These words are a reminder from Mahatma Gandhi for the international community, in which he refers to cultural interaction among nations as essential while insisting on the significance of cultural independence.
The Common Origins of Indian and Iranian Civilizations
Indian and Iranian civilizations enjoy an ancient coexistence. The two nations have experienced friendly relations for at least 3500 years. Both civilizations, due to their abundant cultural affinities, played an active role in developing human civilization and neither was considered a “marginal civilization”.
Excavations in the Indian subcontinent and also by the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers near Iran have led to the discovery of antiquities that are considered the most important evidence for the cultural interaction and coexistence between the two nations in the midst of conflicts. In 1930, excavations at the Sialk Mound in the Kashan area led to the discovery of artifacts that showed the area was the point of convergence of the two civilizations.
In fact, the civilizations’ commonalities are unique and the frequent exchanges of visits by both countries’ educated people and common people have led to a close relationship between the two nations. Both nations share the same racial origin, descending from the Aryan tribes, and the coexistence of the two twin nations marks the start of Aryan civilization, while their separation is in itself the greatest unexamined social event in the history of nations.
Meanwhile, both nations in relatively the same period, particularly in recent centuries, have suffered due to internal and external dictatorships. However, none of these elements have broken the two nations’ ties or caused the civilizations to wane, just as the Iranian expansion from the time of Darius the Great until the Sassanid dynasty (224-652 C.E.) did not cause the nations ties to decline. There were even relations between the Iranian court and Indian Maharajas.
Today, the same close ties between the two civilizations have put both on the path of development while also being exposed to the same cultural threats.
“Throughout history, the two nations of Iran and India have enjoyed such close ties that cannot be found between two other ancient civilizations anywhere in the world.” Indeed, this statement by Jawaharlal Nehru and Shebli Na’mani is praiseworthy.
The Interaction of Literature and Common Culture
Indian literature has always been present in Iran’s ancient, classic, modern, and even folk culture, or, to say it better, it is part of our cultural identity. This shows the Iranian civilization’s extraordinary capacity for dialogue and cooperation. For years Iranian children have taken their first steps in reading and writing with the famous tale of “The Parrot and the Merchant” and there are many proverbs in our shared literature from India.
Ferdowsi has frequently mentioned the cultural interaction between the two nations in his epic The Shahnameh. For example, he referred to the influence of Indian music on Iranian culture: “Bahram Gur who was interested in music, asked Shengel (or Shenkelt), the Indian king to send 10,000 Indian musicians and singers to Iran to teach the Iranians the instruments and techniques of Indian music.”
Another Iranian king, Khosrow Anushirvan, also asked an Indian king through a letter to transfer the book “Kalila va Dimna” to Iran in order to have it translated by Borzuyeh Tabib. Its translation into Middle Persian was the first translation of the book.
Thus, the translation of classic works from Sanskrit to Persian is a highly significant and influential cultural phenomenon that is an example of a golden age in which the translation of cultural works connected civilizations in a permanent way. This is the same process that Gandhi wanted to feel blow through the open windows.
In fact, India truly symbolizes compatibility and tolerance as well as cultural and ethnic diversity. With its geographical vastness, India has always been a foundation of world history and is connected with Iran’s literature and culture.
On the other hand, no other country possesses as much of Iran’s cultural heritage as India. The tens of thousands of Persian manuscripts in India are a witness that geographical borders have never disconnected the two nations. There are so many Persian works in India that some paradoxically assume they outnumber the Persian works in Iran itself and consider the British museums’ acquisition of manuscripts as a cultural invasion of India rather than Iran!
The influence of Iranian literature and culture on Indian cultural identity is undeniable. In his book “The Discovery of India”, Jawaharlal Nehru writes: “Among all the many nations and races that have related with India not one of them have influenced the Indians’ life and culture as constantly and permanently as the Iranians.”
A former Indian official once said: “The ideas of great poets like Rumi, Sa’di, and Hafiz have become part of India’s national consciousness.”
Indeed, are there two other nations in the world with the same cultural connection?
Language, an Important Factor for Cultural Interaction
Another source of the common origin of the two Indian and Iranian civilizations is the coordination and close relationship between the Avestan language in Iran and the Vedic or Sanskrit language of India. A group of emigrating tribes from both civilizations familiarized each others’ nations with these languages.
