Afghanistan’s War of Words

Pohantun (Pashto) or daneshgah (Persian), which of the two should be used as the word for “university” in Afghanistan?

The Afghan constitution recognizes both Persian (Dari) and Pashto as the country’s official languages; in practice, however, there is less agreement on which of these two languages should be used on the signboards of public institutions. Recently, the Persian equivalent for “university” ( daneshgah) on the new signboard for Herat University — written in three languages, Persian, Pashto, and English — was defaced. A group of students went on strike and installed another signboard written in the three languages, but it was subsequently removed by the chief of the Provincial Council.

Commenting on the dispiriting incident, an MP from Ghazni province, Arif Rahmani reacted to this incident saying “burning the Herat University signboard is a political plot, a dangerous game to spread hatred among ethnic groups. The National Security Council should punish those who have committed this crime and prevent conflicts among university students.”

It is not uncommon for nationalist leaders to promote a specific language as the “national language” for their political ends. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, Afghan nationalists have seen Pashto as the…