Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

He married Meharqanda in 1912; she was a daughter of Yar Mohammad Khan of the Kinankhel clan of the Mohammadzai tribe of Razzar. They had two sons, Abdul Ghani Khan and Abdul Wali Khan, and one daughter, Sardaro. Unfortunately his wife died in 1918.

He married Nambata, a cousin of his first wife, in 1920. The couple had a daughter and a son. Tragedy struck again when Nambata died in 1926 after falling down the stairs at their home. Ghaffar decided not to marry again in spite of being relatively young.

He lived a long life much of which was spent in social and political activism. He died on 20 January 1988 in Peshawar at the age of 97.

He was born on 6 February 1890 into a wealthy family in the Peshawar Valley of British India. His father, Bahram Khan was a landowner.

As a child he attended the British run Edward's mission school—the only fully functional school in his area. He was a good student and performed well in his studies.

He was much impressed by the Reverend Wigram, his mentor, and realized the important role education played in promoting development. Early on he became involved in activities aimed at eradicating poverty and promoting literacy.

He opened a mosque school in his hometown in 1910 when he was just 20. He was a principled and idealistic young man who traveled all over the country to promote his ideals about education.

He joined the independence movement of the Pashtun freedom fighter Haji Sahib of Turangzai, in 1911.

The British authorities banned his mosque school in 1915. Though saddened by this, Ghaffar was not disheartened. He decided that social activism and reform was the only way to bring about the emancipation of the Pashtuns.

He met Mahatma Gandhi, a prominent leader of the Indian independence movement, and was deeply influenced by his principles. Motivated by Gandhi he entered politics in 1919 during agitation over the Rowlatt Act.

In 1920, he joined the Khilafat movement which sought to strengthen the spiritual ties of Indian Muslims to the Turkish sultan, and the next year he was made the president of a district Khilafat committee in his native North-West Frontier Province.

He was presented with the Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience of the Year, in 1962.

He was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1967.

He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1987, making him the first non-Indian to receive this honour.