Get Out of the Way, Don't Get Hit by a Bullet!

I told you that my older brother Ahmad, after writing the article "Iran and Red and Black Colonialism," which is said to have sparked the revolution, went to France and passed away in America a few years ago under mysterious circumstances. This week, my sister informed me that Ahmad may have committed suicide out of guilt. I hope not!-----------------------Dear Ahmad, this is the second letter I am sending you at an address that doesn't exist. Today marks 155 days until the anniversary of the revolution, and it is also the night of September 17th. In fact, tomorrow, Saturday, is the anniversary of September 17, 1978: "Get out of the way, don't get hit by a bullet!" The bullets that missed many and hit those that did, were counted several times against the Shah. When you go to war with a spear and machine gun against an unarmed crowd, don't expect Pythagoras to come and calculate fairly for you. What does it matter? That, for example, three thousand people weren't there, only eighty were killed. Only? Eighty people? Oh, I'm glad you said that, now I'm at ease! I was very upset for your sake! Thank goodness! .... But Pythagoras wears black for even one death.: A letter to my brother, may God not forgive him! About Ahmad Rashidi Motlagh, the article titled "Iran and Red and Black Colonialism" published in the Ettela'at newspaper on January 7, 1978, is known to have sparked the revolution on February 11. The name of the author of this piece, which was published "on orders from (very) high up," was given as "Ahmad Rashidi Motlagh," but the outcome of speculations and hints about the true author of this article—whoever it was—has clarified over these 40 years that "Ahmad Rashidi Motlagh" does not exist; rather, he is a fictional character, a pseudonym for a real writer. By the way, brother! It's a good thing you weren't around; otherwise, I would have had a brotherly problem with you. A problem that our friend Massoud had with his brother from the very first days. He was so disgusted by the guards' talk of brotherhood and their abnormal and brutal behavior that he couldn't bring himself to call Saeed 'brother.' So the two brothers called each other 'cousin!' The bitter irony is that their cousin became a guard, and now they had to call him brother! Let's move on. From today, let me tell you, cousin! When you were writing that dead man's letter, jokingly starting a revolution, did you think about what the dollar price would reach in Iran? I don't understand economics, but I think in the next few days, the dollar price will reach fifteen dollars! That is, I think the toman will no longer have the strength to buy dollars, and people will have to buy dollars with dollars. I mean, at this rate, it is quite possible that starting tomorrow, on Ferdowsi Street, exchange dealers will ask for fifteen dollars for each dollar and will no longer accept tomans! Are you laughing? Laugh. I said I don't understand economics, but I understand that the dollar rate is rising badly. Some impossible things often become possible, fifteen-dollar dollars or 'Seyyed Hindi'! I mean, a Seyyed becoming an Indian, with your sufficient ability! By the way, Ahmad, did you write the letter by yourself, or did all the scribes of the court and the Ministry of Information and Tourism help you? "Ruhollah Khomeini was known as 'Seyyed Hindi.' Even his closest associates have no explanation for his appointment to India,......". Ahmad, appointment? Your dictation wasn't that bad. No one has caught you until now. They probably read it to you over the phone, you weren't paying attention, and you wrote it down. Then what? "His closest associates have no explanation for this appointment?!" What does that mean? It means that just moments before writing this letter, Farhad Nikoukhah, Dariush Homayoun, Shojaeddin Shafa, and Hoveyda, and probably the Shah himself...... whatever they requested and became the 'closest associates,' they didn't provide an explanation, meaning they 'didn't have' one to give? Then what? "According to some (what some?) he spent some time in India and had connections with British colonial centers there, and for this reason, he became known as Seyyed Hindi." Say it again! If someone is in India and has connections with British colonial centers, are they automatically called Seyyed Hindi? Thank God you see that this is nonsense and absurd. Therefore, you hit the last nail in your coffin: "Another saying was that he wrote romantic poems in his youth and used the pen name Hindi, and for this reason, he became known as Hindi, and some believe that since his education was in India, he chose the Hindi surname because he had been under the tutelage of a teacher since childhood." My dear Ahmad, did you write the letter by yourself? You who brought forth the father of red and black reaction and every other color. This is called exposure! By the way, brother, did you come up with this reasoning by yourself, or did Aristotle and Plato help you? Ahmad, does the text of this letter express more about the state of Seyyed Hindi or expose the situation of the court and the Shah's government at that time? The poetic pseudonym was certainly well done, but the condition was that you should have put together one or two witness couplets. For example: "If Seyyed Hindi had wings – he would have picked up a sparrow's egg from the ground!" No, of course, it didn't work. It wasn't a good example. Although it has rhyme, it has truth, but it can't be from the poet himself. It seems more like a verse by the late Shapur Bakhtiar, in a clever look at the future of the 'poor cat.' How about this: "Since you have been with Seyyed Hindi for two days, don't worry if you are turned away from religion and faith." No, I'm not satisfied with this either. Copyright of Hafez. ... Ah ... I found it, just like the product: What can I say about the lips and the mole of that beloved one, for his mole has caught Seyyed Hindi. Now, I am giving these examples, dear cousin, after all, saying two couplets for establishing 'Seyyed Hindi' wasn't hard. Of course, I don't understand its importance. Being Indian isn't fundamentally bad. Gandhi was also Indian! Now, if an Indian has come to Iran, do people mind? Back then, in the streets, the kids were still reciting Ferdin's song from the best-selling film in the history of our cinema – 'Treasure of the Cauldron': "I came from India, I came, very carefree and witty I came – I came and came again, very proud I came – I am the one who came with a happy heart, I came joyful and free – I came for the love of Shirin - I came like Farhad ...." .... which later turned out to be the work of Ahmad Shamlou. Brother, did you not think that this 'appointment' and your so-called projection would lead to a sense of heroism and individuality? In my opinion, it had a bad influence. If Ferdin in 'Treasure of the Cauldron' had a 'Hassan Jajjeh,' Mr. Khomeini had three in Paris! Until next week, farewell. Iran and Red and Black Colonialism, Ettela'at Newspaper, Saturday, January 7, 1978. These days, on the occasion of the month of Muharram and Ashura, the minds are once again focused on black and red colonialism or, in other words, the alliance of old and new colonialism. The red and black colonialism, old and new, has the spirit of aggression, domination, and plunder, and although their inherent characteristics are the same, it has rarely happened that these two well-known colonialisms in history cooperate with each other, except in specific cases, one of which was the close, sincere, and honest cooperation of both colonialisms against the Iranian revolution, especially the progressive land reform program in Iran. The beginning of the revolution of the Shah and the nation on February 6, 1979, united the red and black colonialism of Iran, which apparently each had its own program and plan in our country, which was manifested in the riots of June 15 and 16, 1963 in Tehran. After the ominous riots of June 15, which were aimed at stopping and thwarting the brilliant revolution of the Shah and the nation, initially those who studied the event were in a kind of strange dizziness because in one place the footprints of black colonialism and in another the fingerprints of red colonialism were clearly seen in this turmoil. On one hand, the Tudeh agents, who saw all their hopes for deceiving the peasants and building peasant associations dashed by the implementation of the land reform program, created chaos against the revolution, and on the other hand, the large landowners who had plundered millions of Iranian peasants for years and hoped to break this program and return to the previous situation, had put money in the hands of Tudeh agents and other political bankrupts, and interestingly, this group of people who believed they could stop the wheel of revolution and take the lands granted to the peasants away from them, turned to the religious scholars because they thought that the opposition of the religious scholars, who are respected in Iranian society, could not only create problems for the revolution's program but also, as one of the large landowners imagined, "the peasants would return the lands as usurped lands!" But the religious scholars were more aware than to rise against the Shah and the nation's revolution, which was in accordance with Islamic principles and teachings and designed to create justice and put an end to exploitation by one individual over another by the leader of the Iranian revolution. The landowners, who always had everything from gendarmes to ministers and from mourners to thugs at their disposal to maintain their dominance, when faced with the indifference of the religious scholars and consequently the problem of creating chaos against the revolution, and the prominent clerics refused to cooperate with them, sought to find a 'clergyman' who was an adventurous, disbelieving, dependent, and ambitious man, who could fulfill their purpose, and such a man was easily found. A man whose background was unknown and who was linked to the most reactionary and sectarian elements of colonialism and since he had not gained a position among the high-ranking clerics of the country despite all the special support, he was looking for an opportunity to enter political affairs at any cost and gain a name and reputation. Ruhollah Khomeini was a suitable agent for this purpose, and the red and black reaction found him the most suitable person to confront the Iranian revolution, and he was recognized as the agent of the disgraceful event of June 15. Ruhollah Khomeini was known as 'Seyyed Hindi.' Even his closest associates have no explanation for his appointment to India, as it is said that he spent some time in India and had connections with British colonial centers there, and for this reason, he became known as Seyyed Hindi. Another saying was that he wrote romantic poems in his youth and used the pen name Hindi, and for this reason, he became known as Hindi, and some believe that since his education was in India, he chose the Hindi surname because he had been under the tutelage of a teacher since childhood. What is certain is that his fame as the instigator of the June 15 incident remains in everyone's memory, as someone who committed himself against the Iranian revolution and to implement the plans of red and black colonialism, fought against land distribution, women's freedom, and nationalization of forests, shed innocent blood, and showed that there are still those who are willing to sincerely place themselves at the disposal of conspirators and anti-national elements. To root out the June 15 incident and the role of its hero, attention to the contents of a report, a statement, and an interview will be helpful. A few weeks before the June 15 incident, a report was published by OPEC stating: "The income of the British government from Iranian oil is several times the total amount that Iran was receiving at that time." A few days before the incident, a statement was revealed in Tehran that an Arab adventurer named Muhammad Tawfiq al-Qaisi was arrested at Mehrabad Airport with a suitcase containing ten million rials in cash, which was supposed to be given to certain individuals. A few days after the incident, the then Prime Minister revealed in a press conference: "It is clear to us that money was coming from abroad and reaching individuals and being distributed among various groups to carry out wicked plans." Fortunately, the Iranian revolution succeeded. The last resistance of the large landowners and Tudeh agents was crushed, and the way was paved for progress and the implementation of social justice principles. In Iranian history, June 15 will remain as a painful memory of the enemies of the Iranian nation, and millions of Iranian Muslims will remember how enemies conspired together whenever their interests dictated, even in the sacred and respected clothing of a cleric.