People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan

"Communist Party of Afghanistan" redirects here. For the communist party founded in 2004, see Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan.

People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
Pashto nameد افغانستان د خلق دموکراټیک ګوند
Dari nameحزب دموکراتيک خلق افغانستان
AbbreviationPDPA
General Secretaries
Founders
Founded1 January 1965 (1965-01-01)
Banned6 May 1992 (1992-05-06)[1]
HeadquartersKabul, Afghanistan
Newspaper
  • Khalq (1966)
  • Parcham (1969)
Youth wingDemocratic Youth Organisation of Afghanistan
Women's wingDemocratic Women's Organisation of Afghanistan
Membership (late 1980s)160,000[2]
Ideology
Marxism–Leninism Revolutionary socialism
National affiliation
Colors    Red and yellow
Party flag
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The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA)[note 1] was a Marxist–Leninist political party in Afghanistan established on 1 January 1965. Four members of the party won seats in the 1965 Afghan parliamentary election, reduced to two seats in 1969, albeit both before the party was fully legal. For most of its existence, the party was split between the hardline Khalq and moderate Parcham factions, each of which claimed to represent the "true" PDPA.[4]

The party adhered to Marxist–Leninist ideology and toed a staunch pro-Soviet political line.[5] The PDPA's secret constitution, which was adopted by the party during its founding congress in January 1965 but never publicly released to party cadres,[6][7] described itself as "the vanguard of the working class and all laborers in Afghanistan" and defined its party ideology as "the practical experience of Marxism–Leninism".[8][9] While PDPA's internal documents incorporated explicitly Marxist terminology,[10][7] the party refrained from formally branding itself as "communist" in public, instead using labels such as "national democratic" and "socialist".[11] PDPA's public platform document published in April 1966 asserted that its political objectives involved the creation of a "democratic national government" as well as the long-term goal of establishing a socialist state.[12]

The Khalq-Parcham organizational split erupted within the PDPA in 1967. While the Khalqists adhered to rigid Marxist–Leninist dogma and toed a militant revolutionary line, the Parchamis wanted to establish a "common front" with other left-wing parties.[13] In July 1977, Khalq and Parcham factions re-merged into the PDPA after Soviet mediation, with the objective of preparing a coup against Daoud Khan's regime.[14][15] During the initial period of Khalqist rule from 1978 to 1979, PDPA portrayed itself as advancing a "socialist revolution" in Afghanistan. After the ouster and killing of Hafizullah Amin in a palace coup launched by Soviet military forces in December 1979, a Parchamite-dominated PDPA claimed that its government was facilitating what it described as the "national-democratic stage" of Marxist transformation.[16][17] In its final years, the party gradually moved away from Marxism–Leninism and towards Afghan nationalism.[18]

While a minority, the party helped Mohammad Daoud Khan, former Prime Minister of Afghanistan, overthrow King Mohammad Zahir Shah in 1973 and establish the Republic of Afghanistan. Initially, the PDPA was highly represented in the government cabinet, but many PDPA officials were later dismissed as relations between the party and President Khan worsened. In 1978, the PDPA, with help from members of the Afghan National Army, seized power from Daoud Khan in what became known as the Saur Revolution. The PDPA led by Nur Muhammad Taraki established the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, which would last until 1987. After National Reconciliation talks in 1987, the official name of the country reverted to the Republic of Afghanistan (as it was known before 1978). Under the leadership of Mohammad Najibullah in 1990, the party was renamed the Homeland Party (حزب وطن, Hezb-e Watan) and much of the party's symbols and policies were altered or removed. The republic lasted until 1992, when mujahideen rebels seized the capital Kabul and took over the country's government. The PDPA was subsequently dissolved, with some officials joining the new government, some joining militias, and others deserting.[19]

  1. ^ "Миссия в Кабул. Секретный полет". Телеканал «Звезда» (in Russian). Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Internal Refugees: Flight to the Cities". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 12 December 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  3. ^ Azmi, Muhammad R. (Spring 1986). "Soviet Politico-Military Penetration in Afghanistan, 1955 to 1979". Armed Forces & Society. 12 (3). Sage Publishing: 336, 337. doi:10.1177/0095327X8601200301. JSTOR 45304853 – via JSTOR.
  4. ^ "Afghanistan". publishing.cdlib.org.
  5. ^ Amstutz 1994, p. 32.
  6. ^ Amstutz 1994, p. 32, 62.
  7. ^ a b Arnold 1983, pp. xii, 149.
  8. ^ Azmi, Muhammad R. (Spring 1986). "Soviet Politico-Military Penetration in Afghanistan, 1955 to 1979". Armed Forces & Society. 12 (3). Sage Publishing: 336, 337. doi:10.1177/0095327X8601200301. JSTOR 45304853 – via JSTOR.
  9. ^ Arnold 1983, p. 149.
  10. ^ Amstutz 1994, p. 34.
  11. ^ Article title [bare URL PDF]
  12. ^ Arnold 1983, pp. xii, 137, 148.
  13. ^ Arnold 1983, p. 38.
  14. ^ Azmi, Muhammad R. (Spring 1986). "Soviet Politico-Military Penetration in Afghanistan, 1955 to 1979". Armed Forces & Society. 12 (3). Sage Publishing: 339. doi:10.1177/0095327X8601200301. JSTOR 45304853 – via JSTOR.
  15. ^ Arnold 1983, pp. 52–56.
  16. ^ Amstutz 1994, pp. 86.
  17. ^ Arnold 1983, pp. 104–108, 133.
  18. ^ https://www.psa.ac.uk/sites/default/files/conference/papers/2015/PSA%202015%20-%20Paper%20-%20Darren%20Atkinson%20-%20Otago.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  19. ^ "Afghanistan: Blood-Stained Hands: II. Historical Background". www.hrw.org. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2018.


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