Nisar Muhammad Yousafzai (; ; 1897 – 8 October 1937) was an Afghan communist revolutionary and soldier and Soviet politician who played a significant role in the creation of Tajikistan. A decorated soldier of the

Third Anglo-Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War was a short war which began on 3 May and ended on 8 August 1919. The new Amir of the Emirate of Afghanistan Amanullah Khan declared a Jihad against the British in the hope to proclaim full independence, as well as ...

, Nisar would take part in a Soviet expedition in Gilan and later lobby for the creation of a

Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, also commonly known as Soviet Tajikistan, the Tajik SSR, TaSSR, or simply Tajikistan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1929 to 1991 in Central Asia. The Tajik Rep ...

within the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. He was Tajikistan's first minister of education from 1926 until his murder in 1937. He was also the first ever Afghan communist.

Biography

Nisar Muhammad Yousafzai was born to a Yusufzai Pashtun family in the village of Zaida, Swabi District of the North-West Frontier Province in 1897. He was the son of Awal Khan and his grandfather was Mohammad Ali. He was an intelligent and perceptive young boy who was influenced by the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

and early Indian communist Leaders, similarly to Noor Tarakai.
In 1919 the

broke out between the

Emirate of Afghanistan The Emirate of Afghanistan, known as the Emirate of Kabul until 1855, was an emirate in Central Asia and South Asia that encompassed present-day Afghanistan and parts of present-day Pakistan (before 1893). The emirate emerged from the Durrani ...

and the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. Nisar Muhammad being an ethnic Pashtun enlisted in the Afghan Army to fight the British, he received the Afghan Order of Courage medal for his bravery. Following the war, Swabi remained under British occupation and Nisar found himself sentenced to death. However, he managed to escape captivity and sought refuge in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

, where he assumed the name Nisor Avalovich Magomedov. In Tashkent, Nisar Muhammad became an active member of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

. He became an advocate for a separate Tajik state outside of the Turkestan SSR. Alongside his like-minded friends, Muhammad published newspapers and campaigned for Tajik autonomy. Their efforts eventually bore fruit when, in 1924, the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed as part of the Uzbek SSR. This achievement marked a significant milestone toward the later formation of the

Tajik SSR The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, also commonly known as Soviet Tajikistan, the Tajik SSR, TaSSR, or simply Tajikistan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1929 to 1991 in Central Asia. The Tajik Re ...

. Nisar Muhammad's involvement in political affairs extended beyond Central Asia. In 1920, he joined a Soviet team tasked with reporting on the events unfolding in Persia (now Iran). During this mission, Muhammad provided support to the revolutionary leader Mirza Kuchik Khan, leaving an indelible mark on the struggle for independence in the region. In 1926, Nisar Muhammad was appointed as the People's Commissar of Education of Tajikistan. He also served as a

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

language instructor at

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

, Nisar was fluent in multiple languages including Pashto, Persian, Russian, Uzbek, and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

. On 8 October 1937, Nisar Muhammad was arrested on false charges by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

(People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs). During his interrogation, a guard struck Muhammad, triggering an altercation in which the interrogator sustained severe head injuries. In response, guards stormed the room and shot Nisar Muhammad, resulting in his untimely death.

Legacy

The story of Nisar Muhammad Yousafzai was featured by Kabul Magazine in the 1960s by chief researcher of the Afghanistan Academy of Sciences at Kabul University, Dost Shinwari under the name ''Nisar Muhammad Afghan''. The street that is home to the Ministry of Education and Science, bears Nisar's name. In 2021, the acclaimed Tajik director Safarbek Solekh released a documentary titled "Nisar," which featured interviews with Muhammad's descendants and Tajik historians. He is described as "The son of Afghans who dedicated his life for Tajiks".

References

{{reflist 1897 births 1937 deaths 20th-century Afghan military personnel Soviet people of Afghan descent People from Swabi District Afghan communists Afghan expatriates in Tajikistan Great Purge victims from Tajikistan Assassinated Afghan people Executed communists Executed Afghan people Afghan revolutionaries Pashtun politicians Muslim socialists Communist Party of Tajikistan politicians Academic staff of Moscow State University Education ministers of Tajikistan People's commissars and ministers of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic Pashtun military personnel Afghan military officers Afghan military personnel of the 1919 Anglo-Afghan War

Biography

Legacy

See also

References