Bala Ibrahim oghlu Afandiyev was born in 1893 in the Chaykend village of Karakoyunlu mahal (now Chambarak district of Western Azerbaijan), part of the Gazakh uyezd of the Ganja Governorate, into a clerical family. His father, Ibrahim Afandi, passed away before Bala Afandiyev’s birth, so he was raised under the care of his uncles.

Bala Afandiyev received his primary education at the village’s mullah school. In 1907, he enrolled in a Russian-Tatar school opened in Chaykend, and the following year continued his studies at a four-grade Russian school in Gazakh. Here, he excelled in his studies, learning Russian, Arabic, and other languages.
In 1912, Bala Afandiyev moved to Baku, where he worked as a laborer at the “Molot” factory in Sabunchu. He later became a site manager in the Shubani oil fields and began engaging in political activities. In 1918, he was appointed the district commissioner of Baku, and in 1920, the extraordinary commissioner of the Ganja Governorate.

In 1921, the Transcaucasian State Committee sent Bala Afandiyev to Armenia, where he was appointed Deputy People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs. He worked on facilitating the return of Azerbaijani refugees to their homelands and achieved progress in cultural and educational fields in Western Azerbaijan. Under his initiative, the Women’s Club and Pedagogical Technicum were established in Iravan. He also founded an orphanage for Azerbaijani children who were left homeless because of displacement.

Bala Afandiyev became the leader of the Latin alphabetical movement in Iravan and participated as the head of the Armenian delegation at the First Turkological Congress held in Baku in 1926. At the 15th session of the congress, Bala Afandiyev spoke about the issues of teaching the mother tongue in Azerbaijani schools based on the new Turkic alphabet in Iravan and was included in the commission that prepared the draft resolution of the congress on this issue.

During his time in Iravan, Bala Afandiyev made significant contributions to educate Azerbaijanis and protect their rights as well as he was also the initiator and editor of a newspaper published in the Azerbaijani language in Iravan, first under the name Ranjbar, and later under the name Zangi. Under his initiative, two pages of the Zangi newspaper were printed in the Latin alphabet.

From 1927 to the end of 1928, Bala Afandiyev served as the People’s Commissar of Public Welfare in the Armenian SSR. He worked in Azerbaijan since 1929, working in the Central Committee, as secretary of the Central Control Commission, and later in leadership positions in Sabirabad, Lankaran, and Zagatala districts.

Bala Afandiyev was subjected to repression and executed in January 1938. About 20 years later, his innocence was proven, and he was rehabilitated. In his honor, a secondary school bearing his name was established in his birthplace, Chaykend, and a bust was erected in his memory.

Source:
Misir Mərdanov, Cəlal Allahverdiyev. Qərbi Azərbaycanın böyük oğlu – Bala Əfəndiyev. 525-ci qəzet, 1 sentyabr 2023