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Taqi Arani (; 5 September 1903 – 4 February 1940), was a professor of
Members of the Fifty-Three would go on to found the
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
, left-wing Iranian political activist and theorist as well as the founder and editor of the Marxist
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
magazine '' Donya'' (''The World'').
Biography
Arani was born in Tabriz and moved toTehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
with his family when he was four years old. In 1920, he graduated from Dar ul-Funun School in Tehran and pursued his studies in Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
studying chemistry at the Technische Hochschule
A ''Technische Hochschule'' (, plural: ''Technische Hochschulen'', abbreviated ''TH'') is a type of university focusing on engineering sciences in Germany. Previously, it also existed in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands (), and Finland (, ) ...
in Charlottenburg (now Technische Universität Berlin
(TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...
). While studying in Germany, he began to study politics as well. Upon finishing his studies, he returned to Iran in 1928 and started ''Donya'' magazine. Many people consider ''Donya'' as his most important contribution to modern intellectual life in Iran. In 1938, he and 52 of his colleagues, The Fifty-Three
The Fifty-Three were a group of 53 Iranians arrested for involvement in communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society ...
, were arrested and charged with being involved in communist activities. He died (or as some claim, was killed) in jail on 4 February 1940.
Members of the Fifty-Three would go on to found the Tudeh Party
The Tudeh Party of Iran is an Iranian communist party. Formed in 1941, with Soleiman Mirza Eskandari as its head, it had considerable influence in its early years and played an important role during Mohammad Mosaddegh's campaign to nationalize ...
in 1941, often considered the beginning of the modern Communist party in Iran.
Views
Although an important figure in the history of Iran's Marxist Left, Arani held strong Iranian nationalist and chauvinistic leanings early in his career and wrote on the Iranian character of Iran'sAzerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
region in response to pan-Turkist
Pan-Turkism () or Turkism () is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), South Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey) ...
groups in Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
of the 1920s. He also argued that the state should be reestablished based on the principles of the centralised Sassanian state.
References
Further reading
* * * *External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arani, Taqi 20th-century Iranian politicians 1903 births 1940 deaths Iranian activists Iranian communists Iranian magazine founders Iranian people who died in prison custody Iranian prisoners and detainees Magazine publishers (people) Politicians from Tabriz Political prisoners in Iran Technische Universität Berlin alumni