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METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF MAHALLA MANAGEMENT
Tukhtasinov Zafarjon Odiljonovich
Researcher Of Tashkent State University Of Economics, Uzbekistan
AB O U T ART I CL E
Key words:
Mahalla, makhalla committees,
chairman of makhali, gathering of citizens, people.
Received:
06.06.2024
Accepted
: 11.06.2024
Published
: 16.06.2024
Abstract:
In this paper has benne investigated
methodological
foundations
of
mahalla
management. By author has been described the
Mahalla as the basis of local government in
Uzbekistan.
INTRODUCTION
Mahallas are community groups that have existed for centuries in Uzbek culture. In every community
of our people there is a group of elders who are expected to help solve any social problems and conflicts
that arise in the community. Although mahallas are not religious organizations, they promote
traditional Islamic ideas about social roles and behavior. They help organize weddings, funerals and
circumcisions - the main events in the life of the people. They also try to prevent divorces (married
couples must appear before the mahalla before legal divorce proceedings begin), the mahalla must also
ensure that the elderly are taken care of, and criminals are punished (criminals may be forced to leave
the mahalla) [3,42].
The Uzbek makhalla committee organizes various forms of public works. For example, the mahalla
organizes the cleaning of streets from garbage and supervises operations to clean irrigation canals.
Another important function of the mahalla is the organization of "hashara". This is a traditional Uzbek
way of mutual assistance, when community members form a group that helps one or another family
build a house or harvest a crop. The most important thing from the point of view of social assistance is
that the mahalla traditionally provides care for the elderly residents and children of the community.
Theoretical approach
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There are about 14 thousand makhalla committees in the country, the number of families in them varies
from 150 to 5.5 thousand. Mahallas were not closed during the Soviet period, but their activities were
not encouraged. Since 1992, they have been officially supported by state authorities and given
administrative responsibilities. Chairmen and secretaries of mahalla committees, in which there are
more than 500 families, now receive salaries from local authorities (khokimiyats). The chairman is
elected by the community, but candidates must be approved by the local district khokim.
It should be noted that the mahalla, due to the fact that it contains democratic principles of local self-
government, represents an important historical value that requires extremely careful treatment. Any
ill-conceived experiments with such a social institution as the mahalla can lead to irreparable mistakes.
On the basis of the mahalla and its original structure, it is possible to successfully develop new
principles of local self-government - more practical and open business management, greater
friendliness towards people, elimination of various manifestations of bureaucracy, etc.
It is the mahalla, as a local self-government div, that can be the basis of a healthy civil society, and
therefore the basis of a strong and democratic state [2,78]. It is worth noting that there are also different
points of view on the role of the mahalla institution in modern society from the above. Although we
refer in this work to Mahalla committees, legal documents regulating social assistance payments refer
to self-government bodies -
“gatherings of citizens, settlements, villages, auls and mahallas” or (for the
appointment of child benefits) to organizations of representatives of a street or neighborhood (by one
representative for every 20-50 voting adults). The exact number of representatives is established by
the local district (city) khokimiyat. Many traditional community organizations were renamed mahallas
after 1992 in order to create a standard unit of lower level government in the country and replace local
councils. A distinction must be made between the term mahalla, used after 1992, and mahalla as an
ancient traditional organization. There are traditional community groups among most other ethnic
cultures of Uzbekistan.
Modern use of the term mahalla, therefore, does not always mean only the traditional Uzbek communal
organization [3,82]. Moreover, these groups are no longer separated from the state, as they are now
entrusted with many of the tasks of local government authorities. These points are important because
they suggest that although the makhalla system of social assistance distribution was introduced on the
basis of Uzbek traditional community groups, this innovation should not be seen as possible only in the
context of Uzbekistan.
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ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
The word mahalla or mahalla is literally translated from Arabic as “adjacent camp” / “halt”, or “city
camp”.
Mahalla as a part of the city exists in almost all cities of countries with a predominantly Muslim
population, but the actual name of mahalla does not exist in all Muslim countries. Residents of all
countries of the Arab world, residents of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan (also use the
word Guzar), many peoples living in Afghanistan (except for Pashtuns and some other small nations),
most residents of Pakistan, Bangladesh and some Indian states with a predominantly Muslim
population. In Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the word “mahalla / maalla” is more often used by Uzbeks
living in these countries, and in China it is used by the Uyghurs and Turkic peoples of the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region, and the word is also found colloquially among the indigenous inhabitants
of Moldova.
