hussain Hotak. In order to secure Durrani control in southern Afghanistan, Nader Shah deported Hussain Hotak and large numbers of the Ghilji Pashtuns to the Mazandaran Province in northern Iran. The remnants of this once sizable exiled community, although assimilated, continue to claim Pashtun descent. During the early 18th century, in the course of a very few years, the number of Durrani Pashtuns in Iranian Khorasan, greatly increased. Later the region became part of the Durrani Empire itself. The second Durrani king of Afghanistan, Timur Shah Durrani was born in Mashhad. Contemporary to Durrani rule in the east, Azad Khan Afghan, an ethnic Ghilji Pashtun, formerly second in charge of Azerbaijan during Afsharid rule, gained power in the western regions of Iran and Azerbaijan for a short period. According to a sample survey in 1988, 75 percent of all Afghan refugees in the southern part of the Iranian Khorasan Province were Durrani Pashtuns.


title: Pashtuns

text: Indian and Pakistani Pashtuns have utilised the British/Commonwealth links of their respective countries, and modern communities have been established starting around the 1960s mainly in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia but also in other commonwealth countries (and the United States). Some Pashtuns have also settled in the Middle East, such as in the Arabian Peninsula. For example, about 300,000 Pashtuns migrated to the Persian Gulf countries between 1976 and 1981, representing 35% of Pakistani immigrants.


title: Pashtuns

text: Due to the multiple wars in Afghanistan since the late 1970s, various waves of refugees (Afghan Pashtuns, but also a sizeable number of Tajiks, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen and Afghan Sikhs) have left the country as asylum seekers.


title: Pashtuns

text: There are 1.3 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan and 1 million in Iran. Others have claimed asylum in the United Kingdom, United States and European Union countries through Pakistan.


title: Pashtuns

text: A prominent institution of the Pashtun people is the intricate system of tribes. The Pashtuns remain a predominantly tribal people, but the trend of urbanisation has begun to alter Pashtun society as cities such as Kandahar, Peshawar, Quetta and Kabul have grown rapidly due to the influx of rural Pashtuns. Despite this, many people still identify themselves with various clans.


title: Pashtuns

text: The tribal system has several levels of organisation: the tribe they are in is from four 'greater' tribal groups: the Sarbani, the Bettani, the Gharghashti, and the Karlani, the "tabar" (tribe), is then divided into kinship groups called "khels", which in turn is divided into smaller groups ("pllarina" or "plarganey"), each consisting of several extended families called "kahols".


title: Pashtuns

text: Excavations of prehistoric sites suggest that early humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago. Since the 2nd millennium BC, cities in the region now inhabited by Pashtuns have seen invasions and migrations, including by Ancient Indian peoples, Ancient Iranian peoples, the Medes, Persians, and Ancient Macedonians in antiquity, Kushans, Hephthalites, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, and others. In recent times, people of the Western world have explored the area as well.


title: Pashtuns

text: The early precursors to modern-day Pashtuns may have been old Iranian tribes that spread throughout the eastern Iranian plateau.


title: Pashtuns

text: Gankovsky proposes Ephthalite origin for Pashtuns but others draw a different conclusion. Ghilji tribe has been connected to the Khalaj people. According to Abdul Hai Habibi, some oriental scholars hold that the second largest Pasthun tribe, the Ghiljis, are the descendants of a mixed race of Hephthalite and Pakhtas who have been living in Afghanistan since the Vedic Aryan period. But according to Sims-Williams, archaeological documents do not support the suggestion that the Khalaj were the Hephthalites' successors. According to Georg Morgenstierne, the Durrani tribe who were known as the "Abdali" before the formation of the Durrani Empire 1747, might be connected to with the Hephthalites; Aydogdy Kurbanov endorses this view who proposes that after the collapse of the Hephthalite confederacy, Hephthalite likely assimilated into different local populations.


