Hussaini Brahamins and Amritsar Muharram before 1947

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Participation of the Hindus is not even shadow of its glorious past in Amritsar, the city of Golden Temple, in Punjab in post partition India. While before 1947, Padma Shri Brahm Nath Datta ‘Qasir’, a Hussaini Brahmin and a well-known Urdu-Persian poet, would initiate the Tazia procession in Farid Chowk, in Katra Sher Singh, in the city, Imamis are not allowed to take out Muharram procession in the open, what to talk about involvement of the Hindus.       

There used to be a prominent Shia mosque in the area from where Tazia processions were taken out and brought to the historic Farid Chowk. The grand procession would then proceed to Imambara and Karbala Maidan, near the  Colletorate- the  meeting point for all the processions coming from several Imambaras. The burial of Tazias was momentous at Karbala, believed to be close to the pivotal site, known as Ghoda Peer, where the legendary steed, Zuljanah, the faithful horse of Imam Husain was said to have been buried by a devotee.

In pre-Partition Amritsar, the Muharam procession would start only after the Hussaini Dutt Brahmins lent their shoulder to carry the Tazias forward through the city. In 1942, Dr Ghulam Nabi, a prominent dentist of the city who had a clinic in Hall Bazar, rushed to the first floor of Qasir’s house and stated to have said with urgency, “Dutt Sahib, we are all waiting. Aap kandha doge tab taziya uthengee.”(Hurry Up Dutt Sahib. Tazia would move onlyafter you lent the support of your shoulder).  

Hussaini Brahamins-a community historically considered to be “half Hindu” and “half Muslim”,traditionally brought two cultures together. Often referred to as either Shia Brahmins or Hussaini Brahmins, phrases such as “Wah Dutt Sultan, Hindu ka dharm, Mussalman ka iman’; and ‘Dutt Sultan na Hindu na Mussalman” had become a part of Punjabi folklore.

Mohammad Mujeeb, the distinguished historian writes, “Hussaini Brahmins were not really converts to Islam, but had adopted such Islamic beliefs and practices as were not deemed contrary to the Hindu faith.” Family narratives reveal that the name of Imam Husain was recited during mundans of young Dutt Brahmin boys, and halwa was cooked in the name of bade (Imam Husain) at weddings. Until the Partition in 1947, the Dutts were commonly called Sultans in different parts of the subcontinent.

The genealogical map of Hussaini Brahmins covers their settlements in Kufa in Iraq around the time of the historic Battle of Karbala (680 A.D.), and later in Balakh, Bokhara, Sindh, Kandahar, Kabul and Punjab. Their scribal and military traditions and commercial and marriage networks attached them to regional courts during the 17th and 18th centuries and they were mostly found in Gujarat, Sindh, Punjab and Northwest Frontier.

It was in this context that many Hussaini Dutt Brahmins expanded their influence into Amritsar. For instance, historical evidence testifies that before the accession of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Mai Karmon Dattani, the wife of a leading Dutt, was appointed the ruler of Katra Ghanaiyan in Amritsar. She was reputed to have presided over her court, dispensing even-handed justice at a public place immortalised by her name, and is currently known as Mai Karmun ki Deohri, a prominent market of the city. She is remembered as the “Joan of Arc” of Amritsar-a title usually given to the brave warrior queen of Jhansi maharani Laxmi Bai..

However, what is most remembered in history is the historic link of the Hussaini Brahmins with Karbala in Iraq, as underscored by British ethnologist Denzil Ibbetson. T. P. Russell Stracey in 1911 provides a fascinating account.He writes “ from the Kavits of the clan, it is evident that the ancestors of the Datts were once in Arabia. They participated in the Karbala War between the descendants and followers of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad’s progeny and Caliph Yazid. Thse Brahmins were close to Hazrat Ali and his sons Imam  Hasan and Hussain. While Imam Hasan was martyred with poison, Imam Hussain was killed with three days hunger and thirst along with his small band of followers on the arid plains of Karbala in Iraq.The survivors of the massacre were also persecuted and women of Prophet’s household were deprived of their head coverings.The little beloved daughter of Imam Hazrat Sakina was slapped and robed of her ear rings by ther cruel enimies.His son Imam Zainul Abedeen was paraded from Kufa to Damascus despite his poor health.As a sequel to persecution a number of children died on way to Damascus-the capital of Yazid in Syria.

When Imam Hussain fell prey, a brave warrior of the Datts named Rahib, resolutely but unsuccessfully defended the survivors. The slaughter of his band, however, compelled him and the small remnant to retire to India through Persia and Kandahar. Shia scholars reserve their comment over the Rahib’s heroic deed for the reasons best known to them.  

Legend has it that on his return from Karbala, Rahib Dutt brought with him the Prophet’s hair, believed to be kept in the Hazratbal shrine in Kashmir. Nohas and Kavits, recorded in local vernacular histories, oral narratives and British ethnographic literature, endorse the glorious appeal of Karbala and Muharram among Hussaini Brahmins:

“Laryo Datt [Dutt] dal khet ji tin lok shaka parhyo
Charhyo Datt dal gah ji Garh Kufa ja luttyo.”

(The Datt warrior alone fought bravely in the field,
and plundered the fort of Kufa.)

