http://www.dawn.com/weekly/books/books3.htm

By Sher Alam Shinwari
December 4, 2005

The first ever world Hindko conference, with an aim of promoting the Hindko language and culture, was held recently in Peshawar under the auspicious of the Gandhara Hindko Board, a literary cum cultural organization. Attended by some 200 delegates who represented the Hindko speaking community in Europe, America, the UAE, the conference also attracted delegates from Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta, Multan, Bahawalpur, Abbotabad, Mansehra, Kashmir, Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, Potohar and Chitral.

On the occasion linguists, researchers and scholars read out papers on the origin, history and evolution of the Hindko language and literature produced in the language. The notion that Hindko is a dialect of Punjabi was rejected as according to an epitaph written in Khurashti script that was excavated from a well in Taxila, the Hindko language is as old as 5,000 years.

Held over two consecutive days (November 19 and 20), the conference had six sessions. The NWFP Senior Minister Sirajul Haq, District Peshawar Nazim Haji Ghulam Ali and two state ministers, Dr Naseem Ashraf and Anisa Zeb Tahir Kheli, represented the provincial and federal governments ,respectively. They supported the demands of the Hindko conference organizers. Sirajul Haq announced a Rs2,50,000 grant for this sole purpose while Haji Ghulam Ali, in addition to his Rs1,00,000, also promised to allocate free land for the establishment of a Hindko academy. Similarly, the state ministers announced Rs1,00,000 each for the Gandhara Hindko Board.

Professor Dr Zahoor Ahmad Awan, Chairman Gandhara Hindko Board (GHB), while introducing the board informed the audience that the Hindko Literary Society (HLS), an active literary organization has been rendering laudable services for the promotion of the Hindko language since its inception. It had founded the Gandhara Hindko Board, a literary cum cultural organization in 1993. The main objectives of the board were to create awareness among the Hindko speaking community besides encouraging the promotion of Hindko. Being a research institution it has brought out more than a 100 books on a variety of topics including a Hindko dictionary containing over 40,000 words along with phrases and translation of the Holy Quran in Hindko. It must be pointed out here that it did this without the financial support of the government.

The GHB since then has organized numerous literary seminars, conferences and mushairas. It also brings out a monthly literary magazine Hindkowan and arranges regular critical sessions on a weekly basis under its literary wing, the Gandhara Adabi Aikhat, which was founded in 1997 to encourage young writers of the language and to improve its readership. Syed Muhammad Ameer Shah Qadri Gillani is the founding patron of the Gandhara Adabi Aikhat while Syed Zafar Ali Shah is its patron-in-chief. Syed Noorul Hasnain Gillani (Sultan Agha) is a patron of the GHB. The cabinet includes Prof Dr Zahoor Ahmed Awan (chairman), Haji Muhammad Haleem Jan (chief organizer), Dr Adan Gul (vice chairman) and Muhammad Ziauddin (secretary). The workers coordinate with the cabinet members comprising Dr Salahuddin, Zafar Naveed Jani, Ahmed Nadeem Awan, Muhammad, Rafiq Kamran, Aftab Ahmed, Liaqat Hussain, Ijaz Hussain, Khalid Sultan Khawaja, Sharif Farooq and Yawar Naseer.

Speaking on the occasion, Sirajul Haq said that if they could establish departments of subcontinental languages in European countries then why can’t we do the same here by establishing a Hindko department. Dr Syed Amjad Hussain Zaidi (Baba-i-Peshawar), in his remarks, pointed out that the Hindko language suffered greatly during the British raj. Tribal wars and so were given more importance than the promotion of local culture. Sabir Hussain Imdad in his research paper revealed that the Hindko language can be traced back to Hazrat Adam (AS) and Hazrat Nooh (AS). Baba-i-Hindko, Mukhtar Ali Nayyar, said Hindko is spoken in Peshawar, Kohat, D.I. Khan, Hazara, Nowshera, Akora, Potohar, Jhelum, Kashmir (occupied and Azad) and parts of Karachi. It is taught in India and there is a separate Hindko department in Kashmir University.