title: Pashtuns

text: The ethnogenesis of the Pashtun ethnic group is unclear but historians have come across references to various ancient peoples called "Pakthas" ("Pactyans") between the 2nd and the 1st millennium BC, who may be their early ancestors. However, there are many conflicting theories amongst historians and the Pashtuns themselves.


title: Pashtuns

text: Pashtuns are tied to the history of modern Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India: following Muslim conquests from the 7th to 11th centuries, many Pashtun warriors invaded and conquered much of the northern parts of South Asia during the periods of the Suris and Durranis.


title: Pashtuns

text: Pashto is generally classified as an Eastern Iranian language. It shares features with the Munji language, which is the closest existing language to the extinct Bactrian, but also shares features with the Sogdian language, as well as Khwarezmian, Shughni, Sanglechi, and Khotanese Saka. It is suggested by some that Pashto may have originated in the Badakhshan region and is connected to a Saka language akin to Khotanese. In fact major linguist Georg Morgenstierne has described Pashto as a Saka dialect and many others have observed the similarities between Pashto and other Saka languages as well, suggesting that the original Pashto speakers might have been a Saka group. Furthemore Pashto and Ossetian, another Scythian-descending language, share cognates in their vocabulary which other Eastern Iranian languages lack Cheung suggests a common isogloss between Pashto and Ossetian which he explains by an undocumented Saka dialect being spoken close to reconstructed Old Pashto which was likely spoken north of the Oxus at that time. Others however have suggested a much older Iranic ancestor given the affinity to Old Avestan.


title: Pashtuns

text: There is mention of the tribe called Pakthās who were one of the tribes that fought against Sudas in the Dasarajna - "the Battle of the Ten Kings" - of the Rigveda (RV 7.18.7) dated between c. 1500 and 1200 BCE. The Pakthās are mentioned:


title: Pashtuns

text: Heinrich Zimmer connects them with a tribe mentioned by Herodotus ("Pactyans"), and with Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan.


title: Pashtuns

text: These Pactyans lived on the eastern frontier of the Achaemenid Arachosia Satrapy as early as the 1st millennium BCE, present day Afghanistan. Herodotus also mentions a tribe of known as Aparytai (Ἀπαρύται) Thomas Holdich has linked them with the Pashtun tribe: "Afridis" as all these tribes have been placed in the Indus valley. Herodotus states:


title: Pashtuns

text: Joseph Marquart made the connection of the Pashtuns with names such as the Parsiētai (Παρσιῆται), Parsioi (Πάρσιοι) that were cited by Ptolemy 150 CE. The text from Ptolemy:


title: Pashtuns

text: Strabo, the Greek geographer, in the Geographica (written between 43 BC to 23 AD) makes mention of the Pasiani (Πασιανοί), this has been identified with Pashtuns given that Pashto is an Eastern-Iranian language and Pashtuns reside in the area once termed Ariana. Strabo states:


title: Pashtuns

text: This is considered a different rendering of Ptolemy's Parsioi (Πάρσιοι). Johnny Cheung, reflecting on Ptolemy's "Parsioi (Πάρσιοι)" and Strabo's "Pasiani" (Πασιανοί) states: "Both forms show slight phonetic substitutions, viz. of υ for ι, and the loss of r in Pasianoi is due to perseveration from the preceding Asianoi. They are therefore the most likely candidates as the (linguistic) ancestors of modern day Pashtuns."


title: Pashtuns

text: In the Middle Ages until the advent of modern Afghanistan in the 18th century and the division of Pashtun territory by the 1893 Durand Line, Pashtuns were often referred to as ethnic ""Afghans"".


title: Pashtuns

text: The earliest mention of the name "Afghan" ("Abgân - αβγανο") is by Shapur I of the Sasanian Empire during the 3rd century CE. In the 4th century the word "Afghans/Afghana" (αβγανανο) as a reference to the Pashtun people is mentioned in the Bactrian documents, they mention an Afghan chief named Bredag Watanan in connection with the Hephtalites and in the context of some stolen horses. Interestingly the documents mention the Afghans far in the north of Afghanistan around modern Kunduz, Baghlan and Samangan in historical Bactria


title: Pashtuns

text: The name Afghan is later recorded in the 6th century CE in the form of ""Avagāṇa"" [अवगाण] by the Indian astronomer Varāha Mihira in his Brihat-samhita.


