Abdulla Qodiriy

According to the textbook, Abdulla Qodiriy was born on 10 April 1894 in Tashkent into a gardener’s family; he is considered the founder of the Uzbek novel. He studied at a Muslim school, a Russian-native school and the Abulqosim Shaykh madrasa, and attended literature courses in Moscow. In 1914 he married Rahbarnisa and had five children. His works appeared in the press under dozens of pen names such as Julqunboy, Kalvak Mahzum and Toshpo‘lat Tajang. He began writing in the mid-1910s: poems such as “To‘y” and “Ahvolimiz”, the drama “Baxtsiz kuyov” (1915) and the story “Juvonboz” criticise superstition and backwardness. “Baxtsiz kuyov” was written under the influence of Behbudiy’s “Padarkush”. With the story “Uloqda” (1916) he began realistic Uzbek short-story writing. For his satirical pieces he was called “the king of feuilletons”. Sections of the novel “O‘tkan kunlar” were first printed in the magazine “Inqilob” in 1923–1924 and came out as books in 1925–1926. His second novel is “Mehrobdan chayon” (1928). Qodiriy was arrested on 31 December 1937 and executed on 4 October 1938; after 1991 his name began to be honoured.