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White Revolution

This article is about the White Revolution in Iran. For other uses, see White Revolution (disambiguation).

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi hands out documents of ownership of land to new owners, white revolution, land reform, 1963

The White Revolution (Persian: رستاخیز سفید, romanized: Rastâxize Sefid) or the Shah and People Revolution (Persian: رستاخیز شاه و مردم, romanized: Rastâxize Šâh o Mardom)[1] was a far-reaching series of reforms resulting in aggressive modernization in the Imperial State of Iran launched on 26 January 1963 by the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, which lasted until 1979. The reforms resulted in a great redistribution of wealth to Iran's working class, explosive economic growth in subsequent decades, rapid urbanization, and deconstruction of Iran's feudalist customs.[2]

The reforms were characterized by high economic growth rates, major investments in infrastructure, substantial growth in per capita wealth and literacy of Iranians. The economic growth and education advancement arguably paved the way for the Shah's military arms build-up and the establishment of Iran as a major geopolitical power in the Middle East. It consisted of several elements, including land reform, sale of some state-owned factories to finance the land reform, construction of an expanded road, rail, and air network, a number of dam and irrigation projects, the eradication of diseases such as malaria, the encouragement and support of industrial growth, enfranchisement of women, nationalization of forests and pastures, formation of literacy and health corps for rural isolated areas, and institution of profit-sharing schemes for workers in the industry. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Shah sought to develop a more independent foreign policy and established working relationships with the Soviet Union and Eastern European nations. In subsequent decades, per capita income for Iranians greatly increased, and oil revenue fueled an enormous increase in state funding for industrial development projects.[3]

The White Revolution launched government-subsidized land grants to millions of working-class families and the creation of Iran's Literacy corps who doubled the nation’s literacy rates. The Shah wanted all Iranian citizens to be able to live an educated and prosperous lifestyle.[4][5] The bulk of the program was aimed at Iran's peasantry while redistributing the aristocrat landlord class wealth down to working class Iranians.[6] Thus the White Revolution in Iran represented a new attempt to introduce reform from above and preserve traditional power patterns. Through land reform, the essence of the White Revolution, the Shah hoped to ally himself with the peasantry in the countryside, and hoped to sever their ties with the aristocracy in the city.[6]

In order to legitimize the White Revolution, the Shah called for a national referendum in early 1963 in which 5,598,711 people voted for the reforms, and 4,115 voted against the reforms, though the referendum was boycotted by the opposition to the Shah.[7] The White Revolution contributed towards the economic and technological advancement of Iran.

  1. ^ Amanat, Abbas (2017). Iran: A Modern History. Yale University Press. p. 584. ISBN 978-0300231465. Hence the "Revolution of the Shah and the People" (enqlab-e Shah va mardom) underscored a new mandate that bypassed the old structure of power, in effect eliminating the intermediaries who stood between (...)
  2. ^ "1979: Iran and America". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  3. ^ Amir Arjomand, Said (1988). The Turban for the Crown: The Islamic Revolution in Iran. Oxford University Press. pp. 72–73. ISBN 9780195042580.
  4. ^ Siavoshi, Sussan (1990). Liberal Nationalism in Iran: The failure of a movement. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-8133-7413-0.
  5. ^ Bayar, Assef (1994). "Historiography, class, and Iranian workers". In Lockman, Zachary (ed.). Workers and Working Classes in the Middle East: Struggles, Histories, Historiographies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-7914-1665-5.
  6. ^ a b Bill, James A. (1970). "Modernization and Reform from Above: The Case of Iran". The Journal of Politics. 32 (1): 33. doi:10.2307/2128863. hdl:2152/24201. JSTOR 2128863. S2CID 155052262.
  7. ^ Milani, Moshen M. (1988). The Making of Iran's Islamic Revolution. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-8133-7293-8.
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