Abdul Shakoor Rashad
Encyclopedia
Professor Abdul Shakoor Rashad was born on November 14, 1921 in in Kandahar City
, Afghanistan
.
In 1948, Abdul Shakoor went to India for further education where he continued his research in Pashto language. While he was in India
, he wrote the book "Lodi Pashtoons" consisting of (351) pages and learned Hindi
Language.
at the Faculty of Language and Literature at the Kabul University. Later on he became the Assistant Director of pashto Tolana.
In 1961, he was appointed as a Pashto teacher in the Institute of Eastern Research in St. Petersburg (Previously known as Lenin Grad) where he served for two and a half years. He moved back to Kabul where he continued to serve as a professor at the University of Kabul
in the Faculty of Language and Literature as Professor and as the Chief of the Pashto Department.
Professor Rashad besides his native language Pashto
spoke fluent Persian
, Arabic, Urdu
, Hindi
, Russian
and English
. He also had knowledge of Sanskrit
, Japanese
and other regional languages. He had written poems in Persian and Urdu languages as well. However has devoted all his life in study and research of Pashto literature.
Reshad knew 26 languages including Sasnkrit and Hebrew. He has written around 105 books (only 36 were published) and hundreds of articles.
In 2004, due to his numerous efforts in the fields of Art, Science, Philosophy, History and Literature, he was given the title of "Alama"(Laureate, Academician) by the Govt. of Afghanistan and he was greeted by the then Governor of Kandahar Province Mohammad Yousaf Pashtun by organizing a seminar by his name for his remarkable efforts and official giving him the title of "Alama".
At the age of 26, Abdul Shakoor joined the "Weesh Zalmian - ويښ زلميان (Awaken Youth)", an Afghan youth movement. In 1952, he was elected as a representative of Weesh Zalmian to the parliament. But due to the opposition of Governor Abdul Ghani Khan and the officials of that time, his vote box was confiscated by the police from the election bureau. In this movement the high profile leaders, writers, activists such as Hasham Maiwandwal(Prime Minister of Afghanistan), Abdul Rauf Benawa, Sadiqullah Reshteen, Faiz Mohammad Angar, Khwakhozhi Sahib, Abdul Hye Habibi, Noor Mohammad Angar, Bari Jahani, Habibullah Rafi, Gul Pacha Ulfat, Basarki Sahab and others were associated with him.
Abdul Shakoor remained in Afghanistan during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan (1979 - 1989) and the Civil War in Afghanistan followed by the withdrawal of the Russian forces form Afghanistan. He wrote several poems and articles critical of the communist regimes during the Soviet occupation and the warlords during the civil war. For security reasons, most of his works were published by alias names.
Abdul Shakoor Rashad retired after the communist coup in 1978. However, he always kept a close academic relation with the institutions and other academics.
He died on the 1st of December, 2004 at the age of 83 in Kabul, Afghanistan and he was buried in Kandahar University Campus in Kandahar city.
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
Early life
Abdul Shakoor Rashad graduated from school at the age of 12 in 1933. While he was only 13 years old, he was appointed as a teacher in school in 1934 from where he started his official career.In 1948, Abdul Shakoor went to India for further education where he continued his research in Pashto language. While he was in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, he wrote the book "Lodi Pashtoons" consisting of (351) pages and learned Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
Language.
Academic life
In 1957, Abdul Shakoor became a member of the Pashto Tolana (Pashto Academy) and a professor of Pashto languagePashto language
Pashto , known as Afghani in Persian and Pathani in Punjabi , is the native language of the indigenous Pashtun people or Afghan people who are found primarily between an area south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and...
at the Faculty of Language and Literature at the Kabul University. Later on he became the Assistant Director of pashto Tolana.
In 1961, he was appointed as a Pashto teacher in the Institute of Eastern Research in St. Petersburg (Previously known as Lenin Grad) where he served for two and a half years. He moved back to Kabul where he continued to serve as a professor at the University of Kabul
Kabul University
Kabul University is located in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. It was founded in 1931 but officially opened for classes in 1932. Kabul University is currently attended by approximately 7,000 students, of which 1,700 are women. As of 2008, Hamidullah Amin is the chancellor of the university...
in the Faculty of Language and Literature as Professor and as the Chief of the Pashto Department.
Professor Rashad besides his native language Pashto
Pashto language
Pashto , known as Afghani in Persian and Pathani in Punjabi , is the native language of the indigenous Pashtun people or Afghan people who are found primarily between an area south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and...
spoke fluent Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Arabic, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. He also had knowledge of Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
and other regional languages. He had written poems in Persian and Urdu languages as well. However has devoted all his life in study and research of Pashto literature.
Reshad knew 26 languages including Sasnkrit and Hebrew. He has written around 105 books (only 36 were published) and hundreds of articles.
In 2004, due to his numerous efforts in the fields of Art, Science, Philosophy, History and Literature, he was given the title of "Alama"(Laureate, Academician) by the Govt. of Afghanistan and he was greeted by the then Governor of Kandahar Province Mohammad Yousaf Pashtun by organizing a seminar by his name for his remarkable efforts and official giving him the title of "Alama".
Political life
In 1946, Abdul Shakoor was appointed as the Director of Kandahar City Selection Committee and in 1947 he became the Deputy Mayor of Kandahar City.At the age of 26, Abdul Shakoor joined the "Weesh Zalmian - ويښ زلميان (Awaken Youth)", an Afghan youth movement. In 1952, he was elected as a representative of Weesh Zalmian to the parliament. But due to the opposition of Governor Abdul Ghani Khan and the officials of that time, his vote box was confiscated by the police from the election bureau. In this movement the high profile leaders, writers, activists such as Hasham Maiwandwal(Prime Minister of Afghanistan), Abdul Rauf Benawa, Sadiqullah Reshteen, Faiz Mohammad Angar, Khwakhozhi Sahib, Abdul Hye Habibi, Noor Mohammad Angar, Bari Jahani, Habibullah Rafi, Gul Pacha Ulfat, Basarki Sahab and others were associated with him.
Abdul Shakoor remained in Afghanistan during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan (1979 - 1989) and the Civil War in Afghanistan followed by the withdrawal of the Russian forces form Afghanistan. He wrote several poems and articles critical of the communist regimes during the Soviet occupation and the warlords during the civil war. For security reasons, most of his works were published by alias names.
Abdul Shakoor Rashad retired after the communist coup in 1978. However, he always kept a close academic relation with the institutions and other academics.
He died on the 1st of December, 2004 at the age of 83 in Kabul, Afghanistan and he was buried in Kandahar University Campus in Kandahar city.