February 19, 2002

Although the Pushto language is deprived of official patronage and the Pashtun elites do not pay much attention to it, it manages to keep pace with neighbouring languages in the field of literature and publication. The history of Pushto literature reveals that it thrives more in times of crisis — as was the case with Pir Rokhan, Khushal Khan Khattak and the Khudai Khidmatgar movement of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. It is likely that the Saur revolution (1978) in Afghanistan accelerated the pace of development of Pushto not only in that country but in other regions of the world as well. Heretofore, Afghan writers and scholars gave more attention to research work to avoid the risk of persecution which outbursts of emotion in creative literature would expose them to.

In that effort, many gems of knowledge and interest were recovered from oblivion. After the Saur revolution, the Communist rulers arranged the translation of technical knowledge in hundreds of volumes of Pushto and Dari languages to help run the affairs of the state. On the other hand, writers among the refugees and the mujahideen dedicated their pens to writing for the freedom struggle.

Unfortunately, the first mujahideen government burned all the books found in the libraries in Kabul in order “to obliterate the marks of Communism”. Mullah Wala Jan Wasiq, the Information Minister in that government, headed by Hazrat Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, claims the ‘credit’ for having ordered the destruction of ‘Communist literature’. Writers and intellectuals abroad took to work collectively as well as individually to fill up the yawning gap.

In Pakistan, Pushto has been included in the syllabi at different levels of schools and colleges, but some government employees of the education department blatantly defy the rule and dissuade young students from opting for Pushto as a subject. If there is a choice between Pushto and Arabic, the so-called patriotic and religious teachers prevail upon their students to select Arabic. Thus they believe they earn sawab and prove their patriotism.

If the choice is between arts and Pushto, parents want their children to take up the former for materialistic gains. Hence, Pushto is the loser in every way. Even in government and business circles, many people try to speak in other languages — in broken and heavy accent — instead of their mother tongue, which they can speak fluently.

Thus neglected, Pushto has no patrons. Yet, the publication of Pushto books maintains a steady pace. The late Ghani Khan (lewanay falsafee - the crazy philosopher), son of Bacha Khan, had once observed that a culture grows and develops in centuries. Hence it can be said conversely that it takes centuries to wipe out a culture. The basic factor that paradoxically contributes to the survival of Pushto is the economic backwardness and lower rate of literacy among the Pushto speakers, as compared with some privileged ethnic groups of Pakistan.

The preceding year (2001) saw more than a hundred new titles of Pushto reach the market in Peshawar alone. Pushto books are also published in Karachi, Quetta and Lahore in Pakistan as well as in some foreign countries. A cursory look at these titles indicates that the young writers have come up to expectations, following closely in the footstep of the retiring generation. A majority of these authors comes from the middle class.

More than seventy titles of 2001 were prose — almost double those of verse. Afghan writers are more concerned about the situation in their ill-fated country. Most of their works relate to the current tragic events, constituting a primary source of Afghan history. Some young writers penned imaginative works, including, at least, three novels and some books of short stories.

One novel has been written by Dr Abdul Qadeer Pukhtunmwal, Kartoos, and two by Aimal Pasarlee, Obo Urhay. The latter is the son of Mohammed Siddique Pasarlee — a renowned poet and prose writer of Afghanistan. These works have also been influenced by the tragic plight of the Afghans. Some old guards, including Abdullah Bakhtanay Khidmatgar and Habibullah Rafie, also continued their literary pursuits. Khidmatgar brought out a profile of Gul Pacha Ulfat, Zama Ustad Ulfat, whereas Rafie continued exploration of lost works.

However, the most remarkable achievement of Rafie was the treatise on the crisis of the idols (Da bootano hangama). The Taliban had destroyed the historical statues of Buddha in Bamian ignoring international pleas and threats. Rafie’s book opposes the breaking of the statues with convincing arguments.

Abdullah Mamuzai translated into Pushto the famous work of Shibli No’mani on Imam Abu Hanifa. Afghan scholars claim that the grandfather of Abu Hanifa had been taken a prisoner from Parwan in the north of Kabul. Hence, the great Imam was Afghan by origin.

Coincidentally almost hundred per cent of Sunni Pukhtuns follow the Hanafite creed of Islam, which was defined as the official religion of Afghanistan in the constitution of 1964.

