The Iranian Revolution of 1979 shook the world and changed the strategic balance in the region. In the build-up to the Revolution, there was a unity of purpose that was summed up by Ayatollah Khomeini: “The monarchy must go. The Shah is corrupt. His hands are dripping with blood. He is a foreign agent. He is the Yazid of our age.” In the perception of most Iranians, a tyrant had usurped the state; its retrieval was, therefore, essential. Beyond that, however, there was little by way of an agreed agenda for social reconstruction. This became evident in the years that followed. A revolutionary passion first gave way to revolutionary reason and then to a reawakened desire for reforms.
A quarter of a century later, demography, education and urbanisation have become the agents of change. One generation has power while the other has demands. The purpose of the Observer Research Foundation’s New Delhi conference on which this volume is based was to explore the evolving perceptions and ascertain their direction and pace of change.
Contents
Introduction
M Hamid Ansari
Message
Yashwant Sinha
Inaugural Session
R.K. Mishra
Brajesh Mishra
Society and Politics
Reforms, Reaction and the Future of Democracy in Contemporary Iran
Dr. Ali M.Ansari
The Rise and Fall of President Khatami and the Reform Movement
Said Amir Arjomand
The Religious Roots of the Iranian Revolution
Ali Reza Sheikh Attar
Social Changes in Iran After Islamic Revolution
Sergey Borisovich Druzhilovskiy
The Road to Debacle: An Analysis of the February 2004 Parliamentary Election in Iran
Mark Gasiorowski
Iran: The Revolutions of October
Bernard Hourcade
The Relationship Between Religion and Political System
Syed Taha Hashemi
Iran, Islam and Revolution
Akbar Khaleeli
Future of Iran in Question
Amir Ali Nourbakhsh
Modernist Islam in Iran, Actual challenge, Process of modernization
Gholam Abbas Tavassoli
Islam, Religious Fundamentalism and Reform: A look back at the Iranian Islamic Revolution After a quarter of a Century.
Sadegh Zibakalam
Foreign Policy
Mehdi Hashemi’s Fall. An Eposiode of The Iranian Intra Elite Struggle for Power Under Khomeini
Wilfred Buchta
The Islamic Republic at 25: Adaptation and Evolution
Shahram Chubin
Iran and American Wars on its Flanks
Gulshan Dietl
Iran Gas Pipeline to Indian Sub-Continent
Narsi Ghorban
Iran Witnessed by History
Hua Liming
Islamic Revolution- Foreign Policy after 25 years
Elaheh Koolaeh
Iran’s Evolving Regional Politics: Reflections of Domestic Factionalism
David Menashri
Women’s Movement
Women’s Political Participation in Post Revolutionary Iran
Elaheh Koolaeh
Women’s Movement in Post- Revolutionary Iran
Azadeh Kian- Thiebaut
Culture
The Contemporary Historical Context of Indo- Iranian Relations
Barun De
The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.
PREV
