P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Iraj Bashiri

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

136

ganized book, Karimov explains how his good will towards both the

Government and the Opposition resulted in his downfall.

Karimov, Hakim

Tajik author Hakim Karimov was born in 1905 to a family of mer-

chants in Khujand. He received his early education in his birth place.

Karimov graduated from the Institute of Agriculture of Khujand in

1925. From 1927 to 1931, he served the Communist Party in Kulab and

in Dushanbe. In 1932, he became the First Deputy of Soviet Writers of

Tajikistan. Between 1941 and 1942, Karimov served at the front, where

he died in action.

Karimov is one of the major prose writers of the early years of

Soviet Tajikistan. Between 1925 and 1930, Bidorii Tajik published

many of his early stories.

Oq Shuda (Unforgivable, 1965) and Odam dar Khalta (Man in the

Sack, 1959) are two of his major works. The former, however, is recog-

nized as embodying his main themes which deal with social and politi-

cal issues of his time.

Karimov joined the Union of Writers of the Soviet Union in 1934.

Karimov, Hilol

Tajik educator Hilol Karimovich Karimov was born into a farming

family of Konibodom on May 15, 1908. He joined the CPSU in 1941.

Karimov studied at the State Faculty of Central Asia from 1932 to

1935. Thereafter, he became the Inspector of Education for the Soviet

Socialist Republic of Tajikistan. From 1941 to 1946, he served in the

Soviet Army. Between 1946 and 1951, he was the Acting Minister of

Education of Tajikistan. In 1951 Karimov joined Tajikistan State Uni-

versity as a teacher and, in 1961, became the Head of the Department of

Persian Studies at the same institution.

Karimov's contributions include Alifbo (The Alphabet) which, after

its original publication in 1933, has gone through 47 reprints.

An experienced Tajik educator, Karimov became a Distinguished

Contributor to Tajik Culture in 1960. He was also recognized as a Dis-

tinguished Teacher in Tajikistan (1963) and in the Soviet Union (1972).

Karimov was decorated with two Badges of Honor, several medals,

and the Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan.

He died in Dushanbe in 1985.

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