China is renaming Uyghur towns and villages, Undermining cultural history
In a recent page of it's genocide against the Uyghur community, a Human Rights Watch report published that over 600 Uyghur villages have been renamed in the last thirteen years
A staple aspect of any colonial history is undermining cultural history by denying the existence or culture of native roots in a land to prove that they do not belong there and hence, that land and this community is free for the settler’s use as they please. It is what is happening right now, as Chinese authorities have been altering the names of hundreds of villages in Xinjiang— home to approximately 11 million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. This information was publicised by a Human Rights Watch report, that revealed the horrifying extent to which religious and cultural references were being expunged from local place names.
Altering names has a very similar benefit. In a few years times, the new names that become the popular colloquy and people may start forgetting that these old names ever existed and held the significance they did. It denies the cultural identity of a place, the very thing that links them to the natives who live there, and enables their expulsion on the cause that they did not belong there, historically.
Between 2009 and 2023, more than 600 Uyghur villages underwent name changes. While some alterations seem mundane, others are deliberate attempts to sever historical ties. Words associated with Islam, Uyghur traditions, and religious leaders were replaced with generic terms like ‘unity’ and ‘harmony.’ References to the traditional Uyghur string instrument ‘dutar’ or the sacred shrine ‘mazar’ were removed, for instance, leaving behind sanitised labels devoid of any cultural significance.
This renaming campaign reflects the ideas of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his call for the ‘sinicization’ of religions. The practise of sinicization began during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen and was formally continued by his successors, and it denotes the transformation of non-Chinese ethnic groups or cultures into Chinese culture, particularly in terms of language, societal norms, culture primarily into the ethnic identity of the Han Chinese.
The 2016 Central Religious Work Conference set the stage for officials to rectify not only village names but also mosques, cemeteries and other sacred sites across Xinjiang.
The goal was twofold: erase Uyghur identity and suppress perceived religious extremism.
The majority of these changes occurred between 2017 and 2019. It coincided with the height of the government crackdown in Xinjiang. An estimated one million Uyghurs and other minorities were extra-judicially imprisoned in re-education camps during this period. This erasure outlasted just physical things like the names of places and affected every single facet of Uyghur life.
By altering the names of the villages, China is not only denying the historical connections of those places to the Uyghur community but also undermines efforts to address human rights abuses in Xinjiang. The renaming strategy is the first stone thrown at a river that will eventually create a ripple that forces Uyghurs into the dominant Han Chinese culture, erasing their distinct cultural heritage and lifestyle.
Around 20 million Muslims live in China, and while China identifies as an atheist, religiously tolerant country— authorities have been cracking down on organised religion across the country in recent times.
The acting China director at Human Rights Watch, Meya Wang, said, “The Chinese authorities have been changing hundreds of village names in Xinjiang from those rich in meaning for Uyghurs to those that reflect government propaganda.”
“These name changes appear part of Chinese government efforts to erase the cultural and religious expressions of Uyghurs.”
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