Shias in Lucknow mourn Khamenei even as India strengthens ties with Israel

“Shias in Lucknow mourn Khamenei even as India strengthens ties with Israel Submitted by Jakab Thorpe on Mon, 06/01/2026 - 14:03 Iran's late supreme leader was an inspirational figure for many Indian Shia with roots going back generations A banner of slain Iranian leader Ali Khamenei adorns a building in Lucknow, India (Jakab Thorpe/MEE) Off In Hussainabad Chowk, an open plaza in the old city in Lucknow, giant posters of slain Iranian leader Ali Khamenei flutter in the hot wind of the dry season. “Heartfelt and tearful homage to the great leader and guide of world peace and humanity, Martyr Ayatollah Sajjad Ali Husaini Khamenei Sahib,” reads one, in Hindi. Another depicts Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, standing behind his father, his hands resting on his shoulders. As you enter the narrow alleyways of the old city, there are signs of reverence towards Iran's ayatollahs wherever you look - posters, graffiti, or framed portraits. Israeli and American flags have been painted on the ground, and pictures of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump and Saudi de facto leader Mohammed bin Salman, to be trampled into the dust. Those of Netanyahu are the most erased, with only the remnants of the blue-white Israeli flag in the background, to suggest that he was ever there. A bit more is left of Trump. You can measure the relative fury that people feel towards the actors in the war on Iran by the vehemence of their feet on their faces. After 7 October 2023, shopkeepers in old Lucknow began pouring their bottles of Coca-Cola down the drain in a boycott of Israel. Today you can only buy Campa Cola here, an Indian-made equivalent. The irony is that these scenes are unfolding in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s India, a strong ally of Israel. Lucknow is the capital of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. Under the rule of the Nawabs of Lucknow, a dynasty of Persian origin who governed the region of Awadh during the 18th and 19th centuries, the city became one of the main centres of Indo-Islamic culture. From the Achaemenids to the Mughals: A look at India's lost Persian history Read More » The art, food, music and architecture resonate with the influence of West Asia. Today, Lucknow is home to India’s largest Shia community, concentrated in the old city. On 28 February, when news broke of joint American-Israeli strikes on Iran and the assassination of its supreme leader, protests erupted across the old city in Lucknow. Chants of “America Murdabad”, “Israel Murdabad” (“Death to America,” “Death to Israel”) echoed through Chowk. By evening, crowds gathered at the Bada Imambara, the city’s prime tourist attraction, to light candles for what many called their new “martyr”. Thousands paid homage. The slogan “Hussaini maaroge, har ghar Hussaini Niklega” (“If you kill one Hussaini, many more will rise from every household"), a reference to Imam Hussain’s martyrdom at the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD, was quickly transformed into chants of “Tum kitne Khamenei maaroge, har ghar se Khamenei niklega” (“If you kill one Khamenei…”). A clear message that they too see themselves as part of the global Shia resistance. An Iranian imprint “Lucknow’s historical relationship with Iran is such that it was once called the Shiraz of the East,” says Akbar Mehdi, a young Shia cleric living in Qom, Iran. Originally from Jalalpur, a town east of Lucknow, he came back to India for Ramadan but had to extend his stay because of the war. “In dining customs, in conversation, an Iranian imprint is clearly visible," he said. The connection with Iran existed before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, but "not with the same level of intensity which followed,” Ziyaullah Siddiqui, co-editor of the Urdu news portal Qasidnama, explains. “Ayatollah Khomeini introduced the concept of Wilayat-e-Faqih - rule or guardianship of the jurist,” says Shibli Beg, Siddiqui’s co-editor. 'In dining customs, in conversation, an Iranian imprint is clearly visible' - Akbar Mehdi, cleric “He argued that until the return of the Mehdi (Messiah), society still needs organised leadership and discipline.” The centre of gravity for Lucknowi Shias shifted after 1979, from a local outlook to an increasingly Iran-centric one. More Lucknowis visited Iran for their religious education. Prominent Shia clerics of Lucknow studied in Iran. The region’s connection to the ayatollahs goes back even further. Kintoor, a village not far from Lucknow, is the ancestral home of Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s revolutionary leader. The small village sits amid the fertile lands of the Gangetic Plains. As we approach, we drive by green paddy fields in the sweltering heat. Cows shelter in the generous shade of a mango tree, and children smile and wave as we pass. Khomeini’s grandfather, Syed Ahmad Musavi Hindi, was born here in 1790. At 40, he migrated to Iran, to the village of Khomein. In Rasulpur, next to Kintoor, MEE met Rehan Kazmi, a descendant of Khomeini and a distant cousin of Iran’s first supreme leader. He is also the founder of the Imam Khomeini Foundation. “The Kazmi family of Rasulpur and the Kazmi-Musavi family of Kintoor are of the same bloodline,” explains Kazmi. "Around 