Professor Manalai, the Afghan researcher, literary figure and historian, was born in 1924 in Nangarhar.
He has authored more than 30 books and more than 200 papers on literary, cultural and historical subjects. Translation of classics such as Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, Saadi's Boostan and Attar's Mantiq al-Tair into Pashto are among his outstanding works. With his eloquent and fluent literary language, Prof. Manalai greatly contributed to the strengthening of Pashto language. He passed away in May 2020 at the age of 96.