The Significance of Behbudiy’s Legacy in the Education and Upbringing of the Modern Generation: Our Students Visited the House Museum of Mahmudkhoja Behbudiy

Mahmudkhoja Behbudiy (1875–1919) was a great Uzbek enlightener, one of the leading figures of the Jadid movement, a writer, playwright, journalist, and educator. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, he actively worked to promote public education, advance modern teaching, and reform society.

With the aim of providing the children of his nation with a proper education, Behbudiy established a new-method school and personally taught students. Despite living in one of the darkest and most turbulent periods in history, he continued to educate children in his own home, write educational materials, and stage theatrical productions. Although these activities put him at risk, he remained committed to the hope of a brighter future for his nation until the end of his life.

To honor the memory of such enlightened ancestors and preserve their rich cultural heritage for future generations, the house where Behbudiy taught has reopened as the Behbudiy House Museum. Today, the museum tells the story of the Jadid movement and pays tribute to a man who sacrificed his life for the enlightenment of his people.

Students from Group 253 of the Primary Education programme at the Samarkand Branch of Kimyo International University in Tashkent visited the Mahmudkhoja Behbudiy House Museum to explore the great enlightener’s rich legacy. A. Usmonov, Associate Professor of the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology, and G. Ahmedov, Director of the House Museum, shared insights into Behbudiy’s life and work and his contribution to education and science.

The future educators paid tribute to the great ancestors who, more than a century ago, spared neither their resources nor their lives in the pursuit of public enlightenment. The visit left the students with lasting impressions and helped them gain a deeper understanding of the importance of Behbudiy’s rich spiritual legacy in contemporary education and the moral development of younger generations.