900 years ago, our ancestors came to this land of Rasulpur from Nishapur in Iran and settled here. Since then we are Indians.” We sit down at a table in his medical practice. There are four pictures on the wall: Haji Waris Ali Shah, a local Sufi saint, beside a framed fabric of Islamic calligraphy, then Ali Khamenei, and Ruhollah Khomeini himself. An American flag mural on the streets of Lucknow with the words 'Death to America' (Jakab Thorpe/MEE) “Even the chickens understood Farsi commands," he laughs, reflecting on his childhood in the village. On 28 February, villagers took to the streets to condemn the attacks and express solidarity with Iran, Rehan Kazmi says proudly. They carried pictures of Khomeini and Khamenei, shops were shut, and three days of mourning was observed. Hindu-Shia relations While Lucknow is home to the largest Shia community in India, there is a Hindu majority. It is also the capital of Uttar Pradesh, whose chief minister is Yogi Adityanath, the controversial Hindu nationalist priest-politician, often criticised for anti-Muslim rhetoric and inciting communal tensions. “Muslims did no favour to India by staying here,” he once infamously said. This time, however, apart from a small minority at the beginning who attempted to stir up trouble, there have been remarkably few incidents, according to Siddiqui. “Lucknow is a city where Hindu-Muslim riots have not happened. During Partition [of India and Pakistan in 1947] the city was largely spared the bloodshed which broke out elsewhere. People here are sensible. It is a city of tehzeeb [civilisation].” 'Our ancestors sacrificed everything for this country. Today, the soul of India is under attack. If the soul is gone, the body has no meaning' - Rehan Kazmi, doctor By mid-March, the nature of Shia solidarity in India towards Iran began to shift. Large-scale protests gave way to humanitarian efforts. Donations were collected for those affected by the conflict. “Even very poor labourers gave what they could," Kazmi explains. “It shows how much people here care.” In Lucknow, thousands gathered to contribute. “Such is my love for Iran,” said a young man making a donation, though clearly in need himself. The gulf between local solidarity and Indian foreign policy is vast. Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party government in Delhi has little sympathy for Iran. Three days before the war began, Modi was in Israel on a state visit. India is the biggest buyer of Israeli weaponry in the world, and the two states enjoy close relations. “Israel is the Fatherland, India is the Motherland,” Modi exclaimed on 25 February while standing next to Benjamin Netanyahu. He even boasted that his birthday coincides with the day India recognised Israel, framing the current India-Israel alliance in a personally pre-destined context. Two days later, Israel and the US began their latest war. The war, however, is bad news for India’s economy, whose energy is completely dependent on the Strait of Hormuz. Roughly nine out of 10 households in India rely on liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders for cooking. Of this, about 60 percent passes through the strait. Indian households felt the pinch from the first day of the war, with long queues for cylinders. A general sense of panic has engulfed the country ever since. On 10 May, as negotiations between the US and Iran faltered, Modi called on citizens to be resourceful, use public transport, or work from home where possible. 'We give what we love': How Kashmir's 'Little Iran' is giving generous aid to Tehran Read More » “The people of Iran and India are not happy with India aligning with Israel,” says Akbar Mehdi. “People recognise truth from falsehood. Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Palestine - this is the path of truth, the path of Karbala, the path of Islam.” There is a sense of two voices arguing with each other, from separate rooms. The BJP in one, reluctant to condemn Israel’s war, but its supporters increasingly concerned by the impact of the conflict. In the other, the Iran solidarity movement, reluctant or unable to challenge the government on the issue. India’s Muslims in general, and the Shia in particular, are a minority within the minority, and have little political representation in national politics after 12 years of BJP rule. “We cannot speak openly against the government, because of our fear and the pressure on us,” says Shia cleric Akbar Mehdi. India, once a champion of Palestinian statehood and the first country to break relations with apartheid South Africa, remains silent on Iran’s sovereignty, but has also rowed back on the initially strong pro-Israel rhetoric. But India’s alignment with Israel leaves it without friends in the region, as discontent spreads throughout Asia. What has changed? Many in Lucknow call the BJP’s foreign policy weak and without direction. According to Kazmi, the people who led India in the past experienced oppression from the victim’s side. “They understood colonialism and recognised that the same thing was happening in Palestine. Our ancestors sacrificed everything for this country. Today, the soul of India is under attack. If the soul is gone, the body has no meaning.” War on Iran Lucknow, India News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

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