Taimur Rahman

Taimur Rahman (Urdu/; born 27 May 1975) is a Pakistani political activist and musician who is serving as the Secretary-General of the Mazdoor Kisan Party (MKP), formerly Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party (CMKP). He is also the lead guitarist and spokesperson for the progressive music band Laal. He has taught political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) since 2002. He also taught economics at the Lahore School of Economics from 1998 to 2003.

He is known for his socialist ideologies and has been outspoken in his criticism of capitalist exploitation and religious fundamentalism. He is the author of the book The Class Structure of Pakistan published by Oxford University Press. The book argues that Pakistan's framework is based on materialism, and won the Akhtar Hameed Khan Memorial Award for the "best book on Social Sciences" about Pakistan in 2012.

Early life and education Rahman comes from a "bourgeois" family, but he says his parents were engaged with the left movement since before he was born. He spent his childhood in military-ruled Pakistan under the Zia ul Haq government of the late 1970s-80s, which also influenced him politically. In his teenage years, he was involved with the theater as an actor, director and producer. He completed his schooling from Aitchison College, graduated from Grinnell College, obtained a master's degree from Sussex University and holds a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Political career During Rahman's college life in the US, he got involved in Trade Union politics. He worked with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO), the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and various leftist parties. He is the current General Secretary of the MKP. He identifies as a Marxist–Leninist. The band has released several albums and has toured India, USA, England, etc.

YouTube career He has a YouTube channel, "Taimur_laal," where he makes videos ranging from philosophy and political science to history and current affairs. He has over 246K followers as of 1 December 2024.

Personal life He is married to Mahvash Waqar. He is the grandson of 5th Chief Justice of Pakistan, S.A.Rehman. His brother Jamal Rahman is a music producer while the late musician Farhad Humayun was his cousin.