Academy of Sciences has not created even a single word in 44 years

By Elyas Abdali, Journalist
July 24, 2014

It has been 44 years since the establishment of Afghanistan Academy of Sciences. In this center, there is a department called “Languages ​​Department” that should research about Afghanistan’s languages.

Part of the duties of the Department of Languages ​​in the Afghanistan Academy of Sciences is creating new words and introducing equivalents to those who do translation from other languages ​​into Persian/Farsi and Pashto. However, as the country’s scientific research center, it has not yet been able to do anything in the field of creating words and suggesting equivalents.

In the meantime, some of the members of this institution consider the continuous wars and insecurities as the main cause. Habibullah Rafi, a prominent member of this institution, says that the Department of Languages ​​in the Afghanistan Academy of Sciences has not yet succeeded in creating a word.

He explains that the reason for this inability is the lack of peace and stability in the country. He emphasizes that despite the fact that the Afghanistan Academy of Sciences has taken action in this regard, it has not yet succeeded in such a task (word creation).

But cultural and media expert, Murtaza Meraj, believes that wars and insecurity can never justify the lack of work and ineffectiveness of this institution. Because this institution was not in one of the insecure areas of the country to come up with such justification. Rather, it is located at a point in the center of the capital that has not faced any major security threat.

He adds: “Academy of Sciences can use the civil war era as an excuse for its inefficiency and inactivity.  But the last 13 years (post 2001 era) has been the best time and opportunity for its operation.”

According to Meraj, in these 13 years, we have witnessed extensive activities and unprecedented growth of media, scientific, cultural, and research institutions. During this period, hundreds of visual, audio, and print media, hundreds of educational and cultural institutions, and dozens of universities and research institutes have started to operate and have become symbols of progress in the post-Taliban Afghanistan.

This cultural activist says that the justifications given by some members of the Academy of Sciences for its inactivity are not acceptable; rather, the low capacity in this institution and the low capacity of its members have made it unable to do anything to help improve its position and put it on the path of dynamism and growth.