Recent remarks by Taliban officials about the status of languages and the concept of the “national” in Afghanistan have once again brought national identity, linguistic and cultural diversity, and the status of the country’s various languages into the spotlight.
While one Taliban official has described Pashto as Afghanistan’s “only national language,” another has essentially said that there is no such thing as “national” in Afghanistan, while both Persian and Pashto are “equal.”
Yaqub Yasa, a university professor and literary researcher in Afghanistan, told IRAF that recent remarks by two Taliban officials concerning the “national” status of Pashto and the rejection of the term “national” stem from two different intellectual foundations: “Pashtun ethnic nationalism” and a “religious and ummah-centered outlook.”
Yasa said that the emphasis on Pashto as the only national language of Afghanistan is rooted in a political and ethnic background that has repeatedly been tested and failed since the formation of the modern Afghan state.
Yasa stressed that no ethnic language or culture should be excluded from Afghanistan’s national identity. In his view, Afghanistan must move toward accepting cultural and linguistic diversity rather than pursuing cultural and linguistic uniformity if it is to develop a lasting national identity.
Two Different Intellectual Foundations Behind Taliban Remarks
Speaking about the difference between the two Taliban officials’ views on the concept of “national,” Yasa said:
“My understanding is that the recent remarks by the two Taliban officials about languages and the national status of languages stem from two intellectual foundations. The Taliban official who says that Pashto is the only national language in Afghanistan has a clear intellectual foundation, and it stems from ethnic nationalism, specifically Pashtun ethnic nationalism; but the Taliban official who says: We do not have anything called ‘national’ in Afghanistan, his intellectual foundation comes from a religious and Islamic perspective.”
He added:
“‘Islamic Emirate,’ ‘Ministry of Defense of the Islamic Emirate,’ ‘Ministry of Information and Culture of the Islamic Emirate,’ and other institutions are defined with this same suffix. Therefore, when a Taliban official says we do not have anything called ‘national,’ this statement does not have a precedent only in the Taliban’s ‘Islamic Emirate’; it also has a history in other Islamic governments and states.”
The Difference Between “National” and “Official”
The researcher, referring to the historical background of the debate over a national language in Afghanistan, said:
“As for the Taliban official who says that Pashto is the only national language, I do not know exactly whether this is the official position of the Taliban government or a statement by an official. In any case, this statement has a political and historical background in Afghanistan.”
According to Yasa, efforts to establish Pashto as the country’s national and official language date back to the formation of the modern Afghan state.
He said that during the reign of Amanullah Khan, Mahmoud Tarzi, who was one of the government’s leading cultural figures and had previously played an important role during the reign of Habibullah Khan, sought to establish Pashto, which he referred to as the “Afghani language,” as the national and official language — meaning the only national and official language — of Afghanistan.
Referring to Afghanistan’s constitutions, Yasa said:
“In the constitutions before the republic, particularly during the period of Zahir Shah, two languages were presented as official languages, and in those constitutions and subsequent laws, Pashto was also called the national language; but in the constitution of the republican period, both Pashto and Dari were mentioned as the official languages of the Afghan government, and the suffix ‘national’ for Pashto no longer existed in the constitution of the republic.”
He stressed:
“There can be a difference between ‘national’ and ‘official.’”
All Languages Are Part of Afghanistan’s Cultural Capital
Referring to Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of “cultural capital,” Yasa said:
“According to this theory, anything that has cultural value in a country and society, whether it is clothing, a musical instrument, a mine, or a language, is part of the cultural and national capital of that country.”
He added:
“From this perspective, all languages that exist in a country are part of the cultural and national capital of that country. Therefore, we must revise our view of the concept of ‘national’ and ‘official’ in Afghanistan.”
The literary researcher continued:
“The Shughni, Balochi, Uzbek, Nuristani and Pashayi languages are all part of Afghanistan’s cultural and national heritage. Pashto and Dari have the same status; but ‘official’ is something that the state and government use because of administrative necessity and function.”
To explain the distinction, he said:
“In a country, there are different forms of dress, but the government may choose one type of clothing as the official uniform in government offices. This does not mean that other forms of dress are worthless or lack national value; rather, the government has made one type official based on necessity. An official language has the same status.”
He said:
“A government can, based on practical and functional necessity, choose one or two languages as official languages, but this should not mean denying the national value of other languages.”
