A lesson from Iranian Revolution

BY: Quayyum Raja 

If I have to answer in one sentence what the people of Iran have learnt from 42 years old Islamic Revelation, I would say: self-confidence, self-respect, self-reliance and self-satisfaction. The Iranian Monarchy destroyed by the Iranian revolution instilled negativity and pessimism about themselves that Iran can not live, survive and progress without the West.

NOURNEWS – If I have to answer in one sentence what the people of Iran have learnt from 42 years old Islamic Revelation, I would say: self-confidence, self-respect, self-reliance and self-satisfaction. The Iranian Monarchy destroyed by the Iranian revolution instilled negativity and pessimism about themselves that Iran can not live, survive and progress without the West.

The Iranian revolution, on the other hand, led people to think for themselves and help themselves. As soon as Shah was over thrown, relations between Iran and America deteriorated. America launched a campaign to impose economic sanctions on Iran with severest impact on people’s daily lives. Forty two years on, the sanctions go on. How Iran has coped with it? Why the people of Iran continue to support their government and what they have learnt from Iran-America confrontation?

I visited Iran year and a half ago. The people told me the regime tried to control inflation. In most cases in the world, when economy deteriorates, the ordinary people are first and immediate victims but in the case of Iran, the government tried to keep people satisfied. The Islamic government of Iran has built its own social, educational, economic and political infrastructures. People began to think for themselves and trust themselves. This is the start to a journey to self-reliance. This is what the people of the state of Jammu Kashmir have to learn from Iran.

Jammu Kashmir has vast natural resources. Yet, their occupiers and their Kashmiri puppet leaders on both sides of divided Jammu Kashmir taught them that they can’t survive on their own as if Jammu Kashmir is a new phenomena. The fact of the matter is that India and Pakistan are in Jammu Kashmir not because we need them, but because they need Jammu Kashmir for their power energy, water for agriculture and tourism attraction as well as defense.

Britain justified colonialism claiming the spread of democracy and civilisation and France claimed she was spreading liberty , while they were only pillaging and destroying colonized people’s culture and heritage. Humanity is a very attractive concept but it survives only on the basis of equity. So, let us start a journey to self-thinking, self-help and self-reliance which leads to mutual respect and self-satisfaction.

Political Economy Journal