The Founder of Peace and National Unity - Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon in his congratulatory message on the occasion of the State Independence Day of the Republic of Tajikistan on September 8, 2019 emphasized: , pave the way for a peaceful life, building a democratic, legal and secular state…During the period of independence, our ancient nation with the experience and experience of the state and statehood has passed a crucial stage in achieving national peace and unity, and has taken firm steps on the path of implementing grand creative plans aimed at the fate of present and future generations.

Indeed, during the period of state independence, many measures have been taken under the leadership of the Leader of the Nation in the development of the nation, its identity, nationalization and the formation of national statehood, the ancient Tajik nation has achieved significant results made stable. But before we talk about these unprecedented achievements, we would like to introduce a number of important issues in this regard, which are more of a scientific and theoretical nature.

First of all, it is important to mention a few ideas about the essence of the concept of nation. The definition of a nation, which is offered in the course of philosophy or other sociological disciplines, is well known: “A nation is a historically formed and stable community of people based on a common language, territory, economic life and psychological characteristics. it has come into being. ” Incidentally, this definition applies to the pen of I.V. Stalin (1878-1953) and is mentioned in his book Marxism and the National Question. On the other hand, this author points out that only the existence of all the signs given in this definition together constitutes a nation.

In general, the concept of nation is considered to be a native of the XVIII century in European science. Therefore, scholars of this region have proposed many definitions of the concept of nation, two of which we will refer to. In particular, the British political scientist and sociologist Benedict Richard Anderson (1936-2015) in his book "Imaginary Societies" commented: "The nation is an imaginary political society." In this definition, the imaginary means that the image or image of the ethnic community exists in the minds of every representative of this nation, or that this commonality is imagined and imagined by them.

Another British scholar, Eric Hobsbaum (1917–2012), who studied history from a Marxist point of view, in his book, Nations and Nationalism After 1780, refrained from proposing or advocating a more precise definition of the concept of nation. any very large community of people can perceive themselves as a nation. From this definition of Eric Hobsbaum, as well as Benedict Anderson's position on the nation, it follows that these scholars are more interested in the subjective factors that determine the nation in the form of imagination and perception in people's minds, than the objective material factors that serve to shape nations.

Speaking about the definition of the nation, it should be noted that in recent years, in addition to the main features of the nation, which are commonly remembered, such as common language, territory, economic life and psychological characteristics, experts have added other features. cover both the political and socio-cultural aspects of the concept. Therefore, summarizing all these interpretations, it is possible to provide such a broad understanding of the essence of the concept of nation, which covers a little more than four main features and is considered by modern experts in the field, especially school and media signs and identity to define the situation of nations in today's world: a nation is a historically formed and stable union of groups of people based on common geographical territory, political and economic life, literary language, psychological characteristics (religion, ethics, legal consciousness, science and philosophy, art and literature, traditions, identity and ethnic self-awareness), educational standards and the media.

As it is known, the formation of each nation has gone through a long historical stage, but at the same time, according to existing theories, the transition from family to nation, then to tribe and fraternity (phratry), to the people and, ultimately, to the nation to each is typical of them. Therefore, the nation in science is considered the highest form of development of ethnic community.

Sociologists also follow the terms of the full formation of the nation from different points of view. In particular, some believe that, for example, Genghis Khan (1155 / 1162-1227) managed to build a nation and a nation-state of the Mongols in five years, although it is too early to talk about the nation at that time. . Perhaps it is closer to reality to speak of the formation of a nation, or more precisely, of the formation of a single, united ethnic army. The leadership of the former Soviet Union, according to a number of other scholars in the field, was able to form the major nations of the Soviet Union in thirty years. However, there are experts who, for many years and even centuries, considered it possible to form a nation in the presence of such foundations as the nation, national ideology, patriotism and other factors. In any case, it should be noted that nations are formed differently in terms of time, and on the other hand, the nation as a concept and social phenomenon is not stagnant, but changeable.

It should be noted that another important issue in the consideration of issues of nationalization is the relationship of the nation with the nation-state, as they, as a rule, coexist with each other. For this reason, it should be taken into account that the nation as a historical concept is broader than its political concept, because the representatives of the same nation can live in different political boundaries. The very concept of the national state is considered to be a type of state formed by any nation on the basis of ethnic territory, which embodies the political independence, sovereignty and independence of this people. The first nation-states in Europe appeared in the 18th century, and their political and ethnic boundaries were approximately aligned. Hence, the slogan "one nation - one state" has been propagated since the French Revolution (1792).

Speaking about the development of the nation and in this regard the formation of national statehood in the period of state independence in Tajikistan, it is necessary to mention a number of important historical events in the formation of the Tajik nation and its national state.

First, our people have a very long history, the main part of which included such states as Peshdadi and Kayani (fifth to second millennium BC) and Bactria and Sughd in ancient times, to the Emirate of Bukhara (until 1918) in the late Middle Ages and Soviet Tajikistan (1924-1991) is an independent Tajikistan (1991 to the present). In other words, the Tajik nation has a long and rich experience of statehood.

