International Journal Of Literature And Languages
173
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ijll
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue05 2025
PAGE NO.
173-176
10.37547/ijll/Volume05Issue05-40
Voices of Change: Social Criticism in Jadid Playwriting
Sanobar Tulaganova
Doctor of Philology, Professor, Leading Researcher, Institute of Uzbek Language, Literature and Folklore, Academy of Sciences of the
Republic of Uzbekistan
Received:
31 March 2025;
Accepted:
29 April 2025;
Published:
31 May 2025
Abstract:
Behbudi's work is examined as a significant literary phenomenon that reflects the social realities of the
country, marking the first Uzbek drama. In the play “Parricide”, Behbudi condemns a wealthy man as an indifferent
father who neglects the upbringing of his son. In contrast, Qodiriy highlights another aspect of the issue through
the portrayal of the selfish and greedy Fayziboy in “Unhappy Groom”. This article argues that the representation
of both wealthy men as self-serving individuals, solely pursuing their own interests, introduces a novel concept.
Furthermore, it discusses the congruity of the ideas and interpretations presented in the dramas of Behbudi and
Qodiriy, as well as their distinctiveness.
Keywords:
National unity, traditional education, new Uzbek literature, progressive, the basis of the ideal, the
tragedy of the youth, literary grief, great scholars.
Introduction:
The Jadids, united under the idea of
national unity, considered the struggle for the freedom
of the Motherland as a sacred duty. They did not spare
their lives or property in the struggle and mobilised
their strength in this direction. A need for renewal
arose in the nation’s thinking. Waves of national revival
manifested themselves in various forms in Turkestan
on all fronts. Intellectuals who worked for the
independence of the country initially put forward the
idea of reformism.
The need for renewal that arose in the wake of
revolutionary waves created great personalities on the
stage of history. One of such great personalities is
Mahmudkhoja Behbudi. The owner of encyclopaedic
sciences M. Behbudi developed a program of the idea
of national revival, which was the basis of the Jadid
movement in Turkestan. The main problems of the
program include the formation of the nation-state, the
creation of a national army, a national language and
literature, national drama, and national schools. The
preservation of religious and national identity was also
the main goal of the Jadid Enlightenment. Behbudi, as
a distinguished scholar, embodies the attitudes of an
Islamic personality.
M. Behbudi was famous not only in Turkestan but also
in countries such as Central Asia, Turkey, Iran, and
Crimea for his reform of the traditional education
system, creation of textbooks, and his sharp publicist
speeches explaining scientific and legal issues. He is
considered the creator who laid the foundation stone
of new Uzbek literature, and particularly the national
theatre.
The representatives of the Enlightenment, who
travelled the world and were aware of world news,
considered it possible to quickly and effectively
influence the public through art. Art and literature
played a significant role in the propaganda work of the
Jadids. In 1911, he wrote the first Uzbek drama, the
play “The Case of Parricide or an Uneducated Boy (A
Lesson from
Turkestan Life)” (3 acts, 4 scenes). The
drama is structured simply by the genre's
requirements. The author defines his work as “the first
national tragedy”. As a literary critic, the author, who
understood the power of tragedy well, used this poetic
method effectively in his work. The Jadids realised that
only the path of knowledge and enlightenment could
lead the homeland out of crisis. This idea is embedded
in the core of the drama. The tragedy of Tashmurod in
the drama is portrayed as a national issue. Behbudi, as
a highly experienced specialist, conveys the Jadid idea,
which is the idea he wants to convey, in a concise
scene.
Considering that the drama genre in Uzbek literature is
a new “spider”, Behbudi's work was a serious literary
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
phenomenon that reflected the social reality in the
country. As soon as the first Uzbek drama was written,
staging it was not easy. The authorities did not allow
the drama to be published. Finally, a way was found
that would please the tsarist censorship, and it was
published in 1913. On January 25, 1914, it was staged
in Samarkand. The drama was received with great
interest by the people. The audience had a stronger
impact on the public than expected. The drama shows
how the greed and ignorance of the rich man's lover,
Tashmurod, lead to tragedy. Behbudi reveals his new
ideas through the image of a teacher and an
intellectual. The intellectual attempts to teach wealthy
individuals the importance of educating their children
and the value of knowledge and enlightenment. The
rich man is depicted as a person who thinks only of the
world. The Jadids encouraged the local wealthy to
establish schools, sponsor children's education, and
provide financial support for education. These thoughts
set the tone for the drama.
The nation received the first drama with outstanding
goodwill. The tragedy revealed in the live footage
greatly inspired the people. There is information that
the theatre was filled, and the play was staged
repeatedly. The impact of the drama affected not only
the people but also the creators, resulting in several
works of art emerging.