Monolingual Policy Has Failed in Afghanistan
Referring to the Taliban’s emphasis that Pashto is the only national language, Yasa said:
“This approach comes from a political and ethnic background in the governments of Afghanistan and, in my opinion, is wrong.”
He added:
“In Afghanistan, efforts have been made to build and define cultural policy on the basis of one language or the cultural identity of one ethnic group, but I think such an approach has failed in Afghanistan. From the very beginning, that is, from the period of Amanullah Khan, this effort failed.”
The university professor continued:
“In subsequent periods, this issue was repeated as well. Even once, the entire Ministry of Education printed textbooks in Pashto so that teaching throughout Afghanistan would be conducted in Pashto, but this project could not be implemented and failed.”
He stressed:
“To say that Afghanistan’s national identity should be based on one particular language and that other languages should be eliminated or sidelined is wrong. The Pashto language and Pashto culture have the right to have their place in Afghanistan’s national and cultural identity; just as the Dari, Uzbek and other languages of the country should also have their place in the country’s cultural and national identity.”
Dari Persian: A Shared Heritage of Afghanistan’s Ethnic Groups
Discussing the status of Dari Persian in Afghanistan, the university professor said:
“Languages have human value from a linguistic perspective, and one cannot assign a particular rank to languages; but from the perspective of culture, the use of a language in society, and its cultural background, naturally there are differences between languages.”
He added:
“The Dari language that we speak in Afghanistan and which has another name, Persian, in Iran, has had a rich historical background in the region. Researchers and scholars such as Saeed Nafisi, Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub and Parviz Natel Khanlari have researched the history of Dari and Persian and emphasized its importance.”
According to Yasa:
“The Dari language, from the period of the Saffarids and Yaqub al-Layth al-Saffari to the Ghaznavids, Seljuks and later states, was one of the common languages of the people and governments.”
He said:
“Although an official language in its legal sense is a phenomenon of modern states, before the formation of modern states there were also languages that had public value, and Dari was one of these languages.”
Persian Has an Interethnic Position in Afghanistan
Referring to the widespread use of Dari Persian in Afghanistan, the literary researcher said:
“Dari has an interethnic position in Afghanistan, and all the ethnic groups of Afghanistan consider this language their own and have used it.”
He added:
“An Uzbek, Shughni, Nuristani, Pashtun or Tajik, when they encounter a person from another ethnic group anywhere in Afghanistan, the language they use from a media perspective and for understanding and communication is Dari. From this perspective, Dari has an interethnic position.”
Yasa continued:
“The Dari language was also the language of many governments of Afghanistan. Even the government of Ahmad Shah Durrani, who was among Afghanistan’s Pashtuns, used Dari. Ahmad Shah Durrani composed poetry in Dari, Shah Shuja also wrote poetry in Dari, and Abdul Rahman Khan dictated the book ‘Siraj al-Tawarikh’ in this language.”
He stressed:
“The official histories of Pashtun governments were also written in Dari. Therefore, any unjustified and inappropriate opposition to the Dari language and literature in Afghanistan damages the cultural and national identity of this country and can create cultural and political problems.”
“Nothing Is National”: A Reflection of an Ummah-Centered Outlook
Yasa, speaking about the statement by a Taliban official that “we do not have anything called national,” said:
“As I mentioned, my understanding is that this view has a religious and Islamic foundation.”
He added:
“In the religious and Islamic view, all people are the Islamic ummah, and cultural phenomena cannot be defined outside the sphere of Islamic culture. For this reason, during the first Taliban period, we witnessed the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, despite their national and international value, because from their perspective that monument had no Islamic value.”
The university professor said:
“Among a section of the Taliban where ideological and religious views are more pronounced, something that is non-Islamic does not have much meaning or status. Of course, my impression is that the Taliban also largely follow an ethnic approach; when one of their officials emphasizes that Pashto is the national language, this position comes from an ethnic way of thinking.”
Internal Taliban Differences Over Ethnicity and Identity
Asked whether the two statements indicate disagreement within the Taliban over ethnicity, language and national identity, Yasa said:
“I think this issue, rather than indicating a fundamental disagreement, reflects the existence of two intellectual currents within the Taliban.”
He added:
“The view that says the only national language is Pashto has particular cultural and political importance from an ethnic perspective; because most Taliban officials are Pashtun, they may naturally have an ethnic view toward languages.”
