Habibi was born in Kandahar city of Afghanistan in 1910, in a Pashtun family of scholars of Kakar tribe. He was the great grandson of Allamah Habibullah, the eminent scholar known as "Kandahari intellectual" who authored many books. Habibi's father died at an early age and he grew up studying in the mosques of Kandahar, and in 1920 he was admitted to the primary school of Shalimar. Being good at his studies, he received his diploma at the age of 15 and began working as a teacher in the primary schools of Kandahar.[5] In 1927 he was appointed as the deputy editor of Tulo Afghan weekly newspaper in Kandahar and 3 years later became the editor of the newspaper.[6]
In 1950s, he was forced to exile by living in Peshawar, Pakistan, because of his opposition to Afghan Prime Minister Shah Mahmud Khan. While in exile, he published a journal called Azad Afghanistan (Free Afghanistan). He was permitted to return to Afghanistan in 1961 to become professor in the faculty of literature of Kabul University. In 1966, he was appointed president of Afghan Historical Society and he published a number of books on Afghan history.[7] Senzil Nawid writes:[8]
As a Pashtun, Habibi paid considerable attention to the history of the Pashto language and literature and the history of Pashtun dynasties, such as the Ludi and Suri Afghan dynasties in India; the Loyakan tribe of Ghazni; the Ghilji tribe of Qandahar; and the Abdali (or Durrani) dynasty that originated around Herat. One of the later important works of Habibi was Tarikh-i Afghanistan dar ‘Asr-i Gurgani-yi Hind (‘History of Afghanistan in the Age of the Gurgani Rulers of India’), which he published in Kabul in 1966. Here as elsewhere, he showed his great strength in his knowledge of primary sources. He made use of this knowledge to write his bibliographical Rahnuma-yi Tarikh-i Afghanistan (‘Guide to Afghan History’), which he published in two volumes in 1970. An important reference work that points to the genuine professionalism achieved by Afghan historians of the period...
— Afghan History Through Afghan Eyes, Writing National History
As an academic, Habibi worked diligently throughout his life. He is the author of 115 books and over 500 papers and articles on the literature, history, philosophy, linguistics, poetics and the culture of the people of Afghanistan.[5][6] Several of his books have been translated to English, Arabic, German and other foreign languages.[citation needed]
Abdul Hai Habibi died on 9 May 1984, in Kabul, during the Soviet–Afghan War. He was 74 years old at the time of his death. He was fluent in Pashto and Dari.
Summary of official positions
Teacher in the primary schools of Kandahar, 1925 to 1927.
Deputy editor of Tuloo-e Afghan newspaper, 1927 to 1931.
Editor of Tuloo-e Afghan, 1931 to 1940.
President of Pashto Academy (Pashto Tolana) in Kabul, 1940 to 1941 (at the same time he served as the Deputy President of the Department of Publications).
Chairman of the first College of Letters of Kabul University, and president of the Pashto Academy and professor of history of Pashto literature, 1944 *to 1946.
President of the Education Department of Kandahar, 1946 to 1947.
Pata Khazana, one of Habibi's major works, has been questioned by several prominent scholars for lacking strong evidence. British Iranologist, David Neil MacKenzie, concludes from the anachronisms that the document was fabricated[citation needed] only shortly before its claimed discovery in 1944. MacKenzie's central argument refers to the use of the modern Pashto letters Dze (ځ [dz]) and Nur (ڼ [ɳ]) throughout the script. These letters were only introduced into the Pashto alphabet in 1936 when the Afghan government reformed the Pashto orthography. The two letters have never been found simultaneously in any genuine manuscript before 1935.[dubious – discuss][9]
Habibi responded to his critics in 1977 by stating:
"I obtained the hand-written manuscript with the help of the late Abdul Ali Khanozay, a Kakkar at Psheen in 1943. First I translated it into Persian, provided explanatory notes and annotations and published it in 1944 through the Pashto Academy. In 1961 five thousand copies of the original edition were published by the Publications and Translation Department. Due to the great demand for the book, the third edition was published in 1976 by the Pashto Development Board of the Ministry of Information and Culture. This edition contained a complete facsimile of the original hand-written manuscript. Since its publication 33 years ago different opinions have been expressed about this book and certain people have cast their doubts upon it. Some have said that I have composed the book while others have claimed that it was forged by Shah Hussain, son of Haji Mirwais Khan. Such claims have been heard over the years, but unfortunately, the critics have not compiled any detailed or scholastic analyses of the work so that they may be studied, and if found refutable, commented upon scholastically. Scholars in the field have not discussed this book in detail so far. What has been written has been brief and expressions of doubts. No scholastic or positive criticism from the viewpoint of linguistics or etymology has been provided so that the authenticity or forgery of words may be evaluated and the facts clarified."[10]
^Ahmadi, Wali (2008). Modern Persian literature in Afghanistan: anomalous visions of history and form. London: Routledge. p. 78. ISBN978-0-415-43778-3. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
^Green, Nile, ed. (2016). Afghan History Through Afghan Eyes. Oxford University Press. p. 198. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190247782.001.0001. ISBN978-0-19-049223-6.
