Iran, Khamenei get a surprise Indian backer in war against US & Israel — Baba Ramdev

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like Yoga guru Ramdev has displayed a stern stance against the US and Israel in their war on Iran, in a video now going viral. He was asked on a news YV show if India should stand with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu or on the side of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who was killed on the first day of the war on February 28. Yoga guru Ramdev spoke in favour of Iran, and called Trump and Netanyahu war criminals, on a TV show last week. (PTI File Photo)“You can kill a person, but you cannot kill his ideas, his philosophy, his mindset, his spirit, or his valour and heroism,” replied Ramdev, known to be a prominent Hindu spiritual leader, a ‘baba’, and ayurveda proponent in India. His stance for Iran comes even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi — whom Ramdev has backed over the years — has been facing criticism for allegedly standing with Israel, particularly because he visited the country two days before the war began. Officially, India has professed “strategic autonomy”. Ramdev said on the TV show last week, speaking in Hindi, “I don't know a great deal about Iran, but I do know this much: These (Iranians) are people from the actual lineage of Prophet Muhammad — known as Shia (sect of Muslims) — and no one can make them bow down; no one can wipe them out; and no one can defeat them.” He said that at of Iran's population of roughly 90 million, “more than 10 million people embrace Khamenei's ideology with their entire being”. “So, how could you possibly eradicate that?” Ramdev argued. View this post on Instagram A post shared by India (@hindustanaffairs.in) When the anchor asked if he had anything to say about Netanyahu, he said US President Donald Trump and Netanyahu “are both cut from the same cloth; as the saying goes, chor-chor mausere bhai (‘thieves are cousins' or 'thick as thieves’).” He added “I am not calling anyone a thief; I am simply citing a proverb — it implies that they are both of the same ilk, and I consider them both to be war criminals. I consider them criminals against humanity; I consider them criminals against nature and the environment.” Ramdev said the US and Israel have “erected a Himalaya-sized mountain of political mistrust”. “For the next 50-100 years, Israel and America will have to bear the consequences. In this conflict, neither can America and Israel emerge victorious, nor can Iran be defeated,” he said in the viral clip from an ABP News show.