HYDERABAD: Escalating tension in Iran has left several Hyderabadis, with relatives in the country, anxious. Given that a sizeable number of people live in Qom and Shiraz, family members back home told TOI that they have been spending sleepless nights amid uncertainty. Concern have grown after communication with their relatives in Iran became intermittent in recent days due to frequent internet disruption.A senior gynaecologist from Banjara Hills, who has two sisters and a brother, all doctors, in Isfahan (440 km from Tehran), spoke of the harrowing time that family is living through.
“We were on a call on Feb 27 when suddenly my sister said bombs were heard near her house. Electricity and water supply were functional at the time. But since then, there has been zero communication,” said the doctor. She added: “I keep sending messages, but many of them aren’t delivered. We are very worried and hoping they aren’t in any danger.”Another resident of Masab Tank shared a similar story. He said he was unable to connect with his family members for the past one week. “We tried calling them repeatedly but could not get through. One time we managed to speak briefly, and they said the war had started. After that, we only got updates through the news,” he said, adding that he is also trying to contact his niece, nephew, and friends from Hyderabad who are currently in Iran.Family members of a group of students, who travelled to Iran two years ago to pursue Islamic studies, are also anxious. Syed Hamid Hussain Jafri of the Shia People Committee, Darul Shifa, who has been coordinating with this families said that he last spoke to the students — 30 to 35 of them from Hyderabad aged between 20 and 23 years — on March 1. “They said most of the attacks were happening in Tehran, which is 150 km from Qom, where they are and that there was disturbance in Qom. Till then, they had electricity. We don’t know what happened afterwards,” Jafri said.The students were selected to study Arabic and religious sciences at the Al-Mustafa International University (in Qom) after completing their intermediate. While a large proportion of Indian students currently in Iran are from Jammu and Kashmir, sources at the Iran consulate in Hyderabad said 200 students from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are also studying there, including 50 from Telangana. Currently, 3,000 Indian students are reported to be stuck in Iran — 1,200 of them in conflict zones. Sources say that over the years, a significant number of students, particularly from the Shia Muslim community in Hyderabad, migrated to Iran for higher Islamic studies, centring largely around Qom city. “This migration is seen as part of a long-standing, centuries-old cultural and religious connection between Hyderabad and Iran, which was strengthened by the Qutb Shahi dynasty’s Persian roots,” said Nirumand Agha, former public relations officer, Iran Consulate Hyderabad.Many professionals too migrated to Tehran and other cities for work in sectors such as pharma, mining, and petrochemicals. Some even took up dry fruit trade. Additionally, many Shia pilgrims from Hyderabad visit Iran regularly for religious purposes to cities such as Mashhad, Qom, and Shiraz.According to the Iranian Consulate in the city, 2,000 to 3,000 from Hyderabad travel to Iran ‘every year. However, number of Hyderabadis residing permanently in Iran remains unclear.Meanwhile, though several Hyderabad residents said their family members are in Bahrain, Kuwait, and other Gulf countries, the situation is comparatively better than in Iran, with undisrupted regular communication.
