Part 2

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Throughout H. Leggett’s diplomatic dispatch ("Indications that RGA May Place More Emphasis on Pashtu"; July 13, 1963) the language is still called "Farsi". "Dari" is not mentioned even once. Only a year later the American Embassy gets acquainted with the new term (Dari) endorsed by King Zaher Shah and consequently inserted in his Constitution.

Zaher Shah’s Constitution was clearly designed to create a monolithic state that could lead the country to a monoethnic society. Perhaps he was inspired by the Soviet Union’s methods of artificial unification of hundreds of ethnic groups as a "Soviet nation". Those methods fired back with catastrophic consequences that ended the super power.

But in 1960s Soviet ethnic unification was bearing fruits and ethnic languages like Uzbek, Azeri, Moldovan, Turkmen, Persian (Tajik), Kyrgyz and Kazakh and dozens of smaller languages were successfully distorted and largely Russified. Zaher Shah tried hard to apply the same methods for Pashtunization of Afghanistan by renaming the strongest language of the country and isolating it from its speakers abroad and replacing its words with their Pashto equivalents. In Tajikistan, for instance, the nation was ordered to use the Russian word "Universitet" in the place of "Dar-ol-fonun" or "Daneshgah", whereas their fellow Tajiks in Afghanistan were forced to accept a freshly-minted Pashto term "Pohantoon" with the same meaning.

Despite the fact that 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan (Article 3) declares Pashtu and "Dari" as the official languages of the country, further down the text, in Article 35 it doesn’t hide the Pashtun King’s inclination towards only one of these two languages:

"It is the duty of the state to prepare and implement an effective program for the development and strengthening of the national language, Pashtu."

The term "national language" appears in the Constitution incoherently. It is not mentioned in previous articles. But this article gives Pashto – a language spoken by a minority of people – a special status. Bear in mind that Persian (Dari) is the native language of at least 50% of Afghanistan’s population, according to latest CIA figures, whereas Pashto is spoken by only 35%.

The American reporting officer in July 1963 sensed the forthcoming battle against the Persian language in Afghanistan. He was aware of a royal decree promulgated in 1932 or 1933, "which announced that Pushtu would be the sole official language within three years." A task that proved too hard to be put into action.

Herbert Leggett, the Counsellor of the American Embassy in Kabul for Political Affairs believed that Kabul University might be the first institution to be Pashtunized. In his July 1963 report to the US Department of State he states:

"For nearly two years he (the reporting officer - twc) has used the Farsi term for University, i.e. Daneshgah, and until his recent visit at the University this term has not been challenged. However, University officials politely but firmly pointed out that the official Afghan name for University is Pohantoon, a Pushtu word. While it is understood that this term has been in use for many years it may be significant that Afghans, including people from the University, have only recently taken open exception to the Farsi term. Incidentally, University officials also suggested the use of other Pushtu terms in the place of two or three Farsi words which the reporting officer used in the conversation."

Actually the American reporting officer was giving an account of the dawn of Afghan linguistic purge that was not restricted to Afghan (Pashto) language only. Pashtuns renamed Farsi to Dari and Pashtuns were about to compile its vocabulary to make it as Afghan as possible. The American declassified document indicates that the term "Daneshgah" had been in use before 1963 and was prohibited only later.

Leggett concludes that "the possibility of a really serious RGA (Zaher Shah’s establishment) effort to develop Pushtu as the most important language of Afghanistan does not appear very real. The handicap which such a move would place on Afghan education would be very great, and it would undoubtedly hinder the RGA’s long-range economic development plans." There is no need to question if the conclusion was sound enough.

According to the document, the reporting officer had been criticized for having bothered at all to learn Persian. "This attitude is especially noticeable in the Eastern border areas (Pushtu speaking) of Afghanistan. On occasion some Pushtuns have referred scornfully to Farsi as a "woman’s" language, although they themselves speak it." This paragraph indicates the level of Pushtun antipathy against the Persian language and the fact that Persian was spoken by Pushtuns in remote areas of the country as well.

A new Constitution was adopted in 2003 that has chosen a milder and less ethnocentric tone. Its preamble refers to citizens of the country as "people of Afghanistan" and article 4, Chapter 1, reads:

"The nation of Afghanistan is comprised of the following ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbak, Turkman, Baluch, Pashai, Nuristani, Aymaq, Arab, Qirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujur, Brahwui and others."

Article 16, Chapter 1, elaborates:

"From among the languages of Pashto, Dari, Uzbaki, Turkmani, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, Pamiri (languages), Arab and other languages spoken in the country, Pashto and Dari are the official languages of the state."

The questionable Article 35 of 1964 Constitution has been omitted. Nevertheless, as a Pashtun Zaher Shah sympathizer, Hamid Karzai has kept the clause that applies the word "Afghan" to every citizen of Afghanistan.

We can allow ourselves to be more pedantic about the order of the languages in the Constitution. Why should Pashto be the first one in the list, while it’s a well-known fact that Persian-speakers outnumber Pashto-speakers? Even the alphabetical order cannot justify this approach.

However, it could be firmly stated that according to Article 16 of the new Constitution, the Afghan Culture Minister Abdul Karim Khorram has breached the law by reprimanding journalists for using Persian words in their reporting:

"The state adopts and implements effective plans for strengthening, and developing all languages of Afghanistan. Publications and radio and television broadcasting are allowed in all languages spoken in the country."

Mr. Khurram could have a walk around the capital and beyond to ask people what language they speak. Most of them presumably would reply: Farsi (Persian). At least it would be better if the Pashtun government attended to its "badly faltering Pushtu language" (as put by Herbert B. Leggett) and left Persian-speakers with their language alone.

In August 2006 Abdul Karim Khurram, then a newly appointed Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs, stated that he was against separating Pashto and "Dari" languages. It is true that Afghan (Pashto) and Persian languages linguistically belong to the same Iranian group of languages. But their separation has not occurred yesterday. They have taken each its own path centuries ago. It is not clear what Khurram meant by keeping the two languages together. Certainly, by liquidating Persian words and implanting Pashto ones in their place his goal could not be achieved. It will just inflame tensions in an ethnically charged atmosphere of Afghanistan.