Mukhtar Ali Nayyar elaborated on the workings of GHB’s well-equipped library and research cell. They are busy carrying out substantial scientific research in many fields pertaining to Hindko prose, poetry, linguistic, history and culture. “The main objective of the board is to promote Hindko language and literature and popularize the Hindkawan culture. To save the historic monuments of the walled city from further ruin is yet another important aim of the organization,” he maintained.

Prof Khatir Ghaznavi in his research paper titled “Hindko da mustaqbil” (The future of Hindko) said that Hindko was the mother and not the daughter, of other languages. He observed that the language had potential to maintain its identity in the global village.

Pointing to looming dangers, Dr Sabir Kalurvi said that Hindko was under the threat of English, Urdu and Pushto words. He maintained that language has its roots in culture and civilization which makes no language great or small. In fact, he termed the Hindko dictionary mentioned earlier as incomplete as it lacked references to local culture and different dialects of Hindko. “No dictionary could be comprehensive and complete unless it carried words, phrases and idioms used by common speakers of a particular language,” he said.

Punjabi scholar Shafqat Tanveer Mirza said that regional languages are being ignored by successive governments. He called for a formation of an All Languages Restoration Alliance (ALRA) to serve better the cause of the respective people in the country.

Dr Sabir Afaqi, a scholar of Gojri from Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, in his scholarly paper titled “A comparative study of Gojri and Hindko” revealed that Hindko had a close linguistics relationship with regional languages especially with the Gojri language. “Gojri and Hindko in a sense are one name of the two cultures,” he observed.

Prof Dr Elahi Bakhash Awan, a renowned UK based Hindko scholar and author of 28 books, who wrote his first PhD thesis “The phonology of verbal phrase in Hindko” in 1974 from London University, in his paper observed, “The civilization of the Hindko homeland is over thousands of years old. This is not a slogan. Nor is it a sentimental statement. On the contrary it is based on strong historical, archaeological, literary and linguistic evidence. The myth that the Aryans brought civilization to this part of the world implies that there was no civilization in the subcontinent before their arrival. The fact is that the Aryans who invaded this land were ruthless enough to have destroyed the great civilization of the Hindko land when they occupied it.”

Raja, Rasalo, Dr Karimullah, Dr Ejaz Rahi, Inamullah, Prof Ghulam Ahmad Shad, Malik Safdar Awan, Mashkoor Saberi, Dr Anwaar Chesti, Muhammad Aslam Jan, Sultan Muhammad Shaheen, Sardar Khan Fana, Muhammad Jan Atif, Prof Mehrab Khawar, Wilayat Azhar, Farooq Jan Babar, Agha Anwar Gul, Prof Bashir Ahmad Soz, Haider Zaman Haider, Dr Inayatullah Faizi and Dr Shahbaz Malik read out their thought-provoking research papers on the comparative study of Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Kashmiri, Gojri, Potohari, Khowar, Torwali and Seraiki. At the end of the programme, 40 GHB awards and souvenirs were given away to the scholars and writers who contributed to Hindko language and literature.

Also, a grand world Hindko mushaira was held at the historical Gorghtree in which more than 80 prominent Hindko poets took part. Also messages sent in by the once residents of the walled city and prominent writer R.R. Chopra and Bollywood greats like Dilip Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Prof Dr Satiapal Anand and Prof Dr Anand Pamela (Professors of comparative studies in Washington DC) were read out in which they showed their love for Hindko and Peshawar. The visitors and participants took a keen interest in the Hindko bookstalls and bought many old and newly published books on various topics in the language.

==Resolutions==

A committee comprising Dr Elahi Bakhash Awan, Prof Dr Fazil Chesti, Dr Inayatullah Faizi, Prof Dr Fahmida Hussain, Sabir Hussain Imdad and Aftab Ahmad adopted 13 resolutions which were passed unanimously by the participants. These are as follows:

1. Hindko is the second main regional language of NWFP. The government should forthwith implement its decision of setting up a Hindko Academy so that research on the preservation and promotion of Hindko language and literature is conducted in an organized manner.