^David Neil MacKenzie: David N. Mackenzie: The Development of the Pashto Script. In: Shirin Akiner (Editor): Languages and Scripts of Central Asia. School of Oriental and African Studies, Univ. of London, London 1997, ISBN978-0-7286-0272-4. p. 142
abdul, habibi, pashto, عبدالحى, حبيبي, persian, عبدالحی, حبیبی, ʿabd, Ḥay, Ḥabībi, 1910, 1984, prominent, afghan, historian, much, lifetime, well, member, national, assembly, afghanistan, afghan, parliament, during, reign, king, zahir, shah, pashtun, nationali. Abdul Hai Habibi Pashto عبدالحى حبيبي Persian عبدالحی حبیبی ʿAbd ul Ḥay Ḥabibi 1910 9 May 1984 was a prominent Afghan historian for much of his lifetime as well as a member of the National Assembly of Afghanistan Afghan Parliament during the reign of King Zahir Shah 1 A Pashtun nationalist from Kakar tribe of Kandahar Afghanistan he began as a young teacher who made his way up to become a writer scholar politician and Dean of Faculty of Literature at Kabul University 2 3 He is the author of over 100 books but is best known for editing Pata Khazana an old Pashto language manuscript that he claimed to have discovered in 1944 the academic community however does not unanimously agree upon its genuineness 4 Abdul Hai HabibiNative nameعبدالحی حبیبیBorn1910 1910 Kandahar AfghanistanDiedMay 9 1984 1984 05 09 aged 73 74 Kabul AfghanistanOccupationHistorian politician scholar professorSubjectHistory and academiaWebsitewww wbr alamahabibi wbr com Contents 1 Biography 2 Summary of official positions 3 Criticism 4 See also 5 ReferencesBiography EditHabibi was born in Kandahar city of Afghanistan in 1910 in a Pashtun family of scholars of Kakar tribe He was the great grandson of Allamah Habibullah the eminent scholar known as Kandahari intellectual who authored many books Habibi s father died at an early age and he grew up studying in the mosques of Kandahar and in 1920 he was admitted to the primary school of Shalimar Being good at his studies he received his diploma at the age of 15 and began working as a teacher in the primary schools of Kandahar 5 In 1927 he was appointed as the deputy editor of Tulo Afghan weekly newspaper in Kandahar and 3 years later became the editor of the newspaper 6 In 1950s he was forced to exile by living in Peshawar Pakistan because of his opposition to Afghan Prime Minister Shah Mahmud Khan While in exile he published a journal called Azad Afghanistan Free Afghanistan He was permitted to return to Afghanistan in 1961 to become professor in the faculty of literature of Kabul University In 1966 he was appointed president of Afghan Historical Society and he published a number of books on Afghan history 7 Senzil Nawid writes 8 As a Pashtun Habibi paid considerable attention to the history of the Pashto language and literature and the history of Pashtun dynasties such as the Ludi and Suri Afghan dynasties in India the Loyakan tribe of Ghazni the Ghilji tribe of Qandahar and the Abdali or Durrani dynasty that originated around Herat One of the later important works of Habibi was Tarikh i Afghanistan dar Asr i Gurgani yi Hind History of Afghanistan in the Age of the Gurgani Rulers of India which he published in Kabul in 1966 Here as elsewhere he showed his great strength in his knowledge of primary sources He made use of this knowledge to write his bibliographical Rahnuma yi Tarikh i Afghanistan Guide to Afghan History which he published in two volumes in 1970 An important reference work that points to the genuine professionalism achieved by Afghan historians of the period Afghan History Through Afghan Eyes Writing National History As an academic Habibi worked diligently throughout his life He is the author of 115 books and over 500 papers and articles on the literature history philosophy linguistics poetics and the culture of the people of Afghanistan 5 6 Several of his books have been translated to English Arabic German and other foreign languages citation needed Abdul Hai Habibi died on 9 May 1984 in Kabul during the Soviet Afghan War He was 74 years old at the time of his death He was fluent in Pashto and Dari Summary of official positions EditTeacher in the primary schools of Kandahar 1925 to 1927 Deputy editor of Tuloo e Afghan newspaper 1927 to 1931 Editor of Tuloo e Afghan 1931 to 1940 President of Pashto Academy Pashto Tolana in Kabul 1940 to 1941 at the same time he served as the Deputy President of the Department of Publications Advisor to the Education Ministry in Kabul 1941 to 1944 Chairman of the first College of Letters of Kabul