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Biography of Babrak Karmal
Name: Babrak Karmal
Birth Date: January 6, 1929
Death Date: 1996
Place of Birth: Kabul, Afghanistan
Nationality: Afghan
Gender: Male
Occupations: ruler, political activist
Babrak Karmal
A leading Afghan Marxist, Babrak Karmal (1929-1996) became Russian puppet ruler of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan after the Russian invasion in December 1979 until his resignation "because of ill health" on May 4, 1986.Babrak Karmal (roughly translated "labor-loving little tiger") was born into a wealthy Afghan family near Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, January 6, 1929. His father, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Hussain, was a friend of the royal family, especially of Gen. Mohammad Daoud (prime minister 1953-1963; 1973-1978), cousin and brother-in-law of King Mohammad Zahir.Karmal's ethnic background is rather hazy, as was common among those born in or near Kabul. He claimed to be Pushtun (the dominant ethnic group in Afghanistan). Most evidence, however, linked him to a Tajik or Qizilbash, Persian-speaking background. Ethnic origin was still important in the Afghan political system, even in the Marxist, Russian-dominated regime.In 1948, Karmal graduated from the German language-oriented Nejat (also called Amani) High School, but was initially …showed first 150 words…
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…showed last 150 words…fought in World War II.Additional evidence of Russian troubles in Afghanistan came with Karmal's resignation on May 4, 1986. He was replaced by Najibullah, the former head of the Afghan secret police, Khad.Karmal's deposition and rise to power parallel the rise and fall of the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. After he was disposed, Karmal was exiled to Russia where he stayed until 1991 when he returned home. Karmal was in Moscow when he died from liver cancer in late 1996. Associated Organizations Associated Events Afghanistan-Soviet crisis, 1979-1989 Further Reading For the period and the man, see the following: Louis Dupree, Afghanistan (1980), and Red Flag over the Hindu Kush, American Universities Field Staff Reports, Asia Series, Nos. 44, 45, 46 (1979) and Nos. 23, 27, 28, 29, 37 (1980); Anthony Arnold, Afghanistan's Two-Party Communism, Parcham and Khalq (1983). A good contemporary account is Henry Bradsher, Afghanistan and the Russian Union (1983).For additional information see Karmal's obituary in Time (December 16, 1996) and "An Ox Annoyed," Economist (July 27, 1991).
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