In the Uyghur language, the word "soil" not only means "dirt, grave" but also means "earth, land, home and homeland" in the mobile sense. It can be said that the word "soil" is not only deeply reflected in all levels of the material life of the Uyghur people, but also penetrates to the deep spiritual levels, including their beliefs and religious beliefs. As one of the Turkic ethnic groups, the Uyghurs were the first to migrate to the Tarim culture. They created a horticultural culture in Central Asia, especially in the Tarim Basin, and created many talents in the history of human culture.
During the cultivation of Uyghur ancestors, they gradually formed the concept of knowing the soil as sacred and considering it as a symbol of blessing. The belief in the glorification of the soil is in fact closely related to their lives of peace and tranquility in the land. The various beliefs and practices of the Uighurs connected to the soil are also expressed in proverbs, songs, songs, legends, customs and traditions that are part of the Uyghur folk folklore. For example, among the Uyghurs, there are customs to express the sanctity of the land with proverbs such as "He who has no land has no soul", "My navel is the land where my blood was spilled", "If your motherland is safe, your color will not be straw."
Although the Uyghur people have been attacked by hostile forces many times in the long historical process, they have been constantly fighting to protect their motherland and homeland. For this reason, since recent history, the Chinese colonialists have been trying to cut off the Uyghurs' sense of ownership of their land, their sense of entitlement, and their material and spiritual ties to the land. Today, the Chinese authorities are not only taking away the land that the Uyghur people have lived on for generations, but also completely destroying their way of life, which is connected to and dependent on the land in some way, and making efforts to completely Chineseize them. Interpretations from the point of view of international law also emphasize the interrelationship of land, resources and ownership rights. Therefore, the occupation of East Turkistan lands by the Chinese regime is not only a matter of territory or resources, but also involves the violation of the social, cultural and spiritual interests of the Uyghurs who own the land.
While the Chinese regime's land invasion and land-related dispossession policies against the Uyghur homeland are a topic worthy of our in-depth study, here are a few salient points:
After the occupation of East Turkistan by the Manchu-Chinese colonists, it was given the name "Xinjiang" which means "new land" or "new frontier" by the emperors of the Qing Dynasty. Akhmetjan Qasimi, one of the leaders of the East Turkistan National Revolution in the 1940s, insisted that the Chinese name "Xinjang" itself was a proof that the land was stolen and conquered by the Chinese. Indeed, in 1760-1759, after the lands of East Turkistan came under the control of the Manqing Empire, they first started by clearing wasteland and expanding the area of agricultural land. According to Chinese historian Hua Li's book "History of Development of Agriculture in Xinjiang in Qing Dynasty" and historian James Millward's research on the history of the Uyghur region, between the period of the colonization of Eastern Turkistan and the end of the Qing Dynasty, the area of arable land in Eastern Turkistan increased tenfold. . Historians also argue that during this period, the Manqing Dynasty took the first step in moving large numbers of Chinese criminals, soldiers, and landless Chinese farmers from China's interior provinces to Eastern Turkistan as a labor force. Fang Yingkei, a Chinese researcher, revealed in the book "The History of Xinjiang's Land Development" that in the 1850s, the population of East Turkistan increased sixfold from the original 300,000 to 2 million. However, during the same period, China's total population growth rate increased only four and a half times. It is clear that the Qing Dynasty's plan to build irrigation canals as part of its large-scale land reclamation policy led to a significant reduction in forest and grassland areas. Among these, the most serious consequences are the artificial canals built in the upper and middle reaches of the Tarim River to meet the needs of Chinese immigrants, causing the water in the lower reaches of the Tarim River to dry up. The drying up of the Azim River, which has been the source of life for the people living in the Tarim Valley for centuries, and the change in flow have led to the drying up of lakes with rich water sources such as Lopnur Lake and Tetema Lake. On the other hand, the looting of local natural resources and vegetation by the Chinese government has exacerbated the damage to the ecological balance in the Tarim Valley. Atomic tests conducted by the Chinese Communist government in the Lopnur region between 1964 and 1996 caused severe damage to the soil quality and the health of the local population.
