[Reader-list] Fwd: Intizar Husain on Husaini Brahmins

[yasir ~يا سر]

Dear Kashmendra,

I dont know the the history of the Hazratbal hair. but you are overstating
or even misstating the shia sunni divide on the question of Hussain.

Most sunnis revere Hussain and his fight to death against Yazid son of
Muawiya. During the Muharram month/s you will hear Sunni sermons eulogizing
the sacrifice and mourning the deaths of the prophet's family and friends.
The account of the events by Zainul abedin (the next Imam, and Hussain's
son) of the events is read as a text in sunni religious seminaries. Sunnis
may also participate with Taziyas and attend 'Shia' Majalis, or just watch
them on TV etc. They may or may not accord the same level of reverence to
karbala as shias, some of whom also go overboard with the case.

That said, there are certain sunni sub-sects, among them particularly the
ahle Hadith (aka wahhabi), and certain historical naqshbandis (mujaddid alf
saani) who may consider shias heretics, kaafirs etc, virtually on par with
deniers such as 'hindus'. I dont think this strain is the most common
although occasionally one runs into them - most are in the consensual
middle. Not surprisingly this strain (the tendency you have described) is
around in jihadist / extremist outfits.

best






On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 7:47 PM, Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com>wrote:

> Interesting comment by Nonica Dutt the "Hussaini Brahmin" has been quoted
> by Intizar Hussain in his article. She says:
>
> """"""" 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. """""
>
> This would totally shake up the edifice of the  'organised sectarian
> religious divides' amongst the Muslims of Kashmir and especially lead to
> unimaginable conflict between the Sunnis and Shias.
>
> The Muslims of Kashmir have their faith firmly invested in the belief that
> the 'ensconced hair' in the Hazratbal 'shrine' is from (the beard or head)
> of Mohammed the Last Prophet for Muslims. For someone to suggest that the
> 'hair' is of Imam Hussain would be considered sacrilegious.Blasphemous
> perhaps.
>
> Also that Hazratbal as an institution is under Sunni control. Imam
> Husaain is not the most favourite of persons for the Sunnis even if he was
> the grandson of Mohammed (through his daughter Fatima and Ali the Fourth
> Khalifa).
>
> Ali (the father of Hussain) is considered by Shias as the First Imam and
> rightful inheritor of Mohammed's worldly empire. They consider the first
> three Khalifas to be usurpers who stole from Ali his right of being the
> First Khalifa.
>
> Some ideological elements amongst Shias have even a more extreme viewpoint
> about what Ali's position in Islam should be (in comparison to Mohammed).
>
> The Battle of Karbala where Hussain was killed is a significant happening
> in the divide between Shias and Sunnis with Hussain on  the opposite side of
> the allegiances for the Muaviyah and Yazeed. The Battle of Karbala
> (arguably) concretised the separation between the Sunni and Shia sects
>
> Kshmendra
>
>
>
> --- On Wed, 12/10/08, prabhat kumar <prabhatkumar250 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> From: prabhat kumar <prabhatkumar250 at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Intizar Husain on Husaini Brahmins
> To: reader-list at sarai.net
> Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2008, 5:10 PM
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Ali Usman Qasmi <auqasmi at yahoo.com>
> Date: 2008/12/10
> Subject: Re: Hussaini/ Dutt Brahmins
> To: prabhat kumar <prabhatkumar250 at gmail.com>, Shoumen
> <soumenm.2 at gmail.com>
>
>
> Thanks for the link. Following is an article by Intizar Hussain, the best
> known Urdu novelist of our times. I came to know about the Hussaini
> Brahmins
> from his article.
>
> COLUMN: Brahmans in Karbala
> 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.
>
>
>
>
> --- On *Wed, 12/10/08, prabhat kumar <prabhatkumar250 at gmail.com>* wrote:
>
> From: prabhat kumar <prabhatkumar250 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Hussaini/ Dutt Brahmins
> To: "Ali Usman Qasmi" <auqasmi at yahoo.com>, "soumen
> mukherjee" <
> soumenm.2 at gmail.com>
> Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2008, 4:21 PM
>
>
> I found something coincidentally on Hussaini-Dutt Brahmins in reader list
> of
> SARAI, CSDS!!
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:16:58 +0600
> From: "Naeem Mohaiemen" <naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Reader-list] Ruchira Paul: When Hindus Mourned Muslim Martyr
> To: "reader-list at sarai.net" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> Message-ID:
>       <e9cfea7c0812092016s4b7884ej96e1a35d78411220 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> December 08, 2008
>
> When Hindus mourned a Muslim martyr
>
> Ruchira Paul
>
>
> http://accidentalblogger.typepad.com/accidental_blogger/2008/12/when-hindus-mourned-a-muslim-martyr.html
>
>
> Today or tomorrow, depending on the sighting of the moon, is Eid
> al-Adha, a day of celebration for Muslims worldwide. This year,
> December is also the month of Muharram, a religious event of lament
> and mourning observed by the Shia Muslim sect.
>
> I recently finished reading The Girl From Foreign by American
