TEHRAN – The house of national hero and legendary freedom fighter Mirza Kuchak Khan in the city of Rasht, northern Gilan province, is planned to be repurposed into a museum, showcasing objects and documents remaining from the movement that Mirza founded in the early twentieth century, CHTN reported.

Painting, repairing the roof and stairs, and fixing the bricks are parts of the restoration project, which is being implemented by the province’s cultural heritage department in collaboration with the Rasht Municipality, deputy provincial tourism chief Vali Jahani announced on Thursday.

Covering an area of 1120 square meters, the house is located in the Ostadsara neighborhood. The Rasht Municipality purchased the house from its owner a few years ago in order to convert it into a cultural center.

The house was inscribed on the National Heritage list in 2007.

Born Yunes, Mirza Kuchak Khan (1880-1921), established the movement in the forests of Gilan that became known as the Jangal (Forest) Movement in response to the period of political decay brought about by the advent of World War I and the occupation of Iran by Anglo-Russian and Ottoman troops.

This uprising started in 1914 and remained active until 1921 when the movement was defeated.

The Jangal Movement laid the ground for a popular movement in the northern part of the country. In this period, the Iranian people were grappling with social unrest, anarchy, political turmoil, abject poverty, famine, and numerous other problems.

After Reza Khan took power in 1920, he issued a highly classified document requesting high-ranking security officials to deliver Mirza Kuchak to him, dead or alive, offering a large reward to whoever did so.

This secret document shows that the king of Iran was desperately seeking to suppress the Jangal Movement as soon as possible in order to crack down on the new freedom movements mobilized in different parts of Iran.

Mirza and his companion named Gaouk, a Russian-German revolutionary adventurer, fleeing from the central government forces both died of frostbite in the Talesh mountains near Masal on December 2, 1921.

ABU/MG