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Samangan – The name of one of the major education institutions has been physically distorted in a move that has left the local communities heartbroken.
In Samangan province, it has been confirmed by local sources that a new signboard has been erected in the Samangan University, which has been stripped especially of the Persian and Uzbek languages.
According to Amaj News, this ruling can be viewed as a direct result of the continuing language suppression policies that aim at reducing the diversity of cultures and languages in the country.
Erasing Local Identity
Samangan was a mix of various ethnicities for generations, and Persian and Uzbek were not only the languages of education but also the main languages of everyday communication and cultural expression.
By erasing these words from the entrance of the university, the authorities are sending a strong message about which heritage they cherish.
Critics claim that these language suppression policies serve to marginalize certain groups of people, and students feel like foreigners in their own towns, and the multilingual nature of the area is destroyed.
A Growing Pattern
This is not a solitary occurrence. After the governance change, an organized move across different provinces has been to favor one language and put other languages in the background, considering the fact that they have been in the area for centuries.
These language suppression policies have already witnessed the elimination of various signage in government buildings and other government squares.
Teachers are concerned that this will ultimately spill into the syllabus, further narrowing the intellectual and cultural boundaries of the young, already struggling in constraining school settings.
Language is not merely a means of communication, but it is the history, poetry, and soul of a people.
Scholars caution that the perpetuation of the Language Suppression Policies can only result in the further disintegration of society and national disunity.
