P rominent t ajik f igures of the

D
Dahri
See Jalilov, Rahim.
Davlatov, Davlatali
Tajik politician Davlatali Davlatov was born in Khujand in 1947.
He graduated from the Tajikistan State University with a degree in
Oriental Studies. From 1986 to 1973, he served as an interpreter to
Soviet military advisors assigned to Egypt and Syria. He also worked at
the Department of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of Taji-
kistan. In 1980, Davlatov successfully defended his thesis at the Insti-
tute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet
Union, and joined the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
Tajikistan. From 1993 to 1995, he served as an advisor to and press sec-
retary of the President of the Republic. In November 1995, he was pro-
moted to State Adviser to the President. His office deals with interethnic
issues, as well as with public associations. In 1988, the Department of
Public Relations, Culture, and Information was placed within his juris-
diction.
Dehoti, Abdusalom
Tajik author and poet Abdusalom Pirmuhammadzoda Dehoti was
born into a merchant family in Samarqand on March, 14, 1911. His
early education was in old-method schools followed by middle school
in Samarqand in 1930 and higher education in 1931. He joined the
CPSU in 1941.
From 1931 to 1934, he worked at Haqiqati Uzbekistan. In 1935, he
moved to Dushanbe and worked for the State Publications of Tajikistan.
After a stint (1935-38) at Baroi Adabiyoti Sotsiolisti, he became the
President of the Union of Writers of Tajikistan (1938-40). Between
1940 and 1951, he was the Assistant Editor of Sharqi Surkh (later Sadoi
Sharq). These early activities were followed by a position as Advisor to
the Institute of Communist History (1953-58), and as the Chief Editor
of Tojikiston (1953-1961).

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Iraj Bashiri

66
Dehoti's early works, influenced by the works of Sadriddin Aini (es-

pecially Odina), were published in Ovozi Tojik and Rahbari Donish as
early as 1929. "Hamidai Siyohbakht" ("Unlucky Hamida") and
"Ajinaho" ("The Fairies") are cases in point. Dehoti's first collection of
poetry, entitled Manzarahoi Sigona (The Three Views, 1932), was fol-
lowed by Taronahoi Mihnat (Songs of Labor) in 1934.
Dehoti's works as a playwright began with Khisrav va Shirin
(Khosrow and Shirin, 1936) for which he cooperated with Mirzo
Tursunzoda. From there the two went on to write Shurishi Vose' (The
Vose' Uprising, 1940), the play that formed the basis for the Tajik opera
of the same name. Their use of local color, especially using the folklore
of the people of the region, helped build a more authentic character for
Vose' than otherwise would have been possible. Dehoti's Nur dar
Kuhiston (Light in the Highlands, 1947) depicts the lives of teachers in
the Gharm region carrying out their duties in spite of Basmachi threats.
Although his quatrains gained Dehoti a great deal of fame, his son-
nets and mathnavis (odes) on social issues were of no less importance.
In general, he projected a balanced view of the social issues of Soviet
culture in Tajikistan.
Dehoti joined the Union of Writers of Tajikistan in 1934. He re-
ceived two Orders of Red Banner of Labor, 2 Badge of Honor, and sev-
eral Orders of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan.
Dehoti died on 31 January 1962 in Dushanbe. His collected works,
in five volumes, appeared in 1965/66.