2. The Department for Hindko Studies should be set up at the University of Peshawar and the University of Hazara to facilitate higher research on Hindko language and literature.

3. An Institute of Hindko Language and Culture should be set up for the promotion of Hindko language and Hindkowan culture.

4. A Hindko Adabi Board should be set up under official patronage.

5. Arrangements should be made to introduce Hindko as a medium of instruction at primary level in Hindko speaking areas.

6. The state-run radio and television should give due coverage to Hindko language.

7. The birth anniversaries of great Hindko mystic poets Sain Ahmad Ali Peshawari and Sain Ghulam Din Hazarvi should be celebrated officially at the provincial level.

8. A Sain Ahmad Ali Chair should be set up at the University of Peshawar and a Sain Ghulam Din Hazarvi Chair at Hazara University to facilitate research work on these great Hindko mystic poets.

9. The government should construct a monument in memory of Sain Ahmad Ali Peshawari at his mazar.

10. The April 23, 1930 Qisssa Khwani firing incident should be included in the course of study to pay tributes to the people of Peshawar who laid down their lives for the cause of freedom.

11. Hindko should be inserted in the mother tongue column of the census form in the next population count.

12. The important places in Peshawar, Kohat, Hazara, Nowshera, Potohar and Kashmir should be named after prominent Hindkowan personalities.

13. Hindko speaking members of the NWFP Assembly should be allowed to address in Hindko and the assembly proceedings should also be recorded in their mother tongue.

pic: http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/1747/books39ky.jpg

Some nuggets of Hindko poetry found on the web. Thanks to http://www.apnamansehra.com/poetry.asp

Poet: Syed Khalid Hussain Shah
Cover: http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/7941/syedlogo0lz.jpg
Poem: http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/7627/hindko68uh.gif
Poem: http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/2135/hindko58nn.gif
Poem: http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/3638/hindko48wx.gif
Poem: http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/9861/hindko31yx.gif
Poem: http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/1015/hindko29pk.gif
Poem: http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/1512/hindko15iv.gif

Poet: Niazat Ali Niaz
Cover: http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/4746/niazataliniaznayazlogo7wc.jpg
Poem: http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/3288/nayaz19oi.gif

All three published by Gandhara Hindko Board, Peshawar.

Title: Peer Sain
Pages: 230
Editor: Mohammad Ziauddin (GHB secretary)
Description: Essays on Sain Ahmad Ali Peshori.
Front Cover: http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/9257/peersainfront3wx.jpg
Back Cover: http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/9195/peersainback5ch.jpg


Title: Gaani
Pages: 225
Editor: Sabeeh Ahmad (Executive commitee member of GHB and a lecturer in Urdu at Government College Peshawar)
Description: Selected poetry of both contemporary and classic Hindko poets
Front Cover: http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/8383/gaanifront1zp.jpg
Back Cover: http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/3083/gaaniback6wg.jpg

Title: Daffodil see Motiyay Tak
Pages: 185
Author: Malik Arshad Hussain
Description: Versified translation of 40 English classic poems into Hindko.
Cover: http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7950/daffodilseemotiaytak3gg.jpg

A longer list can be viewed at http://www.livejournal.com/users/hindko/13805.html

http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/sep2005-weekly/nos-11-09-2005/lit.htm

By Raza Rehman Khan Qazi

Of late, North Western Frontier Province is hardly talked about in the media without a mention of Talibanisation, terrorism, gun-running and drug-smuggling. This, however, should be no reason to conclude that the province is totally devoid of cultural and literary activities. In fact, Frontier once had been home to such literary giants as Patras Bukhari. In Khatir Ghaznavi, an award wining writer, the tradition somehow survives even today.

Peshawar-based Khatir started his professional career as a bursar at All India Radio, Peshawar. Later, after getting a master's degree in Urdu literature, he became a lecturer at the Peshawar University. But Urdu is not the only language he knows well. Having done his graduation in Pashto literature, he went to China on deputation to learn Chinese.

