Urdu ki Tashkil Main Pushtoonon Ka Kirdaar

Urdu ki Tashkil Main Pushtoonon Ka Kirdaar

Hanif Khalil

Published by National Language Authority, Islamabad
Pages: 351
Price: Rs 170

By Khadim Hussain

It is, in the present times, a matter of common knowledge that Urdu originated from the classical languages of South Asia, Central Asia and Middle East, which undoubtedly are Sanskrit, Persian (Avesta) and Arabic.
Numerous researches in this direction have indicated that, till some 4,000 years ago, Sanskrit was a powerful tool of communication and aesthetic expression for the Arians. Sanskrit originated in the ancient Ariana and the central part of old India, where the first university of this language was established thousands of years ago.
There is a close relationship between Pushto and Sanskrit, to the extent that some researchers have presumed that Sanskrit has originated from Pushto. Jen Enevoldson is of the opinion that the tribal code of the Pushtoons is the old Aryan code of honour, which one may find being practised in the early histories of all Indo-European people. He further says that old Scandinavian sagas closely resemble the epic tribal history of the Pushtoons.
Though Hanif Khalil categorically refutes the propositions of researchers that the Pushtoons have Aryan, Semitic, Scythian or Greek origins. He claims that the Pushtoons are a peculiar race having their own distinct features and historical legacy, who have socially, culturally and of course linguistically influenced all the races that have been living in South Asia or Central Asia for a long time.
In his well-researched book under review, he has brought under exhaustive discussion the origin of the Pushtoons, the antiquity of their language, the influences of the Pushtoons on the culture and civilization of India, the relationship of the sources of Urdu with the Pushto language, the contribution of the Pushtoons to the development of Urdu, and the works of the Pushtoon writers in the context of Urdu literature.
The Pushtoons (alternately known as the Afghans as well) entered India through its western borders and, in different eras, established their kingdoms in different parts of India. Indian civilization had the capacity to absorb foreign invaders culturally but, strangely enough, this did not happen in the case of the Afghans or the Pushtoons. The religion, culture and lifestyle of the Pushtoons, on the other hand, strongly influenced the socio-cultural lives of the people of India. The cultural and literary centers established by the Pushtoons in Rampore, Najibabad, Muradabad, Bijnore and Bareli bear testimony to this. The socio-cultural and literary contributions of the Pushtoon personalities like Nawab Faizullah Khan, Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan, Nawab Ahmad Ali Khan and Nawab Yousaf Ali Khan are well known in the scholastic circles of Rampore.
Going through a number of authentic sources, Hanif Khalil has proved that several languages of India, which might later on have become the origin of Urdu, came under the influence of Pushto during the interaction of the Pushtoons with the society, culture and civilization of India. Sanskrit, Persian and Turkish, which are the proven sources of the origin of Urdu, have been in interaction with Pushto for several hundred years before the advent of Urdu.
Khalil has extended the frontiers of the study to prove that other numerous probable sources of Urdu's origin like Balochi, Sindhi, Brahvi, and Punjabi have been enormously influenced by Pushto and the Pushtoons, which means that Pushto and the Pushtoons have contributed a great deal to the creation and development of Urdu.
The Afghans (or the Pushtoons) in India were rulers, soldiers, civil servants, businessmen and mystics during the eras of Lodhis, Rohilas, Tughluqs, Khiljis and even Mughals. It is, therefore, understandable that they influenced all the languages of India and especially Urdu to a great extent.
To support this contention, Hanif Khalil has taken references from Dr Jamil Jalibi, Farigh Bukhari, Henry Walter, Imtiaz Ali Khan Arshi and numerous other authentic scholars of the sub-continent. Not only this, Hanif Khalil has brought under discussion the principles of linguistics, historical data, biographies and anthropological sources to prove that the contribution of Pushto in the creation and development of Urdu is undeniable.
Another important aspect of the issue is the contribution of the Pushtoon writers who wrote in Urdu and took part in the linguistic and literary development of the language. Hanif Khalil has discovered that the great grandfather of Fariduddin Ganj Shakar, named Farah Shah Ghauri, has written poetry in Urdu. Great classical Pushtoon writers like Bayazid Ansari, Mahmood, Misri Khan Gigyani, Maezulla Momand, Qasim Ali Khan and a number of other Pushtoons have written in Urdu at a time when Urdu literature was just an infant. The Pushtoon writers have tried their hand in Urdu in diverse genres like poetry, fiction, research, criticism, religious studies and history.
Urdu ki Tashkil Main Pushtoonon Ka Kirdaar deserves to be noticed on account of both its form and matter. Several other writers have written on the history of Pushto and the Pushtoons, but the book by Hanif Khalil can pride itself for pioneering findings on the relationship between the Pushtoons and Urdu, backed up by credible and authentic sources. The references have been taken from diverse sources like history, linguistics, political history and morphology, and arranged in a comprehensive manner.
The diction of the book is not only candid but also clear, precise and literary. A harmonious logical thread runs through the whole fabric of the book, which plays a vital role in convincing the readers of the propositions presented by the author.
A lecturer at the National Institute of Pakistan Studies of the Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, and a prolific writer both in Urdu and Pushto, Hanif Khalil, more than any other Pushto writer, has had the advantage of observing the cultural interaction among different nationalities of Pakistan, and has also an understanding of the sensitive nature of language issues in Pakistan. Academic writing on the social and historical aspects of languages in Pakistan demands careful and critical handling, especially if it is on the relationship between Urdu and other languages.
Through this book, Hanif Khalil has also added to the scarce research publications in our country.
Two issues, however, remain unresolved in the minds of the readers after going through the work under review. Firstly, the antiquity of Pushto must imply that there should be a large reservoir of linguistic, literary and scholastic writings available to the student of Pushto language and linguistics, which we do not find in India or in Pakistan. Secondly, by now Pushto should have become a language of scholastic and intellectual expression and a medium of instruction and trade in the areas where it is widely spoken.
The first question can be answered by assuming that there had been an oral tradition in the Pushtoon society for hundreds of years, while the second issue brings us to the controversial subject of power and language. There seem to be ruptures in the historical legacy of the Pushtoons, and it is because of this that Pushto was unable to sustain its intellectual and scholastic momentum.
We need to reconstruct the history of the Pushtoons through their folklore, as we do not have authentic sources to prove their origin. Moreover, Pushto folklore may unfold many other aspects of the culture, society and civilization of the Pushtoons, as it existed in the pre-historic times.