A known Pashto writer, poet and research scholar, Professor Dr Pervez Mahjoor, who passed away recently at the age of 68 had contributed immensely to the enrichment of the Pashto literature in different capacities.
The late literatus hailed from Baba Jee Killay (village) of Kheshgi Bala area in the Nowshera district. A large number of people from various walks of life, including Pashto writers and poets, turned up at the funeral as he was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard at Kheshgi Bala.
He left behind a widow, two sons, four daughters and a large number of admirers to mourn his death. The late Pashto scholar remained associated with several educational institutions, including the Pashto Academy, University of Peshawar and served well his mother language, Pashto and its literature. Though late Dr Pervez Mahjoor was the author of dozens of Pashto and Urdu books and publications, his main work focused on Sufism. He proved his mettle in the field, especially by exploring “Rokhaniyaat” (work of great scholar and freedom fighter Hazrat Bayazid Ansari).
Pervez Mahjoor was born on January 14 in 1952. He received education until matriculation from the school in his native Kheshgi Bala village. He was a brilliant student Mian Muhammad Ishaq Paracha, the late principal of the Government Middle School Kheshgi Payan who played a role in the mental grooming of his students. This fact was acknowledged by Pervez Mahjoor frequently in his life.
Pervez Mahjoor passed FA exam from Government Degree College in Nowshera in 1970 and pursued further education and did BA, MA Pashto and MA in Urdu from University of Peshawar as a private candidate but with distinction. The late scholar did PhD from the University of Peshawar by carrying out research on the spiritual personality of Arzani Baba Kheshgi. He did a thesis on the poetry of Arzani Baba who was from his tribe as well. Pervez Mahjoor was among those figures who laid the foundation for the Pashto Adabi Tolana in Khesgi in 1969.
He struggled for the promotion of the Pashto literature along with other literati such as Malik Sher Ali Khan Baba, Akhun Meer Hassan, Ihsan Baba, Prof Abdullah Qant, Farhad Muhammad Ghalib Tareen, Gohar Ali Gohar, and Wali Khan Khaksar. He was the moving force behind another Pashto literary body, Da Arzani Pashto Adabi Jirga.
He opted for the teaching profession as a passion. His first posting was at Misri Banda of the Nowshera district. Later, he worked as a teacher at his Khesgi village for two years.
In the year 1988, he joined the Pashto Academy, University of Peshawar, as a junior research officer. He worked as a research officer for 14 years and performed a rare task.
He contributed 30 papers to the research journal of the Pashto Academy, “Pashto”. These pertained to great Sufi poet Abdur Rahman Baba, Amir Hamza Khan Shinwari and other great poets. His papers were also published in the research journal of the Malakand University, “Paltana”.
Apart from that, he contributed to other Pashto journals such as “Tatara” of Mardan, “Rehman Review” (Peshawar and “Khal” (Quetta).
Late Mahjoor supervised 20 PhD and MPhil scholars. He authored 12 books on research and editing. Some of his publications were published jointly by the Pashto Academy and Lok Virsa in Islamabad. Part of his work is set to be published by the Pashto Academy in Quetta. Later, he joined the Pashto Department of the University of Peshawar as an associate professor. He retired from the department as a full-fledged professor in 2011.
Pashto Academy Director Prof Nasrullah Jan Wazir paid rich tributes to late Prof Dr Pervez Mahjoor for his work. He said the late Pervez Mahjoor commented with reasons on the impressions of Hazrat Akhun Darweza Baba on Rokhanis (followers of Hazrat Bayazid Ansari who was also called Peer Rokhan).
