Jalandhar: In a rare act of solidarity, the Punjab Legislative Assembly on March 6 observed a few minutes of silence in memory of the more than 160 school girls who lost their lives in the deadly US-Israel strikes on Iran. The House also paid homage to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israel strikes on February 28.The tributes were offered at the beginning of the budget session of the Punjab Assembly. So far, Punjab is the only state in the country to pay its tributes to Khamenei and the Iranian school girls inside the the state legislature.The assassination of Khamenei, 86, has triggered a war in the Middle East and West Asia, affecting hundreds of people and stranding others. The minor girls from Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary school were killed in the Minab bombing on the same day Khamenei was assassinated by US-Israel. Iran observed a mass funeral for the school children on March 3, which saw thousands of mourners on the streets of Minab.An impassioned video of the Punjab legislative assembly observing silence as tributes to the school children and Khamenei went viral on social media, with many users from the Middle East hailing the state’s initiative and lauding the Sikh community in particular.In the video, Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi, a ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from the Banga assembly constituency of Nawanshahr district, is seen requesting Punjab assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan to observe silence for the mass killing of school children and the assasination of Khamenei.“An inhuman incident happened in Iran in which around 165 girls were killed who were studying in the school at that time. Many doctors and patients, who were in the hospital were killed and Iran’s supreme leader Khamenei was also killed,” Sukhi, who is a doctor by profession said in the assembly.“While I condemn what the Trump government did, I pay my tributes. I urge you that, if possible, pay tribute to them,” he added.Thereafter, assembly speaker Sandhwan urged the house members to observe silence and pay homage in the memory of the departed souls.Speaking to The Wire, MLA Sukhi said, “As a Punjabi, we have been taught to stand against injustice and support the weak. I am also a follower of Kanshi Ram’s ideology, the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which taught us to fight and stand against oppression. I would like to highlight that not just Iran, I had also raised the issue of violence in Manipur in the Punjab legislative assembly.”Sukhi said that he might be an MLA from Punjab but that does not mean that he cannot speak against what was happening around them.“By raising voice in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, my attempt was also to wake up other governments too. War can be with a politician but killing people cannot be justified,” he said.While prime minister Narendra Modi has maintained silence over the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, it was finally on March 5 that the Indian government sent its condolences to Tehran. Foreign secretary Vikram Misri met the Iranian ambassador in Delhi and signed the condolence book for Khamenei’s death on behalf of the people and the government of India.Notably, the killing of Khamenei also saw Muslims from Shia community, most of whom were observing Roza in the month of Ramadan gathering at public places and mosques in Delhi, Srinagar, Kargil, Lucknow, Hyderabad, and across the country to mourn the killing of Khamenei.‘Relationship between Iran and Punjab is very old and continuing’It is not just Punjab, which stood for Iran, even Iran too had in the past on multiple occasions spoken in support of Punjab.During the devastating Punjab floods in 2025, the Iran government had expressed deep concern over the extent of damage and loss of lives.In a post on X, the Iran government had said: “Disheartening to see devastating floods in Punjab that led to immense loss and pain. Our thoughts and prayers with the affected people of Punjab and everyone who helps them in this grave moments. May God protect and bless all.”Similarly, during last year’s Gurupurab of the first Sikh spiritual leader Sri Guru Nanak Dev, the Embassy of Iran in Delhi had wished the people of India and Punjab in particular. It had also mentioned a persian shabad from page 721 of in raag Tilang.Notably, Guru Nanak Dev had travelled to Khorramabad, Mashad, and Tehran in Iran during his fourth Udasi (visit) to Iran, then Persia, a fact that explains the deep link between Sikhism and Iran.Shedding light on Iran and Punjab’s shared cultural, linguistic, and spiritual ties, Red Mike foreign affairs editor and an expert on Middle East affairs, Saurabh Kumar Shahi told The Wire that the name Punjab itself was Persian.“In Punjab, ‘punj’ means five and ‘aab’ means river, which has its origin from Persian language. It is often assumed that the Persians came directly to India. However, the fact is that when the Mughals established their empire in India, a large number of Iranians also migrated with them, bringing the Persian language to the then united Punjab,” he said.