title: Pashtuns

text: Xuanzang, a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, visiting the Afghanistan region several times between 630 and 644 CE also speaks about them. In Shahnameh 1–110 and 1–116, it is written as "Awgaan". According to several scholars such as V. Minorsky, the name "Afghan" is documented several times in the 982 CE Hudud-al-Alam.


title: Pashtuns

text: Hudud ul-'alam also speaks of a king in Ninhar (Nangarhar), who had Muslim, "Afghan" and Hindu wives. Writing in the 11th century AD, Al-Biruni in his "Tarikh al Hind", In the western frontier mountains of India there live various tribes of the Afghans, and extend up to the neighbourhood of the Sindh Valley, It was reported that between 1039 and 1040 CE Mas'ud I of the Ghaznavid Empire sent his son to subdue a group of rebel Afghans near Ghazni. An army of Arabs, Afghans, Khiljis and others was assembled by Arslan Shah Ghaznavid in 1119 CE. Another army of Afghans and Khiljis was assembled by Bahram Shah Ghaznavid in 1153 CE. Muhammad of Ghor, ruler of the Ghorids, also had Afghans in his army along with others. A famous Moroccan travelling scholar, Ibn Battuta, visiting Afghanistan following the era of the Khalji dynasty in early 1300s gives his description of the Afghans.


title: Pashtuns

text: Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah (Ferishta), writes about Afghans and their country called "Afghanistan" in the 16th century.


title: Pashtuns

text: Pashto is classified under the Eastern Iranian sub-branch of the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. Those who speak a Southern dialect of Pashto refer to themselves as Pashtuns, while those who speak Northern Dialect call themselves Pukhtuns. These native people compose the core of ethnic Pashtuns who are found in southeastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan. The Pashtuns have oral and written accounts of their family tree. Lineage is considered very important.


title: Pashtuns

text: Some anthropologists lend credence to the oral traditions of the Pashtun tribes themselves. For example, according to the "Encyclopaedia of Islam", the theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites is traced to Nimat Allah al-Harawi, who compiled a history for "Khan-e-Jehan Lodhi" in the reign of Mughal Emperor Jehangir in the 17th century. The 13th century Tabaqat-i Nasiri discusses the settlement of immigrant Bani Israel at the end of the 8th century CE in the Ghor region of Afghanistan, settlement attested by Jewish inscriptions in Ghor. Historian André Wink suggests that the story "may contain a clue to the remarkable theory of the Jewish origin of some of the Afghan tribes which is persistently advocated in the Persian-Afghan chronicles." These references to Bani Israel agree with the commonly held view by Pashtuns that when the twelve tribes of Israel were dispersed, the tribe of Joseph, among other Hebrew tribes, settled in the Afghanistan region. This oral tradition is widespread among the Pashtun tribes. There have been many legends over the centuries of descent from the Ten Lost Tribes after groups converted to Christianity and Islam. Hence the tribal name Yusufzai in Pashto translates to the "son of Joseph". A similar story is told by many historians, including the 14th century Ibn Battuta and 16th century Ferishta. However, the similarity of names can also be traced to the presence of Arabic through Islam.


title: Pashtuns

text: One conflicting issue in the belief that the Pashtuns descend from the Israelites is that the Ten Lost Tribes were exiled by the ruler of Assyria, while "Maghzan-e-Afghani" says they were permitted by the ruler to go east to Afghanistan. This inconsistency can be explained by the fact that Persia acquired the lands of the ancient Assyrian Empire when it conquered the Empire of the Medes and Chaldean Babylonia, which had conquered Assyria decades earlier. But no ancient author mentions such a transfer of Israelites further east, or no ancient extra-Biblical texts refer to the Ten Lost Tribes at all.


