Akram Yari ( prs, اکرم یاری) was a

Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

political organizer in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

. He was the leader and founder of the

Progressive Youth Organization Progressive Youth Organization ( fa, سازمانی جوانانی مترقی, ''Sazman-e Javanan-e Mutarraqi'') was an anti-revisionist Marxist–Leninist organization in Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanis ...

(PYO), a Marxist–Leninist organization which was formed on October 6, 1965.

Early years

Akram Yari was born on 1940 in Jaghori,

Ghazni Province Ghazni ( Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in southeastern Afghanistan. The province contains 19 districts, encompassing over a thousand villages and roughly 1.3 million people, making it the 5th most populous province. Th ...

, Afghanistan. He belonged to Hazara ethnic group. He received his early education in his hometown. Later he moved to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...

where he received higher education. He was a teacher at Khushal Khan High School and later at Mehmood Tarzi High School.

Political activism

Akram Yari was the founder and leader of

(PYO), a

organization, founded on October 6, 1965. PYO published a magazine called '' Shola-e-Jawid'' (Eternal Flame) which was circulated among students and youth. Akram Yari opposed the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic ( constitutional monar ...

King Zahir Shah Mohammed Zahir Shah ( Pashto/ Dari: , 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. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanista ...

, the Islamic fundamentalists, and the pro-

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), ''Hezb-e dimūkrātĩk-e khalq-e Afghānistān'' was a Marxist–Leninist political party in Afghanistan established on 1 January 1965. Four members of the party won seats in the 1965 Afgh ...

(PDPA). PYO adhered to Marxism–Leninism–Mao Zedong thought, and rallied for the overthrow of the then-current order by means of

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

Influence

Under Akram Yari's leadership, PYO had strong support among the masses of workers and students in the cities of Afghanistan. Among the people of Afghanistan, the movement that PYO led is famous by the name of ''Shola-e-Jawid'' and its members were commonly known as the ''Sholais'' (Flamists), after the name of their journal. Akram Yari was a teacher and propagator of Marxism and introduced Marxism to a large number of intellectuals and political activists in Afghanistan, among them Dr.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz Ahmad (1946 – 12 November 1986) ( fa, فیض احمد) was an Afghan revolutionary and the founding leader of the Afghanistan Liberation Organization (ALO), a Marxist–Leninist organization established in Kabul. Biography Ahmad was ...

, founder of

Afghanistan Liberation Organization Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

(ALO).

Arrest and assassination

In 1978 the pro-Soviet PDPA came into power through a military coup. The PDPA government began a crack-down on PYO cadres. Akram Yari was arrested at his home in Jaghori, transferred to

and later killed by the PDPA government. The exact conditions surrounding his death is not known.

References

External links