Red Shirts

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Red Shirts

(Persian and Pashto, surkhpush; their name for themselves was khuda khidmatgar, “servants of God”), volunteer detachments created in the autumn of 1929 in the Northwest Frontier Province of British India by the Pashto national-liberation organization Pakhtun Jirga (the Pashto Conference, Pashto League). The members of the detachments colored their shirts red. The commander in chief of the Red Shirt detachments was Abd-al Ghaffar khan. The detachments were formed mostly from the urban petite bourgeoisie, young students, the intelligentsia, and the peasantry. They were active in the struggle against British colonial rule. After the formation of Pakistan (1947), the Red Shirts became the leading organization of the Pashto national movement. In 1955–56 they came out against the unification of West Pakistan into a single province. In the fall of 1956 they joined the National Party of Pakistan.

IU. V. GANKOVSKII

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References in periodicals archive ?

Our kit man came in with their kit man and asked me, 'Can you help him out, he hasn't got enough shirts?' "I said, 'They play in red, it's the wrong colour!' but I found some red shirts out the back.

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Police estimated the crowd at about 3,500 and most of the people in the audience wore red shirts.

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In their largest show of force in months, the pro-government "red shirts", or United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship as the group is formally known, said they were prepared to thwart any move to dismiss Yingluck who faces mounting legal cases that could see her removed from office in coming weeks.

Supporters of Thai PM converge to counter anti-government protests

Up to 20,000 Red Shirts were already gathered by Saturday morning, several hours ahead of the official start of the rally, according to Paradorn Pattanatabut, a security adviser to the premier, Al-Jazeera reported.

Thai PM Supporters Kick Off Days-Long Rallies

The protests are set to acquire new dimensions as the pro-government supporters, known as the red shirts, appear likely to join the political battle.

Thailand: Three Injured in Renewed Anti-Government Clashes as Protests Resume After King's Birthday

CARDIFF City may have won promotion to the Premier League because they were wearing red shirts, according to university boffins.

Promotion to Premier has to be taken as red

I can't remember when I first heard about red shirt Friday, but I remember learning about it as I started seeing the red shirts being sold at base exchanges.

Thanks for your support of red shirt Friday

Bangkok, May 29 (Xinhua-ANI): About 3,000 police will be deployed to secure law and order on Wednesday when the Yellow Shirts will rally against the government-backed reconciliation bill while the Red Shirts will take the street to support the bill, the national police chief Pol Gen Priewpan Damapong said Tuesday.

3,000 police for Red, Yellow shirts rallies in Bangkok

Yingluck was feted like a rock-star by the red shirts who designated entire communities in Thailand's rugged, vote-rich northeast plateau as "red shirt villages" to help mobilize supporters, each festooned with red flags and Thaksin posters.

Thaksin party wins Thai election by landslide

The so-called Red Shirts massed at the same intersection - briefly blocking traffic - where they made their final stand in the spring before heavily armed soldiers swept through and arrested protest leaders.

Thai protesters return to streets

The Red Shirts returned to power and began to prepare the way for Thaksin to return from exile, while the Yellow Shirts soon resumed their protests.

Red democracy, yellow democracy: political conflict in Thailand: Jim Ockey backgrounds the recent crisis in Thailand and warns that the current calm may not persist

Thousands of so-called Red Shirts massed in the capital city on Sunday, the first such gathering since their street protests earlier this year were ended by a deadly military crackdown.