Vida Moezzi Nia

Mohammad Taghi Bahar, a leading poet and a practical newspaper writer was born in Mashhad, 1882. He was the son of Mirza Mohammad Kazem named Sabouri, the poet of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza. He learnt literature from his father and Arabic literature from Adib Neishabouri. Following the death of his father, he became the poet of Holy Shrine of Imam Reza through orders of Mozaffaraddin Shah. He joined the constitutional movement, and composed poems with relevant themes. He founded democratic party in Khorassan and was a member of its central committee.

He edited a paper called NowBahar in Mashhad and published strongly worded articles against the foreign powers especially the Russians. The paper was suspended. Soon after that he published another paper called TazeBahar. This paper was also suspended, and Bahar and some nine other people were exiled to Tehran. He was a member of third Majlis from Dargaz, Kalat and Sarakhs.

The first world war closed the Majlis and Bahar went to Qom with other migrants, but in half way, the carriage was toppled down and he returned to Tehran.

The pressures of the Russians and the British governments led to his exile from Tehran to Bojnurd and his paper was suspended again.

After six months, he returned to Tehran, and published his paper again. He was a member of the committee of democratic party for three years.

He was elected a member of the forth, fifth, sixth and the eleventh Majlises. He cooperated with Seyyed Hassan Modarres in his opposition against the formation of a republic government, and the interpellation of Reza Khan, then prime minister.

Following 1921 coup, Bahar was under arrest for three months. Three years later was elected a deputy to Majlis from Kashmar. He opposed the depose of Ahmad Shah and the change of Qajar Regime. An attempt was made on his life when the debate on the change of regime took place in the Majlis, but Vaez Qazvini became victim. During Reza Shah's reign he devoted himself to literary works and tought at the high teacher training school. From 1929 onwards, he was arrested and exiled on more thean one occasion. He became the minister of education in Qavam's cabinet, 1946. He eventually died in 1951 and was buried in Zahir-od-dowleh cemetery in Shemiran.

Among his main contributions we many refer to The history of Political Porfies and Sabk Shenassi (The Stylistics).

In his late days, he was the head of the Peace Partisans Society of Iran, in Tehran.