Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978)

State in Central Asia from 1973 to 1978

For other uses, see Republic of Afghanistan (disambiguation).

Republic of Afghanistan

* د افغانستان جمهوریت (Pashto)
* Dǝ Afġānistān Jumhūriyat
* جمهوری افغانستان (Dari)
* Jumhūrī-yi Afğānistān

1973–1978

Flag
(1974–1978)

Emblem
(1974–1978)

Anthem: څو چې دا ځمكه اّسمان وي (Pashto)
Tso če dā źməka asmān wī
"So long as there is Earth and Heaven"

Capital| Kabul
33°N 65°E﻿ / ﻿33°N 65°E﻿ / 33; 65
Common languages| Pashto, Dari
Religion

| Islam
Demonym(s)| Afghan
Government| Unitary one-party presidential republic under an authoritarian dictatorship (1973–1978)

* * *

Unitary Islamic nationalist[1] military junta (1978)
President|

• 1973–1978

| Mohammad Daoud Khan

• 1978

| Abdul Qadir (acting)
Vice President|

• 1973–1978

| Sayyid Abdulillah
Legislature| Loya Jirga
Historical era| Cold War

• Coup d'état

| 17 July 1973

• Saur Revolution

| 27–28 April 1978

• Establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan[2]

| 30 April 1978
Currency| Afghani
Calling code| +93
ISO 3166 code| AF

Preceded by | Succeeded by

|

|  | Kingdom of Afghanistan

|

| Democratic Republic of Afghanistan |

|

Part of a series on the

History of Afghanistan

The palace of the emir in 1839
Timeline

Ancient

|  Indus Valley Civilisation|  2200–1800 BC

|

Oxus civilization|  2100–1800 BC
Gandhara kingdom|  1500–535 BC
Median Empire|  728–550 BC
Achaemenid Empire|  550–330 BC
Macedonian Empire|  330–312 BC
Seleucid Empire|  312–150 BC
Maurya Empire|  305–180 BC
Greco-Bactrian kingdom|  256–125 BC
Parthian Empire|  247 BC–224 AD
Indo-Greek kingdom|  180–90 BC
Indo-Scythian kingdom|  155–80? BC
Kushan Empire|  135 BC – 248 AD
Indo-Parthian kingdom|  20 BC – 50? AD
Sasanian Empire|  230–651
Kidarite kingdom|  320–465
Rob|
Alchon Huns|  380–560
Hephthalite Empire|  410–557
Nezak Huns|  484–711

Medieval

|  Kabul Shahi|  565–879

|

Principality of Chaghaniyan|  7th–8th centuries
Rashidun Caliphate|  652–661
Tang China|  660–669
Tibetan Empire|  660–842
Umayyads|  661–750
Zunbils|  680–870
Lawik| 750-977
Abbasids|  750–821
Tahirids|  821–873
Saffarids|  863–900
Samanids|  875–999
Ghaznavids|  963–1187
Ghurids|  before 879–1215
Seljuks|  1037–1194
Khwarezmids|  1215–1231
Mongol Invasion|  1219–1226
Chagatai Khanate|  1226–1245
Qarlughids|  1224–1266
Ilkhanate|  1256–1335
Kartids|  1245–1381
Timurids|  1370–1507
Arghuns|  1520–1591

Modern

|  Mughals|  1501–1738

|

Safavids|  1510–1709
Kunduz Khanate|  ?–1859
Hotak dynasty|  1709–1738
Sadozai Sultanate|  1716–1732
Afsharid Iran|  1738–1747
Durrani Empire|  1747–1823
Maimana Khanate|  1747–1892
Herat|  1793–1863
Principality of Qandahar| 1818–1855
Emirate|  1823–1926
Saqqawist Emirate|  1929
Kingdom|  1926–1973
Daoud coup|  1973
Republic|  1973–1978
Saur Revolution|  1978
Democratic Republic|  1978–1992
Tanai coup attempt|  1990
Islamic State|  1992–1996
Islamic Emirate|  1996–2001
US invasion|  2001
Islamic State (reinstated)|  2001
Interim/Transitional Administration|  2001–2004
Islamic Republic (politics)|  2004–2021
Islamic Emirate (reinstated)|  since 2021

