LANGUAGE AND NATION ISSUES IN THE WORKS OF MAHMUDKHOJA BEHBUDI
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18981884Keywords:
Mahmudkhoja Behbudi, Jadidism, National Identity, Linguistic Reform, Turkestan, Enlightenment, Padarkush.Abstract
This article examines the conceptual intersection of linguistic reform and national identity in the literary and journalistic corpus of Mahmudkhoja Behbudi (1875–1919), a foundational figure of the Jadidist movement in Central Asia. By analyzing his seminal drama Padarkush (The Patricide), his pedagogical textbooks, and numerous articles published in Oyna and Samarqand, this study elucidates Behbudi’s vision of "nationhood" as a construct inextricably linked to literacy, linguistic polyphony, and educational modernization. Behbudi argued that the survival of the Turkestani people in the face of colonial encroachment and internal stagnation depended on the synthesis of traditional Islamic values with modern European administrative and scientific knowledge. Central to this was his "four languages" doctrine, which positioned linguistic proficiency as both a defensive mechanism against cultural erosion and a tool for socio-political liberation. The article employs a socio-historical and philological analysis to argue that Behbudi used language not merely as a medium of communication, but as a primary site for the construction of a modern, enlightened national consciousness.
References
Allworth, E. A. (1990). The Modern Uzbeks: From the Fourteenth Century to the Present: A Cultural History. Hoover Institution Press.
Khalid, A. (1998). The Politics of Muslim Cultural Reform: Jadidism in Central Asia. University of California Press.
Qosimov, B. (2002). Milliy uyg’onish: Jasorat, ma’rifat, fidoiylik. Ma’naviyat.
Ahmad, S. (2001). Mahmudxo’ja Behbudiy: Hayoti va ijodi. Fan.
Behbudiy, M. (1913). "Ikki emas, to'rt til lozim." Oyna, No. 1. [Reprinted in: Tanlangan asarlar, 1999].
Behbudiy, M. (1911). Padarkush yoxud o’qimagan bolaning holi. Samarqand. [Reprinted in: Jadid dramasi, 1997].
Behbudiy, M. (1914). "Vatan va millat." Oyna, No. 22.
Dudoignon, S. A. (1996). Le réformisme musulman en Asie centrale: Du 'premier renouveau' à la soviétisation. Cahiers du Monde russe.
Hodizoda, R. (1994). Mahmudxo’ja Behbudiy va jadidchilik. Sharq.
Ziyoev, H. (2000). Turkistonda mustaqillik uchun kurashlar tarixi. Sharq.
Behbudiy, M. (1908). Kitabat ul-atfol. Is’hoqxon Ibrat matbaasi.
Carrère d'Encausse, H. (1988). Islam and the Russian Empire: Reform and Revolution in Central Asia. University of California Press.