“When the Mughals came, many administrators, architects and the forefathers of popular Sufi saints also came from Persia, enriching Punjab’s cultural and spiritual ties. Renowned Sufi saints like Baba Bulle Shah, Baba Fareed and Waris Shah also originated from the Persian empire,” he added.Shahi shared that most of the Sufi saints settled in Multan or Pak Pattan (formerly Ajodhan) in today’s Pakistan. “It is for this reason that Pak Pattan at one point of time was the biggest Sufi centre in all of South Asia and that influenced the Punjabi language a lot,” said Shahi.This continuity, Shahi said, can be seen in many folklore, especially the popular love stories of Punjab, whose base stories primarily originated in Persia. It is also visible in linguistic continuity, as Baba Farid who founded the Chishti order in South Asia existed in the 13th century, Bulle Shah came in the year 1680 and Waris Shah an 18th century Sufi poet authored the epic story of ‘Heer Ranjha’.“Even the trade route between Punjab and Iran was also the same. Hence, the relationship between Iran and Punjab is very old and continuing,” he said.“This is the reason why Punjab is not Islamophobic, which is surprising, considering the fact that it was Punjab and West Bengal that faced partition. The general politics in Punjab, unlike the rest of India, is not Islamophobic, because of which the binary of Hindu-Muslim does not exist there,” he added.So, when the Punjab legislative assembly paid homage to Khamenei and the school girls killed in the Minab bombing, it should not come as a surprise, said Shahi.“It is very natural for Punjab to support Iran because of the shared linguistic, cultural, and spiritual continuity. Even though the Indo-Pak partition took place, that was one incident. On the contrary, the integration of Sufi Islam with Sikhism is very old and they are recited as part of Sikh tradition,” he added.He also mentioned the popular Sikh slogan ‘Deg Teg Fateh’ in Persian language, which means charity (deg), to defend the oppressed with courage (tegh) and victory of justice (fateh), the three pillars of Sikhism.Speaking to The Wire, political science professor from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Satnam Singh Deol said that historically, it was in Punjab’s psychology to stand against injustice whether it is on their own soil or in some other territory.“Punjab should be appreciated for standing against the killings of the innocent school girls. Na Hindu, na Musalman, Punjab vasda Guru’an de naam (Neither Hindu, nor Muslims, Punjab exists in the name of Gurus). This has been the philosophy of Punjab and it is continuing since ages”, he said.Samyukt Kisan Morcha to observe March 10 as ‘anti-Iran war day’Senior Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leader and the president of Krantikari Kisan Union Dr Darshan Pal said that the SKM has already given a call to observe March 10, 2026 as ‘Anti-Iran war day’ and would pass a resolution against the US-Israel attacks on Iran.“We are holding a mahapanchayat at Barnala district in Punjab on March 10, where around 25,000 to 30,000 farmers from across the region would gather to protest against this war”, he said.Pal said that the US was issuing contradictory statements on the war against Iran and in turn has left the entire Middle East region burning.“While crude oil prices have soared, the export of Basmati rice has stopped. It is important for justice and peace-loving people to condemn the unholy alliance of US and Israel, which has been attacking Iran defying international law,” he said.He pointed out how the US was facing flak from the UK, Spain, and Europe. “Punjab too has taken the right step by paying homage to Khamenei and the innocent school girls in the legislative assembly. Every jathebandi (outfit) should speak against US-Israel to stop them from forcibly interfering with any state’s sovereignty and waging unwanted wars”, he added.Shiv Sena Punjab questions state government’s homage to KhameneiHowever, Shiv Sena Punjab leaders termed the tributes to Khamenei an insult to martyrs and patriotic citizens of India. They accused the AAP-led Punjab government of pursuing an agenda that undermined the national interests.In a press statement, Shiv Sena senior vice president Inderjit Karwal and Rajesh Palta questioned the intentions of the AAP government led by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.“It was inappropriate to pay tributes to Iran’s supreme leader, as Iran had at several occasions questioned the Indian government over its stand on Kashmir and supported Pakistan. Even during the Pulwama attack, Iran maintained a neutral stand towards India and avoided questioning Pakistan,” said the statement.“Punjab government’s tributes to Iran’s supreme leader appear to be ‘politically motivated’ and one that is intended to appease certain interests,” the Shiv Sena leader said.