Head of Tajikistan’s upper house (Majlisi Milli) of parliament, Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloyev, has expressed his opinion about renaming settlements.
Speaking at the Majlisi Milli session, Ubaidulloyev noted on July 12 that “settlements are being renamed on the basis of the country’s law on state language, which was adopted in October 2009.”
The law, in particular, notes that the Republic of Tajikistan ensures the restoration and protection of historical names of regions.
Rector of Tajik National University, Muhammadyusuf Imomzoda, for his part, noted that “settlements whose names do not reflect norms of the Tajik language are being renamed at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.”
Today, Majlisi Milli members also endorsed renaming the villages of Urtaqir and Ghorbuloq in the Yovon district Zafar and Ghorchashma.
Having purged Tajikistan of most Russian and Soviet labels, the Tajik authorities have begun targeting places with names of Turkic origin.
Some had their former Persian names restored, some were named after historic Tajik figures, and others were given new Tajik names.
Thus, the city of Qairoqqum, an Uzbek name, for example, was renamed Guliston, or City of Flowers. An artificial lake by the same name was simply called the Tajik Sea.
The district of Ghonchi, a name with Turkic roots, was named after Devashtich, a Sogdian ruler of the modern-day Tajik city of Panjakent in pre-Islamic Central Asia.
Jirgatol district in the Rasht Valley had its old, Turkic-rooted name, Lakhsh, restored. Jillikul district in Khatlon province had its Kyrgyz name replaced with Dousti, which means friendship in Tajik.
It's not just Turkic place-names that are being targeted.
The city of Chkalovsk was renamed “Buston,” meaning “Blooming Garden.”
The authorities also changed the district of Tavildara’s Arabic-sounding name to its historical name, Sangvor.
The mayor’s office of Qurghon Teppa, the capital of Khatlon Province, also proposes to rename the city. The mayor’s office proposes to rename Qurghon Teppa Bokhtar and the city of Sarband (formerly Kalininabad) Levakand.
If the government supports these proposals, they will be submitted for consideration to the parliament.
