The Tajik Golden Heritage
By: Dr. Maqsood Jafri

Respected ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen,
It is, indeed, a great pleasure and privilege to participate in the book launching ceremony of the Foreign Minister of the Republican of Tajikistan H.E. Dr. Hamrokhon Zarifi titled " Tajik Arts and Crafts: through centuries." I feel it my bounden duty to thank the ambassador of Tajikistan in Islamabad, Pakistan His Excellency SheraliS.Jononov, who very kindly asked me to express my views on this book. It is the gathering of the galaxy of ambassadors , journalists, writers, intellectuals and people from civil society. His Excellency ambassador Sherali Jononov is very much popularambassador in Pakistan for his friendly attitude and scholarly stature. He meets people with smiling face. I usually say:" smiling face is a divine grace."  last month, he very kindly presided over the book launh ceremony of my Urdu/ Persian book titled " Awaz-e-Asr" ( The Voice of the Age). He is very popular in the social and literary circles of Pakistan and we are obligated to him for introducing the Tajik culture and literature in our youth and writers.
 
The book is written by the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan Dr. Hamrokhan Zarifi. The book launch ceremony is held under the banner" The Tajik Golden Age." There is not a shred of doubt in it that the folk lore heritage of Tajikistan is a golden heritage. The book is beautifully printed and exhibits the glory and grandeur of rich heritage of Tajikistan. It contains winsome pictures of the national heritage of Tajikistan such as: Ceramic vases, cloth embroidery, gold, silver and bronze engravings and embroidery, jewllery designs, musical instruments, miniature, paper masc hie, head wares, foot wares, weaving and printed cotton fabrics, metal manufactures, carving craft, painting, pottery, artists' work of art and decorative art in architecture. There is much variety of folk art and handicrafts in the heritage of Tajikistan. The Tajik cultural heritage is very exuberant and rich. It reflects the creative mind of the people. It exhibits that since centuries,the people of Tajikistan are docile, humane and art loving. It would not be out of place to mention that the Sub-continent embedded and saturated its' folk lore heritage under the impact of Tajiki culture. Hazrat Mir Ali Hamadani known as Shah Hamadan hailed from Tajikistan and introduced art and handicrafts to the people of Kashmir. When he visited Kashmir, seven hundred disciples were with him. Besides, spiritualism, he introduced artisan-ship to the locals. It was benevolence of the saint who cared for the soul and stomach of the down trodden people of Kashmir.

It is befitting to pay heartiest homage to the illustrious intellectual foreign minister of Tajikistan. Dr. Hamrokhon Zarifi is the author of this treatise. He has written a soul stirring and thought provoking Foreword on the book. What inspired him to write this book? Once he purchased a book from road side book seller that contains material on the heritage of Tajikistan. As a patriot, a gush of zeal and zest arose in his heart to preserve it and then present this valuable and unique cultural heritage to the world. He writes:" The art, being a most valuable achievement of the creative nation has various aspects. The Takjik art including music, singing, painting, miniature had reached an attitude and even now, their best traditions are developed broadly under contemporary conditions. We are proud of that today, due to the state independence, our national art is being developed and some forgotten styles and traditions are being revived."  The revival, reconstruction, reorientation, and rejuvenation of olden and antique culture and norms reflects of the psyche of a living and determined nation. Dr. Iqbal, the great poet-philosopher of the East says that in slavery the conscience of the nations dies and they become like a stream but in liberty the conscience emerges in the form of boundless sea. The impetus from the announcement of Dr. Hamrokhon Zarifi stems out with the resolve to revive the traditional spirit of freedom, innovation, creativity and modernity. It shows the great vision of the author of the book. The great poet of Tajikistan Roudiki wrote in Persian language. His famous Ghazal " booe jooe Moliyan ayad hamee," not only inspired the king to return to the capital, but even today mesmerizes the lovers of Persian poetry. It is humbly suggested that during the reign of Soviet Union, by design, the script of Takiji Persian was changed. It was done to sever the roots of the people. it was intentional maneuvering to segregate the people of Tajikistan from their Muslim countries. Now, itt is the right time to write Persian in the olden script. By doing so the people of Tajikistan will come closer to the people of Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and India for the commonality of the script. They will understand each other and the exchange of writers can play the fortifying role.

The book contains an extract from televised address of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan H.E. Emomali Rahman on the occasion of the independence Day, September 8, 2009. It reads:
" In the margins of its' history, owing to thought and conscience, language, science and culture, customs, traditions and other ideological values, The Tajik nation has introduced itself to the world as civilized, humane, peace- loving, freedom- loving, benevolent and patient nation." These are the golden words portraying the golden heritage of Tajikistan. The president is well aware of the importance of soft and serene culture that leads the nations towards stability, integrity and creativity. He is very right and exact while propounding that for the establishment of human values, the nations must be thoroughly equipped with the arsenal of mild and tolerant values. Plato, a great Greek philosopher regarded music a necessary part of education. He was of the view that music softens the heart and steers towards the shores of tranquility, humanity and serenity. President Emomali Rehman keeps the banner aloft for a civilized and moderate nation. Today, the world is facing a serious challenge of racial discrimination and religious extremism. The diehard mentality is playing havoc with the lives of the defenseless and innocent people. The suicide bombing is a lethal device taking the lives of people around the world. We need a rational, humane, civilized, cultured, modern and moderate societies to save the world. We have to save our drowning skiff and safely steer it to the shore. We have to unite the nations for the better future of humankind. We have to spread rose petals in the ways of our younger generation instead of sowing prickly thorns to injure their insteps. We have to lightened the candles  in the dark and dreary deserts of dissolution to show the path of progress and prosperity to our youth. These cherished goals can only be achieved when we will strive for better ideals. The ideals of love, justice, peace, progress,humility, civility, courtesy, harmony and humanity.
In the end, I sincerely and vehemently congratulate the Foreign Minister of  the Republic of Tajikistan H.E. Dr. Hamrokhon Zarifi who wrote such an informative and inspiring book on the Tajik Arts and Crafts. We are also thankful to the ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan to Pakistan H.E. Sherali S. Jononov who arranged the book launch ceremony in Islamabad and introduced the book to us.
( A brief of the extempore speech of Dr. Maqsood Jafri In Hotel Serena, Islamabad, Pakistan on September 25, 2013)