Page 155

116 PART THREE Language and Literature* Pashto is the chief language of the Afghans and extends throughout the country. It is also spoken in Pashtunistan. Two main dialects are recognized—Yusufzai or Eastern and Kandahari. Next to Pashto, Persian is the most important language of the country. It is spoken mostly in the cities and towns. Afghan Persian, or perhaps one should call it by its historical and literary name "Dari", still preserves the old distinction of madjhul and maruf between u and o and i and e, which does not exist in Iranian Persian of today. The Afghans in all ages have played an important rôle in the cultural development of the civilized nations. The Rigveda of the early Aryans and the Avesta of Zoroaster are two of the most important classics of this country that have given the world religions and philosophies, which in range, depth, variety and power still command universal admiration. We give here a short list of some of the Afghan writers and philosophers of the early Islamic period, who in creative power, quality of workmanship, intellectual force as well as in the delineation of soft emotions, in dramatic touch, in elegance, purity, vividness and grace, in sublimity of thought and style are to be compared with the best writers of the world. But for the works of these men, Persian literature could not have attained the high standard of excellence which it enjoys today. The first attempt to compose verses in Persian was made under *Compiled by Dr. Ahmad Jawid, Professor of Persian Literature, Faculty of Letters, Kabul University.