Hussaini Brahmins are a sect within the

Mohyal Brahmin Mohyal Brahmins are an Indian sub-caste of Saraswat Brahmins from the Punjab region. A sub-group of the Punjabi Hindu community, Mohyal caste comprises seven clans named Bali clan, Bali, Bhimwal, Chhibber, Datt, Lau clan, Lau, Mohan (clan), Mohan ...

community of the

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

region. The Mohyal community comprises seven sub-clans named

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

, Bhimwal, Chhibber, Datt, Lau, Mohan and Vaid. However, as consistent with their

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

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. According to V. Upadhyaya they were influenced by the

Chisti The Chishti order () is a Sufi order of Sunni Islam named after the town of Chisht, Afghanistan where it was initiated by Abu Ishaq Shami. The order was brought to Herat and later spread across South Asia by Mu'in al-Din Chishti in the city o ...

Sufis. While they wear the yajnopavita and the tilak, they take alms from only the Muslims, and not from Hindus. Some of them are found in Pushakar, Ajmer, where

Mu'in al-Din Chishti Mu'in al-Din Hasan Chishti Sijzi (; February 1143 – March 1236), known reverentially as Khawaja Gharib Nawaz (), was a Persian Islamic scholar and mystic from Sistan, who eventually ended up settling in the Indian subcontinent in the early ...

is buried. According to another tradition, Yazid's troops had brought Imam Husain's head to their ancestors home in Sialkot. In exchange for his head, the ancestor exchanged his own sons' heads. Famous Hussaini Brahmins include the actor

Sunil Dutt Sunil Dutt (born Balraj Raghunath Dutt; 6 June 1929 – 25 May 2005) was an Indian actor, film producer, director, and politician known for his work in Hindi Cinema. He acted in more than 80 films over a career spanning five decades and was t ...

, Urdu writers Kashmiri Lal Zakir, Sabir Dutt, and Nand Kishore Vikram. Few families can still be found in parts of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

but most families of Hussaini Brahmins are now settled in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

and

Jammu region The Jammu division (; ) is a revenue and administrative division of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kash ...

in India.

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

Chakwal Chakwal (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ) is a city in Chakwal District in the Potohar region of Punjab, Pakistan. It is the Largest cities of Pakistan, 48th largest city of Pakistan by population. Chakwal is located 90 kilometres south-west o ...

and

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

in Pakistan and

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

and South Afghanistan in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. Some of them also observe Muharram every year.

History

As per Mohyal oral history, a Mohyal Brahmin of the Dutt clan had fought on behalf of Imam al-Husayn in the

Battle of Karbala The Battle of Karbala () was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 Hijri year, AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad caliph Yazid I () and a small army led by Husayn ibn Ali, th ...

(680 C.E.), more specifically in the storming of Kufa—sacrificing his seven sons in the process. According to legend, Rahab Sidh Dutt (also mentioned as Rahib Sidh or Sidh Viyog Datt in some versions) was the leader of a small band of career-soldiers living near Baghdad around the time of the battle of Karbala.Mahdi Nazmi (1984). Reg-i-Surkh: Dut Brahman Imam Husain se Rabt o Zabt. Abu Talib Academy, New Delhi. pp. 63–71. The legend mentions the place where he stayed as Dair-al-Hindiya, meaning "The Indian Quarter", which matches an

Al-Hindiya Al-Hindiya or Hindiya () is a city in Iraq on the Euphrates River. Al-Hindiya is located in the Karbala Governorate and is the seat of Al-Hindiya District. The city used to be known as Tuwairij (), which gives name to the "Tuwairij run" () that ...

in existence today.

Other

Ajmer Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, a place of

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

pilgrimage, where

Moinuddin Chishti Mu'in al-Din Hasan Chishti Sijzi (; February 1143 – March 1236), known reverentially as Khawaja Gharib Nawaz (), was a Persians, Persian Islamic scholar and Sufism, mystic from Sistan, who eventually ended up settling in the Indian subcontin ...

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohyal (Jati) Indian castes Mohyal Hindu communities Hinduism in India Hinduism in Pakistan Hindu communities of Pakistan Hinduism and Islam Secularism in India Punjabi Brahmins Brahmin communities of India Punjabi tribes Social groups of Punjab, India Social groups of Jammu and Kashmir Ethnic groups in India Cultural anthropology

History

Other

See also

References