Thai cultural mandates

The cultural mandates or state decrees (Thai: รัฐนิยม; rtgs: rathniyom; literally "state fashion" or "state customs') were a series of 12 edicts issued between 1939 and 1942 by the government of Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram during his first term as prime minister and military dictator of Thailand. The mandates aimed to create a uniform and "civilized" Thai culture at the time when the country was allied with the Axis powers. Many of the practices initiated in the mandates were a result of Thailand entering World War II and remain in effect today.

The first mandate, On the name of the country, people and nationality, issued 24 June 1939, cited "public preference" for changing the name of the country. It consisted of two items:

One result of this mandate was that organizations with "Siam" in the name were forced to change their names. Well-known examples include the Siam Society, which became the Thailand Research Society, Siam Commercial Bank, renamed Thai Commercial Bank, and Siam Cement, which became Thai Cement. After Pibulsonggram was deposed the first time in 1944, Siam Society reverted both its Thai and English names, while the latter two reverted only the English version of their names.

On preventing danger to the nation, issued 3 July 1939, consisted of five items:

On referring to the Thai people, issued 2 August 1939, reinforced Mandate 1 by forcing the public to stop using group names like "northern Thais", "southern Thais", or "Muslim Thais":

On honouring the national flag, national anthem, and royal anthem, issued 8 September 1939, consists of five items:

On using Thai products, issued 1 November 1939, consisted of five items:

On the music and lyrics of the national anthem, issued 10 December 1939, consisted of two items:

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