Thaification

Thaiisierung (Thai: การ แผลง เป็น ไทย, kan phlaeng -pen- thai ) is the process of life, culture and economy of the Thais in central Thailand have been adjusted by the border areas of the Kingdom of Thailand and ethnic and religious minorities. On the one hand, this process is a natural consequence of the modernization of the country, which also includes the outer regions, on the other hand, targeted measures to suppress or disability of peripheral cultures by the Thais have been made in the past. Since the seventies, the process has weakened and today people from different cultures across the country speak their native language and their own culture live as it is enshrined in the Constitution of Thailand.

The Thaiisierung detected mainly ethnic groups on the edge of the country, a distinction whose language and culture of the Central Thais, such as the Lao in Isan, the hill tribes in Northern Thailand and to the west of the country and the Muslim Malays in Southern Thailand. Even larger groups of immigrant Chinese and Indians of Thaiisierung were subjected. While also Buddhist and Chinese immigrant relatively easily and quickly assimilated and integrated, the Thaiisierungsversuche failed largely with the long-established Muslim Malays today.

History

In the Kingdom of Ayutthaya had established Mon and Khmer, as well as immigrant Chinese, Indians, Persians and Europeans great influence in economic life and even at court. Until the 19th century, the ethnicity of the inhabitants of Siam did not matter, important was the only allegiance to the king. After the modernization and centralization of Thailand by King Rama V ( Chulalongkorn ) dates from the early 20th century, the idea of ​​a single Thai nation and thus the Thaiisierung. Had the Thai language previously no term for " nation ," the word was chat under Rama VI. ( Vajiravudh ) widespread. Added to this was the up to now often used expression khwam -pen- thai (the " Thai - be " or " Thaitum ") and the triad of "Nation, Religion and King " of the unofficial motto of Thailand is today.

Rama VI. turned aggressively against the Chinese who immigrated during the 19th and beginning of the 20th century in large numbers and often operated as merchants, tax collectors or moneylenders and thus acquired great economic impact. With respect to anti-Semitism in Europe, the king called them the " Jews of the Orient". However, it was not about racial discrimination, to the Thai had too much mixed in previous centuries with the Chinese and the members of the ruling circles, almost all Chinese ancestors. Rather, should the first -generation cultural assimilation, the Chinese immigrants, brought to give up their language and customs, and their economic and political ambitions be curbed.

Following the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and the seizure of power by the predominantly younger and heavily influenced by the rise of Thai nationalism civil officers of the " People's Party ", this trend intensified yet. From 1935, the Chinese were prohibited from working in certain industries, state-owned enterprises should be the influence of Chinese entrepreneurs break. Chinese were forced to adopt Thai names. Chinese schools, clubs and newspaper publishers were harassed or banned. The poet and historian Wichit Wichitwathakan created a nationalistic historiography, although the concept of the nation-state in Southeast Asia had been unknown before the colonial period.

The new Prime Minister Phibunsongkhram 1939 changed the country's name from Siam to Thailand, which on one hand the dominance of the Thai against the minorities in the country and on the other hand, the expansion of entitlement to Tai peoples inhabited areas in neighboring countries began to express.

By decree, all the inhabitants of Thailand were forced to identify as Thai, who represented " foreign " interests, was treated as a traitor. The 1939 introduced national anthem wearing a aggressive nationalist text (the first line speaks of "flesh and blood of the Thai race" ). The regional languages ​​and dialects, the Lao font in the northeast region ( Isan ) and the Lanna script in the north were pushed back. Cultural differences between Central, South, Northeast and Northern Thai should not be discussed. Phibunsongkhram even had to rename places and umdichten folk songs to any reference to other ethnic groups (such as Lao, Shan or Khmer ) to eliminate.

After the disempowerment Phibunsongkhrams 1957, the government went to measures of so-called "soft assimilation" on:

The promotion of Thai national consciousness comes naturally at the expense of ties with other countries, such as the Isan - Lao in Laos and the Malays in Malaysia.