University and president of the Pashto Academy and professor of history of Pashto literature 1944 to 1946 President of the Education Department of Kandahar 1946 to 1947 Commercial attache in Quetta Balochistan 1947 Elected representative of Kandahar province during the 7th session of the National Assembly of Afghanistan Afghan Parliament 1948 to 1951 Received the rank of professor from Kabul University in 1965 President of Afghan Historical Society 1966 to 1971 Advisor on cultural affairs to Prime Minister Mohammad Musa Shafiq 1972 to 1973 Professor of literature and history Kabul University 1970 to 1977 Advisor to the Ministry of Information and culture 1978 to 1982 Criticism EditPata Khazana one of Habibi s major works has been questioned by several prominent scholars for lacking strong evidence British Iranologist David Neil MacKenzie concludes from the anachronisms that the document was fabricated citation needed only shortly before its claimed discovery in 1944 MacKenzie s central argument refers to the use of the modern Pashto letters Dze ځ dz and Nur ڼ ɳ throughout the script These letters were only introduced into the Pashto alphabet in 1936 when the Afghan government reformed the Pashto orthography The two letters have never been found simultaneously in any genuine manuscript before 1935 dubious discuss 9 Habibi responded to his critics in 1977 by stating I obtained the hand written manuscript with the help of the late Abdul Ali Khanozay a Kakkar at Psheen in 1943 First I translated it into Persian provided explanatory notes and annotations and published it in 1944 through the Pashto Academy In 1961 five thousand copies of the original edition were published by the Publications and Translation Department Due to the great demand for the book the third edition was published in 1976 by the Pashto Development Board of the Ministry of Information and Culture This edition contained a complete facsimile of the original hand written manuscript Since its publication 33 years ago different opinions have been expressed about this book and certain people have cast their doubts upon it Some have said that I have composed the book while others have claimed that it was forged by Shah Hussain son of Haji Mirwais Khan Such claims have been heard over the years but unfortunately the critics have not compiled any detailed or scholastic analyses of the work so that they may be studied and if found refutable commented upon scholastically Scholars in the field have not discussed this book in detail so far What has been written has been brief and expressions of doubts No scholastic or positive criticism from the viewpoint of linguistics or etymology has been provided so that the authenticity or forgery of words may be evaluated and the facts clarified 10 Abdul Hai Habibi 1977See also Edit Poetry portalPata Khazana Ghulam Mohammad Ghobar Allama Habibi Research Center a website dedicated to sharing his books articles and poetry References Edit Reddy L R 2002 Inside Afghanistan end of the Taliban era APH Publishing p 73 ISBN 978 81 7648 319 3 Retrieved 30 September 2010 Saikal Amin 2006 Modern Afghanistan a history of struggle and survival I B Tauris p 110 ISBN 978 1 84511 316 2 Retrieved 30 September 2010 Lesmiserables les Afghans Dr Fazal ur Rahim Marwat TheFrontier Post and RAWA 4 September 1998 Retrieved 27 September 2010 Lucia Serena Loi Il tesoro nascosto degli Afghani Il Cavaliere azzurro Bologna 1987 p 33 a b Biography of Abdul Hai Habibi 1910 1984 alamahabibi com Official website Retrieved 7 October 2010 a b دشلمې پېړۍ سترنابغه لوى استاد پوهاند علامه عبدالحى حبيبي tolafghan com Retrieved 7 October 2010 Ahmadi Wali 2008 Modern Persian literature in Afghanistan anomalous visions of history and form London Routledge p 78 ISBN 978 0 415 43778 3 Retrieved 30 September 2010 Green Nile ed 2016 Afghan History Through Afghan Eyes Oxford University Press p 198 doi 10 1093 acprof oso 9780190247782 001 0001 ISBN 978 0 19 049223 6 David Neil MacKenzie David N Mackenzie The Development of the Pashto Script In Shirin Akiner Editor Languages and Scripts of Central Asia School of Oriental and African Studies Univ of London London 1997 ISBN 978 0 7286 0272 4 p 142 Hōtak Muḥammad ʻAbd al Ḥayy Ḥabibi Khushal Habibi 1997 Pat a k h azana United States University Press of America pp 19 20 ISBN 978 0 7618 0265 5 Retrieved 27 September 2010 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Abdul Hai Habibi amp oldid 1118743566, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