After M. Behbudi's “Parricide”, several dramatic works
imitating it appeared in Uzbek national literature. In his
article dedicated to the theatre, Kadiriy emphasises
that the history of th
e stage begins with “Parricide” in
1912. Following M. Behbudi, one can point to works
such as Nusratullo Kudratullo oglu's “Wedding” (1914),
Abdulla Badri's “Deathblow” (1915), Haji Muin's “Old
School, New School”, “Oppressed Woman” (1916).
Abdulla Qodiriy
writes: “Under the influence of the play
“Parricide” which published in 1913, I did not even
notice that I had written a theatre book called
“Unhappy Groom”. Although “Unhappy Groom” differs
in content from M. Behbudi's drama, an educational
idea still dominates it, and the literary and aesthetic
aspects of the genre are not fully revealed. The Jadids
believed that it was possible to awaken the nation from
its heedlessness by getting rid of customs that had
become heretical, eliminating vices such as weddings,
marriages, gambling, drinking, and womanising, and
increasing the number of new schools that would teach
“worldly” sciences alongside religious knowledge.
Works in this spirit reveal that following procedures not
prescribed by the Sharia, yielding to innovation and
superstition, leads to a spiritual crisis. Both dramas
intersect at one point in their focus on revealing the
ideas of the Jadids. However, the authors’ attitudes
towards the characters differ.
In the play “The Unhappy Groom”, he calls on th
e local
rich to be progressive and generous, and proposes the
idea of fighting against old customs that pave the way
for extravagance at weddings. The consequences of not
paying enough attention to child upbringing and
education are illustrated through the events of the
drama, highlighting the effects of ignorance. The events
of the play are based on the story of the marriage of a
young man named Salih. Having borrowed money from
a rich man and unable to repay it on time, the groom
Salih and the bride Rahima commit suicide due to
depression. The play ends with the tragic death of the
young people. Behbudi in the play “Parricide”
condemns the rich man as an indifferent father who is
indifferent to the upbringing of his children. Qodiriy, on
the other hand, draws attention to the other side of the
issue through the interpretation of the image of the
selfish and greedy Fayziboy in “The Unhappy Groom”.
The fact that both rich people are portrayed as selfish
individuals who only care about their own interests also
demonstrates the influence of this new idea.
There is such a scene in the drama “Parricide”.
“–
I think, the reason for the world, the honour is
wealth. As for the hereafter, it will be the fate that God
has made.” A rich person is a person who has been
given wealth in this world and has forgotten the sorrow
of the hereafter. A believing servant eats the sorrow of
the hereafter in this world; he is content. Although
gaining knowledge is obligatory, he does not send his
child to school. He does not care about the time; he
only thinks about his pocket
—
an arrogant person who
interprets the requirements of Sharia in his own favour.
In “The Unhappy Groom” Fayziboy:
"- I will explain to you, the grains that I asked for go to
both the wedding feast and the bread. Sheep and
horses are slaughtered, and the fat and meat go to the
soup. There are also chariots and showmen. For
money, copper tools, two field paths, two flower
blankets, a neck amulet for my daughter, an arm
amulet, a gold chain, and earrings. It is completed with
other small things. If there is bread, it is distributed to
those who come to the wedding. And other things too.
Do you understand now what is left for me from this?"
The rich in the dramas face tragedy due to their
ignorance and lack of knowledge. Although the works
differ in content, they complement each other
ideologically in their shared desire to save the nation
from the scourge of ignorance.
The ellikbashi in “The Unhappy Groom” is a remarkable
character. Even in his time, he attracted the attention
of critics. The author depicted the image of the
ellikbashi based on his ideal, that is, as a nationalist,
generous, rich man. However, since it was challenging
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
to find ellikbashi with such an image among local rulers
in historical and social conditions, literary criticism
assessed the image of the ellikbashi as somewhat
contrary to the logic of life. M.Solihov criticizes that
“the image of the ellikbashi is a representative of the
Uzbek progressive rich, but in life, it is the opposite,”
comparing the hero with the image of the ellikbashi in
Ayni's work “Black days in history”.
In “The Unhappy Groom”, the author portrays a man
who can see the times in the image of the fifty-year-
old: “You have seen the harm of waste, learn from
Fayziboy, have you seen what happened to you after
wasting? Obey the Sharia, now open your eyes.
Educate your sons, who squandered their wealth on
weddings, which is an innovation, or donate it to
charity in society. Educating a son is good and
obligatory, but wasting it on weddings is an
innovation,” he says.
Although “The Unhappy Groom” differs in content from
Behbudiy’s drama, the idea of Jadids is dominant.
However, the plot of the story “Deathblow” is very
similar to “Parricide.” The main character in Kadiriy’s
story, “Deathblow,” is about the fall into misguidance
of Sadulla, the son of Raufboy, who is engaged in large-
scale trade. Without acquiring knowledge or studying,
he loses all the wealth of his father and family to satisfy
his pleasures. As a result, he kills a person, gets his
hands wet with blood, and loses his own life.
