Pan-Iranism

From Freepedia

Pan-Iranism is an ideology that advocates solidarity and reunification of the peoples living in the Iranian plateau (Falaat-e Iran), including Azeris, Baluchis, Ironians (Ossetians), Kurds,Qizilbash,Hazara and Tajiks. These peoples lived in a single state much of the time until the mid 1800s, when the Iranian plateau was divided and conquered by the Russian and British Empires, the colonial powers of the time. The term Pan-Iranism was first introduced by Dr. Mahmoud Afshar Yazdi in the early 1920s.

History

With the collapse of the Qajar dynasty, which had descended into corruption, and the rise of Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1925, who began introducing secular reforms limiting the power of the Shi'a clergy, Iranian nationalist and socialist thinkers had hoped that this new era would also witness the introduction of democratic reforms. However, such reforms did not take place and the reign of Reza Shah was, for the most part, a dictatorship to the very end. Reza Shah had also oppressed ethnic minorities and was seen by nationalist thinkers of the time, many of whom belonged to minority groups themselves (the Azeris and Bakhtiaris, in particular), as having betrayed Iran. This culminated in the gradual rise of a loosely organized grass roots Pan-Iranist movement made up of nationalist writers, teachers, students, and activists allied with other pro-democracy movements.

In the 1940s, the Pan-Iranist movement gained momentum after the Allied invasion which resulted in the end of Reza Shah's dictatorship and his forced exile to South Africa. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, two political parties were formed based on the Pan-Iranist ideology, namely Mellat Iran and the Pan-Iranist Party of Iran (Hezb-e Pan-Iranist). Though sharing this same political foundation and similar viewpoints on many issues, the two groups greatly differed in their organizational structure and practice. Both these parties are currently active inside the country and abroad. Since the Iranian Revolution, there have also been other lesser known groups, both within Iran and without, which have adhered to Pan-Iranism.

See also

• Iranian peoples
• Iranian languages
• Persian Empire