View source for Hussaini Brahmin

{{short description|Mohyal Brahmin community of the Punjab-region}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Primary sources|date=February 2024}}
{{Lead too long|date=February 2024}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Hussaini Brahmins
| rawimage         =
| total_ref        = <!-- references supporting total population -->
| total_year       = <!-- year of total population -->
| total_source     = <!-- source of total population; may be ''census'' or ''estimate'' -->
| regions          = '''India''': [[Delhi]], [[Chandigarh]], [[Punjab]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Jammu]]
'''Pakistan''': [[Sindh]], [[Chakwal]], [[Lahore]], 
'''Afghanistan''': [[Kabul]], southern regions
| languages        = [[Hindi]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Urdu]]
| religions        = Syncretized [[File:Star and Crescent.svg|15px]] [[Islam]] and  [[File:Om.svg|10px]] [[Hinduism]]
| related_groups   = [[Mohyal Brahmins]], [[Saraswat Brahmins]]
}}

'''Hussaini Brahmins''' are a small sect within the [[Mohyal Brahmin]] community of the [[Punjab]] region.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Non-Shia practices of Muḥarram in South Asia and the diaspora: beyond mourning |date=2022 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-367-81904-0 |editor-last=Sohoni |editor-first=Pushkar |series=Routledge South Asian religion series |location=Abingdon, Oxon; New York |editor-last2=Tschacher |editor-first2=Torsten}}</ref> 

The Mohyal co normally associated with orthodox Brahminsmmunity comprises seven sub-clans named [[Bali clan|Bali]], [[Bhimwal]], [[Chhibber]], [[Datt]], [[Lau clan|Lau]], [[Mohan (clan)|Mohan]] and [[Vaid (surname)|Vaid]].

They have adopted non-Brahmanical traditions leading to the sub-set of the Moyhal community paying reverence to Islam, most notably to the third [[Husayn ibn Ali|Imam Hussain]].<ref>{{cite web | author= Nonica Datta | url= https://thewire.in/religion/the-forgotten-history-of-hussaini-brahmins-and-muharram-in-amritsar | title= The Forgotten History of Hussaini Brahmins and Muharram in Amritsar | publisher= The Wire (Indian News and Opinion Website) | date= 30 September 2019 | accessdate=17 December 2020 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201101130440if_/https://thewire.in/religion/the-forgotten-history-of-hussaini-brahmins-and-muharram-in-amritsar | archive-date=1 November 2020 | url-status= live }}</ref>

According to V. Upadhyaya<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=cmtIAAAAMAAJ&q=%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%88%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%80+%E0%A4%AC%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A3 संत-वैष्णव काव्य पर तांत्रिक प्रभाव, V. Upadhyaya, 1962, Page 181]</ref> they were influenced by the [[Chisti]] Sufis. While they wear the yajnopavita and the tilak, they take alms from only the Muslims, and not from Hindus.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=A40cAAAAMAAJ&q=%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%88%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%80+%E0%A4%AC%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A3 Hamara Samaj, Sant Ham, 1957, p. 115]</ref> Some of them are found in Pushakar, Ajmer, where [[Mu'in al-Din Chishti]] is buried.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xJ8RAAAAMAAJ&q=%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%88%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%80+%E0%A4%AC%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A3 Jayasi, Malik Muhammad, Ramchandra Billaurey, 1973, p. 131]</ref> 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.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Vcx-7gUN0g4C&dq=husaini+brahmin&pg=PA141 A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province,  Based on the Census Report for the Punjab, 1883 · Volume 2, Horace Arthur Rose, Sir Denzil Ibbetson, Sir Edward Maclagan, 1911, p. 141]</ref> Famous Hussaini Brahmins include the actor [[Sunil Dutt]], Urdu writers [[Kashmiri Lal Zakir]], Sabir Dutt, and Nand Kishore Vikram.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mujtaba |first1=Syed Ali |title=Uniqueness of Indian culture: Hussaini Brahmins are Hindus but observe Muslim traditions |url=https://www.siasat.com/uniqueness-of-indian-culture-hussaini-brahmins-are-hindus-but-observe-muslim-traditions-2388090/#google_vignette |website=The Daily Siasat |date=11 August 2022 |access-date=6 August 2024}}</ref>

