Issues including the Liberation War have affected the India-Iran relationship
Iran’s Supreme Leader Seyed Ali Khamenei recently commented on the situation of Muslims in India. He also mentioned the name of India in the list of countries where Muslims are allegedly being tortured.
India, however, responded to this. According to India, the Iranian leader’s comments are “not only unacceptable but also reprehensible”.
Incidentally, the relationship between India and Iran is very old and at the same time very interesting! Their relationship is often called the ‘relationship of two civilizations’.
Indo-Iranian relations have gone through many ups and downs. The liberation war of 1971 also has a long-term effect on this.
Let’s take a look at the history of the relationship between the two countries.
1971 War and Iran
During the 1971 war, the Shah of Iran was worried. The main cause of his concern was the partition of Pakistan. There were two main reasons behind this. First, Pakistan’s Balochistan province borders Iran.
Secondly, they feared that the Soviet Union would not get an opportunity to intervene in the region in view of the current events at that time!
Professor and historian Srinath Raghavan wrote in his book ‘1971 Global History of Creation of Bangladesh’ that in May 1971, Indian Foreign Secretary TN Kaul went to Tehran to meet the Shah of Iran. India had intelligence that Iran had sent arms to Pakistan. Kaul urged Shah not to arm Pakistan and to convince Yahya Khan that the matter should not escalate into a major crisis. But before this meeting, the Shah of Iran began to pressurize Yahya Khan to change his policy.
Dr. Muhammad Yunus also wrote in his book ‘Bhutto and the Breakup of Pakistan’, Shah later told Bhutto, I requested Yahya to take political action. My suggestion was that Sheikh Mujib’s Awami League party should pave the way for government formation.
Shah of Iran’s message to Indira Gandhi
On June 23, 1971, the Iranian ambassador to India met Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He conveyed the Shah of Iran’s verbal message to Indira Gandhi. The Shah of Iran’s message was that he (Indira Gandhi) and Yahya Khan should talk to each other.
According to the ‘Haksar Papers’ preserved at the PM Museum and Library (formerly Nehru Memorial), Indira Gandhi believed it to be a ‘fanciful suggestion, with no relation to reality’.
Indira Gandhi immediately sent one of her ministers to tell Reza Shah Pahlavi that the only way to resolve the issue was through negotiations between the leaders of West and then East Pakistan.
In that message, Indira Gandhi noted, In view of your message, I can only say that perhaps we have not conveyed the magnitude of the problem that Pakistan has created. (Haksar Papers, File 168)
Question about sending weapons
Before the 1971 war, the US considered several options for sending arms to Pakistan. Iran was also on that list.
Srinath Raghavan writes that the Shah told the US ambassador that he did not want to send warplanes and pilots to Pakistan because he did not want a conflict with the Soviet Union. His advice was that he was ready to send planes to Jordan. Jordan may send aircraft to Pakistan.
Muhammad Yunus wrote, Actually Iran had a secret agreement with Pakistan that in case of India-Pakistan war, Iran will be responsible for air security of Karachi. Yahya Khan reminded Iran of this agreement, but the Shah did not keep his promise. He argued that the Indo-Pakistani war is not limited to war between the two countries.
Iran’s interest in strengthening relations with India
Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore visited Iran in 1932. At this time there was no political relationship between the two countries. India was a British colony, while Iran was independent. Although there was clearly a British influence.
Rabindranath Tagore was an admirer of the 14th century Persian poet Hafez. He also visited Hafez’s tomb in Shiraz.
Before independence, India’s border was close to Iran, but after partition everything changed.
When the Shah of Iran returned to power in 1953, they decided to side with the West. On the other hand, India chose the policy of being a non-aligned country.
Iran was the first country to recognize Pakistan. Iran supported Pakistan in both wars of 1965 and 1971.
Shah of Iran visited India for the first time in 1969 and Indira Gandhi visited Iran in 1973.
Shah returned to India in October 1974. The visit was quite significant, as it took place a few months after India’s first nuclear test.
After this visit, India started importing large quantities of crude oil from Iran. Besides, the two countries also agreed to develop the Kudremukh iron ore project.
After the Islamic Revolution
After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iran’s internal and external conditions changed. But despite Iran’s position on Kashmir and India’s growing closeness with the US and Israel, Iran’s new leadership was keen on improving relations with India.
Meanwhile, in the 1980s and 1990s, Iran became an important source of crude oil for India. The two countries have also worked together on the Chabahar port project and to connect Central Asia with Afghanistan. After the rise of the Taliban, the Northern Alliance led by Burhanuddin Rabbani received support from both India and Iran.
On the other hand, the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban was well known.
Development of Chabahar port
During President Muhammad Khatami’s visit to India in 2003, India and Iran signed the ‘Delhi Declaration’ under which regional security, counter-terrorism and mutual trade were emphasized.
The development of Chabahar port to reach Afghanistan ‘bypassing’ Pakistan became a key issue in Indo-Iranian relations.
This relationship was challenged when the United States imposed sanctions on Iran.
The US pressured several countries, including India, not to buy oil from Iran in order to implement those sanctions. Despite this, India’s interest in the Chabahar project has not waned.
India seriously thought about the possibility of building this oil pipeline to connect the three countries of India, Iran and Pakistan, but finally decided to withdraw from this project due to security reasons.
India votes against Iran
Avinash Paliwal, professor and expert on South Asian strategic affairs and foreign affairs expert, wrote in his book ‘My Enemies Enemy’ that India voted against Iran’s nuclear program at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2009; But then Manmohan Singh visited Iran in 2013 and Narendra Modi in 2016.
Meanwhile, the deepening of India’s relations with Israel and Saudi Arabia has naturally affected India’s relations with Iran.
Despite trying to bridge this ‘distance’ through trade and energy related relations with Iran, political differences between the two countries remain.
Journalist Emma Graham Harrison wrote in the article titled “Afghan Taliban Send Delegation to Iran” in the Guardian newspaper, inside Afghanistan, Iran’s intelligence agencies continue to build relations with a part of the Taliban and other anti-US groups, despite the fact that they are Sunni, and help them.
He wrote, anti-Taliban and anti-Pakistan operations were a huge challenge for Indian policymakers to expect active cooperation from Iran.
Meanwhile, India’s investment in the Chabahar port and Jaranj-Delaram highway brings trilateral strategic expansion to the India-Iran-Afghanistan relationship.
This highway connects Iran with Afghanistan and allows India to use Iranian land to send goods to Afghanistan.
Iran’s anger over Salma dam in Afghanistan
India built Salma Dam in Afghanistan. This not only created tension between Kabul and Tehran, Iran was also angry with India.
Avinash Paliwal writes, Iran has not taken this dam on the Hari Rud River well. Afghanistan controls Iran’s waters due to the Salma Dam. The two countries have a history of mistrust over water sharing issues.
Earlier in 1971, there was a heated argument between the diplomats of the two countries over the water distribution issue of the Helmand River.
After the kidnapping of Iranian diplomats in Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998, Iran threatened to attack Afghanistan.
By Avinash Paliwal, the Taliban government diverted the Helmand River southward and the Hamun-e-Helmand Lake dried up. This resulted in the destruction of crops and wildlife in the area.
On February 28, 2005, the then Foreign Minister of Iran, Kamal Kharji, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and made a formal complaint about the construction of the Salma Dam.
India’s statement in this regard was that Iran and Afghanistan should discuss among themselves.
Importance of Iran for India
The strategic alliance between Iran and the Taliban raises the question that if reconciliation between Shia Iran and the Sunni Taliban is possible, why is it not possible for India?
Despite strained relations with Iran on various issues and opposition from the US, the two countries continue to work together on projects like Chabahar.
Despite India’s growing relationship with the United States, Iran’s growing closeness with China, the regional politics of the Gulf and Afghanistan, and the Taliban’s return to power, India has not moved away from Iran.
Despite the US sanctions on Iran, India is still interested in maintaining sustainable energy supply with the help of Iran.
Iran also considers India as an important source of its oil exports, bearing in mind the growing pressure from the West.
It can be said that despite the political tensions, Iran’s strategic importance to India has not diminished.
Source: BBC
