Debut in Political Activism

Abstract

This chapter recounts how Taghi Erani’s journalistic activity in the expatriate press in Berlin metamorphosed to political action, with a covert component, triggered by the accession of Reza Shah to the throne and the founding of the Pahlavi dynasty. For Taghi Erani, and a group of like-minded intellectuals in Berlin, engaged in the study of law, political economy, political science, and natural sciences, this represented a major setback in the evolution of political process in Persia, a functioning civil society, partially secured during the constitutional revolution. The group articulated a political platform targeted against the feudal-colonial nexus subjecting Persia to dark ageism, in a blatant militaristic garb. This orientation hurled the group toward left-leaning political currents in Germany. The government of Persia begins to suspect Taghi Erani’s covert activities.