July 22 – the day of adoption of the Law on the State Language of the Republic of Tajikistan. On this occasion, we congratulate all our compatriots and wish prosperity, development, real independence and freedom to the society of Tajikistan.
The Law on Language was adopted on July 22, 1989, after numerous appeals from citizens, rallies, thanks to the efforts of scientists, writers, artisans, intellectuals and the entire people of Tajikistan. This event opened a new page in the modern history of Tajiks. From that moment, the Tajik (Persian) language was declared the official state language of Tajikistan.
To implement the Law on Language, under the auspices of the Tajik-Persian Language Foundation, the Committee on Terminology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan, with the help of writers, scientists, intellectuals and teachers, began the process of reviving this important basis for the existence of the nation.
However, after Emomali Rakhmonov (President of Tajikistan since 1994) came to power and the introduction of the presidential system in the country, after the adoption of the new Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan in 1994, the word “Persian” was removed from the official name of the language. This was the first blow to our native language after independence.
The removal of the word “Persian” from the name of the language was politically motivated. In the recent past, Soviet politics, which sought to separate the cultural roots of Soviet peoples from their origins, changed the name of their languages and severed the ties of peoples with their past. Unfortunately, this trend continues to this day in the ideology of Rakhmonov and part of the political, scientific and literary circles of Tajikistan.
Another scandalous incident was the postponement of the celebration of “State Language Day” from its historical date of July 22 to October 5, Rakhmonov’s birthday, emphasizing his allegedly special merits in the formation of the Tajik language as a state language.
Everyone knows that the Language Law was adopted on July 22, 1989, and from 1990 to 2009 the people of the country celebrated this holiday on its original date – July 22. Until the Law was amended by the Parliament of the Republic, and on the pretext that most public servants and students had vacations in the summer, Language Day was postponed to October 5.
The transfer of the date of “Language Day” is a betrayal of the history and culture of the nation. This was done only for the sake of the next desire of officials to serve Rakhmonov and maintain their posts. If we look at the facts realistically, then Rakhmonov did not have a direct influence on the adoption of the Law on Language, did not make a significant contribution to the implementation of this Law. To attribute all the achievements of society to one person is a huge mistake that leads to disaster. This proves the history of the Soviet era and many other countries of the world. False coverage of history has sad and tragic consequences, but we very much hope that the time will soon come when the new story of Tajiks will be written truthfully, and people will celebrate Language Day on its initial date – July 22.
Political movement «Group 24»
