Parcham (Pashto/, 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 and led for most of its history by Babrak Karmal.
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 as called for in the Communist Manifesto.
The Parcham faction had more urban based members who belonged to the middle and upper middle classes.
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.
Because of Parcham's links with the Kingdom of Afghanistan, initially wishing to keep the constitutional monarchy intact, it was sarcastically called the "royal communist party" by opposing Khalqists.http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/1322/1/799S.pdf
Many pro-Parcham military officers supported Mohammed Daoud Khan's coup of 1973.
Afterwards a high number of Parchamites held high-ranking jobs in Daoud's cabinet and the Central Committee and dominated the security forces.
Parchamites, then in charge of the Ministry of Interior, are believed to be responsible for the alleged murder of Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal, an anti-communist former prime minister.
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 initial government.
Very soon after the revolution, Parchamites were purged from the government by the Khalqist leadership of Nur Muhammad Taraki, and the regime eventually went into a reign of terror, jailing and executing many Parchamites.
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 which supported them.
The government under Parcham leader Babrak Karmal nevertheless still struggled to win popularity, and they were now low in numbers following the high number of killings committed by Khalq in 1978–1979.
Karmal was replaced by Mohammad Najibullah in 1986.
In June 1990, the Parcham-led PDPA converted itself into the Watan Party of Afghanistan (Homeland Party), with references to Marxism-Leninism removed.
References
Arnold, Anthony Afghanistan's Two-Party Communism: Parcham and Khalq (Histories of Ruling Communist Parties) Hoover Institution / Stanford University.
1983. ()
Kakar, M. Hasan Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and Afghan Response, 1979-1982.
University of California Press.
1997. ()
Rasanayagam, Angelo.
Afghanistan: A Modern History.
St. Martin's Press.
2005
