Punjab, Sikh Brothers Stood on Right Side of History, This Will Be Remembered: Iranian Cultural Counsellor

Punjab was one of the only two states which formally expressed condolence in the state assembly over the death of Ayatollah Ali Khameini and some members condemned the killing even as the central government was silent and they (Punjabis) are among the people who stood at the right side of history which will be remembered, the Cultural counsellor of the Iranian Embassy in India has told NewsX/TDG in an exclusive interview.

Asked about the visit of Mohammed Hossein Ziyaeenia, the deputy to the representative of the Supreme leader of Iran to India to Amritsar to formally invite the president of the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj as two of the about 50 guests of honour,  the Iranian cultural counsellor F Faridasr told TDG that the visit was a recognition and appreciation of the gesture of the Punjab assembly and the “Sikh brothers.”

“It is clear that it (visit) was a recognition and appreciation for the fact that Punjab was the second state which formally expressed condolences over Ayatollah Ali Khameini’s death and its members also condemned the killing in the assembly even as the central government remained silent. They are among those people who stood at the right side of history and they would be remembered. He (Ziyaeenia) went to recognise the same…also, our Sikh brothers are in Tehran and there is a gurudwara there which is still active. There are several things that link us with our Sikh brothers,” Faridasr said.

Asked about the messaging that the Iranian government through the Iranian envoy to India had lauded the people of India as “true friends in hard times” focusing on the humanitarian aid and the monetary support that has been provided by the Indian public for the Iranians when the country was faced with attacks by the US and Israel, Faridasr said that there was no formality there.

“If you do (help), you don’t get thanked for it.. if you don’t, you don’t get (thanked). It is simple,” Faridasr said.

TDG had reported on Friday that Delhi’s Iran Culture House is set to witness a solemn and grand memorial to pay respect to late Khameini, the deceased supreme leader of Iran and the House has invited several religious leaders and government officials for the same. However, the deputy to the representative of Iran’s Supreme leader in India formally visited only few dignitaries to invite them for the event. These include Harjinder Singh Dhami, the president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj and the Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati.

“In diplomacy, some things don’t come in public domain, and at times, the government doesn’t want certain things to come in public domain. Even in the times of crisis, interactions between leaders of Iran and India…from the top to bottom have continued….from the level of the President, Prime Minister, etc, India and Iran have been continuously engaged in serious way. The Government of India would have..due to national interest or economic reasons, never brought these in public domain but saying that there is a setback would be wrong. Through this programme, we want to thank the public of India but leaders from both the ruling and opposition parties are set to arrive,” he said.

He however added that the role of Indian public and nation to nation connection (between Iran and India) was very clear in the times of crisis and the entire world could see that.

“The main job of the Iran Culture House is to ensure the people to people connect,” he said.

Faridasr further said that the Chehlum Shaheed e Ummat that is set to be observed on Sunday was not only meant to mourn the death of the late supreme leader of Iran but also the 168 girl children who died in the US/Israeli attack at the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in Iran’s Minab and also to mark that “the enemy (US/Israel) did not win despite a 40-day war.”

“The Indian supporters pushed for this through their insistence and that is why this is happening. A  major element of this is to commemorate the martyrdom of Ayatollah Ali Khameini and observe the 40th day of the same but the second thing is that even after regular resistance, the enemy could not attain the motto that he kept changing. After the ceasefire too, we have kept our conditions,” he said.

Faridasr said that another factor behind the programme was that the Iranians wanted to thank the Indian public which showed love and condolences in all forms.

“Several kids have drawn portraits of the Ayatollah. Adults have brought written messages, several are coming ahead with financial help. We felt that we should thank our Indian brothers who have come forward by organising this event and recognize those who have done something,” he said, adding that it was the Indian public that had become the real hosts of the event and not the Iranian government officials.

Several Indian students from different universities of Delhi and even those from Kargil, etc will work as volunteers in the event, he said.

“The most important thing is that within 40 days, we observed the love, warmth and gratitude from the Indian public in a manner that even during the crisis, Indians didn’t let us feel that we are alone and away from our country. We always felt that we are in our country, within our own people. We observed that public to public connection and the respect amongst the Iranians for Indians and vice versa, is worth watching.” he said.

Faridasr further said that even on ordinary days, they saw as many as 1000-700 people arriving at the Iran Culture House and the embassy to express condolence over Khameini’s death, adding that these people mostly belonged to states like Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, across north India, Karnataka (Bangalore), Telangana (Hyderabad), Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Bihar.

“The representative of the Supreme leader has visited several places even during the days of crisis because if he didn’t go, people would have flowed to Delhi. He has travelled a lot during these days too,” he said.

Faridasr added that about 50 religious leaders and government officials have been invited to the event as guests of honour, adding that religious leaders from different communities and diplomats of friendly countries including Turkey, Afghanistan and Oman have also been invited.

Insiders have also revealed to TDG that the descendants of the family of Khameini’s spiritual guide Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini are also set to attend the event.

Although Khomeini never admitted that he had ancestors in India, several accounts have recorded that his grandfather Ahmed Hussain Musavi left India for Iran on a pilgrimage and later the family settled in the Khomeyn region there.

The ties of Khomeini’s family with India have been claimed by some inhabitants of the Kintoor village in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki district some of whom are also set to attend the event.

Also Read: Was Priyanka Purohit’s Husband Aware Of Her Affair? New Chilling Video Shot Days Before His Death Reveals Shocking Details