India and Iran are joined to the same civilisational umbilical cord. Their ties have withstood tests of centuries. Neither upheavals of medieval periods nor incessant tumults of modern Middle East conflicts have corroded the warmth between these two ancient soulmates. In this backdrop, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei’s recent remark clubbing India as oppressor of Muslims along with Israel and Myanmar flummoxes, if not outrightly outrages, observers of the West Asia affairs and peace-promoters.
What prompted Ali Khamenei’s uttering? His track record suggests that he has a penchant of a theologian of making unilateral authoritative statements on every issue, from local to international. The Iranian government, led by democratically elected representatives and professionally trained civil servants, often find itself at variance with their leader’s providence.
The Iranian government avoids criticizing the Supreme Leader, but its diplomats try to assuage the friendly country that feels incensed by his remarks. In the case of India, it has happened a number of times. Both Khamenei’s predecessor Ayatollah Khomeni and he had made “Muslims in danger in India” kind of statements in 1980’s and 1990’s and then Iranian diplomats had to immediately convey “clarification” to India so that smooth ties between the two countries stayed immune from posturing targeted to address domestic audience or the Muslims of the world at large. Thus, India and Iran relations have maintained continuity only because of timely fence-mending from both the sides.
However, it will be appropriate to remind Khamenei and his hardline supporters why his remarks were absolutely baseless and even malignant given the realities on the ground. Muslims, even people attached with the Iranian mission, enjoy total freedom in India. Unlike Iran, they even have complete democratic rights. Indian Muslims are no doubt grappling with several problems, some of them very serious in nature, but they are putting up a brave front before them and their faith in the democratic and constitutional means is unwavering.
When Khamenei made these remarks, ostensibly on Monday, Iran’s cultural organ – Iran Cultural House – was organising a Quran recitation event in the run-up to its grand celebration of Eid Milad-un Nabi (Prophet Muhammad’s birthday celebrations). Eid Milad was marked on a humongous scale throughout India and the state governments provided full assistance to ensure that processions are conducted hassle-free.
Iran was the first country to start a formal cultural mission in India. The Iran Culture House was the first culture house of any foreign country in New Delhi that was established after India’s independence. It has been very dynamic from the very beginning, and many useful achievements have been the result of the center’s 80-year efforts. To cite an example, Qand-e-Parsi magazine, which is published by the Persian Research Center, Iran Culture House, is the most coveted Persian language magazine outside of Iran. It has been in publication continuously for nearly 40 years.
The Iranian Culture House is serving as the nerve center of forging cultural and literary ties among various institutions of the two countries.
Being highly vivacious, the Iran Culture House organises seminars and other events to forge understanding of people about Iran and India. People from every walk of life, whether public or private, take part in these events. Many times, such people are also felicitated by the Iranian mission. On such occasions, speakers from Iran reiterate that India is the most friendly and peaceful country in the world. Perhaps, the Iranian mission should dispatch details of such programmes to the office of their Supreme Leader.
A number of Indians of every hue and dispensation take part in yearly Persian language classes and other courses offered by the Cultural House. They never emit any sense that they do discriminate against Muslims. The Indian government supports 140 Persian language teaching groups in Indian universities, and the Indian Parliament recognised and acknowledged Persian as one of the classical languages of India in 2020.
Similarly, delegations of Indians are sent on annual tours to Iran and introduced to Iranian officials, many of them being those close to Khamenei. Those who have been part of such delegations recall that all these Iranian dignitaries vouch for India being a fully democratic country, for every Indian.
In India, a province goes to polls at an interval of a few months. Muslims, like all others, take part in these polls as equals. They surely face problems in having their due share from their respective parties which they support, but their democratic rights are second to none.
Recently, Iran became a part of the BRICS grouping. India’s support for it has been a matter of gaiety for Iranians. Late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi openly thanked India for its timely support. India has also bypassed international sanctions to purchase Iranian oil so that the woe-hit Iranian economy may sail through.
Such a friendly backdrop actually makes a case for even closer India-Iran palship. The Supreme Leader must be advised properly, and if he makes worn statements, he must not be shy of making course corrections.
The classical India-Iran literature in Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu and Persian has portrayed these two great countries as harbingers of world peace. Different avenues of mutual cooperation should be sought on this front.
Iranian and Indian thinkers have written the best verses in Persian to invite the people of the world to peace, friendship, tranquility, kindness, and respect for each other. To emphasise this point, classical Indian poet Abdul Qadir Bedil Dehlavi may be quoted:
O Bedil! The difference in temperament is in the appearance of their clothes, otherwise
If we look carefully, the blood in the veins of the peacock and the crow is of same color.
The Persian literature brims with couplets that take this cause with fervent passion, as is reflected in these lines of Sheikh Saadi Shirazi, the legendary Iranian sufi poet:
Human beings are members of a whole,
In creation of one essence and soul
If one member is afflicted with pain,
Other members uneasy will remain
If you have no sympathy for human pain
The name of human you cannot retain