Describing the English translation of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as “weak,” Iranian officials say India should not have changed its vote for this reason alone at a recent meeting of the United Nations committee on human rights.
India took umbrage at the mention of Kashmir as a “nation” by the Iranian leader twice in six months and once by a Foreign Ministry official, and served a demarche each time on Iran.
Indian officials later said the Iran's mention of Kashmir as a nation was crucial in India changing its decision at the U.N. panel meeting. In the past, India had voted “no” when a West-sponsored resolution condemning Iran for rights abuses came up annually at the U.N. But this time, New Delhi abstained from voting.
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“It is unfortunate but not unusual because the main text in Farsi was totally different from the English translation,” Iranian officials said, admitting that the rendition from Farsi on the web site of the Supreme Leader was “weak.”
“There were many differences when the English version gets compared with the original in Farsi. We admit accurate translation is very important. And it was not. On this basis, we asked India not to change its vote but we couldn't convince the [Indian] officials. That is why we believe that the mention of Kashmir as a nation in the translation might not be the main reason for India changing its stance,” the officials said.
The officials noted that India's changed stance was not highlighted in the Iranian media.
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“In Iran, it was not published in all newspapers though it did appear on some web sites. Otherwise, it would have created a problem in managing public opinion.”
Due deliberation
However, that doesn't explain why no effort was made to correct the translation the first time it appeared in June, again a few months later, and finally this month. On both occasions, India served demarches on Iran. “There have been three such instances between June and November. There was this strain of opinion coming forth from Iran. So after due deliberation, the government decided to vote the way it did,” Indian officials said.
Mr. Khamenei had said: “The major duties of the elite of the Islamic Ummah is to provide help to the Palestinian nation and the besieged people of Gaza, to sympathise [with] and provide assistance to the nations of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Kashmir, to engage in struggle and resistance against the aggressions of the United States and the Zionist regime.”
Ties to be unaffected
Iranian officials explained that the word used in the Farsi original was ‘millat,' which was totally different from nation in the political sense. Had the Iranian intention been to question India's sovereignty over Kashmir, it would have used ‘kishwar' or ‘hakimiyat.'
However, despite this difference of perception between the two countries, officials from both sides maintained that bilateral ties would remain unaffected. The Indian officials said they attached “high priority” to ties with Iran.
High-level exchanges
They pointed to the regular high-level exchanges over the past one year and the continuing talks on several projects of strategic value. Iranian officials also make the same point, although they complain that there has been no action on several Memoranda of Understanding signed between the two countries. “India has adopted a wait-and-watch policy,” they feel.