Parcham

Parcham (Pashto/Persian: پرچم‎, meaning "Banner" or "Flag") was the name of one of the factions of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, formed in 1967 following its split. The basic ideology of the Parchamites was one of a gradual move towards socialism in Afghanistan. The Parcham faction supported this idea because they felt that Afghanistan was not industrialized enough to undergo a true proletarian revolution called for in the Communist Manifesto.

For places in Iran, see Parcham, Iran and Parcham-e Qadim.
Coat of arms of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1980 to 1987

The Parcham faction had more urban based members who belonged to the middle and upper middle classes.[1] Opposed to the more moderate Parchamis were the radical Khalq faction. The Khalq (meaning "People") developed a more vigorous line, advocating an immediate and violent overthrow of the government and an establishment of a Soviet-style communist regime.

Many pro-Parcham military officers supported Mohammed Daoud Khan's coup of 1973. Afterwards a high number of Parchamites held high-ranking jobs in Khan's cabinet and the Central Committee. Parchamites, then in charge of the Ministry of Interior, are believed to be responsible of the alleged murder of Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal, an anti-communist former prime minister.[2] In the next years, Parchamites were purged one by one from Khan's cabinet.

In 1977 Parcham reunited with Khalq and following the Saur Revolution of 1978 many Parchamites were represented in the government. Relations with Khalq detoriated again and Parchamites were purged from the government by the Khalqist leadership of Nur Muhammad Taraki. The Parcham faction seized power in the country after the toppling of Hafizullah Amin in December 1979 by the Soviet Union's Operation Storm-333.

Parcham leader Babrak Karmal was replaced by Mohammad Najibullah in 1986. In June 1990, the Parcham-led PDPA converted itself into the Watan Party (Homeland Party), with references to Marxism-Leninism removed.

References
  1. "Ethnic Factor in Afghanistan (by Hamid Hussain) - Media Monitors Network". Mediamonitors.net. 2003-04-09. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  2. https://books.google.com/books?id=hzIDCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT371
  • Arnold, Anthony Afghanistan's Two-Party Communism: Parcham and Khalq (Histories of Ruling Communist Parties) Hoover Institution / Stanford University. 1983. (ISBN 0817977929)
  • Kakar, M. Hasan Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and Afghan Response, 1979-1982. University of California Press. 1997. (ISBN 9780520208933)
  • Rasanayagam, Angelo. Afghanistan: A Modern History. St. Martin's Press. 2005
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