Shining despite funding cuts: Hindko Academy’s books win awards

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Academy of Letters has selected two books published by the Gandhara Hindko Academy, Peshawar, for the prestigious National Literary Award 2023. Dr Khawar Chaudhry’s poetry collection “Bujhna Dewa” has received the Sain Ahmad Ali Award, while Muhammad Akhtar Naeem’s travelogue “Qustuntuniya, Angoor Smyrna” has been honoured with the Khatir Ghaznavi Award.

This recognition comes despite the Gandhara Hindko Academy facing a financial crisis due to a lack of funding from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for the past three years.

Established in 2015 under a public-private partnership between the Gandhara Hindko Board and the KP government, the academy has continued to operate through internal resources and self-support since the cessation of government funding after June 30, 2022.

“The publishing of books and organizing literary events under these circumstances is an achievement”, said Muhammad Ziauddin, a research scholar of the Hindko language who is the chief of the Executive Committee that runs the affairs of the academy. Previously, several academic and literary institutions across Pakistan have acknowledged and awarded the academy’s publications with cash prizes and commendation certificates.

It is worth noting that the demand for the establishment of a Hindko Academy had long been raised by Hindko literary circles, but it remained unfulfilled for decades.

In 1993, a group of dedicated youths in Peshawar came together to launch the Gandhara Hindko Board-an organization committed to the preservation and promotion of the Hindko language and its cultural heritage. Operated on a self-help basis, the board initiated research, published books including Hindko dictionaries and journals, held poetry recital sessions, and organized functions to raise awareness about the language’s importance.

Their consistent efforts received official recognition 68 years after Pakistan’s independence when the KP government finally established the Gandhara Hindko Academy in 2015 through a public-private partnership. The academy was funded under the Annual Development Plan (ADP) scheme during its first and second phases.

The responsibility of managing the academy was entrusted to the Gandhara Hindko Board, which utilized its prior experience to successfully carry out literary and cultural research, publish quality works, and organize literary conferences at district, provincial, national, and even international levels.

Despite its accomplishments over seven years, the academy was removed from the ADP scheme in 2022. Since July 2022, the board has been independently running the academy, focusing on self-sustainability in light of the government’s exit strategy.

“For nearly three years, it has continued its literary and cultural mission without government support with the hope that the KP government will recognize the importance of Hindko, which is the second most widely spoken language of KP and the sixth main regional language of the country,” said an optimistic member of the board. The board is run by a 30-member Executive Council, led by former senior civil servant, Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi. The affairs of the academy are managed by the board through an Executive Committee headed by Muhammad Ziauddin, who is a documentation expert and has several Hindko language books to his credit.

The academy has made substantial contributions to the preservation and promotion of not just the Hindko language and culture, but also other regional languages.

Among its major achievements are the publication of over 400 books in and about Hindko and other Pakistani languages, covering poetry, prose, dictionaries, and historical works. These include both classical Hindko literature and contemporary writings. The compilation of comprehensive Hindko dictionaries has benefited both native speakers and language learners.

The academy brings out literary magazines and journals, including those in other languages, to reach wider audiences. These include Hindko Adab, Hindkowan, Surkhail, Fatima, Taarey, Sargi Da Tara, Kotal Rang, The Gandhara Voice, Mother, Gomal Rang (Saraiki), Khwar Nama (Chitrali), Watan (Kohistani).

It has produced multimedia content, including documentaries, writer interviews, and recordings of folk tales and poetry to preserve oral traditions.The academy has carried out linguistic and cultural research, along with organizing conferences and seminars to encourage academic discourse on Hindko and related languages.

Cultural festivals, musical events, and exhibitions showcasing regional handicrafts, cuisine, and folk art have been arranged as well. The academy has collaborated with higher educational institutions to include Hindko language and literature in academic curricula and helped them publish newsletters.