Dr. Ali Jan

Until 1909, Pashto literature was confined to book pages in the form of poetry and dastan (classic literature), then Hakim Syed Abdullah Shah, editor of 'Afghan' introduced it in the columns of his newspaper and made it available for reading by general public. Subsequently, another newspaper 'Khyber' was brought out by the students and staff of Islamia College around 1917. Later in 1926, a magazine was launched by the same name. Another magazine 'Sarhad' had been launched the previous year (1925), which was followed by 'Pakhtun' in 1927 and Staray Mashay in 1931. The launch of these publications contributed immensely to the development of literature at a time when Frontier was strife with commotion, the memory of the third Anglo-Afghan war was still fresh and bans on anti-state publications were not uncommon. These publications cultivated the seeds of political awareness among Pathans - Pashto being the unifying factor. Apart from being the forerunners to founding of various literary circles, they cast many learned and respected Pashto scholars, intellectuals, writers and poets of that time under limelight, which includes a very long list of names. This juncture in our literary history can be aptly described as the "Pashto Renaissance" era.

Sample excerpts from these journals have been provided along with introductions that came along with the publications of each issue. These excerpts give the reader an idea of the circumstances in which these publications were launched and the spirit & enthusiasm with which they were received by our elders of those times. A very interesting discussion on the Pashto alphabet (excerpts taken from Sarhad's earliest issues) is also included.

Note: Click on Images to Expand

Sarhad

سرحد

يو لنډ پېغام

سبب د اجراء د رسالې

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4		5		6

د پښتو الف بی تی ثی (تهجی)

د غلام سرور خان و د فضل اکرم کاکا خېل تر مېنځه بحث. غلام سرور خان د ګورنمنټ هائي سکول مردان هېډ ماسټر تېر شوي دي و فضل اکرم د ميان ګړهي نه تعلق لري.تعرف لاندې ور کړې شوې دې:

د غلام سرور خان مقاله

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د فضل اکرم کاکاخېل ړومبې ځواب

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د غلام سرور خان ړومبې ځواب

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د فضل اکرم کاکا خېل دوېم ځواب

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4

Afghan

افغان

سببد اجراء د افغان

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Starhay Mashay

ستړې مه شې

د ښځو بېداري تاريخ (د اسلام نه وړنبي و بيا پس د ښځو حال)؛ منشي احمد جان

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پښتو ژبه؛ منشي احمد جان

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Further Reading:

1. Dr. Ali Jan., Literary History of Pashto under the British Raj
2. Fazlur Rahim Marwat., Pashto Literature; A Quest for Identity, Conf: Univ. of Texas, 14-15 November 2002

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