It has been for more than a quarter of a century that the Taliban is playing a role in Afghanistan. Hundreds of books and thousands of articles have been written about them in common languages of the world. What is less discussed in these books and articles is the ethnic aspect of the Taliban. Some people try to make the religious side of the Taliban more colorful for different motives. This group itself tries to deceive public opinion by insinuating that its efforts are aimed at establishing the sovereignty of God on earth. However, the truth of the matter is that Pashtunism is an inseparable part of the Taliban’s identity, and knowing this group without considering the category of ethnicism in Afghanistan will be incomplete and incorrect. The fact that a certain Tajik or Uzbek commander accompanies the Taliban never negates the fact that the Taliban movement is Pashtun-oriented. What is wrong with a few people from other ethnic groups, either out of naivety and neglect or to achieve personal goals and ambitions, having collaborated with a group that is hostile to their language, culture, customs, and rituals? Has such an event rarely happened in history?
During the one-year Taliban rule in the country, behavior towards the Persian language proved even to the most slow-believing people that the Taliban are fundamentally hostile to the Persian language and consider it a threat to the establishment of their rule. In the latest case, the action of the Taliban group to remove the word “Danishgah” [which is the Persian term for university.] from the plaque of Balkh University, while fueling widespread reactions, further exposed the nature of this group and revealed its dangerous agenda. The Taliban has a tribal origin and the majority of its members are people who live in closed and backward environments in the tribal areas of southern Afghanistan. Therefore, it is not strange that they have a pessimistic view of the Persian language and other ethnic groups of the country.
In another move, at the beginning of the new solar year, the Taliban removed Nowruz from the country’s official calendar. Nowruz is an occasion that has been celebrated in Afghanistan for a very long time and is considered a part of the country’s national occasions. The Taliban’s enmity with Nowruz, while it may be caused by their narrow-minded understanding of religious texts, also expresses their spirit of totalitarianism and shows that the Taliban want an Afghanistan with the size and scale of the tribe in which they were raised and developed, and they reject and negate anything that is beyond their capacity to cope with and understand it.
Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan and the majority of its residents are Tajik and Persian speaking. In the past, when non-Persian speakers would come to Kabul, they tried to adapt to the new situation and learn the urban culture and be able to chat in Persian. However, in both times, when the Taliban dominated the country, they have taken a stand against the culture and language of the Kabulis and used all their efforts to impose a new culture on them. Taliban soldiers/militants who are present everywhere in Kabul, do not know the Persian language and always talk to people in Pashto. If a visitor to government offices cannot speak Pashto, there is a high possibility that his work will be delayed. Government officials treat people who cannot speak Pashto as foreigners. With the Taliban taking control of Kabul the capital, Pirhan-Tanban [their tribal cloth] clothes have become popular and those who wear modern clothes are very rare. Face trimming and hairstyle are done according to the rules of the Taliban, and life continues monotonously. The measures and actions that the Taliban have taken into their hands show that they want to change people’s thoughts, culture, and rituals, which exposes the fact that they have come this time not only to dominate the political destiny of the people but also to change all aspects of their lives according to their taste and desire. They aim to take strategic measures this time.
Some people promote the idea that the Persian language is sufficiently rooted and strong in Afghanistan that it cannot be easily removed from the scene. They happily chant that the Taliban’s anti-Persian policy will lead to failure and will not achieve their desired result and that the Persian language is “not a willow that can shake with these winds!” and such mouth-filling words. To prove how baseless and fanciful these slogans are, it is enough to remember that in the contemporary history of this country, many regions of this country whose residents spoke Persian and their mother tongue was Persian, slowly and with strategic ethnic policies of the anti-Persianism of various governments, they have become Pashto-speaking and now they consider themselves ethnically Pashtun. These kinds of events are a good guide and can open our eyes. Just as the Persian language was pushed out of the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia, one day it may also be pushed out of Afghanistan or at least get marginalized. Even now, the Persian language is marginalized and is treated as a foreign and hateful language by those in power.
Throughout history, culture and language have been subject to political power and have gained its strength and weakness along with it. Persian culture and language cannot be excluded from this truth. At one time, the Persian language was common in vast areas of the East, and people understood it or spoke it daily; But gradually that glory disappeared and now this language is also getting strange and abandoned in its origin. The actor’s wheel has many of these toys!
One of the elements of the Taliban’s identity is their hostility to the Persian language. This group has been hostile to the Persian language and suppressed it in both periods when it gained sovereignty over the country. Denying this truth is like hiding the sun with two fingers. Due to its totalitarian and anti-diversity nature, the Taliban group aims to homogenize Afghanistan society and prevent its diversity. According to this group, suppressing the Persian language is one of the ways to unify society. The rule of the Taliban is a serious threat to the Persian language in Afghanistan.
The Persian language is one of the pillars of identity and one of the precious spiritual assets of this country. Enmity with it, not only does not heal any pain but also fuels hostility and cynicism and destroys peaceful coexistence. Apart from that, the presence of the Persian language in the country is a serious necessity for the richness and strength of its cultural identity, and therefore, any person or group who wants to harm this richness, is attacking its roots and huge spiritual capital, wasting it foolishly. As much as the Pashto language is a rich asset and useful for cultural diversity and pluralism, and efforts should be made to protect it, the Persian language is also a part of the identity and history of this land, and every trick should be used to defend it.
Author: Shahab