NEW DELHI: As Iran explores negotiations with the West on its nuclear programme, the Baha'i community has urged India should use its influence as a "non-threatening" power to push Tehran towards more humane treatment of its minorities.

Payam Akhavan, an associate professor at Canada's McGill University and prominent Baha'i activist, said Iran's bid to shed its pariah tag was a welcome development that must be utilized to ensure the rights of minorities like Baha'is are recognized.

A human rights advocate who was in India recently, Akhavan feels the installation of the relatively moderate Hassan Rouhani as president has not made much difference to the lot of the Baha'is or other such communities.

"The election of Rouhani seems to mean that the supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei would like a more accommodative face to interact with the West. There is a realization that Iran needs to end its isolation that is harming it economically," Akhavan said.

Unless pressure is brought to bear, Iran's rulers will attempt to negotiate a deal that does not force them to change their behaviour towards Baha'is who continue to lead insecure lives as they are targeted for their beliefs.

India could seek better treatment of Baha'is in Iran with better results. "India is not seen as an imperialist influence. India is a third world nation with a softer image. It is not seen as aggressive towards Iran," said Akhavan.

With a large Baha'i community living in exile in India, the government should be more sensitive to the oppression the sect faces in Iran.

"The forms of persecution have changed. Instead of illegal detentions and beatings, it is left to so-called freelance forces to deal with individuals," said Akhavan, pointing to the murder of Ataollah Rezvani, a Baha'i, in the city of Bandar.

The death has been held to be suicide, but Akhavan said the circumstances were suspicious and were part of a pattern where minorities are targeted at the behest of state agencies.

Despite Iran's intolerance of Baha'is, Akhavan remains hopeful that there is a large and growing middle class in the Persian Gulf nation that does not share the state's antipathy towards non-conformists.

"Iranians are very aware people. They are connected to the world by internet and are quick to adopt modern clothes and manners. I don't think they support the rigid rejection of minority faiths that the state and orthodox clergy advocate," Akhavan said.

Akhavan was hosted by the national spiritual assembly of Baha'is in India and interacted with a cross section of people who have been receptive to the plight of the community.

Drawing from personal experience, he said he remembered fleeing Iran with his parents just before the Islamic revolution in 1979. While his family escaped, friends and other relatives did not and fell victim to post-revolution purges.