title: Pashtuns

text: Some Afghan historians have maintained that Pashtuns are linked to the ancient Israelites. Mohan Lal quoted Mountstuart Elphinstone who wrote:


title: Pashtuns

text: This theory has been criticised by not being substantiated by historical evidence. Dr. Zaman Stanizai criticises this theory:


title: Pashtuns

text: Some Pashtun tribes claim descent from Arabs, including some claiming to be Sayyids (descendants of Muhammad). Some groups from Peshawar and Kandahar believe to be descended from Greeks who arrived with Alexander the Great. According to Firasat et al. 2007, only a small proportion of Pashtuns may descend from Greeks, but they also suggest that Greek ancestry may also have come from Greek slaves brought by Xerxes I. Some like the Ghilji also claim Turkish descent having settled in the Hindu Kush area and began to assimilate much of the culture and language of the Pashtun tribes already present there.


title: Pashtuns

text: One historical account connects the Pashtuns to a possible Ancient Egyptian past but this lacks supporting evidence.


title: Pashtuns

text: Henry Walter Bellew (1864) was of the view that the Pashtuns likely have mixed Greek and Rajput roots. Following Alexander's brief occupation, the successor state of the Seleucid Empire expanded influence on the Pashtuns until 305 BCE when they gave up dominating power to the Indian Maurya Empire as part of an alliance treaty.


title: Pashtuns

text: Vogelsang (2002) suggests that a single origin of the Pashtuns is unlikely but rather they are a tribal confederation.


title: Pashtuns

text: Their modern past stretches back to the Delhi Sultanate, particularly the Hotak dynasty and the Durrani Empire. The Hotaks were Ghilji tribesmen who rebelled against the Safavids and seized control over much of Persia from 1722 to 1729. This was followed by the conquests of Ahmad Shah Durrani who was a former high-ranking military commander under Nader Shah. He created the last Afghan empire that covered most of what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Indian Punjab, as well as the Kohistan and Khorasan provinces of Iran. After the decline of the Durrani dynasty in the first half of the 19th century under Shuja Shah Durrani, the Barakzai dynasty took control of the empire. Specifically, the Mohamedzai subclan held Afghanistan's monarchy from around 1826 to the end of Zahir Shah's reign in 1973. Former President Hamid Karzai is from the Popalzai tribe of Kandahar.


title: Pashtuns

text: The Pashtuns in Afghanistan resisted British designs upon their territory and kept the Russians at bay during the so-called "Great Game". By playing the two super powers against each other, Afghanistan remained an independent sovereign state and maintained some autonomy (see the Siege of Malakand). During the reign of Abdur Rahman Khan (1880–1901), Pashtun regions were politically divided by the Durand Line, and what is today western Pakistan fell within British India as a result of the border. In the 20th century, many politically active Pashtun leaders living under British rule of undivided India supported Indian independence, including Ashfaqulla Khan, Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai, Ajmal Khattak, Bacha Khan and his son Wali Khan (both members of the Khudai Khidmatgar), and were inspired by Mohandas Gandhi's non-violent method of resistance. Some Pashtuns also worked in the Muslim League to fight for an independent Pakistan, including Yusuf Khattak and Abdur Rab Nishtar who was a close associate of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.


title: Pashtuns

text: The Pashtuns of Afghanistan attained complete independence from British political intervention during the reign of Amanullah Khan, following the Third Anglo-Afghan War. By the 1950s a popular call for Pashtunistan began to be heard in Afghanistan and the new state of Pakistan. This led to bad relations between the two nations. The Afghan monarchy ended when President Daoud Khan seized control of Afghanistan from his cousin Zahir Shah in 1973, which opened doors for a proxy war by neighbors and the rise of Marxism. In April 1978, Daoud Khan was assassinated along with his family and relatives. Mujahideen commanders began being recruited in neighboring Pakistan for a guerrilla warfare against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan - the Marxist government was also dominated by Pashtun Khalqists. In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded its southern neighbor Afghanistan in order to defeat a rising insurgency. The mujahideen were funded by the United States, Saudi Arabia, China and others, and included some Pashtun commanders such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani. In the meantime, millions of Pashtuns fled their native land to live among other Afghan diaspora in Pakistan and Iran, and from there tens of thousands proceeded to North America, the European Union, the Middle East, Australia and other parts of the world.


