Even though we Tajiks are four times the population of Luxembourg, we do not have a newspaper of our own. At the present, we have two or three temporary publications, intermediary school, and art schools (with 500 students). We also have elementary schools, fifteen preparatory textbooks, teacher-training courses, autonomous rayons, branches of the Communist

The representatives of the farmers participate in regional affairs. Freed from inner anxieties, the government of the workers and farmers participate in the Party and the Soviet meetings and improve the process. At the same time, they also expand work opportunities for other people and, in the process, liberate the backward workers and farmers of the villages, regions, and towns.

But even if successful in some, we Tajiks still have shortcomings. For instance, in comparison to the several newspapers of the Uzbeks, we have only one, which is published every week or every ten days. For a time, it was not published at all. When it is published, it is crippled by national problems.

Let us discuss the state of the school during the academic year. Our newspaper keeps us informed about the school situation and its shortcomings. The situation at the teacher-training school is so bad that two students have died. I shall not repeat the atrocities inflicted upon the artists. All these have been covered by our newspaper.

Now we have to prepare for next year to avoid last year's difficulties. One of the difficulties is that our teachers' college does not have a director. Our current teaching staff, too, is not willing to return to teaching.

Because they are Tajiks, most of our students cannot find jobs during the vacation. In order to find a job, some are forced to identify themselves as Uzbek, and speak in Uzbeki to the employer, in spite of their Tajik identity. In the elementary schools, because the national branches support the teaching of the national languages, the Tajik teachers are obliged to teach in Tajiki against the wishes of their superiors. For this reason, the leaders who come from the regional center, transfer the Tajik teachers away from the population centers. This has happened in many offices.

The Uzbek government has published two books for improving the education of Tajik farmers, but due to their high prices (three sums), no one can afford them. On the contrary, they have published 150 different books in Uzbeki for the farmers. At least 30 of these should have been published in Tajiki for the Tajiks of Uzbekistan. Unfortunately they, too, are ignored. Only the local courses, in spite of difficulties, continue.

Very often conflicts irrupt among the farmers of the independent regions. As for the responsible governmental employees, they neither attach importance to nor support the newspapers; they mill around aimlessly among the 3136 members of the juftgaran without filing any reports.

According to the program set forth by the National Executive Committee, the Tajiks should be served directly after the Uzbeks; but, whether they are treated fairly, i.e., whether they receive the paper or not is not known.

As for the sections, according to the advice of Comrade Lenin, they work night and day. Our ancestors have left us their motto: "one cannot rise to the roof in one leap," and there is a truth in that. But experience shows that such treatment and obstruction are not perceived at high levels and that those levels cannot remedy the problems as the lower levels do. Again experience shows that people at the top always help their own nationals. Those who take care of the minority nationalities cannot do a good job, because they have to deal with a million (out of three million). In order for the shortcomings to be taken care of, an office that takes care of the affairs of minorities is needed.

The organization should be modeled on that of the Turkistan government when each nation had a branch dealing with its affairs. For instance, there was an Uzbek branch, a Kazakh branch (if I am not wrong, it was headed by Qasim Khaja), both responsible to the Central Executive Committee. These branches eliminated the shortcomings arising from nationality problems. These are the types of solutions that might help the Tajik workers and farmers make progress in their work.

The Voice of Tajik
No. 86
1926

To the Head of the Soviet of National Minorities

I believe because the majority of our students are Tajik, our school is basically a Tajik school. Only 10% identify themselves as Uzbek. Even those do not know Uzbeki. Taking this fact into consideration, I wrote the People's Education Division for permission to carry out instruction in Tajiki. The Division did not reply. Not allowing such injustice to mar the lives of our students, I began instruction in Tajiki. For this we received 100 copies of the Alifba. But Comrade Abduljabbar Narziqulov, the Director of the Socialist Instruction Division of the People's Culture, protested. He threatened that if we distributed the Alifba and began instruction in Tajiki, he would have us arrested.

I shall provide you with information on all of this.
Director, School No. 3, Jalaliddinzada

(secretary)

From the Tajiki-speaking inhabitants of the village of Arghun,
N. Karmina cc: Central Committee of the Party
National Minorities Division

We, the farmers and the poor of Arghun have come to serve the Soviet government. We worked from 1920 to 1924 with sincerity. But from the end of 1924, we were regularly dismissed from work because we represented the national minorities. To whatever division we went, we were shunned.

In the Karmina region, Soviet officials do not pay any attention to us as representatives of national minorities and we are not represented in any of the Soviet structures. By not being informed of the elections, they have deprived us of our right to vote. We found out only today that Uzbekistan, at its center, has a division that deals with the problems of the minorities. We request from the Central Committee of the Party and the Soviet of National Minorities to help us place our representatives in the Karmina organizations. Please add a good word for us to the Central government so that they pay attention to us.

An article entitled: "The Way They Deceive the Tajiks" was published in No. 75 of Voice of the Tajik. Our comrade is right in emphasizing this fact and he is telling the truth.

Until the publication of that article, we thought that the people of Bukhara are Tajiks and that, according to the motto of the Communist Party, "every people uses its own language for instruction." But after the publication of this article...we understood that, unfortunately, until the present, these poor people have not had any schools. This is astonishing. If this is the case, then what is to be done to the motto of the Communist party? How can we force children who have spoken Tajiki from birth and who do not know Uzbeki to learn in Uzbeki?

I was involved in a language-related incident and I would like to talk about it. When I was in Bukhara, I came across some friends. ... As we talked, one of them saw two books at the side of a sleeping friend. He brought one of the books and suggested that someone read something in it. One of the four comrades took the book and began reading a story. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not read even one word. We didn't know whether he was trying to read poetry or prose. I asked what book it was and why he was reading like that. He responded that he is from Bukhara and everyone knows that the people of Bukhara do not know Uzbeki. He put that book away and took the other one. When he opened that book, he smiled. I asked what wonderful thing was in the book that made him smile. He said, "You criticized my incorrect reading. Now see how I read Sai'd Shirazi's book, i.e., a Persian book." He then read...clearly and without a mistake. This proves that they did not know Uzbeki. We have to open our eyes and execute the decrees of the Communist Party. Even if they learn Uzbeki and read the newspapers, would they also learn Uzbek culture? We must implement the motto of the Communist Party so that instruction in the schools is in the native tongue...so that poor Tajiks learn their culture and become knowledgeable about the decrees and laws of the proletariat government.

Regional Director, People's Cultural Division Rastgah
Inspector, People's Cultural Division

I certify that the copy reflects the content of the original

Zarafshan Region(secretary)
5 July, 1926; no. 163

The Regional Cultural Division responds to your letter No. 725, regarding the opening of Tajiki schools in the village of Arghun. Since all the population of Arghun is Uzbek and there are no Tajiki speakers, if you wish to discuss schools, it must be about Uzbeki, not Tajiki, schools.

We, the inhabitants of the village of Qamishi in the Surkhan Dariya region are poor farmers. Altogether 500 villages (khajagi), we are all Tajik and Fars people and we do not have a school. The Volost Executive Committee wants to open a Turkish school, but since we are all Farsi (Tajiki) speakers, and according to the directive of the Communist Party every people can freely speak in its language, we request from the Soviet of National Minorities that a Tajiki school be opened in our village. We hope that this problem can be solved speedily.

Next.. Letter by Comrad Muhiddinov