The Mullagori (or Malagori) (Pashto: ملاكوري) are a Pashtun tribe who inhabit the Khyber Agency, one of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.
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The Mallagori are believed to be one of the tribes descended from Muhammad of Ghor. They settled just north of the Khyber Pass during the time when Islam was brought to South Asia. Other areas inhabited by the Mallagori include Munda (near Shabqadar), Harichand (in Charsadda) and Peshawar (near the Shah Qabul areas of Dabgari, and on Dalazak Road). They hold to a tradition that when Muhammad of Ghor was killed by enemies, some of his family members came to the hills of Tatara in the Khyber Agency and laid the foundations for a village named Bara Dara. They felt safe there; at that time the hills were deeply forested, protecting them from enemies. In addition, the forests provided wild fruits and vegetables sufficient for their survival.
The name Mallagori is derived from mulla (religious leader) and Ghori (from Muhammad of Ghor). British colonial governmental records misspelled the word Ghori as Gori. In his book, The Pathan Borderland, James W. Spain believes the Mallagori to be the descendants of the Mulla Ghor (son of Ba-Yazid Ansari, the Pir Rokhan of the Pakhtuns, and Pir Tarik of the Mughals).[1] The Pakhtun historian Bahadur Shah Zafar Kaka Khel, in his book Pukhtana da Tarikh pa Ranra key, is of the opinion that the Mallagori are a subgroup of the Mohmand tribe. However, some oral sources has further clarified the situation about Mallagori's origin. They opine that Mallagori are in fact a section of Dawezai Momands. In the Dawezai area in Momand Agency, more than 600 Mallagori families still reside. On the basis of this, Mallagori are Mohmand / Momand, and in Momands belongs to Dawezai sub-section. Interestingly, everywhere Mallagori resides near Momands, and in most cases are in matrimonial relations with them. Historically, Mallagori have remained in a very cordial relations with the other sections of Momands, and have supported each others causes, in case of tribal wars with other tribes like Afridis etc.
The forefather of the Mallagori was said to have had four sons, and each son fathered a sub-section of the Mallagori tribe. The four sub-tribes are named for the sons:
The Taar Khel make up 50% of the total population of Mallagori living in the Khyber Agency. They are the best educated and have influential jobs, while the Pahar Khel dominate in the affairs of their tribe.
There are about 250 marble factories in the area, which employ not only Mallagori tribesmen but also the residents of nearby villages.
The Mallagori inhabit two main areas: the Khakata Mena (lower area) and the Lowarha Mena (upper area). The Tatara Hill, a tourist resort, separates the Mallagori from the Afridi and the Kabul River separates them from the Mohmand tribe. There are a considerable number of Mallagori families residing in Mohmand Agency, across the Kabul River.
Most of the Mallagori area has dry hills with wild grasses and the local fruit trees of Gurgure. Tatara is a picnic spot dating from the colonial era. It is a small village of 1,000 to 1,500 with green hills, springs and cool summer weather during the summer, and is also the location of a shrine to Hazrath Masoom Baba. The people of Tatara are known for their hospitality. Another picnic spot in the area is Warsak Dam, at which there is a rest house for visitors provided by the Pakistani government. The village of Shaheed Mina, located on the bank of the Kabul River, is also a popular picnicking spot.
As of 2011, the Mallagori population is about 50,000. The chief villages are Lora Miana, Paindi Lalma, Sher Braj, Murad Dand, Tatara and Nehar Ghara.
The Mallagori are underserved in schools built by the Pakistani government. In a population of about 50,000, there is no middle (or high school) for girls and no college for boys. While the Pakistani government built a high school for Mallagori boys in 1975, there is no middle school for girls in the Mallagori area of the Khyber Agency. Although the Frontier Corps has opened a cadet college in the Mallagori area, despite promises no seats are given to Mallagori students. Former governor Syed Iftkhar Hussain Shah promised to build a Higher Secondary School for Mallagori students when he visited Jamrud. Work begun on Lowara Mina High School; after six rooms were built, the government withdrew its support for the remainder of the project.