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This resulted in failure to attain social institutions reforms. The ideology of constitutionalism in Iran led to the transformation from a political imaginary to the social movement. However, the constitutionalism and transformation were obtained through certain discursive conditions, which brought about the emergence of a populist political movement. The movement unified an ensemble of forces with different demands, needs and aspirations. The increased contact with Europe had both positive and negative changes.

The financial crisis in the 1870s rendered the Qajar regime to develop a policy of granting concessions to foreign companies and subjects. In 1872, the regime introduced the Reuter concession. The concession was granted to British subjects, Julius de Reuter, the seldom role to exploit all mines, collect the customs, build railways and the right to buy the needed land for a period of seventy-five years. The concession united forces and individuals whose positions and interests of power had been undermined by westernization (Gelvin, 2005).

Iranian society opposed these measures by the Qajar regime since they reasoned that it was a real threat to the sovereignty of the country. The Tobacco concession was later granted to British companies. The concession granted the company the monopoly for the sale and marketing of tobacco for fifty years. This concession triggered extensive popular opposition from the Iranian elites. According to the opposition, the Tobacco concession was understood as a ‘selling out’ of the country and the ‘Islamic Millat’ to European, non-Muslim country.

Tobacco movement was initiated by merchants with primary purposes of protesting against the complacency of clerics and the science in the face of “non-Muslim’s domination of Iran.” The cities such as Tabriz, Shiraz and Tehran developed the most prominent oppositions to the tobacco concession (Gelvin, 2005).