Before I dive into writing about an event in modern Kurdish history, valued greatly by Kurds and understandably attacked as greatly by the enemy of Kurds, it is of use to introduce myself briefly. My name is Namo Gholizadeh Piranjogh or in short Namo Pîran and I am from Urmiye, a multi-ethnic and multi-religious city that has given birth to modern legends of Kurdish history such as Simko Şikak and Dr. Ebdulrehman Qasimlo. I am a master’s student of International Relations in Denmark and a Kurdish activist trying to familiarize different people with the Kurdish struggle with my writings.
Now let us get back to our topic: what is the accurate name of the Kurdish republic that was established in Mehabad or how did they identify themselves? 22nd of January is the anniversary of the establishment of the first Kurdish republic, the Republic of Kurdistan, which was declared by Qazi Mihemmed, the first and only president of the short-lived progressive Kurdish republic. The Republic of Kurdistan was established on 22nd January 1946 by the active participation of Kurds from different parts of Kurdistan.
A dream of millions of Kurds was a reality in a small part of Kurdistan, i.e., the republic didn’t control all the Kurdish regions inside the borders of the Iranian State. Now if I were someone from a modern nation-state country, this sort of historical event would not be of great importance, nonetheless, I am NOT and as a Kurd whose culture, identity, language, and history are constantly under attack by invaders of my land, I reckon we have a lot to talk about. When we talk of 1946, one could easily argue that considering the overall world politics, and specifically the geopolitical conditions in the Middle East, the Republic of Kurdistan was one of the most progressive, inclusive, and democratic forms of governance in the region.
The republic was established based on the equality of citizens regardless of their ethnicity or religion, gender equality, women’s inclusion, combating illiteracy, and even youth organizations were established to fight for the rights of the youth.
Now such a modern and progressive form of governance would have usually been talked of as a unique case where one could learn how to improve the situation under many oppressive regimes all over the region. However, the Republic of Kurdistan and its heritage are and have been under constant attack by different political forces, i.e., the notorious Iranian Royal Family (Pehlevi), the Islamic Republic of Iran, and its covert and overt backers, and sadly some far-left Kurdish parties. Let me try to elaborate on how such a wide group of diverse political forces can agree on one goal: undermining one of the most important achievements of the Kurds, achieved by them and for them.
One of the arguments propounded by the Islamic regime and its supporters, ruling Iran is the lack of a substitute for the Islamic regime’s despotic methods and the lack of adequate capabilities of different nations in Iran in deciding and eventually running their regional affairs. Now in contrast to the more than 40 years of bloody history of oppression in Iran, the Kurdish Republic was established to grant the local people their right to self-governance. This right to self-governance is a human right respected internationally, nevertheless, this right is violated by various oppressive regimes such as the Iranian regime. The Republic of Kurdistan was the manifestation of the ingenuity of this claim, i.e., Kurds and other nations can run their regional matters without being ruled by any centralist force.
To demonstrate the falsehood of their claim vis-à-vis the name of the republic, one needs to pose one straightforward question: who decides how a group of people identify themselves? Is it the centralist forces and their likes who get to decide what Kurdistan is called or is it a matter decided by Kurds? Republic of Kurdistan is a name chosen by Kurds and no one with a shred of academic integrity should use the name Mehabad Republic. Every other way of addressing this historical republic is the lack of academic honesty or a try at altering history in favor of some certain group(s). Another way to find the academically and historically accurate name of the Republic is reading the first issue of the official newspaper of the Republic called Kurdistan.
The newspaper declared the establishment of a new Kurdish republic under the name of the Republic of Kurdistan in its very first issue. To put it concisely, the founders of the Republic and their official newspaper announced loudly to the world that Kurds can govern themselves without being instructed. The far-left Kurdish parties who utilize the term Mehabad Republic either lack honesty or have other agendas, i.e., they want to depict a picture where only successful movement in Kurdistan is the far-left and its alleged achievements, all other Kurdish movements have only harmed the struggle of Kurds. The absurdity of this claim is obvious as, despite the closeness of PDKI (the official party of the Republic) and the Republic of Kurdistan to the leftist ideas, the priority of this movement is the achievement of national rights for Kurds living inside the border of the so-called Iranian state.
To wrap it up: Kurds and other nations in Iran are real challengers and substitutes for a despotic regime violating the rights of millions. The history in the form of the Republic of Kurdistan is the witness and any other attempt to represent another version of history is ingenuine and should be taken with real caution.
We, Kurds, are in a unique, sad, and everchanging region where our faith has been decided by others to a very large extent, nonetheless, we are the very meaning of resilience, and our history is the witness of our determination and willpower. I will be writing more since there is a lot to be talked about once one would like to dive into the multifaceted modern history of Kurds.
By: Namo Pîran
