Brahmans in Karbala

COLUMN: By Intizar Husain
LITERARY NOTES



The history of Husaini Brahmans, as told by Nonica Dutt, begins with ten Brahmans going to Karbala with the determination to die fighting for Imam Husain. Among them were Rahib Dutt and his seven sons who fought bravely and resolutely.
With the blessings of Imam Husain they met their death in a heroic way.
Rahib Dutt was the lone survivor of the battle.


WITH the arrival of Muharram this year, I was reminded of an encounter
I had with an unusual, intelligent girl in Delhi who asserted that she
was a Husaini Brahman. I recall referring to Prem Chand's play 'Karbala'
in one of my addresses, which was based on a legend.
The legend was about a group of eight Hindu brothers
who had somehow reached Karbala determined to die fighting
for the cause that Imam Husain stood for. They fought bravely
and sacrificed their lives in devotion to Imam Husain. It was in
this context that I was talking about Husaini Brahmans, who
seemed to have vanished from the social scene in India.

All of a sudden, a girl from among the audience stood up and challenged my statement.
She said, 'Here I am before you. My name is Nonica Dutt. I belong to a Husaini Brahman family.'
It was clearly a pleasant surprise for me, something like discovering a rare bird while walking through a jungle.

The girl promised me an exclusive meeting to enlighten me with interesting information about the Husaini Brahmanian background of her family. But the proposed meeting kept on being postponed for one reason or the other. Finally, on the last day of my stay in Delhi,
I received a call from her.

'Let us meet now,' she said

'But I have no evening to spare for you. Today is the last day of my stay in your city,' I said.

'But I am already in the lounge and I must meet you,' she said.

So we finally had a meeting. She entered my room with two large volumes under her arm.
I proposed a detailed sitting on my next visit, which was due after a month or so.
'But in the coming months, I will not be in Delhi. I am moving to Germany and will spend
four months at the Humboldt University.' Nonica Dutt taught history at Jawahar Lal University
and had been honoured with a fellowship from the Humboldt University. Hence she was on
her way to Germany.

'I,' she said, 'told my mother about your comments regarding Husaini Brahamans
and how I introduced myself as one. To that she said, did you tell him that we don't
perform the rituals the Brahmans are obliged to perform. That we don't go to the temples?'

'Should I presume from this,' I asked, 'that you have turned Muslim.'

'No, we are not Muslims,' she exclaimed.

'Then what are you?' I inquired.

'We are Husaini Brahmans,' she said with a certain sense of pride and added,
'Now, I will tell you about a sign each and every Husaini Brahman carries with him/her.
On his/her throat s/he bears a line of cutting, which is indicative of the fact that s/he is
the descendant of those Brahmans whose throats were cut in the battle of Karbala.'
Then she told me about the ritual carried out on the birth of every child in her family.
She said, 'Among Brahmans, after child birth, the ritual of Moondan is performed.
In our family this ritual is performed in the name of Imam Husain.'

She then went on to tell me the historical facts. 'I will now tell you about the history of our
martyred forefathers.' Pointing to the two books placed on the table she said, 'our entire
history is conserved within these two books. When needed, I will quote from them.'
Considering their worn out and pale pages, the books, which were written in English,
seemed to be centuries old.

The history of Husaini Brahmans, as told by Nonica Dutt, begins with ten Brahmans
going to Karbala with the determination to die fighting for Imam Husain.
Among them were Rahib Dutt and his seven sons who fought bravely and resolutely.
With the blessings of Imam Husain they met their death in a heroic way.
Rahib Dutt was the lone survivor of the battle. From Karbala he escaped to Kufa,
where he stayed for some time. It is said that Rahib had the privilege of meeting
the members of the Imam's family after the massacre. He introduced himself by saying,
'I am a Brahman from Hindustan.' The reply came, 'Now you are Husaini Brahman.
We will always remember you.'

Rahib went from Kufa to Afghanistan, and from there came back to India where
he stayed for a few days in Nankana. Nonica paused for a while and then spoke,
'In the Sialkot district there is a town known as Viran Vatan. That place is our ancestral home.
We are the descendants of Rahib Dutt. He had brought with him a hair of Imam Husain,
which is ensconced in the Hazratbal shrine in Kashmir. She then recited a few couplets
from the book she had brought along with her, in which these incidents have been recorded.
'These couplets,' she said, 'are very popular among the Husaini Brahmans.'