Secondly, the Tajik word itself has been known in various forms and pronunciations since the first century AD and was used to express all the Aryan peoples of the modern regions of Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran. This shows that the foundations for the formation of the nation and then the Tajik nation have existed since ancient times.

Third, the formation of the Tajiks as a people was completed in the IX-X centuries, which later became the most important basis for the emergence of this nation.

Fourth, the Tohirian (821-873), Saffarian (861-900), especially the Samanid (819-999), Gurian (1150-1215) and other states were recognized as the first purely national Tajik states, whose experience in revival and The development of the nation and national statehood in modern times must be taken into account.

Fifth, as a sovereign nation in modern times, the history of the Tajiks is connected with the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (1924-1929) and the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (1929-1991).

Finally, the Republic of Tajikistan became fully independent on September 9, 1991, which provided the Tajik nation with ample opportunities for the revival of national statehood and the development of the nation itself.

 

Thus, the Tajiks as a nation in the IX-X centuries and as a nation were formed mainly in the early twentieth century, and in 1924 regained the national state. However, the statehood of the Tajiks until 1991, before the achievement of state independence, although national in form, was socialist in content and semi-independent in terms of sovereignty, and did not enjoy full national and state independence. For this reason, only September 9, 1991 can be considered the beginning of the revival of national statehood in a new era, and it is possible to speak of the comprehensive development of the nation only from this period.

As we mentioned at the beginning of our speech, with the emphasis of the Supreme Leader of the Nation, only the state independence has allowed the Tajik people to take over the sovereignty of the state. For this reason, the processes of nationalization and the establishment of national statehood in this period went hand in hand, and over the past thirty years, radical changes have taken place in this area. For clarity, we would like to analyze the revival, formation and development of the main features of the nation in accordance with the broad definition of this concept, mentioned above, on the example of the history of the independent Republic of Tajikistan and the contribution of the Leader of the Nation.

First of all, as it was emphasized, the nation is a historical union of people. There is no doubt that the Tajiks as a nation is a historically formed union of peoples, and the history of the people testifies to this, from the states that existed in the V millennium BC to the II millennium BC, to modern independent Tajikistan. The Tajik word itself, as mentioned above, has been used since the first century AD and was mentioned in written sources as far back as the pre-Arab conquest - up to the seventh century, and this indicates that our people have long been associated with identity. the same name represented or identified. During the Soviet period and the period of independence, this concept fully represented the name of our nation, and there was no need for other names for the nation and its language.

The same can be said about the Tajik nation, which is another symbol of the nation - a stable unity of a group of people. Tajiks have always had strong ties with each other, and despite the fact that the representatives of the nation have lived in different political boundaries, they have never lost touch with each other, especially in the field of culture, building a world-famous civilization that can be used by all mankind. laid. In the recent history of the Tajiks in the years of the civil war, when the internal and external enemies of the Tajiks divided the borders of the nation into three parts, there were great threats to the stability of the unity of our people as a nation. Fortunately, the ancient wisdom of the people, the courageous efforts of the great leader of the nation and their raising the philosophy of national unity to the level of national ideology have made it possible to fully preserve the strong unity of the Tajik people. Therefore, along with being the Founder of Peace and National Unity, we recognize the Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon as one of the most important symbols of the nation - a stable group of people for us Tajiks in our recent history. will be appropriate.

Speaking about the common geographical area as a symbol of the nation, it should be noted that the Tajiks are an indigenous people of Central Asia, and from time immemorial have lived on this land within the various political borders and in the composition of various states. After 1924 and a little later, that is, since 1929, the political borders of our nation-state were determined with great losses from the historical land, which was inherited by independent Tajikistan in the same form. At the time of independence, this inherited geographical area has been fully politically formalized with neighboring countries, such as Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and China, and in some regions it is being resolved through dialogue and negotiations with neighboring Kyrgyzstan. In other words, during the period of state independence, the Tajiks, under the leadership of the Leader of the Nation, were able to fully preserve the commonality of their geographical territory.

In general, it should be noted that today the Tajik nation has a common geographical area for all residents of its state. However, the notion of the nation in its political sense today, although limited to the territory of the independent Republic of Tajikistan, historically it has retained its relevance to all Tajiks living abroad. As it is known, in many modern countries, both near and far abroad, representatives of the Tajik nation live. For this reason, during the period of independence, the concept of Tajiks abroad appeared and in recent decades has acquired a new meaning. The Head of State - the Supreme Leader of the Nation personally laid the foundation for the establishment of direct contacts with them, established organizations such as "Payvand" for all Tajiks around the world, congratulated them on all state and national holidays as citizens of the country and many other activities to support and restore them. their connections with ancestral boundaries. These actions testify to the fact that the Tajiks, under the guidance of their Leader, are making efforts to protect and develop their nation, both in its political sense and in its historical sense.