title: Pashtuns

text: Many high-ranking government officials in Afghanistan are Pashtuns, including: Zalmay Rasoul, Abdul Rahim Wardak, Omar Zakhilwal, Ghulam Farooq Wardak, Anwar ul-Haq Ahady, Yousef Pashtun and Amirzai Sangin. The list of current governors of Afghanistan, as well as the parliamentarians in the House of the People and House of Elders, include large percentage of Pashtuns. The Chief of staff of the Afghan National Army, Sher Mohammad Karimi, and Commander of the Afghan Air Force, Mohammad Dawran, as well as Chief Justice of Afghanistan Abdul Salam Azimi and Attorney General Mohammad Ishaq Aloko also belong to the Pashtun ethnic group.


title: Pashtuns

text: Pashtuns not only played an important role in South Asia but also in Central Asia and the Middle East. Many of the non-Pashtun groups in Afghanistan have adopted the Pashtun culture and use Pashto as a second language. For example, many leaders of non-Pashtun ethnic groups in Afghanistan practice Pashtunwali to some degree and are fluent in Pashto language. These include Ahmad Shah Massoud, Ismail Khan, Mohammed Fahim, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, and many others. The Afghan royal family, which was represented by King Zahir Shah, belongs to the Mohammadzai tribe of Pashtuns. Other prominent Pashtuns include the 17th-century poets Khushal Khan Khattak and Rahman Baba, and in contemporary era Afghan Astronaut Abdul Ahad Mohmand, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad, and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai among many others.


title: Pashtuns

text: Many Pashtuns of Pakistan and India have adopted non-Pashtun cultures, and learned other languages such as Urdu, Punjabi, and Hindko. These include Ghulam Mohammad (first Finance Minister, from 1947 to 1951, and third Governor-General of Pakistan, from 1951 to 1955), Ayub Khan, who was the second President of Pakistan, and Zakir Husain, who was the third President of India. Many more held high government posts, such as Fazal-ur-Rehman, Asfandyar Wali Khan, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Sirajul Haq, and Aftab Ahmad Sherpao, who are presidents of their respective political parties in Pakistan. Others became famous in sports (e.g., Imran Khan, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Irfan Pathan, Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan, Rashid Khan, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman) and literature (e.g., Ghani Khan, Hamza Shinwari, and Kabir Stori). Malala Yousafzai, who became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 2014, is a Pakistani Pashtun.


title: Pashtuns

text: Many of the Bollywood film stars in India have Pashtun ancestry; some of the most notable ones are Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Feroz Khan, Madhubala, Kader Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Sara Ali Khan, and Zarine Khan. In addition, one of India's former presidents, Zakir Hussain, belonged to the Afridi tribe. Mohammad Yunus, India's former ambassador to Algeria and advisor to Indira Gandhi, is of Pashtun origin and related to the legendary Bacha Khan.


title: Pashtuns

text: The wars in Afghanistan altered the balance of power in the country - Pashtuns were historically dominant in the country, but the emergence of well-organized armed groups consisting of Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras, combined with politically fragmented Pashtuns, reduced their influence on the state. In 1992, following the mujahideen victory, Burhanuddin Rabbani became the first non-Pashtun President in Afghanistan.