Mahalla as an institution that carries out local self-government in the Muslim East has deep roots. For
example, the poet and writer Nasir Khosrov reported on the existence of a mahalla in Cairo in the 11th
century. In his work “Safar
-
nama” (“Notes of a Traveler”), which were compiled in 1043
-1052 during a
trip to the countries of the Middle East, he reports that “the city of Cairo consists of 10 mahallas.”
In the modern understanding, in the Muslim republics of the Volga region, a mahalla is a local
community that unites around a mosque not all residents of a certain area, but only its religious part
that attends the mosque. In Central Asia, including Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, as well as in East Turkestan
among the Uyghurs, mahalla, as a rule, is understood as a traditional social institution of a community
type or a quarterly form of organizing public life. That is, it is a block or microdistrict, the residents of
which exercise local self-government by electing a mahalla committee and its chairman, who decide
issues of organizing the life and leisure of residents of their mahalla, as well as being responsible to
higher authorities of city government for ensuring law and order in their mahalla.[6]
The development strategy includes priority areas, in particular, raising the honor and dignity of a
person, strengthening the principles of justice and legality, ensuring gender equality, protecting the
rights and interests of women, and increasing their socio-political activity. The document also provides
for improving the protection of the rights of young people, creating conditions for their spiritual,
intellectual and physical development, ensuring access to quality education and employment.
Directions of the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan:
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I. Building a people's state by ensuring human interests and further development of a free civil society;
II. Transformation of the principles of justice and the rule of law into the basic and necessary condition
for the development of the country;
III. Development of the national economy, ensuring high rates of growth;
IV. Implementation of fair social policy, development of human capital.
V. Ensuring spiritual development, bringing this area to a new stage;
VI. Approach to universal human problems based on national interests;
VII. Strengthening the country's security and defense capability, maintaining an open, pragmatic and
active foreign policy.
To implement the strategy, almost 400 events are planned for 2022, the cost of which is estimated at
55 trillion soums and 11.7 billion dollars.
State bodies have been transferred to the mahallabay system of work. The share of electronic
government services is planned to be increased from the current 54% to 90%. Public opinion will be
studied on a “systematic and scientifically sound basis.” To achieve this, it is planned to improve the
work of the Center for the Study of Public Opinion “Izhtimoiy Fikr” and create a separate Institute of
Sociology.
Reforms aimed at improving the standard of living of the population remain relevant and require
constant improvement. Thus, in recent years, thanks to the “Obod Kishloq” and “Obod Mahalla”
programs, large-scale work has been carried out on the construction and improvement of road
transport infrastructure, engineering and communication networks and social facilities in more than
1,500 villages and mahallas, where service delivery points have also been created for the population.
The adopted Presidential Decr
ee “On measures for the implementation of the “Obod Kishlok” and “Obod
Mahalla” programs in 2022
-
2026” dated March 18, 2022 became a logical continuation of the previously
started reforms.
CONCLUSIONS
Uzbekistan keeps pace with the times, develops at all levels, but at the same time remains faithful to
national history, culture and traditions. Today, thanks to the progressive policies of our President, the
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mahalla not only fits organically into the modern rhythm of every citizen of the country, but also serves
as support and support in the social sphere. For this reason, the mahalla, traditional in our
understanding, is of interest to the international community and is perceived by experts as a way to
revive eco-architecture and preserve community and national spiritual values.[5]
The identity of the capital's mahallas is recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In connection with this, this civil society institution is included in the
Tentative List of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. The prerequisite for this was the development of the
project “Mahalla: urban and provincial life”, presented at the 17th Architecture Biennale in Venice in
2021. The project became the subject of international discourse on the site of one of the most famous
forums of world art and aroused great interest among viewers, as well as from experts and foreign
media.
Mahalla is a unique institution of civil society: it connects the past and present of the Uzbek people,
helps the state cope with difficulties in finding the right solutions in social, cultural and economic
development.
REFERENCES
1.
Nosir Khisrav. Safarnoma. Tashkent. "Shark." 2003.
2.
Saidova G. Human development in Uzbekistan. Tashkent. 2000.
3.
Ubaydullaeva A.T. Sociology as a science. Lecture course. Tashkent. 1999.
4.
https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/mahallya-kak-osnova-mestnogo-samoupravleniya.
5.
https://parliament.gov.uz/ru/articles/992
6.
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BB%D1%8
F
