Hawzah News Agency- Here is an Interview with a Kashmiri student in Iran and her opinion about Iran, Kashmir and India, their nations, religions and cultures.

In the name of God, Please introduce first yourself?

My name is Tanis and I’m from Kashmir.  Live in Bombay, India.

Because my father was a businessman, we used to travel around a lot. When I finished my bachelor in management, I started learning Persian in India.

My great great grandfather was from Sabzevar, but unfortunately nobody encouraged us to speak Persian. I had this love for Farsi language right from the beginning and I started working there as a research analyst. I’ve done couple projects for Iran culture house. Then I decided to take a scholarship from Iran and study Persian Language in Qazvin.

 We‘ve heard Kashmiri people have a special interest to Iran, Imam and Iran revolution, what is your opinion about that?

That is right, we Kashmiri people love Iran and Iranian people. This is one of the reasons I came here.

This interest is not solely to Shias, right?

Yes, I know somebody who recently converted to Shiasm, and loves leader and because of leader converted to Shia. In our home you might not find portrait of Allah, but you will find portrait of leader, which I don’t agree with it, what it is reality.

What is the reason of that?

For a long Kashmir was in the reign of Buddhists, A man by the name of Zein-Al-Abedin came here with a lot of people and started preaching Islam. So slowly Islam spread around whole reign. Even today if you go to Kashmir you feel that you are in Iran because the symmetry and geography is like Iran, We also have 4 seasons like Iran, We also have Chenar trees because of Iran. Our Architecture is similar to Isfahan. We have Jameh Masjid exactly like 40 columns. Even in an area The official language of India had been Farsi. Unfortunately England wiped out Farsi and even almost Hindi language from India. Even I studied in British schools.

Are Kashmiri people are Takfiri?

The Majority of people in Kashmir are Sunni, but I don’t think Takfirism and radicalism is an Issue in Kashmir and our people are radicalized toward Iran or Shias. There is a middle element that creates the problem. The rise of Wahhabism is the middle element and unfortunately is growing in India.

How can we spread the relationship between both nations (Indians and Iranians)?

Dialogue and culture exchange are the most important ways. This way we get to know what the people of other country, think and what they believe. I don’t say you have to adopt the culture but have a culture interchange.

Talk a little about your Hindu friend?

I have a roommate her name is Rona, She also has Iranian root and mixed of Panjabi and Gujarati. She comes from a spiritual family. But she does not believe in Ideal worship. She says there is an unknown force that drives me to Iran. She told me she seen leader in a dream and he told her to come to Iran. She cried and decided to come to Iran. In her birthday we went shopping to buy a poster for the wall. So when we bought the poster of leader the salesman asked if we have been forced to buy that but we told him this is out of love and leader does not belong to us or Shias, he belongs to all humanity. I personally don’t think of her as a Hindu.