P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Aini, Kamol

Tajik textual and literary critic Kamol Sadriddinovich Aini was born

into a family of workers in Samarqand on May 15, 1928. Son of the

famed Tajik author, Sadriddin Aini, Kamol Aini received his early

education at home, as well as in the Tajik and Russian schools of the

region. He became a member of the Union of Writers of the Soviet

Union in 1960, and joined the CPSU in 1962. He is the permanent

President of the International Aini foundation. He is also one of the

founders of "Paivand," and has served as its president. He is an Aca-

demician of the Academy of Advanced Schools of Sociology of Mos-

cow and a recipient of the Afshar Foundation Prize (Iran).

Kamol Aini graduated from the Leningrad Faculty of Oriental

Studies in 1949 and in 1953 from the Oriental Institute of the Academy

of the Arts of the Soviet Union. From 1953 to 1955, he was a Senior

Worker at the Rudaki Language and Literature Institute of the Academy

of Sciences of Tajikistan. From 1956 to 1958, he was the Director of

Textual Criticism of the Department of Oriental Studies and Literary

Works. From 1966 to 1972, he was a Senior Scientific Worker at the

Oriental Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union, as

well as the Director of the Iran Division of the Institute of Oriental

Studies of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan. In 1980, Aini became

the Head of the Manuscript and Original Documents Division of the

same institute. Aini joined the Union of Writers of Tajikistan in 1960,

and recently serves on its Board of Directors.

Aini's contributions, which date to 1948, fall into three main cate-

gories: administrative, collaborative, and littérateur. As an administrator

and scholar, Aini has been tireless in organizing original textual

materials dealing with the study of the orient, as well as in persuading

colleagues to contribute to the enhancement of the treasury of Oriental

manuscripts. As a collaborator, he has delivered lectures, chaired con-

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