Relevance: Mains: G.S paper I: World History
Iranian Revolution refers to the popular movement in Iran (1979) to overthrow a pro-western monarchy and establish an Islamic republic. As a result of the Iranian Revolution, Iran became an Islamic Republic.
Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution, is a momentous development in the modern history of Islam. It has direct connections with the present-day conflicts between the Western and Islamic Civilizations. The rise of many Jihadi Movements is also inter-linked.
2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution.
Islamic Republic – What is it?
Most of the Islamic states are ruled by monarchies – where the rule is hereditary. Examples – Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE etc. However, a few of the Islamic states like Iran are Islamic Republics.
If a country is Republic, the head of the state will be an elected one. Unlike Secular Republics where the state does not have any religion, Islamic Republic countries follow Islamic laws. Examples of Islamic Republics are Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and Mauritania.
What was the Iranian Revolution for?
The Iranian Revolution was for the removal of Mohamed Reza Shah Pahlavi, the country’s monarch since 1941. The ruler – Shah Pahlavi was supported by Western Countries like the United States and the United Kingdom.
Even though Iran (Persia) enjoyed periods of economic prosperity under Shah’s rule, domestically, the regime was kind of a dictatorship. Besides, many fundamentalists were against the ruler’s ambitious modernisation programme that redistributed land and pushed for social reforms in the 1960s. Many felt the King’s initiatives undermined Iran’s Shia traditions and served only foreign interests.
The economic collapse of Iran in 1977 which caused high unemployment and rising inflation became a triggering factor to overthrow the monarchy and the western interests.
Why the Iranian Revolution is different?
Iranian Revolution 1979 may be the least talked about revolutions, unlike Russian or French Revolutions – probably because the Iranian Revolution had not contributed to an intellectual or ideological legacy like other Revolutions.
Iranian Revolution was relatively a non-violent revolution. The movement saw the end of 2,500 years of Persian monarchy.
The western intelligentsia treated this Revolution merely as a religious upheaval. However, thinkers like Michel Foucault declared the Iranian revolution as the ‘spirit of a world without spirit’ and as the “first great insurrection against global systems “.
The Iranian Revolution lacked many of the customary causes of revolution (defeat at war, a financial crisis, peasant rebellion, or disgruntled military). It occurred in a nation that was experiencing relative prosperity.
However, the revolution produced profound changes at great speed.
It replaced a pro-Western authoritarian monarchy with an anti-Western totalitarian theocracy based on the concept of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists (or velayat-e faqih).
Also, the revolution resulted in the exile of many Iranians
The revolution opened a new chapter for political Islam in the late 20th and early 21st centuries and had a deep impact on revolutionary movements
across the globe, especially those that were using the Islamic frame of reference for political activism.
Iranian Revolution had led to fundamental geopolitical shifts in the Middle Eastern region. Examples – USSR invasion of Afghan, cold war between Saudi and Iran etc. Its repercussions are still felt throughout the region.
As the Revolution enters its 40th year in 2019, we will look at some of the significance and effects of it on Iran as well as on the regional and global politics. Even the ripples of this effect have and had been felt on India-Iran relations.