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STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF UZBEKISTAN AS THE MAIN OBJECTIVE FOR EDUCATION OF THE YOUTH IN THE SPIRIT OF THE IDEOLOGY OF NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE
D. N. Abdullayev
This article explores the role of the study of the history of Uzbekistan in the education of youth in the spirit of the ideology of national independence. It also shows the history of the development of the ethnic community of "the Uzbeks", and the statehood's development.
Key words: the history of Uzbekistan, education of young people, the ideology of national independence, ethnic community "the Uzbeks", path of development.
A key issue of the Uzbek people is the education of the youth in the spirit of
the national ideology of independence. To resolve this issue, we have to refer to
the highly rich history of our country. The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, I. Kerimov, emphasizes: “The spiritual foundation of our home and the supports of the future of our state are very old and very firm. Nobody can deny this. Our history has its roots in the remotest ages”. When we refer to history, we have to remember that it is “the nation’s memory” and therefore it requires careful and respectful attention. People who don’t have a “historical” memory turn into “mankurts”, people without a motherland, without morals, and without citizenship. Knowledge of history contributes not only to an understanding of one’s past, but also allows us to be aware of modern issues in choosing the way life and the route to the future.
The study of the rich and unique past of our nation from the perspective of
the most important historical facts, events, processes, the contribution of our great ancestors to the treasury of the world civilization, activities of the people, their struggle for progress and prosperity of the Fatherland, for their freedom and independence, analysis of social, political, economic and cultural aspects of our historical development from ancient times to now, in close relationship with global culture, is the main objective of study of the course entitled “History of Uzbekistan”. The familiarization of the young generation with the history of Uzbekistan in all its light and dark sides, with a manifold of socio-political, economic and cultural links and prospects of social development, with boiling human passions, collisions between people, with all the difficulties and contradictions, improvement of the culture of young people, establishment of social benchmarks which are a key requirement in our pluralistic society, with its different positions, manifold of opinions and many parties, is the basis of the development of high spirituality and morals in young people.
The interest in the origins, in our way to the modern achievements, only grows from year to year. “Thanks to the recent reforms and modernization of our social life, thick layers of spiritual culture have discovered a shift in the national mentality towards patriotism, national pride and openness to the whole world”. The gaining of independence has enforced the process of deeper study of the history of nations residing in the territory of the republic. The independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan has given our people an opportunity be an equal among equals. It has embodied the dream of many generations of our ancestors. “We are the nation
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who has understood its dignity, we are the nation who is sure of its power, we are a free nation able to feel compassion for other people”, - these words by President I. Karimov urge researchers towards deeper studies and analysis, not only of the history of the Uzbek nation, but also of its spiritual origins. No nation can develop without a long and difficult evolution. Some nations kept their ethnical names for centuries, while other nations lived within other nations. Many ethnicities lost their uniqueness due to economic, political and social relationships, and merged with other nations. As for other nations located in Central Asia, the ethnic type of the Uzbek people started to form from the 3rd to 2nd millenniums B.C.E., in the Stone Age, in the form of nomadic and settled tribes. Ancient scriptures and archeological findings tell us that nomadic and settled tribes who resided in the Xorazm Region (the lowest reaches of the Amu Darya River), and were called Kangui and Messagets. The main inhabitants of Sogdiana were Sogds and Sakas. The areas of the modern Surxondaryo , Qashqadaryo , Naryin, Kara Darya, Talas, Chu, Tashkent and Fergana were inhabited by Kangkhi, Dai and Sakas. All the tribes listed above can be called ancestors of the Uzbek people. The ethnic groups who resided in these regions were mentioned by Herodotus. The Greeks combined these tribes under one name - Scythians. Actually, we notice the proximity of the Turkic nations who were ancestors of the Uzbeks to Scythians of the Middle Asia.
We can state that the history of our people is not a history of the nation under its modern name, for the lack of the name “Uzbeks” does not deprive the people of their complex history. Beginning from the 16th century, the formation of the Uzbek nation continued in the territory of Mawarannahr. We can note that during the Shaybanid and Ashtarkhanide dynasties, and during the three khanates, the ethnic community regarding itself as “Uzbeks” continued to develop. When Russia conquered Middle Asia, this stimulated the process of national identification and bringing the people together in the fight for their independence. The Soviet system, which followed Czarism, had to take into account such a real power as the Turkestan Ethnic Community. The Bolsheviks, headed by V.I. Lenin, thought it was necessary to divide the unified Turkestan into separate republics or autonomous regions. As early as in 1920, Lenin wrote in his notes to the Project of the Turkestan Commission on the Main Objectives of the RCP in Turkestan (June 13, 1920): “To assign the map (ethnographical etc.) of Turkestan with divisions into Uzbekia, Kirgizia and Turkmenia”. This design was implemented in 1924. After the forced liquidation of the Bukhara and Khwarezm Republics, three Soviet republics were established, which entered the USSR in the form of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. It was not surprising that the division of the single Uzbekistan into separate parts complied with the Machiavelli’s principle “divide and rule. In any case, from the modern perspective we can state that the 1925 Declaration of the Establishment of the Uzbek SSR legally executed the establishment of the Uzbek State. We are not here to assess those events, but we can make one main conclusion - that the Uzbek people have trodden a great historical path on their way to development, and no obstacles could break their spirit.
Translated from Russian by Znanije Central Translastions Bureas
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