Policies Thaification by the government can be separated into three sets of policies: Rural development In the first set of policies, the government targeted specific policies and actions at fringe groups. An example of this is the Accelerated Rural Development Programme of 1964, the Isan component of which included the strengthening of allegiance to Bangkok and the rest of the country as one of its objectives. Education The second set of policies consists of policies applied nationally, but that disproportionately affect fringe groups. One example of this is the prescribed use of Central Thai language in schools. This had little effect on the central Thai or Thai Siam who already used the language as a mother tongue, but made bilinguals of speakers of Isan in the northeast, of Northern Thai () in the north, and of Pattani Malay () in the south. Harsher methods were imposed on the Thai Chinese. After the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, a series of anticommunist Thai military juntas, starting with that of right-wing dictator Plaek Phibunsongkhram, sharply reduced Chinese immigration and prohibited Chinese schools in Thailand. Thai Chinese born after the 1950s had "very limited opportunities to enter Chinese schools". Those Thai Chinese who could afford to study overseas studied English instead of Chinese for economic reasons. As a result, the Chinese in Thailand have "almost totally lost the language of their ancestors", and are gradually losing their Chinese identity. Encouraging Thai nationalism A third set of policies was designed to encourage Thai nationalism in the nation's peoples. Examples include the promotion of the king as a national figurehead, saluting the flag in school and the twice daily broadcasts of the national anthem (; ) on radio and television at 08:00 and 18:00 as well as in public spaces. Encouraging Thai nationalism had the intended side effect of discouraging other loyalties, such as that to Laos, stemming from the central Thais' fear of Lao cultural and political dominance in the Isan region and that of Malay (; ) in the south. See also Democracy Monument Education in Thailand History of Isan History of Thailand Internal colonialism Mandala (political model) Monthon Socialization South Thailand insurgency Tai Tham alphabet Thai cultural mandates Thai Exceptionalism Thai National Anthem Zomia (geography) References Further reading External links "The impact of surveying and map-making in Siam" in Twentieth Century Impressions of Siam; Its History, People, Commerce, Industries,