Related historical regions

* Arachosia
* Aria
* Ariana
* Bactria
* Gandhara
* Iran
* Kabulistan
* Kafiristan
* Khorasan
* Kushanshahr
* Paropamisadae
* Sistan
* Zabulistan

Related topics

* Political history
* Political violence
* Culture
* Economic history
* Name
* Afghan (ethnonym)
* List of years
* List of heads of state
* Wars
* List of wars
* Hinduism history
* Hindu and Buddhist heritage
* Jewish history
* Muslim conquests

* Category
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The Republic of Afghanistan (Pashto: د افغانستان جمهوریت, Dǝ Afġānistān Jumhūriyat; Dari: جمهوری افغانستان, Jǝmhūri Afġānistān) was the first republic in Afghanistan. It is often called the Daoud Republic, as it was established in July 1973 after General Sardar Mohammad Daoud Khan of the Barakzai dynasty alongside senior Barakzai Princes deposed his cousin, King Mohammad Zahir Shah, in a coup d'état. The occasion for the coup was the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan which took power from most members of the royal family in favour of centralization under Zahir Shah and his offspring under the tenet of democracy.[3] Daoud Khan was known for his autocracy and attempts to modernize the country with help from both the Soviet Union and the United States, among others.[4]

In 1978, a military coup known as the Saur Revolution took place, instigated by the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, in which Daoud and his family were killed. The "Daoud Republic" was subsequently succeeded by the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.[5]

## History

[edit]

### Formation

[edit]

Main article: 1973 Afghan coup d'état

In July 1973, while King Mohammad Zahir Shah, the reigning Afghan monarch at the time, was in Italy undergoing eye surgery as well as therapy for lumbago, his cousin and brother-in-law, General Sardar Mohammad Daoud Khan, the former prime minister, staged a coup d'état in Kabul. This coup overthrew the Kingdom of Afghanistan and established the Republic of Afghanistan in its place, which was a single-party state. General Daoud had been forced to resign as prime minister by King Zahir a decade earlier.[6] The King abdicated the following month rather than risk an all-out civil war.[6]

### Single party rule

[edit]

After seizing power, Daoud Khan, who had himself proclaimed as the first President of Afghanistan, established his own political party, the National Revolutionary Party. This party became the sole focus of political activity in the country. In 1974, the new flag of Afghanistan was introduced, as well its emblem, with a flag raising ceremony being held outside of the Arg Presidential Palace.[7] In January 1977, a loya jirga was convened following the Constitutional Assembly election, and approved a new constitution establishing a presidential one-party state, with political opposition being suppressed, sometimes violently.[5]

Also in 1973, Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal, a former prime minister, was accused of plotting a coup, though it is unclear if the plan was actually targeting the new republican government or the abolished monarchy. Maiwandwal was arrested and allegedly committed suicide in jail before his trial, but widespread belief says he was tortured to death.[5]

### Rise of communism

[edit]

See also: People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan

After General Daoud's 1973 establishment of the Republic of Afghanistan, members of the People's Democratic Party (PDPA) were given positions in the government.[8] In 1976, President Daoud established a seven-year economic plan for the country. He started military training programs with India and Egypt,[9] commenced economic development talks with Iran. Daoud also turned his attention to oil rich Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait among others for financial assistance.[5]

During Daoud's presidency, relations with the Soviet Union deteriorated. They saw his shift to a more Western-friendly leadership as dangerous, including Daoud's criticism of Cuba's membership in the Non-Aligned Movement and Daoud's expulsion of Soviet military and economic advisers. The suppression of political opposition furthermore turned the Soviet-backed PDPA, an important ally in the 1973 coup against the King, against him.[5]

Daoud in 1978 had achieved little of what he had set out to accomplish. The Afghan economy had not made any real progress and the Afghan standard of living had not risen. Daoud had also garnered much criticism for his single party constitution in 1977 which alienated him from his political supporters. In March 1978, Daoud visited Islamabad and agreed to stop supporting rebel groups in Pakistan, as well as agreeing to expel Pakistani militants in the future. He additionally made plans for Afghan military personnel to be trained by the Pakistan Armed Forces.[9]

When Afghans by 1978 had grown disappointed with the "do nothing" Daoud government, the PDPA government officials alone were identified by some with economic and social reform.[8] By this time, the two main factions of the PDPA, previously locked in a power struggle, had reached a fragile agreement for reconciliation. Communist-sympathizing army officials were by then already planning a move against the government. According to Hafizullah Amin, who became Afghan head of state in 1979, the PDPA had started plotting the coup in 1976, two years before it materialized.[5]

### Saur Revolution

[edit]

Main article: Saur Revolution

The day after the Saur Revolution in Kabul.