> documentary film maker Sadia Shepard which I had previewed here a few
> months ago. Shepard's journey in search of her Indian born Jewish/
> Muslim grandmother's roots crisscrosses through western India and the
> Pakistani city of Karachi. It is a fascinating story which I plan to
> describe at a later date. Today however, I wish to bring up a little
> known fragment of Indian history that had laid buried in my memory for
> decades and which an anecdote in Shepard's book helped shake loose.
>
> The student population of my school in New Delhi was composed of girls
> from practically every part of India belonging to several different
> linguistic groups and religions. Nearly fifty percent of the Punjabi
> and Bengali students came from families who had lost their ancestral
> homes in the partition of India in 1947, my own being among them. In
> middle school, a class mate whose folks had moved to India from the
> Pakistani city of Lahore, once casually commented that her father's
> family used to observe Muharram in their hometown before the
> partition. At the time I didn't think much of what my friend had said.
> We were young and many of us had heard interesting pre-partition tales
> from our parents. It is only now, on thinking back, that her story
> acquires a special meaning and given the subsequent deterioration in
> Hindu-Muslim relations in general and between India and Pakistan in
> particular, also a certain amount of poignancy. You see, the
> remarkable thing about my friend's Muharram story was that she was not
> a Muslim, but a Hindu Brahmin.
>
> My class mate belonged to the Punjabi community of Dutts, in more
> communally harmonious times also known as the Hussaini Brahmins. They,
> along with their Shia Muslim friends and neighbors, used to
> commemorate and grieve the deaths of Imam Hussain and his disciples in
> the bloody battle of Karbala during the 7th century power struggle
> among early Muslims. Of the Dutts was said the following:
>
>
>
> Wah Dutt Sultan,
>
> Hindu ka Dharam
>
> Musalman ka Iman,
>
>
>
> Wah Dutt Sultan
>
> Adha Hindu Adha Musalman
>
>
>
> [Oh, Dutt the king,
>
> follows the religion of the Hindu
>
> And the faith of the Muslim.
>
>
>
> Oh, Dutt the king,
>
> He is half Hindu, half Muslim.]
>
>
>
> I do not bring up my friend's story in any specially sentimental way.
> Looking back on her simply told tale with the political events of
> today as the backdrop, evokes more wonder than sorrow.  I was born a
> few years after the bloody partition of India. The political and
> psychological wounds of that cataclysmic event were raw on both sides
> of the divide during my childhood. Yet amazingly enough, there
> probably was more mutual understanding between the two battling
> communities then than there is today. After decades of mistrust and
> alienation, the line in the sand that was drawn across Hindu and
> Muslim identities around 1947, has now hardened and appears set in
> concrete. As one of the linked articles explains in its somewhat
> flowery text:
>
>
>
> The Hussaini Brahmins, along with other Hindu devotees of the Muslim
> Imam, are today a rapidly vanishing community. Younger generation
> Hussaini Brahmins are said to be abandoning their ancestral heritage,
> some seeing it as embarrassingly deviant. No longer, it seems, can an
> ambiguous, yet comfortable, liminality be sustained, fuzzy communal
> identities giving way under the relentless pressure to conform to the
> logic of neatly demarcated 'Hindu' and 'Muslim' communities.
> And so,
> these and scores of other religious communities that once straddled
> the frontier between Hinduism and Islam seem destined for perdition,
> or else to folkloric curiosities that tell of a bygone age, when it
> was truly possible to be both Hindu as well as Muslim at the same
> time.
>
>
>
> I am not a starry eyed optimist. I harbor no illusions that the
> complicated politics of the Indian subcontinent are going to be solved
> simply by harping on the feel-good history of shared culture - of
> food, music, language, ethnicities and sometimes even religious
> celebrations. Nonetheless, those who have turned the region into a
> powder keg of hostilities and have fueled communal fires with lies and
> revisionist history, need to be reminded perhaps, that if the present
> mayhem is always the consequence of past injustices, there are also
> many examples of peaceful co-existence that could serve as the model
> for reconciliation between south Asian Muslims and Hindus.
>
>
>
> Eid Mubarak  to our Muslim readers and to any one else who may wish to
> rejoice with their Muslim friends on this day.
>
>
> ------------------------------
> --
> Prabhat Kumar
> Ph.D. Student,
> Department of History,
> South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg,
> Im Neuenheimer Feld 330,
> 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
> Mobile: 00 49 17685050077
> FAX: 00 49 06221 546381.
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Prabhat Kumar
> Ph.D. Student,
> Department of History,
> South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg,
> Im Neuenheimer Feld 330,
> 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
> Mobile: 00 49 17685050077
> FAX: 00 49 06221 546381.
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