After his return from China, Khatir Ghaznavi set up a department for the teaching of Chinese language at the Peshawar University. Recalling those days, he says the university then had several foreign languages departments which were closed down on the flimsy grounds that they served as sanctuaries for fifth-columnists.

His last government job was a one year stint as the director general of Pakistan Academy of Letters. He has also worked as the head of Pakistan Studies and Urdu Chair at a Malaysian University where he had the opportunity to learn another language -- the Malayan.

Narrating the story of his literary journey, Khatir Ghaznavi says he -- along with Farigh Bukhari and Raza Hamdani -- started an Urdu literary magazine from Peshawar which had a section devoted to Pashto culture and literature. The magazine also had a special voluminous issue by the title of 'Sarhad Number' which carried detailed information about the Frontier. Both the Pashto section of the magazine and its special issue proved very popular in India and Pakistan.

Drawing comparisons between literary environment of Frontier in the past and what prevails now, he says: "There used to be an organisation called 'Idara-e-Adbiyat' set up by great literary figures of NWFP like Syed Zia Jafferi, Dr Nazir Ahmed Mirza Barlas, Farigh Bukhari and Raza Hamdani. Literary gatherings used to regularly take place at the organisation's office at Shahwali Katal in Qissa Khawani. Such was the literary environment of Peshawar that people like Hasrat Mohani, Seemab Akbar Abadi, Shahid Ahmad Dehlvi and many other literary icons from India used to visit 'Idara-e-Adbiyat' in Peshawar. But the only literary organisation now surviving is the Syndicate of Writers, with members from Pashto, Hindko and Urdu literati. The syndicate holds a monthly meeting. So, in terms of frequency of literary gatherings they are few and far between as compared to the past." It's no coincidence that the syndicate's office is located in his house. "Moreover, no Urdu literary magazine worth mentioning is published from Peshawar or elsewhere in NWFP."

Khatir Ghaznavi disagrees with the view that literature produced in NWFP during his youth was socially and politically more relevant than what is being churned out today in the province. "Even today there are people who are bringing in political thoughts in literature. For instance, in recent past it was Qalandar Mohmand in Pashto and Ahmad Faraz in Urdu, who have produced literature with political overtones. Though Faraz has been living elsewhere since long but he belongs to this land and has lived here for a long time."

Khatir raised quite a literary eye brows when he wrote that Urdu has its origin in Hindko. His thesis on the subject is published as a book by Moqtadara Qaumi Zuban. Explaining and defending his thesis, he says: "In reality, Hindko is a highly misunderstood language. It is thought to be a language of only Peshawar. No, it is not. Hindko is a mega-language, which contains elements of almost all languages spoken on both sides of the river Indus -- from Gujri to Gujrati and including Punjabi, Potohari, Seraiki and Sindhi. The era of Indus valley civilization which existed 5,000 years ago was a golden era. The civilization spawned two great nations -- Dravidians and Munda -- both of whom also founded important civilizations in Sindh. The Aryans destroyed these civilizations and displaced them. I have pointed out numerous words of Sindhi, Saraiki and Munda that are also common to Punjabi and Hindko. The language that used to be spoken along the two banks of the river during the times of great Indus valley civilization, was called Sindko. Hindko is, in fact, this Sindko as the word has changed under the influence of Persian. My thesis is based on the hypothesis that the dialect of any language changes after every 15 kilometers. The same thing happened to Hindko. A common proof of this could be that if some one from Hazara goes thousands of miles away to Sukkur and speaks his language, which is Hindko, it will be readily understood. Hindko, therefore, is not mainly the language of Peshawar as is generally thought of. It is in fact Sindko of the old."

Some critics of this thesis point out that it fails to explain as to why Peshawar became the centre of Hindko language. According to Khatir Ghaznavi's contention, Attock should have been Hindko's centre because it is situated on the confluence of the Indus and the Kabul rivers. According to some noted historians, Attock has rather served as a natural border between Central and South Asian landmasses. Moreover, Khatir Ghaznavi fails explain why Hindko should be the language of Peshawar, a predominantly Pakhtoon city.

