International Conference

on

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA: HISTORY AND CULTURE

Organized by

National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad

and

Pakistan Study Centre, University of Peshawar

CALL FOR PAPERS

The history of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is several thousand years old. The region had accommodated and cradled Buddhism, Hinduism, and a number of other great civilizations. It witnessed the glorious Buddhist period and the rise of Gandhara civilization that has flourished in this area. The region was like a “crossroad” and “melting-pot” of cultures. The foreign expeditions came across the north-western side of Pakistan through the ages. These expeditions and ideas include the Achaemenians, the Greeks, and the Mauryans, the Persians, the Bactrian Greeks, the Sakas, the Kushans, the Muslims, Sikh suzerainty and lastly the British colonialists.

In its local traditions the centuries old culture of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is reflected in the mystic and philosophical Poetry of Rahman Baba, Khushal Khan Khattak, land settlement of the genius Sheikh Mali, Ghaffar Khan’s non-violent movement and the romanticism of Ghani Khan’s poetry. Pakhtun tradition is extremely rich with the presence of Sufi shrines that project tolerant Islam among the people. Later on, the great game, the British Empire obsession with Russian expansion and the subsequent Cold War, then the Afghan Jihad and lastly the war on terror changed the society for crystallizing its negative aspects. Thus, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was deprived of some aspects of Pakhtunwali-the very essence of its cultural values. The resultant outcome of all this may be seen in the chaotic phenomenon in the name of terrorism, war against terrorism and counter terrorism.

In the contemporary circumstances it is much important to present the true side of the picture to the world. It is, highly imperative to take an unprejudiced and corrective measure to depict the factual perspective of the history and culture of the people. For this purpose, a fresh study of the history and culture of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakhtunwali in the context of the history of Pakistan ought to be initiated. The present conference is a part of this pursuit and an effort of the NIHCR, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad and PSC, University of Peshawar to promote the tolerant and positive aspects of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is being initiated with the purpose of washing the stigma of fanaticism and terrorism that was stamped on this region under a concerted effort by value-loaded media channels, journalists and intellectuals. Main themes of the conference are:

  1. Historical Evolution of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (from ancient to the present)
  2. Historiography on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  3. Sufism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  4. Contribution of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the Freedom Movement
  5. War on Terror and its implications for the region
  6. Cultural traditions and diversity
  7. Gandhara Civilization and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  8. Performing arts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  9. Minorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  10. Religious conservatism vis-à-vis cultural pluralism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The venue of the conference is the main campus of the University of Peshawar and the date is November 5-7, 2012.

Last date for submission of abstract is June 25, 2012.

Last date for submission of paper is August 25, 2012.

Proceedings of the conference will be published by the NIHCR, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad and PSC, University of Peshawar. Articles qualifying blind peer review will be published in the respective journals of the National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad.

Prof. Dr. Eatzaz AhmadProf. Dr. Fakhr-ul-Islam

Director, NIHCR, QAUDirector, PSC, UoP

Islamabad.Peshawar.

051-2896151091-9216421