Hussaini Brahmin

Hussaini Brahmin is a Mohyal Brahmin community of the Punjab-region.

The Mohyal community comprises seven sub-clans named Bali, Bhimwal, Chhibber, Datt, Lau, Mohan and Vaid.

However, as consistent with their Hindu tradition, they have adopted non-Indic traditions. This has led to a small sub-set of the Moyhal community paying reverence to Islam, most notably to the third Imam Hussain.[1]

Few families can still be found in parts of Iraq but most families of Hussaini Brahmins are now settled in Pune,[2] Delhi,[3] Chandigarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu region in India. Sindh, Chakwal and Lahore in Pakistan and Kabul and South Afghanistan in Afghanistan. Some of them also observe Muharram every year.

A sect of Bhumihar Brahmins in the Muzzafarpur district of Bihar also claim ancestry from Hussaini Brahmins and take part in Muharram each year.[4]

History

As per Mohyal oral history, a Mohyal Brahmin of the Dutta clan had fought on behalf of Imam al-Husayn in the Battle of Karbala (680 C.E.), more specifically in the storming of Kufa—sacrificing his seven sons in the process.[5] According to legend, Rahab Sidh Dutta (also mentioned as Rahib Sidh or Sidh Viyog Datta in some versions) was the leader of a small band of career-soldiers living near Baghdad around the time of the battle of Karbala.[6] The legend mentions the place where he stayed as Dair-al-Hindiya, meaning "The Indian Quarter", which matches an Al-Hindiya in existence today.[6] However this is false, as Al-Hindiya was named after Indian Shia students who financed a water canal after coming to Karbala for religious studies.

Other

In Ajmer, Rajasthan, a place of Sufi pilgrimage, where Moinuddin Chishti lived and passed his last days, there is even today a class of people who call themselves Hussaini Brahmins, who are neither 'orthodox Hindus' nor orthodox Muslims. Hussaini Brahmins practiced a mixed blend of orthodox Vedic and Islamic traditions. A saying in Hindi/Urdu language refers to the Hussaini Brahmans thus: "Wah Datt Sultan, Hindu ka dharm, Musalman ka Iman, Adha Hindu adha Musalman" (Well Datt Sultan, declaring Hindu Dharma and following Muslim practice, Half Hindu and Half Muslim.[7]

See also

References
  1. Nonica Datta (30 September 2019). "The Forgotten History of Hussaini Brahmins and Muharram in Amritsar". The Wire (Indian News and Opinion Website). Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  2. NADEEM INAMDAR, RIZWAN KHAN. "Brahmins who went to war for the Imam". Times group, India. The Times of India. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  3. Akram, Maria (5 November 2014). "For Hussaini brahmans, it's Muharram as usual". Times group, India. The Times of India. Archived from the original on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  4. "Where Hindus join Shias to mourn Imam Hussain". 25 November 2012.
  5. Mohyals, Muslims and Mustafabad". The Tribune, Chandigarh. 8 August 1993
  6. Mahdi Nazmi (1984). Reg-i-Surkh: Dut Brahman Imam Husain se Rabt o Zabt. Abu Talib Academy, New Delhi. pp. 63–71.
  7. Mitra, Sisir Kumar. The Vision of India. Bombay, India: Jaico Publishing House. pp. 229–230 (First Print 1949).
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