title: Pashtuns

text: In the late 1990s, Pashtuns were the primary ethnic group in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban regime). The Northern Alliance that was fighting against the Taliban also included a number of Pashtuns. Among them were Abdullah Abdullah, Abdul Qadir and his brother Abdul Haq, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, Asadullah Khalid, Hamid Karzai and Gul Agha Sherzai. The Taliban regime was ousted in late 2001 during the US-led War in Afghanistan and replaced with the Karzai administration. This was followed by the Ghani administration.


title: Pashtuns

text: The long wars in Afghanistan have led to Pashtuns on both sides of the border gaining a "reputation" for violence. Conflict as well as the Taliban have also led to a decline in traditional Pashtun customs including Pashtun music and poetry. Some activists and intellectuals are trying to rebuild Pashtun intellectualism and its pre-war culture.


title: Pashtuns

text: According to a study from 2012 called "Afghanistan from a Y-chromosome perspective", the study from a sample size of 190 showed R1a1a-M198 to be the most dominant haplogroup in Pashtuns at 67.4%. In the north, it peaks at 50% while in the south, it peaks at 65.8%. R1a-Z2125 occurs at a frequency of 40% in Pashtuns from Northern Afghanistan. This subclade is also predominantly present among Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, and Bashkir ethnic groups, as well as in some populations in the Caucasus and Iran.


title: Pashtuns

text: Haplogroup G-M201 reaches 14.7% in Afghan Pashtuns and is the second most frequent haplogroup in Pashtuns from southern Afghanistan. It is virtually absent from all other Afghan populations. This haplogroup is reported at high frequencies in the Caucasus and is thought to be associated with the Neolithic expansion throughout the region.


title: Pashtuns

text: Haplogroup L-M20 exhibits substantial disparity in its distribution on either side of the Hindu Kush range, with 25% of Pashtuns from northern Afghanistan belonging to this lineage, compared with only 4.8% of males from the south. Paragroup L3*-M357 accounts for the majority of L-M20 chromosomes among Afghan Pashtuns in both the north and south.


title: Pashtuns

text: According to a Mitochondrial DNA analysis of four ethnic groups of Afghanistan, the majority of mtDNA among Afghan Pashtuns belongs to West Eurasian lineages, and share a greater affinity with West Eurasian and Central Asian populations rather than to populations of South Asia or East Asia. The haplogroup analysis indicates the Pashtuns and Tajiks share some sort of ancestral heritage. The study also states that among the studied ethnic groups, the Pashtuns have the greatest HVS-I sequence diversity.


title: Pashtuns

text: Among historians, anthropologists, and the Pashtuns themselves, there is some debate as to who exactly qualifies as a Pashtun. The most prominent views are:


title: Pashtuns

text: These three definitions may be described as the ethno-linguistic definition, the religious-cultural definition and the patrilineal definition, respectively.


title: Pashtuns

text: The ethno-linguistic definition is the most prominent and accepted view as to who is and is not a Pashtun. Generally, this most common view holds that Pashtuns are defined within the parameters of having mainly eastern Iranian ethnic origins, sharing a common language, culture and history, living in relatively close geographic proximity to each other, and acknowledging each other as kinsme. Thus, tribe that speak disparate yet mutually intelligible dialects of Pashto acknowledge each other as ethnic Pashtuns, and even subscribe to certain dialects as "proper", such as the Pukhto spoken by the Yusufzai, Gigyani tribe, Ghilji and other tribes in Eastern Afghanistan and the Pashto spoken by the Kakar, Wazir, Khilji and Durranis in Southern Afghanistan. These criteria tend to be used by most Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan.


title: Pashtuns

text: The Durranis and Ghiljis (or Ghilzais) are the two largest groups of Pashtuns, with approximately two-thirds of Afghan Pashtuns belonging to these confederations. The Durrani tribe has been more urban and politically successful, while the Ghiljis are larger, more rural, and apparently tougher. In the 18th century, the two collaborated at times and at other times fought each other. With a few gaps, Durranis ruled modern Afghanistan continuously until the Saur Revolution of 1978; the new communist rulers were Ghilji.


