DISCOURSE OF RESISTANCE IN PASHTO FOLK SONGS: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

Abstract

This study examines Pashto folk songs of resistance through Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis. The research focuses on how language constructed ideas of sacrifice, honor, and identity in socio-cultural and historical contexts. Textual analysis showed repeated use of words tied to blood, martyrdom, and homeland. Metaphors of body, soil, and sacrifice present resistance as a natural and necessary act. Pronoun choices highlighted collective duty and solidarity, while modality emphasized on certainty and obligation. Intertextual links with past struggles, Islamic history, and figures like Pir Roshan strengthen the continuity of resistance narratives. The analysis of discursive practice reveals how oral traditions circulate across generations. Songs move from tribal gatherings to political spaces, shaping collective awareness. They also reflect power struggles, where cultural memory resists dominant political structures. At the social practice level, the findings show how songs protect cultural values, gendered notions of honor, and historical memory of foreign invasions. The study argues that resistance in Pashto folk songs is not only a reaction to external threats but also a process of identity preservation. Language frames resistance as moral duty and ties it to broader struggles for justice, dignity, and cultural survival. These results show how discourse, culture, and politics remain intertwined in the Pashtun context.