The biography of the famous politician Babrak Karmal is inextricably linked with the history of his country. With all his might, he wished that national, religious and clan strife would end in Afghanistan. The head of the National Democratic Party of Afghanistan contributed to building uneasy relations with the Soviet Union and Western countries. His broken fate is similar to the tragic stories of other leaders of the Afghan revolution.
early years
Babrak Karmal was born in 1929 in the city of Kamari. He could not boast of worker-peasant roots, because he was born into a wealthy family close to the king. His ancestors were from Indian Kashmir, his father tried in every possible way to hide his origin and spoke exclusively in Pashto. He made an excellent career - he rose to the rank of colonel-general and became the governor of Paktia province. The mother was a Persian-speaking Pashtun woman. At the birth of the boy, he was named Sultan Hussein, later he changed it to a typical Afghan name.
In the 50s, while studying at the university, the young man was carried away by the ideas of communism, and was arrested for anti-government activities. In 1960, Karmal received a law degree and joined the Ministry of Education and then the Ministry of Planning.
Guarding the revolution
In parallel with the civil service, Babrak was engaged in revolutionary activities. In 1965, he joined the ranks of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. The struggle went on within the party itself, it was divided into "Khalk", which translates as "people" and "Parcham" - "banner". Karmal headed the Parcham faction. His supporters considered their main task to be the victory of the revolution and were actively working to bring the goal closer. They organized rallies and strikes, published printed publications and distributed among the population. The party was gaining popularity, which resulted in the nomination of its leaders to the country's parliament. For 8 years, Karmal was a member of the highest legislative body of the state.
April revolution
After the Saur revolution in 1978, a socialist pro-Soviet government came to power. As a result of a military coup, the Daoud government was overthrown and the leadership of the country passed into the hands of local communists.
The uprising was inevitable, the pre-revolutionary situation manifested itself in a sharp drop in living standards and a decrease in confidence in the existing authorities. The masses were ready for the coup, which was carried out by the officers of the Afghan army. It all started with the assassination of one of the Parcham leaders. A wave of political unrest swept across Kabul, at that moment President Daoud made a mistake that later cost him his life. He ordered the arrest of the leaders of the faction, among whom was Karmal. A few hours later, tanks appeared on the streets of the Afghan capital, and a bomb was dropped near the presidential palace. The rebels broke into the palace and killed the president and his family. Karmal and his comrades were free and stood at the head of the uprising. As a result of the Saur revolution, a new state appeared on the map - the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
At first, Karmal served as deputy chairman of the country's Revolutionary Council, but was soon sent as ambassador to Czechoslovakia. The reason for this was internal disagreements in the party ranks, they arose due to the diversity of religions, nationalities and clan disputes. The April revolution was of a communist nature; formally, a socialist system was established in Afghanistan. The new government's strategy was not clear-cut and was largely copied from the Soviet Union. A new coat of arms appeared, decrees were issued to strengthen the new government, but they all broke down on the traditions and foundations of Afghan society. The country has chosen the international course of non-alignment. At that moment, the opposition raised its head, to fight which in 1979 a limited contingent of Soviet troops was introduced, which is in the country until 1989. According to official statistics, Afghanistan has claimed the lives of 14,000 Soviet soldiers and officers in 10 years.
While Karmal was in Europe, his associate Amin uncontrollably strived for power, so it was decided to physically eliminate the willful Afghan with the help of special forces. According to historians, the April military coup stopped the development of democratic processes in the country for several decades.
Emigration
However, Babrak did not have to remain in the post of ambassador for long. Within a few months he was accused of organizing an anti-government conspiracy and was removed from office. After the elimination of Amin, he returned to his homeland and became the head of the Revolutionary Council. The new leader took into account the previous mistakes, he introduced national equality and tried to improve relations with various representatives of the religious community. All decisive actions of Karmal faded against the background of the internal party struggle, even among members of the same party it was impossible to destroy the centuries-old foundations.
When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the USSR in 1986, the PDPA lost its popularity at home. In the same year, Karmal was removed from the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee, citing his poor health, and then he left the post of head of the Revolutionary Council. Soon Babark and his family were forced to emigrate to the Soviet Union. He lived in emigration for 10 years and died in December 1996 in a Moscow hospital. The reason for his departure was cancer.
Personal life
After the April revolution and Amin's rise to power, not only party leaders were arrested, but also their families. During the assault, two sons of Amin himself were injured. Karmal's wife and children were saved by a trip to Europe. While Babrak was in Czechoslovakia, they were safe, they managed to avoid Amin's stone torture chambers. Then the whole family went to Moscow, where they lived for all subsequent years. Today one of the sons of the former leader of Parcham lives in Belarus, is engaged in political technologies.