The PDPA seized power in a brutal military coup in 1978, which is best known as the Saur Revolution.[10] On April 27, troops from the military base at Kabul International Airport started to move towards the center of the capital. It took only 24 hours to consolidate power, with the rapid push including an air raid on the Arg (the Presidential palace), and insurgent army units quickly seized critical institutions and communication lines. The deposed Daoud and most of his family were executed the following day.[11]

Nur Muhammad Taraki, General Secretary of the PDPA, was proclaimed Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council and effectively succeeded Mohammed Daoud Khan as head of state. He simultaneously became head of government of the newly established Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.[11]

## Politics

[edit]

Daoud Khan pursued the policy of bi-tarafi, meaning "without sides", during the Cold War.[12] He sought investments from the Soviet Union and the United States. Secularists supported Daoud as he was in favour of letting the Islamic veil (and more specifically the purdah) remain optional for Afghan women, however, extremists would harass women who chose not to veil themselves, even resorting to throwing acid on exposed legs.[9]

## Military

[edit]

A few days after the coup, the former Royal Afghan Army under Zahir Shah was now being referred to as the Afghan Republican Army under Daoud Khan in The Kabul Times newspaper.[13]

The Ministry of Defense emblem of the Republic of Afghanistan[14] The emblem of the Afghan police force under the Republic of Afghanistan

A 1973 United States Department of State report stated that there was a problem of allegiances within the Afghan military, describing the issue: “The population in general regards the armed forces as an instrument of government, rather than an organisation of citizens in service of the nation. The individual normally respects authority, but this respect is shown first and foremost to his own tribal chief or head of family”. By the end of the 1970s, the Afghan Air Force had over 180 aircraft, consisting of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighters, Sukhoi Su-7BM strike fighters and Ilyushin Il-28 bombers.

## Education

[edit]

Daoud Khan heavily focused on education and women's rights during his reign. His government opened many schools and by the time of the Saur Revolution, 1 million Afghan students were enrolled in school, many whom were girls.[12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Afghanistan's two-party communism : Parcham and Khalq. 1983. ISBN 978-0-8179-7792-4.
2. ^ Mark Urban (1990). War in Afghanistan: Second Edition. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-312-04255-4.
3. ^ Richard S. Newell (1997). "The Constitutional Period, 1964-73". In Peter R. Blood (ed.). Afghanistan: A Country study.
4. ^ Rubin, Barnett. "DĀWŪD KHAN". In Ehsan Yarshater (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica (Online ed.). United States: Columbia University. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
5. ^ a b c d e f "Daoud's Republic, July 1973 – April 1978". Country Studies. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
6. ^ a b Barry Bearak (23 July 2007). "Former King of Afghanistan Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
7. ^ "Image 7 of Numbers 8-9, Saturday, May 18, 1974". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
8. ^ a b Amstutz, J Bruce (5 March 2002), Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation, University Press of the Pacific, pp. 35–36, ISBN 978-0898755282, retrieved 29 March 2018
9. ^ a b c Wahab, Shaista; Youngerman, Barry (2007). A Brief History of Afghanistan. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-0819-3.
10. ^ "World: Analysis Afghanistan: 20 years of bloodshed". BBC News. 26 April 1998. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
11. ^ a b Garthoff, Raymond L. Détente and Confrontation. Washington D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1994. p. 986.
12. ^ a b "THE AFGHAN COMMUNISTS" (PDF).
13. ^ "India, Czechoslovakia, FRG, Mongolia and GDR recognise Republic of Afghanistan. Kabul Times. (Kabul, Afghanistan), Volume 12; Number 97". 21 July 1973.
14. ^ Dā Urdu Mojellā [National Army Magazine] (56th ed.). Urdoo Mojella, Military Press Kabul: Ministry of Defense (Afghanistan) (published 1976–1977). 1977. p. 118.

## External links

[edit]

* Daoud's Republic of Afghanistan

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