According to Yasa, the statement by a Taliban spokesman that “we do not have anything called national” could represent a marginal view among those who identify more closely with a religious and Islamic intellectual current and believe ethnicity is not an issue for them and that Islamism is more important.
He stressed:
“My understanding is that this view can be a marginal view culturally within the Taliban government, but the view that has greater political importance and backing is the same view that presents Pashto as the only national language.”
Taliban Language Policy Has Deepened Cultural Divisions
Discussing the reaction of Afghanistan’s ethnic groups to the Taliban’s language policies, the university professor said:
“The ethnic groups of Afghanistan are genuinely upset with the Taliban’s cultural and linguistic policy, but since there is no possibility of expressing opinions and engaging in cultural and civil action inside Afghanistan, this dissatisfaction and protest does not manifest itself openly.”
He added:
“The Taliban’s language policy has created more cultural dissatisfaction and protests inside the country or fueled these grievances.”
Yasa continued:
“The Taliban removed signs that were in Dari from universities and government offices and also did not pay sufficient attention to the Uzbek language, which was recognized as one of Afghanistan’s official languages during the republic, in Uzbek-populated areas.”
He warned:
“These actions naturally have a negative impact on cultural relations in Afghanistan. We hope that the monolingual and monocultural approach in Afghanistan will be reformed and that we will witness cultural and linguistic pluralism.”
Asked about the impact of the Taliban’s cultural policy on the group’s legitimacy, Yasa said:
“The Taliban’s cultural and linguistic treatment of the languages and cultures of Afghanistan’s ethnic groups has caused dissatisfaction among the people and ethnic groups, and naturally this dissatisfaction can deepen social and cultural divisions.”
At the same time, regarding the impact of the issue on the Taliban’s legitimacy, he said:
“When we talk about the legitimacy of a group or government, we must first determine what we mean by legitimacy and what our criterion is for measuring it.”
He added:
“If we consider the common international standards, the Taliban are, in any case, in control of power in Afghanistan, but it is still too early to talk about their legitimacy based on international standards.”
Afghanistan’s National Identity Must Be Built on Pluralism
Concluding his interview with IRAF, Yasa stressed the need to redefine Afghanistan’s national identity:
“For building and creating a national identity, Afghanistan must rely on modern democratic and pluralistic components.”
He said:
“So far, we have not had a national identity, either culturally, socially or politically, to the extent necessary. This issue is connected to the prejudice of Afghanistan’s previous governments and states, as well as their lack of understanding of the culture and cultural and linguistic values of Afghanistan’s ethnic groups.”
According to the researcher:
“If previous governments had truly understood the culture and social structure of the people of Afghanistan and recognized the cultural and linguistic values of the ethnic groups, they could have created a national identity based on democratic, pluralistic and diversity-oriented values.”
He added:
“If we want to achieve a national identity, we must recognize the cultural and linguistic value of all the ethnic groups of Afghanistan; from the Shughni language in the most remote parts of Badakhshan to the Nuristani, Balochi and Pashayi languages and other cultural and linguistic values of the people of Afghanistan.”
“Diversity in Unity”: Afghanistan’s Path Toward National Identity
Using an analogy to explain his view, Yasa said:
“Afghanistan is like a carpet that has different patterns, and this diversity in a carpet reaches unity; that is, ‘diversity in unity’ or ‘unity in diversity.’”
He stressed:
“We must be able to bring this diversity to unity while preserving cultural differences, rather than pursuing uniformity and wanting to spread one flower or one color across the carpet so that the other colors and patterns disappear. Such a thing is not possible.”
The university professor concluded:
“By preserving diversity, we can achieve cultural unity and a national identity. As for which direction the Taliban are moving in, my impression is that they are repeating the same mistake of previous governments toward the cultures and languages of the people of Afghanistan.”
Background
The debate over the status of languages and the concept of national identity in Afghanistan has a long history in the country’s political and constitutional developments. Pashto and Persian have held official status at different points, while languages such as Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, Pashayi and Nuristani have also formed part of Afghanistan’s linguistic and cultural diversity. Disputes over the definitions of “national language” and “official language” have once again become sensitive in recent years amid the Taliban’s cultural and linguistic policies, as well as those pursued during the republican period, raising concerns over the status of ethnic groups and Afghanistan’s diverse cultural heritage.