Remarkably, the two nations archaeology and linguistics share the same ancient past between. The Indo-Iranian language group is a branch of the Indo-European language family, which is subdivided into the Indic and Iranian subgroups.
In addition, the Persian language has been commonly used in the fields of medicine, philology, and philosophy in India for many years.
I personally agree with the idea that the British colonialists gradually replaced Persian with English in India’s public discourse in order to expand their dominance over the country and culturally disconnect the two nations.
We will not forget that in the early Islamic era Persian and Urdu were the Indians’ intermediary languages and the conventions between British and Indian envoys were initially all concluded in Persian.
The Role of Religion in Further Strengthening the Two Cultures
The advent of Islam was also a significant factor leading to further cultural integration of the two nations and expedited this process.
The late Dr. Tarachand, a former Indian ambassador to Iran, has called Islamic traditions and the Persian language two important influences on Indian culture.
“The cultural relationship between the two civilizations of India and Iran became more stable with the arrival of Islam in the Indian peninsula and since most of the Muslim preachers were Iranian, the Persian language expanded alongside Islam in India.”
Thus, the reign of Akbar Shah in the 16th century is the golden age of Iran-India relations. During this period, literary and philosophical interactions evolved between the two countries with the efforts of great men leading to closer ties between the two civilizations.
For example we can refer to Darashkuh (born March 20, 1615), the first-born son of Shah Jahan and his wife Momtaz Mahal, who studied the Holy Qur’an, was talented in calligraphy, and became a excellent military strategist. His mother tongue was Persian and he could also speak Hindi and Arabic fluently. In brief, he enjoyed studying Indian and Islamic wisdom to the same extent.
Approaches and Necessities
We saw that the Indian and Iranian civilizations were never opposed and therefore are an excellent model for dialogue and interaction of cultures in the current millennium.
The truth is that today, the idea of dialogue among civilizations and the issue of globalization have many points in common. The continuation of friendly relations between the two nations is essential for protecting civilization, culture, and national identity, and for establishing world peace. If a civilization lacks physical, moral, and spiritual infrastructure it will be unable to enter into dialogue with other civilizations.
In the third millennium, the information revolution has influenced the cultural identity of all nations. Therefore it is essential to make use of cultural exchanges in international relations more than ever.
The Indian and Iranian civilizations that, in my opinion both share the same heritage and destiny, can prevent cultural isolation as a response against the invasion of other cultures and also demonstrate a successful example of the efficiency of dialogue among civilizations, in a world escaping from the conflicts, by expediting the process of dialogue and interaction. Another future prospect could be the formation of a coalition between the three big Eastern civilizations of India, Iran, and China.
Deepening the ancient cultural ties that are a cause of pride for us today should create a strategic friendship between the two governments. World peace will not be realized on paper or through contracts but on the basis of cultural contacts and understanding and by accepting one another’s differences.
This is just what Gandhi meant by the expression “blowing civilizations into each others’ homes” or to put it in President Mohammad Khatami’s words, “dialogue among civilizations.”
The media hold the greatest responsibility in this regard. Marshall McLuhan once advised superpowers to increase their media range as high as the range of their missiles. But today, undoubtedly, all powers yearn to increase the range of their missiles to that of the media.
If today we fail to recognize our ability to bring nations and civilizations closer together and make the locomotive of the media move, will we not regret it tomorrow?
Conclusion
The Iranian nation lauds the stability of the Indian civilization. Our media are constantly referring to the country and praising its great men like Gandhi. I hope the Indian media act in the same way.
Western politicians like Churchill once believed that India was only a geographical concept rather than a cultural identity. But today, Western elites and intellectuals like Roman Rollain believe that “If there is a place where all of man’s wishes can come true, that place is India.” H.P. Thompson once said, “India is the most important country for the future of the world.”
The most important factor that refutes Churchill’s belief is India’s cultural richness and authentic civilization. This authenticity is not without the positive influence of its relative, Iranian civilization.
Once more I refer to the great lesson of the Mahatama Gandhi: “I don’t want to build a wall around the walls of my home or cover its windows. I would like all the cultures of the world to blow freely into my home and among my family.”
* This article was presented at the Seminar On Strengthening Regional Stability Through Dialogue Among Civilizations in New Delhi, June 2-9, 2004
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