Few families can still be found in parts of [[Iraq]] but most families of Hussaini Brahmins are now settled in [[Pune]],<ref>{{cite news|last1=NADEEM INAMDAR|first1=RIZWAN KHAN|title=Brahmins who went to war for the Imam|url=http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Layout/Includes/MIRRORNEW/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=MIRRORNEW&BaseHref=PMIR/2010/12/19&ViewMode=HTML&EntityId=Ar00700&AppName=1|accessdate=22 January 2016|agency=The Times of India|publisher=Times group, India|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127211246/http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Layout/Includes/MIRRORNEW/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=MIRRORNEW&BaseHref=PMIR%2F2010%2F12%2F19&ViewMode=HTML&EntityId=Ar00700&AppName=1|archive-date=27 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Delhi]],<ref>{{cite news|last1=Akram|first1=Maria|title=For Hussaini brahmans, it's Muharram as usual|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/For-Hussaini-brahmans-its-Muharram-as-usual/articleshow/45039950.cms|accessdate=22 January 2016|agency=The Times of India|publisher=Times group, India|date=5 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122165217/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/For-Hussaini-brahmans-its-Muharram-as-usual/articleshow/45039950.cms|archive-date=22 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Chandigarh]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[Himachal Pradesh]] and [[Jammu region]] in India. [[Sindh]], [[Chakwal District|Chakwal]] and [[Lahore]] in Pakistan and [[Kabul]] and South Afghanistan in [[Afghanistan]]. 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]] (680 C.E.), more specifically in the storming of Kufa—sacrificing his seven sons in the process.<ref>Mohyals, Muslims and Mustafabad". ''The Tribune'', Chandigarh. 8 August 1993</ref> 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.<ref name=":1">Mahdi Nazmi (1984). Reg-i-Surkh: Dut Brahman Imam Husain se Rabt o Zabt. Abu Talib Academy, New Delhi. pp. 63–71.</ref> The legend mentions the place where he stayed as Dair-al-Hindiya, meaning "The Indian Quarter", which matches an [[Hindiya|Al-Hindiya]] in existence today.<ref name=":1" /> 

== Notable Figures ==

* [[G. D. Bakshi|Maj. General G. D. Bakshi]] - Retired Major General of Indian Army, leading defence analyst of India

==Other==
In [[Ajmer]], [[Rajasthan]], a place of [[Sufism in India|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 [[Vedas|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|Hindu Dharma]] and following Muslim practice, Half Hindu and Half Muslim.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mitra |first1= Sisir Kumar |title=The Vision of India |publisher= Jaico Publishing House |location=Bombay, India |pages=229–230 (First Print 1949) }}</ref>

==See also ==

* [[Punjabi Hindus]]
* [[Mohyal Brahmins]]
* [[Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb]]
* [[Hindu–Islamic relations]]
* [[Hindu–Muslim unity]]
* [[Religious syncretism]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

* {{Cite book |last=Dehlvi |first=Ghulam Rasool |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=_IdSEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA74&dq=hussaini+brahmin&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&ovdme=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJqKCc_7qTAxU22TgGHVnkM78Q6AF6BAgGEAM#v=onepage&q=hussaini%20brahmin&f=false |title=Ishq Sufiyana: Untold Stories of Divine Love |date=2025-02-24 |publisher=Blue Rose Publishers |pages=70-4 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=Haryanawala |first=Huzaifa |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=koiTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PP6&dq=hussaini+brahmin&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&ovdme=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJqKCc_7qTAxU22TgGHVnkM78Q6AF6BAgKEAM#v=onepage&q=hussaini%20brahmin&f=false |title=IMAM HUSAIN and INDIA |date=2013-06-14 |publisher= |isbn=978-1-304-13565-0 |pages=6-X |language=en}} 
* {{Cite web |title=Al-Serat |url=https://dn720003.ca.archive.org/0/items/english_shia_books/Al-Serat.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250503165354/https://dn720003.ca.archive.org/0/items/english_shia_books/Al-Serat.pdf |archive-date=2025-05-03 |access-date=2026-03-28 |website=}}
{{India topics}}
{{Demographics of India}}
{{Hinduism in Pakistan}}
{{Islam in Pakistan}}
{{Islam in India}}
{{Ethnic groups, tribes and clans of the Punjab}}
{{The seven Mohyal clans}}
{{Hinduism in India}}

[[Category:Indian castes]]
[[Category:Mohyal]]
[[Category:Hindu communities]]
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[[Category:Punjabi Brahmins]]
[[Category:Brahmin communities of India]]
[[Category:Punjabi tribes]]
[[Category:Social groups of Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Social groups of Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]
[[Category:Cultural anthropology]]
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