The plot of “Deathblow” is close to “Parricide” in that,
due to ignorance, Sadulla and Tashmurod fall into
pleasures, creating a tragedy in both families.
Regardless of the genre, there are similar situations in
which the heroes in the two works meet with tragedy,
waste their lives, devote themselves to entertainment
instead of learning, and engage in corrupt activities of
a child raised in a Muslim family. The work attracts
attention because it is a common occurrence in the
nation these days.
Izzat Sultan expressed the reasonable opinion that
“Qodiriy’s poems “Our state” and “To my nation” and
the drama “Deathblow” were written in imitation of
Behbudi. It is natural to be influenced by Behbudi, the
nation's leader. The idea put forward in Qodiriy’s work
“Deathblow” (novel) reflected the ideas of the Jadids.
Science The tragedy of young people being given to a
life of poverty instead of earning a living is the fault of
fathers, and the lack of support from local investors in
raising children.
Just as in “The Father
-in-
Law” a tragedy occurred in the
family due to ignorance, in “The Unhappy Groom” the
drama ends in disaster due to the ignorance of the rich
and Salih. Because the rich are given to vanity and
arrogance. He does not even follow the rules of Sharia.
He prioritises his own interests above all else. A. Qodiriy
wrote in his article “The Progress of Theatre in Our
Country” in 1919: The treatise “The Father
-in-
Law” was
staged in almost every large and small city of Turkestan,
and the purpose of theatre was realised to some extent
for our youth. After that, the issue of theatre began to
arise in our country, and we began to write half-
hearted theatre treatises” [Qodiriy A. The progress of
our theatre work. Ishtirokiyun, December 11, 1919]. A.
Qodiriy's thoughts on theatre and theatrical work are
seen as a direct continuation of M. Behbudiy's
thoughts. In particular, “The theatre is a mirror that
embodies the deficient and excess areas of life. “Tha
t's
how it is, when we see our theatre, we should see a
reflection of our lives,” he says, urging our writers who
are entering the theatre field to have a high regard for
literature.
In “Parricide”, he says this from the language of an
intellectual to the rich.
- Now is a new and different time. At this time, just as
the wealth, land, and tools of a people without
knowledge and crafts are lost day by day, morality and
reputation are also eroded, and even religion is
weakened. For this, we must strive to educate
ourselves, as our religious law has made it obligatory
for us to study all kinds of beneficial knowledge from
birth to death. This ruling is based on Sharia law.
“Behbudi’s instruction “The value of religion is
knowledge, the value of knowledge is in
its benefits” is
repeated in the works of Qadiri. In fact, the goal of the
Jadids is to follow the dictates of religion and to turn
away from heresy.
This is what was said about Qodiriy's work. In the
drama, “the characteristic features of Jadid literature
,
namely, the replacement of the artist by a preacher,
exhortation, “whitening”, etc., are clearly visible in
“The Unhappy Groom” [Qosimov B., Yusupov Sh.,
Dolimov U., Rizayev Sh., Ahmedov S. Uzbek literature of
the era of national revival. -
Tashkent: Ma’
naviyat,
2004. - P. 402.].
The basis of Jadid dramaturgy is the national idea,
propaganda and agitation. Jadid literature played a
significant role in the national revival that occurred in
Turkestan at the beginning of the 20th century. This
fact is confirmed by every creative boutique that
appeared on the scene at that time. In the centuries
created by the Jadids, the desire to reflect the pain of
the nation and be a balm is clearly felt. The primacy of
national grief over literary grief is a leading sign of
modern literature. Behbudi's creative heritage has an
artistic aesthetic significance, as it has left a special
mark on the nation's thinking. In each of his works, the
author describes the ways to see Turkestan free and
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
prosperous, shows the way, and calls for preserving
national identity. The creative heritage of such great
personalities as Behbudi and Qodiriy is valuable as a
national treasure.
REFERENCES
Abdurashidov, Z. (n.d.). Sketches on the activity of
Mahmudkhoja Behbudiy: January 20
–
Birthday of the
father of Uzbek Jadids. Retrieved from daryo.uz
Qosimov, B., Yusupov, Sh., Dolimov, U., Rizayev, Sh., &
Ahmedov, S. (2004). Uzbek literature of the National
Awakening period. Tashkent: Ma’naviyat. p. 402.
Sulton, I. (1972). Collected works. Volume 2. Tashkent:
Gʻ. Gʻulom Publishing. p. 336.
Qodiriy, A. (1919, December 11). The course of
theatrical work in our country. Ishtirokiyun.
Qosimov, B., Yusupov, Sh., Dolimov, U., Rizayev, Sh., &
Ahmedov, S. (2004). Uzbek literature of the National
Awakening period. Tashkent: Ma’naviyat. p. 402.