During the period of state independence, many measures have been taken to protect and develop another feature of the nation - the common political and economic life of Tajiks. As is known, during the Soviet era, the political power of Tajikistan was nominal, and the foundations of domestic and foreign policy were determined and implemented by the central Soviet government. State independence allowed the Tajiks, as stated in Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan, to declare themselves a "sovereign state", to implement it, and in accordance with Article 69 of the Constitution to determine the main directions of domestic and foreign policy. by the people directly elected. All these actions have helped to strengthen the symbol of the nation - the commonality of political life.

On the generality of the economic life of the nation, some conclusions similar to the generality of political life can be repeated, because only after independence Tajikistan was able to get rid of the remnants of the elements that defined the economic life of the nation by the central Soviet government. During this period, our country has raised international economic relations to a higher level, but has taken a number of actions that have allowed the nation to feel more part of one economy. These actions are primarily related to the independence in the use of natural resources, the emphasis on economic and social development of all regions of the country, not individual regions, and efforts to achieve the strategic national goal - to break the communication deadlock. The construction of roads and bridges of local, national and international importance has facilitated the ties between the regions of the country and, consequently, among the people, giving Tajiks the opportunity to further expand their national unity in economic and trade spheres and economic unity in general. In general, the period of state independence as a factor strengthening the common economic life of the Tajik nation has played a very constructive role and under the leadership of the Supreme Leader of the Nation has contributed to strengthening national unity.

As it has been repeatedly emphasized, one of the most important features of the nation is the commonality of the literary language. The Tajik language, which has its roots in the Sogdian-Bactrian, Pahlavi and other ancient languages ​​of our ancestors and is also known by Dari and Persian names, has been the only native language for us Tajiks for centuries. It was this language that spread to the western and southern parts of the Aryan tribes and formed the basis of their language, and not vice versa. As a written literary language, the Tajik language was formed during the reign of the Samanid dynasty in the IX-X centuries, along with the formation of the people in the works of our poets and thinkers such as Abu Abdullah Rudaki (858-941) and developed on the basis of the Arabic alphabet. During the Soviet era, for a short time, on the basis of the Latin alphabet and then on the basis of the Cyrillic alphabet, the language became the language of modern Tajik literature through the efforts of Tajik intellectuals, including Sadriddin Aini (1878-1954). During this period, all representatives of the Tajik nation recognized this language as their normative language and developed their schools, education, science and culture on its basis.

The Tajik nation is a follower of Islam, and at the time of independence, many measures have been taken to protect such a national unity. First of all, it is important to note that during this period, various trends and trends that are not traditional for our nation have developed in the region, including in Tajikistan. However, at the initiative of the Leader of the Nation, the Hanafi Madhhab and its founder, the Great Imam (699-767), who is of Tajik descent, received special attention, and our nation became more acquainted with the religious origins of their ancestors on the basis of Matrudi Hanafi. did. The proclamation of 2009 as the Year of the Great Imam, the celebration of his 1310th anniversary and other measures taken in this direction at the initiative of the Head of the independent Tajik state have not only strengthened the religious unity of our nation, but also made it dangerously biased. stopped the alien religion. Therefore, if we take into account the holy hadith of the Prophet of Islam, "Every hundred years someone comes to renew your religion for you," we can see that the activity of the Leader of our nation in fulfilling this mission is indeed a great historical service. Recognize the strengthening of the religious symbols of the Tajik nation at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

As a sign of the nation, experts in the field in recent decades have also stressed the importance of the commonality of other psychological characteristics - identity and ethnic self-awareness. Self-knowledge in general is the recognition of one's own identity, which is based on self-reflection in the mind. National self-awareness, on the other hand, is usually seen as belonging to a nation, state, or culture, and relies on such elements as the national idea, a sense of belonging, and belonging to a particular religion. National identity is also the embodiment of the essence of inner self-knowledge, national and cultural beliefs of a person, and the sense of belonging to a person determines not only a certain nation and cultural and economic space, but also the state. In other words, this concept includes the tendency of people to coexistence, patriotism and territorial integrity. On the other hand, in self-knowledge, the role of feeling and the degree of manifestation of this feeling in the mind of a person is very high in relation to the generality of the national idea, territorial affiliation and belonging to one Motherland.

Thus, during the period of state independence, the Republic of Tajikistan under the leadership of the Leader of the Nation revived its national state and became a full member of the world community built the state.

All these achievements in the development of the nation, nationalization and the formation of national statehood are the result of the wise policy of the Founder of Peace and National Unity - Leader of the Nation, President Emomali Rahmon, who has full confidence in his nation. they have the present and future destiny of their state and homeland”. Indeed, it is the happiness of the Tajik nation - the state independence that has allowed us to achieve national development and strengthening the symbols and identity of our nation and its stability as a sovereign nation for centuries to come and for future generations of this ancient nation. to ensure the leadership of the Supreme Leader of the Nation.

 

Khurshed Ziyo

Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Director

Center for Strategic Studies under

President of the Republic of Tajikistan

---