History 101: Pashto book simplifies Gandhara civilisation to educate all

Senior officials say it is important to protect province’s heritage

PESHAWAR: A history book on the ancient Gandhara civilisation was launched at the Peshawar Museum’s hall on Tuesday.

It details 21 historical sites of the civilisation and is considered the first book on the history of the ancient settlement in Pashto language. It has been published by Radio Mashal, also known as Radio Free Europe.

The launch ceremony was attended by K-P Minister for Sports and Culture Mehmood Khan, Bacha Khan University Vice Chancellor Fazal Rahim Marwat and other senior officials. Mehmood Khan said the book aims to promote the culture and archaeology of the province.

He added the provincial government was making efforts to preserve the rich history of K-P and three new museums had been approved for construction this year. The minister said efforts were also under way to restore historic monuments as section four was imposed at a site in Swat to keep the land protected.

According to government officials, there are 6,000 sites of historic importance in the province and just 100 of those were given recognition.

Compiled by Khalid Khan Kheshgi, the book stated Gandhara has 21 sites of great importance. It has been written in simple Pashto language for everybody to understand.

K-P Archaeology and Museums Director Dr Abdul Samad said it was necessary to create awareness among people to better protect historic sites. He added besides archeological sites, K-P has 12 museums, but none of them were developed for sustainable tourism.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2016.