Shola-e Javid () was an anti-revisionist Marxist–Leninist communist party founded around 1964 in the

Kingdom of Afghanistan The Kingdom of Afghanistan (; ) was a monarchy in Southern Central Asia that was established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of Afghanistan. It was proclaimed by its first king, Amanullah Khan, seven years after he acceded to the ...

by Abdul Rahim Mahmudi. Its strategy was

Maoist Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...

and

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

, gaining support from university students, professionals, the majority

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...

and the

Hazaras The Hazaras (; ) are an ethnic group and a principal component of Afghanistan’s population. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan, primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan. Hazaras al ...

. Its popularity grew significantly throughout the late 1960s and into the 1970s, possibly eclipsing that of the

Parcham Parcham (Pashto/ Dari: پرچم, ) was the more moderate socialist faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) led by Afghan communist politician Babrak Karmal. It was later turned into the Watan (Homeland) Party with a mor ...

and

Khalq Khalq (Dari/, ) was a faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Its historical ''de facto'' leaders were Nur Muhammad Taraki (1967–1979), Hafizullah Amin (1979) It was also the name of the leftist newspaper produced by ...

factions of the pro-

Soviet 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 ...

People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), known as the Homeland Party ( Dari: , ) from June 1990, was a Marxist–Leninist political party in Afghanistan established on 1 January 1965. Four members of the party won seats in the 1965 ...

(PDPA) up until the factions' reconciliation in 1977. The Shola-e Javid party was outlawed in 1969 after criticizing

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Zahir Shah Mohammad Zāhir Shāh (15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last King of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Ruling for 40 years, Zahir Shah was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan since t ...

Formation

In October 1965, the Progressive Youth Organisation was founded from the New Democratic Current (''Jerian-e Demokratik-e Navin'') by

Akram Yari Akram Yari () was a Hazara Maoist political organizer in Afghanistan. He was the leader and founder of the Progressive Youth Organization (PYO), a Marxist–Leninist organization which was formed on October 6, 1965. Early years Akram Yari wa ...

, Seddiq Yari, Abdul Rahim Mahmudi and Abdul Hadi Mahmudi, their official publication being referred to as ''Shola-e Javid'' and their followers being colloquially known as ''Sholayis'' (‘Flamers’). The publication was in circulation from April 1968 to July 1969, being widely known in public as the name of the party itself. The original founder of the publication was Abdul Rahman Mahmudi, who was the brother of the late Abdul Rahman Mahmudi, a renowned progressive revolutionary figure and an intellectual successor to the esteemed Afghan historian and reformist Ghulam Mohammad Ghubar. An Afghan publication titled “The Identity of Political Parties of Afghanistan” by Basir Ahmad Dawlatbadi provides an introduction to Shola-e Jawid, citing an excerpt from the “Torch of Liberty” newspaper from the Liberty Organisation of Afghanistan which reads: “Following the exposure of internal divisions within the international leftist movement in 1963, and the subsequent formation of the

People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), known as the Homeland Party (Dari: , ) from June 1990, was a Marxist–Leninist political party in Afghanistan established on 1 January 1965. Four members of the party won seats in the 1965 A ...

, the first core of the Progressive Youth Organisation rose in opposition to modern revisionism and its theoretical framework. In response, a number of independent-minded leftists, along with remnants of Niday-e Khalq (Voice of the People), established the Progressive Youth Organisation in October 1965”. The

Progressive Youth Organization Progressive Youth Organization (Afghanistan) was an anti-revisionist Marxist–Leninist organization in Afghanistan. The organization emerged from the New Democratic Current (''Jerian-e Demokratik-e Navin''), a leftist movement that had been estab ...

actively opposed the

, labelling them as a revisionist party, their campaign being organised in such a way that “the campaign against the contemporary revisionism was set at the centre of their agenda”.

References

{{Afghanistan-party-stub Communist parties in Afghanistan Anti-revisionist organizations Maoist parties Maoist organisations in Afghanistan Maoism in Afghanistan Political parties established in 1964 Political parties disestablished in 1969

Formation

See also

References