But he claims his thesis is authentic because in it he has not only referred to the work of scholars from Pakistan and outside but also mentioned hundreds of words common to all languages spoken along the Indus.

"I have written another thesis entitled 'Pakhtoons and Urdu'. If you search, you would find out that the greatest contribution to Urdu's development in India is by the Pakhtoons. For instance, though India's ex-president Dr Zakir Hussain and his younger brother Yousaf Hussain Khan, also a noted poet, were Urdu speaking, they basically were Pakhtoons. They are in fact Afridis. I have a book entitled Yadoon Ki Dunya, written by Yousaf Hussain, in which he has written his family history. He tells how his ancestors migrated from the Frontier to fight in India and get large estates there."

Khatir further explains: "Another Pakhtoon family which contributed a lot to Urdu's development in India was of Josh Malih Abadi, who was also an Afridi. Josh's grandfather took his son to India who afterwards become a known Urdu poet. Akhtar Shirani is another Pakhtoon. Even his name shows that he belonged to one of the main Pakhtoon tribes, the Shiranis."

Asked why the inhabitants of the Frontier could not do well in literary terms while remaining in their ancestral abode, Khatir says it was the challenging literary environment of India which never failed to give a spur to the creative genius of a people like Pakhtoons, who always take up the gauntlet. "They would say if you do poetry we are equally good at it and they succeeded tremendously in it."

When asked what is literature's relevance in the current global scenario in general and NWFP in particular, he says: "In the Frontier culture is not given a chance to prosper. The provincial government has clamped a ban on drama, dance and song. The elite is having fun if and when it wants in their private chambers while the culture which should diffuse in the society through musical concerts and performances is being thwarted."

But he says the situation was different till the recent past. "There used to be a musical institution in the Frontier called lakhtai (literally, dancing lads), which now is banned. Though lakhtais were professional dancers, they did not involve themselves in any indecent activities. So it is strange that the institution which used to give healthy entertainment to to the entertainment-starved villagers is banned while prostitutes are thriving."

Khatir agrees with the contention that NWFP has become somewhat antagonistic to cultural activities. He says "on the one hand khattak dance is allowed and has full official patronage because it is part of military ceremonies but on the other hand all other traditional dances have been banned" which is unfortunate. "It is mere hypocrisy and nothing else." He goes on to say the society may or may not be antagonistic to literature and other aspects of culture but it is the politicians who are actively supporting every assault on culture in the province. So he complains: "Isn't it official tyranny and coercion that the land which belongs to the Abaseen Arts Council has been handed over to a lawyers' body by the Chief Minister because he wants to appease them?"

He also sees Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal's move to make Urdu the official language of NWFP as a mere eyewash. "The language has experienced no development with this announcement. Even government memos are still being drafted in English." He says the move is motivated by hypocrisy and self-interest because most of the MMA legislators do not know English. "Urdu is the best available alternative for them."

Khatir Ghaznavi is not quite optimistic about the future of literature in the Frontier. "There is nothing in the province which can attract budding literary students and enthusiasts."

He, however, is full of hope about the future of Pashto and Hindko languages because as according to him the two languages are being very well served by some well meaning people. For instance, he says, "Pashto Academy and Pashto Adabi Board are working a lot for Pashto. Both the bodies issue literary magazines which do not rely solely on publishing but also carry a number of critical essays. Many books in Pashto are also being published through the efforts of these bodies which is indeed a good sign for Pashto language and literature. For Hindko too there are bodies like Markazi Hindko Adabi Board, Gandhara Hindko Board etc. They are bringing out some good books in Hindko including a Hindko-Urdu dictionary prepared by me."

Khatir Ghaznavi also criticises the government for its indifferent towards the demands by Hindko literary bodies that a Hindko Language Academy be established on the lines of Pashto Academy at University of Peshawar. "If Pashto is developing and research is being done considerably on the language, why shouldn't Hindko be treated the same way because it is also a language of NWFP?"

Khatir, while dispelling the impression that Hindko literature does not have market value, says it rather has great commercial value. "When Hindko books were not being published, there was no market for them. Now when the books are being published, they have automatically created market for them with some of them selling many editions".

Khatir Ghaznavi has 45 books to his credit. Five of these are collections of poetry including a verse translation of Khushal Khan Khattak's poetry. Among his non-poetic works are Suba Sarhad Kay Rumaan, and a translation of Khushal Khattak's Dastaar Nama. He also has written books of literary criticism.

Khatir Ghaznavi's photo accompanying The News interview: http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/2662/1a160bv.jpg

Press Release

PESHAWAR: The Gandhara Hindko Board will hold a grand open-air Hindko Mushaira at historic Gor Gathri monument here on Sunday, August 14, to mark the Independence Day.

An eminent Hindko poet from Akora Khattak, Nowshera, Aziz Aijaz, will preside the event which which will start in the evening after the Maghrib prayers. Poets from Peshawar, Hazara, Kohat and Nowshera will attend the program which is organized every year. The last year such poetic sitting was held at Chowk Yagar.

The Hindko poets drawn from different parts of the province will recall and laud the struggle waged by the Muslims of the Subcontinent under the dynamic leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah for winning freedom from the British. They will pay poeticized tributes to those whose relentless toil bore fruit 58 years back in the shape of Pakistan.

It may be mentioned here that the Gandhara Hindko Board is a literary-cum-cultural organization that has been working for the last 12 years for the preservation and promotion of the Hindko language which is spoken in Peshawar, Kohat, Hazara , Nowshera regions of NWFP, Pothwar area of northern Punjab and parts of Azad and Jammu Kashmir. It seeks respect for and due attention to all the 24 languages and cultures native to the NWFP.

Invitation Card for the mushaira: http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/8885/azadicard2sz.jpg

Photos of a Hindko/Seraiki Mushaira held at the Peshawar Press Club on March 10, 2005. It was organised by the government of NWFP.

http://img346.imageshack.us/img346/4712/mushaira10mar2005a9af.jpg
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http://img346.imageshack.us/img346/2295/mushaira10mar2005e5mb.jpg
http://img346.imageshack.us/img346/7892/mushaira10mar2005f2lm.jpg

The Gandhara Hindko Board is a literary-cum-cultural organization working for the preservation and promotion of the second main language of the NWFP -- Hindko-- for the last 12 years. It believes in respect for and fair treatment to all the languages and cultures of the province.

In line with its stated aims and objectives, the body arranged a function at the City University Auditorium, Nishtar Abad, Peshawar here on February 21, 2005 to mark the World Mother Tongue Day.

A member of the National Assembly from the far-flung northern Chitral district, Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, was the chief guest on the occasion while Chairman of the Gandhara Hindko Board, Professor Dr Zahoor Ahmad Awan, presided the event.

The representatives of the 10 languages spoken in NWFP read out papers in their respective mother tongues and translated these into Urdu for the convenience of the audience, who came from different areas of the multilingual and multicultural NWFP.

The participants passed a unanimous resolution at the end that urged the provincial government to pay due attention to all the languages of the NWFP and establish an institute for their preservation and promotion.

NWFP Assembly Deputy Speaker Ikramullah Shahid joined hands with the Gandhara Hindko Board by leading a walk to raise awareness about the mother tongues and emphasize on the importance of the day.

Photo of the walk: http://img346.imageshack.us/img346/8784/mothertongueday20055ms.jpg

Some more information can be found at http://www.fli-online.org/mother_tongue_day.htm

Efforts stressed for preservation and promotion of Hindko
Press Release

PESHAWAR: Hindko is a sweet and ancient language of this region which needs efforts for its preservation and promotion.

This was stated by Syed Hassnain Gillani (Syed Agha), an eminent religious figure of Peshawar while delivering a special address at an open-air Hindko Naatia Mushaira, arranged by the Gandhara Hindko Board here at the Yakatoot Chowk on Saturday.

He said language was to a civilization what was soul to a body. “ Those civilizations die with time which have no developed languages”, said the spiritual leader while exhorting the Hindkowans to work for their mother language and converse with their children in Hindko.

Shedding light on the importance of Naat, Syed Agha said respect for and obedience to the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) was an article of our faith. “Naat is one form of showing reverence to the Holy Prophet (PBU)”, said the scholar while praising the Gandhara Hindko Board for regularly arranging the Hindko Naatia Mushaira in the holy month of Ramazan.

Earlier, the poetic sitting started with recitation from the Holy Quran. As many as 35 poets from different parts of the province recited Naats and won acclaim.

Khwaja Yawer Nasser was the chief guest on the occasion while a prominent Hindko poet, prose writer, research scholar and laureate of the Pride of Performance Award, Professor Khatir Ghaznavi, presided the event.

Malik Arshad Hussain, a lecturer in English who has translated prominent English classic poets works into Hindko, compered the programme.

In their brief speeches, Vice-Chairman of Gandhara Hindko Board Assistant Professor Dr Adnan Gul and Secretary Mohammad Ziauddin welcomed the guests and announced to hold such gatherings in the last part of Ramazan every year.

Chief Guest Khwaja Yawer Naseer termed languages an asset to humanity, saying these must be preserved and promoted without any prejudice. He said Naat showed respect to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the Gandhara Hindko Board had done a noble task by arranging such function.

At the end, another religious personality of Peshawar, Syed Noorul Hassnain Gillani, popularly known as Sultan Agha, led the prayers for the glory of Islam, safety of Pakistan and prosperity of the Hindko language.

The organizers had made arrangements for showing the Mushaira through close circuit TV cameras.

It may be mentioned here that Hindko poetic sittings used to be a distinctive feature of the cultural life of Peshawar in early 1940s. The Yakatoot Chowk was a favorite place for such gatherings.

The Gandhara Hindko Board, a literary-cum-cultural body working for the preservation and promotion of the Hindko language and Hindkowan culture for the last 11 years, has revived an old tradition by holding a Naatia Mushaira in the heart of the Walled City of Peshawar. One such well-participated Mushaira was held at the same venue on November 15, last year.

Scanned title of the second issue of the Hindko-language magazine by the Gandhara Hindko Board,"Hindkowan" can be seen at http://img346.imageshack.us/img346/3374/hindkowancoveroct046zm.jpg

The issue has been devoted to the Indian cinelegend from Peshor, Dilip Kumar.

Press Release

PESHAWAR: The launching ceremony of the Hindko language monthly magazine, “Hindkowan” will be held in the City University Hall, Nishter Hall, Peshawar on Sunday at 5 pm.

According to a press release issued here on Saturday, NWFP Chief Secretary Mr Aijaz Qureshi will preside over the function, while Peshawar TV General Manager Mr Mujahid Bin Syyed will be the chief guest.

The president of the National Awami Party Pakistan and a former provincial minister, Mr Arbab Ayub Jan, will be the guest of honour.

It may be mentioned here that a literary and cultural organization of Peshawar, Gandhara Hindko Board has launched the Hindko language magazine, “Hindkowan” with the sole purpose of preservation and promotion of Hindko language and culture.

The first issue of the journal has hit the market, this month. It has 60 pages. The title page has the photo of noted religious scholar of Peshawar, Syed Ameer Shah Gilani, popularly known as Maulvi Jee.

The Gandhara Hindko Board has been working for the Hindko language since 1993. It has published 11 Hindko books so far that also include a Hindko dictionary.

Cover Picture: http://img346.imageshack.us/img346/3350/hindkowancoversept042by.jpg

Love for Holy Prophet (PBUH) termed part of faith
Press Release

PESHAWAR: A grand open-air Hindko Naatia Mushaira was held in Peshawar on Saturday under the aegis of the Gandhara Hindko Board.

A prominent Hindko/Urdu poet and laureate of Presidential Pride of Performance Award Professor Mohsin Ihsan presided the event while another Pride of Performance Award winner, a noted Hindko poet, writer and research scholar Professor Khatir Ghaznavi, and a prominent educationalist Mr Ghayyur Sethi, were the chief guests.

Malik Arshad Hussain and Ahmad Nadeem Awan conducted the proceedings of the poetic sitting that started at 9 pm and ended at 2 am.

The function started with recitation from the Holy Quran. The Chairman of the Gandhara Hindko Board Professor Dr Zahoor Ahmad Awan in his brief address talked of the aims and objectives of the board. He said that the board had been working tirelessly for the preservation and promotion of Hindko, which was one of the two widely spoken languages of Gandhara.

Vice-Chairman of the board, Assistant Professor Dr Adnan Gul, spoke of the history of the open-air Hindko Mushairas in Peshawar. He said that such literary gatherings were common in Peshawar in early part of the 20th century. “ These formed a distinctive feature of the literary and cultural life of Hindkowans of Peshawar”, he said, adding the last open-air Mushaira in Yakatoot Chowk was arranged in Peshawar in 1958 by a great linguist of Hindko Professor Dr Elahi Bakhsh Awan. He said the Gandhara Hindko Board had tried to revive an old tradition by holding an open-air Hindko Naaita Mushaira in the heart of the Peshawar city.

General Secretary of the board, Mohammad Ziaddin, said that massive participation of people had encouraged the board to hold such functions in future as well. He formally requested the poets to recite their poetry.

A total of 50 poets from Peshawar, Kohat, Hazara and Dera Ismail Khan participated in the function and won acclaim from the audience for their versified tributes to the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The participants of the Mushaira included Mr Sadiq Saba, Ahmad Nadeem Awan, Professor Mohsin Ihsan, Malik Arshad Hussain, Sabeeh Ahmad, Zaffar Naveed Jani,Yusuf Raja Chishti,Sajjad Babar,Sajid Sarhadi, Mohammad Arif Zia, Sheen Shaukat, Mohammad Ismail Awan,Ghulam Mohammad Shad,Hafeez Jan Hafeez,Javed Malik Aasi,Taj Mohammad Taj, Afzal Chishti,Ittikhar Tashna, Professor Nasser Ali Syyed, Professor Dr Nazeer Tabassum, Farooq Jan Babar,Yusuf Aziz Zahid,Khwaja Yaqoob Akhtar, Sabir Hussain Imdad, Shahid Zaman, Haider Zaman Haider, Rafeeq Kamran, Aurangzeb Ghaznavi, Mohammad Hayat Abid, Mushtaq Hussain, Ashraf Ulfat, Ghaffar Babar,Jaleel Kamal, Yunus Qiasi, Zaffar Iqabal Athar, Mukhtar Ali Nayyar, Saeed Paras, Aziz Aijaz, Hussam Hur, Professor Khatir Ghaznavi, Mohammad Jan Atif, Dr Javed Ahmad, Azeem Niazi, Akmal Naeem, Aslam Tariq, Sikander Hayat and Tariq Awan.

In his concluding remarks, Chief Organizer of the Gandhara Hindko Board Haji Haleem Jan vowed all-out efforts for promotion of the Hindko language.

Speaking at the end, Professor Mohsin Ihsan said that love for Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him) was part of the faith and Naat was a source to express that. He congratulated the Gandhara Hindko Board for arranging such a good gathering.

Syed Mohammad Hassnain Gillani, son of Syed Ameer Shah Gillani, led dua to mark end of the ceremony.

A central leader of Awami National Party, Haji Mohammad Adeel, and Naib Ameer of Jamaat-i-Islami, NWFP, Hakeem Mohammad Waheed, were conspicuous by their presence at the function.

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BBC Urdu report on this mushaira can be seen at http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2003/11/031117_pesh_mushaira_si.shtml
A screen capture of BBC Urdu's report: http://img346.imageshack.us/img346/6034/bbc20031117peshmushaira18sv.jpg
BBC Urdu's photo of the event: http://img346.imageshack.us/img346/5461/bbc20031117peshmushaira21ar.jpg