title: Pashtuns

text: Tribal allegiances are stronger among the Ghilji, while governance of the Durrani confederation is more to do with cross-tribal structures of land ownership.


title: Pashtuns

text: The cultural definition requires Pashtuns to adhere to Pashtunwali codes. Orthodox tribesmen, may refuse to recognise any non-Muslim as a Pashtun. However, others tend to be more flexible and sometimes define who is Pashtun based on cultural and not religious criteria: Pashtun society is not homogenous by religion. The overwhelming majority of Pashtuns are Sunni, with a tiny Shia community (the Turi and partially the Bangash tribe) in the Kurram and Orakzai agencies of FATA, Pakistan. There are also Hindu Pashtuns, sometimes known as the Sheen Khalai, who have moved predominantly to India.


title: Pashtuns

text: The patrilineal definition is based on an important orthodox law of Pashtunwali which mainly requires that only those who have a Pashtun father are Pashtun. This law has maintained the tradition of exclusively patriarchal tribal lineage. This definition places less emphasis on what language one speaks, such as Pashto, Dari, Hindko, Urdu, Hindi or English. There are various communities who claim Pashtun origin but are largely found among other ethnic groups in the region who generally do not speak the Pashto language. These communities are often considered overlapping groups or are simply assigned to the ethno-linguistic group that corresponds to their geographic location and mother tongue. The Niazi is one of these groups.


title: Pashtuns

text: Claimants of Pashtun heritage in South Asia have mixed with local Muslim populations and are referred to as "Pathan," the Hindustani form of "Pashtun". These communities are usually partial Pashtun, to varying degrees, and often trace their Pashtun ancestry through a paternal lineage. The Pathans in India have lost both the language and presumably many of the ways of their ancestors, but trace their fathers' ethnic heritage to the Pashtun tribes.


title: Pashtuns

text: Smaller number of Pashtuns living in Pakistan are also fluent in Hindko, Seraiki and Balochi. These languages are often found in areas such as Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Attock, Khanewal, Multan, Dera Ismail Khan and Balochistan.


title: Pashtuns

text: Some Indians claim descent from Pashtun soldiers who settled in India by marrying local women during the Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent. No specific population figures exist, as claimants of Pashtun descent are spread throughout the country. Notably, the Rohillas, after their defeat by the British, are known to have settled in parts of North India and intermarried with local ethnic groups. They are believed to have been bilingual in Pashto and Urdu until the mid-19th century. Some Urdu-speaking Muhajir people of India claiming descent from Pashtuns began moving to Pakistan in 1947. Many Pathans chose to live in the Republic of India after the partition of India and Khan Mohammad Atif, a professor at the University of Lucknow, estimates that "The population of Pathans in India is twice their population in Afghanistan".


title: Pashtuns

text: During the 19th century, when the British were accepting peasants from British India as indentured servants to work in the Caribbean, South Africa and other far away places, Rohillas who had lost their empire were unemployed and restless were sent to places as far as Trinidad, Surinam, Guyana, and Fiji, to work with other Indians on the sugarcane fields and perform manual labour. Many of these immigrants stayed there and formed unique communities of their own. Some of them assimilated with the other South Asian Muslim nationalities to form a common Indian Muslim community in tandem with the larger Indian community, losing their distinctive heritage. Their descendants mostly speak English and other local languages. Some Pashtuns travelled to as far away as Australia during the same era.


