India's Trade with Iran

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Iran is the second largest country in the Middle-East, and one of the major regional powers alongside countries like Israel, Iraq, and Egypt ("House of Commons - Foreign Affairs - Eighth Report", 2007). Being one of the most influential powers throughout history, it also has a rich cultural history, that dates back to some of the earliest civilisations in the world. Persia, as it was known as, in the medieval times, was one of India’s major partners not only in language, literature, art, architecture, religion, culture, and music, but also in trade.

Historical Trade with Iran

The Mughals under Humayun became a highly Persianised dynasty as the Safavid rulers had given him shelter during his struggle to reclaim the throne of Delhi from Sher Shah Suri. As a consequence, trade between the two kingdoms began to sore; Persia had a great demand for Indian spices (like pepper), and Textiles (like silk, muslin, linen, and chintz), while the Indian kingdoms needed warhorses. During this period, both land and maritime trade flourished between India and Iran, and communities of Persian merchants began to settle permanently along Indian coasts in Malabar, Gujarat, and the Konkan regions ("Encyclopædia Iranica", 2012).

During the early to mid-1800s, as a result of European imperialism, and the wars it brought with it, Persian controlled territory started to decrease. Iran lost many resource rich regions in the Caucasian mountains like present day Georgia and Armenia. (Andreeva, 2010, pp. 69 - 133). India during the same period was being ruled by the British Empire, and therefore the trade relations between the two countries also changed dramatically from the old ways. Britain, had signed treaties of friendship with Iran, in order to insure themselves against the French and the Russians, and therefore kept garrisons in Tehran. The primary commodities of trade now became opium, from India to Iran, and tea, from Iran to India. ("Encyclopædia Iranica", 2012).

A brief timeline of Indo-Iran Relations []:

Road to Sanctions

Soon however, Britain’s primary interest in Iran became Petroleum. In 1901, an Englishman William Knox D’Arcy, who had previously held mining contracts in Australia, was successful in obtaining, from the Shah of Iran, Mozaffar ad-Din Shah, the right to explore for oil in Iran and subsequently established the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. As Iran nationalised its oil resources in 1953, under the Prime Ministership of Mohammed Mosaddegh, APOC after divesting its Iranian businesses rechristened itself as British Petroleum.

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