Birlikism

Birlikism බිරලික Birlik
Ideology	Chandan nationalism Cultural nationalism Multiculturalism Chandan socialism Militarism Corporatism Guided democracy Republicanism
Political position	Right-wing (social) Syncretic (economic)

Birlikism (Chandan: බිරලික, Birlik, lit. "oneness") is a Chandan nationalist political ideology based on the theories and actions of the Five Leaders of Chanda and is the founding ideology of the Republic of Chanda. It promotes the development of a Chandan national identity by a centralized corporatist state instead of a pluralistic liberal democracy. Since the declaration of the Republic in 1951, Birlikism continues to be the dominant political ideology of the country.

Birlikism promotes the formation of a Chandan national identity based upon pan-Chandan nationalism and the legacy of the West Shalegho Commandery. It opposes the existence of ethnic nationalism, instead promoting social cohesion and cultural harmony between the ethnic groups of Chanda. However at the same time, it seeks to "modernize" their cultures by rooting out perceived social ills, "outdated" thinking, and "imperialist" cultural influences. In order to implement these ideals, the ideology supports the creation of a one-party state along corporatist lines. It rejects political pluralism and democracy as long as there is a perceived threat to Chandan unity. Birlikism promotes its own version of socialism, a distributist economic system where the military is given a central role.

History

Nurlan Sabir, member of the Group of Five who significantly influenced to Birlik thought.

Birlikism was formulated as a reaction to the growing infighting in the West Shalegho Commandery and the People's Liberation Army of Chanda during the late 1940s. The political and economic instability that followed allowed for the introduction of Birlikism and its takeover of the country.

In response to the growing instability of the West Shalegho Commandery, many Chandan intellectuals began to question the foundations of the country. The origins of the ideology began with political thoughts developed by the Group of Five which began as an informal political club. Its most prominent members were Abdug'ani Yoʻldosh, Nurlan Sabir, Inomjon Alikhan, Wu Khar, and Kadri Badi. All five were members of the PLA, who originally developed their ideas independently until they encountered each other works. The five men agreed that the Commandery no longer could fully serve the people of Chanda, and believed in the establishment of a republic. Influenced by the Imaharist concept of republicanism they embraced more authoritarian methods of rule.

The Group of Five founded the National Front of Chanda in 1943, where the principles were established as its ideology, naming it Birlikism. The ideology would be continued to be developed by the National Front, under the leadership of Nurlan Sabir.

Doctrine

Nationalism

The central concept of Birlikism is nationalism (උනටෝඛචිලික; undeschilik). Birlik thought places the creation and continuation of a Chandan national identity as essential to the country's continued existence as an independent state. The Group of Five sought to establish an national identity by adopting the Pardals' pan-nationalist ideals of militarism and anti-imperialism and applying it to Chanda's culturally and religiously diverse population. Furthermore as the people largely share a common history and cultural heritage under the rule of the Akdoğan Khanate, they also sought to link the ideals of the Pardal movement to the historical legacy of the Akdoğan Khanate.

By defining nationalism under shared ideals and a common heritage, it explicitly rejects any kind of ethnic nationalism, labeling it divisive and unworkable for Chanda's multiracial and multicultural society. Instead it promotes the multi-ethnic cultural unity of the people, and defines ethnic groups as "sub-divisions" of the Chandan people. Abdug'ani Yoʻldosh wrote in 1937 that "Chanda is of many races, languages, religions and cultures; to center an identity on any one would only serve to divide our country." As a result, he and other members of the Group vehemently opposed support of ethnic nationalism and especially separatism by any ethnic group. Only with a single purpose, they believed that the country could achieve prosperity and defend its independence.

Multiculturalism

Birlikism seeks to prevent ethnic tension between the peoples of Chanda by promoting the concept of multiculturalism (Chandan: ඉව; iv), literally translated as harmony. Iv is viewed as the logical extension to Nationalism, as a united identity requires that there be no conflict between the diverse people of Chanda.

Birlik thought places the state as the active guarantor and protector of Iv. In 1938, Yoʻldosh wrote, "to secure multiculturalism, the new Republic must guarantee the principles of freedom, equality, and equal representation." The principle of freedom is the basis that all the people of Chanda are able to express their own culture without facing restriction by the state or prejudice by their fellow citizens. Equality refers to the principle that all the cultures and religions of Chanda are of equal worth and thus equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law. Finally representation establishes the principle that the peoples of Chanda are entitled to fair representation in Chandan society.

Socialism

Birlikism promotes its own interpretation of socialism, which it claims is adapted for Chanda's unique cultural and economic situation. While it often invokes Councilist principles, Birlikist socialism rejects several critical tenants and is a significant departure from classical leftist thought. The ideology views socialism as the most efficient method to achieve national prosperity, rather than a method to achieve a classless society. Thus it openly opposes the seizure of the means of production, class conflict, and leftist internationalism. Instead it embraces some principles of distributism, such as the widespread ownership of the means of production as well as class cooperation, and nationalism.

Birlikism rejects state socialism, contending that the state is not the most efficient means of implementing socialism. Instead it promotes the idea of an autonomous "patriotic" organisation with significant liberty over implementing economic policy while remaining accountable to the people and the government. The ideology explicitly implies that the military should fulfill role, promoting the concept of dual function where the military is responsible for maintaining the country’s economic order as well as its national defence.

See Also

• Imaharism
• National Principlism
• Sattarism