Nonica shut the book and said 'Let me inform you that Sunil Dutt was also a Husaini Brahman.
And the father of Nargis too was a Husaini Brahman.'

She got up saying 'Now I must go.'

'I think,' I said, 'after you return from Germany, I should make a point to come to Delhi
so that you can introduce me to your father. I will perhaps be able to know much more
about your ancestors from him.'

She said goodbye and left hurriedly. I had been under the impression that the story
of the eight Brahmins was just a legend. But Nonica firmly believed that it is a historical fact.
And it is the belief of Nonica and her community that really counts. For them the event is a reality.
__._,_.___


http://dawn.com/weekly/books/books12.htm

January 20, 2008 Hinduism and Hussain ibn Ali in the Battle of Karbala. Datt or Dutt is a Mohyal Brahmin clan from Haryana and Punjab. Rahib Sidh Datt (or Rahab Dutt), a Hindu Saraswat Brahmin from Lahore who used to trade with Arabia sacrificed his seven sons named Poroo, Ram Singh, Haras Rai, Rai Pun, Sahas Rai, Sher Khan and Dharoo in the battle of Karbala defending Hussain bin Ali and his family. Let me begin the story of the Dutts by going through the record of the Shaukat Khanum Hospital and the recorded fact that Indian film star Sunil Dutt, who belonged to Lahore, made a donation to the hospital and recorded the following words: ‘For Lahore, like my elders, I will shed every drop of blood and give any donation asked for, just as my ancestors did when they laid down their lives at Karbala for Hazrat Imam Husain. History records when the third thrust by Yazid’s forces came, the Dutt brothers refused to let them pass. The seven Punjabi swordsmen stood their ground till they were felled by hundreds of horsemen. Hussain ibn Ali, seeing Rahab’s love for him, bestowed upon him the title of sultan or king, and told him to go back to India. It is because of this close bond between their ancestor Rahab and Hussain that the Hussaini Brahmins got their name. After Rahab and those of his sons who survived the battle of Karbala reached India, they settled down in the western Punjab and gradually a community grew around them. The descendants of Rahab in India came to be known as Hussaini Brahmins or Mohiyals who lived in Lahore till 1947. Some Dutt Brahmins didn't go back to India and stayed behind in Kufa. Mukhtar Saqaffi, a disciple of the Imam, who arranged for them to stay in a special part of the town, which even today is known by the name of Dair-i-Hindiya or ‘the Indian quarter’. Even today, the Hussaini Brahmins are highly respected among Hindus, with Sanjay Dutt, the famous Bollywood actor being one of them. The late Sunil Dutt, the father of Sanjay Dutt, who belonged to Hussaini Brahmin sect, used to attend Muharram processions. Priya Dutt, sister of Sanjay Dutt and daughter of Mr. Sunil Dutt says, "My father strictly observed Muharram. In the first 10 days, he would not participate in any celebrations" According to Pune’s Hussaini Brahmins Punjabi immigrants, their ancestors fought alongside Hussein in the battle of Karbala. Their community still observe Muharram with Muslims to remember the sacrifices of their ancestors who fought with Imam Hussein in the Battle of Karbala. This sect, the Hussaini Brahmins, practiced an intriguing blend of Islamic and Hindu practices, because of which they were commonly known as ‘half Hindu, half Muslim’. A popular saying about the Hussainis has it thus: ‘Wah Dutt Sultan, Hindu ka dharm, Musalman ka iman, Adha Hindu adha Musalman.’ (Hail, O King Datt for Thou are endowed with the Dharma of the Hindu and the Iman of the Muslim Half Hindu, half Muslim) Ref: http://www.dawn.com/news/766877/karbala-and-how-lahore-was-involved http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Hindiya http://www.hindu.bz/hindu-brahmins-fought-for-imam-hussain.html http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Hindus-participate-in-Muharram/articleshow/2716459.cms?referral=PM http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/NRI-makes-documentary-film-on-Hindu-followers-of-Imam/articleshow/17249326.cms?referral=PM ==================================