Karbala and how Lahore was Involved

The ancient city of Lahore has played its part in the tragedy in no uncertain terms. It might come as a surprise to many that seven brave warriors from Lahore died while fighting in the Battle of Karbala. Their father had been asked by the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) to assist his grandson sometime in the future when he would fight to uphold the truth. That pledgee the brave Rajput Mohiyals of the Dutt clan from Lahore upheld. Today they are known as Hussaini Brahmins who lived in Lahore till 1947.

Then there is the fact that besides the Hindu Rajputs of Lahore, in the battle also fought John bin Huwai, a freed Christian slave of Abu Dharr al walled city of Lahore. I have been on the track of these ‘alleged’ ancestors for quite some time and have been able to track on Christian family living inside Mori Gate. They claim to have a connection with a ‘Sahabi’ whose name they cannot recollect. One book written over 250 years ago made this claim, but I do not think it is a claim worth pursuing.

But the most powerful claim of Lahore as the place where the ancestors of Hussain Ibn Ali came lies in the Bibi Pak Daman graveyard, where the grave of Ruquiya, sister of Hussain Ibn Ali and wife of Muslim Ibn Aqeel exists. Also are graves of the sisters of Muslim Ibn Aqeel and other family members. Many dispute this claim.

But then no less a person than Ali Hasan of Hajweri, known popularly as Data Sahib, came here every Thursday to another ‘Fateha’ at the grave informing his followers that this was the grave of Ruqaiya. The place where he always made this claim. Mind you detractors exist, of this have no doubt, but the supporting evidence is overwhelming.

Let me begin the story of the Dutts by going through the record of the Shaukat khanum Hospital and the recorded fact that the Indian film star Sunil Dutt, who belonged to Lahore, donated a huge amount 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 Hussain”.

Makes you think, this claim. But then at Karbala the seven sons of Rahab Dutt lost their lives defending the Imam. The Martyr’s list at Qum verifies this. History records the third thrusts by the forces of Yazid Ibn Mauwayia, and how the Dutt brothers refused to let them pass. The seven Punjabi swordsmen stood their ground till they were felled by hundreds of horsemen. In lieu of the loyalty of the Dutt family to that of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) was coined the famous saying: “Wah Dutt Sultan, Hindu ka dharm, Musalman ka iman, Adha Hindu and Musalman”. Since then, so the belief goes, Muslims were instructed never to try to convert the Dutts to Islam.

But then Rahab Dutt was an old man who traded with Arabia in the days of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H), and was on good terms with him as he travelled to trade for his wife. One account states that the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) once took Rahab Dutt to one side and told him that his grandson would in the future face very testing times. Before he could continue, Dutt interjected: “Worry not, we will stand by him”. To his word he stood, and the martyr’s list, as does a plaque at Karbala, acknowledges their contribution.

A grieving Rahab returned to the Land of his ancestors, and after staying in Afghanistan they returned to Lahore. I have tried my very best to locate their original ‘mohallah’ inside the walled city, and my educated guess is that it is Mohallah Maulian inside Lohari Gate. Later they moved to Mochi Gate, and it was there that the famous Dutts lived before 1947 saw them flee from the hate of the people they gave everything for.

The most interesting thing about the Hussaini Brahmins is that they are highly respected among Hindus, and even more amazing is the fact that all direct ancestors of Rahab Dutt are born with a light slash mark on their throat, a sort of symbol of their sacrifice. I was reading a piece by Prof Doonica Dutt of Delhi University who verified this claim and said that all true Dutts belong to Lahore.

I must point out an amazing version of these events that an Indian historian has come up with. It says that one of the wives of Hazrat Imam Hussain, the Persian princess Shahr Banu, was the sister of Chandra Lekha or Mehr Banu, the wife of an Indian king Chandragupta. We know that he ruled over Lahore. When it became clear that Yazid Ibn Mauwayia was determined to eliminate Hussain Ibn Ali, the son of Hussain (named Ali) rushed off a letter to Chandragupta asking for assistance. The Mauriyan king, allegedly, dispatched a large army to Iraq for assistance. By the time they arrived the Tragedy of Karbala had taken place.

In Kufa in Iraq a disciple of Hazrat Imam Hussain is said to have 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’. The Hussaini Brahmins believe that in the Kalanki Purana, the last of 18 Puranas, as well the Atharva Veda, the 4th Veda, refers to Hazrat Imam Hussain as the avatar of the Kali Yug, the present age. They believe that the family of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) is Om Murti, the most respected family before the Almighty.

All these facts bring me back to our days as school children working hard to provide relief to the mourners on Ashura. Reminds me of our neighbor Nawab Raza Ali Qizilbash who invites us to his ‘haveli’ every year to see the preparations before the event. Raza Bhai is no more, and neither is the tolerance that we all enjoyed so much.