Surik agha Kalashyan (* 1936)

Surik agha (Kalashyan)

Surik agha, born in 1936, tells us about his father, Jahangir agha. Surik agha has not seen his father as when he was born his father was in exile. At present Surik agha lives in Nor Nork 4th Block, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia.  

Jahangir Agha
Jahangir agha lived in village Chibukhlu in a part of Kars (Kars province is currently in Turkey, ed.). He was Khatif agha’s youngest son. Khatif agha had four sons, Jango was the youngest among them. Jahangir agha was born in 1873. He had three brothers: Said Beg (he was called Beg), Rashid agha and Mdur. The Kurds, the Muslims started torturing the Yezidis and the Armenians. My grandfather Khatif agha was an old man at that time. He was a very rich man. When he realized that he was going to die he called everyone and said, “You know, I am going to die, so I want to leave my possessions as a will to Jango”. Khatif agha did as he said. He left his money as a will to Jango and died. My grandfather had a cornfield, that he would plough from one end to the other and he would fall exhausted in the evening. When my grandfather died, the Muslims decided to take away his cornfield.

At that time Jango, my father, was running everything and he told his workers to go and plough the cornfield. The workers went to work and saw other people tilling the cornfield. The Muslims were tilling the cornfield. Jahangir agha’s workers told them that it was Khatif agha’s cornfield and he had died. The Muslims told them that the cornfield belonged to another person and not to Jahangir agha any more. The workers told Jahangir that the Muslims had taken away his cornfield so when they went to the cornfield they were not allowed to do their work.

Before dying my grandfather had taught my father everything such as riding a horse, shooting (Jahangir agha was 14 when that incident happened). He rode his horse, went to the cornfield and asked what they were doing. The Muslims told him that the cornfield already belonged to the governor. So the governor was the one to tell them to go and till the cornfield. My father said that though Khatif agha had died Jahangir agha was still alive. After that incident he became famous. The Yezidis and the Armenians all stood up together.
Later Zoravar Andranik (hero of the national liberation struggle against the Ottoman Empire, ed.) heard about that young Yezidi, asked him to go to his place and learning that Jahangir agha was engaged Zoravar Andranik wanted to become his Grandfather. It was then that my father and Andranik became friends.

When attacked by the Turks, the Yezidis and the Armenians could not resist. Jahangir agha gave away all his property to buy weapons and horses. He would say, “Take and ride the horse and save your reputation”. However, seeing that there was no way out they migrated to Armenia together with the Armenians (present day Armenia, 1915). They came to Yerevan where my father fought in Sardarapat battle (Sardarapat battle took place in 1918 and it stopped the advance of the Turks, ed.). My father had 1500 soldiers and he also fought in Bash Aparan. Andranik gave him a big star (Georgevyan Cross that can now be found in Sardarapat Museum) which is now on his clothes. My father got arrested in 1936, during the Communist years.

My father was arrested as a Dashnak (Armenian Revolutionary Federation is a traditional Armenian political party, ed.).

Andranik left everything and went away (left Soviet Armenia, ed.) and my father, Jahangir agha was caught. Aghasi Khanjyan (First secretary of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, ed.) thought it would be a pity if Jhangir agha wasn’t sent to Gavar (back then, Kamo, one of the Soviet Armenian cities, ed.) He did not want to send Jhangir to Siberia so my father was sent to Kamo city in Gavar. He went there with his family.

I was born in Gavar and I have never seen my father. When Khanjyan was shot in 1936, my mother was already pregnant. My father was taken to KGB to be sentenced again. He was sentenced to 10 years. He was told by KGB that he had a son, so he gave me my name. He wanted my name to be Suren.

Two of my father’s sons were born invillage Chblux, Kars but when he returned here (present day Armenia, ed.), he married again. My father was sent to Saratov. He died in 1943 and was buried there. Some people would say that they had buried Jhangir agha with their own hands but we have no information till now.

This much!