By Aditya Shinde
On May 19, 2024, Ebrahim Raisi, the eighth President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, died tragically in a helicopter crash near East Azerbaijan where he had just completed an official visit. Raisi’s funeral was attended by high-ranking officials from 68 countries, including the Vice-President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar. The Government of India declared a day of national mourning on May 21, 2024.
That same day, another homage was paid to the late Iranian leader – in the union territory of Ladakh. Thousands of Ladakhi Shia men and women, dressed in black and chanting Labaik Ya Khaminaie (“We are always there for your help Khamenei”), participated in a massive procession at Hussaini Park in Kargil, to mourn Raisi.[1]
Ladakh comprises the Buddhist-majority Leh district and the Muslim-majority Kargil district. Kargil is home to 125,000, of whom 48% are Shia.[2] They follow Twelver Shi’ism[3], also known as the Imāmiyya sect, the largest branch of Shia Islam.[4]
Shia Islam reached Kargil in the 15th century through a combination of invasions, missionary activities, and trade interactions. In the early 16th century, Mir Shams-ud-Din Araqi, a Shia scholar from Iran, visited Gilgit-Baltistan and Kargil with his missionaries to spread his faith. Subsequently, local rulers and chieftains in Kargil and the surrounding areas began to support Shia scholars and institutions, facilitating the establishment and growth of Islam in the region.[5]
The Iranian Revolution of 1979 had a profound impact on Shia Islam. It established the doctrine of Vilayat al-Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist) as the basis of governance in Iran. This doctrine of Vilayat was developed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and assigned authority to a senior Shia cleric over political and religious matters in the absence of the 12th Imam.[6] This was a significant shift from the traditional Shia view that clergy should stay away from direct political involvement; it elevated the clergy’s status.
The revolution strengthened Shia identity, giving pride and empowerment to Shia Muslims worldwide and........