A Kolkata periodical that shaped a revolution in Iran

Indian Express

2 days ago

'What is Iran's illness?' 'The principles of humanity,' 'The organization of constitutionalism,' 'Prosperity is the basis of liberty,' 'What is the reason that Iran's affairs cannot be organized?' 'What are the benefits of an assembly for the people?'
These were just a few headlines that appeared in Habl al-Matin, a Calcutta-based Persian periodical. While they may seem remarkably contemporary, given the current situation in Iran, these issues and ideas were published more than a century ago.
Habl al-Matin played a pivotal role in shaping Iran's Constitutional Revolution more than a century ago. Although this short-lived attempt (from 1906 to 1911) at parliamentary rule fell short of its ultimate aims, it set the stage for the Revolution of 1979 that ended monarchical rule in Iran.
Calcutta, the capital of British India, was a key point for the circulation of information, especially Persian-language publications, throughout the subcontinent in the 19th Century. The city had a Persian printing press, and people from Iran would come here to get their work printed.
One such publication was Habl al-Matin (The Firm Cord), launched in 1893 with the aim of reporting developments from the Kingdom of Persia — then ruled by the Qajar dynasty — to Persians both within and outside the country.
The periodical was founded by Jalal al-din Kashani (1863-1926) who hailed from the city of Kashan. 'He was probably trained as an akhund (one who reads the Quran), and even though he hardly ever made his living as an 'alim, he never gave up the long flowing robe (the qaaba) and the white turban that identifies one,' Kingshuk Chatterjee, professor at the University of Calcutta, wrote in Contours of Relationship: India and the Middle East (2017).
After trying to sell carpets in Turkey and Egypt, and travelling through Bombay, Madras, Penang, Java, Singapore, and possibly Rangoon, Kashani arrived in Calcutta around 1888. He would be the driving force of Habl al-Matin till his passing, Chatterjee wrote.
Kashani continued to write most editorials even after losing his eyesight during the final decade of his life — he would dictate the text to his daughter, Fakr al-Sultan 'Mo'yedzadeh', who had by that time taken over the day-to-day affairs of the periodical.
Initially, Habl al-Matin was not overly critical of the Qajar dynasty. But the increasing unpopularity of ruler Muzaffar al-din Shah, who reigned from 1896 to 1906, led to a stark turnaround in the periodical's editorial stand by 1898.
The Shah had raised taxes, triggered a financial crisis because of his extravagant lifestyle, granted political and economic concessions to Europeans and Russians in return for loans, and publicly punished prominent merchants — policies that Habl al-Matin was critical of.
With the periodical advocating for reforms and limits to the authority of the Qajars, the Shah banned its circulation within the empire. But this only increased the magazine's popularity, with merchants smuggling it into Iran.
While on his deathbed, the Shah finally gave in to public pressure and signed into law the country's first Constitution, establishing a representative Assembly (the Majlis) in 1906. Habl al-Matin was one of the foremost proponents of constitutionalism (mashrutiyat), and a firm critic of those calling for a restoration of despotic rule.
Habl al-Matin along with other periodicals such as Akhtar (the Star) published in Istanbul, Hikmat (Wisdom) published in Cairo, and Qanun (Law) published in London, also helped add new vocabulary into Persian political language.
'Issues discussed in these periodicals included the rule of law, parliamentary democracy, women's rights, a reinterpretation of Iranian history from the bottom up rather than a mere dynastic chronicle, and descriptive accounts of progressive movements in Europe and the rest of the world,' Hamid Dabash, professor at Columbia University, wrote in Iran Without Borders: Towards a Critique of the Postcolonial Nation (2016).
In 1907, as press restrictions relaxed, Habl al-Matin opened an edition in Tehran as well. This edition later moved to the city of Rasht, and was published till July 1909.
Habl al-Matin began to lose popularity by the later years of Iran's constitutional experiment, as print journalism proliferated in the country: from 35,000 copies at one point, the periodical could sell no more than two to three thousand copies by the 1910s, wrote Nassereddin Parvin in Encyclopedia Iranica (2002).
Like other publications by expatriate Iranian communities, Habl al-Matin does not seem to have made a lot of money as well. 'Jalal al-din's wife is known frequently to have complained complained that the old man sunk his family's entire wealth from trade (especially of carpets) into the venture,' Chatterjee wrote.
Jalal al-din Kashani died in 1926, and his daughter continued to print the periodical for the next four years, before finally shutting it down. But the periodical left behind an indelible mark in Iran's history — one that can be felt even today.
The Constitutional Revolution failed. British and Russian intervention effectively reinstated the monarchy of Qajars. But Habl al-Matin and other similar periodicals helped establish the direction of the debate about reforms in the country. They directed 'the spirits of the French and Russian revolutions towards the making of the Constiutional Revolution, prompting the emergence of the first left, liberal, and Islamist political ideologies,' Dabash wrote.
The writer is Senior Correspondent, The Indian Express