TEHRAN – Iranian cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri-Hamedani has urgedKashmiri people to firmly stand for their right, assuring them that theIslamic Republic will support them in this regard.

The Indian-controlled Kashmir has been the scene of protests and militarycrackdown and restrictions since early June, when Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, in a surprise move, revoked Article 370 in the Indianconstitution that had granted Kashmir special autonomy, the mostfar-reaching political move on the disputed region in nearly 70 years.

The controversial move not only infuriated India’s nuclear-armed Pakistan,which controls parts of Kashmir, but also sparked strong anger among thelocal population, who want their Muslim-majority region to merge withPakistan, prompting protest rallies that faced a brutal police response.

“If you want to secure your right, you must be prepared for martyrdom andfight,” said Ayatollah Nouri-Hamedani on Saturday, during his meeting witha group of Kashmiri students studying at seminary schools.

“Our government, the Leader [Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei], all of us willhelp you,” the top cleric vowed, stressing that Kashmiri clerics, inparticular, must be prepared to sacrifice their lives if they want toobtain the people’s right, reminding them of Iranian clerics who weremarching in the front lines of protests during Iran’s 1979 IslamicRevolution.[image: PressTV-India tightens restrictions on Kashmir after Friday clashes]link

Ayatollah Nouri-Hamedani also urged the student to set Imam Hossein (peacebe upon him), the Third Shia Imam and the grandson of Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him), as an example for their cause.

Imam Hossein and his companions were martyred in the Battle of Karbala, insouthern Iraq, in 680 AD after fighting courageously for justice againstthe much larger army of the Umayyad caliph, Yazid I, which some historiansestimate to have been 100,000-strong.

The Shia Imam and his companions were martyred in Ashura, the 10th day ofthe lunar month of Muharram.