سید انور جمال Hussaini Brahmin are a group bringing harmony and brotherhood between Muslim and Hindu religions. They are greatly influenced by martydom of Imam Husayn, grandson of Prophet Muhammad, at Karbala in 680 CE. During the month of Muharram many Hindus joined Muslims lamenting the death of Imam Husayn in Lucknow during the rule of Shia Nawabs of Awadh. Brahmins are the highest caste in Hindu hierarchy. The small Hussaini Brahmin sect, located mostly in Indian Punjab, also known as Dutts or Mohyals. Unlike other Brahmin clans, the Hussaini Brahmins have had a long martial tradition, which they trace back to the event of Karbala. They believe that an ancestor named Rahab traveled all the way from Punjab to Arabia and there developed close relations with Imam Hussain. In the battle of Karbala, Rahab fought in the army of the Imam against Yazid. His sons, too, joined him, and most of them were killed. It is because of this close bond between their ancestor Rahab and Imam Hussain that the Hussaini Brahmins got their name. A Sign each and every Husaini Brahman carries with him. On his throat he bears a line of cutting, which is indicative of the fact that he is the descendant of those Brahmans whose throats were cut in the battle of Karbala.They carried this ritual of line cutting of throat on the birth of every child in family. Among Brahmans, after child birth, the ritual of Moondan is performed.In Hussaini Brahmins family this ritual is performed in the name of Imam Husain. Some Mohyal Brahmins migrated eastward and became as some sub-divisions of Bhumihar Brahmins, some of whom are also descendants of Hussaini Brahmins and mourn the death of Imam Hussain.An eminent example was Sir Ganesh Dutt Singh. Sir Ganesh Dutt Singh, who was a freedom fighter, administrator and educationist in which capacity he did a lot for improving education and health services in the state of Bihar in the pre-independence era.Sir Ganesh Dutta made generous donations from his earnings and personal property for the development of educational institutions, like radium institute in Patna Medical College, Darbhaga Medical College, Ayurvedic College and schools for the blind, deaf and dumb, among others. It is believed that Sunil Dutt was also a Hussaini Brahmin. The Hussaini Brahmins were once concentrated in the Rawalpindi-Jhelum regions of Pakistan. According to the traditions, the Hussaini Brahmins believe that their ancestor Rahab Dutt and his sons fought on the side of Imam Husayn at Karbala and they were martyred along with the Imam. They remained Hindus but the tragedy of Kerbala was commemorated from generation to generation in their families and even now their clans observes it all over India, although the younger generation is less keen on such traditions. The non-Muslim tribal Lambadi community in Andhra Pradesh have their own genre of Muharram lamentation songs in Telugu. Among certain Hindu castes in Rajasthan, the Karbala battle is recounted by staging plays in which the death of Imam Husayn is enacted, after which the women of the village come out in a procession, crying and cursing Yazid for his cruelty. The Hussaini Brahmins practised an intriguing blend of Islamic and Hindu traditions. A popular saying refers to the Hussaini Brahmins or Dutts thus: Wah Dutt Sultan Hindu ka Dharm Musalman ka Iman Adha Hindu Adha Musalman.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 09:31:19 +0000
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