Comparative Study of Prison Life of Khushal Khan Khattak and Masaud Saad Salman

Abstract

There are many commonalities in both Pashto and Persian languages. Both of these languages have been influenced by the Arabic language, being a language of religious scripts of Muslims. Besides, Persian, a language of court of the sub-continent, had greatly influenced other languages of this region, including Pashto. Pashto and Persian, being languages of nearly the same geography and cultural background, have many similarities and commonalities in themes of their respective literature. In Pashto classical literature, Khushal Khan Khattak, the father of Pashto literature is a prolific writer. He has produced many masterpieces in Pashto poetry and prose. He has been jailed by Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb Alamgir. He spent a duration of five years in prison and wrote masterpieces in Pashto poetry and prose. Similarly, the Persian poet, Masud Saad Salman, has spent many years in prison and produced great literary works in prison. He has spent almost eighteen years in jail. In this article, the life and literary works of Pashto poet, Khushal Khan Khattak and the life and works of the Persian poet, Masud Saad Salman, will be studied and comparatively analyzed.