title: Pashtuns

text: Pashto is the mother tongue of Pashtuns. It is one of the two national languages of Afghanistan. In Pakistan, although being the second-largest language being spoken, it is often neglected officially in the education system. This has been criticised as adversely impacting the economic advancement of Pashtuns, as students do not have the ability to comprehend what is being taught in other languages fully. Robert Nichols remarks:


title: Pashtuns

text: Pashto is categorised as an Eastern Iranian language, but a remarkably large number of words are unique to Pashto. Pashto morphology in relation to verbs is complex compared to other Iranian languages. In this respect MacKenzie states:


title: Pashtuns

text: Pashto has a large number of dialects: generally divided into Northern, Southern and Central groups; and also Tarino or Waṇetsi as distinct group. As Elfenbein notes: "Dialect differences lie primarily in phonology and lexicon: the morphology and syntax are, again with the exception of Wanetsi, quite remarkably uniform". Ibrahim Khan provides the following classification on the letter ښ: the Northern Western dialect (e.g. spoken by the Ghilzai) having the phonetic value , the North Eastern (spoken by the Yusafzais etc.) having the sound , the South Western (spoken by the Abdalis etc.) having and the South Eastern (spoken by the Kakars etc.) having . He illustrates that the Central dialects, which are spoken by the Karlāṇ tribes, can also be divided on the North and South distinction but provides that in addition these Central dialects have had a vowel shift which makes them distinct: for instance represented by aleph the non-Central dialects becoming in Banisi dialect.


title: Pashtuns

text: The first Pashto alphabet was developed by Pir Roshan in the 16th century. In 1958, a meeting of Pashtun scholars and writers from both Afghanistan and Pakistan, held in Kabul, standardised the present Pashto alphabet.


title: Pashtuns

text: Pashtun culture is based on Pashtunwali and the usage of the Pashto language. Pre-Islamic traditions, dating back to Alexander's defeat of the Persian Empire in 330 BC, possibly survived in the form of traditional dances, while literary styles and music reflect influence from the Persian tradition and regional musical instruments fused with localised variants and interpretation. Poetry is a big part of Pashtun culture and it has been for centuries.


title: Pashtuns

text: Pashtun culture is a unique blend of native customs with some influences from Western or Southern Asia. Like other Muslims, Pashtuns celebrate "Ramadan" and "Eid al-Fitr". In Afghanistan some also celebrate "Nowruz", which is the Persian New Year dating back to Zoroastrianism. The Kabul dialect is used to standardize the present Pashto alphabet.


title: Pashtuns

text: Pashtunwali () refers to an ancient self-governing tribal system that regulates nearly all aspects of Pashtun life ranging from community to personal level. One of the better known tenets is "Melmastyā́" (), hospitality and asylum to all guests seeking help. Perceived injustice calls for "Badál" (), swift revenge. Many aspects promote peaceful co-existence, such as "Nənawā́te" (), the humble admission of guilt for a wrong committed, which should result in automatic forgiveness from the wronged party. These and other basic precepts of Pashtunwali continue to be followed by many Pashtuns, especially in rural areas.


title: Pashtuns

text: Another prominent Pashtun institution is the "lóya jirgá" () or 'grand council' of elected elders. Most decisions in tribal life are made by members of the "jirgá" (), which has been the main institution of authority that the largely egalitarian Pashtuns willingly acknowledge as a viable governing body.


title: Pashtuns

text: The majority of Pashtuns use Pashto as their native tongue, believed to belong to the Indo-Iranian language family, and is spoken by up to 60 million people. It is written in the Pashto-Arabic script and is divided into two main dialects, the southern "Pashto" and the northern "Pukhto". The language has ancient origins and bears similarities to extinct languages such as Avestan and Bactrian. Its closest modern relatives may include Pamir languages, such as Shughni and Wakhi, and Ossetic. Pashto may have ancient legacy of borrowing vocabulary from neighbouring languages including such as Persian and Vedic Sanskrit. Modern borrowings come primarily from the English language.


title: Pashtuns

text: Fluency in Pashto is often the main determinant of group acceptance as to who is considered a Pashtun. Pashtun nationalism emerged following the rise of Pashto poetry that linked language and ethnic identity. Pashto has national status in Afghanistan and regional status in neighboring Pakistan. In addition to their native tongue, many Pashtuns are fluent in Dari, English and Urdu. Throughout their history, poets, prophets, kings and warriors have been among the most revered members of Pashtun society. Early written records of Pashto began to appear around the 16th century.