Haji Wali Mohammed compiled a chronology of events in Afghanistan, Da Afghanistan pekhleek, and Hasan Gul Bandawal compiled a dictionary of Pukhtun tribes and clans, Pakhtane qabail au khilona (qamoos). Both are valuable for future research in these fields. The bi-lingual (English and Pushto) book on Alhaj Mohammad Naeem (Haji Agha) is a sort of tribute to him from his sons. It has been named Da Alhaj Mohammad Naeem (Haji Agha). Along with a short biography, the book contains complimentary messages and condolences from his friends and well-wishers and some relevant clippings from newspapers. This scribe has made translations from Pushto into English and vice versa.

Some useful books on technical subjects were also published last year. Dr Zalmay Shahryar and his wife Dr Begum Jan compiled five illustrated booklets on basic health for the Tribal Women Welfare Associations.

They are on treatment of tuberculosis, clean potable water, prevention, tetanus and pregnancy. They are distributed free in the tribal areas. Dr Deedar Ahmadzai published his work in the US on common diseases and their treatment. Dr Jeegar Shinwari discussed infectious diseases in his book. The works of Kabir Storee (who stays in Germany) relate to psychiatry — phobia and mental diseases. Dr Mohammad Taufiq and Dr Mohammad Ibrahim Shinwari have jointly brought out a book on preventive medicine.

Mohammad Omar Darman defines microbiology. Engineer Mohammad Mashooq Patyar discussed the strength of elements in his book. The works of Mohammad Tahir Borgee include his book on civil rights and a translation of sources of the contemporary major legal systems, Madani huqooq. Almost all the Pakistani authors of Pushto books belong to the younger generation. The most notable of them are Afsar Ali Khan, Azharullah Azhar, Dr Suhail Insha, Muzakkar Shah Khalil and Hanif Khalil. Dr Insha published his research on the social structure of the Pukhtun tribal order, Pukhtane neway jorhakht. Muzakkar Shah published his revealing thesis for the MPhil degree on the late Abdul Khaliq Khaleeq, which contains some rare documents, Khaliq Khaleeq: da Abdul Khaleeq Zhwand au adabi khidmat. Khaleeq was a veteran Khudai Khidmatgar and a close associate of Bacha Khan. He earned his fame for his literary contributions and his service to development and propagation of Pushto language.

Hanif Khalil has drawn pen pictures of ten poets and writers. They are Hamza Shinwari, Said Rasul Rasa, Fazal Haq Shaida, Ghani Khan, Ashraf Maftoon, Ajmal Khattak, Yunus Khalil, Hamesh Khalil, Qalandar Momand and Preshan Khattak. Major (Retd) Mohammad Nawaz compiled a book of proverbs. A significant contribution to Pushto is the publication of Da bara momand tareekh (History of the Momand tribe of Bara delta), Vol. III. The author is Khwaja Mohammad Sayel of Bahadur Killi, a retired educationist. The last assignment that he held was that of Principal, Government Degree College, Pabbi. He has tried to clarify certain controversies. The book covers the period 1657-1857.

In the field of poetry, the younger generation from the Pakistani side of the border indulged in romantic expression and progressive ideas, concentrating more on figures of speech. Ghorzanguna (waves - struggles) of Abaseen Yusufzai, in its second edition, contains good poetry with progressive ideas, whereas the posthumous publication of Drand (haystack) of Khyber Afridi is romantic poetry. Of the Afghan poets, the works of Abdullah Ghamkhor and Mohammed Hasham Zamani are worth mentioning.

Ghamkhor combined his poetry in Da Ghamkhor kuliyat and Zamani in Loya qurbani (great sacrifice). Most of the poems in these books relate to the post-revolutionary turmoil in Afghanistan. A book of Hasham Zamani Qutbi khirs, included in this collection, was translated into English and published under the title of Polar bear. Some poems in English were translated into some European languages including French and Italian for dailies and periodicals.

Among all these titles (both in prose and in verse), only one was written by a woman writer — Da shago mazal (travel through the sand) by Fareeda Hood, a physician from Ningrahar. It has been published by Danish Khparandoye Tolana (Danish Publications) in Peshawar. As the title suggest, most of the verses in the book express the hard life of the Afghans.

In short, poets and writers of the young generation, with new experiments and approaches, dominated the year, having made considerable advancement in prose. In the field of poetry, the younger writers have yet to match the heights reached by the outstanding poets of the retiring generation.

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