“Baje bhir ko chot fateh maidan jo pai
Badla liya Husain, dhan dhan kare lukai.”

(When they won the field, the drum was beaten;
Husain was avenged and the people shouted “bravo”, “bravo”.)

“Rahib ki jo jadd nasal Husain jo ai
Diye sat farzand bhai qabul kamai.”

In Pakistan Punjab, they were seen as non-Muslims, in Indian Punjab they were perceived as being closer to Muslims. The horrific politics of the border entered the portals of Amritsar.Fanatics set ablaze Qasir’s house 1947.For the first time in the history of Amritsar, no Muharram procession was taken out  in 1947.In the tragic transformation of Amritsar as a border city, Hussaini Dutt Brahmins were amongst its worst victims. Their fluid identity came under siege as the politics of aggressive religious identities shattered their porous cultural world.The Dutts’ enduring link with Imam Husain, Karbala and Muharram came under threat. But all was not lost. Some of them did openly identify with their Hussaini Brahmin heritage.

Not very long ago, Indian actor Sunil Dutt, while making a donation in the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore, recorded his commitment to Karbala and said:

“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.”

Amritsar today has a solitary Imambara in Lohgarh.It is managed by Anjuman-e-Yadgaar Husain and  just about five minutes away from Farid Chowk.Locals know it by the name of Kashmiri Imambara. It once stood on Gali Zainab (named after Imam Husain’s brave sister and known as messenger of Karbala.The Gali(lane) has been rechristened as Gali Badran. Imambara is self-enclosed with small inconspicuous structure,housing the Raza Mosque inside its precincts.Come Ashura day, Jawans Punjab Police and  the Rapid Action Force outnumber devotees ever year.Imambara is believed to be over a century old and built by Syed Nathu Shah.It was jointly maintained by Shia and Hussaini Brahmin families of Amritsar before partition,according to the present caretaker.

Despite departure of Hussaini Brahamins from Amritsar,Shias of Amnritsar always recall Rahib in their mourning assemblies.The story of Dutt Brahmins was shared in the assembly (majlis) in 2019 as well.“It was Rahib’s mother, who instructed him to sacrifice his seven sons for Imam Husain. Rahib’s mother had been blessed with seven boys by Imam Husain. As a token of her gratitude to Maula Hussain, she implored Rahib to sacrifice his own sons. So he did.”

A mourner, Amit Malang, regrets, “Unfortunately, Hussaini Brahmins left for Delhi and Bombay. What did they do for Amritsar?” He said sarcastically, “Aj kisi Hussaini Brahmin ki himmat hai ki voh haath kharha kare (Can any Hussaini Brahmin dare to raise his hand today?).”his sentiments is shared by many others who feel that the community that could have probably preserved the vibrant tradition of the city had abandoned them. Tinly Shia population prefer to act as a cementing force and manager of Imambara discourage such oputburst,saying  “Imam Husain means haq (rights) and aman (peace). We want to convey this message to Amritsar.”

It is not just Hussaini Brahamins but also Shias of Amritsar who preferred to leave Amritsar in hostile atmosphere.A mojaroty of them went to Pakistan while hussaini Brahamins spread all over India.As a fall out, there is no procession and Muharram is confined to the four walls of the Imambara. Maulana Zaheer Abbas, a Imami scholar from Lucknow who has been living in Amritsar since 1980, feels “The grand shared tradition of Muharram in Amritsar was destroyed by successive wars: 1947, 1965, 1971. Partition didn’t end in 1947” adding “ the Shia mosque in Farid Chowk was razed to the ground in 1948-49. Almost all the imambaras, over a hundred in number, were taken over (kabza) or dismantled”.

“Although the government took over the Karbala maidan, until recently the most prominent route for the Muharram procession was via the famous Sikri Banda Bazar to the present Imambara; Taziyas and Alams would be brought there with much passion.  But Bajrang Dal stopped it. Sunnis also didn’t support us. Now there is no procession. Imamis mourn the martyrdom of Imam Hussain by shutting the doors and walls of lone Imambara.

The open public commemoration of Muharram in Delhi, Lucknow, Saharanpur, and even in nearby Malerkotla, Patiala, Jullundur and Jammu contrasts sharply with the slow erasure of the  tradition in 

Amritsar. A city where Muharram was associated with the sacred geography of Imam Husain and Shia beliefs, such as Ghoda pir, Hussainpura, Gali Zainab and Yadgaar-e-Husain Imambara, the marginalization of the vibrant cultural practice is heartbreaking to those aware of how grand was Muharam with the active support of Hussaini Brahamins before 1947.Besides martyrdom of Imam. they also lament and  cry for the shoulder of the Hussaini Brahmins while performing Azadari within four walls of a wailing Imambara. They feel that the grandeur of Amritsar Muharram would have never diminished,had Hussaini Brahamins kept connectivity to their roots as is the case of migrant as Shias and even hindus of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who come back to observe Muharram every year to their native places without fail to keep the tradition intact .

The reality is stark that the community, whose ancestors are believed to have sacrificed their seven sons for Imam Husain, has migrated to different parts of the world as global citizens. Many have simply shunned their identity and started to represent themselves as “Brahmins” – a construct that is miles away from what the community originally represented.

Source: Based on the inputs taken from Ms.Ninica Dutta's article. She teaches history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi