Outgoing year witnesses huge publication of Pashto books
Sher Alam Shinwari
PESHAWAR: Compared to last year, the outgoing year witnessed an encouraging trend of publication of books on different topics, including sociology, climate change, environment, psychology, postmodernism, medical, engineering, and the emerging literary genres. Despite Covid-19, publication of Pashto books surged to around 20,000 compared to last year 15,000 brought out by publishers, institutions, and individuals in Peshawar, Karachi, Quetta, Afghanistan, and also Pashto academies in Mansehra, Peshawar and Quetta contributed to Pashto books’ publication mostly on research, linguistics, criticism and literary topics.
According to experts, trend of reading resistance literature whether prose, fiction or poetry attracted Pashtun youth, study circles through social media brought together bibliophiles towards Pashtun cultural identity, and strengthening peace narrative and also to counter the stigma of militancy and extremism. Readership among Pashtun youth has increased manifold owing to their rising interest to know about history of their origin, traditions, cultural values, world politics and rapidly changing scenario of national political upheavals.
Pashtun woman poets and writers regularly conducted their literary activities, including books launching and weekly literary sessions and many were able to bring their poetry, research and fiction collections. Khan Zaman Kakar, a noted scholar has brought out a research book, titled ‘Pukhataney khaze auo da qaam khidmat (Pashtun women and national service) under the auspices of Baacha Khan Markaz.
Aamir Yad, a publisher in Peshawar told this scribe that despite more than six–month lockdown, he was able to bring out over 200 titles in thousands and out of it, 15 percent books were authored by woman literati which he billed as an encouraging sign of their creative works and empowerment.
‘Facts are facts’ by Khan Abdul Wali Khan and Pashto rendition of David Jones’ title and several other Pashto books were in great demand in the Gulf-States and Europe for Pashtun diaspora who wanted to know real background of a version of history they had never read in their textbooks, he added.
Readers generally love to read fiction, political and history books and a surprising trend was publication of books in number exceeding 1,000 and touched 50, 000 because of its sale on large scale, also digital copies were available on social media but still print version was favourite among bibliophiles, said Elman Khan, a lover of books.
He said that though there were books written on Pashto folk music but not with detail, saying that that year 2020 experienced another landmark when Pashtun youth especially research students for the first time got Pashto titles on the origin of Pashto folk music and a research book on the rise and fall of Pashto film industry by Haji Aslam Khan.
Mushtaq Majrooh, a senior research scholar brought out a voluminous book ‘Mazloom Khushal’, a title carrying misinterpretations and interpolations in the original text of Khuhsal Khan Khattak, Elman Khan argued.
According to publishers in Peshawar, Covid-19’s lockdown adversely affected the sale of only textbooks especially those included in the syllabi of the educational institutions at different levels, adding that publication and sale of the books outside the ambit of education remained quite encouraging despite deep slump in the market and also books covering classical Pashto literature, history, feminism, and politics found market in the middle Eastern and European countries.
Yar Akbar Shinwari who owns a Pashto bookstore on University Road in Peshawar told this scribe that he had shipped Pashto to UAE, UK, US, Canada, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, and Sweden where Pashtun immigrants lived. He said that most often Pashtun youth reverted to print version after social media as pdf files didn’t arouse the kind of interest and sense of ownership that impacted a thinking mind.
“I have observed that young students walk up to my bookstore to purchase print copies of the books they had read in pdf because they wanted to swell up their personal libraries and keep bedpost libraries was still a trend with most readers,” he elaborated.
Anwar Khan Lala, the octogenarian bookstore keeper in Peshawar University while sharing his views said that readership of Pashto books on literary criticism, research methodologies, prose, fiction along with folklore and classical literature had scaled up as Pashto Department and Pashto Academy of Peshawar University, Islamia College University, Peshawar Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Baacha Khan University Charasadda and Malakand University offered BS, M.Phil and Ph.D courses.
Prof Abaseen Yousafzai told this scribe that literary organizations and literati continued their creative and research activities through online contacts in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic and it gave Pashtun writers and critics a good opportunity to share their works and even the year gone by enabled the woman poets and writers to bring out their books. He said that youth seemed to be very enthusiastic about situations being developed around them.
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