By the 1950s, the situation had worsened. In 1954, after the Chinese government established the "Manufacturing-Construction Base" in East Turkistan, there was another wave of large-scale Chinese immigration to East Turkistan. In the early 1950s, the Chinese government carried out a "land reform" that first confiscated the arable land of the rich Uyghur and the large number of Uyghur farmers. Then, the movement to build a collective economy, such as co-operatives and communalization, took over the land, property and livestock belonging to the ancestors of the local people in the Uyghur region. From then until today, one of the most effective measures taken by the Chinese government to resettle Chinese citizens in this country is to "give land" to Chinese immigrants. Regarding the recent situation, according to reports on China's "Sina Network" and other websites, in 2017 and 2018, the Chinese government sent immigrants from Gansu, Henan, Ningxia and other provinces to the "Xinjiang Manufacturing and Construction Base" in the name of labor recruitment. It openly announced that 25 to 30 acres of arable land will be given, free housing will be provided and people will be recruited, and their children will be educated for free by the state for 15 years, including life insurance for Chinese immigrants.
Another wave of land-bound Uighurs began in the early 2000s, when the Chinese government, under the guise of "infrastructure construction", built highways and railways connecting the Uyghur region to Chinese provinces, and aggressively transferred the resources of the Uyghur region, such as oil and natural gas, to Chinese provinces. Expedited shipping. Together with this, a huge number of Chinese immigrants came to settle in the Uyghur region under the pretext of planting cotton. Although this policy has brought unprecedented development and economic benefits to Chinese provinces, it has made the situation of local Uyghur farmers difficult and caused their economic situation to deteriorate. The seizure of Uyghur farmers' farmland by the government has left Uyghur farmers in a state of poverty and dependence. In addition, factors such as forced labor, pest control and excessive taxes paid to the government increased the oppression of Uyghur farmers. When farmers whose lands were taken away complained to the relevant departments, they faced severe repression. The song "Don't sell the land" created by the late artist Mr. Kusen in 1994 in protest of the Chinese government's policies, warned the Uyghur people of their time not to leave the land and to maintain a bond with the soil.
The Chinese government's land grabbing of Uyghurs is not only carried out in rural areas, but also in the cities, where their homes are demolished and destroyed. Since 2009, the Chinese government has forced Uyghurs to move out of their homes in cities such as Kashgar, Urumqi, Aksu, Turpan, and Yining under the name of "resilience construction". Also, under the pretext of this construction, the Chinese government also destroyed many mosques and shrines. Researcher Rian Thum analyzed the problem of burning tombs, and stated that the Chinese government in various historical periods considered the pilgrimage activities held by Uyghurs in groups such as "tomb walk" or "Ordam Pasha visit" as an invisible threat. We can see from this that the policies being implemented against the Uyghurs under Xi Jinping are actually a continuation of the policies that Chinese dictators such as the militarist Sheng Xisai failed to fully implement in the 1930s.
Researcher Ryan Sam also revealed that folklore researcher Rachel David, who was sentenced to life in prison by Chinese authorities, said in a 2013 interview about the importance of Uyghur shrines: “If the shrines are destroyed, the Uyghur people will also lose their connection to the land. Then it will be impossible to talk about the memories of individuals or the cultural history of the nation. In later times, no one could record that the Uyghurs lived here or who they were.
Uyghurs are being separated from their cultivated lands and homes, and even their graves and tombs that hug the soil are being burned. There is no doubt that this kind of loss is a product of China's policy of coercion, of course. Behind it, of course, the Chinese government's economic and political intentions are hidden. The Chinese government's use of various means to cut off Uyghurs from their ties to their motherland is, in essence, cutting off Uyghurs from their historical roots and origins.(RFA)
The views expressed in this review are solely those of the author and do not represent the position of our radio station.